The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.

An Update on DJ Eebs

StericaSterica YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
edited October 26 in H.Q. Reception Desk
Hello Everyone,

Some of our members have been asking where DJ Eebs is, as it has been noticed that he has not been present and posting to the forums as of late. The mod staff wanted to give him time to return in the event that he was dealing with a personal crisis demanding all his attention. However, we also want to keep in mind the needs of the community. Therefore, over the course of last few months, we started looking into things to figure out how to proceed.

The Question: Where is DJ Eebs?

The Answer: We have been informed that his responsibilities no longer include the administration of the forums. We don't know the circumstances of this change and the specifics are none of our business, but we know that he is alive and still employed by Penny Arcade.

Moving Forward: As far as we can tell, the site ownership does not intend to replace him or provide specific guidance for how to proceed, so the mod staff has decided to assume a council-type structure to make larger decisions for the time being rather than having a Penny Arcade-appointed administrator in charge. We do have Ramius, a previous admin, who still has the admin status and can assist with anything requiring admin level access to the forum controls. By splitting this work across the mod staff we hope to manage the load better.

Keep in mind that all of this can change the moment Penny Arcade decides that it will change, and we're still in the process of reaching out to the PA staff for more information. They have expressed that they do not want to be sent forum issues directly by users when they have almost no connection to the running of the forum beyond paying for the site hosting, so please let the moderator staff deal with discussing things with the Penny Arcade staff. We will provide you with definitive answers as soon as we have them.

Everyone likely has questions, so feel free to ask them and we will answer them to the best of our abilities.

YL9WnCY.png
Sterica on
«13456

Posts

  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    Wasn't DJ Eebs largely responsible for keeping the forum software functional? Is there someone else doing the work in that space?

  • TynnanTynnan seldom correct, never unsure Registered User regular
    I guess the only question I have now is: when the forum hosting is going to expire, how much notice will you give us?

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    discrider wrote: »
    Wasn't DJ Eebs largely responsible for keeping the forum software functional? Is there someone else doing the work in that space?
    Ramius is handling that, and in fact there was a platform update yesterday that he is checking to see if it correctly fixed certain items.

    YL9WnCY.png
  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    Tynnan wrote: »
    I guess the only question I have now is: when the forum hosting is going to expire, how much notice will you give us?
    It depends on the notice we get, and the likelihood of it happening. We had some risks here and there in the past due to rising hosting costs that obviously didn't come to pass, and we held those close to chest as there were negotiations underway and we don't want to scare the community before we had confirmation.

    In an ideal world? A year if we had concrete confirmation, so that people can make plans accordingly.

    YL9WnCY.png
  • TuminTumin Registered User regular
    Thanks for the continued volunteer efforts and comms. Yall the best.

  • DouglasDangerDouglasDanger PennsylvaniaRegistered User regular
    Thanks for the update.

  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    My question: are any moderators active in the larger PA community? I'm in the PA and Acq Inc Discords, for example, but there's also Twitch and comments in their various official channels. Do you guys participate anywhere?

    My observation: I feel like at some point a value proposition will have to be made about what this forum can be for PA. There's currently a bit of a revaluation of forums going on and I just really hope this place looks good in that movement. I think that seeing a webforum as a useful resource and easily searchable database is something to be proud of. We've got a lot of history here and I think that we appear in some deliciously obscure search queries with great information. If we can promote or enhance this usefulness, that could help with keeping this show on the road.

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited October 18
    Our responsibilities don't extend beyond the forums, but a moderator could be a Discord if they were part of the Discord and got asked if they wanted to do it. But in my 12 years as a mod I have never been asked to moderate any PA sphere beyond the forums, so that's wholly voluntary on the mod's part.

    Sterica on
    YL9WnCY.png
  • silence1186silence1186 Character shields down! As a wingmanRegistered User regular
    edited October 18
    Please send thanks to DJ Eebs for his service to this community. I hope everything works out for him in his new role.

    silence1186 on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    Sterica wrote: »
    Our responsibilities don't extend beyond the forums, but a moderator could be a Discord if they were part of the Discord and got asked if they wanted to do it. But in my 12 years as a mod I have never been asked to moderate any PA sphere beyond the forums, so that's wholly voluntary on the mod's part.

    I was also wondering about as regular fans/audience?

