We are here once again, aren't we? TheBoss has announced his resignation from GamingOnLinux.com and it's once again up to us to figure out where to go from here. The past few months have been quite bumpy and obviously this is going to throw some wrenches into our gears.
However, it's not all doom and gloom. Liam leaving us is a massive hit and it's going to take a lot of doing to get back on track once again but I'm not ready to throw in the towel. I believe GOL is an important resource to Linux gamers both old and new and also game developers who want to create Linux ports and interact with the Linux community. We've been an up-to-date news website and in addition to just reporting new releases we have also highlighted issues in Linux ports and Linux gaming in general and helped to fix those issues, even if by a little bit. The IRC and our forums have seen all kinds of people wanting help with problems they've encountered or simply asking for someone to play some awesome games with.
In a nutshell: GOL has become something bigger and better many of us probably expected. To me it's simply too important to simply call “GG” and give up. Luckily we already have a battle plan to get through this but it requires everyone's efforts.
We are going to turn GOL into a community-oriented website. This means that we are going to rely more on you, the community. Liam has put a lot more effort into this website than any single one of us can and thus it's necessary for us to work together to patch the hole that has appeared on the side of this website. If you find a topic you want to write an article about or a game release we haven't reported, please do familiarize yourself with the “Submit Article” button on the sidebar. Naturally you won't go unrewarded. If you write enough good quality articles you will be given a rank of Contributing Editor and eventually you will be promoted to full Editor status. These ranks give you all of the privileges of GOL Supporters free of charge. Most of the internal communication is going to be handled through the IRC channel, so head there if you want to ask questions or need help with submitting articles. Or if you simply want to chat, it's the right place for that too.
I'm going to stay loyal to this website and continue writing articles (mainly the GOL Casts), moderate the forums/comments and try to keep us organized on the IRC to the best of my ability. School takes up a lot of my free time though, so you can't expect me to publish more than one or two articles of my own per week. What I can do is check and publish user submitted articles on the queue which I will try to monitor daily.
I'm going to hold a livestream on Friday at 5 PM UTC at http://www.twitch.tv/gamingonlinux where you can join in on the discussion and hopefully we can make some sense out of this situation. With your help I'm sure we can pull through but some changes are inevitable.
However, it's not all doom and gloom. Liam leaving us is a massive hit and it's going to take a lot of doing to get back on track once again but I'm not ready to throw in the towel. I believe GOL is an important resource to Linux gamers both old and new and also game developers who want to create Linux ports and interact with the Linux community. We've been an up-to-date news website and in addition to just reporting new releases we have also highlighted issues in Linux ports and Linux gaming in general and helped to fix those issues, even if by a little bit. The IRC and our forums have seen all kinds of people wanting help with problems they've encountered or simply asking for someone to play some awesome games with.
In a nutshell: GOL has become something bigger and better many of us probably expected. To me it's simply too important to simply call “GG” and give up. Luckily we already have a battle plan to get through this but it requires everyone's efforts.
We are going to turn GOL into a community-oriented website. This means that we are going to rely more on you, the community. Liam has put a lot more effort into this website than any single one of us can and thus it's necessary for us to work together to patch the hole that has appeared on the side of this website. If you find a topic you want to write an article about or a game release we haven't reported, please do familiarize yourself with the “Submit Article” button on the sidebar. Naturally you won't go unrewarded. If you write enough good quality articles you will be given a rank of Contributing Editor and eventually you will be promoted to full Editor status. These ranks give you all of the privileges of GOL Supporters free of charge. Most of the internal communication is going to be handled through the IRC channel, so head there if you want to ask questions or need help with submitting articles. Or if you simply want to chat, it's the right place for that too.
I'm going to stay loyal to this website and continue writing articles (mainly the GOL Casts), moderate the forums/comments and try to keep us organized on the IRC to the best of my ability. School takes up a lot of my free time though, so you can't expect me to publish more than one or two articles of my own per week. What I can do is check and publish user submitted articles on the queue which I will try to monitor daily.
