Mod Spotlight Feature

A few cents of mine:

• Very small mods should get excepted (for example, simple interface changers ^^)
• I would suggest a biweekly spotlighting

Uh. That’s all.

i guess he means only big mods/TCs shasl get in the “spotlight”

if so i have to approve, but where is the limit of calling a mod “too small”?

Disallowed. We should only spotlight larger mods, SP mods (for example order) or mods which can be or are hosted by servers. (Just my opinion)

FF kinda gave me an ear bashing about not publicly posting my ideas. I suppose this is a failing of mine…

Ok, so the ‘Mod Spotlight Feature’ is in my opinion a great idea. And one the Admin/Staff team have discussed, bounced around and toyed with for a long time. I don’t think any of us expected such a positive amount of feedback. It’s great! ;D

When we first originally started the discussion it was part of a ‘Newsletter’ discussion we were having many months back.

I will answer each of FF’s questions above with my answers to help stimulate some more brainstorming

*** How should the mod selection process be executed? Should we make a thread where mods can register for spotlight and then we randomly pick which mod is featured?**

Yes this would work well in my opinion. And I also think strict guidelines need to be put in place for those posting to register. One thing I agree with is your comment;

“Participating in the FLCN for more than two weeks would be mandatory for any mod wanting to benefit from the Spotlight feature”

If the Mod’s creator wants something out of us, they need to first give us something. That something is very small - the usage of FLCN on thier site.

*** How often should it be? Weekly, biweekly, monthly?**

This depends on how you will present the spotlight? If you decide to make it forum based with a Newsletter / Eshot then doing it weekly might annoy people by filling thier inboxes. But then if you did this monthly it would take us about 2 years to do one full cycle of Mods before getting back to the start.

I guess biweekly is a good scale.

*** How should coverage go? What advantages/parts should the feature have?**

So what should the Starport report on you mean?

Well we need a detailed description of the Mod. Something that jumps out, not ‘Hi this is my mod, I made 2 new systems’…. YAWN!!!
Screenshots
Concept Art if applicable
History to the Mod
Interviews with Admin/Developers
Future updates and Projects from that particular Mod team.

*** Should the modders submit the content of their spotlight? Should the SP admins pick what to cover by themselves? Should there be some predefined structure in which the modder must submit his/her content?**

I think as per my above answer. And submitted by the Modders/Developers.

*** To what extent should the Spotlight be? Should the mod have a special ad somewhere on the layout? Should there be an independent section titled “Mod Spotlight” with all the content or should it blend with the front page news? Should all coverage be strictly enclosed in the forums?**

Lets really sing about this. Lets get out there and shout about The Starport bringing the community so close together that we can host ‘Mod Spotlights’ and still remain impartial.

So lets have a dedicated Advertisement spot for the 2 weeks during that Mods spotlight.
Lets still an Article on the Frontpage on dayone advertising that biweekly highlighted Mod.
Lets have a dedicated section to the forum where we can post these detailed descriptions etc. With a Q&A section also. Give the developers somewhere else to answer questions.
And lets chuck out a Newsletter also!

If we are going to do this, lets make a real go at it. No half ass attempts, lets shout about it and make everyone take notice.

from a technical point of view id suggest to create something that can be added at least to the big FL communities which already promote FL mods
A php code that can be included into a site, maybe based on stylesheets so every site can do adjustments.

I also think its very important that the mod creators can update their mods at any point of time to avoid that outdated mods are presented.

To discuss about which size a mod should have is not that important. Its more what a mod should do. If a mod does noticable changes to either singleplayer or multiplayer then it should be supported (if someone decides to create 10 new systems then we still talk about just a few kb but those systems might look good and are used on servers).

I can create almost every flash thing you could need, for example a video player or cycling through mods with timer don’t know
just ask

Participating in the FLCN for more than two weeks would be mandatory for any mod wanting to benefit from the Spotlight feature

Im not so hot on this requirement.

@OPR8R:

from a technical point of view id suggest to create something that can be added at least to the big FL communities which already promote FL mods
A php code that can be included into a site, maybe based on stylesheets so every site can do adjustments.

Nice idea. ‘Mod Spotlight brought to you by the Starport Community’ posted on SWAT… I like it   Just messing with you mate.

It’s a good idea and has great potention.

@OPR8R:

I also think its very important that the mod creators can update their mods at any point of time to avoid that outdated mods are presented.

