Whats going on with Ultrashock

2009-04-25

I have noticed some changes here to the forums/community. For instance there used to be a listing of the most recent posts, what users were currently online, and statistics for how many users have been online at once. I'm not trying to create waves, but I really liked the listing of recent posts that was under the community tab.

Nutrox · 2009-04-25 #2

We are likely to see a lot more changes over the next few months.

John-B- · 2009-04-25 #3

So, what changes are going to be made over the next few months?

Nutrox · 2009-04-25 #4

That I do not know, but if I did know I probably wouldn't be allowed to tell you - in fact I'm not even sure if I should have said anything about seeing more changes. Miko will either kill me or give us the official info.

John-B- · 2009-04-26 #5

Hmm, killing Nutrox.........

Well, that might get a little messy and Ultrashock would lose a valuable member.

miko · 2009-04-26 #6

@Nutrox Dont worry mate, you did not release any particular info so it's all good. We have been running tests on the server to determine ways to decrease the load. We disabled a few scripts here and there and will put everything back to normal in the next day or so (although I will need to confirm this with Peter). We are currently working on USV3 with many significant changes and upgrades. I will not say anything more for now since we'd prefer to suprise everyone. I myself cannot wait to surf the new site, it is much cleaner in both design and function. Peter really got it right

John-B- · 2009-04-26 #7

USV3?!?! Wow!

Can't wait to see what changes await us here!

nrg · 2009-04-27 #8

The "Latest Updates" box is back, but only for registered users for now.

Micropixel · 2009-04-27 #9

Forums look cleaner now. Definitely easier for new guys. If I was about to suggest one thing to Ultrashock it would be: put BombShock on front page and decide at least one/two sites per month to receive the award.

BTW: Loved USv1, love USv2, will love USv3 (and hope it's not called Beta just because everything "modern" is Beta).

jaseinatl · 2009-04-27 #10

I'm shocked by the lack of posts proclaiming yogurt-flavored goodness in the mix for USV3. I'm hoping for a tighter sense of community again. I feel somehow out of touch with USV2. I've even bought some stuff and still don't quite have the sense of "belonging" I did with USV1--nothing compelling really. But I am sure it's me cause USv2 is tight and pretty and not at all yogurty like we were led to believe.
jase

Nutrox · 2009-04-27 #11

I still have no idea what the yogurt thing is all about.

BVX · 2009-04-28 #12

jaseinatl, I feel the same way. No idea what yogurt has to do with US, but for me USv2 is a bit colder than the good old v1. Of course, flash is no more as "flashy" as it was several years ago, but still... maybe it's because v2 is Flex-based. Also, it's like the forum is no more the central component of ultrashock.com - i'd prefer the creative assets to have their own dedicated site so that US can be more focused on the community.

jaseinatl · 2009-04-28 #13

BVX, the yogurty goodness to which I refer comes from the Ulta-long thread we had just before (for about two years running) we were given USv2. I figure it was something akin to the WII game Raising Rabbids TV Party edition..you know the Fashion Victim game where you have to dress your Rabbid and then he gets judged on qualities like "water proofness" or "yogurty smoothness" or something like that (all of which are really difficult to dress for) At least I think that's what everyone was talking about.

Thanks for the post, I agree about the division between Ultra-Commerce and Ultra-Community. I support the commerce side, but miss the community side. But again, it may just be my own laziness, so I try not to blame USv2. Doesn't keep me from hoping USV3 will bring the focus back to the people, not their items for sale. -jase

Artofacks1 · 2009-04-30 #14

I miss the PS battles :-(

Flashawy · 2009-05-01 #15

well .. i know my visits to the site reduced to may be 25% as it was with USv1.0 !!
and i think posts are not getting replies as it was before .. does your statistics say it still the same or increased ?? .. not the number of members .. but the ratio of new posts&replies per day

waiting for USv3 .. but i know that will take long long time .. i remember we knew about USv2 and was waiting for it before it comes with may be 2 years .. so i am not gonna promise my self with anything to see soon !!

Nutrox · 2009-05-02 #16

Quote: Originally Posted by Flashawy

well .. i know my visits to the site reduced to may be 25% as it was with USv1.0 !!
and i think posts are not getting replies as it was before .. does your statistics say it still the same or increased ?? .. not the number of members .. but the ratio of new posts&replies per day

One of the reasons for that is most of the regular users who used to answer questions have turned their backs on Ultrashock, I won't mention names but anyone who has been around long enough will have an idea of who I'm referring to - being "busy" is no excuse either, I manage to find time. Another reason is greed, users who are always asking questions but never answering any.

