how about a DEMO of the coded flavour, We could code a real mean demo (more than 20 lines), and within this demo we could put the names of all the coders who want to see a bit more in the way of compos and prizes. A scroller based demo where everyone gets a chance to have their say in the scroller. If this demo is good enough, it will be seen by a lot of people and help gain support for the coder massive and mabey help acheive the goal of a more compo based forum. especially if every single contributer to the demo puts a link to it in every single post they make, also the sigs at the bottom of each post could have a common graphic of sorts that shows the unity of the coders on this forum who want to see change. failing that, we should form a UNION of coders who will all stick up for each other in the event the TGC staff get a bit heavy handed. after all it's your right to demonstrate for ANYTHING you feel needs to be changed.
Now, This could cause some problems. If you have seen the state that BLITZ CODERS has gotten itself into (YES I USE THE OTHER PACKAGE AS WELL). Members been banned for speaking out against certain aspects of the way that forum and company have been running things. We don't want to get our beloved forum closed down because it has decended into chaos. But at the same time we must also fight for what we think is right and just. TGC needs us to test it's bug ridden programs so as they can try to get problems fixed for the next release or fix. We do not get payed for this work. In fact we get NOTHING for this service. Also this RANDOM USER getting a free copy of DBP every month is a bit of a joke. It really is. This would be much better as a monthly prize for the best 20 line DBC program.
It is also my feeling that EVERYONE who has a showcase app on this site should recieve some sort of reward for providing this content for TGC to use as promo material. Some of the games on offer really are amazing. and the total number of man hours that goes into making such things is atronomical. again for a NULL reward.
As an individuals, we can make very little impact on these matters, But as an ARMY of coders WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
If the brown stuff hits the fan. I'm sure that between us, We could hire a fast server and create our own forum of PURE CODERS AND SUPPORTING ARTISTS (no real business intrest or profit margines to meet) and let TGC get on with what they are doing now.
CHANGE is something that ALL forum members should involved in, no matter how new they are to the programming game. It's our future as coders which matters, not the BUSINESS intrests of the company that provides these forums. BUT at the end of the day we want TGC to be a place that looks after it's main assets (being us). and we want TGC to be successful and a major player in the home coder scene. I personally love the products (even the buggy ones). And if TGC were to play the game properly then they would find that as well as giving products away for free as prizes, they would probably find that they will sell a hell of a lot more copies of their products as a result. the community would get larger and the constant competition would drive up the standards of code and supporting materials ( which are already high, but could be a LOT better). This is a super important subject matter which effects us all as coders. so please think about all the different ways that you think a difference could be made to this forum and post them right here or just start another thread.
regards fellow coding massive. geecee3. PEACE and LOVE to all.