Portfolios FAQ

[svero]

This forum has been created to replace the "Services Offered" forum. Services offered was originally intended to act as a nice forum where game developers could browse the work of game sound and art people to find people to hire for contract work etc... But even with moderation the forums hasn't really worked out. So we decided to replace it with something more concise and specific.

Note : Services offered will go away completely soon, so if you have a portfolio in there consider transfering it to this new thread. I will transfer and edit some myself, but I can't guarantee I'll have time to do them all.

Posts in this forum MUST be in the following format. If they aren't they will be deleted.

Artist : Rod Smith
Site : http://www.gameartnow.com

I have been working in the field for 15 years and I'm looking for..

To post here you should have an online portfolio at the site you link to. It can be a site for game music, art, or even 3rd party game development. If you want to post something else then contact a Mod or Admin to ask.

[TJM]

But even with moderation the forums hasn't really worked out. So we decided to replace it with something more concise and specific.

What hasn't "worked out" with the Services for Hire forum? I think it was a nice idea and useful. Could you elaborate?

You said that "even with moderation..." Do you think the problem with this and other forums is that you OVER moderate? The moderators on Indie Gamer Forums tend to act like control freaks. It creates a very hostile environment.

If you change the title of the forum to Art & Sound Portfolios, where are posts for contract programming going to go? What if an artist wants to make a game and wants to hire a contract programmer? Or are "those people" not welcome here?

As you make your changes, you should be sure to take EVERYONE who uses this forum into consideration and not just make a custom section for the moderators or other elitists on this forum.

I'd also like to comment as a whole about the moderators on Indie Gamer Forum. Over moderation is akin to censorship and just as most people oppose censorship because it inhibits freedom, I think the same can be said about over moderation. Why don't you try an approach where you allow posting more freely without all the "rules" and see if you attract more readers and create a friendly environment. (Is your goal to have more readers/participants? Sometimes I get the impression that you just want moderators and a few people to boss around.)

I'd like to see this board thrive or (at least survive). Try to back off a little with the moderation.

[soniCron]

Over moderation is akin to censorship and just as most people oppose censorship because it inhibits freedom, I think the same can be said about over moderation.

I know this is way off topic (and will probably get moderated! ), but I'm not sure what you think they're over moderating. I think these guys do a fantastic job of keeping the board a professional place to discuss the industry. Eliteism? I think the desire to keep these forums above a juvenille level doesn't count as eliteism. They simply want to keep the garbage out, and I applaud them for that. It's been a long time since I've seen such a mature place to meet and converse with others, and I appreciate every second of it. If you feel out of place here, you may want to check out GameDev.net instead. They moderate hardly at all.

[svero]

>What hasn't "worked out" with the Services for Hire forum? I think it was a
>nice idea and useful. Could you elaborate?

Simply put, when I tried to use it to locate an artist to do some work it was very hard to sift through all the posts. It didn't act as a nice resource for me to use. It was time consuming and not what I originally intended.

>ou said that "even with moderation..." Do you think the problem with this
>nd other forums is that you OVER moderate?

Nope. One thing is clear. This forum suffers from under-moderation. Too much stuff that doesn't belong is tolerated and threads that should be closed or deleted are left around.

>he moderators on Indie Gamer Forums tend to act like control freaks. It
>reates a very hostile environment.

Well that's one way of looking at it. Another way to look at it is that we have a generally clean useful forum. There's plenty of sites on the web where you can rant to your hearts content. This site is meant as a resource for serious developers. Not a playground for chatters.

>f you change the title of the forum to Art & Sound Portfolios, where are
>osts for contract programming going to go? What if an artist wants to make
> game and wants to hire a contract programmer? Or are "those people" not
>elcome here?

I address this in the faq, except for the "looking to hire" part. There is no section for help wanted on this forum. I decided not to have one because help wanted ads tend to have a lifespan and arent' really generally useful archived etc.. That being said there seems to be a real desire for this sort of thing so I may revisit this idea shortly and add a help wanted section if I can tweak the board to not archive the posts forever.

>s you make your changes, you should be sure to take EVERYONE who uses
>his forum into consideration and not just make a custom section for the
>oderators or other elitists on this forum.

What exactly is the point of this forum if not to serve the community. How do I benefit directly from it? Your attitude is silly. EVERYTHING we do on the forum, including the changes to the section and the moderation is what we consider good for the community. You may disagree with a particular decision but then if you want to be the one deciding you're always free to set up your own site and use your own time and money to support it. And if you really do have a better handle on what people want I'm confident they'll go there for that.

>'d also like to comment as a whole about the moderators on Indie Gamer
>orum. Over moderation is akin to censorship and just as most people oppose
>nsorship because it inhibits freedom,

Yes. And freedom is akin to anarchy. Not every situation in the world calls for censor free for all posting. Theres so much of that already available. If you think people really want a place to go rant and swear and talk about any old topic then set one up. Our vision of this forum is as a place for serious game developers to discuss business is a professional matter, and to keep it that way requires some moderation. So yes we censor, but we do it for the good of the community. By your logic I should allow spammers to post ads for pornography here and anything at all? Would that make this a better board?

>I'd like to see this board thrive or (at least survive). Try to back off a little
>with the moderation.

In my view reasonably strict moderation is what will help the board survive and thrive.

[Abscissa]

>ou said that "even with moderation..." Do you think the problem with this
>nd other forums is that you OVER moderate?

Nope. One thing is clear. This forum suffers from under-moderation. Too much stuff that doesn't belong is tolerated and threads that should be closed or deleted are left around.

Such as the threads in the offtopic section that get locked for being offtopic? :/

[HunterSD]

Such as the threads in the offtopic section that get locked for being offtopic? :/

I'm sorry? Off topic forum? Where exactly is that?

[svero]

There may be a poor description for that forum, but the general idea of general chat is not so you can come by and discuss your political views or your sex life etc... Its off topic but of interest to indies. So it's a bit of a judgement call what belongs and what doesnt. I guess we could make it more strict and clear but then we'd lose the odd topic like the star wars one that I figure a lot of game devs would be into discussing but isnt exactly game related.

[svero]

Im going to close this because obviously this moderation discussion is in the wrong place. If someone feels a need theycan start a new topic under general chat.