FOFC Moves Today. *UPDATED DETAILS IN FIRST POST*

[Ben E Lou]

I'm excited to announce that in a few days, Front Office Football Central is moving over to Operation Sports (http://www.operationsports.com/) and becoming a part of OS. I want to stress that while we're moving and coming under a larger umbrella, we will still continue to operate as an independent forum. I will continue to run the forum and will enlist the help of others in doing so.

I believe that this will be a great move for FOFC, for FOF, and for all of the text sim world. For those unfamiliar with Operation Sports, it is a site dedicated exclusively to sports gaming content. Because of the larger market, console gaming information currently comprises the bulk of their content. However, they have reviewed a wider variety of text-based sims than any other site on the internet. And lately, they've expressed a desire to expand their text sim coverage. So, as a part of this move, I will be taking the lead and working with OS's current text sim experts in providing text sim content for the OS main site.

My first order of business in this new role will be making sure that every text simulation released will get a review by an experienced text simmer. There's simply no way that I will have the time to do this by myself, nor do I feel qualified to review all types of games, so it's my intention to recruit FOFC members who have demonstrated fair, constructive, and insightful feedback to help with this task from time to time. One of the many things I'm excited about is the move opening up opportunities for knowledgeable FOFCers to write formal reviews of the games we love, and have those reviews posted in a place where they will get tremendous exposure.

I'm sure that this announcement brings about some questions, and I'll attempt to answer the most obvious ones here.

How will I get to FOFC now???

The new URL will be http://www.operationsports.com/fofc (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc), and www.frontofficefootballcentral.com (http://www.frontofficefootballcentral.com/) will point to that location. Also, on the front page at operationsports.com, there will be a links up top and on the left menu bar (near the Madden Mania links).


What will change???

OVERALL: Business As Usual
There's going to be no change in the forum's name, overall look, or leadership. We will remain FOFC, in Solecismic Yellow, Sideline Green, A Day At The Office, etc. I'll continue to run the forum and get the mod council's input, and the moderation will continue to be in the same relatively hands-off manner that you've become used to over the years. We will add a few additional features. (For example, OS is allowing attachments to posts, which Gamespy didn't allow. Woot!) There will be a bit of forum restructuring to make it a little more newbie-friendly, (since I suspect that we'll get some new members from among the OS regulars.) But overall, if you're happy with the day-to-day activity of the forum, you have nothing to worry about.

Are we merging with the current OS Forums?

No. You will see the same FOFC that you see today after the move. It's as if we're copying and pasting everything in the current forum domain to the new domain. Your current user name and password at FOFC will be used, and the current forum structure will be unchanged.

Has OS requested any changes in our forum content or structure???
No. They have not. Any changes that you see in the coming days/weeks/months can still be blamed on me. :p



When will all of this happen???

1. At 12:45pm EDT on Thursday, June 5th, the version of the board at this site will be put into read-only mode. No one but admins will be able to post anything at that point. Updates may be posted during the process.

2. A few hours later, we will be back up and running with all forum data, posts, user names, passwords, user groups, etc. at the new site. I will post here when that is completed.

3. For a few weeks, the read-only version of the board will be online here. I'll add a new forum category and a sticky in every forum with a link to the new url. The version of the board here will be searchable, but you won't be able to post.

What if I am blocked from the OS site?

Try http://75.126.153.96/forums/ or osatwork DOT com.



Do I need to create a login at the Operation Sports Forums to get to FOFC?
No. Logins to Operation Sports, MaddenMania, and FOFC are all completely separate.


The Most Important Question: WILL PEOPLE LOSE POSTS???

;)


Based on the process we have outlined, no posts whatsoever should be lost. Gamespy has been very gracious to us during this process. We will be in read-only mode for a few hours on Thursday while every bit of forum-related data is being moved to the OS servers. Still, I encourage everyone to BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT POSTS, DYNASTY THREADS, AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU'RE PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT, just in case something goes wrong, but at this point, we anticipate losing nothing.


I'm very much looking forward to this new setup. Hope y'all enjoy it.


--Ben

[Izulde]

Awesome news! :)

....and I've got a hell of a lot dynasty backing up to do.

[Emiliano]

Wow! Big move. I agree this is a good move for FOF, and for the text-sims world in general.

[Scoobz0202]

This is very cool. There are some good people over at OS, and while there are a couple immature twats over there, they are usually in the console gaming portion of the forum.

In the end though, this is awesome news.

[SirFozzie]

Woohoo! :)

[Ben E Lou]

...they are usually in the console gaming portion of the forum... To be clear, we will not be folding into the OS main forums. FOFC will continue to exist as its own separate entity. I would expect that we will get new registrations, but it's not a "merging" of forums.

[Schmidty]

Sounds like a good thing.

[Scoobz0202]

Ahh.. I see.

*Thumbs Up*

[Apathetic Lurker]

near the Madden Mania links? Oh tis the end of the world! Now i'll be in close proximity to utter crap!

[GrantDawg]

Doom! Doom I tell you!

Not really, but someone needs to unnessecarily freak out.

[Peregrine]

Looks like a good move to me.

[Ben E Lou]

I posted one of these, but here are links to a couple of articles there in the last month highlighting text sims:

http://www.operationsports.com/feature.php?id=465

http://www.operationsports.com/feature.php?id=491

[SirFozzie]

Just curious, SkyDog, are we looking at any significant downtime for this?

[FrogMan]

and this marks the end of my surfing FOFC from work. For some reason the site wasn't block at gamespy but operationsports is block. :(

bye guys.

FM

[Ben E Lou]

Just curious, SkyDog, are we looking at any significant downtime for this?I don't know for sure yet. That depends very heavily on the timing of the backup. Our database is too large for us to backup from the front end of phpMyAdmin, and we don't have access at a deeper level than that, so GameSpy has to do the backup and put it somewhere where I can access it. If the notification of the availability of the backup happens at a time that both the OS rep who's taking care of the move and I are available, the downtime could be as little as a couple of hours. If the timing is bad, it will be a bit longer, but still not terrible. I seriously doubt we're looking at more than 8ish hours of down time.

There's another aspect of the moving time that is of a bit larger concern to me. I have a gut feeling on how people would prefer it done, but I reckon I'll post a poll and see if I'm thinking the right way on it. Gimme a few to get that poll up...

[Raiders Army]

Can we gain posts if we merge user names from OS, Maddenmania, and FOFC? ;)

[Ben E Lou]

Can we gain posts if we merge user names from OS, Maddenmania, and FOFC? ;):D :D :D :D

[Dr. Sak]

and this marks the end of my surfing FOFC from work. For some reason the site wasn't block at gamespy but operationsports is block. :(

bye guys.

FM

Yeah same here and I am sure we aren't the only ones.

[Young Drachma]

Wow, that's huge.

[Ben E Lou]

That's a bummer about the work blockage issues. I wonder if the IP might work for y'all.

