SWC One Year Anniversary Count Down

It is now August 15, 2013. The count down, for a very significant date in SmashWorldCommunity (and Super Smash Bros. World), has begun. Do you know what I am talking about? August 17th! To many, this is just your average Saturday. But, to the members of SmashWorldCommunity and Super Smash Bros. World, it has been exactly one year since IGN shut down [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. It was, indeed, difficult for many of us. Some have departed as a result of this. 

But there are others in the community that refused to part ways. There was a small group that was determined to keep the community of Smash World alive - the group that would eventually rebrand themselves as SmashWorldCommunity. 

Yup! You read it correctly - it has almost been one year since the closure of Super Smash Bros. World, and the birth of Smash World Community. So, if you guys are up for it, I suggest we do something in celebration for this upcoming occasion. Since we are a community, I think it would be best if we all decide what to do, if you guys are up for it. 

Leave your thoughts below.

The link is incorrect. But yeah almost one year. Wow.

I've fixed the link. It's amazing, isn't it? We've had a lot of growth in the past year. At first, we started out as a simple Super Smash Bros. World replacement, but over time, we've become more than that; we've become a great Super Smash Bros. forum. We probably won't become as popular as, say, Smash Boards or All is Brawl for a long time, but we'll definitely become more popular over time, particularly if we keep up our advertising. As a matter of fact, that's what has been happening. We've seen new people who didn't post at Super Smash Bros. World post here. Although I wish we could be a bit more active, particularly at the Member-created Games sub-forum (It would be great if users other than me would hold new games), I'm sure we'll become more active over time. It's been a great year so far, and I'm sure things will get even better over time.

*Sheds tear*

Was it really a whole year ago that the news that the site was closing hit us like a ton of bricks?  Most of us were too stunned to really do anything, but I think it was DarkMarth and I who were determined to get something up and going.  The rush was unnecessary, given that you can still comment on that site even now, but the fact that we were able to get this site up and running so fast was shocking (thanks for that Marth!).  This is really kind of our brainchild, and I'd love to see it grow.  It'll take time, but for now, I'm glad of the few people that we have who constantly post.

In terms of stuff we can do?  I know of stuff that needs done, like I've gotta finish the archives, and we should still make a little icon to replace that green speech bubble, but in terms of celebrations?  I don't really know...

It has been great to see our community thrive beyond the SSBW closure nearly one year ago. Largely, this is thanks to the dedicated users we have (much unlike myself, of late, anyway) Surely a celebration of some kind is in order.

In all honesty, I do feel that the community has become a bit... generic since this closure. In the transition, we have had a shift away from what made our site unique (the stages, the snapshots), towards a general discussion forum, like Smash Boards, or All is Brawl, like Lugia mentioned. If we aim to become more popular, perhaps we could celebrate with a new mission statement, a refreshed outlook and a plan to make our site something unique that has a point of difference (other than the awesome, tight-knittedness we have here). 

Just a constructive suggestion.

ShockBubble wrote:It has been great to see our community thrive beyond the SSBW closure nearly one year ago. Largely, this is thanks to the dedicated users we have (much unlike myself, of late, anyway) Surely a celebration of some kind is in order.

In all honesty, I do feel that the community has become a bit... generic since this closure. In the transition, we have had a shift away from what made our site unique (the stages, the snapshots), towards a general discussion forum, like Smash Boards, or All is Brawl, like Lugia mentioned. If we aim to become more popular, perhaps we could celebrate with a new mission statement, a refreshed outlook and a plan to make our site something unique that has a point of difference (other than the awesome, tight-knittedness we have here). 

Just a constructive suggestion.

Hey, we're all in this together.  Don't be afraid to speak your mind.

I still think we should emphasize the stage building portion of the community, because, after all, isn't that what our main focus was before?  I've done a few things myself, but even I have slacked off building stages as well.  However, a good portion of what we did was also just discussing things, because that takes very little effort to do.  So, no, I don't think we've strayed too far, but again, the switch to a forum design definitely changed things.

