Admin Stress
Posted 11-30-2007 at 11:45 PM by Ciderhelm
Part of me right now wants to yell. Just yell.
The more time I spend working on this website, the more time I develop bitterness towards other "fansites" I visit.
Why? Because I read them, and I'm thinking, "wow, this took you a half hour to put together and looks like it came out of the game manual."
It actually makes me furious that some of these sites -- be they Warcraft or Tabula Rasa -- get more visitors than my site when they are feeding total crap to their visitors and giving it to them with 3+ paid advertisements from gold ads or other MMOs.
When I read Nihilum's Guide to the Warrior I was beside myself when I realized they were getting substantial money from 45 minutes worth of writing.
But it didn't start there. It started with WarcraftMovies, a site I helped grow with a series of movies back in 2005. The more I see that site the more I think, "wow, they are total tools," because every time I'm there I see gold ads everywhere. Do people not realize they are just a redesigned web forum? They actually slap advertising onto movies that take zero bandwidth from their servers (embedded Stage6, etc).
Tabula Rasa has really put the nail in the coffin for any hope of avoiding web-rage. Every site I've seen so far is just filled with information that is virtually copy-pasted from the game manual or is so absurdly obvious that it doesn't deserve to be posted. No one in the worldwide TR community has anything outstanding except for our handful of WoW posters on our own forums. Isn't it sad that the first fan-made movies -- three of them -- are sitting on our forum which gets 5 visitors an hour and hasn't even launched?
And here's why it all makes me so angry -- I don't have time to do better. My time is no longer focused on the broad development but on the trivial things like fixing templates and posting WoW or TR news. Part of me wants to say, "I'm better than these guys, I can do this alone," but I can no longer keep pushing the grand projects with how many small ones there are and how few hours there are in a day.
Which sucks, because beyond the forums, it really is only me developing right now, and each of my recent projects has been 6-8 hours long. This is further interrupted by raiding which -- like it or not -- is having a hugely negative impact on my schedule, even at only 3-4 nights a week.
I am stressed out.
I am burned out.
I told Veneretio in a private message, 'There's a point where a person is in so deep that they can't see the way out, and that's where I am. The consolation is that I know if I keep working, I will eventually get past it.'
It's true. I know I'll get past it. My plan is to get past it and create a job for myself out of all of this in the coming months and years -- something where I can be compensated for my work, and hopefully compensate others for theirs.
Because I'm sick of garbage, I really am sick of it. I know I can do a better job. I know everyone here is working to do a better job. And it sucks to see people who put no effort into their projects, or people who sell out to gold sellers and power-levelers, be more likely to stick around.
There are many things I want to do that I can't do alone and I can't do now. Creating a special movies page like WarcraftMovies is not a difficult thing to do for a smart programmer who understands vBulletin -- but it's beyond my own programming skill, and any time I invest into this project is time directly taken out of more important projects.
Yet, there are things I can do, and am doing. And they stress me out, but I do them because I believe they are worth doing.
I want the World of Warcraft website to succeed, and will continue working towards that. I want the World of Warcraft website to be accepted for Fansite status by Blizzard.
I want the Tabula Rasa website to succeed, and will continue working towards that. TabulaSpot has already been accepted for Fansite status by NCSoft.
I want the community of the World of Warcraft and Tabula Rasa sites to support the growth and viral marketing of the Eventide RPG project and a community based around that.
I want the site as a whole to be attractive to legitimate business and corporate sponsorship by 2009. I want to be able to afford things for our site like other gaming sites have, such as representatives to worldwide gaming conventions.
Because I believe we're better, and I believe we deserve that.
The more time I spend working on this website, the more time I develop bitterness towards other "fansites" I visit.
Why? Because I read them, and I'm thinking, "wow, this took you a half hour to put together and looks like it came out of the game manual."
It actually makes me furious that some of these sites -- be they Warcraft or Tabula Rasa -- get more visitors than my site when they are feeding total crap to their visitors and giving it to them with 3+ paid advertisements from gold ads or other MMOs.
When I read Nihilum's Guide to the Warrior I was beside myself when I realized they were getting substantial money from 45 minutes worth of writing.
But it didn't start there. It started with WarcraftMovies, a site I helped grow with a series of movies back in 2005. The more I see that site the more I think, "wow, they are total tools," because every time I'm there I see gold ads everywhere. Do people not realize they are just a redesigned web forum? They actually slap advertising onto movies that take zero bandwidth from their servers (embedded Stage6, etc).
