So basically the meeting that most people missed was talking about what decision should be made about Maelstrom since it is kinda dying.
I wasn't gonna make a topic in the beginning but getting everybody together seems to be difficult. As such, I guess I have to write all this stuff down.
Basically there are three options I have open for the future of roleplaying with myself as a head admin.
1. Make a resolution to continue with the site right now and put extra time into it to make it come back alive.
2. Hibernate the actual RP section of Maelstrom until around September. People can still make characters, talk about future plot stuff, use the cbox, advertise w/e. You can even practice fight. The actual plot however will be frozen until sometime in September where it can then be awakened. The staff would also be able to use the month and a half period to fix stuff on the site and do maintenance.
3. Make a new site completely in September. Until the new site is made Maelstrom will still be around and people can goof off on it as they want but I will be rarely around and only popping in every so often to make sure people aren't be ridiculous.
The Current Situation: A big part of why the site is floundering is because of the staff and myself especially. Ever since I returned from Israel I have been trying to cut down on how much time I spend working on the site. Partially this was because the rest of the staff said they wanted me to wait a bit before I work on approving things so I don't go into hate everything mode.
However, Kuro is always fighting between the instincts of constructive criticsm and flaming and has been having trouble approving things because of that. He also is only doing weapons which are usually the easiest thing to flame about.
Ku is doing a great job but he can't do everything alone and has his own things to do.
Fuuga is constantly unconcious.
And Levi is doing a ton of things and doesn't have that much time for the site.
So really I need to step in if anything is gonna get done. But even when I finally made a resolution to work hard on the site, the annoying bug that is known as "make a new site" wormed its way into my mind and started to distract me. I hadn't thought about it for awhile but once I realized it was an option, I really started getting distracted from everything.
A big part of why it would be appealing to let the site hibernate for the rest of the summer or just make a new one later is because of my personal position as well. As most people know I will be entering my second year of college in the interactive media major at USC. While I managed to keep the site....running....even when in my freshman year, it was a HUGE time sink and cut my productivity on everything down a fair amount. There was actually a period of time where I can honestly say I hated the fact that I owned a website. While I doubt that would happen again since this year will be easier, the fact still remains that I constantly fear that I would be many times more productive if I didn't have a website. This also fits in with my summer plans as I am trying to do a lot of things this summer and the site is a bit of a distraction.
By making a new site or putting Maelstrom on hold I would finally be able to get rid of these worries and see if it is affecting my productivity or if I would just be doing dumb stuff anyways. It would also let me wait until I see just how busy I will be this semester and if I would have to close Maelstrom anyways due to schoolwork.
However, and I would like to make this clear
If we go with option 2 or 3 it is not assured that I will actually reawaken Maelstrom or make a new site. It is all situational. Do not believe that me continuing to be a head admin is assured. This is just to decide what path we will take, we may never actually reach the true destination.
Of course even if we go with option 1 if things are too tough then I will have to close it anyway. 2 or 3 is just a bit more risky (unless maybe not running a website for awhile makes me nostalgic and more likely to return. Everything in life is a gamble after all.)
I know this seems like this whole thing is very ME centered but...well....
Frankly it is.
I have always said that the lifeblood of the site is the head admin (or whoever is acting in that capacity). And while running a site may have once been my number one responsibility such as when I was still a senior in high school, this is no longer the case. I have many things to juggle in my life and prioritizing is something I need to do. I know that I do have a responsibility to everyone on the website. But ultimately my responsibility is to myself and to my goals.
But despite all of this ME ME ME talk I still believe that the final decision should be made by the members of the site. Most have been saying that 2 or 3 is a good decision but I want everyone's opinion on this. Not making a poll because I don't believe in them. So please if you have changed your mind or have not spoken to me yet, please post in this thread.
Thanks, Zaf
12/3/2013, 6:23 am by 