[Barkeep49]

While I suppose this is good overall, it's bad personally since gamespy, for some reason, wasn't caught by the filters at work but operation sports are. I'm going to have to see if I can weasel the override password so I can continue to lose productivity :).

[Draft Dodger]

does this mean the stupid ads are going away?

[Icy]

Great news, i expend my daily boards time 50% in FOFC and 50% in OPS so from now i can expend 100% in the same place :)

[Zelig]

I knew this day would come, I just didn't expect it so soon.

[21C]

Hey, good luck with all of this and I hope it works out well. It sounds like a really cool premise to get us more involved in the text sim world. Are you busting out textsimcentral.com anytime soon, SkyDog?

I don't know if OS is blocked for me at work but Gamespy had been.

[Philliesfan980]

Great news! O/S has gotten a lot better over the past 3-4 years, and like Icy, I split my time between here and there. That it mind...

Wouldn't it be more beneficial to simply merge FOFC into Operation Sports, and maybe create a text sim area on the message area? By having a 'line in the sand' and not fully integrating, I think this merge isn't truely realizing it's potential.

[PurdueBrad]

That's a bummer about the work blockage issues. I wonder if the IP might work for y'all.

Blocked as well (and naive). How might one get and then use the IP to get there?

[cuervo72]

Great news! O/S has gotten a lot better over the past 3-4 years, and like Icy, I split my time between here and there. That it mind...

Wouldn't it be more beneficial to simply merge FOFC into Operation Sports, and maybe create a text sim area on the message area? By having a 'line in the sand' and not fully integrating, I think this merge isn't truely realizing it's potential.

Depends on how you view FOFC. Is it somewhere to go for text sim discussion, or is it somewhere you go because?

[Barkeep49]

As an experiment I just tried www.gamespy.com and saw that was blocked. I'm wondering if the fof.sportplanet prefix is what allowed a lot of us to get around the filter, since Games are blocked at my school but not sports.

[Lathum]

So will werewolf posts count now?


*ducks*

[Ben E Lou]

Depends on how you view FOFC. Is it somewhere to go for text sim discussion, or is it somewhere you go because?Right. I'm guessing that most people here would prefer to keep the community, history, inside jokes, etc. together, and not be folded in to a larger community.

[Lathum]

Depends on how you view FOFC. Is it somewhere to go for text sim discussion, or is it somewhere you go because?

at this point IMO very few people come to FOFC for text sim discussion

[PurdueBrad]

As an experiment I just tried www.gamespy.com and saw that was blocked. I'm wondering if the fof.sportplanet prefix is what allowed a lot of us to get around the filter, since Games are blocked at my school but not sports.

I think that is what did it for me.

[Lathum]

Right. I'm guessing that most people here would prefer to keep the community, history, inside jokes, etc. together, and not be folded in to a larger community.

that would be my biggest concern, being swallowed up. While people don't always agree with your descions you always have the boards best interest in mind so I trust your descion on this.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Right. I'm guessing that most people here would prefer to keep the community, history, inside jokes, etc. together, and not be folded in to a larger community.

Good call.

[Ksyrup]

I don't have a problem with it, but are the new sub-forums for baseball and soccer something you were going to do anyway, or something OS asked for, or what? Just wondering about the timing of it all. It makes sense to do, since we've got an FOF-specific forum and a couple of baseball games are about to hit the market.

[Ben E Lou]

Asked in the poll thread, but thought I'd move it to here:

If we already have an account over at OS, will we still need another account for the new FOFC? I would guess not, but I don't know how separate we are going to be from the other OS boards.It's not a "new" FOFC. We're moving our entire database and vbulletin installation over to their servers. All 5,974 user names and passwords will move with us, so your login details, post counts, etc. will be the same as they are here, but completely independent of what's already in place at OS. Inside the forums, nothing should look any different than it looks now.

[Ksyrup]

Thanks. Your comment earlier in this thread about "new registrations" made me think we might need an OS account, which is why I posted the question.

[Ben E Lou]

I don't have a problem with it, but are the new sub-forums for baseball and soccer something you were going to do anyway, or something OS asked for, or what? Just wondering about the timing of it all. It makes sense to do, since we've got an FOF-specific forum and a couple of baseball games are about to hit the market.Soccer had been there for months in the "Misc" section, which I got rid of I just moved it to the forefront this morning. OS did not ask for the change, nor have they asked for any changes whatsoever. All indications are that they will be like Gamespy in being very hands-off in the forums, but that they will be *much* more supportive with regarding to getting text sims some press.

The thinking behind the addition of the baseball subforum is that with text sims being highlighted, I suspect we'll get some new members from the OS crowd shortly after the move. It should make it easier for them to find info.

[Eaglesfan27]

and this marks the end of my surfing FOFC from work. For some reason the site wasn't block at gamespy but operationsports is block. :(

bye guys.

FM


I haven't read the rest of the thread, yet, but OS has an address set up just to help people surf from work. I believe it is osatwork dot com. That address usually gets by most blocks.

[Ben E Lou]

Thanks. Your comment earlier in this thread about "new registrations" made me think we might need an OS account, which is why I posted the question.
Makes sense. I'm quite sure this won't be the last time I post something that confuses people over the next few days. :p

[digamma]

Congrats! Sounds like a good move for the board. I'm blocked currently at work, so if there is a work around at OS, that's great.

[Eaglesfan27]

I just double checked and it is osatwork dot com.

I've started surfing daily at OS about a year ago, although I don't post there nearly as much, and while they have their share of immature posters, I think this is a great move. More exposure for text sims should result which should help the genre grow a bit more.

[Ben E Lou]

osatwork dot com. Just checked, and this is a valid link. Thanks! If some folks who are blocked could verify it, I'll post it in the first post this thread.

[Buccaneer]

I assume the Archives are moving as well?

[Passacaglia]

and this marks the end of my surfing FOFC from work. For some reason the site wasn't block at gamespy but operationsports is block. :(

bye guys.

FM

Word. I feel like I'm in that David Cross bit.

"We're going to the MOON!"

"Oh..what? You thought you were coming with us? No no no...the meek shall inherit the EARTH."

Have fun. I'm sure it will be way cooler for some reason, and totally worth blocking other people out.

[Passacaglia]

osatwork dot com is blocked for me

[PurdueBrad]

osatwork dot com is blocked for me

ditto

[MikeVic]

Cool. I like that it's kept as a separate community.

[rjolley]

Congrats on the move. OS is the one site I check for console sports gaming. It makes sense for this site to be under their umbrella and for them to cover text sims more.

Sucks that people can't get in from work.

[path12]

I'll try the new os site from work. Since this address got blocked last week but I can get in to the OSFL forums, I'm hoping it will work.

[Fidatelo]

This will kind of suck if we lose a lot of members to being blocked. Maybe there should be a poll to see how many people are blocked? What if it is like 25% of the community?

