CBC Improvement Thread

[Ho-Oh]

Anyway, Karp reminded me that we need some more exciting events, which is true. I'll get the planning of Community Night 2 started soon. I hope to increase the activity in my clan as well. Additionally, I've been thinking about reviving the PC tournament (found here, which is still on T&E's first page lmao), but with a few changes similar to my old Tour Series (1 / 2). However, the PC tournament would be for PO initially (like KG's version), leaving Wi-Fi as a later option. As for the changes, the tournament would have two divisions: a recurring standard OU tournament and one that changes themes consecutively. This would be a great way to increase the activity without diverting members' attention away from clans. Feedback is welcome.

Yaay more debating over times! @ comm night part lool. Clans as a whole aren't really getting much attention, though, while a tournament is a good thing, I feel like the other two clans are especially lacking because really nothing is happening. With Sacred I brought up a mini-topic and it's received "some" discussion and maybe it'll end up continuing buttt I dunno, I feel like there should be more going on as a whole w/ clans because people (in mine at least) just aren't really battling or doing anything, which is kinda the point of clans aka to battle, lol.

 

[Dark Azelf]

So me and Nica were talking the other day. Our idea was that we should utilize the ladder on the PC server. I feel this would be a great way to get people to battle and would also be fun. Also some more ideas that i had;

• Usage statistics for our server, id be curious to see what people use most. This is possible, if just for fun. =P
• We could run our own suspect tests on a separate ladder on the server ? This could be a fun experiment and plus, it may put an end to the complaining about how terrible OU is. For example, we have a Poll here on the forum with like "should________ be suspect <insert reasons why> if its voted enough then it could be removed on the ladder for however long or voted on again here via PM etc by REQS idk. This is especially good because smogon is no longer doing suspect tests. =) I know "we arent smogon" but we cant even have OUR say anymore because of stupid council which is why i laddered on smogon in suspect tests. So basically laddering on smogon is pointless now unless its for bragging rights.

Either way, main point being: We have a ladder and we should use it, even if its just for OU.




edit:



LOL!

 

[wolf]

@ Forever: Regarding the Community Night times, we could decide on two times which we will cycle through every CN. For example, CN2 would be 8 at night, but the next CN we have would be 8 in the morning (same time zone as before). Then, we would just use those two times over and over. That way, mostly everyone could participate in either of those times, and we wouldn't have to decide on a time before every CN we hold. Obviously, it isn't possible for everyone to participate at one CN because of time zone restraints, so two separate times should suffice. This would allow more time to spent on deciding tournament themes as well. Additionally, we could decide on specific day each CN would be held on. As in, CN could be held on every other Saturday.

Clan activity depends on the owner. There's only so much Anti and I can do for clans in general, other than the Hunger Games event that was going to happen. There is one clan event I am going to introduce eventually, but it requires at least 7 members (or 5, I suppose) from each clan to happen. Otherwise, I will quote T&E rules that you are responsible of management and keeping your event/clan active. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to clans; you can do pretty much anything with it to increase activity (i.e. start up some tournaments within the clan, find some way to encourage members to battle and chat more, etc.). Be creative. Still, I am starting to think that the PC tournament will distract the focus from clans, so the tournament is being delayed until clans are more active. Something similar to Hunger Games could happen, though.


@ Dark Azelf: Funny, I have also been thinking about making use of the server ladder. In fact, it would be a better option than hosting the PC tournament right now. Think about it, there really isn't enough battling happening on the server. This a battling community/server after all, and the ladder will emphasize that. If we had a server ladder, finding battles would be much more convenient (and we could even test our teams here, heh). Not only this, but we could incorporate clans into this as well. For example, any battle I have with a fellow clan member could be added to my clan. "But what if I want to battle on the ladder without them being counted as clan battles?" Well, we could put an asterisk beside our names (i.e. blubberchomp*) when we don't want our battles to be added to our clan. By doing that, it also won't affect the user's main account ranking. Basically, it would be an account for testing teams without having to change our name entirely.

Additionally, the server ladder wouldn't require much effort to host (or any at all, depending on how it's done), unlike the PC tournament or any other event. Even during times when I am too busy to host an event, the ladder will still be there for battling. The ladder would be an easy, albeit minor way to maintain activity. It would also add to making the community feel more like one, because then we would be able to actively battle on the server without needing other server ladders. (Obviously, the other server ladders are needed after battling the same people with the same teams over and over at PC.) Another idea I am throwing out here: if we have a Wi-Fi ladder, it could be combined with the Quick Battle Thread.