Creators will be able to submit thier latest mods to be highlighted, but remember by the time the cycle has ‘gone round’ once they might have 2 or 3 releases more. I would recommend Mods only be submitted when large substantial changes have been made. This is out of fairness so all Mods get good coverage.

@OPR8R:

To discuss about which size a mod should have is not that important. Its more what a mod should do. If a mod does noticable changes to either singleplayer or multiplayer then it should be supported (if someone decides to create 10 new systems then we still talk about just a few kb but those systems might look good and are used on servers).

I actually agree here. I think as long as a good description is included then all Mods should have the chance to be highlighted and placed in the spotlight. Its also a confidence boost to the smaller Mod teams to be included.

@Forsaken:

Participating in the FLCN for more than two weeks would be mandatory for any mod wanting to benefit from the Spotlight feature

Im not so hot on this requirement.

Ok, so why?

I’m not picking a fight, but if we are brainstorming here, lets provide feedback on WHY we dont like ideas, or why we do.

And if we dont like something, lets provide an alternative.

I agree with pretty much everything both Roo and Opr8r have mentioned, particularly with portable PHP or something code that, similar to the FLCN, could be easily added to other sites.

When it comes to deciding what fits the spotlight bill, I think voting is the best course of action. This prevents mods from being too arbitrarily accepted or declined.

Also, I agree with Op’s point on being able to update your own mod’s stuff, that way new content can be showcased as well. I suppose letting individuals change their own information in the spotlight could lead to an inappropriate material / spam case popping up (which would especially be an issue if the spotlight is a portable widget across many communities), however I think those could be dealt with on a case-by-case basis - only legit mods would make the spotlight in the first place.

@Roo:

“Participating in the FLCN for more than two weeks would be mandatory for any mod wanting to benefit from the Spotlight feature”

This would be an effective way for helping the spotlight from becoming too flooded, but what about the newer, less “grounded” mods? This would automatically exclude them, even if they have a lot to show - they’d be as deserving of the spotlight as any.

Perhaps if the spotlight were “portable” like the community bar, mods would be required to place the spotlight widget to be candidates for the spotlight. The only exceptions to this would be:

1. If the mod’s “HQ” was something like a forum topic on a site - as long as the site participated in the spotlight program
2. If the mod was primarily hosted on ModDB - the spotlight widget would somehow have to be placed in the summary (you can edit the raw HTML of mod summaries, but I’m not 100% positive if it would allow this - I’m sure certain HTML is disabled)

@FriendlyFire:

As for the portable PHP code, the only issue I have with that is security. Executing remote code is always dangerous, and unless we make iframes (yuck), we’d have to let any site access our database directly. That’s not very good… Unless someone has a bright suggestion to do it without further compromising our security? (We’ve seen some people appear to be very interested in messing with us so let’s not give them additional methods of doing so)

Yeah I have an idea about that:
You could create it comeletly in Flash(I know that people won’t like that but you really can design better and make it more interactive) whitch can communicate with php scripts on your server that send out the data. Would be simple and cool looking.

thats why i said noticable changes to single or multiplayer

I dont see a problem with using php code since only the output functions are being called outside the original page

@Roo:

@Forsaken:

Participating in the FLCN for more than two weeks would be mandatory for any mod wanting to benefit from the Spotlight feature

Im not so hot on this requirement.

Ok, so why?

I’m not picking a fight, but if we are brainstorming here, lets provide feedback on WHY we dont like ideas, or why we do.

And if we dont like something, lets provide an alternative.

Oh, I understand you arent trying to be difficult.  I was just thinking this was to promote all FL mods, and I guess I’m having problems grasping why people have to be involved in a certain network or “group” to have their mod mentioned.

Fair point. With the FLCN, I was mostly thinking along the lines of mods that were simply too small to even have a site yet - take Itano Circus for example, which budded in these forums and later in ModDB. However, these fourms technically participate in the FLCN, so I guess that would qualify.

As for a portable PHP widget, I have absolutely no idea what to suggest, as I am not very well-versed when it comes to web design. Perhaps have the widget only read/display information - to change information, the user would have to do it through Starport directly?

On a side note, Forsaken does raise an interesting point, and I’m not really sure how to comment on it. On one hand, I do not agree with forcing communities into certain actions to get recognized. On the other hand, I also do not agree with a community that refuses to support other communities getting support themselves, as that’s rather selfish. It could be argued both ways.