(btw, I'm not going to be blocked so it's not like I'm personally worried, I just think it would be a shame if we are losing a lot of members and gaining... well, I'm not sure exactly what we gain).

[FrogMan]

I haven't read the rest of the thread, yet, but OS has an address set up just to help people surf from work. I believe it is osatwork dot com. That address usually gets by most blocks.

osatwork dot com does work for me. :cool:

FM

[Eaglesfan27]

osatwork dot com does work for me. :cool:

FM

I'm glad it works for someone, I read that it helped a good percentage of people who were blocked. :)

[Bad-example]

What kind of ads are we going to be seeing over there? Pop ups, click-throughs, crawling Christina Aquilera monsters, giant Viagra-enhanced roosters?

[Ben E Lou]

What kind of ads are we going to be seeing over there? Pop ups, click-throughs, crawling Christina Aquilera monsters, giant Viagra-enhanced roosters?

Check MaddenMania: http://www.operationsports.com/mm/

[Bad-example]

I went through a few threads. I saw double banner ads at the top. The board looks like crap with all those avatars and junk but the ads didn't seem too bad at first glance.

[Dr. Sak]

osatwork dot com does work for me. :cool:

FM

+1

[Draft Dodger]

MORE ads????

[st.cronin]

I understand the browsing experience here will not change. This means there will be no avatars, right?

[Cringer]

No wonder I didn't know the board was moving, it was just announced today. :D

[Young Drachma]

MORE ads????

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865
http://www.ie7pro.com/ad-blocker.html

[lordscarlet]

at this point IMO very few people come to FOFC for text sim discussion

I definitely don't.

[Philliesfan980]

Depends on how you view FOFC. Is it somewhere to go for text sim discussion, or is it somewhere you go because?


I guess I look at FOFC as more of a "one stop text sim" discussion board. As others have mentioned, it's become less and less of that as time goes on, and that concerns me. I think it's more of a statement of where the overall genre is today. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome that you guys have really tight knit groups here, but unfortunately, I just don't have the time to partipate in the other threads here.

When I originally saw that FOFC was going to merge with OS, I was really excited, because from my surfing over there, I know there's a large untapped market, with a lot of users wanting to get into text-sims, but just need a little direction from the community. What makes FOFC great in my eyes is the overall knowledge of the users of this community, which adds a lot of value to the games.

Without seeing how much integration will be done on the "OS" side of the house, I'm not sure if this move will have much impact in terms of expanding the text-sim audience.

[Coffee Warlord]

I went through a few threads. I saw double banner ads at the top. The board looks like crap with all those avatars and junk but the ads didn't seem too bad at first glance.

Let me be the first to campaign against allowing avatars, if it's even an option.

[Lathum]

Let me be the first to campaign against allowing avatars, if it's even an option.

+1

[Bad-example]

I hate the idea of avatars too, but I think the images in signatures over there are just as annoying.

[Ksyrup]

I've never had problems with avatars at other boards, but we don't need them here. What I really hate lately is people embedding sound in their sigs, so you click on a thread and you've got music blaring all of a sudden. THAT'S bad boarding.

[cartman]

I think folks are reading too much into the move. From everything I've seen SkyDog post, the only change from the current FOFC experience is going to be the URL to get here.

[Ben E Lou]

I think folks are reading too much into the move.Actually, the reactions are much less "the sky is falling" than I thought they'd be. I'd say the overall response has been quite positive. It seems like the biggest concern expressed has been being blocked from work--and that's an absolutely understandable one. I expected much more general fear of change, to be honest.

From everything I've seen SkyDog post, the only change from the current FOFC experience is going to be the URL to get here.Pretty much. I expect a relatively small increase in number of users due to more exposure, more game reviews by people we know, and probably a little more attention from text sim developers in general. That's a good way to put it, cartman.

[Passacaglia]

I think folks are reading too much into the move. From everything I've seen SkyDog post, the only change from the current FOFC experience is going to be the URL to get here.

Which removes the possibility to GET the experience for some of us. If there's no change otherwise, why are we doing this?

[cartman]

Which removes the possibility to GET the experience for some of us. If there's no change otherwise, why are we doing this?

There's no guarantee that a future update to the filter list for whatever software is doing the blocking for various people might not block gamespy.com as well.

The way I see it, the change is being done with an eye to the future. The clientele at Operation Sports seems to be more aligned with our interests than the group at Gamespy.

[Passacaglia]

Pretty much. I expect a relatively small increase in number of users due to more exposure, more game reviews by people we know, and probably a little more attention from text sim developers in general. That's a good way to put it, cartman.

So there are a few slight things. I think it's pretty shitty to rub out users that have been here since the 90's for 'a relatively small increase in number of users' but then again, I don't think we need to attract new users in the first place, and I'm obviously biased given my situation. Why don't they just throw a link to FOFC somewhere, and keep the URL the same?

[cartman]

So there are a few slight things. I think it's pretty shitty to rub out users that have been here since the 90's for 'a relatively small increase in number of users' but then again, I don't think we need to attract new users in the first place, and I'm obviously biased given my situation. Why don't they just throw a link to FOFC somewhere, and keep the URL the same?

Because you wouldn't be able to post from work (which if your work is blocking OS, it seems that they wouldn't want you to visit Gamespy either), you'd never visit the forums again?

I couldn't hit the board when I was contracting at Dell, but that didn't keep me from coming here.

[Passacaglia]

The clientele at Operation Sports seems to be more aligned with our interests than the group at Gamespy.

I'll remember that when I think of how I used to come here! :)

[Eaglesfan27]

I understand you are upset, Pass, because it affects you. However, it sounds this move will also help some of our current members, such as Digamma (and someone else I forget) who has FOFC blocked from work, but not Operation Sports. Also, this doesn't stop people from posting at any time. Digamma has managed to be a vital part of the community despite not being able to post from work. It definitely sucks that you and others will be blocked by this move, and I know I'd also be upset if I couldn't post from work, but I know that wouldn't stop me from coming here regularly (just not during work hours.)

[Passacaglia]

Because you wouldn't be able to post from work (which if your work is blocking OS, it seems that they wouldn't want you to visit Gamespy either), you'd never visit the forums again?

I couldn't hit the board when I was contracting at Dell, but that didn't keep me from coming here.

I might check it out every once in a while. I'm usually on from work, and it's a lot less from home -- certainly not enough to catch up on everything here. It'd take a while to shake a feeling of being shat on for a few new users and a new URL, though.

[hukarez]

Hmm... I'm not quite sure what to make of this transition.

This is really the only board that I visit and check up on. In fact, it's the only board I have bookmarked at work, home, and on my iPhone.

Yeah, it's probably not going to be a big deal with minor changes as indicated in the earlier posts.. this move just kind of feels surreal to me.