Anyway...

1. Usage statistics would be difficult to do because we need a specific script for that. Smogon doesn't have their scripts public, so I would have to ask Antar at Smogon or whoever that made/has the scripts. PO server is out of question, since they don't have anything in their scripts regarding usage statistics. Then again, I do recall the server having a folder for usage statistics, which would be on Petie's computer. But honestly, it seems like more trouble than it's worth since this is only for fun. The top 20 would probably just be whatever is on your teams anyway lol.

2. I don't have anything against running our own suspect ladder. I thought it might have been a fun idea back then. However, I don't want "PC's OU" to be standard play here; Smogon OU should stay as that. Since it would be annoying to make teams for both Smogon and PC. We don't have a large enough user base to test teams entirely, and with a different ban list, we wouldn't be able to on Smogon. Also, I think explaining the reasoning behind our vote(s) could end up being too tedious. Ladder requirements or simply being a regular should be enough.


Also, we should give megausers to every regular (y/n)? For those who don't know, megausers lets the user to make server tournaments.

 

[Ho-Oh]

Omg so long!

Hmmm I could do that, I'd need to wake up early but if it is on Saturday like you said it'd be fine for me imo. Well others of course to take into mind but I'd personally be okay with it, lol. Could it be like... same time every month or every two months?

As for clans, at least some of us are kinda thinking strategically about the upcoming war. But idk I'll just keep on pushing everyone and try to get them to do more really, since that's all I can do.

Also y @ bottom suggestion of your post.

 

[Dark Azelf]

Hey yo chicos.

Also adding onto my previous suggestion of utilizing the ladder. Certain amount of points should = clan points imo <---Good incentive to ladder imo.

 

[Anti]

I agree with everything Wolf posted. The stuff about usage stats and "breaking" from Smogon is particularly spot-on imo. But yeah, I think a ladder would be a solid positive improvement. Thank goodness someone is using this thread for what it was intended for. Yay D_A woooo

Also, we should give megausers to every regular (y/n)? For those who don't know, megausers lets the user to make server tournaments.

Can't megausers also do kicks, bans, etc.? I'm bad with server terminology but if so I'm skeptical about this if only because I'm already having nightmares about "anti anti *insert user* is abusing power do something." I feel as though that won't end well. I'd much rather just have server auth return to a few people after a much-needed break. I would hope that this time people don't inflate its importance (it seriously is not supposed to matter at all so there is no reason to grumble, complain, etc. lol)...but yeah, it's also a better way to handle spammers. Yay!

Also I'll be getting the main sticky done. Gen 4 compiled guides will finally be replaced.

 

[Dark Azelf]

Oh i wasnt gonna split from smogon, i wanted one ladder for actual OU and one for PC's suspect stuff.

Then again, I do recall the server having a folder for usage statistics, which would be on Petie's computer

Thats the thing i meant as its p easy to obtain. =P


I guess ill get making the thread for the ladder to promote it then show you guys.

 

[champagnepapi]

I agree with everything Wolf posted. The stuff about usage stats and "breaking" from Smogon is particularly spot-on imo. But yeah, I think a ladder would be a solid positive improvement. Thank goodness someone is using this thread for what it was intended for. Yay D_A woooo



Can't megausers also do kicks, bans, etc.? I'm bad with server terminology but if so I'm skeptical about this if only because I'm already having nightmares about "anti anti *insert user* is abusing power do something." I feel as though that won't end well. I'd much rather just have server auth return to a few people after a much-needed break. I would hope that this time people don't inflate its importance (it seriously is not supposed to matter at all so there is no reason to grumble, complain, etc. lol)...but yeah, it's also a better way to handle spammers. Yay!

Also I'll be getting the main sticky done. Gen 4 compiled guides will finally be replaced.

They can start tournaments and view hidden/staff channels.


Anyways I'm posting to ask if Impo's league post is still a thing.

 

[Anti]

Wolf and I have had a lot in the works for awhile now...we are at last ready to start to put this all in motion.