In terms of a mission statement...well...let me show you what I put in the description of all of our videos.

"Like Smash Bros.? Tired of all the competitive mumbo-jumbo and just want to relax and chat about your favorite character? You've come to the right place! Head on over to our official site to get news, discussions, custom stages, and more."

I feel like we are pitching ourselves as a more carefree, less competitive, and more tight-knit community.  At least, that's the way I see it.

ZeldaFan996 wrote:

ShockBubble wrote:It has been great to see our community thrive beyond the SSBW closure nearly one year ago. Largely, this is thanks to the dedicated users we have (much unlike myself, of late, anyway) Surely a celebration of some kind is in order.

In all honesty, I do feel that the community has become a bit... generic since this closure. In the transition, we have had a shift away from what made our site unique (the stages, the snapshots), towards a general discussion forum, like Smash Boards, or All is Brawl, like Lugia mentioned. If we aim to become more popular, perhaps we could celebrate with a new mission statement, a refreshed outlook and a plan to make our site something unique that has a point of difference (other than the awesome, tight-knittedness we have here). 

Just a constructive suggestion.

Hey, we're all in this together.  Don't be afraid to speak your mind.

I still think we should emphasize the stage building portion of the community, because, after all, isn't that what our main focus was before?  I've done a few things myself, but even I have slacked off building stages as well.  However, a good portion of what we did was also just discussing things, because that takes very little effort to do.  So, no, I don't think we've strayed too far, but again, the switch to a forum design definitely changed things.

In terms of a mission statement...well...let me show you what I put in the description of all of our videos.

"Like Smash Bros.? Tired of all the competitive mumbo-jumbo and just want to relax and chat about your favorite character? You've come to the right place! Head on over to our official site to get news, discussions, custom stages, and more."

I feel like we are pitching ourselves as a more carefree, less competitive, and more tight-knit community.  At least, that's the way I see it.

To be completely honest, I have been thinking of ways to redirect our focus on stage sharing as well. However, being a forum, the one obstacle that seems to keep getting in the way is associated with the ease of accessing our stages. One of the most essential questions we need to answer, if we are ever going to really emphasize on stage sharing, is "How do we make it easy for the user to view and access stage files?" 

As you can see, there really is no easy answer. To become a successful stage sharing medium, it would be to our best benefit to have the following features:

- Easy/quick file (stage) upload/download. 
- Easy/quick access to content 

As you can see, our current system for sharing stages is not really what you would describe as "quick and easy". It is not too hard, but there is still some things to it that some visitors may find "time consuming and unnecessary". But most those factors are beyond our control.

Well, at least when we first started, we hoped of starting a brand new site from scratch as soon as we had the resources, to hopefully mimic the design of Super Smash Bros. World.  That's still a possibility later down the road.

However, it is actually relatively simple to post stages here.  All you need is a Mediafire account, and a Photobucket account.  I have been able to post my own stages, along with all of the ones in the archives using this method.

ZeldaFan996 wrote:Well, at least when we first started, we hoped of starting a brand new site from scratch as soon as we had the resources, to hopefully mimic the design of Super Smash Bros. World.  That's still a possibility later down the road.

However, it is actually relatively simple to post stages here.  All you need is a Mediafire account, and a Photobucket account.  I have been able to post my own stages, along with all of the ones in the archives using this method.

Yes, it is rather easy. However, compared to, say, Super Smash Bros. World, it does require a little more work. I guess what I am trying to say is that when designing a website it is important to take into consideration how simple processes will be for viewers. If sharing a stage in AiB simply requires me to fill out a form, I'd much rather share my stage there. Alternatively, here at SWC, I have to create a Mediafire account, then I have to create a photobucket account, then I upload my stage file to Mediafire, then I have to go into my game and take a stage photo to use as an image, then I have to convert it from a binary file (bin) to a jpeg or png file, then I have to upload that to photobucket... Then, once I have gotten through all of that, I have to get the appropriate links for each file, then put it all together, etc. 

