50 réponses à ce sujet

[Lady Artifice]

Since everyone is spreading to the four winds anyway, it seems like the most sensible thing to do would be to just make networking between all these different subgroups as simple as possible. I suggest that the mods of these different forums make a pinned thread dedicated to directing people to all/most of the other options. It would strengthen a sense of community between forums and hopefully diminish a sense of competition.

 

The forums options I know of:

 

VSN (the original off topic lifeboat) -

http://vroomvroom.freeforums.net/

 

TSG (conceived as a site for gameplay streaming, it also serves as an alternate off topic) -

http://topshelfgaming.boards.net/

 

BSN, proboards version (Run by Cyonan) -

http://bsn.boards.net

 

Fextralife -

http://fextralife.com/forums/f95/

 

uBSN (Run by Cassandra Saturn) -

http://biowaresocial...ork.boards.net/

 

RDF -

https://realdragonagefans.forums.net/

 

RPG Codex -

http://www.rpgcodex.net/

 

 

 

Edit:

 

And here is a breakdown Crustry did of the listed forums:

VSN - Originally conceived by VroomVroom as a lifeboat for when the Off-Topic Lobby was shut down, the Vroom Social Network offers to replicate and foster much of the off topic discussion once found on BSN. Vibrant activity in the media sections (especially anime) is it's biggest strength.

TSG - Top Shelf Gaming is a site created by Johnnie Walker as a staging ground for her future YouTube channel. As a result, the forum's focus is more broad than just BSN/BioWare. Moderation style is more relaxed than its contemporaries. Growing community events (movie night, twitch streams), strong banter amongst it's tight knit community, and an open politics board are it's strengths.

Fextralife - A website run by Fexelea, the Fextralife forums are a place where people can discuss the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Fexelea is also one of the few attempting to archive and preserve the data of current BSN. The attached Wiki network which gives people access to information on a variety of games ranging from Dark Souls to The Witcher is it's unique feature.

uBSN - The Unofficial BioWare Social Network was the first website to emerge that attempts to be a direct replacement for the BSN. The uBSN is also attempting to archive and import the current BSN. Run by Cassandra Saturn, it's desire to emulate the current BSN format for smooth transition is it's most unique feature.

RDF - RealDragonAgeFans was founded by AutumnWitch and initially served as a hub for Dragon Age discussion. It has since expanded in scope to accommodate the coming closure of the BSN. It is the oldest of the splinter communities, created in 2014. It's focus on in-depth lore and romance discussions is its biggest strength.

New BSN - New BSN is the most recent of the splinter communities and the largest. Created by Cyonan as a means of keeping the community intact, it emulates the old BSN format and alongside uBSN, is intended to be a direct successor site. The endorsement and involvement of respected community heavyweights, as well as it's swelling population, are it's biggest strengths.

RPG Codex - This prestigious magazine forum is a place for civilised people wishing to have warm, polite discussions on the intricacies of interpersonal relationships within RPGs. It is a welcoming space for those who wish to talk about emotionally engaging cinematic narratives, instead of cold, clunky and outdated mechanics.

 

His accuracy is commendable, right up until his description of RPG codex. While I think that the irony there is reasonably self evident, I should mention that, seriously, RPG codex is only for those with thick skins.

[Fredward]

I'm leaning towards http://fextralife.com/forums/f95/ once the bombs drop.

[Jeremiah12LGeek]

This is a good idea. I would even add "index" somewhere in the title to draw people's attention to a common resource to access any offsite forum they may wish to look into.

 

I'm going to co-opt your thread for a bit of advice to people, just regarding internet safety.

 

- Do bear in mind that your information is no longer governed by BioWare's terms and agreements, and thus is essentially governed by the people running the site, itself. There is no reason to be inherently concerned by that, but it is important to understand that many of them may not be aware of internet security and information security, which was largely an accepted given when operating on a corporate-run site like BioWare's.

 

- Only share information when registering that you are comfortable having that community know. Anything in your profile should be assumed to be accessible publicly, even if it isn't by default (and most administrators would not change this.)

 

- Use a unique password that does not connect to any accounts of importance, like your Steam or XBL accounts. Don't use the same password, basically, because the information can be accessed by anyone with those privileges activated on the site.

 

- If you want to be especially careful, a lesser-used or secondary e-mail that does not connect to important accounts is safer to use than one that can be used to log in to something like your bank's website.