I'm going to hold a livestream on Friday at 5 PM UTC at http://www.twitch.tv/gamingonlinux where you can join in on the discussion and hopefully we can make some sense out of this situation. With your help I'm sure we can pull through but some changes are inevitable.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
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Liam, I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the work you have done so far, and wish you best of luck with whatever you come up next.
2 Likes, Who?
This website has done great things for Linux gaming, I have no idea how to write articles and such.
But I'm sure there is someone among us that can, and willingly to make its place to provide us Linux news..
In my opinion, this website needs to grow to make Linux gaming known to the wider audience and its needs to stay where it is with or without Liam..
But I'm sure there is someone among us that can, and willingly to make its place to provide us Linux news..
In my opinion, this website needs to grow to make Linux gaming known to the wider audience and its needs to stay where it is with or without Liam..
1 Likes, Who?
I'm not talking about the content of the articles, and I actually like Michael from what I "know" of him.I'm not talking about the content of the articles either or about Michael. But about the guys in the forums. It's a large forum and represents the opensource community in general. The "nvidia sux" etc are necessarily parts of this but do not dictate the general climate. You just have to learn to avoid the trolls and to find what guys you like to read.
1 Likes, Who?
The internet is a great thing, because you can filter it. If you don't like what people are saying about you, stop going to the places where those people are posting, or else filter them out either in whatever web app you are using or just mentally. Leaving GoL because someone was abusive to you on some podcast or twitter or reddit or all of the above, is like leaving a ball game because someone in math class hurt your feelings. The answer is not to leave GoL, it's to leave the places that affect you negatively.
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All this is really sad :(
But I'm glad site stays up and keep tracking linuxgaming.
Well I'm willing to help out in forums and stuff like that.
Modding another Swedish ubuntu site aswell as linuxtracker
Casual gamer myself
Hopefully something good can come out of all this
But I'm glad site stays up and keep tracking linuxgaming.
Well I'm willing to help out in forums and stuff like that.
Modding another Swedish ubuntu site aswell as linuxtracker
Casual gamer myself
Hopefully something good can come out of all this
1 Likes, Who?
The internet is a great thing, because you can filter it. If you don't like what people are saying about you, stop going to the places where those people are posting, or else filter them out either in whatever web app you are using or just mentally. Leaving GoL because someone was abusive to you on some podcast or twitter or reddit or all of the above, is like leaving a ball game because someone in math class hurt your feelings. The answer is not to leave GoL, it's to leave the places that affect you negatively.
That is all nice in theory, but for the human mind things are rarely that simple. Not all of us are capable of filtering things out mentally, and if your quality of life suffers the best and only thing to do is leave.
Also, I realized that to be effective in the work Liam did you will have to be exposed on social sites, such as G+ and Twitter. Since those services were specifically mentioned, I would ask you how would you filter all of the jerks (or even one?) on those sites? I have never seen any such function, and I even believe it is in the vendors interest to make it difficult.
One could not solve this by simply leaving those places instead, since today those sites (and many more) are essential tools to communicate with sources and remain effective in this kind of work.
3 Likes, Who?
I personally wish you the best luck, but even as part of the community, I do not feel like contributing too much. I use this site to see what's coming and if anything is probably worth buying or kickstarting, but I have personally no intention to put any time further than that in it - sorry.
I still hope this step won't drive the site into yet-another linux oriented gaming website not worth visiting, since I felt that GoL was the first in ages worth visiting.
Good luck, hope the site will survive the loss of Liam, who did a really great job on the site (both, coding and content whise). Must have been a lot of work and dedication, and last but not least (I think comments are disabled on his leaving post) I want to thank him for that and wish him all the best - where ever his path may lead.
I still hope this step won't drive the site into yet-another linux oriented gaming website not worth visiting, since I felt that GoL was the first in ages worth visiting.