For us though, we want it to be interactive because while there are some things we just want to outright say to everyone, but there are some things we want to discuss because we aren't entirely sure where everyone is on a few things or we're curious about a few trends. This thread is indeed for all of that, but people are awfully shy about posting here, so Wolf came up with the idea of...

The Improvement ComNight! Basically, we would do everything I just mentioned above there. We don't want to oversell it or anything...we aren't doing this for some miracle "forum fix-it" as that is not really its intent. It's not even one of those "let's revive S&M/CBC" threads of old (server version). We just want to get everyone on the same page because we feel like in some cases there has been something of a communication breakdown between staff and members. But we think it will help moving forward. But yes, we don't expect this to be some two-hour test of attrition. It is intended to be fairly brief (though still as in-depth as necessary) but also insightful and involving. And yeah, after that, we'll have some battling stuff like a normal ComNight. We'll do what you guys want, basically.

If everyone is okay with doing it, we want to get on this as soon as possible. Wolf and I are pretty much ready and sometime Sunday evening sounds like an okay time to us. Yeah, time zones are an issue, but we intend to send logs to those absent to fill everyone in, and you can always weigh in afterwards in this thread.

(Hopefully I did good enough explaining what exactly it is this is. :X Wolf will clarify if necessary.)

 

[Dark Azelf]

I cant do Sunday, have commitments to work that day. I should be able to either do Tues and Wednesday and pretty much any day next week though unless something comes up, though my schedule for work isnt up yet though sooo.

 

[wolf]

I'm fine with either Saturday or Sunday. I'll be busy Saturday until around 8 PM though.

The Improvement ComNight!

I prefer Community Meeting. It sounds very important.

Anyways I'm posting to ask if Impo's league post is still a thing.

I doubt it, because he's unable to use PO for a while. I have a few things in the works anyway.

 

[Ho-Oh]

Do it Saturday imo, the quicker the better.

 

[wolf]

Just so everyone knows, we decided to not hold the meeting, or whatever you want to call it. There weren't enough people online, so it wouldn't be worth bothering with it. We're going to do something instead soon (as in, tomorrow most likely).

 

[Anti]

NOTE: We were going to do this as the "Community Meeting" but due to some last-minute scheduling issues, we're just going to use this thread to say what we were going to. We may still have the Community Meeting, but for now, discussing in this thread will do. AKA what Wolf just said.

Wolf and I formulated this after a ton of internal discussion. Please do read it all despite its length as we have given it a lot of time, effort, and thought!

Anyway, the first thing we wanted to bring up is how we feel like the initiative for creating "activity" or just for making the forum more fun has always rested entirely on the shoulders of S&M/CBC staff. This isn't necessarily a problem, but we think it would keep you guys involved a lot more if everyone collectively determines what initiatives we take. For example, instead of Wolf and I saying "well, time for a ComNight" and then having one, one of you guys can ask if you can run it in this thread (we will say yes, it's just so that multiple people don't plan on it at once) and then do it yourself. And if you need our help with anything or you have an emergency on the day of the event or something like that, we can step in and do whatever you need. And really, ComNight is just example: if no one wants to do a ComNight and you guys would rather do something like the Hunger Games event that was proposed a few months ago, more power to you. We just want fun things to be going on. We definitely feel like T&E has great potential and is merely dormant. If awoken, it could be really awesome much like Battle Stadium once was. You guys can basically post any event that your imagination deems worthy of being posted, so have something in mind, fire away.

In other words, we want you guys to determine what events we do because you guys know better than we do; at times it is frustrating when we feel like we don't really know what anyone wants to do. So that is in part what this more decentralized approach is trying to solve. Also, unless it's a ComNight or an official PC tournament, you don't even need to post here for approval to run your event. You can just make it and post it. We don't want to get in the way though like I said, we are always willing to help if anyone needs it. But as Vrai said during the 2011 "let's fix S&M/CBC" wave, "become the change that you wish to see." And we will provide all the necessary support.

