what about the future?

[Annette]

Not really a "community", I guess, but there is an active game matching service at http://dom3.matryx.org.uk/ Anyone without a valid key need not bother, though. The administrators will verify your purchase with us.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally Posted by Annette

Not really a "community", I guess, but there is an active game matching service at http://dom3.matryx.org.uk/ Anyone without a valid key need not bother, though. The administrators will verify your purchase with us.

Actually there is a forum, and a channel. But the forum costs money to join.
And the maytrix site requires that I believe.

But it is a wonderful server. I think we could really use one of our own like that

[Soyweiser]

Something Awful?

[rdonj]

Originally Posted by Tim Brooks

Yes, maybe, but I don't even allow my child to talk to me this way. Next week we will start rewriting some of the forum rules here. These forums (our home) will be a kinder, gentler place.

We have never had this kind of discourse in our forums until Dominions 3. We realize this is a small group out of the many thousands that visit here each year. We don't understand it. But we won't put up with it anymore.

Lol. I had already pretty much left this site, but this takes the cake. Well done sir. Well done. You know, I really don't even agree with a lot of the comments posters make about shrapnel on this forum, but are you kidding me? The above is the dumbest thing I have ever seen you post. Nothing good can come of this move. Why don't you just stop reading this forum? It'll get the desired effect, and not create any more ill will towards you than you've already created with your insanely terrible past decisions on how to handle us. How can you keep making mistake after mistake and not learn from it?

So here is what I think of your new policy: It's a bad idea. You are going to make everyone angry and even more people will quit this forum. Yes, a number of these will be fairly outspoken people you don't really want to have around anyway disturbing your harmoniousness. Some will not be. There will likely be another rebellion and another round of bans, and much ill temper. But if you want to deal with all that nonsense all over again, please. Go right ahead.

It's too late to try and create a community for this game from scratch

Why so? 2010 is shaping up to bring more members to our community than any year since release. The Dominions 3 crowd is growing, not shrinking. Since the sombre ban, we have added more new members than any 6 month period since game release. And that includes a 3 week period when new members were not being let in due to a coding error.[/quote]

I wonder if the immense and disappointing failure that has been Elemental might have slightly more to do with more new people showing up than Sombre's disappearance. Could it... possibly make any sort of sense?

[rdonj]

Originally Posted by Soyweiser

Something Awful?

That's where that's hosted, yes. Something Awful has always seemed like a terrible forum to me. You have to pay to join? And then wade through a gigantic megathread for everything dominions-related? What a nightmare, to have all your game conversation and newbie questions all mixed together.

[13lackGu4rd]

Originally Posted by Soyweiser

Something Awful?

no... they're dom3 crowd is horrible, and their multiplayer games are full of leavers and wankers... this goes without saying but subs are completely out of the question over there, same goes with fighting until the end.

[RPZip]

Yes, the Something Awful forum is a terrible place and nobody posting in this thread should ever go there. Ever.

It's for your own good, really.

[darkchampion3d]

Originally Posted by rdonj

That's where that's hosted, yes. Something Awful has always seemed like a terrible forum to me. You have to pay to join? And then wade through a gigantic megathread for everything dominions-related? What a nightmare, to have all your game conversation and newbie questions all mixed together.

Yes Something Awful is terrible. The megathread is a terrible idea and all of the posters are bad posters.

Originally Posted by 13lackGu4rd

no... they're dom3 crowd is horrible, and their multiplayer games are full of leavers and wankers... this goes without saying but subs are completely out of the question over there, same goes with fighting until the end.

Yeah there is basically an agreement over there that whoever loses a battle goes AI immediately and may not ask for a sub. Also they are literally wankers and will talk about it in their chat along with hyperbuttes and being terrible at everything, especially dom3.

[Soyweiser]

Originally Posted by RPZip

Yes, the Something Awful forum is a terrible place and nobody posting in this thread should ever go there. Ever.

It's for your own good, really.

So what is your nick on SA?

[Matryx]

Originally Posted by Annette

Not really a "community", I guess, but there is an active game matching service at http://dom3.matryx.org.uk/ Anyone without a valid key need not bother, though. The administrators will verify your purchase with us.

Most of what you say is correct
I run this tracker service, on behalf of our community within the Something Awful forums - there's no link back to the forums from the tracker because everyone on the tracker already knows where they are. Yes I do validate purchases before you can sign up for the tracker, but more importantly this site was set up primarily for myself and my friends and are not generally open to the public so you also need to be verified as a forum member over there.
If anyone did decide to pay and join the forums (yes, I said 'pay' - helps keep the bad eggs out as your account is literally worth something and bans are bans), then get to know us and you'll be welcomed in assuming you're not a troublemaker or a jerk. Anyway, yes - nice healthy community. Over 300 people registered on just my tracker site within that community, and scores of games active at any one time.
Not really sure what point I was trying to make, but perhaps just to serve as an example of a relatively recent community set up from scratch?

I do understand arguments against the megathread approach, but the forums themselves cover too much ground to have a subforum for every single topic anyone wants to talk about.

As for in-game policy re: leaving - there's nothing against getting subs in at all - happens all the time. I should know - I administrate swapping the players over on the trackers so passwords and email alerts for new turns go smoothly.
Equally, there's a general standing rule that if you're not having fun, you shouldn't have to play. Not all games are run like this - some specifically say if you go AI you're not welcome in another game run by that host. It's all specific to the individual.
Don't let a few poor assumptions and your own short sightedness cut you off from good opponents.