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PostPosted: November 14th, 2010, 2:16 pm 
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Even though I wholeheartedly want to write "I agree" in response to this thread, two word posts are against the rules. :P Everything said here pretty much sums up my feelings (and probably 98% of the other members as well).

AU is in desperate need of some renovation - the layout specifically. I always used to get so excited when I saw that Arweb had put up a new layout and updated the site overall - and let's be honest, this blue was nice for a while but now it's just getting old and depressing. :confused:

I agree with the new mods idea though, and I think dedicated people like JF and Ea would be perfect (no offense to anyone else who wants the job) but they have really taken the responsibility to spearhead this Revival thing. And even just two new moderators could make a great difference here. Reduced spam, more new users, cleaned up threads - I can't find any downsides to it. With the right people leading, I don't think there would be any misuse of power. :no:

And I believe that a while ago, the moderators emailed all of the AUer's asking them to return to the forum or something like that; I think if we could do that, a lot more people would come back, see all of the improvements, and change their mind about leaving. :yes:

I think we should definitely bring these changes up to Arweb and the Mods, on Facebook or wherever they are most active. Just so they can at least know we haven't given up on this wonderful site <3


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PostPosted: November 16th, 2010, 9:12 am 
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I'm thinking we could message Arwen (email or facebook) with the things we want her say on. I don't know if she has followed our discussions here or on facebook. But we need to get hold on her.

So the things most of you mention is
- layout change and
- management
- the possibility of an update on the main site

Is there any other things we should take to Arwen in the first place, keeping in mind that she is most likely to be busy and doesn't have time to change/work a whole lot on the site.

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PostPosted: November 16th, 2010, 10:43 am 
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Well, we can let her know that there's a sort of committee working on these things. We can basically put a ton of stuff together and she'd just have to put it up, so it'd be easy on her.

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PostPosted: November 16th, 2010, 11:49 am 
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Yeah, I would let her know, that we really feel the need for the site to be re-vamped, and that many of us would be happy to do what she wants us to do (for example, get a script togethe etc if she hasn't the time) or do new stuff. Whatever way that makes it easier for her, but better for AU.

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PostPosted: November 16th, 2010, 4:52 pm 
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A draft.. comments and additions are welcome. :-)


Dear Arwen,

Congratulations! Arwen-undomiel.com has now welcomed its 26,000th member! Good job and well done!

But alas, if only it was so. It is true that we now have 26,000+ members and probaly more already, however, more than 99 percent (or 97 or 95 percent... I'm not entirely sure of the maths!) of the accounts are fake and created by spambots.

And this is only one example of the current situation on the forum. Many places could need a holiday cleaning, fresh flowers, and the occasional update. But A-U is far from a dead place, on the contrary, it is still a thriving community with very dedicated members.

A group of those dedicated members has taken action to breathe life into A-U again. We're brainstorming ideas, creating new threads and discussions, and reaching out to old members to return to A-U. We're on facebook with a new chat group and word has already spread to many oldies. We're already well on our way but we can not do this alone.

We need our beloved webmaster, we need you!!!

We have discussed it back and forth and we are fully aware that you are mighty busy. Many of us are in the same situation so we completely understand. But we wish to involve you in our talks and hear your opinion on it.

The main issues that we, the members, cannot address are alone are:
- New layout
- Management and maintenance
- Updates on the main page

Aaand we have suggestions to the solutions!

LAYOUT
We have many talented graphics makers amongst us and we have talked about the possibility to make a contest or a selection of layouts that you can chose from. A new layout would signal a revival of the boards, like having your room re-decorated and you feel like spending a lot more time there. Despite our love for the blue wintery A-U we would love to see Arwen dress up in other colours too.

MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE
We miss the staff, we miss our lovely moderators and we miss you! In fact, it looks like only Kitoky and the occasional Sidawethiel and sometimes a couple of others post on the forum. Naturally, we can't know if they still lurk around or do modding behind the scenes but our impression is that they are busy and have faded from A-U.
However, since we might not get you guys back, we need to address the situation. Somehow, we need new staff members. We know the decision is entirely yours to make but the lack of maintenance has become a serious problem. I think a lot of us would feel strange about having new moderators but we are in desperate need of people who can tidy the board, step up and take responsibility and so on.

UPDATES ON THE MAIN PAGE
The main page is A-U's face to the world. If the site could be updated we might attract new members in search of a LotR board to discuss The Hobbit with like-minded Ringers! An update of the main page can be everything from a complete make-over to just a short announcement that we're kickstarting the forum and this is the place to go! Many members here would be willing to help out with for example writing the texts or do other stuff.

In fact, our main point here is that a lot of these things can be done by members. All you have to do is let us know how we can help. We want A-U to live again and be a fun-filled, action-packed place to be!!

Thank you for listening and we're looking very much forward to your reply!

With much love from the members of A-U

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PostPosted: November 16th, 2010, 8:02 pm 
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Hey Friends!

Thanks so much for your comments, questions, concerns and all that stuff! I'm so happy that we have such caring, concerned and motivated members that want to help and promote the site the best they can! I don't know if there's anywhere quite like A-U, heck, I've pretty much grown up with a lot of you (in an online....type...growing up...)!