IMO if you learn something from a community like Ultrashock then you should put something back into it.

jaseinatl · 2009-05-02 #17

Nutrox, could you run some numbers for us?

Perhaps it would be nice to see the number of posts per user on USV1 and plot them to the number of posts each user has made on USV2. I have several old hard drives which undoubtedly have cached USv1 pages where I could lookup some regular poster's post counts. Then take those numbers and divide by years as members and compare the posts/year figure on USv1 to USv2.

Then, if you see a sudden dropoff like I suspect you will (as indicated by Flashawy), perhaps we can figure out the root of the problem. I mean did everyone suddenly become greedy, "busy", or unwilling to help; turning their back on Ultrashock for some unknown reason that just happened to coincide with the introduction of USV2?

Or did the new "you wanna menu, $20" attitude present in the very commercial USv2 alienate people who still believe that knowledge wants to be free and that if you are going to pay for something, it takes out the joy of learning it for yourself.

Or is it that people who were regular posters (participating in both sides of the Question/Answer and discussion forums) felt disoriented and upon trying to find the "community" that they once experienced, they became even more disillusioned and without Nutrox's superhuman conviction, dropped off for a while.

I know for me, I got left behind. I do all my work in AS2.0 because I don't have time to learn AS3.0 and it seems that there was a sudden break that happened right around USv2...either you were on the AS3.0 bus or you weren't. With the majority of AS questions being 3.0 and most of the AS2.0 questions having been answered (a dozen or so times)...I'm no help to anyone. You can see where that would make it seem like I was "turning my back" on Ultrashock, when really, I was just helping to cut loose some dead weight till I catch up.

I still have my undying allegiance to USv.anything (as I am sure all of the old poster's or alienated members do as well). Furthermore, I appreciate having an open place to say, without fear of being called a deserter....

I hope that the focus for USv3 is back on the community. In fact, I support the notion that USv3 should separate the commercial side of things--leave that open to the public. Have separate support forums for the public and commercial purchases through US. Gooooood. But restore some of the integrity and some of the feeling of community by giving members a communal place that is just for members--just for people who want to participate or have something to say or learn.

Boy do I type a lot. Sorry folks. One last thing: I guess that the open nature of USV1 so sharply contrasted the commercial, "you wanna make a menu, $20" feeling of USv2. I think they can live in harmony as separate units, but together, it just feels like US sold out when it went commercial.

Just my humble two cents worth.

Jase

John-B- · 2009-05-03 #18

Man! I didn't know I was starting a war!

Nutrox · 2009-05-03 #19

War? Where? [nutrox runs to get his big stick]

BVX · 2009-05-06 #20

I actually think that this is a great post. I guess the question has crossed the mind of many users. We have to acknowledge that there is a problem with v2 so that the same mistake will not be repeated. I also have to agree with Nutrox about 'giving back' - I will personally try to help with what I can.

PS: Anyone else experiencing slow loading of the forums? Since it's not hyper activity could it be that 2A's hosting is underperforming..?

nrg · 2009-05-06 #21

I have been following this and all posts concerning the 'under-performing' topics that have popped up since the relaunch of our website. Let me express first that we do appreciate these posts, but it usually really comes down to one thing: giving back to the community. Nutrox is somehow right about that

Giving back doesn't mean you need to buy or sell assets by default, it just means actively participating, whether it be giving constructive replies, starting new interesting talks, or even start up a new Photoshop battle instead of waiting until someone else takes the initiative.

It's a hard fact that times have changed: 10 to 5 years ago, there were no such things as blogs or social networks, it usually came down to just a few focused forums (or newsgroups) to gather information and spread your ideas. Nowadays the focus is totally scattered amongst imho ego-centric and social sites like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. People in general also have less time, early Flash 'masters' are fully occupied these days or run big companies and personal blogs.

v2 was the next thing Miko and I had to do in order to let Ultrashock survive. By going 'commercial' (that's not really how we see it though) we gave the community a marketplace, so the community itself can make money, and we generate an income to support the massive resources needed to run a site like Ultrashock.

It's interesting to note that forum posting activity decreased indeed a lot for our site, while the visitors went up big time thanks to better SEO. I still disagree on comments like "the forums have been put aside" cause when compared to v1, nothing structural changed. In v1 we also had assets, although free, and the forums also just linked from the homepage, and weren't the main focus on the homepage just like we have it now.