Good luck, hope the site will survive the loss of Liam, who did a really great job on the site (both, coding and content whise). Must have been a lot of work and dedication, and last but not least (I think comments are disabled on his leaving post) I want to thank him for that and wish him all the best - where ever his path may lead.
3 Likes, Who?
I'm glad to hear that you guys will continue your great work!
This page has become one of the web pages I visit on a daily basis and I really appreciate what you guys are doing.
Thanks!
This page has become one of the web pages I visit on a daily basis and I really appreciate what you guys are doing.
Thanks!
2 Likes, Who?
Well, I hope Mr. Dawe now does cool stuff where he doesn't have to deal with creeps.
I've noticed a few people saying to take pride in what he does and ignore the haters, or even in semi-contemptuous tones to suck it up or whatever. This is misguided talk. People aren't all the same; some are simply more affected by hateful discourse than others, just as some are simply more extroverted than others, shyer than others and so forth. Those of us who are one way can't understand what it's like to be different, so it's too facile to say "Oh, he should just ignore the haters". For me, something like dorks on the internet trashtalking me might be a minor irritant, while something else that wouldn't bother Liam much would cause my blood pressure to go through the roof. It's no challenge dealing with things that don't bother you much to start with, so it's stupid to dismiss the troubles of people for whom it is a very big challenge.
That said, I hope this site continues and prospers, and Liam Dawe has been so huge and foundational here that it is going to be a major task for those working on it to fill those shoes. So I wish everyone stepping up the best.
Even if they succeed, I'm sure that if Mr. Dawe ever feels like returning he would only enhance things all the more. But if he does, I would suggest there are things that might be done to take his sensitivity into account rather than fighting through it, trying to force himself to be something he isn't, and burning out. For instance, it seems to me he is not suited to be the filter/moderator of communications received by, or postings on, GoL. If Mr. Dawe works on GoL, probably he'd be best off if there were an email address for GoL, which is not a personal email of anyone involved, and have someone hard-nosed look through and purge crap before forwarding things to Mr. Dawe. Have a designated asshat-handler, so if an issue comes up like with these idiots of whatever-the-heck-it-was he won't try to deal with it, he'll have a procedure--hand it to the designated hitter and forget about it. Things along those lines might help him just get on with the articles and research for same rather than wasting time and nervous energy dealing with trolls and creeps that he's not suited to handling.
But that's all if he were to come back. I don't think Mr. Dawe has any obligation to pursue a labour of love that is now instead making him unhappy. I'm sure whatever else he does will also be worthwhile. Best of luck, Mr. Dawe!
I've noticed a few people saying to take pride in what he does and ignore the haters, or even in semi-contemptuous tones to suck it up or whatever. This is misguided talk. People aren't all the same; some are simply more affected by hateful discourse than others, just as some are simply more extroverted than others, shyer than others and so forth. Those of us who are one way can't understand what it's like to be different, so it's too facile to say "Oh, he should just ignore the haters". For me, something like dorks on the internet trashtalking me might be a minor irritant, while something else that wouldn't bother Liam much would cause my blood pressure to go through the roof. It's no challenge dealing with things that don't bother you much to start with, so it's stupid to dismiss the troubles of people for whom it is a very big challenge.
That said, I hope this site continues and prospers, and Liam Dawe has been so huge and foundational here that it is going to be a major task for those working on it to fill those shoes. So I wish everyone stepping up the best.
Even if they succeed, I'm sure that if Mr. Dawe ever feels like returning he would only enhance things all the more. But if he does, I would suggest there are things that might be done to take his sensitivity into account rather than fighting through it, trying to force himself to be something he isn't, and burning out. For instance, it seems to me he is not suited to be the filter/moderator of communications received by, or postings on, GoL. If Mr. Dawe works on GoL, probably he'd be best off if there were an email address for GoL, which is not a personal email of anyone involved, and have someone hard-nosed look through and purge crap before forwarding things to Mr. Dawe. Have a designated asshat-handler, so if an issue comes up like with these idiots of whatever-the-heck-it-was he won't try to deal with it, he'll have a procedure--hand it to the designated hitter and forget about it. Things along those lines might help him just get on with the articles and research for same rather than wasting time and nervous energy dealing with trolls and creeps that he's not suited to handling.