Similarly, we feel like discussion threads have been completely ignored, and even at the height of the forum years ago they were virtually nonexistent. Discussions are engaging and fun if the topic is good. Either use the Chat sticky or post a thread, but if you feel like nothing is going on or you just think a specific topic is particularly thought-provoking, post it! I know that I have reacted pretty negatively to the threads about tier placement, but we're not going to lock anything unless multiple people break the rules. It's as simple as that. Don't feel held back at all. We just wanted to bring up the fact that while discussions threads are not traditional, they can be awesome. Just look at Dragonspiral Tower on Smogon. Even individual Pokemon, items, or moves can be discussed if you want. There are lots of possibilities. Don't forget the possibility of posting a thread about a different metagame (and maybe even a tournament to complement it if you're a superstar) as this can give battling (and competitive Pokemon in general) more variety, especially for people who don't like BW. Though again we stress that you should only do what you want to do. We just wanted to throw this out there because it is a forgotten possibility. Don't feel obligated to post them or in them, but you can always post a discussion if you want.

In truth, this isn't some groundbreaking thing. We have just noticed that sometimes us CBCers like to blame others for activity woes or complain about activity in general without actually doing anything productive to combat the problem. This is our answer to that. Activity bad? Make a tour. Rate or post a team. Post a discussion thread. Host a ComNight. Make any kind of event you want. It's easy to get pessimistic, but if everyone has the outlet to channel that frustration into fun events or helping each other with our teams, we think it will be much easier to see real improvement. And no one will have any excuses; we will collectively take responsibility for the fate of the forum.

That's the main thing. The few remaining points require less talking on my part but are no less important. YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!

I just alluded to this, but there is no point in being pessimistic. We're not sure where everyone stands on how bright you think the forum's future is, but it will never improve if we don't think it will. It sounds corny, but it's true. And if you're upset about something, use this thread. Wolf and I both feel like the Improvement Thread is a vastly underutilized resource. It's here for a reason. If you have a complaint, don't be afraid to post it. If we wanted to be above criticism, we would have kept it in Staff Forums. (This thread is just the old "let's fix S&M" thread reincarnated so that you guys would be more involved.) It's much better if you post your issues now in this thread rather than a "goodbye PC" rant a few months later. If you have to throw someone under the bus and it's not appropriate for the thread, PM Wolf or myself and we'll do our best to solve the problem. Don't just say nothing!

Next up is RMTs. To be honest, Wolf and I have both to varying extents wondered if they matter as much as they once did. Indeed, we don't want to force you guys to do it. Forums are to have fun, not to do something you don't want to for the sake of activity. All we ask though is that, if you need help with your team, use the main forum, as it is there for a reason. We also want to stress that your team doesn't have to be some ladder-climbing behemoth with overwhelming aesthetics in the RMT to match. Six Pokemon, some short descriptions, and maybe some sprites to make it pretty (and easier to rate) is plenty. Feel free to go the extra mile, but don't forget the "rate" in "rate my team." Their function is to get you help!

In terms of rating, we know some of you view it as a chore. Just know that you don't need long, in-depth rates to be helpful and make a difference. Again, going the extra mile is great, but rating used to be much more simplistic and everyone seemed to enjoy it more. Coincidence? Maybe not. We definitely would like to hear your thoughts on this (and what was mentioned in the previous paragraph) though as it (the inactivity of the RMT scene) has puzzled and even divided Wolf and I at times. We don't quite know what to make of it or where people stand (and why). This might be better for the Community Meeting, but we might as well bring it up now.

And on that note, feel free to comment on or discuss anything we brought up...or even something else if you feel like there is something important that needs to be addressed. We just want everyone to be on the same page going forward so that we have the best forum possible and to ensure that everything is harmonious.

 

[Dark Azelf]

Well my ideas;

Anti told me to post here.

Those of you were here in 2007 may remember a thing called "the legion of supremacy". When i first joined PC, it was one of the most fun ideas and things ive done. Original guy to post the thread was a guy called artful-one iirc.

Basically it entails the following;

You join and are in the lowest rank (which was 8 iirc, unless he knew you were better and placed you accordingly) and then once you win 2 or 3 matches (forgot which, but its one point per match for a win and -1 for a loss) in a row and thus 3 points you move up a rank to 7 and so on and so forth. If you lose 3 match in a row you lose a rank. Post results and challenges in the thread, give logs to the OP (back in the day we used wifi though, but this could still be used now also in addition to PO lol)

Id very much like to bring this back. What do you think ?

Ofc ill need help with formatting.

Also i have another idea, "the Pokecommunity frontier" in which you face "brains" in a best out of 3 battles and get badges in battles of the brains choice like anything from NU to uber and even doubles, random or whatnot. Obv this is still an idea and needs more refining, but what do you think ?