Another stat I want to share is that at the end, in regards to free(v1)/commercial(v2) downloads versus forum activity nothing really changed: It's a shocking statistic to some, but we have a lot more people who actively buy and download files than people who actively participate on our forums.

But, as with everything in this world, anything can always be improved. Our main focus for v3 will still be the marketplace, with better features and usability (no more Flex this time), author support, free downloads again, etc... We will even give any member who doesn't have the time to make or sell files a chance to make money (which can be payed out or used on assets), by providing an interesting referral program.

And no, we're not forgetting about our forums or community in v3, and want to try out a new approach for them. Some ideas we are playing around with are: a dedicated forum homepage so visitors can clearly see what is going on, customizable profile pages where you can link to your own assets / blogs / twitter / facebook accounts etc.

Any input for the future forums is still welcome as it's still in a design stage atm, so take the opportunity NOW to let us know what you would like to see, and what actions we need to take in order to revive posting activity again.

SightStorm · 2009-05-06 #22

Sounds exciting!
"We will even give any member who doesn't have the time to make or sell files a chance to make money (which can be payed out or used on assets), by providing an interesting referral program." - this will be fun to see.

lunibin · 2009-05-06 #23

wow...V3 being built...I've been away long

John-B- · 2009-05-06 #24

Quote: Originally Posted by BVX

PS: Anyone else experiencing slow loading of the forums? Since it's not hyper activity could it be that 2A's hosting is underperforming..?

I have noticed this as well. This thread certainly has been interesting to say the least. I have noticed that some members complain about the site not being driven to the forums. I think nrg has addressed this thoroughly, but when USv2 went live I changed my bookmark to directly go the forums instead of the homepage. I think many members here could do the same if the homepage bothers them, which would be a quick fix for them.

As for myself I can't wait to see what version 3 holds for us and new members. This industry is an ever changing one and we must adapt with this evolving technology. With that said I don't think that anyone here is going to expect a site like v1. I believe it is like nrg said there are a lot of egocentric and social sites out there. It is those self serving sites that are killing communities like this one. Those sites are more focused on the self rather than giving to others. I am not saying that everyone that uses those sites is self absorbed but it seems that the overall majority likely is.

PS: Did Nutrox ever get his big stick??

Nutrox · 2009-05-06 #25

Has anyone seen my big stick laying around anywhere? I'm sure I used it on a spammer recently but I can't find it.

BVX · 2009-05-06 #26

Nutrox, you know what they say about men with "big sticks"...

Nutrox · 2009-05-07 #27

Quote: Originally Posted by BVX

Nutrox, you know what they say about men with "big sticks"...

ROFL. And so it begins, inevitable discussion degradation to the level of man sausage.

Nutrox · 2009-05-07 #28

I've just read through this thread again and wanted to pickup on something mentioned by nrg and John B.

I don't think the egocentric nature of social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and personal blogs are killing Ultrashock-ish communities, but I do think the amount of time people spend (waste) browsing/using those sites contributes to the killing. In my mind the biggest problem seems to be a serious lack of member dedication, we do have some dedicated members here but not enough to keep the famous Ultrashock community alive. Just like a real-world community an online community can't exist without dedicated members. Imagine if 95% of the people in your town started living and working away from home six days a week, you would find yourself living in a dark 'n' dingy ghost town after a while.

Micropixel · 2009-05-07 #29

To be honest, this is not just about Ultrashock. It's the problem of every forum I can see. Even my forums about fighting games are being emptier and emptier. People addicted to Facebook, well, everyone uses that, why not. At least you're in touch with people you would never be without FB.

People don't contribute very much, aren't very loyal to websites, etc. The forums would have to have something really specific for the industry they represent. For example Ultrashock would have every member able to post his company information, which industries do they work in, which software do they use and their offer to potential customers. Not to make it spammy like MySpace or Facebook, the top listed members would be those who contribute the most. Not to be spammy, it would come out of rating by other members, which would be only senior members to avoid registration-spam (for example, be here for more than 3/6 months is enough)

So you contribute -> get you contribution ranked by senior members -> places your company offer higher.

Top contributions may be written in some resource blog, whatever. Everything like this is up for discussion. Ultrashock was always better than other 'template forums'. Now it's the time to go a step ahead of others, again - and I'd love to see that happen.

