Project In da Basement: A well-thought out proposal by Homestarguy

[Homestarguy]

Here's the deal: I've noticed a real decline in activity in 3/4 of the boards in the In Da Basement section. Now, I personally will not list any reasons for the decline, but it is not up to the level where it has been in the past.

So, to possibly rectify the situation, and this proposal may fall on its face, I, along with anyone else who is willing to step forward, propose some sorts of forum-endorsed threads, contests, or games in each of the respective sections. Now, one may recall the contests ran by Yello_Dello and I think potthole in the summers of 2004 and 2005. That is where I get my inspiration. Those contests brought our community together, and the site received its highest activity levels. However, what I plan to propose to you does not necessarily have to be a contest. It can be as simple as a huge game in SFGaS, a theme-based flash thread in SCaA, or a photo editing challenge in SoAA. The sky's the limit!

Now, many of you may reply and say, "Hey Homestarguy! Why don't you stop being lazy and just make a game yourself?" That's a good point! I very well could go into SFGaS, and create my own original game. But, as I have noticed, and to the misfortune of their respective creators, many of those games currently in that section have been inactive for months, and have probably only 7-8 contestants. This same statement runs true for each of the other boards. What I, and all of you, hope to do, is create one big thread for each board, that hopefully everyone will take part in. And, if this proposal sparks discussion, we can discuss what each thread will be.

Timing is a big issue, and I took it into consideration. If I were to have suggested this in the fall or winter, many of you, myself included, would probably have conflicts. A majority of the active members here are either in middle school, high school, or even college. I understand it is hard to take part in forum activities when worrying about schoolwork. So, that is why I brought this up July 5th. It is in the heart of the summer, school is out, and the only possible conflict is vacation, which is understandle also. Hopefully, these activities can occur before the end of the month. But, as a worst-case scenario, it could be pushed further. While I hope this doesn't happen, I realize there is a slight possiblity.

Finally, all of you must realize I do not plan to oversee everything in this "project". Which is exactly how I envisioned. This entire project is all about community involvement. Each thread will NOT be run by just one member, but by groups of several members, who each put forward there creative ideas to make it as fun as possible. What is my role in this whole thing? Well, only to spark discussion. Hopefully, I am not the only one who wants to bring fun back to BHZ's. I hope each of you reading this has their own vision to bring life back into a, in my honest opinion, near lifeless forum.

Remember that this is only one honest forum member's proposal; a "bill", if you will. (rhyming ftw) You may reject this idea, or you may add to it constructively. I don't care. But to make this become "law", I will need every bit of insight from every one of you to make it possible.

Together, we can make the summer of 2007 be the most memorable time to be a member of Burning Horizon' s Homestar Runner Fan Forum.

-Homestarguy

[Depressio]

I am still down with putting together another Member Survivor. Those used to be OK...right? If enough people express interest and are willing to make the commitment, I could definitely work towards getting another game going. Though the last few times I have tried this, my efforts have been pretty futile...

[Homestarguy]

I am still down with putting together another Member Survivor. Those used to be OK...right? If enough people express interest and are willing to make the commitment, I could definitely work towards getting another game going. Though the last few times I have tried this, my efforts have been pretty futile...

While I would like to participate in another survivor, it would be unethical to "force" you to make another.

However, my vision was to kinda...well, "clone" those contests held three years ago (wow, already?), because they were really fun and a lot of people got involved. But instead of just one or two people running it, maybe have everyone have a say in what goes on.

But...I dunno. I'm just really bummed at the lack of activity in those sections. I guess whatever works to get more members in those sections.

But, then again, I could be looking at things differently than everyone else. Maybe things are fine right now. But, I just want everyone to have fun again.