[frex98]

I'm leaning towards http://fextralife.com/forums/f95/ once the bombs drop.

Looks good, hopefully we can get more to head that way.

Nothing stopping people going to multiple forums, in fact that might be the best way to ensure everyone eventually gets to one place.

[Lady Artifice]

There is one other I'll share with you. But here's the thing, it's based on a group I started here--initially intended as a place for a few people to stay in contact, and I have no expectations of it becoming massive followed. The name is an inside joke (mostly), and it's meant to be a relaxed space.

 

To be clear, this is not really designed as an alternative to any of the listed options. More of an supplement. I'm a member of several of the core choices.

 

http://romancedefens....proboards.com/

[vertigomez]

I'm leaning towards http://fextralife.com/forums/f95/ once the bombs drop.

^This, Real Dragon Age Fans, and the Romance Defense Force are likely where I'll end up.

I think it'd be great if those in charge offered links to the other options. So maybe it's less of a p****** contest and more of a reminder to keep in touch.

[Solas]

Looks like the Solas thread is moving to RDF, for anyones' info.

[ModernAcademic]

Thank you for the initiative, LadyArtifice!    Come August 26, people will have a reference as to where they can keep in touch with the community.

[Il Divo]

First impression-wise, I will say I like the look of Realdragonagefans. I'm not sure how I'd feel about the codex at this point. 

[Lady Artifice]

I'm leaning toward Fextralife. Cool layout.

[Il Divo]

^I will happily go there. Anything Dark Souls is A-ok in my book. 

[Reznore57]

First impression-wise, I will say I like the look of Realdragonagefans. I'm not sure how I'd feel about the codex at this point. 

 

The RPG Codex?

I'll be honest I don't think it's a place for most of BSN users.Like the Blancketfort moving over there....they would get eaten alive.

The RPG Codex is a place where people enjoy being rude to each others.That's how they roll.

They also enjoy mocking a great deal , and mocking Bioware and its fan is one of their favorite pastime.

 

Now if you're thick skinned with a very special sense of humor , not everything is bad.They are hardcore RPG fans so you'd get talk about less popular or old school RPG games.

Me , I enjoy reading some of the threads over there , but I'm not going to post ever because I have a sense of self preservation and I know I wouldn't fit in .

[GaroTD]

http://biowaresocial...ork.boards.net/

 

https://realdragonagefans.forums.net/

 

http://fextralife.co...ral-discussion/

 

For me it will be one of these three. What do you guys think?

[Il Divo]

The RPG Codex?

I'll be honest I don't think it's a place for most of BSN users.Like the Blancketfort moving over there....they would get eaten alive.

The RPG Codex is a place where people enjoy being rude to each others.That's how they roll.

They also enjoy mocking a great deal , and mocking Bioware and its fan is one of their favorite pastime.

 

Now if you're thick skinned with a very special sense of humor , not everything is bad.They are hardcore RPG fans so you'd get talk about less popular or old school RPG games.

Me , I enjoy reading some of the threads over there , but I'm not going to post ever because I have a sense of self preservation and I know I wouldn't fit in .

 

Okay, that's pretty much what I was expecting from everything I've heard. I think I would just get bored of all the vitriol after a while. 

 

Thanks for the insight on it - it's definitely appreciated. 

[goofyomnivore]

I'm at TSG right now. I liked the fextralife one quite a lot too. I've notepad'd them all tho. I'll probably end up trying them all out after the 26th, but I'm gonna hang out here until the 26th primarily.

[Vroom Vroom]

This is a good idea. I would even add "index" somewhere in the title to draw people's attention to a common resource to access any offsite forum they may wish to look into.

 

I'm going to co-opt your thread for a bit of advice to people, just regarding internet safety.

 

- Do bear in mind that your information is no longer governed by BioWare's terms and agreements, and thus is essentially governed by the people running the site, itself. There is no reason to be inherently concerned by that, but it is important to understand that many of them may not be aware of internet security and information security, which was largely an accepted given when operating on a corporate-run site like BioWare's.

 

- Only share information when registering that you are comfortable having that community know. Anything in your profile should be assumed to be accessible publicly, even if it isn't by default (and most administrators would not change this.)

 

- Use a unique password that does not connect to any accounts of importance, like your Steam or XBL accounts. Don't use the same password, basically, because the information can be accessed by anyone with those privileges activated on the site.