Tabula Rasa has really put the nail in the coffin for any hope of avoiding web-rage. Every site I've seen so far is just filled with information that is virtually copy-pasted from the game manual or is so absurdly obvious that it doesn't deserve to be posted. No one in the worldwide TR community has anything outstanding except for our handful of WoW posters on our own forums. Isn't it sad that the first fan-made movies -- three of them -- are sitting on our forum which gets 5 visitors an hour and hasn't even launched?
And here's why it all makes me so angry -- I don't have time to do better. My time is no longer focused on the broad development but on the trivial things like fixing templates and posting WoW or TR news. Part of me wants to say, "I'm better than these guys, I can do this alone," but I can no longer keep pushing the grand projects with how many small ones there are and how few hours there are in a day.
Which sucks, because beyond the forums, it really is only me developing right now, and each of my recent projects has been 6-8 hours long. This is further interrupted by raiding which -- like it or not -- is having a hugely negative impact on my schedule, even at only 3-4 nights a week.
I am stressed out.
I am burned out.
I told Veneretio in a private message, 'There's a point where a person is in so deep that they can't see the way out, and that's where I am. The consolation is that I know if I keep working, I will eventually get past it.'
It's true. I know I'll get past it. My plan is to get past it and create a job for myself out of all of this in the coming months and years -- something where I can be compensated for my work, and hopefully compensate others for theirs.
Because I'm sick of garbage, I really am sick of it. I know I can do a better job. I know everyone here is working to do a better job. And it sucks to see people who put no effort into their projects, or people who sell out to gold sellers and power-levelers, be more likely to stick around.
There are many things I want to do that I can't do alone and I can't do now. Creating a special movies page like WarcraftMovies is not a difficult thing to do for a smart programmer who understands vBulletin -- but it's beyond my own programming skill, and any time I invest into this project is time directly taken out of more important projects.
Yet, there are things I can do, and am doing. And they stress me out, but I do them because I believe they are worth doing.
I want the World of Warcraft website to succeed, and will continue working towards that. I want the World of Warcraft website to be accepted for Fansite status by Blizzard.
I want the Tabula Rasa website to succeed, and will continue working towards that. TabulaSpot has already been accepted for Fansite status by NCSoft.
I want the community of the World of Warcraft and Tabula Rasa sites to support the growth and viral marketing of the Eventide RPG project and a community based around that.
I want the site as a whole to be attractive to legitimate business and corporate sponsorship by 2009. I want to be able to afford things for our site like other gaming sites have, such as representatives to worldwide gaming conventions.
Because I believe we're better, and I believe we deserve that.
Total Comments 6
Comments
 | Written in response to your reply on the "other" blog page. My two cents of advice comes from my experience with a guild growing rapidly to 25mans with casual raiders, meaning a large increase in the number of guildies. There was a time I knew everyone's rl name, chatted to each individually whenever they were online. That is no longer possible - but I trust that they have the guild on the top of their loyalty and priority list and trust that they know that I am always around if needed. I also have faith that other guildies will be there for them too and have formed friendships that make the guild stronger. Likewise, although many of us here at tankspot may be starting to blur into sheer numbers we all have a common fondness for this website, for WoW, tanking and/or TR. You will always be the reason that I came to this website in the first place and the reason I've stayed. You've turned me from a poorly specced arms warrior who was asked to tank trash in ZG one night to the MT of my guild. And now this website is turning me into a better officer, improving my knowledge and understanding of druid & pally tanking and dps warriors - without questioning your personal understanding of these classes this would not have been possible without the people who you have brought into tankspot. The official co-writers, the people who come here to get a sensible response to their questions and those characters (a word I choose specifically with a lot of love) who haunt the chatbox are all part of a strong community. A community who's strength allows it to flourish without needing you to read every word written but one that feels uplifted when you are around in chatbox and values your blogs, posts and effort more than anything. |
Posted 12-01-2007 at 01:29 AM by Shorty  |