This, while not really being very difficult, can be a little time consuming for some visitors. Heck, studies have even shown that web viewers are less likely to visit a site that takes more than a few seconds to load.  

But the bottom line, here, (in my opinion) is that we may need to find a way to somehow simplify the process a little bit. We have to view the situation from various perspectives. What if the viewer wanting to share a stage has neither a photobucket nor Mediafire account? How long would it take for them to create one, for the sole purpose of sharing a single file? Compare that to websites that offer similar functionalities. Which is easier?

Yeah, yeah, I know, but given the forum-based nature of the site, I see no way around it.  Honestly, the only way I can foresee making sharing stages easier is to start a brand new site, but again, that would take a lot of work, not to mention experience and most likely money.

DarkMarth wrote:

ZeldaFan996 wrote:

ShockBubble wrote:It has been great to see our community thrive beyond the SSBW closure nearly one year ago. Largely, this is thanks to the dedicated users we have (much unlike myself, of late, anyway) Surely a celebration of some kind is in order.

In all honesty, I do feel that the community has become a bit... generic since this closure. In the transition, we have had a shift away from what made our site unique (the stages, the snapshots), towards a general discussion forum, like Smash Boards, or All is Brawl, like Lugia mentioned. If we aim to become more popular, perhaps we could celebrate with a new mission statement, a refreshed outlook and a plan to make our site something unique that has a point of difference (other than the awesome, tight-knittedness we have here). 

Just a constructive suggestion.

Hey, we're all in this together.  Don't be afraid to speak your mind.

I still think we should emphasize the stage building portion of the community, because, after all, isn't that what our main focus was before?  I've done a few things myself, but even I have slacked off building stages as well.  However, a good portion of what we did was also just discussing things, because that takes very little effort to do.  So, no, I don't think we've strayed too far, but again, the switch to a forum design definitely changed things.

In terms of a mission statement...well...let me show you what I put in the description of all of our videos.

"Like Smash Bros.? Tired of all the competitive mumbo-jumbo and just want to relax and chat about your favorite character? You've come to the right place! Head on over to our official site to get news, discussions, custom stages, and more."

I feel like we are pitching ourselves as a more carefree, less competitive, and more tight-knit community.  At least, that's the way I see it.

To be completely honest, I have been thinking of ways to redirect our focus on stage sharing as well. However, being a forum, the one obstacle that seems to keep getting in the way is associated with the ease of accessing our stages. One of the most essential questions we need to answer, if we are ever going to really emphasize on stage sharing, is "How do we make it easy for the user to view and access stage files?" 

As you can see, there really is no easy answer. To become a successful stage sharing medium, it would be to our best benefit to have the following features:

- Easy/quick file (stage) upload/download. 
- Easy/quick access to content 

As you can see, our current system for sharing stages is not really what you would describe as "quick and easy". It is not too hard, but there is still some things to it that some visitors may find "time consuming and unnecessary". But most those factors are beyond our control.

Thanks ZeldaFan. I'm not afraid to say what I think, but I don't want to sound overly critical of the leadership here, who have obviously done really well to keep this community going. I just feel like, having been a fairly consistent, somewhat reputable non-admin member, that my opinion can help change things slightly for the better.

DarkMarth, that about sums up our current issues. I think it is fair to say that Brawl's Stage Builder doesn't have the following to build the community up more, and with a stage builder for SSBU/3DS yet to be confirmed, it does seem a moot point right now. Just something to plan for and consider for the future; if a stage builder for the new game is confirmed, we should be able to use that.

Agreed.  However, (and this is directed towards all of you), as soon as stage building is confirmed (if it is at all), do you think that a forum based site would still be ideal?