Nutrox · 2009-05-07 #30

Nice post Micropixel, it gets us away from the "why has this happened" and back to the "what can be done about it".

I would like to see better profile pages with as much attention to detail as the rest of the site. That would be quite fun and would also make things feel a lot more personal (cosy), at the moment the profile pages seem very cold.

The Adobe forum has a nice points feature, the creator of a thread can give members (who reply to the thread) points. There is one "correct answer" 10-pointer that can be given, and two "helpful answer" 5-pointers that can be given... something like that anyway. Maybe if that idea was implemented at Ultrashock we could have it so X amount of points opened up additional features to the member, nothing insane, just some kind of bonus like additional profile functionality or more PM space (or more file attachment space) etc.

idomain · 2009-05-11 #31

Is members' blog still exist in Ultrashock? I have already spent quite awhile trying to find it here. Apparently my Blog settings button on right doesn't work too.

But hey, good luck with the next version!

jaseinatl · 2009-05-14 #32

Hey all, I wanted to post a clarification to something I muttered out earlier: I do not feel let down by USv2 and I don't feel that the creators of USV.anything have failed, or even fallen short on anything.

I would rather have US around in V2 format than to not have US at all and I can see how this commercial side of things is essential for keeping US alive. Heck, although I doubt that you guys are getting rich off of USv2, I would be psyched if you were--you deserve it.

If I somehow communicated that I was unhappy with Ultrashock or that I felt that you guys messed up, please understand that I was taking for granted the utility and the overall quality not only of this site, but of the contribution of its members (old and new). To my best perception, I figured we were all starting from the same point of humble appreciation and discussing it from there. If I did not communicate that, I apologize.

For me, it's like savoring a juicy steak that was cooked a little more well-done than the medium rare you were expecting. It's still a steak, for crying out loud. So I didn't really feel like we were bashing US or complaining as much as we were suggesting that the next steak we would like to have a little more pink in the center, but not bleeding.

Your hard work and this amazing community that you started is one of my most cherished parts of the web and words alone could not express my respect for the founders and current members of this great community.

Perhaps you should do a small mailing to some of the old members to bring them back into the fold...I doubt that anyone has turned their back or grown unappreciative of US. Maybe all we need to do is to touch base with them and invite them back for some witty discussion. I have always been a fan of group activities, maybe we could do a group project together?

Jase

000 · 2009-05-15 #33

US has been my browser's homepage since 2002 when I joined. So I hope that says something.

nrg · 2009-05-15 #34

@000: Cool, that means you aren't the typical Joe that thinks msn.com is a feature when you are starting up your browser

@jaseinatl: thanks for the inspiring steak comparison! I'd rather have mine well done

Looking back to the near future, Nutrox' wish is already granted: we are working on great looking profile pages, which can be customized and commented on. It won't be a blog anymore though...

The next thing on our radar is a drastic restructuring of our forums, and coming up with a total different design approach.

Isocase · 2009-05-15 #35

Awesome! Even though US does seem a bit quite I am happy that there are still people here with different levels of AS3 knowledge that I can learn from

idomain · 2009-05-17 #36

I don't really feel too bad with USV2 either, compared to USV1, it's indeed alot of changes around, for the better I felt. More stuff to offer and more contemporary looks as well. The only thing I felt bit down is the amount of restrictions with the forum. It's really to do with the invisible restrictions. Ads are fine I felt, it's kinda necessary these days for commercial sites, the good side of this here is not as over killed as alot of other design sites around.

*cough* US has never really made to my homepage, but it did spent quite a long while sitting on my #1 bookmark on the browser "still" as part of most visited section. Anyway, I guess I'm little part of the missing member from time to time here, suppose the actual why is that I've got much much less time which I can afford compared to a few years ago when I first started here - while still a full-time student. Perhaps, that many missing names here might just have to do with far too many design related sites and forums around these days than 4~5 years ago, plus working really hard to beat its tough economic situations... But hey, long live Ultrashock!

midnite · 2009-07-02 #37

i miss ultrabot

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	Ultrashock Forums > Lounge > Random Chat • Whats going on with Ultrashock


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	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-04-25 #2
	We are likely to see a lot more changes over the next few months.

	John-B-	2009-04-25 #3
	So, what changes are going to be made over the next few months?

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-04-25 #4
	That I do not know, but if I did know I probably wouldn't be allowed to tell you - in fact I'm not even sure if I should have said anything about seeing more changes. Miko will either kill me or give us the official info.