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    I can only speak for myself. Outside of a tiny discord I had for Smash Bros. tournaments back in the day I am not involved in other other PA communities.

    YL9WnCY.png
  • HerrCronHerrCron It that wickedly supports taxation Registered User regular
    Tynnan wrote: »
    I guess the only question I have now is: when the forum hosting is going to expire, how much notice will you give us?

    Notice?
    They're not republic serial villains, Tyn.
    It expired thirty-five minutes ago.

    Now Playing:
    Celeste [Switch] - She'll be wrestling with inner demons when she comes...
    Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age [Switch] - Sit down and watch our game play itself
  • DrezDrez Registered User regular
    Maybe I’m a cynic or pessimistic but this behavior strikes me as kind of hostile by PA staff not just to the existing mods but also to the wider forums. Am I overboard in this interpretation? It’s very weird to me to snatch an admin away from their admin role and not communicate that decision to anyone else in leadership.

    I’m not trying to stir anything up but I just…I dunno. It feels very weird to me.

    Switch: SW-7690-2320-9238Steam/PSN/Xbox: Drezdar
  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    agreed 100%

    it's super off-putting. that said, there have been a fair amount of threads in the past year that would have made me want to wash my hands of it too. Still would have been nice to mention. text or email takes all of 5 seconds

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    To be clear, this is less a new role and (as far as we can tell) removing the forums from his list of responsibilities.

    YL9WnCY.png
  • NobeardNobeard North Carolina: Failed StateRegistered User regular
    It's unusual sure but it ain't hostile. Shit happens, Ebbs's personal life is none of our business, mod staff is making due.

  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    It's not DJ Ebbs doing other stuff that's hostile, it's that no one (including Ebbs) bothered to tell anyone.

  • This content has been removed.

  • tbloxhamtbloxham Registered User regular
    Is there not a path that might exist where we become more of an 'adjunct' organization. I would think that the costs of hosting a text based website like this could be pretty much paid with the adds we have. Set up a Patreon for financial needs beyond that. It would seem that this might want to serve as a 'prodding' for us to try and find a way to remain the penny arcade forums, but not paid for by Penny Arcade.

    Otherwise, it seems that if we are reliant on someone who just used to be an admin and they forgot to take away the privileges etc, we are very much living under the knife here and it may be a better plan to start trying to rebuild our community 'in advance' in another location, such a private reddit or discord channel or wherever else text and chat can be had. A 'proactive' end to the forums may let us maintain more of our community than just waiting for the plug to get pulled, which it seems could just happen at any time.

    "That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    Drez wrote: »
    Maybe I’m a cynic or pessimistic but this behavior strikes me as kind of hostile by PA staff not just to the existing mods but also to the wider forums. Am I overboard in this interpretation? It’s very weird to me to snatch an admin away from their admin role and not communicate that decision to anyone else in leadership.

    I’m not trying to stir anything up but I just…I dunno. It feels very weird to me.

    I think it's just one of those "we have no good news, we have no plan, let's ponder how we approach this after we are done with everything else we are actually excited about" and then it was just forgotten. I don't read it as hostile, but neglectful. Which is not good! But easier to cope with for me!

  • This content has been removed.

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    The problem with donations is that you get a sense of entitlement from paying users. This is especially true with Superdonors, where there is going to be an implicit bias against moderation action towards such a person. If you get a "loadbearing" person like this, you are hesitant to do much of anything as one infraction could literally doom the forums.. But if you cap it then you risk not having enough.

    YL9WnCY.png
  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    could donations be made anonymously?

  • This content has been removed.

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    I imagine so, but doesn't mean a person can't blab about it. Sure, we could make a rule to not disclose donation amounts, but that brings us back to the problem when Uncle Pennybags brags that he donates $3K a month. Do we just ban him and pray we can make up the loss?

    YL9WnCY.png
  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User, Moderator mod
    Sterica wrote: »
    The problem with donations is that you get a sense of entitlement from paying users. This is especially true with Superdonors, where there is going to be an implicit bias against moderation action towards such a person. If you get a "loadbearing" person like this, you are hesitant to do much of anything as one infraction could literally doom the forums.. But if you cap it then you risk not having enough.

    There's ways to handle it, but it's definitely one of those minefield things balancing people who legitimately are propping a community up versus those who proceed to treat the community as their personal property.

