When will we start accepting new members again?

[orochigeese]

There's no reason for them to get the wrong impression.

It's already been stated here many times why there's a membership freeze and non-members have total reading access to the forums.

I agree this is an inconvenience but all the reasons are clearly stated so no one should think this is an anti-new member situation. It's based on tech upgrades, lack of time, and the fact this site is a recreational one and not a job. I'm sure if those new prospective members offered to pay MDK and HP enough to make it worth their while, they'd get the work done quicker

I've talked to MDK about this before and many know me as someone who encourages new members and fans joining. Anytime there's a general anti-noob sentiment, I usually chime in supporting new members (granted specific individuals may suck but I've never felt that members from one year, or game release, are inherently better then members of another year) . But I also realize that the upkeep of this site is a labor of love and that can't always take top priority. There's work to be done behind the scenes and it can't be done swiftly. That's just the way it goes. Anyone who is offering to alleviate that situation is very much appreciated but I'm not sure if MDK and HP are even in the position where outside help would speed things up. That's up to them.

In the meantime til the membership opens again, all those who are nice enough to send packs or link guides to people are appreciated. But please let those people know that there's no reason to think the FPC doesn't want them. Its a technical situation, that's all. If I thought it was anything other then that, I'd be making a lot more noise about it.

And I can raise a pretty big honking stink over something

[TigerSword]

I look at it like this. The entire board is available for people to look at as a non-member. They can see what's going on, and they know the issues behind it. If they are "getting the wrong impression" because they have to wait a day or three to get a pack they ask a current member to download for them, then they honestly probably wouldn't be a good fit to the community anyway.

[domcolosi]

I agree with Geese and TigerSword completely. Of course, I might feel differently if I didn't have an account already...

That said, this isn't an official forum. We don't have secret inside info we're not sharing, and presumably the site will open up again soon.

Honestly, all these people are missing out on is the stupid conversations in SDR.

[cactusj00]

Honestly, all these people are missing out on is the stupid conversations in SDR.

the packs

Non-members are missing stuff and I'm sure that a few quality potential members will be lost.

What happens when someone tries to register? Is there a message or something? That might solve the issue of people feeling like the site doesn't want new members.

[tkatt]

What happens when someone tries to register? Is there a message or something? That might solve the issue of people feeling like the site doesn't want new members.

Nothing happens. You never get the registration confirmation email and there is no mention of a problem with the site. If you follow the instructions and send an email to help resolve the problem you get nothing, either. I have had multiple people from YouTube, quite frustrated, explain this to me.

Of course they "likely wouldn't fit in here anyway"... *sigh*

[Trueborn]

What happens when someone tries to register? Is there a message or something? That might solve the issue of people feeling like the site doesn't want new members.

Nothing happens. You never get the registration confirmation email and there is no mention of a problem with the site. If you follow the instructions and send an email to help resolve the problem you get nothing, either. I have had multiple people from YouTube, quite frustrated, explain this to me.

Of course they "likely wouldn't fit in here anyway"... *sigh*

That's actually incorrect. If you click the "Register" button at the top of the page, you get a message stating that "Creating a new account is currently not possible." So you are aware that registration is closed.

[tkatt]

That's actually incorrect. If you click the "Register" button at the top of the page, you get a message stating that "Creating a new account is currently not possible." So you are aware that registration is closed.

That must be a new fix. What I described was from awhile back. It would seem MDK has taken steps to avoid some of the confusion.

[Trueborn]

That's actually incorrect. If you click the "Register" button at the top of the page, you get a message stating that "Creating a new account is currently not possible." So you are aware that registration is closed.

That must be a new fix. What I described was from awhile back. It would seem MDK has taken steps to avoid some of the confusion.

Wrong again, I think. It's the same message I got 6 months ago when I first heard registration was closed. I sign out and click the registration button once a month or so to see what happens.

I do remember a few times over the years where there's been a problem with the automatic activation e-mails, so <shrug> maybe that happened at some point and prompted them to close registration.

Are there large numbers of people on other boards saying they just now discovered the game and complaining that they can't register? Because the other Fire Pro boards I've seen over the past eight months are basically "ghost towns". I'm thinking this is one of those "A tree falls in the forest, but no one hears it" issues.

[tkatt]

Wrong again, I think. It's the same message I got 6 months ago when I first heard registration was closed. I sign out and click the registration button once a month or so to see what happens.

Well then it seems the YouTube inquiries I received are lying, incompetent bastards! (No offense, if you happen to be reading this.)

[tkatt]

Are there large numbers of people on other boards saying they just now discovered the game and complaining that they can't register? Because the other Fire Pro boards I've seen over the past eight months are basically "ghost towns". I'm thinking this is one of those "A tree falls in the forest, but no one hears it" issues.

It's mainly people who are discovering the rising number of video Efeds and more importantly guys like Desertpunk who are pushing out killer edit packs and talking about them on YouTube. There is a lot of cool stuff happening on YouTube regarding FPR and much of it references our membership here.

[orochigeese]

I haven't been aware of the growing Youtube FPR fanbase. (mainly because, up until last month, most e-feds I'm a part of, including mine, used Viddler) I think it's very cool that pack and e-fed videos are making the community grow and I would like the new members to be able to come here ASAP.

