Good stuff guys. Nice to see all kinds of news and content wrapped up in a weekly update.

"Geometry Goat" lol

Thank you for the feature!

Thankyou c: that was unexpected lol.

Congrats to everyone mentioned, I am friends with most of these forgers ^^ I feel like we are all evolving as creators and producers. I wasn't expecting a feature at all, it made my year

****ing wonderful work folks. This is the weekly recap but better. And more awesome.

The Short Version:
The “Weekly Update” while meaning well, does little to provide actual value or informative information to the Forgehub community. Its shotgun approach falls short because it fails to provide meaningful context around the content it features. Thus, creating a data dump for the reader to sort through and leaving the reader to question the contents significance. The article honestly comes across as a content for the sake of content. The lack of originality is the nail the coffin and leaves me asking, “what about this article is exclusive to Forgehub versus any random halo site? What insight, approach or value is added by the Forgehub team?”

The conclusion I reach is nothing. Nothing about this article leverages the resources, creativity or talent that makes up the Forgehub team. Instead of something that’s interesting and unique, it’s forgettable.

The Long Version:
Let’s start with the question “What problem is this update attempting to solve?”
Answer: It is meant to be “a multi-faceted article aimed at keeping you up to date on the latest and greatest from the Forge community.”

Great! That works as long as the vastness of the “forge community” is kept in mind. By picking a topic that is so large you should ask questions like “how do we keep things in focus?” “How will the content and information be filtered?” etc. Before any of it can be shared the most important question that needs to be answered: is, “is this the best way to present the information?”

I like this question because it also addresses the first question I asked that being “What problem is this update attempting to solve?”

Even the former “Forge cast” didn't do the best job at communicating its information. Both articles provide a list of upcoming events/lobbies members can participate in but why?
Is it informative? Yes.
Is it the best way to present the information? No.
Why is this information not being presented in a calendar on the homepage? I would even settle for an image of a calendar in the update. It’s a more concise way to share the information.

The "Forge cast" was meant to address the fact that the homepage calendar is broken or currently not functional (if this is false, I don’t understand then why the resource is being underutilized). Posting upcoming events in an article/list is not the end of the world and it is better than nothing in the short-run. However, with a “new” format now called “Weekly update” and its inclusion of the same list the problem remains unaddressed. If nothing is done over time, this then turns into an unspoken rule/acceptance were we all know what is broke but no one ever fixes it (the rating systems is an example of this). And plainly accepting something as broken is stupid.

"Prefab of the week" is a fine idea, because of its limited scope but you picked a prefab from Spet. 2016. There’s nothing more current you could have selected? I would have settled for something from 2017 but picking something from eight months ago is counterproductive. Even the title “weekly update” suggest that the information presented will be timely and current. If the author is not going to take the article/information presented seriously why should I the reader care about what you have to say?

The “Community Monitor” section I thought was good. However, it was then completely undermined by the fact that you spotlighted a YouTuber and then didn’t include any of their work. Only to include a video for the map Spartan Run, essentially featuring it twice. If you felt the need to include a video for Spartan Run why was it not attached to the "customs spotlight"?

The other issue with “Community videos” is, there are too many of them, how about three instead of six. Also, there is no explanation. Why were these videos selected? Is the cinematography noteworthy, or maybe the dialog/approach to the video is interesting? Etc. But instead, nothing's explained no justification is given. There just random videos… three map features, two unrelated tutorials, and an interview.

“Clip of the week” was good, but a short Q/A or something on how it was forged/how the problem was solved would have been nice to see.

If you have questions about specifics I’ve covered, let me know. While I understand the idea, I hate the execution. I just wish Forgehub leveraged the resources, talent, and attention it has to make great content and raise the bar instead of settling for low hanging fruit.

-Vent

kev, u aint getting away wit this

Talk about an information dump

--- Double Post Merged, Apr 19, 2017 ---

Your walkthroughs are nice, but maybe include the intro cams. If they are bad maybe do your own slow pans? That would increase the quality a ton i think.

Few things mate -
First of all, from my recollection of chats I've had, this article series is a way to shout out people who are doing great things in the community. This isn't meant to be a perfect recap of everything that happened in the past week, and the same can be said for other site recaps for sites like HaloCustoms, TeamBeyond, and even youtubers. Even the previous iteration of this site update series (i.e. Forge-Cast) tried to meet the goals set out by this article series, with weekly shoutouts of members doing great things.

As for the calendar, I do know that things are being done about that feature (and many others) to make it functional, and as a matter of fact that push was being made so the Forge-Cast wouldn't be necessary. Calling this series out for not providing a calendar is really not relevant, as the Forge-Cast provided essentially the same thing each week, and I can personally confirm from my own contributions to the site that dates and schedules for articles and whatnot were honestly never held completely anyway. Not saying it's a good thing, but regardless, this series is changing to different topics that benefit the community, rather than more of the same.

