What keeps you coming back? What keeps you away? What would you like to see?

[Hibou]

Well, when I said a change in color, I didn't really specify. I just find the white and grey or white on black with the light blue links and stuff somewhat hard to read, and think it would be cooler if the background was black or a very dark grey.

[Epic Meepo]

Please no black backgrounds with white text. Text should be darker than the background.

EDIT: I'm not trying to be contrary. I just go half-blind every time I read something over at ENWorld, then switch back to a normal website with a non-dark background.

[Hibou]

Naw, not white text. White text is just as awful. More like a dark grey or something.

[Matt Larkin (author)]

In the long term, black text on a light background is easiest to read (unless the letters are real big, then it's the reverse). At least that's what I've been told by my designer friend based on research, and I tend to agree.

Reading light text on a dark background can be fatiguing for more than very short posts.

[Jharviss]

I concur.  I had a light text on dark background on my site for the longest time, and then I switched over to a black on gray, and it is so much easier to read.  It may look less "cool" or what-have-you, but it is certainly easier on the eyes.

[Tangential]

# What is the most important aspect of this site that keeps you coming back?
The community here is both tight-nit and inclusive intelligent and human. This is a careful and unique facet that draws my attention more than any technology or contest ever could.

# What is the most unique feature of this site?
The original hosting bundled with forums. Now it would have to be the campaign wikis. But honestly the CBG is quite diffrent than the 'majority
 of other forums out there. It's software is rarely seen, especially to the level of customization that we appreciate. And heck I'd say the Tavern is also up there. Four answers for the price of one, how's that?

# What is the most interesting conversation you've ever had on this site?
Honestly, I haven't become involved in many discussions, but the sheer craziness and stretching of a lot of the discussions here are pretty darn interesting. Right now I'd say that Can We Talk About Magic is a riot.

# What has been your favorite contest or event on this site?
I have paid attention to most of the contests, but honestly none of them have captured by imagination.

# How have you benefited the site since you became a member?
I have made a friend. I have received valuable mechanical advice on a prestige class. A handful of crucial questions for the development of a campaign of mine were posed.

# How many times have you participated in a unique CBG feature (Showcase, the Guide, CeBeGia, etc)? How did you contribute?
I am in the processes of contributing to CeBeGia, but really I haven't.

# If you have never contributed to a unique CBG feature, is there a particular reason why?
The internet is a big place. Gaming and creation has a big place in my life. My life has a big place in my life. All together this means that what (substantial) time I do spend participating in community is focused on places where I am inundated with responsibilities. In the future I hope to be able to shift more of my focus towards this community.

# Have you ever said you were going to contribute in some way to the Guide, CeBeGia, or Showcase, and then never followed through?
No. Although I have been slow in getting together my piece for CeBeGia.

# As a best guess, what percentage of your posts do you believe is asking for help on your personal campaign setting?
30%

# As a best guess, what percentage of your posts do you believe is helping other CBGers with their personal campaign setting?
40%

# Do you visit the other Alliance sites (PlotStorming.com, CartographersGuild.com)?
Yes. I occasionally pop into PlotStorming and have participated in contests there. I frequent the CartographersGuild when I am in a mapping mood.

# Do you use another site for most of your campaign setting needs (WotC, gleemax, rpgspaces, eruvian, etc)?
This is a nebulous question. For my campaign setting needs I firmly, only use the CBG and my own site Dotradical for asundry notes. I use Dicefreaks, GitP, Planewalker, zompist (a language site), my own site, and I'll admit it WotC for other purposes.

# If so, what features do those sites have that the CBG doesn't have?
None. And this extends to sites I use for other gaming purposes, the CBG is really blows other sites out of the water.

# If you were part of the Opal Council, what ideas would you have for making the site more interesting?
Community "holidays" or online "conventions" are vogue these days. Possibly expand the number and scope of forums.

# If you were part of the Opal Council, what site features would you do away with or just put aside as unimportant?
I wouldn't sacrifice any verisimilitude that has grown up. If you are looking for something to get rid of though, the least important to me is probably the polling.