[Passacaglia]

I understand you are upset, Pass, because it affects you. However, it sounds this move will also help some of our current members, such as Digamma (and someone else I forget) who has FOFC blocked from work, but not Operation Sports. Also, this doesn't stop people from posting at any time. Digamma has managed to be a vital part of the community despite not being able to post from work. It definitely sucks that you and others will be blocked by this move, and I know I'd also be upset if I couldn't post from work, but I know that wouldn't stop me from coming here regularly (just not during work hours.)

It didn't seem that was what digamma was saying -- but if he can get it to work for him, that'd be great, and I'm not saying it should be 'him or me' or something to that effect. I'll play with some workarounds, and hopefully something will work, though -- it's not like I'm going to leave because I can't post from work, just that my experience will change. I think the thing that irks me about it is that I'm failing to see the immediate benefit here. An eye to the future? More aligned with our interests? A relatively small increase in number of users? Attachments? I like the idea of every text sim being reviewed, but I don't see why we need to move to make that happen. More attention from text sim developers in general is nice, but I think we get plenty of that as it is (especially since most of what goes on here has nothing to do with text sims), and I think there are other ways to get that attention as well.

[Philliesfan980]

Does anyone else think that by not directly integrating with OS, we might be missing out on really bolstering the text-sim community? Or does nobody really care at this point (not trying to be a smartass, just curious as to where everyone is with text sims these days)

[hukarez]

Just out of curiosity - what becomes of the blacklisted/banned members of FOFC? Does the transition to OS offer a sort of 'backdoor' for them to get back on the board?

[cartman]

...this move just kind of feels surreal to me.

If you wanted to see surreal, you should have been here for the move to Gamespy, away from the Dave Dial and Stix fiasco at GA-Sports.

[Ben E Lou]

I might check it out every once in a while. I'm usually on from work, and it's a lot less from home -- certainly not enough to catch up on everything here. It'd take a while to shake a feeling of being shat on for a few new users and a new URL, though.First off, no one intended to block anyone out. (To be honest, it never occurred to me that people could get into here but not to OS. My fault for not checking into that.) Second, there are benefits outside of the forum experience. I was just mentioning there that the forum experience doesn't change much. (Although I do LOVE that we will now have attachments. That will make it MUCH easier to post mods/utilities/screenies here now.)

Apart from the forums, the additional exposure that text sims will be getting from this move is quite significant. More than anything else, I strongly believe that this move will give more exposure to the text sim genre, which should therefore put more money into the text sim genre, which should therefore create better quality games. Getting into a place with a much-larger audience than us that's composed of people more aligned with our interests and leadership that wants to highlight a genre that Gamespy wasn't very interested in seems to make all the sense in the world. There are also some additional benefits to this that I'm not yet at liberty to mention, but that will be revealed in due time.

So, overall, the thinking was that we would be losing basically nothing, gaining a little bit in the forums, and gaining a lot outside the forums. Again, apologies for not looking into the blockage issue, but it does appear that the osatwork url is helpful for a number of people over there.

[lordscarlet]

I am, in relative terms, a new user to FOFC. I have heard vague things about complaints from GameSpy regarding some sort of bandwidth/space/something usage (I think DB space?). I have also been getting the redirect ads more and more often, where I have to click "go directly to the link I clicked on" while it shows me an ad. I imagine there are headaches SkyDog has had to deal with from GameSpy that we either know nothing about or have only heard little about. Hosting is one of the most complicated parts of running an internet site and I can't imagine SkyDog doesn't have the board's best interests in mind.

[lordscarlet]

dola: for whoever said "Why not just have OS link to this forum?": Why would they ever do that? GameSpy is, at least in some ways, a competitor to OS. That would make no sense for them.

[Ksyrup]

There are also some additional benefits to this that I'm not yet at liberty to mention, but that will be revealed in due time.


YAY, we're getting QOTM back! :D :p

[Ben E Lou]

Does anyone else think that by not directly integrating with OS, we might be missing out on really bolstering the text-sim community? Or does nobody really care at this point (not trying to be a smartass, just curious as to where everyone is with text sims these days)
You may be right there, but I suspect that would be more change than the community would want. As I posted earlier, I suspect an overwhelming majority of FOFC regulars want FOFC to remain a separate entity. I don't think they care about where we're hosted (as long as its stable, fast-loading, and they can get there from work), but they care that we're a self-contained community.

Further, even if the FOFC community were on board, my One True Dark Jedi powers do not include the ability to bum-rush a much larger site than us and get them to decide to merge with us. :p

I think that simply getting more text sims reviewed (by some of us, even) at a relatively high-traffic site is a pretty big step forward.

[Ben E Lou]

If you wanted to see surreal, you should have been here for the move to Gamespy, away from the Dave Dial and Stix fiasco at GA-Sports.No kidding. That was beyond bizarre.

[Ryan S]

Just out of curiosity - what becomes of the blacklisted/banned members of FOFC? Does the transition to OS offer a sort of 'backdoor' for them to get back on the board?

If there are no problems with the database transfer, everything should be transfered, bans included.

[BrianD]

You may be right there, but I suspect that would be more change than the community would want. As I posted earlier, I suspect an overwhelming majority of FOFC regulars want FOFC to remain a separate entity. I don't think they care about where we're hosted (as long as its stable, fast-loading, and they can get there from work), but they care that we're a self-contained community.

I don't care much about the move, but remaining a separate entity is very important to me. I may have come here for information about FOF, but I've stayed here because of the people and the community. I don't mind new people coming in, but I would hate to be lumped in with a bunch of Madden joystick jockeys intent on out-screaming everyone else.

[st.cronin]

I don't care much about the move, but remaining a separate entity is very important to me. I may have come here for information about FOF, but I've stayed here because of the people and the community. I don't mind new people coming in, but I would hate to be lumped in with a bunch of Madden joystick jockeys intent on out-screaming everyone else.

+ a gajillion

[Lathum]

Does anyone else think that by not directly integrating with OS, we might be missing out on really bolstering the text-sim community? Or does nobody really care at this point (not trying to be a smartass, just curious as to where everyone is with text sims these days)

If I understand your question I'm not sure the move will amount to anything for the text sim genre.

I would say maybe 2% of the threads on this board are dedicated to text sims and if text sims ceased to exist this board would still be going strong.

[Lathum]

I don't care much about the move, but remaining a separate entity is very important to me. I may have come here for information about FOF, but I've stayed here because of the people and the community. I don't mind new people coming in, but I would hate to be lumped in with a bunch of Madden joystick jockeys intent on out-screaming everyone else.

well put.

I really don't want to be overcome by a bunch of 15 year olds with avetars of shaking boobs.

[BrianD]

well put.

I really don't want to be overcome by a bunch of 15 year olds with avetars of shaking boobs.

As much as I enjoy shaking boobs, this is one of the main reasons I hope we never have avatars. Pictures in threads make it pretty obvious that this board isn't meant for work productivity, but people in offices that care about that can generally avoid threads likely to have pictures. An avatar on every post gets rid of that.

