Author Topic: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?  (Read 3282 times)

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Offline ob1knorrb

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Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« on: April 04, 2016, 04:50:38 PM »
I am considering dissolving the ICE Webring and the MERP Webring, not my website, but the Ring itself.
The usefulness and usability have been degenerating for years, and I'm at the point where I don't think the Rings really serve a purpose anymore.
It's been ages since I've had anyone join, the navigation systems doesn't seem to work well anymore, and the http://dir.webring.org/ site just seems like a cluttered mess to me.
I think I would be better off just creating/updating a Links page on my site instead that lists and describes the sites that are still relevant and then shut down the actual Rings.
What do you think, does anyone actually use Webring to find Rolemaster/MERP webpages?
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com

Offline Justin

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2016, 09:26:44 AM »
Google is mighty powerful. It's all I use anymore.
"Even the most free roaming video game in the world still has to rely on programmed quest resolution triggers.  Only table-top RPGs make any solution possible.  Even ones not originally intended by the GM.  You  will never replace that." --Rivstyx

Offline GrumpyOldFart

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2016, 01:26:38 PM »
I like the sig line, Justin. However, I tend to put it a little differently:

A GM cannot possibly create a sandbox so large that his players will not attempt to crawl out of it. The advantage of tabletop games over computer games is that he can constantly expand the box.
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Offline Warl

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2016, 03:31:50 PM »
I dunno... The Most Mightiest of All GMs, That is to say, God, I think has done a pretty good job making a sandbox we haven't quite managed to crawl out of yet... Heck we haven't even really gotten physically(that is a Human Being, not a robot or probe.) outside of our own orbit.
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Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2016, 01:42:37 PM »
That derailed rapidly ::)
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Offline Thom @ ICE

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2016, 02:16:19 PM »
I think that was everyone's way of saying.. we don't really use the webring concept much any more.
If you are looking for something, you simply do a google search.
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Offline GrumpyOldFart

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2016, 02:56:03 PM »
That derailed rapidly ::)

Sorry... but to be honest, I've never gotten any use from it. I don't consider myself a "typical" user though, so I'm not sure how useful my opinion is in such matters.

Quote
The Most Mightiest of All GMs, That is to say, God, I think has done a pretty good job making a sandbox we haven't quite managed to crawl out of yet...

Not for lack of trying to "break the program"...
You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out... Traditional Somatic Components
Oo Ee Oo Aa Aa, Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang... Traditional Verbal Components
Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog, Wool of Bat and Tongue of Dog... Traditional Potion Formula

Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2016, 11:13:09 PM »
I think that was everyone's way of saying.. we don't really use the webring concept much any more.
If you are looking for something, you simply do a google search.
That's what I figured, I know that is what I do.  I run the ring and I hadn't made use of any of it's features probably two years until a week ago when I decided to check to see if it still worked  ;D
It sort of does, but very poorly.  It will take me awhile to review all the sites and set up links to the ones that are still relevant then shut it down, but I think that's what I'm going to do.
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com

Offline Thom @ ICE

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2016, 08:19:43 AM »
Please keep us advised of your progress.
If you spot any really good sites, feel free to post them onto these forums, and I'll set them up in the website section on their own page to help make it easier for gamers to find the great material that is out there.
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Offline arakish

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2016, 08:29:52 AM »
NEVER!!

I sometimes love strolling down memory lane.

Although, I do not do it as often as I SHOULD.

But, I still love the stroll sometimes...

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Offline Thom @ ICE

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2016, 09:28:42 AM »
And your point is..... ?
Rather than using a webring which is hit/miss on finding sites that have content you want to see, people can use Google, and if we load links to especially helpful sites on our pages here and on Ob1knorrb's page then fans can easily use these links to relive those memories easily.


The technology of a webring is outdated now.
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Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2016, 10:10:03 AM »
NEVER!!

I sometimes love strolling down memory lane.

Although, I do not do it as often as I SHOULD.

But, I still love the stroll sometimes...

rmfr
Ahh, but have you been able to successfully stroll in the last couple years?  Sadly the pathway is cluttered and full of debris...
This is also a longer term plan, I do want to do a fairly comprehensive review of each and every site that is still in each ring and make sure I have a good description of it's contents on whatever page I create for it, plus set up a way for people to request to have their pages added.
In fact, perhaps creating an individual post for each page and putting those posts/reviews into a specific category to make them easy to find would be a good way to go.
The content of those posts could then be easily copied to the website section here as well.
Of course, if several people still find the Webring useful and can successful navigate it, I don't mind keeping it going, it's very little effort on my part to maintain it.
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com

Offline egdcltd

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2016, 10:31:33 AM »
I stopped using the only WebRing I was a member of after it started randomly redirecting visitors to other people's sites without being clicked.

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Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #13 on: May 03, 2016, 01:35:07 PM »
Okay, I've added decommissioning the webring to my to do list for my Website, but's it's a low priority item near the bottom so likely won't happen within the next year
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com

Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #14 on: August 22, 2016, 12:00:27 PM »
Experimented with a couple link management add-ons for Wordpress and think I've found one I like.  I've made the list of surviving sites, which is much shorter than it used to be, now it's time to get them entered onto the page.
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com

Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #15 on: August 23, 2016, 11:53:35 PM »
The surviving sites from the ICE Webring and MERP Webring have now been set up as links on the main ICE Webring page.  I think at it's peak I had over 150 sites between the two webrings, now I'm down to around 25.
I think alot of them went extinct when GeoCities shut down.
I still need to change my instruction pages and do some additional tweaking with where and how the links display but getting closer to being able to decommission the rings.
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com

Offline Peter R

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2016, 02:54:12 AM »
Is the whole webring thing fully working so new sites could be added? I would hope that with the eventual launch of RMU we should get a new crop of fan sites appearing.
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Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2016, 10:06:20 AM »
I will be added the ability for people to add new links, which actually exists at the bottom of my Links page already:

http://www.icewebring.com/links/

I want to revamp the "Joining the ICE Webring" page so it has the "Add a Link" option for near the top with a listing of just the ICE Webring sites underneath.

http://www.icewebring.com/joining-the-icewebring/

Once I'm happy with that, I'm going to shut down the actual Webring from Webring.org for reasons outlined earlier.

http://hub.gamesntoys.org/hub/iceroleplayingwe?sid=26;rd=n
Brent Knorr...
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Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #18 on: August 24, 2016, 07:26:22 PM »
I've now removed the Add Links function from my general links page and added it to the "Join the ICE Webring" and "Join the MERP Webring", which have both been edited and updated.  They now reside under a new page called "Webring Links" which shows all of the links from both Webrings.
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com

Offline ob1knorrb

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Re: Has WebRing outlived it's usefulness?
« Reply #19 on: September 01, 2016, 02:26:31 PM »
I sent a notice out to all the members of the MERP Webring last week, using the email message system from Webring itself.  Haven't had any responses, but I also didn't get a copy of the email myself, so I'm not sure if that function didn't work or if something else happened.  I might try from the ICE Webring next week.
Brent Knorr...
Ringmaster:ICE Roleplaying Webring - http://www.icewebring.com