But that's all if he were to come back. I don't think Mr. Dawe has any obligation to pursue a labour of love that is now instead making him unhappy. I'm sure whatever else he does will also be worthwhile. Best of luck, Mr. Dawe!
5 Likes, Who?
I'm new to the site but if the guy that ownsnit isn't giving up control, I believe the community should start a new site.
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I will try and get more involved again with editing and approving submissions since that should hopefully be a growth area
I think this would help a great deal since it would make it much easier for users with varying writing experience to get involved, while still maintaining a consistent quality in writing on the site.
1 Likes, Who?
I'm new to the site but if the guy that ownsnit isn't giving up control, I believe the community should start a new site.
If you had been around longer, you'd probably understand why it's worth keeping Liam part of the community, even if out of the limelight so that random mean people on the internet will forget about him. If Liam flips out and starts doing stuff detrimental to the site, feel free to suggest moving then... but he has never done anything like that yet, even when depressed.
3 Likes, Who?
I've noticed a few people saying to take pride in what he does and ignore the haters, or even in semi-contemptuous tones to suck it up or whatever. This is misguided talk. People aren't all the same; some are simply more affected by hateful discourse than others, just as some are simply more extroverted than others, shyer than others and so forth.
Great post (whole thing though I quoted one point). Completely agree -- no one is obligated to be thick-skinned enough to take unlimited verbal abuse from bullies. If there is no way to shut up the bullies, then people who can't internally filter them will have to find places out of the public eye to exercise their talents.
I didn't notice any of those "just ignore it" commenters volunteering to handle GOL social media and take over the heat btw... but maybe one of those with that opinion really would like to volunteer, since under these conditions it would be valuable to have a thick-skinned person handling the GOL social media!
1 Likes, Who?
Seeing this kind of makes me want to give up too. Not because of Liam's decision, but because there are people out there who are big enough pricks that they drive people to make such decision.
Yeah, "naughty words" are fucking justified in this case.
Your comment contained a naughty word
Yeah, "naughty words" are fucking justified in this case.
2 Likes, Who?
Seeing this kind of makes me want to give up too.
Well we all know there are mean bullies out there in the world, and some of them are on the internet. Let's hope the ones picking on Liam get bored and leave GOL alone now that Liam has stepped down.
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I know everyone is difference but its a difference I will never understand. Someone I don't know wants to talk crap about me? Have at it; don't care.
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Best of luck. It's challenging to build a site and endure criticism.
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[deleted] misunderstood what other comment was trying to say
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I know everyone is difference but its a difference I will never understand. Someone I don't know wants to talk crap about me? Have at it; don't care.
I completely get where he's coming from, and just shrugging that stuff off if you're a sensitive person and building a thicker skin around yourself just leaves you as an emotionless shell of a person - speaking from personal experience. Not everyone can take it.
EDIT: Also, Speedster I think you're both misunderstanding eachother here.
Well we all know there are mean bullies out there in the world, and some of them are on the internet. Let's hope the ones picking on Liam get bored and leave GOL alone now that Liam has stepped down.
Could you or someone PM me links to the stuff in question? Just curious as to what actually happened - all I know is Liam got a lot of shit off some guys.
SIDE COMMENT:
Does anyone have any idea if these are the same people who were trolling the guy who was porting The Stanley Parable (GranPC)? Just seems like a similar case of extremists crapping all over people's good work - but maybe the internet is just full of those.
1 Likes, Who?
Well, I just checked over and approved four submitted articles, which seems like a good start so far.
4 Likes, Who?
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