I'm also rather happy that my "ignore" list is in the very low single digits currently. I'd hate to have to make ignore decisions daily. Also, think of how tired SD's bannination finger would get in an environment like that...

[Ben E Lou]

Take this news with guarded optimism: OS is now working on a direct IP solution for people who can't use osatwork.com.

[Dr. Sak]

Wow thanks for looking into it for us!

[korme]

If the Last Movie thread is lost I will boycott FOFC for 19 minutes

[Ben E Lou]

Wow thanks for looking into it for us!I can't take credit for that. They're reading this thread and contacted me to let me know that they'd try to find a workaround.

[Philliesfan980]

I don't care much about the move, but remaining a separate entity is very important to me. I may have come here for information about FOF, but I've stayed here because of the people and the community. I don't mind new people coming in, but I would hate to be lumped in with a bunch of Madden joystick jockeys intent on out-screaming everyone else.

I understand your concern about having the boards turn "too kiddie", but in all honesty, probably about 80% of the users on OS are mature gamers, like us.

I guess the best hope is we can convert some of the hardcore text guys there (Carlos comes to mind) to come to here to help strengthen the community. It just sucks to have 2 "OOTP 2008 Impression" threads upon under essentially the same universe.

[BrianD]

I understand your concern about having the boards turn "too kiddie", but in all honesty, probably about 80% of the users on OS are mature gamers, like us.

I guess the best hope is we can convert some of the hardcore text guys there (Carlos comes to mind) to come to here to help strengthen the community. It just sucks to have 2 "OOTP 2008 Impression" threads upon under essentially the same universe.

I will admit that I haven't spent a whole lot of time over at OS so I may have unfairly connected them to some of the more Madden-centric boards.

[Philliesfan980]

I will admit that I haven't spent a whole lot of time over at OS so I may have unfairly connected them to some of the more Madden-centric boards.

Yeah, there are definately a few JB's over there, but for the most part its a decent forum.

Honestly, one of the reasons I spend more time over there than I do here is they just talk more sports. Whether it be sports games, or sports in real life, its a fun place to hang out. That's why when I saw the first post in this thread, I was really excited, because lets face it, without doing any research, I would guess than OS and FOFC have the two most knowledgable groups of sports gamers on the net. Combine them, and I think we'd have quite a forum.

[cuervo72]

I can't take credit for that. They're reading this thread and contacted me to let me know that they'd try to find a workaround.

/me waves to the new robot overlords

[Eaglesfan27]

Take this news with guarded optimism: OS is now working on a direct IP solution for people who can't use osatwork.com.

That is great news, as this is the only real negative I see to the move.

I understand your concern about having the boards turn "too kiddie", but in all honesty, probably about 80% of the users on OS are mature gamers, like us.

I guess the best hope is we can convert some of the hardcore text guys there (Carlos comes to mind) to come to here to help strengthen the community. It just sucks to have 2 "OOTP 2008 Impression" threads upon under essentially the same universe.

Agreed, although I think it is more like 90-95%. Many of the guys there want a more realistic console sports game, and I think they are an untapped market for the text sim genre. However, I do agree that the stronger effect will be from us writing review articles over there. They have a huge spike in the number of guests who browse when Madden and NCAA come out (and to a lesser extent with the other major sports releases) and if even a small percentage of those check out a text sim due to an article there, that is only going to help the genre grow. If the blockage issue can be solved, I really see no negatives and a huge amount of potential positives for this move.

I also agree with those who said they are very glad that we will remain our separate entity and not fully merge with OS.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'll be cautiously neutral about this at the moment. If everything turns out to be as cut-and-paste as it's being presented, I'm not sure I see much difference for the existing user experience.

Just thinking aloud a little further here re: any notional change in the community , based on a look at the members list info, out of 5245 total members we've had:
-- about 650 members visit in the past week (12%)
-- about 850 members visit in the past month (16%)
-- about 950 members visit in the past 60 days (18%)
-- about 1050 members visit in the past 90 days (20%)

I would think noticeable change would probably kick in somewhere around the 10%-20% of active members level, so unless there's suddenly 85-100 active strangers that discover FOFC all out once (and stick around to become regular posters), I don't expect much would change, especially since some of those would almost certainly have to be relatively good fits into our idiosynchratic ways in order to stick around in the first place.

[Kodos]

I encourage everyone to BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT POSTS, DYNASTY THREADS, AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU'RE PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT, just in case something goes wrong, but I do not anticipate that.


An easy way to back up dynasties is to click open the dynasty thread, hit File, then Save As, then select Web Page, Complete. I just backed up Bill Gates, Golden Domes, and what's left of X-Com.

[Philliesfan980]

That is great news, as this is the only real negative I see to the move.



Agreed, although I think it is more like 90-95%. Many of the guys there want a more realistic console sports game, and I think they are an untapped market for the text sim genre. However, I do agree that the stronger effect will be from us writing review articles over there. They have a huge spike in the number of guests who browse when Madden and NCAA come out (and to a lesser extent with the other major sports releases) and if even a small percentage of those check out a text sim due to an article there, that is only going to help the genre grow. If the blockage issue can be solved, I really see no negatives and a huge amount of potential positives for this move.

I also agree with those who said they are very glad that we will remain our separate entity and not fully merge with OS.


You're right in the number is probably like 90-95%, I was just thinking in a worst case scenario. I'll probably end up trying to post more on OS, perhaps starting dynasties and helping people out who want to get into text sims. I'm concerned about the long term health of the overall industry, and having more people interested can only help.

[ace1914]

Actually I spend my time on three boards OS/FOFC/SimGamingNetwork. A lot of the same people are on all three boards so its cool either way for me. However, I do have a question for Skydog. The boards on OS are moderated with a rather heavy hand when it comes to things like politics. On this board, there seems to be a lot more intellectual convo that can get heated, but still allowed. Which moderation stance will be taken after the move?

[Passacaglia]

Take this news with guarded optimism: OS is now working on a direct IP solution for people who can't use osatwork.com.

Good to hear.

[lordscarlet]

Not that it really matters, but I would be fine with merging communities and being a little bit "separate but equal." It would be hard to do, and I understand 100% why people don't want it, but I would also be fine with it and potentially encourage it. I also think it's fantastic FOFC will remain its own entity.

[Fidatelo]

It just occurred to me that I think my brother hangs out on the Operation Sports forums. This could become a "worlds collide"* event for me.

* = seinfeld reference

[Passacaglia]

First off, no one intended to block anyone out. (To be honest, it never occurred to me that people could get into here but not to OS. My fault for not checking into that.) Second, there are benefits outside of the forum experience. I was just mentioning there that the forum experience doesn't change much. (Although I do LOVE that we will now have attachments. That will make it MUCH easier to post mods/utilities/screenies here now.)

