Future direction of NZFF

[happytraveller]

It might be a good time now to have a think about which direction we all want NZFF to go in the future. FSX has come of age, and has overcome the initial problems, computer technology has caught up and also many of us have renewed our hardware, so many things have changed. New simulators have appeared (eg. Aerofly) and alternative sims (like X-Plane) are being improved. NZFF has been around (and successfully) for a few years now, so perhaps it is good to have some debate about what (if anything) to change in the future. I can see that the technical side will get less (because computers are now far more powerful) and that perhaps the video section will become more prominent. Perhaps the screenshot section will also become more prominent.

So what sort of things do NZFF members want in future??? Should the forum being expanded to include some other (non-flying) forms of simulation??? Should multi-player be promoted more?? What sort of things are missing from the forum at the moment?? Do members think that any particular section of the site is or is not working well?? Is the basic layout of the forum still ok???

Apart from a few small incidents, the forum seems to have worked well, but what ideas and changes should there be in the future.

Let the debate begin.....

smooth landings.

[Ian Warren]

All the above in it own way have been and are in a continuous move to a future , nothing stops .. people have their real lives to live and many have moved on , enda the day if you have watched how the home has grown - NZFF is now One off.. the worlds best sites and still grows , currently - least my thoughts , their is no need to start searching for new avenues , the people have to contribute .. look at FRENZY .. boy , that went down like a dose of salts .. and even with that many are the sayer's and a group are the do'ers , the forum will mature in its own way since it has its nucleus , you find most discussions and updates are smack on the nose and leading most other International sites .

[IslandBoy77]

I think the group will just move forward of its own accord, with the varying interests becoming more or less prominent from time to time as people's interests change and such. And as other sims come along and discussions begin to take place about them, the group will just flow to where it wants to. The only thing we should bear in mind - which as humans we tend to do - is not to "circle the wagons" just to protect our fav sim. That would be the only barrier to the group's long-term viability - entrenched / defensive thinking (which I saw in spades last year when I dared to suggest that Outerra was superior to FSX - which it is... ). So long as NZFF stays a place where people come to discuss stuff, and people aren't flamed for being enthusiastic about whatever sim they are using, then all will be well. Otherwise, those of us who have no stomach for "its my way or the highway" will stay away... and then knowledge, diversity and viewpoint is lost.

[toprob]

If is definitely a good time to look at whether things are heading where people want. The main fear is that the forum stagnates, and I do worry about that. But then again things have been going very smoothly for twelve months, and we are still surviving. I have worried about a loss of interest in the forum, but really post statistics don't bear that out -- in fact post numbers are steadily increasing. New memberships have dropped a lot, but there are a few reasons to account for that. Just recently I mentioned that members can 'help' by actually signing in to the site, and using the 'stay logged in' feature so that it doesn't seem like only the same dozen regulars are still using the forum:)

I do recall that the Outerra thread was one of the better discussions -- members can generally say what they want, but this works both ways, you need to be able to take a dissenting opinion as well as you give them. I don't think that thread even came close to being moderated, except that it was heavily 'member-moderated', which is the way I like it. For the last year the forum has been moderated slightly differently, in that most posts won't be moderated unless someone is actually offended. Excluding the obvious no-nos, of course.

A lively forum needs more threads like that, but for that to work members need to understand what is acceptable and what isn't. This can vary from forum to forum, so it is easy to get this wrong if you are new here, or frequent other forums a lot. I think a lot of people have a basic misunderstanding about what joining the forum means. It is really just to allow you to post, it doesn't make you a member of our 'gang', or require you to tow the community line.

There is a definite change on the web towards social media, and online forums can be seen as becoming a bit of a dinosaur. Maybe we'll need to change at some stage to keep up, but at the moment there's a lot of information available here, and a reasonably easy way to find that information, and to add to it. One change I've made is that my link to the forum is always to the 'View New Posts' option, which makes it a bit more social-media-like. I don't browse the forum at all, in the same way that I no longer 'browse' the web, I just see what's new.

So it would be interesting to know how people use NZFF, and whether it caters for their needs. What prevents you from contributing? What confuses you the most? What have you seen done better elsewhere?

[Ian Warren]

Who ME .. 'stay logged in'... Noooo
- Outerra thread was one of the better discussions ... sure someone mention Fonterra .. a cripes i've been milked before ... damn cows .. clean green NZFF forum
- Now this suits me "it doesn't make you a member of our 'gang', or require you to tow the community line." , Leather Jackets and i can complete with a good logo
- as becoming a bit of a dinosaur. .... That's Me

Yip , have more wrinkles than the entire forum has time to iron out , ruff round the edges .. spell with me is like smell .. most recon my English stinks .. STINK!