	John-B-	2009-04-26 #5
	Hmm, killing Nutrox......... Well, that might get a little messy and Ultrashock would lose a valuable member.

	miko a lot of Creative Assets	2009-04-26 #6
	@Nutrox Dont worry mate, you did not release any particular info so it's all good. We have been running tests on the server to determine ways to decrease the load. We disabled a few scripts here and there and will put everything back to normal in the next day or so (although I will need to confirm this with Peter). We are currently working on USV3 with many significant changes and upgrades. I will not say anything more for now since we'd prefer to suprise everyone. I myself cannot wait to surf the new site, it is much cleaner in both design and function. Peter really got it right

	John-B-	2009-04-26 #7
	USV3?!?! Wow! Can't wait to see what changes await us here!

	nrg 11 Creative Assets	2009-04-27 #8
	The "Latest Updates" box is back, but only for registered users for now.

	Micropixel	2009-04-27 #9
	Forums look cleaner now. Definitely easier for new guys. If I was about to suggest one thing to Ultrashock it would be: put BombShock on front page and decide at least one/two sites per month to receive the award. BTW: Loved USv1, love USv2, will love USv3 (and hope it's not called Beta just because everything "modern" is Beta).

	jaseinatl	2009-04-27 #10
	I'm shocked by the lack of posts proclaiming yogurt-flavored goodness in the mix for USV3. I'm hoping for a tighter sense of community again. I feel somehow out of touch with USV2. I've even bought some stuff and still don't quite have the sense of "belonging" I did with USV1--nothing compelling really. But I am sure it's me cause USv2 is tight and pretty and not at all yogurty like we were led to believe. jase

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-04-27 #11
	I still have no idea what the yogurt thing is all about.

	BVX	2009-04-28 #12
	jaseinatl, I feel the same way. No idea what yogurt has to do with US, but for me USv2 is a bit colder than the good old v1. Of course, flash is no more as "flashy" as it was several years ago, but still... maybe it's because v2 is Flex-based. Also, it's like the forum is no more the central component of ultrashock.com - i'd prefer the creative assets to have their own dedicated site so that US can be more focused on the community.

	jaseinatl	2009-04-28 #13
	BVX, the yogurty goodness to which I refer comes from the Ulta-long thread we had just before (for about two years running) we were given USv2. I figure it was something akin to the WII game Raising Rabbids TV Party edition..you know the Fashion Victim game where you have to dress your Rabbid and then he gets judged on qualities like "water proofness" or "yogurty smoothness" or something like that (all of which are really difficult to dress for) At least I think that's what everyone was talking about. Thanks for the post, I agree about the division between Ultra-Commerce and Ultra-Community. I support the commerce side, but miss the community side. But again, it may just be my own laziness, so I try not to blame USv2. Doesn't keep me from hoping USV3 will bring the focus back to the people, not their items for sale. -jase

	Flashawy	2009-05-01 #15
	well .. i know my visits to the site reduced to may be 25% as it was with USv1.0 !! and i think posts are not getting replies as it was before .. does your statistics say it still the same or increased ?? .. not the number of members .. but the ratio of new posts&replies per day waiting for USv3 .. but i know that will take long long time .. i remember we knew about USv2 and was waiting for it before it comes with may be 2 years .. so i am not gonna promise my self with anything to see soon !!

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-05-02 #16
	Quote: Originally Posted by Flashawy well .. i know my visits to the site reduced to may be 25% as it was with USv1.0 !! and i think posts are not getting replies as it was before .. does your statistics say it still the same or increased ?? .. not the number of members .. but the ratio of new posts&replies per day One of the reasons for that is most of the regular users who used to answer questions have turned their backs on Ultrashock, I won't mention names but anyone who has been around long enough will have an idea of who I'm referring to - being "busy" is no excuse either, I manage to find time. Another reason is greed, users who are always asking questions but never answering any. IMO if you learn something from a community like Ultrashock then you should put something back into it.