Apart from the forums, the additional exposure that text sims will be getting from this move is quite significant. More than anything else, I strongly believe that this move will give more exposure to the text sim genre, which should therefore put more money into the text sim genre, which should therefore create better quality games. Getting into a place with a much-larger audience than us that's composed of people more aligned with our interests and leadership that wants to highlight a genre that Gamespy wasn't very interested in seems to make all the sense in the world. There are also some additional benefits to this that I'm not yet at liberty to mention, but that will be revealed in due time.

So, overall, the thinking was that we would be losing basically nothing, gaining a little bit in the forums, and gaining a lot outside the forums. Again, apologies for not looking into the blockage issue, but it does appear that the osatwork url is helpful for a number of people over there.

I'm sorry if anyone took it that I was saying there was an intent to block people out -- I wasn't trying to say that at all. I just wish a little more was done about it then saying "that sucks, dude" -- I'm glad to hear the OS people feel that way, too! :)

[PurdueBrad]

I'm a big fan of the OS people just for trying to find a work around. If it helps, my blocking software at work is called: Webwasher.

[Passacaglia]

I'm a big fan of the OS people just for trying to find a work around. If it helps, my blocking software at work is called: Webwasher.

Apparently, mine is called "Access Denied" :)

[Calis]

I might be the only person on the opposite side of this. At my work all the Gamespy affiliated sites are blocked, but I believe I can get into OS. So I'm happy about it. :)

[Philliesfan980]

I'm sorry if anyone took it that I was saying there was an intent to block people out -- I wasn't trying to say that at all. I just wish a little more was done about it then saying "that sucks, dude" -- I'm glad to hear the OS people feel that way, too! :)


Yeah, so maybe allowing some more people in our corner of the world isn't a bad thing ;)

[Ben E Lou]

Actually I spend my time on three boards OS/FOFC/SimGamingNetwork. A lot of the same people are on all three boards so its cool either way for me. However, I do have a question for Skydog. The boards on OS are moderated with a rather heavy hand when it comes to things like politics. On this board, there seems to be a lot more intellectual convo that can get heated, but still allowed. Which moderation stance will be taken after the move?I specifically asked that question. They've said that our mod team will make those calls with basically no interference. Expect bidness as usual there.

[Ben E Lou]

UPDATE: Tentative date is this Thursday, June 5th.

[Alan T]

UPDATE: Tentative date is this Thursday, June 5th.

SkyDog, that would be when you would put the board to read-only mode and begin the move, or when the actual move would occur meaning the board would go read-only earlier Thursday morning?

[Ben E Lou]

More info, via IM. Gamespy is being GREAT about this so far, guys!

The time is confirmed. The backup is scheduled to begin at 1:00pm on Thursday. So I will put the board into read-only mode at 12:45PM on Thursday, June 5th.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It just sucks to have 2 "OOTP 2008 Impression" threads upon under essentially the same universe.

I dunno, at least at the outset I don't think I mind that and actually probably prefer it that way.

Reason being I already have a pretty good idea which FOFC'ers have similar tastes to my own, when I read their comments on a product I know pretty well how much weight to put on them. The rest of the OS universe, not so much, which means I basically apply a very large grain of salt to whatever I read (not just to OS, but to pretty much anyone who I haven't learned how well their takes eventually match my own). Over time perhaps I can get the same read on any newcomers but for now I get more out of the familiar soruces.

So from that standpoint I kind of like the idea that the feedback remains largely separate as it can be a time saver for me as a user/reader.

[ISiddiqui]

Ok... no one tell HA about this! k?

[Ben E Lou]

More good news from IGN/Gamespy: the old forum should be up here for a few weeks with a link directing people to the new site. :D

[JonInMiddleGA]

More good news from IGN/Gamespy: the old forum should be up here for a few weeks with a link directing people to the new site. :D

What is that, like break-up sex or something ;)

I mean, that's about as open-minded as I could possibly imagine a soon-to-be-
former host being. Props to IGN/Gamespy I reckon.

[Ben E Lou]

What is that, like break-up sex or something ;)

I mean, that's about as open-minded as I could possibly imagine a soon-to-be-
former host being. Props to IGN/Gamespy I reckon.Agreed. It sounds like smart business thinking, both short and long-term, on their part. They said they'd want to be considered in the future, or at the very least get a positive recommendation, which I'll certainly be able to give them because of this. With the forums still up, they'll get some hits from people who show up in the coming weeks looking for FOFC. Heck, if it stays open more than two weeks, I might just show up and have my own little F5 marathon for 'em. :p

[Philliesfan980]

I dunno, at least at the outset I don't think I mind that and actually probably prefer it that way.

Reason being I already have a pretty good idea which FOFC'ers have similar tastes to my own, when I read their comments on a product I know pretty well how much weight to put on them. The rest of the OS universe, not so much, which means I basically apply a very large grain of salt to whatever I read (not just to OS, but to pretty much anyone who I haven't learned how well their takes eventually match my own). Over time perhaps I can get the same read on any newcomers but for now I get more out of the familiar soruces.

So from that standpoint I kind of like the idea that the feedback remains largely separate as it can be a time saver for me as a user/reader.


That's a good point, I never thought of it that way (the "noise" factor).

I must say, this will be great for text sims in general. I'm sure that the people who are truely interested in text sims will come on over.

[Buccaneer]

Replying to an earlier discussion, I've been blocked at work since 2005 but that did not prevent me from enjoying FOFC when I am not at work.

Enhanced text sims forums is non-starter for me since I am stuck in my old ways. But I do love the variety and diversity that Off-Topic brings and I hope that continues.

[Lathum]

SD, Is that EST?

[Ben E Lou]

SD, Is that EST?
No. EDT.

[MizzouRah]

My first reaction is "no f'n way".. but I'll see how our user base increases and choose my direction from there.

I'm not much into OS.. I post every once in a blue moon. The main reason is, I hate going to each and every sports forum just to preview tons of threads.

I like the way it's done here. Although.. there probably won't be many threads to plod through since we are talking text sims vs console sport games.

[Young Drachma]

Madden Mania was a separate forum at one point and is already folded in over there and it seems to be working okay for them, so I imagine we'll be able to do what we do just as well..just give us more visibility and probably the initial trolls who wonder WTF we are, what we're doing there and why anyone would want to play a text sim in the first place.

[Buccaneer]

Never heard of OS and from the sound of it, as long as I can direct link to FOFC OT, I wouldn't have to know about it.

[Ryan S]

My first reaction is "no f'n way".. but I'll see how our user base increases and choose my direction from there.

I'm not much into OS.. I post every once in a blue moon. The main reason is, I hate going to each and every sports forum just to preview tons of threads.

I like the way it's done here. Although.. there probably won't be many threads to plod through since we are talking text sims vs console sport games.


You don't need to worry. It will be the same forum with a new address.

[path12]

I understand you are upset, Pass, because it affects you. However, it sounds this move will also help some of our current members, such as Digamma (and someone else I forget) who has FOFC blocked from work, but not Operation Sports.