 

- If you want to be especially careful, a lesser-used or secondary e-mail that does not connect to important accounts is safer to use than one that can be used to log in to something like your bank's website.

 

I recommend Mail.com because you can make throwaway emails there for free and do not have to give a phone number or any personal information. 

[Fexelea]

Hi everyone, I saw the security concerns and I must agree they are extremely valid ones.

In case anyone would like some peace of mind, fextralife has a privacy policy and several tens of thousands of registered users. I would hope it's at least a bit less scary knowing there are legally binding assurances and other people getting by without issues

 

Also passwords on the fextralife site are hashed and salted on creation - therefore irretrievable for either you or me, so I will never see them.

A note about disposable mail: you will not be able to make an account with them, most likely, because it's what spammers use so I regularly block them. I hope that's understandable!

Please let me know of any feedback anyone has

[Anubis_TPF]

If you were a member of The Shelter private group, or a friend of a member who can vouch for you, our link is http://isitaboutmycu...e.com/shelter. We are invite only, but under the circumstances, please hit up a member you know if interested.  We work hard to make sure the group has as much freedom as possible while still protecting privacy.  The rules are basically: no porn, no illegal content, and be respectful to everyone.

 

We've been up and running for over 2 years, off-site.  I host the site (it's ad-free), for the security concerns that Jeremiah mentioned, our forum there is locked down and encrypted (aside from a small public forum page that was used for testing, and to demonstrate the layout), and user passwords are encrypted in the database to keep even me from reading them.

 

Jeremiah was a founder of The Shelter himself, and used to moderate with us.  Current moderators are: myself, dunvi, happy_daiz, jaketron (jkthunder), Ohnenick, and razrblck.

[Shades of Night]

I generally try to avoid blatantly advertising outside of my signature but if people are interested in options aside from one of the larger new forums, I also run a small female-oriented (though any gender is welcome to join) gaming forum called Sisters of Steel (we came from Petals and Thorns).

 

Though I'll be honest, it is currently almost dead (due to our members having less time as we get older and our lives become increasingly busy), so it would likely best suit a small group of people who wanted to transfer over. On the up side, we already have subforums for all Bioware games and I can virtually guarantee that the forum will only be going down if Proboards does, so it isn't going anywhere for the foreseeable future. We've also been around for about 2 years now.

[electricfish]

http://bsn.boards.net/

This was just posted in the pinned "Concerning our Forums" thread. Looks like Cyonan is trying to maintain forum structure and eventually the theme. Brand new, so at the time of this post there is not much content yet, but it appears to be attracting former BSN members.

[Lady Artifice]

http://bsn.boards.net/

This was just posted in the pinned "Concerning our Forums" thread. Looks like Cyonan is trying to maintain forum structure and eventually the theme. Brand new, so at the time of this post there is not much content yet, but it appears to be attracting former BSN members.

 

 

Adding this to the OP, as well as Fextralife. 

[Solas]

http://bsn.boards.net/

This was just posted in the pinned "Concerning our Forums" thread. Looks like Cyonan is trying to maintain forum structure and eventually the theme. Brand new, so at the time of this post there is not much content yet, but it appears to be attracting former BSN members.

Ah now, this is my ideal! What I want from a replacement forum is:

• a true BSN Mark II, not an existing forum
• with similar structure/layout for familiarity
• which covers DA and ME
• which isn't run by someone people keep mentioning red flags for
• where I can make a new Solas thread, if the threadusers wanted to go there
• where a lot of BSN's people go, so it's a similar community to before

If BSN Boards takes off, I'm there in my individual capacity regardless of whether the Solas thread moves there too (signed up anyway). I'd also suggest it to my thread as a location for the new Solas thread (if they wanted to stay with their current RDF consensus though, we would - I go by their majority preferences).

[Jeremiah12LGeek]

I was coming here to mention adding Cyonan to the index, but it appears to be covered already!

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Still makes me chuckle to see RPG Codex written here in the OP every time I open this thread. Codex is a great place though, and I encourage every BSNer who wants a comfortable space to discuss the intricacies of character romances and relationships to go there immediately. RPG Codex has a reputation for being detailed with RPG discussions, after all.

[JobacNoor]

Still makes me chuckle to see RPG Codex written here in the OP every time I open this thread. Codex is a great place though, and I encourage every BSNer who wants a comfortable space to discuss the intricacies of character romances and relationships to go there immediately. RPG Codex has a reputation for being detailed with RPG discussions, after all.

 

You monster.