 

[Fairy]

Forever told me I should post this here. :> I'm just going to copy and paste my entire blog into this post so half of it seems a little oddly worded because of the context.

**

Hello everyone.

So, I found some time to check out the CBC today. Which, of course, means I stumbled upon the CBC Improvement / Discussion thread and, subsequently, Anti's very powerful post about the new horizons being breached. Now, I consider myself guilty. I'm one of those repeat "Yay let's change stuff! - No wait, I'm gone" offenders. Even though I never made my exit official or truly receded from competitive battling, there is no doubt I have completely cut myself off from the friends I have made in my time here. But I digress.

I'm going to pitch some ideas I have and ask some silly questions that I hope can be answered.

~~

Now, I really liked the post D_A made in response to Anti's post about changing the etiquette of the CBC. In fact, the idea reminded me a lot of how EVs work. Maybe D_A's tourny idea can be tweaked to follow that theme (ie: 4 wins = 1 step / point). I'm sure you all know what I'm getting at here. However, while it might seem like a cute change, the problem lies with participation in the event- not so much how the event is conducted.

Another thing that has been working for me (admittedly, it may not - and probably will not - work for everyone because of its "forced" nature) is watching the Pokemon shows. Even though it may not be available to everyone at the same time, or at all, I found that if I make I conscious effort to watch the shows I always, at least, think about picking up my computer and saying hello to everyone. In fact, this is one of those moments. Having a structured and scheduled time of day to spend 15 minutes on PC has been enough to integrate it back into my routine somewhat. Again, this structure is what inspired this blog and may inspire more posts / general activity to come. Who knows? Maybe orienting one's day around more Pokemon (but not PC related Pokemon) can end with one silly little post.

I also have a question for everyone (or whoever is most qualified to answer based on their general consensus of the CBC-goers). Is the inactivity experienced by everyone stemming a boredom of competitive battling? Or have they fallen out of love with PC as a whole? I ask this because I'm not even sure why my inactivity began. I mean, I got busy yeah.. but somewhere along the line I just stopped caring too. There have been numerous moments where I have the free time to make a post but I just don't feel like it. Maybe having an understanding of where this inactivity came from can give us better insight on how to combat it.

This brings me to my next point. I love how Anti's post doesn't revolve around "fighting inactivity as hard as possible" (which always seems to be our first reaction - at least, since I was around) but builds the case of making the forum more flexible and accommodating to newcomers and those who have the ability to participate but choose not to. This idea is why I'm posting this blog with some of my observations and will post it into the thread depending on the feedback.

I would now like to bring up the point of RMTs. While writing this blog, I thought, "Well, if I had a good idea for a team, I might actually use it". Now, I, like all of you, have told many newcomers "we can't build teams for you, you have to at least have some kind of idea and a partially constructed team to pitch us before we can rate it". So, I had this idea to tweak that rule a tad. What if we made a community built team? Like, we all offer one or two Pokemon that can be revised periodically based on team weaknesses or occurring trends. It can be a team used by anyone featuring some of our spontaneous or gimmicky ideas and represent what we as a community can accomplish based on our collective knowledge. That way, we can freely battle with one team if the mood ever strikes and report the outcomes (which will ultimately help in identifying weaknesses) and no one will have to shoulder the weight of building on their own.

~~

And that's all I got. If any of these ideas / questions have been presented and dismissed, please disregard this blog. Good luck to you guys. I'll try to hop on again tonight.

**

I hope these ideas can be expanded upon at some point.

 

[Ho-Oh]

I just had an idea for in-game team help. :3 Basically a lot of the threads are from different games/generations and often people get confused or just skim over the generation, this issue doesn't really exist with the main CBC forum as much as it does with ingame. But yeah, to solve that... possibly a prefix system?

So prefixes of:

[RB]
[Y]
[GS]
[C]
[RS]
[E]
[FRLG]
[DP]
[P]
[HGSS]
[BW]

& possibly B2W2 later?

Might make it a little easier for people, since in the matching games, the breeding/TMs are the same and if people specialise in a certain generation and see that, they might be more likely to rate.

