I would estimate that 95% of my online experience with 40k until recently has been on DakkaDakka. My tactical articles, battle reports, questions, threads, discussions - everything.
Since I don't have the ability to GET into Dakka...and using my wife's account would probably get hers banned for circumventing moderation punishment, I created an account on Warseer. I need to be able to upload pictures for battle reports, and a blog isn't always the best place to ask questions or to solicit input from folks.
So...three days after creating an account on Warseer (I'm writing this on Monday, Memorial Day), I find myself quite disappointed with the website. My e-mail to Warseer administration below:
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Greetings.
I'm new to Warseer; I'm not new to 40k. I thought I would try bringing some of my battle reports and Tactical articles to Warseer to reach a new audience, and have run into some annoying problems.
1. The Gallery. There seems to be no ability to create sub-folders in a member gallery. I've been writing battle reports for two years on Dakka; I've got like 2,000 pictures uploaded that go with them. The last series of Necron battle reports that I did had 95 pictures in the first game. If there's no ability to section off pictures in the gallery, then it isn't feasible to use as an asset to create battle reports.
2. More on the Gallery: I can't even upload pictures to the gallery. Five at a time, I gave it a shot - I wanted to write one of my battle reports here instead of linking them from my blog - and got an error message that it had timed out. Second attempt failed as well.
3. Inability to post: Every time I make a post or create a thread, it's awaiting moderator approval. When does this end? It's impossible to actively participate in a conversation or in a thread when your words don't go live when you write them.
4. Character limit in posts: Combining some of these issues - I tried writing a tactical guide for my Necron Wraith Wing for your 40k tactical forums. Its a five part segment of how the army works. Its undefeated on the tournament scene - I travel around the country to play in GTs, and am not a local schmuck - I write some intricately detailed stuff to try helping people replicate what I do. 20,000 characters. I had to cut three parts out of my guide to get it under the character count.
And since my thread is awaiting moderator approval, I have no idea when it will go live. My initial plan was to post it, and immediately reply to my own OP with two more posts to put the rest of the guide in...but I can't even do that now because my posts need moderator approval before they can go public.
I have zero interest in posting 1/3 of a tactical guide, and a day later getting another 1/3 of it posted after a page of comments, and then a day later the last 1/3 getting posted as well - it makes it disjointed and unfriendly for users to read.
5. Inability to change the name of a topic. I posted a Battle report in 40k tactics. The post was a link to the battle report on my blog, since I hadn't yet figured out the gallery here...which is a good thing because its 95 pictures and far more than 20,000 characters. I later responded to the OP I made with a link to the second battle report - and that night created a new thread with the second battle report because the rely I had made with the link hadn't been approved from moderation yet, and I had forgotten that I made it.
So my second thread with the second battle report in it (only 65 pictures this time) got locked. Alright - so you guys want me it to one post. I can do that - except that I can't edit my original thread's title from "Dashofpepper's Necrons at Little Wars: Round One" to something else like "Jumbled Necron batrep links" or something.
I don't mean to sound irritated, but I am. The administrative functions on Warseer make it extremely difficult for a user (me) to bring useful content to the website because of its poor organizational options and control - everything that I've just listed.
I registered here so that I could bring tactical guides, battle reports, things that people would want to read, and find myself unable to create or post them. I don't know if the name "Dashofpepper" means anything to you guys. I want to help, I want to expand and enlighten the minds of 40k players...and am meeting roadblock after roadblock in trying to do so.
-Dash
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No, this isn't a rant about the small-mindedness or even greater propensity for trolls on Warseer that I usually hear. On the contrary, I haven't had the opportunity to experience the folks at Warseer....because of administrative roadblocks.
I guess I took it for granted that threads on Dakka didn't sit for 24 hours waiting for moderator approval. Imagine a YMDC thread that you create in the middle of a game of 40k not even getting POSTED until a day later? Being able to create folders in your gallery to sort pictures, threads not being capped by character length....basic administrative functionality.
Dakka has its own downsides of course - the biggest being an entire STABLE of trolls that bounce around causing trouble. Hell, Hulksmash is posting my battle reports for me and even WITHOUT my presence, they're getting multiple pages full of drama being perpetrated by ****tards.
Maybe I'm a little bitter. =p
Anyway! Dakka vs. Warseer. Pro vs. Con. Lets hear it from you!
