You need to PAY for FREE things!!!

Gandalf Parker · #1 October 16th, 2006, 11:32 AM

We have alot of new lurkers.
Sorry if this will seem like a rant but its something I see on alot of forums. People want free things but they wait quietly to get them. Remember your "please" and "thankyou" people!

When someone is providing something for free (or even not for free) their motivation can often be more from public appreciation than from anything else. There are wonderful things being done which we are all enjoying. AARs, 3rd party programs, helpful spreedsheets, game addons, tutorials, fan sites, etc.

PAY for the free stuff please. Let the people know that you are interested in their projects, that you would like to see more of it. If you just wait for such things then it might be a long LONG wait.

This is true anyplace on the net. Pay for the free things that you enjoy. A please and thankyou is not expensive for such things.

(end of rant)
Gandalf Parker

Talleyrand · #2 October 16th, 2006, 12:52 PM

I agree wholeheartedly. THANK YOU, Gandalf Parker, for posting this.

Unwise · #3 October 16th, 2006, 01:06 PM

Good rant bud. Thanks.

Gandalf Parker · #4 October 16th, 2006, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Talleyrand said:
I agree wholeheartedly. THANK YOU, Gandalf Parker, for posting this.

ROTFL

Tortanick · #5 October 16th, 2006, 02:24 PM

As someone who on occasion provides free tech support, and slowly taking my first steps into modding with Dom3, I know full well just how much a thank you means, a lot more than a please actually. I fully endorse this post and hopefully I havn't forgoten my thanks here and there.

However I would disagree with AARs. IMO an ARR thread shouldn't have any posts except for the AAR itself.

Gandalf Parker · #6 October 16th, 2006, 03:15 PM

No I guess adding a post to an AAR thread would be wrong. Maybe a thank you when its all done. Or a seperate thread to praise its style.

Mostly Im looking at the mods/maps directory. I see many people reading but few people saying anything encouraging. We dont have to flood them but it helps if we dont let the thread get stale.

Personally I started many projects for Dom2 (see www.dom2minions.com ) which I let drop from lack of interest. I kept starting new projects instead. Only now am I hearing that people were interested but didnt say anything.

Gandalf Parker · #7 May 1st, 2007, 12:33 PM

Twice again Ive recently seen threads asking someone why they dropped their projects. "You did xxxx and xxxxx and mentioned xxxxxx but didnt do it. How come?" and the answer is something along the line of "I didn't think anyone was interested in them".

And we see again the old "why arent more free things done" question. And I want to say "because people dont remember how to pay for free things".

[soapbox]
Im not getting into anyones case, but we all should take note. When its not done for money (and many times even if it is) if you want more of it then be sure to thank the people who have done some. Ive seen it since the very birth of internet.

Right now, look at your machine. Every game, mod, service whatever that you are enjoying and want more of.. go thank them for it. Its a cheap way to "pay" for free things. You would be amazed at how many things you enjoy are being fueled by please and thank yous.

Its like a virtual form of saying grace.
"I want to thank Illwinter for a wonderful game. I want to thank Shrapnel for these forums. I want to thank Edi for the great unit files. I want to thank (theme, mod, mod, map, map, host, host, tool, tool)."
[/soapbox]

Not so much for me. I get many great thankyous for my hosting services. I greatly appreciate it from all who have done that. It DOES keep the service going. But I see some great work in other areas (themes, maps, mods, tools) that I KNOW is getting use but it seems to be falling off abit. My "please" to you is that you remember to "thankyou" the people who have made the things you have found to be good. Especially those that are getting the least amount of recognition if you want them to do more of it.

Gandalf Parker
--
If I sound like your grandpa its probably because I am one.

Teraswaerto · #8 May 1st, 2007, 12:48 PM

I fully agree with what Gandal is saying.

I'm not the most active modder, only having released 2 mods over the many years since modding on Dom2 became possible. Even so, I can tell you that the feedback and interest directed towards them directly resulted in hours put into working on them that would never have happened if no-one had said anything.

Sombre · #9 May 1st, 2007, 12:56 PM

The mod forum is still suffering pretty bad from lack of discussion and feedback. We now have quite a few modders, modders learning the ropes etc and are forming a pretty tight community, but there's a serious need for more feedback. Those mods get downloaded a lot and yet some of them it seems get very little in the way of thanks, comments, problems etc.

Maybe there aren't enough people actually playing the mods, since Dom3 is so stuffed with content already,... but I'm thinking it might be more that people are playing them and just not giving the feedback.

-shrug-

What can y'do? :]

Foodstamp · #10 May 1st, 2007, 01:24 PM

I am guilty of making mods and not playing anyone elses mods unless specifically asked. This is due to time constraints but the next 3 weeks that should not be a problem. I am going to grab Sombre's mod list and make it a point to check out all the mods I have not had a chance to check out and offer constructive feedback and thank yous