What happened to the OSITM??

[compdude787]

I was just wondering, why hasn't there been a recipient of the OSITM since June, when M4346's MD "The New Frontier" was named OSITM? How come it's still the OSITM, even though we're well into September? 

I understand if some of the staff who are responsible for that may have been drawn away from this site due to RL, but really, one thing I like about this site is things like this. Even though Simtropolis is bigger and has more activity than SC4D, I feel like this site has more support for MDs, mainly because of the categorization of MDs, separating those that have just started out to ones that have been around for years. It allows new members to see whose MDs they can look to for lots of inspiration, and it allows long-time members to easily spot and give support to new MDers. I've always liked how the OSITM puts a spotlight on certain things a particular member has done with SC4 that are deemed extraordinary. It's not just MDs but even BATing and lotting projects like CP's work with diagonal and FAR buildings, and even creating a whole town with them (that was amazing! Now when is he gonna release all that stuff? ). And then there's the Hall of Fame, where the whole community votes on which MDs they think are the best of the best. Apparently, nothing new has been inducted to the hall of fame since 2012; what's up with that?

So, what's been going on with the OSITMs? It would be really nice to see something new for OSITM next month. Thanks for your consideration.

[art128]

I was just wondering, why hasn't there been a recipient of the OSITM since June

You said it, more and more staff are taken away by IRL stuff. I'm part of the OSITM committee and I can tell you the last post there is from the 23rd of July. Less people active means less people to remind you of things, it's very easy to forget about it.
Also the site's activity has been going down since the last years, nothing we can do about it. You can't force people to post.
I'll post there to see who's active or not and get things straight as soon as possible.

Apparently, nothing new has been inducted to the hall of fame since 2012; what's up with that?

Ol.S / Benoit's MD won the 2013 election, but due to IRL stuff it has been forgotten. I've recently talked about it in the HoF Private board and things are going slowly but surely in the right direction, don't worry.


an OSITM next month might be a little fast. Believe it or not, it takes time to prepare it! What I'd say though is to have the OSITM back for November as it is SC4D's birthday month. Again, I'll talk about it with the fellow Committee members.

[vortext]

Yes I wondered what happened too. Glad to hear OSITM isn't all but forgotten. 

I feel like this site has more support for MDs, mainly because of the categorization of MDs, separating those that have just started out to ones that have been around for years. It allows new members to see whose MDs they can look to for lots of inspiration, and it allows long-time members to easily spot and give support to new MDers.

Since you mention this, I was thinking some time ago maybe conditions for 'Recent' and 'Best Sellers' categories need to be reconsidered, especially in light of lessened forum activity. Current thresholds of <100 comments and 100< 500 comments respectively are pretty high, while pageview thresholds are so low they have no significance really. I could even imagine introducing more subdivisions, like <50 comments, 50<150, 150<300, 300+ or something. That way moving through the boards could provide a nice motivator to maintain a MD. My two cents. 

[art128]

while pageview thresholds are so low they have no significance really.

IMO, page view thresholds are not necessary.

I could even imagine introducing more subdivisions, like <50 comments, 50<150, 150<300, 300+ or something.

Adding more subdivision might be a little... too much, don't you think? Though I agree with you about the 100 to 500 best seller gap, it is quite too big for the current MD activity.

[catty]

...Adding more subdivision might be a little... too much, don't you think? Though I agree with you about the 100 to 500 best seller gap, it is quite too big for the current MD activity.

I don't think we want more sections in the MD's, but it has been discussed and fairly recently in the admin boards about lowering the number of posts a MD would need to move up a board, it was part of a wider discussion on MD's and whether we should give permission for more non-SC4 MD's to be started and also if Unions should be treated as one for the OSITM or individually.

So far its just an ongoing discussion, but I'm happy to post any comments anyone has on this subject to the admin boards.

-catty

[vortext]

IMO, page view thresholds are not necessary.

Yes I agree. Since it's in the current conditions however I thought it should be mentioned.

...Adding more subdivision might be a little... too much, don't you think? Though I agree with you about the 100 to 500 best seller gap, it is quite too big for the current MD activity.

I don't think we want more sections in the MD's, but it has been discussed and fairly recently in the admin boards about lowering the number of posts a MD would need to move up a board, it was part of a wider discussion on MD's and whether we should give permission for more non-SC4 MD's to be started and also if Unions should be treated as one for the OSITM or individually.

