Put down your gamedev guns momentrily and listen to this...

[ProgramWizard]

After reading this (http://www.devmaster.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4179) thread, I think I have some more perspective on the whole devmaster vs. gamedev situation. Before I go on, I apoligize if most of the people here are cool with gamedev.net, but it seems like the general consensus around here is that they suck :). Anyway, why does it seem that a lot of people here hate gamedev.net? Most of the people who got banned there had pretty good resons for being banned. I agree that the mods are a little tight over there, but they just take their jobs seriously. It was kind of bizarre to see the game showcase thread devolve into a disscussion on how to compete with gamedev.net (sorry for helping that along, BTW...). I think one of us should go over to the gamedev forums and start a thread about how devmaster is a cool place, and that we are willing to be friends :). I'm not really sure why I'm posting this, but I just don't see why we should be so uptight about gamedev.net. After all, these are just websites.

[roel]

I like gamedev.net and I think that devmaster.net is just a rip-off. But well, I don't mind so I spend my time both here and there and enjoy both communities :)

[ProgramWizard]

I wouldn't say devmaster is a rip-off; they do have the 3D Engine database and the Wiki.

[eddie]

I've only been active on DevMaster for a while (I got here from seeing that flipcode was closed.. Tangent: I loved that website name), but I've never picked up on the G-D sucks vibe.

That said, the thread you posted seemed to point to various other people with similar histories. I don't think it'll taint my view of GameDev, but in reading their forums, I find I prefer the format of DevMaster better. It's easy to peruse, not filled with a bunch of people talking about off topic stuff, and I don't find anything about DevMaster lacking. Maybe I haven't been reading this forum enough to pick up on those things, but as it stands now, I have no urge to go check out GameDev.

We'll see tho. :)

Anyhow, it'll be interesting to see if anyone else has a similar view. I never realized there were GameDev dissidents here.

[ProgramWizard]

I've heard a lot of people here saying that they came from gamedev. People on the GDNet forums joke about how people are sent to banland when they act up; well, I've found it!

[erkokite]

I'm a member of both, and they both seem to have their own niche. I've never picked up any anti-Gamedev.net sentiment around here. Gamedev seems like more of a place for people involved in professional projects whereas devmaster seems to be more like flipcode- a bit more oriented to the DIY coding community. I like both.

[Lightyears]

Gamedev seems like more of a place for people involved in professional projects

Apparently, you haven't visited the GDNet Lounge (just kidding).

Some long-time members there only post in the Lounge anymore, and some members only post in the Creative boards, so I would say that people go to GDNet to talk about anything.

[ProgramWizard]

Apparently, you haven't visited the GDNet Lounge (just kidding).

That statment is actually accurate; the Lounge is the source of all of gamedev.net's problems. Everyone on the entire site who has an increased warning level, a suspension, or a ban got it from the Lounge.

[Lightyears]

I agree ProgramWizard.

Most GDNet members now recommend to new members that they stay away from the Lounge, but most people there tend to take it as a joke. If you look at any message by a regular Lounge poster, chances are you will see a warning level on them.

Also, people who go there often notice a drop in their rating, simply because they don't know how the regulars there operate. If someone even appears to have the slightest rudeness, makes an off-topic post, or asks about their rating, then the people there will rate them down until they reach 0, regardless of whether they were constructive members before.

It's sad, but true. That might be one of the reasons people here have a dislike for GDNet...

[ProgramWizard]

I hear ya about the ratings; the staff had good intentions when they made them, but since the system has been implemented it has turned into a popularity contest. In fact, I got so fed up with the rating system that I intentionally lowered my rating to 0 by posting the following:
"If you're happy and you know it rate me up!
[clap][clap]
If you're happy and you know it rate me up!
[clap][clap]
If you're happy and you know it
and you really want to show it
if you're happy and you know it rate me up!
[clap][clap]"
Took about 2 minutes...

Offtopic: This is what got me banned :)

[Lightyears]

Oh man, that's pretty funny. That's the reason you were banned?

On the flip side, people can also get their ratings up through their posts on the Lounge, but that takes some mastering. There are people that have brought their scores up to 1500, 1600, even 1700 through posting in the Lounge. But like you said, it's mostly just a popularity contest.

[Francois Hamel]

personnaly I don't have anything against GameDev.net, they are just different and they serve their purpose well...but then I've never been a big fan of their site simply because I prefer smaller, more personnal forums just like Flipcode was a while back. Maybe DevMaster can fill the gap and I hope it will. GameDev.net for me is more like the wallmart of game prog web sites ;)

anyway, this thread is useless ;P

enjoy DevMaster, and try to bring something to it...it's the community around a web site that makes it live.

[ProgramWizard]

It's not really a useless thread; I asked a question, and I think I have an answer. Personally, I wish the DevMaster forums coould be a little more active, but could retain the "personal" feel they do now. Then all we would need was a room full of Oreos and the world would be perfect... :happy:

[Methulah]

I recruit on Gamedev and post on devmaster. I socialize on Moddb and spam on the YP forums. Different forums are suited to different things. Gamedev is big and gets a lot of traffic and a lot of awesome articles. Devmaster has an awesome community, engine database and a nice wiki. Moddb just has.

[dave_]

I've got nothing against GameDev.Net, per se, I find the signal to nosie ratio too low for my liking.
There's only really 1 out of 10 posts thats not posted by a newbie. Most are posts asking how to get tutorial X working.
Rating systems are a bad thing in my opinion. They reward pesistence rather than actual knowledge/skill

[eddie]

I recruit on Gamedev and post on devmaster. I socialize on Moddb and spam on the YP forums. Different forums are suited to different things. Gamedev is big and gets a lot of traffic and a lot of awesome articles. Devmaster has an awesome community, engine database and a nice wiki. Moddb just has.

Don't leave me hanging man! What's Moddb have? A period?

[.oisyn]

with dave_ :)

[wazoo]

I've got nothing against GameDev.Net, per se, I find the signal to nosie ratio too low for my liking.
There's only really 1 out of 10 posts thats not posted by a newbie. Most are posts asking how to get tutorial X working.
Rating systems are a bad thing in my opinion. They reward pesistence rather than actual knowledge/skill

Yup I agree.

I think it's become so large, that I get the sense they're just trying to "steer" the ship and have given up trying to control it completely.

It's definitely a fulltime gig, and I'm sure the owners need to spend more of their time on making enough money to live as opposed to spending their time with the site.

Not cutting it though, there's still oodles of resources and posts to sift through.

At the very least, they still make beginners feel welcome even after the millionth "I'm a beginner and join my MORPG team" thread.

[baldurk]

anyway, this thread is useless ;P

Yes.

There is no need for Devmaster to "extend a hand of friendship" or anything like that. Gamedev is a game development website, with a community in a forum (and likewise an IRC channel). So is devmaster. We hope over time that friendships will form between the communities, and within the industry, but we're a seperate site and there's no need to make a big deal out of this. They're not exclusive, use them both when you need to, when you want to.

As for your statement that most people here hate gamedev, I'd say that's far from true. Yes, I know of a handful of posters here who have been banned from gamedev, and yes there may be more that I don't know about, but they've never mentioned it. And you know what? They're doing it right. No-one here cares if you've been banned from gamedev. What I care about is that you're posting crap like this in the forum (at least this time not off-topic in another thread).