FCAL Proposal Announced at GoMe

[andylegate]

All aspiring Writers might want to go and check out the Guild of Messengers Web Site, where the New FCAL Proceedure Proposal has been announced.

here's the link:

http://messengers.sixpencemedia.com/newsevents.php

[Chacal]

1- Do I understand correctly that this applies to Uru:CC only, and that the process for MORE is still open for discussion?

2- Had anyone asked for my input, I could have told you that this will not work:

They also understand that GoMa and GoW are the guilds that will regulate this function on Cyan's behalf. Violations of the FCA license will ultimately be brought to the attention of Cyan, and Cyan will determine the final course of action.
...
The FCA panel will provide monitoring to ensure FCA candidates keep to the terms of the FCA license. Should there be any violations, they will be brought to the attention of Cyan, and Cyan will determine the course of action.

It has been tried before for EA's BF2 game with disastrous results. It is known as the BF2-ROE fiasco.
It began with a similar announcement. EA agreed (after secret discussions) to similar self-appointed vigilante groups. It took only a few weeks for them to turn bad. We exposed them, fought them. We won, in the end, EA disavowed them and took back its monitoring role. But it destroyed the BF2 community. And I'm tired of fighting.

Don't go there. Please. Bad stuff WILL happen. You have been warned.

3-

Panel members will be chosen by the guilds' leadership teams, and will serve initially for a term of a few months. The FCA panel's work falls within the remit of the GoMa Submissions department, under the leadership of its Guildmaster

And so it begins. Enough said.

[Frisky Badger]

So the Guilds, which Cyan have supported, are vigilante groups? I don't even know what BF2 is, but I know it isn't Uru. What happened in BF2 might happen to Uru, it might not. There is no way to tell because they are different. The proposal itself was for Uru:CC, but that was before we knew about MORE. And this proposal is still open for discussion. Nothing has been set in stone.

I'm sorry, how would you have the FCA Panel chosen? Self appointment? Popularity contests? Chemical warfare?

[Paradox]

I'm sorry, how would you have the FCA Panel chosen? Self appointment? Popularity contests? Chemical warfare?

I like that last option myself... seems to be the most unique.

[Nynaveve]

You seem to have missed the part about us not doing anything without Cyan's approval. And that means they tell us what to do, we do it by their rules, their standards. This isn't something we came up with on our own and will just do as we see fit. If Cyan doesn't approve of the way we do things, they bypass us. Simple.

Secondly, the panel will rotate, so that no group is the same for any extended period of time, which prohibits personal agendas as well as favoritism. There will be no standards to meet like "Professionalism" or "Quality", so that takes away our power to say "Sorry, I don't like your colors, you lose". These will be legit criteria developed together with Cyan that aren't based on aspirational opinions.

I understand you don't like any one person or group to have power or control in a setting like this, but unfortunately, in order for MORE to happen, we will need ALL groups to have a say and have some sort of control, and that means not everyone will be happy. Cyan is expecting us to pick up the yoke here and tow the weight, because they simply do not have the manpower to do this on their own any longer. If the community doesn't start saying yay and nay to things on our own, we'll get no where, and MOUL will fail again. Cyan cannot hold our hands all the way through this, and they can't do it by themselves. So that leaves us. And to be blunt, there is a reason the Guild Counselors and Guild Masters are in leadership: its because someone thought they would do the job correctly. You're going to have to trust them at some point.

And YES, this is intended for MORE, although originally it was written for CC. It will be transferred over to the public instance of the game.

[MustardJeep]

Chacal most people seem to agree that the issue you referenced from Battle Field 2 Rules of Engagement was made worse by a small group, and the original problem was merely that it was badly implemented. I don't see how any of it applies to the current situation however as everyone in the community is being invited to discuss the proposal now that there is actually a proposal to discuss.

While it took a little digging here is a link to a copy of the BF2 RoE

Most of the RoE seems to revolve around very strict anti-cheating policies and preventing people running the fan servers from abusing their abilities as server admin's. The fiasco was in the groups trying to enforce the rules, Or am I seeing a different BF2-ROE fiasco?

Anyhow if you have a problem from today on constructive suggestions will be seen on this, the Maintainers, and MO:UL forums.

[Paradox]

My understanding is that the GoMa (and the GoW?) will look over initial Age concepts and make sure that they don't infringe on any of Cyan's existing storyline. I highly doubt that the GoMa will have the power to "prevent" an Age from being made.

Essentially it looks more like Cyan would rather have the GoMa (and GoW?) handle the FCA licenses, rather than employing someone who isn't familiar with the concepts to handle it.

As I see it, if you're building an Age that you claim to have written yourself, that doesn't involve any of Cyan's characters (not too sure about D'ni as a whole yet, Cyan needs to be more clear on that), you pass and get a license.

[Chacal]

The fiasco was in the groups trying to enforce the rules, Or am I seeing a different BF2-ROE fiasco?

Correct. Some people decided that EA needed help in enforcing the ROE. They would search for and report violations of the ROE to EA. EA was glad for the help. Those people had all kinds of good intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

Then a popular representative from Naboo, named Palpatine, was elected to the Senate. Oops, sorry, wrong story.

It's not about BF2. It's about human nature. It is unavoidable, thus we will not avoid it.
I won't bother you with my personal story. Let's just say I've seen it all.
Oh well.

[Paradox]

The FCA is not granted based on quality, it is granted before the Age is even started being modelled. It is granted when someone presents an idea and storyline with initial concepts. If the concepts don't infringe on Cyan's copyrights, a license is given. If there are problems, I imagine that the concepts are then passed onto Cyan for Cyan to decide whether it is allowed or not.

[MustardJeep]

Gotcha Chacal "Maintainer Police Syndrome" I understand 100% the Guild has periodically had to talk to individuals rather strongly about that since day one in Kierl.

Suggestions are still welcome to improve anything posted for discussion.