I know Arweb has been quite busy with life, but who hasn't been?! Anyway, I'll probably be speaking with her quite soon and I'll alert her of all of your concerns and will let her know a nice letter is coming her way about everything.

[x] Sidawethiel

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PostPosted: November 20th, 2010, 8:01 am 
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Thank you for posting Sida. :hug:
Do you have any comments on our discussion?


Does anyone else have something to say regarding the letter to Arwen? Otherwise, I'm gonna go ahead and fetch a carrier pigeon and send it on behalf of the A-U community... :)

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PostPosted: November 28th, 2010, 4:02 pm 
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Just wanted to let you know I messaged Arwen on facebook on behalf of the A-U community.

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PostPosted: December 7th, 2010, 5:54 pm 
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Yes, I have a comment.
Be aware the very things you propose have been presented several times. If you can pull off what members of the mod team have proposed in the past w/o success, great. Just a hint, though, in the past Arwen hasn't liked it when people suggest themselves as mods. In the past it's disqualified people.
I also know, from the inside, that some things started dying down when members stopped posting in the LotR section and focused on games/real life forum...I know of at least one who has told me she will return if it becomes active in LotR again.

I for one am willing to do some cleaning. Last time the mods tried to clean, last *several* times they tried to, a great noise went up from several members of the population and the project was abandoned- locking old threads, even more than a year old, resulted in an outcry. In order for things to flow as best they can even without Arwen's return, there needs to be peace between mods and regs in these areas.

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PostPosted: December 7th, 2010, 6:16 pm 
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^ What I remember of the last 'cleaning project' that it was received very well because of all the new threads that were created. I also remember that some active RPGs were closed, which was not really appreciated, but I can't recall that it wasn't a success. :)

And I think it's a very good idea to get more activity in the LotR section again, because that what's this forum is about. :)

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PostPosted: December 7th, 2010, 6:58 pm 
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Then, Will et al, I also propose that if you know the FB or emails of any of the mods, you also write personal appeals to individuals and let them know they are wanted/needed. I know this was about Arwen, but that'd be a step in the right direction and might also encourage her to come back. Hopefully.

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PostPosted: December 7th, 2010, 7:52 pm 
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Somehow I sense some tension in the last few posts. That's not good. We should solve these problems together. So lets not pick on each others posts and proposals. ;)

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PostPosted: December 8th, 2010, 5:32 am 
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Thank you all for engaging in the discussion and sharing your inputs. This is certainly a topic we all have an opinion on so I'm happy for your participation. :)

Well, my own opinion is that we should not dwell on the past, but let us learn from the past and take the best ideas and use them again in this present revival. The member base of A-U is never the same and the general average age grows with the members. So I don't think we should dismiss everything that has been done before. We might be able to use those ideas again.

I believe that everyone here accepts Arweb's and the mod team's authority and we should most definitely work together in this. We have great ressources and potential here. The threads I started and the responses they got reflect an equal part of frustration about the present state and an enthusiasm to help making this place thriving and lively again. And we are already well on our way.

I am confident that we can do this!


Ivreniel:: Reaching out to our mod team is a good idea. It would be great if more of you wanted to come back and help us getting the forum back on its feet. Perhaps you're still in contact with some of them? Or we could include the mods when we reach out to old members.

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PostPosted: December 8th, 2010, 6:08 pm 
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I am a firm believer in team work (lol, you should see the old weekly schedules I used to organize to get the mod team to divide the work evenly and smoothly!). You'll recall vividly how the quest to Mordor was not just completed by Frodo alone. Neither was putting Aragorn back on the throne of his forefathers. Reviving a forum, bringing fresh life, bringing back old faces, should be a team effort and I'm glad to see such interest in it.

Elegost, thank you for playing devil's advocate- as well as thank you for admitting that's what you were doing (it's important to let me know that as I can't read facial expression here). To answer: just because something isn't a *new* idea doesn't mean that bringing it forward is bad at all. On the contrary, sometimes it's like jumping in on a game of double-dutch: you have to turn that rope a few times before people jump in. Bills sometimes work this way, right? They are brought up for a vote, defeated, brought up with some tweaks, and pass. So when I said "Great" I meant that, Great! I'm glad you are all coming together to help revive Arwen-Undomiel.com/forum!

Ea, looks like you are putting a lot of hard work into this. Thank you very much. I was so encouraged to see your post here when I got back from Thanksgiving holiday travel.
As to contact, I am FB friends with a few still, and still skype with Arsarniel as she's my sister. She's one that I know would come back in she was encouraged by all of you and saw LotR life springing up in the form of active Hobbit discussion.

Plea to Members: if any of you are facebook friends with the old mods, please post on their facebook pages and encourage them to return.

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PostPosted: December 9th, 2010, 3:54 pm 
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Oooh yeah, I remember you were the organising mod!! :) Great to have you back!
Nice to see some posting on the LotR boards, especially on The Hobbit is picking up too.

Thanks Ivy, but I can't take credit for it. Actually, I only started a couple of threads and fortunately people were eager to help out. It's wonderful! :D

I really do hope that Arweb will show a sign a life soon though.


I started a Bringing the Oldies back-thread in Your Life. Go post, people!! Let's bring them back, everyone with a pulse really!! :P


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