At this point, I am no longer going to update the OP, unless something there is pointed out to have been fixed. (I found one today).
I made a point of reading everything before posting. If what your saying here is in there, then I missed it. And I was looking.CBJ wrote:Please re-read the explanation of why the rules in DevNet are as they are. ..... By all means discuss ideas to thrash them out, but not in there. Think about it. The developers couldn't possibly read through hundreds of 20 page threads full of people discussing which bits of an idea would and wouldn't work. The solution is to do the thinking and discussing elsewhere, and post the finished idea in there.
Maybe you need a more prominent explaination of the purposes of devnet done in very small words for the completely dumb. That way I may have found it and understood.
Be that as it may, it doesnt work. Since most of the requests in there, havent been discussed elsewhere, are not well thought out, and do contradict each other. The majority of them DO need someone to just point out why they wont work or what they will end up doing to the game when taken to the extreme, but without posting an alternative, this is "unhelpful".
What you really need is another level of devnet. Let people argue out the ideas in whats there, but have a few key people (like betatesters) who can recommend to a moderator to shift a really well thought out idea to somewhere else for the devs to really look at. Then if its decided to pusue it, an official thread can be opened by the recommending person to really thrash out the ins and outs and ramifications of the idea, after which a summary goes back to the dev section. Then you think about actually implementing it. Thats how I'd do it anyway. Millions will disagree I know.
I will do so. But ...... (and you saw that coming a mile away didnt you )Active and creative users are always welcome in DevNet, and I would urge you to consider the reasons for DevNet being managed the way it is and reconsider your decision not to participate.
I dont think the existing structure can handle someone like me. I was a damned good analyst in my day, and I built systems that didnt fall over the moment they were implemented. And I was proud of it. The people above me hated me though, because I always pointed out the flaws in their designs before they could blame them on someone else.
I see the problems most other people miss. Its a gift and a curse at once.
My best use in such a forum is to play devils advocate to ensure that all the possible problems come to light before devs seriously address the ideas. Frankly, any idea that hasnt got something wrong with it pointed out in the thread, is something that should be treated with extreme suspicion, because the game is too complex for ideas with apparently nothing wrong with them to actually work. But the structure will not support someone like me in it.
I do not want to be the cause of arguments and stress for moderators. Hence my decision. I will rethink it though.