But on with the show .. move along now .. move along

[deeknow]

The culture, nature of topics, volume/activity, level of moderation and mix of contributers seems bang on to me. It's great to consider what might introduce broader appeal but you have to be careful about forcing direction on established communities, people will vote with their keyboards and depart if they dont like what they see.

Will certainly be interersting as HT suggests to see how the platform talk might change, hell even MS flight may make a down-under appearance over time.

Best thing is to let it all organically shape itself, as it pretty much has done right. Social media may provide hooks for new folks and incoming connections from other sources but I still see forums like this one being the real heart of communities for some time to come, the connections made on the popular social media platforms of today seem way to temporal and shallow.

I'm all for periodic reviews, but seriously... If it aint broke dont fix it.

Oh and Rob, yeah I'm a "View New Posts" guy, never anything else, be interested to know if you have stats on how much actual browsing goes on?

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (deeknow @ Apr 20 2012,9:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

be interested to know if you have stats on how much actual browsing goes on?

Hmm , wonder if that's why they called those things above our eyeballs .... eye brouse

[Sinz]

QUOTE (deeknow @ Apr 20 2012,8:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hell even MS flight may make a down-under appearance over time.

Not in this household. Would rather give it to someone else.
I took a look it runs well, but unless they turn it into a simulator it anit going to be me that buys more for it.

Old and Set in his Ways.

I like the CD start and the simulation of real flying.

[Venge]

I still lurk these forums big time!
My life is such that I do not have to play more than 20 minutes or so of gaming before I am onto some other task. Still working at Dept of Corrections, but now am also attending a full time bachelor course. I just do not get a chance to load up FSX anymore.
However I love lurking this forum, I check it at least once a day to try and keep up with what is happening in the flight sim world. So personally I would not alter anything that is here now.
Having said that, I would not mind if there was an 'other games' discussion area added in. One for non-sim game games. Nothing elaborate, just a place where people could post stuff about non sim games they play and enjoy. A place for posts like "Are you checking out Diablo 3 open beta this weekend' type posts.

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (Venge @ Apr 21 2012,11:39 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nothing elaborate, just a place where people could post stuff about non sim games they play and enjoy. A place for posts like "Are you checking out Diablo 3 open beta this weekend' type posts.

Already is a spot to suit you my friend .. http://nzff.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=14 .. we just need to expand the label .. change it to suit ALL gaming programs

[Venge]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Apr 21 2012,10:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Already is a spot to suit you my friend .. http://nzff.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=14 .. we just need to expand the label .. change it to suit ALL gaming programs

Ya, that works. Just hesitant to post in there with non sim game stuff with the way it is labeled at the moment.

[toprob]

There is a 'non-flightsim section for this. Use the 'off-topic' subforum.

[Lapun]

It is good to have a Flightsim forum which is friendly with no vested interests.

The support forums which are solely owned by the addon product manufacturers tend toward sclerosis, becoming more despotic as time passes.

New Zealand Flightsim Forums are my choice 'as is', with a friendly bunch of contributors who show interest in the multifarious topics rather than having overmuch regulation (other than the normal 'clean and courteous rules' which we are happy to abide by).

It would be interesting to see how it evolves naturally, with due care and attention but little direction.

[zkcav]

I'll chip in my 5 cents worth as well...

I am totally happy with the way things are. I'm guessing since I wasn't a regular until a few years ago, NZFF has evolved itself to keep abreast of developments in the FS world. It is my FS site of choice for two reasons, 1. it has a local flavour, but with international contributors. 2. It's not linked to any company (per say and you’d have to dig very had to work out which company if you don’t know personalities).

Furthermore everyone who posts seems both very genuine and passionate about our hobby. They seem to care about issues that people are having, and try to help out so everyone can get the fill benefit from FS.

I recall reading a post about Train Sims a few months ago. Apart from good humoured ribbing that went on that post lasted for a while as there was an interest in it. If there wasn’t it would have died a natural course.

I’m my opinion if it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it.

[bobby48w]

I am very happy with the way things are. Over the last few years I have received much good advice and help from those who post regularly.

Just because most members don`t post it doesn`t mean to say that we are not interested in the info provided. I have only posted a few times.

Some folk have a way with words but I don`t. Many thanks to the few who take the time to contribute . Please keep it up.

With grateful thanks..BOB.

[Charl]

Things come, things go.
This Forum had its teething troubles, but sound foundations were laid and it happily pootles on.
So too, the hobby pootles on:
Jan Visser has hung up his modelling hat
A sad day perhaps, but what a contribution he has made over the years!
The hobby is made by those who add to it: I'd like to see some of the 77 "guests" I see viewing the Forum, stop in and have a natter, no matter where from.

[Ian Warren]

Charl , not so bad , he may join us .. time to play