Well I was thinking out loud for starters and all things considered the proposal entails just one new category compared to the current scheme. Combined with lower post thresholds MDs would thus move up the boards quicker which could be a nice incentive, an indication of progress of sorts. At least I was pretty excited when my MD moved up to the Best Sellers (where it'll most likely sit for quite some time still  ).

Also I think non-SC4 MDs could be a nice addition, carlfatal's Altensims is a great example of a non-SC4 MD. However, personally I wouldn't like to see the MD section flooded with all kinds of different games, this is a SC4 site after all. Maybe it'd be best to decide on an individual basis. 

At any rate, it's good to know this is being discussed. 

[catty]

...However, personally I wouldn't like to see the MD section flooded with all kinds of different games, this is a SC4 site after all....

The conversation over on the admin boards was tending towards it being something only available to a long-term member of the site such as yourself, as we have lost a lot of users over the years to other games and we would like to get a balance so those people don't feel they have to move to another site to show their non-SC4 cities in MD's or the "Show us your ...? pictures, but at the same time remembering we are a SC4 based site

[compdude787]

...Adding more subdivision might be a little... too much, don't you think? Though I agree with you about the 100 to 500 best seller gap, it is quite too big for the current MD activity.

I don't think we want more sections in the MD's, but it has been discussed and fairly recently in the admin boards about lowering the number of posts a MD would need to move up a board, it was part of a wider discussion on MD's and whether we should give permission for more non-SC4 MD's to be started and also if Unions should be treated as one for the OSITM or individually.

So far its just an ongoing discussion, but I'm happy to post any comments anyone has on this subject to the admin boards.

-catty

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with lowering the amount of posts that an MD needs to become a Best Seller. I can see that it's easy to get over 1000 page views, but much harder to get 100 comments. I've made three updates to my MD so far since I started it in late-July, and it has gotten almost 800 views but only 12 replies. I don't want anyone to feel bad for not replying; I can perfectly understand those who just lurk in someone's CJ/MD and not post a comment because I tend to do that myself. I'm trying to get better at that, because I can say that it really feels rewarding to see people comment on my updates, especially if it's someone who is a more experienced SC4 player and someone who I admire.

[compdude787]

Hmph, we still don't have a new OSITM for this month. You said that was going to happen...

[catty]

...You said that was going to happen...

Sorry I think OSITM for November got lost while a number of other things were happening on the staff side of things.

-catty

[art128]

Hmph, we still don't have a new OSITM for this month. You said that was going to happen...

...And you have to understand that the staff has other things in their hands as well, so much we didn't have time to think about it carefully in a short enough time to revive it for November. Also the fact that RL can be very power consuming at times, and the last thing someone exhausted from a long day of work wants to do is burn his brain in thinking about something..

..However we're working on a new idea for the OSITM that people will [probably] like. We might be able to show you for 2015, so we can have a fresh start for the New Year... Wait and see.


But don't worry, we haven't forgotten about something special about this website, and we are not going to stop it. People falling off schedule and things happening just made so there wasn't enough time for it recently.

-Arthur/OSITM staff

[compdude787]

Well, thanks for the responses. It seems that RL has still taken over your lives. Same with me; that's why I haven't updated my MD for a month (and that most recent update was pretty short), because I'm more focused on schoolwork and just other stuff in general. Robin (rooker1) in particular has been gone for a while too, and that must be the biggest reason why we haven't had an OSITM since June. I think he was the one who always announced these things, wasn't he?

Come back Robin; we miss you!!!!!

[noahclem]

Come back Robin; we miss you!!!!!

Ditto! Unfortunately I don't expect this to change anytime soon as Robin's great successes in work and family life have left him without a lot of spare time. He seemed to be doing great when I spoke to him a couple weeks ago though so we can be very happy for him

There is at least a silver lining on the issue of OSITM's absence: in a time of less active MDs and CC threads and given people have a somewhat fixed amount of "special interest" to go around the new OSITM should be much more exciting to readers and laureates alike then it would be if 1-5 awards had been given out every month since June. Absence makes the heart grow fonder

[compdude787]

Oh, it's good to see some new new OSITM entries this month!   I guess it helps when people post such awesome stuff, and that makes it easier to choose which MD and BAT thread gets to be the OSITM. Thanks for doing this!!