 

[Anti]

post

I'm all for both things. I will say that the Legion of Supremacy seems like it could turn into a bureaucratic mess unless it's kept up with really well, so it would take a commitment to keep it updated. But am I against it? Nah, it sounds like a nice, straightforward thing.

I really really like the PC Frontier idea. It's pretty simple yet actually beating all of the brains would be a pretty nice accomplishment and a fun challenge as well. I'd be happy to help you refine it and then get this up and running. I know Smogon does something similar, and as far as I know it was good.

post

Don't feel guilty! Sometimes life gets in the way.

Community Team has been proposed before but nothing came out of it - we didn't fail, it was just never tried. I think at the very least it would be a fun way for everyone to contribute to something. The problem of not having a team has definitely plagued me...maybe a team building workshop of some sort could be beneficial alongside a community team? I'm curious what others think about it.

My favorite part of your post, I must admit, was the question about why people are inactive. First, I think that to some extent, it can be easy to overstate inactivity because the scene here isn't really dead, it just could be better. But I think your question is a good one because this is something Wolf and I have been a bit puzzled about and it was a motivating factor behind the more "decentralized" structure of the forum we want to create. Speaking personally, I stopped rating and posting as I stopped battling. As the DPP metagame because increasingly *meh* and battling started to stress me out a little too much, I stopped. It took awhile, but eventually, it just wore me out. It didn't help that this was during my first mod tenure which did not go well and I was frustrated with myself and everyone else. And even now, it can be a stressful job, and real life can be stressful too.

Looking forward, I just want a stable, fun metagame to play. I built a pretty good OU team and then Excadrill got banned, and then my rebuilt team suffered when Thundurus got banned. Of course. I know Vrai is about to post something about NU and I will follow up with something about Gen 3 OU. I'm especially looking forward to trying out NU which Vrai swears by!

I'm definitely curious to see what others have to say. Being inactive isn't a crime or anything, but at the very least we want to make the forum as awesome as possible so that people will want to be here which will definitely be easier if we have some more insight. I think you hit the nail on the head. Invite people to respond to your inquiry here, IMO.

post

I find prefixes ugly and I feel like they won't stop people from not checking the generation. Nevertheless, I don't see the harm. I will probably just defer to Wolf/anyone else who has an opinion.

 

[Dark Azelf]

Ive just stopped caring about battling OU in general at the end of the last suspect round, of course you arent going to agree with me but OU has become a stale poop pit and as it is my favourite tier there literally is no point in playing it anymore because of the no suspect tests for it. Its boring, nothing happens in it, same old crap every battle. Id even prefer those "can we test Lugia and Giratina" in ou posts to be put into commission over this swamp of staleness lol. I mean i could get to #1 now but what is the point ? Voting reqs was a big motivational factor for me to have MY say on things.

Our own suspect tests that i proposed earlier may help a little with this but hmm.

Ive played ubers/other gens recently, but no one PC really plays them so it makes me less motivated to do so. =/

Even up until last year id of posted my threat list AND my tourneys by now and enthusiastically. Now im just like "whats the point?" and more recently just "ughhh" and ive even been questioning taking a LoA and quitting mons until next gen so hopefully it wont be as sucky. I might try NU as a last gasp for interest. Im only on the server now to have fun with you guys lol.

Essentially tl;dr, because pokemon sucks now and was once fun because of me being able to participate in OU suspect tests i find it hard to have fun here now too.

^Thats the reason why i havent been as active here as i once was.

 

[wolf]

I have been thinking about T&E a lot lately, and what should be done with it. In my opinion, we should start out small, and build on it. Clans simply aren't working. Each clan requires at least 5 active battlers (15 overall for three clans), which we clearly don't have. I can only think of about 3-5 members who actively visit CBC and battle. We don't have enough members for clans to thrive, and even if we did, they probably wouldn't be active regardless. No matter how many clan events we introduce, clans individually will stay inactive. I find that clans are outdated now that battle simulators are being used instead of Wi-Fi. Back then, clans were used to schedule battles and trades between clan members, which greatly enhanced activity. (Not to mention everyone was probably more enthusiastic about battling, because Wi-Fi battling was released recently.) Now they're just seen as another way to ladder, post your battles, and nothing else. I doubt anything will happen within clans, outside of tournaments. Speaking of clan tournaments, I believe they're redundant. Why should there be tournaments within a very small clan that can barely garner any members to hold one, when there could be a tournament between the entire community? We need activity within the actual community before we try and split it up. It's understandable if we were a large forum, such as Smogon, since members might want to hold a tournament within a group of friends. But that isn't the case for us, CBC is too small for that to work. What I am saying is, it's possible to have events like a competition between every clan, but to make each clan active separately, would be very difficult to do. Even if that did happen, I doubt we would be able to retain that activity. Not only that, but we always have to worry about keeping clans active if clans stay. What if we want another event? Not going to happen unless clans become active, since we don't want to distract attention from clans to the new event. We are likely to run into these problems again and again. I think we were too confident when we made clans. Activity was booming at the time we made clans, so we didn't think about the problems clans would introduce if that short span of activity disappeared. I propose that we abolish clans.