At least in the short run, if people are advertising their packs on youtube, I figure they could at least link people directly to their packs (rather then going through FPC). But I also realize that people are getting generally excited about Fire Pro by the pack videos they see and want to see MORE packs as well as engage in conversations here. That's a good thing. I've always said we need new members to keep the community going. Not only do new people add unique life but they also step in when old members leave/disappear/etc. I'm just not sure what to say given the circumstances here. But in the short run, hopefully the new people can be patient about being sent packs/info/waiting to come here and those who they are talking to can be generous.

That's really the way the entire community works as a whole anyway. Those who produce/create shouldn't be pressured whether those asking for stuff are part of a site or not. I've been on both sides of the issues and I never expect people to do anything for me, nor am I particularly happy when people send me unsolicited large requests or multiple small ones. But I'm extremely gracious when someone does help me out and I also try to help out when I can.

Some patience from newer members is necessary whether they are officially part of the site or not. But on the other side, the community runs best when people are voluntarily helping others. And until this FPC situation can be helped, then there will need to continue to be those who help those off the site get packs or info. Alienating potential new members before they join is definitely counter-productive. But prospective new members becoming a hassle before they even join isn't a recipe for a welcoming party. This isn't an ideal situation so people on both sides just need to have patience.

There's no need for any tension about this though. It's primarily a tech issue, not a personal one. So I really don't like seeing anyone getting offended or upset over this. Hopefully this situation can be rectified soon

[domcolosi]

I've always thought that we should be uploading packs to MegaUpload or something to save FPC bandwidth, TBH. If people are advertising on Youtube, that's just one more reason to encourage such a thing...

[Trueborn]

I've always thought that we should be uploading packs to MegaUpload or something to save FPC bandwidth, TBH. If people are advertising on Youtube, that's just one more reason to encourage such a thing...

...except that, six months later, when someone new wants the pack, or I accidentally delete a pack and need to re-download it, the Megaupload link will be expired, and the member who created the pack will have stopped visiting the site, making a re-up problematic. Personally, I think it's more preferable to give packs a permanent, stable home. Honestly, I usually wonder why the few people that upload packs to hosting sites don't just attach the pack here instead of posting a link that will expire at some point.

[cactusj00]

That's actually incorrect. If you click the "Register" button at the top of the page, you get a message stating that "Creating a new account is currently not possible." So you are aware that registration is closed.

That must be a new fix. What I described was from awhile back. It would seem MDK has taken steps to avoid some of the confusion.

Wrong again, I think. It's the same message I got 6 months ago when I first heard registration was closed. I sign out and click the registration button once a month or so to see what happens.

I do remember a few times over the years where there's been a problem with the automatic activation e-mails, so <shrug> maybe that happened at some point and prompted them to close registration.

Are there large numbers of people on other boards saying they just now discovered the game and complaining that they can't register? Because the other Fire Pro boards I've seen over the past eight months are basically "ghost towns". I'm thinking this is one of those "A tree falls in the forest, but no one hears it" issues.

I think it would be better if it was a message stating that there is an issue with the site and it will be back up soon (or something).

I have heard from a few people that think this is a NMZ situation. And I know non members can read everything but not everyone will look at this forum. That may be a dumb move on their part but I think it's true.

I'm not sure about the possible number of new members but I know there are at least a few. I have heard from some of them on my youtube videos of my FFPW hack that just about nobody knows about. If there are people finding that who want to be part of the FPC there must be others as well.

It's not huge numbers but any new members would be good for this place.

[domcolosi]

I've always thought that we should be uploading packs to MegaUpload or something to save FPC bandwidth, TBH. If people are advertising on Youtube, that's just one more reason to encourage such a thing...

...except that, six months later, when someone new wants the pack, or I accidentally delete a pack and need to re-download it, the Megaupload link will be expired, and the member who created the pack will have stopped visiting the site, making a re-up problematic. Personally, I think it's more preferable to give packs a permanent, stable home. Honestly, I usually wonder why the few people that upload packs to hosting sites don't just attach the pack here instead of posting a link that will expire at some point.

Great point. Still though, maybe we could encourage everyone to do both, at least for the time being. If the link expires some months from now, no biggie, because members can DL the FPC link. But for the time being, non-members could use the outside link, and we could save FPC bandwidth, too.

There are free hosting services that remain free if they're in use. Could we make a 4shared.com account for FPC and upload packs there?

[DeterminedApathy]

This sounds like the kind of thing where C-Drive's PackList would be of some use.

[clairmontdrive]

This sounds like the kind of thing where C-Drive's PackList would be of some use.

I can always upload just bare bones pages. Much like the current FPCPP one. I can't promise every pack the full rendition (screenshots of all edited parts), but I can certainly give people a place to point people for off-FPC downloads.

Creators just have to remember that it's a completely open page, if you only want FPC members to have your stuff, then keep it on the forums. If you want a more open download that anyone has access to, then PM me and let me know that you want it on the PackList. Point me to the file, and point me to a PS3 conversion of that same save as well if you have it. That's all I need from you; I'll do the rest.

[derangedstu]

Are new members allowed to join now? Skulls just joined on the 25th.

[MrMDK]

You just miss Hovo Inc...

...but no, not yet.