Hey, sorry. MTGS in general has kinda left my mind over the past several weeks as my circles of friends have gotten more and more active. We've been going hard into the board gaming hobby - I think we have something like 20 games between us, plus 18 lesser ones from my old collection - which has even encroached on my food time. I haven't made a real pizza in months! On top of that, the day baker at the cupcake shop left for another job and I'm doing all the baking there now.
So... yeah. Apologies all around for lack of attendance. Odd that I happen to come on the day after such an announcement. Sad times. I agree that there could easily be a food-only image, and wonder if I could've done a better job with my position. :/
I really don't know what to do regarding membership and activity. Last time I sent a prodding little private message to the inactive members saying we miss them; should I try that again? Not sure how to convey the idea of welcoming a broader range of topics in it...
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[The Crafters] | [Johnnies United]
My anecdotal evidence disagrees with yours! EXPLAIN THAT!
Well, if the clan ends up not having enough active members, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I mean, it would suck, but we could easily open up a new "foodie" thread in water cooler talk, and this might honestly be a better place for it. This would let people come and go without closing ourselves off in the clan pages (which is essentially what happened).
If you look over the forums, there are certain threads that are almost functionally a clan, like the altered art thread, or various games and music threads in entertainment (like the MMA thread and the Metal thread).
The only downside is that we couldn't have obvious off-topic posts like we can have in the clan thread, so a certain level of comradery would be lost. But it would give more random people a chance to talk about food and such.
And, no way Zith, you handled everything perfectly. I just feel that "foodie" is ultimately a niche topic, and you'll notice that most of the niche clans tend to play out the same way. The roleplaying clan, the musician clan, the video game clan, etc. They all tend to have a huge surge of popularity at first, but then become somehow cutoff. The only one I can think of that has much staying power is the anime clan. But anime is such a popular and broad topic that it's a logical exception.
I don't want to have to only talk about food all of the time. I also love movies and video games and then some. Clans need to be varied yet with an encompassing theme to succeed and be original. Is anyone interested in possibly merging with another clan? I've been acquaintances with the good folks over at [IMAGECRAFTERS] since the dawn of MTGS, and they are in the same boat that we are--having the threat of clan closure because they don't have enough active members either.
We essentually make art that you can eat!
Any opinions or ideas dear clanmates?
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Shaharazad.
That spaghetti sandwich doesn't sound so odd to me, actually. My favorite local pizzeria does a spaghetti and meatball pizza that works very well, and I'd expect it to do just as well as a piadina.
I have a very artistic approach to food, so the idea appeals to me. If nobody objects, I'd like to open a discussion on that merger. Kank, would you like to begin that as you're acquainted, or do you think I ought to as clan leader?
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[The Crafters] | [Johnnies United]
My anecdotal evidence disagrees with yours! EXPLAIN THAT!
I would be fine with it. I originally majored in art in school anyway.
However, it seems unfortunate to me that this is the reality of the situation. To think that good clans have to tightrope walk because of a technicality. Perhaps the clan rules could be reworked to be a bit more.... subjective in what "active" means? I mean, what is the real difference between 5 active and 6 active members?
However, it seems unfortunate to me that this is the reality of the situation. To think that good clans have to tightrope walk because of a technicality. Perhaps the clan rules could be reworked to be a bit more.... subjective in what "active" means? I mean, what is the real difference between 5 active and 6 active members?
I'm actually okay with that part of things. The implied month span seems like a good metric, surely ten active members is a lively clan, and one active member is a dead one. Somewhere in there is where we have to draw a line; six seems like a reasonable spot to me. That line needn't be strict, though, and I'd certainly argue that a deadline extension is in order for a clan with five. And I'd be willing to start up a debate wherever it's appropriate (Clan Council or Community Issues seem like good candidates to me) regarding the definition of "active" if we could come up with some solid reasoning for setting the limit at a different number.
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[The Crafters] | [Johnnies United]
My anecdotal evidence disagrees with yours! EXPLAIN THAT!
Eh, that is up to you man. However, now that I've thought about it, it does seem reasonable. This site proves that defining a rule, and sticking to it, lead to a good message board. Still, I'm not against debating for some change if I feel it's appropriate. This might not be that time though.
I had another idea, though it is kindof lame. We could always just do an extendo sig thing. Most of the active ones play out about the same way as a clan anyways. Though, unfortunately many of them degenerate into senseless spam due to the low level of rules enforcement. Essentially though, we would have the freedom to post whenever we wanted to, without having to worry about formalities.
I don't really have a stomach for spam, though none of us are that type of poster.
I agree with Shaharazad on the extendo. It really would be like a small, personal clan that isn't regulated and multiple people could still link it in their sig.
I've been putting the feelers out with [IMAGECRAFTERS] to see what their ideas and ideals are, and they actually feel a similar kinship with us as we do with them.
Well, everyone, it's been a fun run of it. Sad that it has to come to an end, but as Shaharazad points out, specificity of niche is the enemy of popularity. [IMAGECRAFTERS] has graciously invited us to join in their clan and, as I read it, expand their art-loving to include the culinary realm. So, everyone here has a standing invite there, and [MTGSalivation] will be officially closed. How else to end it than to say...
So... yeah. Apologies all around for lack of attendance. Odd that I happen to come on the day after such an announcement. Sad times. I agree that there could easily be a food-only image, and wonder if I could've done a better job with my position. :/
I really don't know what to do regarding membership and activity. Last time I sent a prodding little private message to the inactive members saying we miss them; should I try that again? Not sure how to convey the idea of welcoming a broader range of topics in it...
If you look over the forums, there are certain threads that are almost functionally a clan, like the altered art thread, or various games and music threads in entertainment (like the MMA thread and the Metal thread).
The only downside is that we couldn't have obvious off-topic posts like we can have in the clan thread, so a certain level of comradery would be lost. But it would give more random people a chance to talk about food and such.
And, no way Zith, you handled everything perfectly. I just feel that "foodie" is ultimately a niche topic, and you'll notice that most of the niche clans tend to play out the same way. The roleplaying clan, the musician clan, the video game clan, etc. They all tend to have a huge surge of popularity at first, but then become somehow cutoff. The only one I can think of that has much staying power is the anime clan. But anime is such a popular and broad topic that it's a logical exception.
We essentually make art that you can eat!
Any opinions or ideas dear clanmates?
That spaghetti sandwich doesn't sound so odd to me, actually. My favorite local pizzeria does a spaghetti and meatball pizza that works very well, and I'd expect it to do just as well as a piadina.
I have a very artistic approach to food, so the idea appeals to me. If nobody objects, I'd like to open a discussion on that merger. Kank, would you like to begin that as you're acquainted, or do you think I ought to as clan leader?
However, it seems unfortunate to me that this is the reality of the situation. To think that good clans have to tightrope walk because of a technicality. Perhaps the clan rules could be reworked to be a bit more.... subjective in what "active" means? I mean, what is the real difference between 5 active and 6 active members?
I had another idea, though it is kindof lame. We could always just do an extendo sig thing. Most of the active ones play out about the same way as a clan anyways. Though, unfortunately many of them degenerate into senseless spam due to the low level of rules enforcement. Essentially though, we would have the freedom to post whenever we wanted to, without having to worry about formalities.
I don't really have a stomach for spam, though none of us are that type of poster.
If a merger was in the works between our mighty empires, I feel that it would be a smooth one.
Come, let us visit them for they are quite welcoming...
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=106067
So long, and thanks for all the fish.