That was me. The osatwork address works for me.

[MizzouRah]

You don't need to worry. It will be the same forum with a new address.

Thank you

[Blackadar]

:cool:

Two thumbs up for SkyDog's handling of this move. It hope it goes well amigo!

[digamma]

FWIW, I was able to get to the forums at OS through www.osatwork.com (http://www.osatwork.com) today.

[cartman]

Blackie sighting!!!

:)

[JeeberD]

Blackie sighting!!!

:)

OMG! I would rather have an ez sighting, though...


Still, this planned change has me scared and confused! :eek:

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I was able to access the actual OS website at osatwork.com, but it blocked when I tried to access the forums.

[FrogMan]

I was able to access the actual OS website at osatwork.com, but it blocked when I tried to access the forums.

Same thing happened to me and I think it's because it links back to operationsports.com. Try http://www.osatwork.com/forums/

It worked for me that way.

FM

[Ben E Lou]

Meant to mention this last night, but the first post in this thread is now updated with where we are in the process, and more Q&A to address other common themes that have come up.

[TheLetterZ]

Hey guys,

I'm on staff over at Operation Sports. Just wanted to pop in here and say that I'm very excited about joining forces. I've browsed this site for years and I'm looking forward to working together with you guys.

I'm in the OSFL with SkyDog and I'm also a pretty big OOTP gamer. I'm in the BLB over at the Sim Gaming Network, same site as the OSFL. I hope that our collaboration can lead to greater exposure for text sims at Operation Sports. I'm convinced that there are a bunch of gamers over there who would love text sims but don't know enough about them.

Not sure why I'm TheLetterV over here, but I'm TheLetterZ at OS.

[Ben E Lou]

Not sure why I'm TheLetterV over here, but I'm TheLetterZ at OS.Fixed, per your request. ;)

[TheLetterZ]

Thanks, SkyDog.

If any of you guys have any questions, feel free to post them here or shoot me a PM.

[kcchief19]

I would expect that we will get new registrations ...
Let the insanity begin. Grab your popcorn.

[MikeVic]

We still get to keep the same user names and post counts though, right?

[Dr. Sak]

Now's my chance to change my name!

[TheLetterZ]

My understanding is that this board stays exactly the same and exists as a separate entity from the OS forums. It'll just be on our server instead of Gamespy's.

[Ben E Lou]

My understanding is that this board stays exactly the same and exists as a separate entity from the OS forums. It'll just be on our server instead of Gamespy's.Correct. I think I'm going to have to say that a few times between now and Thursday. ;)

[Bonegavel]

will the current banninations remain or is there to be an amnesty?

[lordscarlet]

We still get to keep the same user names and post counts though, right?

Yes, but you have to pick an avatar to go with it.

[TJdaSportsGuy]

Hey guys,

My name is T.J. Cutini...another staff member at OS and the host of the Waiver Wire, OS' official podcast.

I'd like to welcome you guys to our little corner of the internet and also help Z answer any questions you may have about our community, the way we do things, etc.

I've been taking a bit of a break from doing our podcast but I'm going to be talking to Ben about finding someone from your site to contribute to the show. We really don't talk much text-simming right now and I'd love to change that. So, if you're a person who is able to put together a complete sentence and are interested in possibly being in on our podcast in the future, please let Ben or myself know.

Looking forward to talking with all of you guys.

[Dr. Sak]

Yes, but you have to pick an avatar to go with it.

In MikeVic's case that would be a toilet.

[st.cronin]

So, if you're a person who is able to put together a complete sentence and are interested in possibly being in on our podcast in the future, please let Ben or myself know.


I can usually a complete sentence.

[MikeVic]

Hey guys,

My name is T.J. Cutini...another staff member at OS and the host of the Waiver Wire, OS' official podcast.

I'd like to welcome you guys to our little corner of the internet and also help Z answer any questions you may have about our community, the way we do things, etc.

I've been taking a bit of a break from doing our podcast but I'm going to be talking to Ben about finding someone from your site to contribute to the show. We really don't talk much text-simming right now and I'd love to change that. So, if you're a person who is able to put together a complete sentence and are interested in possibly being in on our podcast in the future, please let Ben or myself know.

Looking forward to talking with all of you guys.

I nominate Pumpy, bsak, cthomer, or Cam.

[MikeVic]

In MikeVic's case that would be a toilet.

...

Do we really get avatars?

[Ben E Lou]

People who are blocked at work, try this:

http://75.126.153.96/forums/

[Barkeep49]

People who are blocked at work, try this:

http://75.126.153.96/forums/
Works for me. Thanks to you SD and Operation Sports.

[rjolley]

Hey guys,

My name is T.J. Cutini...another staff member at OS and the host of the Waiver Wire, OS' official podcast.

I'd like to welcome you guys to our little corner of the internet and also help Z answer any questions you may have about our community, the way we do things, etc.

I've been taking a bit of a break from doing our podcast but I'm going to be talking to Ben about finding someone from your site to contribute to the show. We really don't talk much text-simming right now and I'd love to change that. So, if you're a person who is able to put together a complete sentence and are interested in possibly being in on our podcast in the future, please let Ben or myself know.

Looking forward to talking with all of you guys.Put together a complete sentence? Me thinks you ask too much of us, sir.

[Fidatelo]

Complete sentence = overrated.

[TJdaSportsGuy]

Put together a complete sentence? Me thinks you ask too much of us, sir.

LOL. I should have been more specific. I should have said "able to SPEAK and ARTICULATE in a coherant manner..."

Still asking too much? ;)

[Groundhog]

People who are blocked at work, try this:

http://75.126.153.96/forums/

Works a treat.

[SFL Cat]

I'm okay with JeeberD losing posts... :)

[noles_acc]

Hey all, my name is Tim Martin, and I'm one of the authors of the text sim articles that SkyDog posted what seems like 300 posts ago! Haha. Anyways, I'm on staff at OS and my focus, as it is, is on text games.

I've been lurking these boards for years, but with the recent news of the OS merger and an old article I did on text sims, I've been visiting FOFC quite frequently. Again, like the others, I look forward to discussing the text sims and other stuff with you all in the coming weeks and months.

Tim

[daedalus]

Blackie sighting!!!

:)OMG! I would rather have an ez sighting, though...


Still, this planned change has me scared and confused! :eek:now that we have our blackie sighting, if you could conjure up some amaroq sighting to go along with that ez sighting, i'd be stoked.

glad to see you still with us, blackie. post more, you bastid.

[daedalus]

Hey guys,

I'm on staff over at Operation Sports. Just wanted to pop in here and say that I'm very excited about joining forces. I've browsed this site for years and I'm looking forward to working together with you guys.

I'm in the OSFL with SkyDog and I'm also a pretty big OOTP gamer. I'm in the BLB over at the Sim Gaming Network, same site as the OSFL. I hope that our collaboration can lead to greater exposure for text sims at Operation Sports. I'm convinced that there are a bunch of gamers over there who would love text sims but don't know enough about them.

