Try as you might, you can't make us forget about the chat.
@amaranthus @nor @kenney
We'll never forget, right guys?

#neverforget

@Tony-DarkGrave is this #2edgy enough for you?

Replacing the Flash forum with the Game Dev forum was a much-needed change; from what I can tell, NG still has a reputation of being "just a Flash site" (just look at some of the comments on the Numa Numa anniversary post on Reddit), so any dissociation between content and platforms is probably a good thing.

As for the moderation of the VA forum against bad attitudes... Let me start by saying I haven't visited it yet and have no idea how mean people are being over there. Regardless of the specific situation, though, directly banning "bad attitudes" is only a temporary solution for what it's trying to do: create an inclusive, supportive environment. But if the kind of crowd that NG draws doesn't share that goal, then heavier moderating will only succeed at attacking the userbase (whether they deserve it or not isn't the issue here). It seems like the real solution (and the implicit goal of moderation, intentional or not) is to control what kind of audience is allowed to use the forums; consider this when moving forwards, and if this is something you agree with. NG's users are both its greatest resource, and its greatest liability.

Sounds like a bunch of good moves to me, I'm not super involved in this community but it's home. I think "old edgy NG" was great and all, but it was also kind of a stagnant, bad-business sort of NG. Today's Newgrounds is so much more than that.

I want to see NG become THE website for artists and upcoming content creators. Something that everyone knows about.
Folks getting on the forums and acting like complete asshats to people who are trying to genuinely work on things is only
going to hurt things. deviantART has been mentioned, and yeah...it's overly soft on everyone who needs to work harder. There, you can't say anything negative or you get a horde of pussies spewing nonsense about how much of an evil person you are. Half the time, stuff like that will get you reported and possibly even get your account deleted from what I've heard. Ridiculous.

On Newgrounds however, people are realistic about the quality of your work. That's as harsh as they need to be, too. If the person that's making lackluster content is not listening to critique, then stop trying to give it and move on to the next forum post. And don't give me the argument that they shouldn't be using the site, because who gives a crap?

Tom and the staff have been taking some big steps with this site lately and it's all been pretty bold imo. I think they're doing what's best for the community, though. Especially the serious artists with good mindsets and tolerable attitudes. I don't want NG to start looking like, y'know...a business;but I certainly do want it to do what works best and help get the most artists the recognition they need, and as I said earlier. I want it to be that big artistic junction online that everyone knows.

The feedback in this post was irking me a little at first but really, they're giving just the right kind. It's helpful, it shows their view very clearly & it doesn't go overboard. Hell, this is all Tom's asking when he tells you not to be mean about it anyway.
Say what you have to, be aggressive if you're feeling it, but don't be a flatout asshole & I think you'll be within the guidelines.

Good changes overall! Melikey.

At 12/18/14 01:02 PM, yetanotherjohn wrote: Looks like those topics were merged into general.

http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/381

One example here. RIP forum 6.

Aha. Good knowing!

At 12/18/14 01:25 PM, TomFulp wrote: It's been tempting to put all forums into a single box so you can have 100% control over the order you sort them in, but that is a little messy at the moment with how things are set up.

How about total control to create your own boxes and move forums between those? IMHO 4-5 forums per section seems ideal, gives a clear overview without it feeling too cluttered, with current layout.

ZJ interviewed me so give that a listen!

Read this CNET article about the 10 year anniversary of Numa Numa if you haven't. They actually embedded the NG version in their article, too! Yay!

Almost missed those! Nice.

At 12/19/14 01:18 AM, CiviLies wrote: @Tony-DarkGrave is this #2edgy enough for you?

not edgy enough you have to be @Natick edgy.

"THAT is how you should treat your fellow NGers."

I read that as something else. Lol.

Yay... Less people trying to tell you to Fuck off in one way or another...

First time to ever swear on the forums... Finally to let off some steam...

At 12/18/14 09:51 AM, TomFulp wrote:
Just because you're angry inside doesn't mean you have a right to take it out on your fellow community members. We've added a sticky post intro to the VA forum to emphasized that bad attitudes aren't allowed. You can give constructive criticism without being mean and negative. When conversing with someone on a forum, pretend you are looking them in the eyes and talking face to face - THAT is how you should treat your fellow NGers.

Preach.

Now, if only we get get this attitude and treatment from Youtube. That community is %90 garbage.

I already like how the gamedev forum is shaping up. Some discussions that were only found in the reg lounge have their own threads now, and more people are showing up.

I'm very happy that we're setting up an atmosphere that's going to help our community grow, and bring in some new talent. Criticism and advice is always welcome! Opinions and outlooks? We love them. It's a fricken forum! Of course! Don't let others tell you that you're being silenced. Your message will still be heard loud and clear.

At 12/18/14 06:02 PM, Lambtaco wrote: It's discouraged me from posting there, if only a little bit.

I know a number of others who felt the same way you did. I feel bad, because I started spreading the word about the forum and people trusted me and I let them down. But actually everyone is getting along fine now. Really! People, of course, are still giving critiques and sharing their opinions, and I think that's awesome! That's the whole point of a forum, to discuss and share opinions on topics. Yes! That's what we want. That's how we learn and grow! And they are doing so in a manner that is helpful, and it's great. Hope you'll come back over!

At 12/20/14 02:54 AM, Piper wrote: Yes! That's what we want. That's how we learn and grow! And they are doing so in a manner that is helpful, and it's great. hope you'll come back over!

Piper is the biggest bully in all of Newgrounds so you better watch your back if you want to walk away with your milk money!

But seriously, jump on in! There are so many of us on the forums who would love to not only answer your questions about voice acting, but get to know you as a friend! I know it can be a little intimidating to some who might be new to voice acting, or even Newgrounds in general, but we're all here to build up this community and smother you with our lovin'.

At 12/18/14 09:57 AM, TomFulp wrote:

At 12/18/14 09:54 AM, Amaranthus wrote: What about all forums suddenly being yellow?

This was a step towards simplification in future layouts so things are more consistent. New activity is yellow, non-activity is grey, less variation to confuse people who don't know what's up.

What is the red then?

At 12/21/14 12:21 PM, cga-999 wrote:

At 12/18/14 09:57 AM, TomFulp wrote: This was a step towards simplification in future layouts so things are more consistent. New activity is yellow, non-activity is grey, less variation to confuse people who don't know what's up.

What is the red then?

Locked forums. They no longer appear visible for new users, only appear in the edit tools for hiding / unhiding forums.

Thanks for the new updates tom! :-)

At 12/18/14 09:51 AM, TomFulp wrote: Just because you're angry inside doesn't mean you have a right to take it out on your fellow community members. We've added a sticky post intro to the VA forum to emphasized that bad attitudes aren't allowed.

Hmm. Whether or not you're being mean in the eyes of another person is entirely subject to their own interpretation. You can't control how another person reacts to your criticism - some of the more sensitive types react to all types of criticism as if you're "trolling" them. Empathy is all well and good but there's been many famous blowouts over entirely well-intentioned criticism - at least in illustration.

There's not exactly a metric for "meanness".

I wouldn't say that leaving a series of very personal calls over feelings in the hands of such vague criteria, while simultaneously encouraging hyperactive amounts of sugarcoating and other disgusting habits that worm their way into criticism, is a good idea. But then maybe the world of VA calls for that.

You're the best Tom!

At 12/18/14 10:10 AM, Rucklo wrote: Yay!

Nay

At 12/18/14 01:25 PM, TomFulp wrote: And Network News... I thought it was just hidden but looks like it's gone completely. Was it merged into General? I don't even remember now... Gotta check on that.

I merged it to general a while ago.