	jaseinatl	2009-05-02 #17
	Nutrox, could you run some numbers for us? Perhaps it would be nice to see the number of posts per user on USV1 and plot them to the number of posts each user has made on USV2. I have several old hard drives which undoubtedly have cached USv1 pages where I could lookup some regular poster's post counts. Then take those numbers and divide by years as members and compare the posts/year figure on USv1 to USv2. Then, if you see a sudden dropoff like I suspect you will (as indicated by Flashawy), perhaps we can figure out the root of the problem. I mean did everyone suddenly become greedy, "busy", or unwilling to help; turning their back on Ultrashock for some unknown reason that just happened to coincide with the introduction of USV2? Or did the new "you wanna menu, $20" attitude present in the very commercial USv2 alienate people who still believe that knowledge wants to be free and that if you are going to pay for something, it takes out the joy of learning it for yourself. Or is it that people who were regular posters (participating in both sides of the Question/Answer and discussion forums) felt disoriented and upon trying to find the "community" that they once experienced, they became even more disillusioned and without Nutrox's superhuman conviction, dropped off for a while. I know for me, I got left behind. I do all my work in AS2.0 because I don't have time to learn AS3.0 and it seems that there was a sudden break that happened right around USv2...either you were on the AS3.0 bus or you weren't. With the majority of AS questions being 3.0 and most of the AS2.0 questions having been answered (a dozen or so times)...I'm no help to anyone. You can see where that would make it seem like I was "turning my back" on Ultrashock, when really, I was just helping to cut loose some dead weight till I catch up. I still have my undying allegiance to USv.anything (as I am sure all of the old poster's or alienated members do as well). Furthermore, I appreciate having an open place to say, without fear of being called a deserter.... I hope that the focus for USv3 is back on the community. In fact, I support the notion that USv3 should separate the commercial side of things--leave that open to the public. Have separate support forums for the public and commercial purchases through US. Gooooood. But restore some of the integrity and some of the feeling of community by giving members a communal place that is just for members--just for people who want to participate or have something to say or learn. Boy do I type a lot. Sorry folks. One last thing: I guess that the open nature of USV1 so sharply contrasted the commercial, "you wanna make a menu, $20" feeling of USv2. I think they can live in harmony as separate units, but together, it just feels like US sold out when it went commercial. Just my humble two cents worth. Jase

	John-B-	2009-05-03 #18
	Man! I didn't know I was starting a war!

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-05-03 #19
	War? Where? [nutrox runs to get his big stick]

	BVX	2009-05-06 #20
	I actually think that this is a great post. I guess the question has crossed the mind of many users. We have to acknowledge that there is a problem with v2 so that the same mistake will not be repeated. I also have to agree with Nutrox about 'giving back' - I will personally try to help with what I can. PS: Anyone else experiencing slow loading of the forums? Since it's not hyper activity could it be that 2A's hosting is underperforming..?

	nrg 11 Creative Assets	2009-05-06 #21
	Last edited by nrg : 2009-05-06 at 07:22. I have been following this and all posts concerning the 'under-performing' topics that have popped up since the relaunch of our website. Let me express first that we do appreciate these posts, but it usually really comes down to one thing: giving back to the community. Nutrox is somehow right about that Giving back doesn't mean you need to buy or sell assets by default, it just means actively participating, whether it be giving constructive replies, starting new interesting talks, or even start up a new Photoshop battle instead of waiting until someone else takes the initiative. It's a hard fact that times have changed: 10 to 5 years ago, there were no such things as blogs or social networks, it usually came down to just a few focused forums (or newsgroups) to gather information and spread your ideas. Nowadays the focus is totally scattered amongst imho ego-centric and social sites like Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. People in general also have less time, early Flash 'masters' are fully occupied these days or run big companies and personal blogs. v2 was the next thing Miko and I had to do in order to let Ultrashock survive. By going 'commercial' (that's not really how we see it though) we gave the community a marketplace, so the community itself can make money, and we generate an income to support the massive resources needed to run a site like Ultrashock. It's interesting to note that forum posting activity decreased indeed a lot for our site, while the visitors went up big time thanks to better SEO. I still disagree on comments like "the forums have been put aside" cause when compared to v1, nothing structural changed. In v1 we also had assets, although free, and the forums also just linked from the homepage, and weren't the main focus on the homepage just like we have it now. Another stat I want to share is that at the end, in regards to free(v1)/commercial(v2) downloads versus forum activity nothing really changed: It's a shocking statistic to some, but we have a lot more people who actively buy and download files than people who actively participate on our forums. But, as with everything in this world, anything can always be improved. Our main focus for v3 will still be the marketplace, with better features and usability (no more Flex this time), author support, free downloads again, etc... We will even give any member who doesn't have the time to make or sell files a chance to make money (which can be payed out or used on assets), by providing an interesting referral program. And no, we're not forgetting about our forums or community in v3, and want to try out a new approach for them. Some ideas we are playing around with are: a dedicated forum homepage so visitors can clearly see what is going on, customizable profile pages where you can link to your own assets / blogs / twitter / facebook accounts etc. Any input for the future forums is still welcome as it's still in a design stage atm, so take the opportunity NOW to let us know what you would like to see, and what actions we need to take in order to revive posting activity again.