# Have you ever had a contest idea that you wish the CBG would do?
Certainly. Will I elaborate on it now? No.

# Have you ever had what you thought of as a great conversation starter, and started a new thread only to find no one interested?
Not the CBG. Believe it or not I'm sort of shy about starting topics unless I'm sure they're relevant.

# Have you ever been really mad at the site, the Opal Council, or the other members of the CBG, in such a way that you didn't come back for awhile?
Haha. No.

# Have you ever gone away from the site for months at a time, then returned to posting normally?
Nope. But neither have I been fulling involved all of the time.

# Have you ever seen any unfair rulings of any sort on the site (threads being moved or removed, moderators stepping in when they shouldn't, etc)?
Nope.

# If you could pick one thing on the site that should be expanded on and made more important, what would it be?

# What do you think of the look of the site?
It's pretty...cabbag-ey. Perhaps offer alternate "skins"? That said, I don't find it mind-blowingly offensive and evil ot gaze upon (I'm looking at you Gleemax. Grrrrrr.)

[khyron1144]

What is the most important aspect of this site that keeps you coming back?
It's the easiset place to find my homebrew world of Tera.  It might exist on WotC's boards someplace, but I don't want to scroll bakc through all those pages.

What is the most unique feature of this site?
The community itself.


What is the most interesting conversation you've ever had on this site?
Probably something in the Dragon's Den, but I couldn't pinpoint a specific thread.




What has been your favorite contest or event on this site?
The Tavern contest.


How have you benefited the site since you became a member?
I got some good reviews when I first posted Tera that got me to finish the history.

How many times have you participated in a unique CBG feature (Showcase, the Guide, CeBeGia, etc)? How did you contribute?
I entered two contests.

If you have never contributed to a unique CBG feature, is there a particular reason why?
They sounded like cool ideas for contests and things that would really add something to my setting, if I flesshed out an entry.

Have you ever said you were going to contribute in some way to the Guide, CeBeGia, or Showcase, and then never followed through?
No.


As a best guess, what percentage of your posts do you believe is asking for help on your personal campaign setting?
0.01%  

As a best guess, what percentage of your posts do you believe is helping other CBGers with their personal campaign setting?
0.01%


Do you visit the other Alliance sites (PlotStorming.com, CartographersGuild.com)?
No.

Do you use another site for most of your campaign setting needs (WotC, gleemax, rpgspaces, eruvian, etc)?
No.

If so, what features do those sites have that the CBG doesn't have?


If you were part of the Opal Council, what ideas would you have for making the site more interesting?
I don't know.

If you were part of the Opal Council, what site features would you do away with or just put aside as unimportant?
None of them; I'm sure everthing is liked by someone.


Have you ever had a contest idea that you wish the CBG would do?
I don't know what's already been done before, but I do have a contest idea.

Have you ever had what you thought of as a great conversation starter, and started a new thread only to find no one interested?
A few times.  I'm surprised greybeards & Grognards hasn't done as well here as theu did on ENworld.


Have you ever been really mad at the site, the Opal Council, or the other members of the CBG, in such a way that you didn't come back for awhile?
No.

Have you ever gone away from the site for months at a time, then returned to posting normally?
Kinda.

Have you ever seen any unfair rulings of any sort on the site (threads being moved or removed, moderators stepping in when they shouldn't, etc)?
No.

If you could pick one thing on the site that should be expanded on and made more important, what would it be?
I don't know.

What do you think of the look of the site?
Very sharp.

[SA]

What is the most important aspect of this site that keeps you coming back?
The atmosphere, the quality of communication, the general commitment to expression and good ideas, the in-jokes, the mutual respect, the history, the list goes on.

I don't think the CBG is totally unique in that atmosphere.  I've seen plenty of other sites with a comparable sense of integrity and camaradery (though not many of them RPG sites), but the CBG is my site.  My history.  My lads.  My white-and-blue.  So long as the CBG is the CBG, this is where I'll always come to for my campaign building stuff.

What is the most unique feature of this site?
The intentions of its creator, moderators and members.  Ultimately, I think the CBG simply manages to take a bunch of elements I've seen elsewhere and make them truly more than the sum of their parts.

What is the most interesting conversation you've ever had on this site?
Hard to say.  There are a lot of good ones, and even more that I never contributed to but thoroughly enjoyed reading.