The actual concept of clans won't be lost, or at least we would have something similar. I have been wanting to do something similar to the Smogon Premier League. Unlike clans, each team wouldn't have their own thread to keep active. We would keep the battling discussion in the battling chat where it belongs, while the ladder will remain as a convenient method to find a battle. Basically, it would be a tournament consisting of teams. Therefore, we wouldn't to worry about keeping clans active. I am not saying this should be made soon after removing clans however. Just like clans, it requires quite a lot of members to function. It's a possibility later down the road as a better replacement to clans.

What I think we should start with is the PC tournament, along with the Community Night. Echoing what I said before with the PC tournament, we could hold different themes after each tournament to keep things interesting. Perhaps we should make a main thread for PC tournament discussion. Then make separate threads for the themed tournaments that can be posted and hosted (lol) by different members. The main thread would be for discussing the next theme, deciding on who should host the next tournament, etc. I think this would be a simple and easy way to encourage battling in different tiers (and battling in general) and makes things more interesting around here. Additionally, tournaments technically only need 4 members to work. Obviously, that wouldn't be very exciting, but we have to start somewhere. If we can keep this and Community Night running properly, I'm sure activity will eventually increase and we can then produce slightly bigger events. That isn't counting independent tournaments, as well as PO server tournaments. After that, the main forum might become more active once we have more members to post RMTs and such.

tl;dr: get rid of clans, revive the official pc tournament that consists of themes, and get commnight working again

replies:

Spoiler:

@ Dark Azelf: Legion of Supremacy sounds like the annual Get-Together tournaments I host. Essentially a point-based tournament, yes? We could either keep it exclusive to the GT, or have it all year around, with the risk of members eventually losing interest. The ladder is pretty much the same thing as well, just on the server.

Your Battle Frontier idea is the same as a league, right? Basically, have roughly 5 members as "brains", "gym leaders", or whatever, and everyone else can challenge them to see if they can beat them all. I think it's very possible. Also, I really like your "best out of 3 battles" idea, it fixes the issue we had with the past PC league and Motisma league (hax). And it would be more difficult to fish for hax by battling the same gym leader over and over. We should definitely incorporate this in the next league, and possibly tournaments. I have seen it work for Smogon's tournaments.

@ Alexial: Regarding your "Yay let's change stuff! - No wait, I'm gone" comment, I'm sure everyone has done that at least once. I have done it many times in the past, so you shouldn't worry about it haha. I do think we should try and retain a decent amount of activity constantly, instead of having these short bursts of activity that dies down a week later. We should try to log onto PC at least three times a week, or something similar.

"Is the inactivity experienced by everyone stemming a boredom of competitive battling? Or have they fallen out of love with PC as a whole?" Probably the latter, I'm sure members have lost interest after all of CBC's tried attempts to be active. We also can't fix the former, because even with events battling will still remain as a boring activity for them. I think trying different tiers and themes should make battling more interesting however. It's true that doesn't work when there's not many people playing in different tiers, but the PC tournament and tier discussion threads could help with that. Personally, I'm very confident that if we begin with small events, and then introduce bigger events as activity increases, we should do fine. But that's only possible if everyone makes the effort to make that possible by participating in tournaments and such.

Sorry to be like "we already thought of that lolz!!" with Elf, but Community Create-A-Team is one of the events we have thinking about doing (see this). Regardless, it's definitely something we should consider.

@ Forever: Maybe. We had prefixes for CBC (or was it S&M? idr) in the past, but they were pretty ugly. Most members tend to ignore them when making a thread as well.