Also, calling out an 'originality' problem is irrelevant. ForgeHub has had an extensive past of doing full-blown features of community content, with both the Community Favorites votes AND the regular content features done in the past, both of which lead to the top maps being in a grand collection of community content displayed at all times on the Maps page, that being ForgeHub's Featured Maps Collection. Maybe I have some sort of bias somehow, but I think that, IN ADDITION to a weekly community recap like this is unique enough in itself, and something I've personally never observed on any other website.

As for a better use of ForgeHub's tools and talents, I can agree better use of these tools is possible, with more organized efforts to make the content creation process easier. However, there's two factors you have to remember - first, these people are volunteers, and they work on the team because they love to do so, and are passionate about the site and it's future. Second, Halo, and Forge in general, is very much in a lull in terms of new content to enjoy. There isn't much new content for forgers to delve into, and therefore content creators have little to write on. Referring to weekly recaps like these as the site's best work is not only ignorant of the hard work the site's staff has put in, but also simply unfair to the fact that nobody here is being paid to do the work.

Criticizing the contents of the article is just fine, and I believe that with some refinement, this series can become a worthwhile read every week, like that of a Sunday newspaper for Forge. However, while feedback is good for site success, just please keep in mind that recaps like these aren't and never were meant to be the mystical "perfect staple series" that many people seem to want, and that sometime soon in the future, more features and site content is coming.

/response

@AlexVan123 while I understood your comments, there are some specific I would like to address:

It's "not meant to be a perfect recap of the week’s events".
I never said it was/should be. I said it should clearly identify the intended audience and expand on the issues/topics it covers (similar to the actual news). I'll give you that in some areas it does, but in other areas, it does not.

"Not providing a calendar is really not relevant"
Calendar/list only is meant to demonstrate the question "is this the best possible way to present the information" I don't think a list format is but if the Forgehub teams feel differently, then go for it's their product. Dismissing the suggestion and claiming it as "not relevant" I feel is foolish but once again it's their product.

"schedules and events not always happening as planned"
To a degree, this is outside of the staff's control. I did not and have not faulted the Forgehub team on this and frankly, it is not an issue I care about.

If this is proving to be an issue you could simply not feature members that are not committed/reliable. If I say “I’m hosting a lobby” and it's featured and then I fail to follow through repeatedly, that simply show’s I’m unreliable and not trustworthy.

I hosted several BIOC lobbies back in the day and on occasion, I had to cancel. It’s a bummer when it happens but I aways had full lobbies because I was reliable and fair. It's how I met a lot of the infection community (but I’m getting off topic). So, if this is an actual issue it’s something that should address internally.

"but regardless, this series is changing to different topics that benefit the community, rather than more of the same."
Changing the topics & name alone does not create new or diverse content or ideas. Actions are what cause actual change. I’ll ask the question “What is different about the weekly update versus Forge cast?” I’m not talking about surface nonsense, fundamentally what’s different about this approach. An example answer could be "it’s more about building a dialogue with our audience." Great! But if that’s the case your action need to then back that up and frankly, the update as it currently stands, falls short of that for me (If you disagree cool, then we disagree).

The Forge cast could have highlighted a month's worth of events in one post (this would have required more planning and coordination, but is possible). If done this way it would have meant that only 12 posts would have been created over a years timeframe versus 52 by making it weekly. In the short run, Forgehub is incentivized to make it weekly because it’s less planning/stress and it means every week there will be at least one “new” thing posted. However, in the long run, it hurts Forgehub because when it’s more or less just a list of the same lobbies on repeat, why should the audience care.

This relates to the “Weekly Update” because it will suffer a similar issue if it just spotlights content and does not provide any context as to why the audience should care about. Just saying here a video watch it doesn’t work. Point at something just to point at it does not build connections, it just creates noise. And that is what I mean when I say “more of the same”.

Originality & "IN ADDITION to a weekly community recap like this is unique enough in itself, and something I've personally never observed on any other website.”

Originality is an issue because when every halo site is fighting for an audience's attention sites like Forgehub need to build competitive advantages to keep and retain their audience. Forgehub’s main competitive advantage is its map collection but other sites have them (ie: Halocustoms and 343i community forms). Along with that "recaps and map features" have been done for ages, so it's unclear to me what you're talking about when you say "IN ADDITION to a weekly community recap like this is unique enough in itself, and something I've personally never observed on any other website.” I guess what specifically haven't you seen/is unique to Forgehub? Sure, Forgehub might do something better, but being better at something in and of itself doesn't make it unique.

"you have to remember - first, these people are volunteers"
I didn't forget, nor did I suggest otherwise...

"There isn't much new content for forgers to delve into, and therefore content creators have little to write on."
While I understand your premise, that being 343i has not created new content thus there is nothing for "content creators" to talk about. The statement is flawed. You can't call yourself a "Content Creator" and then claim there is no content. If that's the case then you're to blame for not creating it. If you need someone else to make something in order for you to have something to talk about; that would make you at best a reporter.

If you want to counter with "now you're just getting tangled up in the semantics" Sure, I'll yield but the reason I make the point is because the mindset/approach to a creator vs. a reporter is incredibly different. Why not try and figure out new and cool things that can be done with the tools that already exist instead of waiting for someone else to make new ones?