| | Ciderhelm, I've been following your work for over 3 years. I an a former guildmate of Satrinas; although my real life schedule prevented me from continuous raiding with Satrina, I've continued to play and follow WoW. A few weeks ago, I got interested in TR and have just purchased the game and a new computer to play it with. I'm excited to start. Why the above? I wanted you to understand a bit about where I'm coming from. A HUGE reason I decided to read about and finally play TR was your recommendation. You're not responsible for anything from here on out, honest. I've been looking for a WoW alternative for a long time. But the tremendous work you've done for the warrior community hasn't gone unnoticed. This is my first post here, but I've been trolling for months, and I've sent countless other tanks here to learn. I admire your work like no other in the WoW universe--you define the spirit of the warrior. I, too, was incredibly dissapointed with the Nihilum warrior guide. What a joke. Your guides and work--coupled with that of people like Satrina--have lead tanks in WoW to where they are. Don't forget this. What I'm trying to say is this--thank you. Thank you for your countless hours of work, thank you for your dedication and time, and thank you for your devotion. I've followed you since trying to improve my MC tanking; I'll follow your work for as long as it exists. Please know that some of us realize quality, and we don't settle for the crap that is out there. As I move to TR and beyond, tankspot and tabulaspot will continue to be the home I look to for assistance. I'll look for you in game, TR game, once I get my new system up and going. Ryst aka Tiran |
| Posted 12-02-2007 at 07:37 PM by Ryst |
| |  "Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions." ~The Art of War by Sun Tzu Over quoted, but the reality is Sun Tzu speaks a lot of truth. You are right. There is a lot of garbage out there. There is a lot of people capitalizing on the short term and the reality is when we are writing about MMOs by their very nature they will have a short timeline relative to topics that other sites can discuss at great length over time. MMO sites are going to be flooded with duplicate content and unthoughtful posts because in the short term game raw content is greater than wisdom, preparation, insight, thoughtfulness, honour, authority, originality, etc. You've dreamed bigger than that though. You know what needs to be done and you aren't in it for the short term gain so don't worry about the short term players. Bitterness and resentment can have a way of destroying the soul. You have to remember that these short term game sites are not your competition. They are not in your league. The only way they can affecting your end result is if you let them. You've got a community filled with people willing to help and support you and that's an invaluable resource. Stay the course and eventually one day you'll glimpse a small light at the end of the tunnel and it'll get easier and then before you know it you'll be out of it. (ready to get lost in another :P) Take care my friend and remember to sleep  |
| Posted 12-03-2007 at 09:37 AM by veneretio |
| | Rest assured that your work has not gone unnoticed. I also frequent the Warrior forums over at the official WoW website, and have seen a number of posts directing players with questions here, to Tankspot. Your guides are stickied, and often referenced. People know the difference between helpful information and a crock of Tauren poo. And most WoW warriors who care about how well they play their class have already or will at some point read something that was on this site first. Players like Kungen get all the attention. Players like you, Ciderhelm, make it possible for players like me to perform better and enjoy the game more. And ultimately you will be remembered for your contributions to the community, because you affect a lot of people. By the way, what does it take to gain Fansite status? I really would have thought that Tankspot qualified. |
| Posted 12-05-2007 at 01:37 AM by Korintar |
| | I'd like to thank you Cinderhelm for all that you have done for the WoW tanking community. I have learned so very much from your site. It is the very best tanking site on the internet. It is very obvious that you spend a great deal of your time working on it. I've checked a lot of other tanking sites, and i can only bear to look thru them for about 10 minutes at most before i come back to tankspot/theoryspot. I agree. They are hack jobs. You've done a masterful job building this site. It is required reading for all my guild tanks (be they wars, feral, or palys), and highly reccomended for other spec warriors. also some of the posts concerning threat theory are required reading for all guildies. When i say cinderhelm said..... everyone knows exactly who im talking about. ok, im done singing praises (although deserved). I don't know much about web design or advertizing revinue, but it seems that you could get some advertizing on your site (not gold sellers or powerleveler sevices of course). I'd happily look at a couple ads in exchange for the great services you provide. As im always preaching to my guild Knowledge is the Key. And you site is where I go for tanking knowledge. thanks for the great site. BTW, really enjoyed the "Sounds" blog. Thought provoking. Matt |
| Posted 12-10-2007 at 12:51 AM by mattdeeze Updated 12-10-2007 at 01:07 AM by mattdeeze |
| |  I want to thank you guys for your responses. With that, thanks. I've read them several times and they've gotten me through a difficult stretch. |
Posted 12-11-2007 at 12:35 AM by Ciderhelm  |
Recent Blog Entries by Ciderhelm
- Map to End All Maps (Part 1) (07-14-2008)
- AOC Raiding Impressions (vs. WoW) (07-08-2008)
- Tank Skill (WoW wins over AoC) (07-03-2008)
- Barrow Dens Are Where Dreams Are Sent To Die (03-16-2008)
- I Hate Raiding. (03-09-2008)