	SightStorm	2009-05-06 #22
	Sounds exciting! "We will even give any member who doesn't have the time to make or sell files a chance to make money (which can be payed out or used on assets), by providing an interesting referral program." - this will be fun to see.

	lunibin	2009-05-06 #23
	wow...V3 being built...I've been away long

	John-B-	2009-05-06 #24
	Quote: Originally Posted by BVX PS: Anyone else experiencing slow loading of the forums? Since it's not hyper activity could it be that 2A's hosting is underperforming..? I have noticed this as well. This thread certainly has been interesting to say the least. I have noticed that some members complain about the site not being driven to the forums. I think nrg has addressed this thoroughly, but when USv2 went live I changed my bookmark to directly go the forums instead of the homepage. I think many members here could do the same if the homepage bothers them, which would be a quick fix for them. As for myself I can't wait to see what version 3 holds for us and new members. This industry is an ever changing one and we must adapt with this evolving technology. With that said I don't think that anyone here is going to expect a site like v1. I believe it is like nrg said there are a lot of egocentric and social sites out there. It is those self serving sites that are killing communities like this one. Those sites are more focused on the self rather than giving to others. I am not saying that everyone that uses those sites is self absorbed but it seems that the overall majority likely is. PS: Did Nutrox ever get his big stick??

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-05-06 #25
	Has anyone seen my big stick laying around anywhere? I'm sure I used it on a spammer recently but I can't find it.

	BVX	2009-05-06 #26
	Nutrox, you know what they say about men with "big sticks"...

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-05-07 #27
	Quote: Originally Posted by BVX Nutrox, you know what they say about men with "big sticks"... ROFL. And so it begins, inevitable discussion degradation to the level of man sausage.

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-05-07 #28
	I've just read through this thread again and wanted to pickup on something mentioned by nrg and John B. I don't think the egocentric nature of social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and personal blogs are killing Ultrashock-ish communities, but I do think the amount of time people spend (waste) browsing/using those sites contributes to the killing. In my mind the biggest problem seems to be a serious lack of member dedication, we do have some dedicated members here but not enough to keep the famous Ultrashock community alive. Just like a real-world community an online community can't exist without dedicated members. Imagine if 95% of the people in your town started living and working away from home six days a week, you would find yourself living in a dark 'n' dingy ghost town after a while.

	Micropixel	2009-05-07 #29
	To be honest, this is not just about Ultrashock. It's the problem of every forum I can see. Even my forums about fighting games are being emptier and emptier. People addicted to Facebook, well, everyone uses that, why not. At least you're in touch with people you would never be without FB. People don't contribute very much, aren't very loyal to websites, etc. The forums would have to have something really specific for the industry they represent. For example Ultrashock would have every member able to post his company information, which industries do they work in, which software do they use and their offer to potential customers. Not to make it spammy like MySpace or Facebook, the top listed members would be those who contribute the most. Not to be spammy, it would come out of rating by other members, which would be only senior members to avoid registration-spam (for example, be here for more than 3/6 months is enough) So you contribute -> get you contribution ranked by senior members -> places your company offer higher. Top contributions may be written in some resource blog, whatever. Everything like this is up for discussion. Ultrashock was always better than other 'template forums'. Now it's the time to go a step ahead of others, again - and I'd love to see that happen.

	Nutrox 17 Creative Assets	2009-05-07 #30
	Nice post Micropixel, it gets us away from the "why has this happened" and back to the "what can be done about it". I would like to see better profile pages with as much attention to detail as the rest of the site. That would be quite fun and would also make things feel a lot more personal (cosy), at the moment the profile pages seem very cold. The Adobe forum has a nice points feature, the creator of a thread can give members (who reply to the thread) points. There is one "correct answer" 10-pointer that can be given, and two "helpful answer" 5-pointers that can be given... something like that anyway. Maybe if that idea was implemented at Ultrashock we could have it so X amount of points opened up additional features to the member, nothing insane, just some kind of bonus like additional profile functionality or more PM space (or more file attachment space) etc.