"Referring to weekly recaps like these as the site's best work is not only ignorant of the hard work the site's staff has put in, but also simply unfair to the fact that nobody here is being paid to do the work."
To be honest the basis of the statement is more of a character attack and/or an emotional response than a practical rebuttal because it suggests that I lack both the knowledge and empathy to understand another's point of view; as well as the time it takes to create content and led teams. Both of which are false.

I never said nor suggested that the "Weekly Update" is the site's best work. To be frank I said it sucked and that the team could to better. The comparisons/examples I gave I thought were fair. I tried to compare apples to apples.

ignorant means: lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject, uninformed; unaware. I'm very aware of the work it takes to run a site and led teams. I'm a part of BIOC and have led my own team called "Atlas" since 2011. Also, War and Omi are friends of mine and I know how hard they both work. Omi busted his ass off on several of the matchmaking infection updates, making sure the maps would play properly. So I get it.

The fact that no one is getting paid, is not a strong argument. I understand your point, everyone's volunteering their own time because it's something that interests them. I will say it's nice to have a place to share ideas and creations. But to be blunt there are several things the site/team could do to monetize its content. Simply because they have chosen not to is on them.

If the products and services were highly valued/demanded the Forgehub team would be getting paid. To be honest there is not a lot of demand. The halo forge community is a very niche group and a small number of people and the members of that community that use tools like Forgehub are even smaller. If demand is low, you can't expect much of a return and if you voluntarily take part in an action where you know full well the outcome, you then can't use it as justification for your behavior when it's criticized (good or bad). The lack of pay should not be a justification for lowering the bar. Now I might have read a little too far into this but that's how it came across.

The whole point of my feedback was to simply say. "I think you can do better and I wish you would", but saying that without justifying why/how would just fall on deaf ears. At the end of the day, I'm pretty sure were on the same side.

-Vent

Awesome, thanks for the update. Spartan Run is definitely a unique one.

@Ascend Hyperion I was going to just address some points you made but then it just turned into a rant. Sorry but I think it's worthwhile.

"We're not trying to solve a problem.The Weekly Update was not created as a response to something else. Like stated before, the goal is to provide a variety of content to members that they otherwise may have missed out on in a way that is consistent, open and fresh each week."
Please tell me, that by rereading that statement you see the obvious contradiction. "The update was not created as a response to something else" but we've identified an issue (aka a problem), that being members missing out on noteworthy content.

Based solely on your statement:
The problem you are trying to solve is "members not being exposed to noteworthy content"
Your solution is "to provide a variety of noteworthy content in a consistent way (aka the weekly update)"

The weekly update was 100% created in response to what you determined as an unmet need. I don't know how to be any clearer than that.

"Now, if you feel there is a larger problem to work through, I implore you to share with the team so that we can take steps together to address it."
There are but they're not exclusive to Forgehub (I was just going to leave it at that but then I started to respond and it turned into a rant)

The only thing I'll ask is "how does this article make Forgehub better". My opinion is the basis for the article is wrong. I don't think the majority of the Forgehub community is ill-informed nor misses out on content. I think between their Discord feeds, Youtube subscriptions, daily monitoring of the "Maps" page on Forgehub and other websites they visit; They're more than knowledgeable. Do a few maps fall through the cracks here and there? Sure, but that's inevitable. I think your trying to meet a need that's really already being filled by other outlets and I don't think creating a generalized aggregate is really a "value-added" activity. And even if it is I don't feel the current approach does it dramatically better than the other sources they are currently subscribed too.

Who really is the target audience for this kind of update? Based on what you've said I would take it to be a member of the community who's sort of half in half out. They are interested in forge content but they don't check websites or youtube that often maybe only once or twice a week.

I don't believe that demographic is a meaningful percentage of the Forgehub community. I could be wrong, I don't have the data to know that but I have to imagine you and the other staff members do (and if the site really doesn't track page views, logins, average time on site, etc. IDK what you're doing then).

I'll even, ask "What KPI's do you have/use" (Key performance indicators)? It's been said multiple times that this is something the staff wanted to do and wants to grow. Great! what metrics did you guys create or determine were important in order to measure whether or not this series would be deemed a success? If you don't have any KIP's are you seriously telling you guys just make stuff and just arbitrarily determine whether or not it works? Feelings and the lack of meaningful data make terrible decisions.

If I asked what the vision is, and what the long-range strategy for Forgehub is could you tell me? Are these kinds of questions even being asked?
I fully recognize that I'm beyond off topic but if no one on staff is asking these kinds of questions, I don't know how you guys figure anything out. For all, I know you guys do and I'm wrong.

"Spartan Run & Calendar"
The Spartan run was just some worth pointing out. I don't really think anyone was pushing an agenda #corruptstaff. The whole point of the calendar is to challenge an idea and ask if the best corse of action is being taken.

I hope my rant was somewhat helpful. I don't post much anymore so it's nice to actually have a dialogue with people and have it not turn toxic.

Thanks for the fun,
-Vent