    Once upon a time I was briefly modding another biggish forum which ran into that; one of the better-off users effectively, and then explicitly, purchased exemption from the forum's rules and, let's just say, proceeded to behave accordingly when it came to airing their views.

    It's not something I'd expect from people here - that situation was someone with a substantial amount of money doing that to a forum with a much younger userbase than this one - but it's definitely one of those scenarios that's stuck in my head ever since.

  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User, Moderator mod
    That said that actually was someone paying four digits monthly, which I don't think anyone would expect from anyone here!

  • TomantaTomanta Registered User regular
    It should be noted for anyone not aware, there is a $1 Patreon tier specifically to support the forums.

  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    Tomanta wrote: »
    It should be noted for anyone not aware, there is a $1 Patreon tier specifically to support the forums.

    hasn't got me any special treatment yet!!

  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User, Transition Team regular
  • TomantaTomanta Registered User regular
    Xaquin wrote: »
    Tomanta wrote: »
    It should be noted for anyone not aware, there is a $1 Patreon tier specifically to support the forums.

    hasn't got me any special treatment yet!!

    You don't get ads!

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    We've had fundraisers where people have donating quadruple digits, so it's not unheard of

    YL9WnCY.png
  • tbloxhamtbloxham Registered User regular
    Effectively it seems that we need to maintain a link to Penny Arcade at a functional level, we are their forums, and they are the 'gateway' for new users (which i am aware we occasionally get ;) )

    But, Penny Arcade no longer really seems to have any interest in the role of maintaining and running a forum. For now they are willing to keep the lights on, but, have already pulled back the 'officer' they left in charge. There seems no read of this which is not the precursor to, even in the most positive interpretation, an announcement in a few months that they are pulling the plug in X more months. Without someone 'at the helm', they have no control over us, but are still paying for us. We're nothing but a liability for them, from which it is hard to detach themselves. Our mods here do exceptional work, and our community is relatively benign, but, without a clear line of authority from Payer -> Admin -> Mods -> Users, our community here is always at risk.

    Do we even know how 'much this costs'. Would we need to raise like, $100 a month, or $10000 a month? Its hard to get real estimates but, posts I've seen elsewhere indicate that ongoing server costs might be in the $10s of dollars a month range? With startup costs and 'bug fixing' being additional yearly expenses.

    "That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User, Transition Team regular
    Tomanta wrote: »
    Xaquin wrote: »
    Tomanta wrote: »
    It should be noted for anyone not aware, there is a $1 Patreon tier specifically to support the forums.

    hasn't got me any special treatment yet!!

    You don't get ads!

    There's a discord!

  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User, Transition Team regular
    Sterica, question regarding the super-structure of the forums, in a situation where a post was made that brought the attention of the federal government to PA, who exactly would field that now?

    Ross-Geller-Prime-Sig-A.jpg
  • minor incidentminor incident expert in a dying field ---Registered User, Transition Team regular
    edited October 18
    Zonugal wrote: »
    Sterica, question regarding the super-structure of the forums, in a situation where a post was made that brought the attention of the federal government to PA, who exactly would field that now?

    Please do not attempt to organize another raid of Area 51.

    minor incident on
    Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User, Transition Team regular
    Zonugal wrote: »
    Sterica, question regarding the super-structure of the forums, in a situation where a post was made that brought the attention of the federal government to PA, who exactly would field that now?

    Please do not attempt to organize another raid of Area 51.

    They can't stop us all if we all activate our Naruto runs at the same time!!

    Ross-Geller-Prime-Sig-A.jpg
  • JokermanJokerman Registered User regular
    Zonugal wrote: »
    Sterica, question regarding the super-structure of the forums, in a situation where a post was made that brought the attention of the federal government to PA, who exactly would field that now?

    Please do not attempt to organize another raid of Area 51.

    Let him cook.

  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    tbloxham wrote: »
    Do we even know how 'much this costs'. Would we need to raise like, $100 a month, or $10000 a month? Its hard to get real estimates but, posts I've seen elsewhere indicate that ongoing server costs might be in the $10s of dollars a month range? With startup costs and 'bug fixing' being additional yearly expenses.

    I believe someone that knew about Vanilla fairly in depth said quite a while back that we're paying them around $1,000 a month for our customized setup, where the basic service is now completely free and open source. Maybe this has changed since then, but it's the only time I saw a quote by someone with experience.

    uyvfOQy.png
Sign In or Register to comment.