@Forsaken:

Oh, I understand you arent trying to be difficult.  I was just thinking this was to promote all FL mods, and I guess I’m having problems grasping why people have to be involved in a certain network or “group” to have their mod mentioned.

Yes, this is to advertise all Mods. But at the same time, the FLCN is to advertise ALL servers and communities, all we ask is the bar be placed on your site. Call it a sign of respect that you are not only supporting your own growth but the growth of the entire community.

Do you not feel that by adding this restriction into the ‘submission process’ we are in the long run improving our life line and growing our member base? There are many communities out there still seperated and not part of an overall community; whether this be SWAT, SP etc. If one of those sites caught wind of a ‘Mod Spotlight Feature’ and joined the FLCN (as suggested as a requirement) not only have we gained a new Mod but a new server as part of our community circle.

Surely this is a good thing?

I do see your point of view and appreciate where you are coming from. But I think it can only help and improve the overall community by imposing a small restriction.

@FriendlyFire:

2. What’s preventing a mod from going in the FLCN and then going in the Spotlight? If your mod can’t last for a bit more than a month, I doubt you were serious anyways. And if you don’t want to get into the FLCN, I think there’s an ideology issue. I’m fine with providing a service, but I think participating in the FLCN isn’t a worry for anyone but those who want to completely isolate themselves from the FL community, in which case I won’t help them get traffic so they can selfishly keep it for themselves.

I think FF expands quite nicely on my point of view here.

@foxUnit01:

On a side note, Forsaken does raise an interesting point, and I’m not really sure how to comment on it. On one hand, I do not agree with forcing communities into certain actions to get recognized. On the other hand, I also do not agree with a community that refuses to support other communities getting support themselves, as that’s rather selfish. It could be argued both ways.

It is a difficult decision to be made, and not one we can make lightly. I do see both sides here, and respect all opinions. Of course I will fight the corner of my opinion, but do respect yours.

I suppose in a situation like this, we need to ask the community as a whole how we should proceed? A vote maybe?

@Roo:

If one of those sites caught wind of a ‘Mod Spotlight Feature’ and joined the FLCN (as suggested as a requirement) not only have we gained a new Mod but a new server as part of our community circle.

Surely this is a good thing?

I do see your point of view and appreciate where you are coming from. But I think it can only help and improve the overall community by imposing a small restriction.

Also a fair point, and in that respect, I agree with you. Community participation is never a bad thing, in my opinion.

How should the mod selection process be executed? Should we make a thread where mods can register for spotlight and then we randomly pick which mod is featured?

The simplest solution would to just have a specific topic where each mod creator can submit one large post about their mod. This way they can easily keep it up to date with the latest screenshots and content, ensuring that if they get spotlight, the content is up to date. From that thread, the “winner” must be randomly chosen. As has been pointed out, a voting process will always devolve into a popularity contest, and if the SP admins select themselves, they are already introducing bias.

How often should it be? Weekly, biweekly, monthly?

I would like weekly so that we can go through the mods fairly quick. Definitely no longer than biweekly.

How should coverage go? What advantages/parts should the feature have?

Name, Screenshots, Video, Text Description, Links. There were some suggestions of going all out with interviews and stuff. That’s nice if people are willing to put in the effort.

Should the modders submit the content of their spotlight? Should the SP admins pick what to cover by themselves? Should there be some predefined structure in which the modder must submit his/her content?

Modders submit and maintain their own content similar to moddb. SP admins should never pick what is to be covered. Predefined structure always makes things more organized. A structure like listed above is fine.

To what extent should the Spotlight be? Should the mod have a special ad somewhere on the layout? Should there be an independent section titled “Mod Spotlight” with all the content or should it blend with the front page news? Should all coverage be strictly enclosed in the forums?

There should be a box off to the side with a small splash image of the mod, along with the title “Featured Mod” above it. Basically like this.

Requiring FLCN status.

I am split on this. Requiring FLCN status just makes sense. The only issue I have with requiring FLCN status is that “homeless,” up and coming mods will have no representation, and in my opinion, they are the ones that deserve spotlightage the most.

The Real Issue

There is one very important thing everyone seems to be missing here. Yes its nice to hold little mod spotlight thingies, but when you think about it, you are advertising Freelancer to people that already play it. What needs to be done with the mod spotlight is post it somewhere else everytime it gets updated. Moddb is one option. I’m not exactly sure how moddb works, but if you could post the spotlight as a regular article under Freelancer, that would be terrific.