Looking for a new idgames maintainer

[Ralphis]

Bloodshedder and fraggle are both fine maintainers imo. I would not be concerned over doomworld admin's running the archive - an overwhelmingly large majority of the community already thinks it is run by DW anyway (because of the /idgames frontend).

[Jaxxoon R]

Who will be the new emperor?

[Reisal]

We should have a minimum of 2 maintainers, preferably 3 (a sub maintainer?) so there is redundancy in the event of absence (IE like Ty).

[GreyGhost]

Two should be more than adequate to cope with the workload, any more and they'll be tripping over each others feet.

[The Green Herring]

I am preparing to send an application as I write this. I have notably dedicated time and energy to help various projects with compiling their work into WADs, by way of carefully examining everything that is submitted for errors and other concerns even if e.g. it is a speedmapping project. I can similarly dedicate my time to examining files uploaded to the archives to see if they follow the /idgames rules of file submission and acceptance. Although I am listed as a Doomworld admin on the front page, it is only for the "Community Chest" series, and none of the day-to-day business of running Doomworld. I will use neither position (/idgames or Community Chest) to influence the other.

[SyntherAugustus]

I agree regarding Fraggle and Bloodshedder being candidates from what I've seen over the years I've been here. There's a few others I can think of though that have contributed quite a bit to the community.

[Xaser]

+1 for The Green Herring. He's the first person who came to mind, since he's has a super eye for detail (bugfinding, wad scrutiny, organization, etc.) has done a ton of stuff in leadership and compilation positions (CC3 & 4, various 32in24s, etc.), and is hella patient. Ought to pair with /idgames quite nicely.

[Obsidian]

TGH and Bloodshedder then? Sounds pretty solid to me: Fraggle did say that he'd possibly be a bit overstretched if he ended up maintaining the archives along with all the other work he does.

[esselfortium]

TGH, Bloodshedder, and fraggle are all great candidates, I think! They're seriously dedicated and know their stuff.

[Blastfrog]

We shouldn't pack on just anyone with a pulse, but having a staff bigger than two might not hurt. Perhaps two primary maintainers, and a guy on backup. Fraggle is mad-talented (and has strong leadership qualities), definitely who to go to if no one else is available, but on the other hand, he shouldn't stretch himself. So perhaps he could be signed on as an extra to perform duties on an as-needed basis? Chances are at least one of the primary maintainers would be around, so it's unlikely that Fraggle would ever be needed, but a backup in extreme cases is prudent.

Aside from extra "on call" direct maintainers, perhaps there should be a group of screeners to do some of the analytics/play-testing, especially on big and complex files? Maybe about five people, and only used if there's a heavy load backing up incoming.

[Cupboard]

The Green Herring is steady-eddy. He knows the importance of careful inspection and routine maintenance. I hope he could learn the technical skills required to maintain the archive easily enough.

[Reisal]

I also third TGH, Bloodshedder and fraggle.

[Jaxxoon R]

Seems pretty legit.

[Zed]

Yes, I approve.

Just one question: what happens if Ty comes back?

[GreyGhost]

A winner-takes-all deathmatch?

Sodaholic said:

Aside from extra "on call" direct maintainers, perhaps there should be a group of screeners to do some of the analytics/play-testing, especially on big and complex files? Maybe about five people, and only used if there's a heavy load backing up incoming.

Instead of a hand-picked team of testers, how about dumping tediously large files in a forum thread for public examination? I still don't see the need for a third (backup) maintainer, that's a bit like being the Vice President's understudy.

[tourniquet]

TGH, Bloodshedder and fraggle.

[RUSH]

Yet another +1 for The Green Herring and Bloodshedder. Too bad about Ty, I hope he's doing okay.

[deathz0r]

I'm going to throw my vote in for Bloodshedder as primary maintainer and fraggle as a temporary maintainer. TGH seems like a good candidate though I haven't seen any of his recent work, but I'll take everyone's word for it

[Phobus]

So, arguably the most important person in the entire Doom community has been missing for 6 weeks, now presumed incapacitated, and here we are arguing about what should be allowed on the archive he maintained, in the thread about finding suitable replacements for said role.

EDIT BY MOD: not anymore!! thread has been split

[Xymph]

Thank you kindly, Phobus.

I've received solid applications from Bloodshedder and The Green Herring via email, and Fraggle on the first page. Given the feedback by others here, I think we can move forward with them.

However, I have little spare time for this matter until Tuesday, so until then others could still apply.

Zed said:

Just one question: what happens if Ty comes back?

We'll cross that bridge if and when we get to it.

[Never_Again]

Linguica said:

I agree that Bloodshedder would also be an excellent choice but I am a little worried about the potential politics of a Doomworld admin also running the /idgames archive. It could easily be seen as some sort of power consolidation which might rub some people the wrong way, especially given the "retrograde vanilla purist zealot" reputation that Doomworld has apparently gained in some corners. Maybe this is really overthinking it though.

I think this is a valid concern, and not just for the reasons of politics and power consolidation (which are grave enough in themselves — just recall what happened to NewDoom). Although the /idgames archive closely cooperates with DW, making the two effectively the same entity by having a shared admin is akin to placing all your eggs in the same basket.

The /idgames archive has always been an independent operation and should stay that way.

[Zed]

Well, I'm not sure. DW isn't NewDoom. From what I understand, problems in ND were in part because Phoebus was something like a dictator, while in DW there is a team of admins and mods, which practically guarantees that if one of them goes nuts or something, there are other people that can do something about it.

Besides, lets not forget that fraggle and Quasar are both admins in the Doom wiki, a separate entity from DW, and I haven't heard even once about any "conflict of interests".

[Quasar]

Zed said:

Besides, lets not forget that fraggle and Quasar are both admins in the Doom wiki, a separate entity from DW, and I haven't heard even once about any "conflict of interests".

Though I am *not* a Doomworld admin. I'm only a forum moderator for Source Ports and for Eternity. That means just about nothing in terms of control ;)

[Bloodshedder]

Never_Again said:

The /idgames archive has always been an independent operation and should stay that way.

I agree - and there's no way it could, would, or should become part of Doomworld, much like how Doom Radio, soulsphere.org, Chocolate Doom, the Doom Wiki, etc. aren't part of Doomworld either.

It is possible for people to maintain separation between their commitments.

[Xymph]

Bloodshedder and TGH were the only applicants via email, but also made good candidates in their own right, so we've decided to take them both on. Fraggle indicated he might be overstretching his DOOM activities if he were to join, so I thank him for his application, but am letting him off the hook. ;)

I've started introducing Bloodshedder and TGH to their new roles. Since no specifics are known about Ty's condition, all three of us feel it's better to get new maintainers going and and start clearing the incoming backlog. If and when Ty returns online, we will find out what he is able and willing to do w.r.t. idgames, and go / co-operate from there.

Thank you all for your feedback in this topic.

[Snakes]

Glad to hear this is being sorted out. TGH and Bloodshedder are both excellent choices and have proven to be excellent at what they do in the past and both have been a constant presence over the past few years.

Sincerely hope Ty is okay and that his absence is remedied soon. He's a true asset to the Doom community.

[Breezeep]

Good. About time the Archive is getting back up and running again.

[purist]

I'm sure Ty would be pleased to know the archive is in such good hands in his absence.

[Yuki Senmatsu]

Jammin'!

I did see archives.gamers.org had some updates.

Welp, time to get back on my work.

[Never_Again]

Some updates? The new maintainers descended on the backlog like a hurricane!
Good job, guys; just don't burn out in the first week/month. ;)