What has been your favorite contest or event on this site?
None, to be honest.  I haven't found any of them truly inspiring, but that's never bugged me.  The results have always been worth the read, so I'm not bothered that I was never all that motivated to contribute.

How have you benefited the site since you became a member?
Not much.  I hope to remedy that, so that when the CBG usurps D&D as the preeminent RPG name in the public conscious, I can say "I helped disappear the competition."

How many times have you participated in a unique CBG feature (Showcase, the Guide, CeBeGia, etc)?
Nope.

Have you ever said you were going to contribute in some way to the Guide, CeBeGia, or Showcase, and then never followed through?
At least thrice.  They were good ideas too.

As a best guess, what percentage of your posts do you believe is asking for help on your personal campaign setting?
Most of them.  I have been a very selfish member of the community by my own standards, let alone those of other CBGers.  I endeavour to change that.

As a best guess, what percentage of your posts do you believe is helping other CBGers with their personal campaign setting?
I spend hardly any time assisting other members (although I would spend untold hours giving help to anyone who asked).  Truth be told, very few settings ever motivate me to contribute to them.

Do you visit the other Alliance sites (PlotStorming.com, CartographersGuild.com)?
Rarely.  I haven't had a lot of use for them yet.

Do you use another site for most of your campaign setting needs (WotC, gleemax, rpgspaces, eruvian, etc)
Nah, baby, you know there ain't anyone for me but you!

If so, what features do those sites have that the CBG doesn't have?
Like I said, I ain't no adulterer.

If you were part of the Opal Council, what ideas would you have for making the site more interesting?
They'd never have me.  My heart is impure and my designs corrupt.  I could bring nothing but ruin.

If you were part of the Opal Council, what site features would you do away with or just put aside as unimportant?
Everything on the site seems to be of use to someone, so I'd just let it all be.

Have you ever had a contest idea that you wish the CBG would do?
Probably, but none come to mind.

Have you ever had what you thought of as a great conversation starter, and started a new thread only to find no one interested?
Plenty, but I don't hold it against them.  Either I didn't convey it right, promote it enthusiastically enough, or they just didn't care for the issue.  I operate on the same principle, and there's nothing wrong with it.

Have you ever been really mad at the site, the Opal Council, or the other members of the CBG, in such a way that you didn't come back for awhile?
No.  You guys are awesome.

Have you ever gone away from the site for months at a time, then returned to posting normally?
Just did, actually.

Have you ever seen any unfair rulings of any sort on the site (threads being moved or removed, moderators stepping in when they shouldn't, etc)?
Not that I recall.  If there ever was, I have confidence that the moderators had the fairest and best intentions at heart.

What do you think of the look of the site?
Sweet.  I think it's pretty much perfect as it is.

[Kindling]

That list of questions is just vastly too long, so instead of answering it, I'll simply say this....

The reason the CBG is so good, and the reason I keep returning to it (admittedly, not as frequently as I'd like to) is twofold. First, the great chance to read and be inspired by the works of others, and second the feedback you get for your own work.

This answer may seem overly simplistic, but no my mind, it is those two things that are the essence of the site, and those two things which make me love it.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Actually, Ish, I have another idea for the site I'll sound off, and that is allowing CBG settings to become "signature settings" (probably needs a better name).

When a setting (such as Jade Stage or Dystopia) continues to grow, it reaches a kind of critical mass. Everyone that's been around for a while has heard of the setting, even if not everyone has read it.

This would not be for settings in the planning stages, though they could still be undergoing updates and revisions.

Instead of being scattered around the forums, hosting, and so forth, it'd be kind of cool if everything for these sites could be collected into a mini-site.

For example, a link on a side bar for Jade Stage, you could click on. Then you could see all the Jade Stage PbP games, the hosted site, all the threads, collected in one place.

If there were several, the most recently updated setting could get bumped to the top, like the forums work now.

Anyway, this idea is just in the brainstorming stage, but I've often wished that these critical settings could each have their own section and link. Whereas the regular forums would still be for developing/brainstorming settings, as well as everything in Dragons Den, Crossroads, Elements & Design, etc.

This needs to be implemented... work will be pursued....


[/threadcromancy]