Not sure why I'm TheLetterV over here, but I'm TheLetterZ at OS.if you don't sport a mullet, we could probably get used to you.

i think. :D

[daedalus]

dola'ing so nice,
i did not, not once, not twice,
i did it thrice.

+ (∞ + 2) for bannination of avatars and picture sigs. they are ick. dave dial-ick. they kill kittens.

[Dr. Sak]

Works for me. Thanks to you SD and Operation Sports.

Yes thank you very much guys!

[Solecismic]

I'm excited about the move. Operation Sports has been part of the text sim community since it debuted the same year I wrote the original Front Office Football.

This gives us the opportunity to introduce a new forum feature I've been thinking about for at least a couple of years.

With the new forum, we're going to add a new subforum called "Developer's Corner" under the FOF subforum. Every week or so, I will introduce a specific item relevant to developing football simulations.

We will have a panel consisting of Operation Sports staff members (including SkyDog) answering these questions, immediately, as they would like to see the item reflected in text-based simulations (I'll send the topic to them in email a day or two beforehand).

This subforum will be moderated very differently from the rest of the forum. For one, I'll be starting all the topics. And secondly, while these topics will be open for discussion, the idea is to create a living document, useful for my own future reference. So SkyDog will moderate them very closely to keep them specifically on topic. Hopefully, posts will not be lost.

I hope this becomes a regular and popular feature at the new forum. It will help me flesh out new ideas I have with Front Office Football. And I'm encouraged that it will give all of you some insight into simulation development and a chance to participate more formally in the process.

[PurdueBrad]

People who are blocked at work, try this:

http://75.126.153.96/forums/

WORKS FOR ME!!! TY SkyDog and OS!!!

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm looking forward to reading those posts in the developer's corner.

[Ben E Lou]

I'm looking forward to reading those posts in the developer's corner.To be clear, forum members will be able to read *and* respond. It's just that we're not looking for "me too," one-liners, or off-topic stuff--just additions to the discussion at hand.

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm cautiously optimistic about this change. It's good to be hosted by people who are excited about text sims and our discussion of them.

Over the decade or so since I've discovered this community, FOFC has drifted away from discussion of text sims, which has caused me to drift away from FOFC, because the off-topic items discussed here aren't of general interest to me. In addition, I've played less of text sims the past few years because (a) the major ones are making more evolutionary than revolutionary changes, (b) there aren't as many new ones as I would like, and (c) some of the new ones under development are less text-simmy than I would like.

Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah. I think introducing some people who are interested in text sims would inspire more topics (and more discussion of topics) on text sims, which might inspire a bright mind or two to develop a text sim I can really get excited about (I'm still waiting for Front Office NASCAR, hint hint).

[Ben E Lou]

There are also some additional benefits to this that I'm not yet at liberty to mention, but that will be revealed in due time.

With the new forum, we're going to add a new subforum called "Developer's Corner" under the FOF subforum. Every week or so, I will introduce a specific item relevant to developing football simulations.

We will have a panel consisting of Operation Sports staff members (including SkyDog) answering these questions, immediately, as they would like to see the item reflected in text-based simulations (I'll send the topic to them in email a day or two beforehand).

This is the first, but not the last. More to come. :)

[Passacaglia]

People who are blocked at work, try this:

http://75.126.153.96/forums/

Works for me!

[Ben E Lou]

Works for me!Cool. I've put it in the first post in this thread for reference, and I'll put it in the thread that is posted here tomorrow when we're up and running at OS.

[Eaglesfan27]

Serious props to the OS folks for doing that.

Absolutely. Very nice of them to take extra steps to make sure we don't lose work time posters.

[Ksyrup]

Hey all, my name is Tim Martin, and I'm one of the authors of the text sim articles that SkyDog posted what seems like 300 posts ago! Haha. Anyways, I'm on staff at OS and my focus, as it is, is on text games.

I've been lurking these boards for years, but with the recent news of the OS merger and an old article I did on text sims, I've been visiting FOFC quite frequently. Again, like the others, I look forward to discussing the text sims and other stuff with you all in the coming weeks and months.

Tim

Always good to have another Noles fan around here. Welcome!

[PackerFanatic]

Awesome news - and I can get there at work now. Hooray :)

[Flasch186]

I will continue to write the same way I always have:

totally coherent grammatically correct sentences that are very descriptive and formed in a way that anyone can understand what I mean.

[cartman]

I will continue to write the same way I always have:

totally coherent grammatically correct sentences that are very descriptive and formed in a way that anyone can understand what I mean.

Although comprehension is often enhanced with a flere diagram. :D

[RedHawk00]

I'm excited about the move. Operation Sports has been part of the text sim community since it debuted the same year I wrote the original Front Office Football.

This gives us the opportunity to introduce a new forum feature I've been thinking about for at least a couple of years.

With the new forum, we're going to add a new subforum called "Developer's Corner" under the FOF subforum. Every week or so, I will introduce a specific item relevant to developing football simulations.

We will have a panel consisting of Operation Sports staff members (including SkyDog) answering these questions, immediately, as they would like to see the item reflected in text-based simulations (I'll send the topic to them in email a day or two beforehand).

This subforum will be moderated very differently from the rest of the forum. For one, I'll be starting all the topics. And secondly, while these topics will be open for discussion, the idea is to create a living document, useful for my own future reference. So SkyDog will moderate them very closely to keep them specifically on topic. Hopefully, posts will not be lost.

I hope this becomes a regular and popular feature at the new forum. It will help me flesh out new ideas I have with Front Office Football. And I'm encouraged that it will give all of you some insight into simulation development and a chance to participate more formally in the process.

as a software developer in the non-gaming world, the insight and discussion will be very interesting... and hopefully i will be able to contribute.

[gottimd]

(I'm still waiting for Front Office NASCAR, hint hint).

FOF Nascar:
Your car went around in a circle 500 times. You lost.
Press to Sim Next Week.:D

It looks like I can get to Operation Sports..FOFC gets me through those slow days at work so thank god I still have access....for now.

[Ben E Lou]

Bump and un-stick.

[Buccaneer]

Is the plan for OS to create a separate category on their forums list for text sims and FOFC will be one of the sub-forums?

[daedalus]

Always good to have another Noles fan around here. Welcome!noop wasn't enough?

[Young Drachma]

Is the plan for OS to create a separate category on their forums list for text sims and FOFC will be one of the sub-forums?

No. If you go to OS, FOF Central is listed under Madden Mania.

[JonInMiddleGA]

No. If you go to OS, FOF Central is listed under Madden Mania.

Ouch.

[Icy]

Edit: moved to the issues thread.

[Barkeep49]

Because my school blocks OS and osatwork I've been using 75.126.153.96 at home which has helped me memorize the numbers. Unfortunately, the IP isn't working this morning.