Bio of a BZP Admin

A week or so ago I brought my car into the dealership for service and was sitting in the waiting area listening to some music when I realized someone was trying to talk to me and I couldn't even hear them. That reminded me how much I enjoy a good pair of noise-isolating earphones, which in turn reminded me how awesome it is to listen to music on quality equipment.

The phones in question were Etymotic hf2s, and I could not recommend them any more highly. Before these I owned a pair of Etymotic ER 6is, which have been sadly discontinued. What makes these so good? They create a seal with your ear that virtually cuts out all background noise, meaning you don't have to crank the volume up nearly as loud and can hear a lot more detail. If you've been using a pair of Apple earbuds or other cheapies and then switch to these, you'll be entering a whole new world of music. If you're looking at any of their other offerings (or those from another manufacturer), make you you look at ones with a balanced armature versus a dynamic driver, they perform much better. I don't recommend them on planes though, as the pressure changes combined with the seal they create can mess with your ears.

For home use (and planes) I use a pair of Sennheiser HD 380 Pros. They're closed back, over-ear cans. Compared to open-back ones, they're better for listening if you have other people around or are recording (like the Powercast) so you don't have any echo. They have a pretty good seal over my ears and help cut out a lot of noise. They're fairly low impedance too which means my iPod has no problem driving them.

Okay, I lied, also at home, I have an Astro A40 Audio System for gaming. They're open-back, over-ear cans. They have some more bass to them, which is good for gaming, and since it's a headset I can use it for in-game chat and such too. Astro makes some quality products and I suggest them if you want surround sound but don't have the space or if you don't want to bother roommates, siblings, or parents while gaming.

Finally, at work, I have a Sennheiser PC166 USB headset (apparently it's been discontinued). They're closed-back, on-ear cans, so they don't block out as much noise as the others, but they also don't bleed sound. Those are good things, because I need to hear phones ringing and people talking to me and don't want to bother co-workers with my music. I originally used the headset to record the BZPowercast, but have since moved on to a more advanced setup (detailed elsewhere in my blog).

So yeah, I think I might have a headphone problem, especially since I've had my eye on a pair of Sennheisers from their 5xx series for a while...

Man, it's been a while since I made an entry here, hasn't it? I remembered I had this PM waiting for a reply, so it's as good a reason as any for a blog entry:

• Who's your favorite pro football team?
• Pro Basketball?
• Pro hockey?
• Pro Baseball?

Without question, my favorite team is the New York Football Giants. Football is really to only pro sport I follow. I like it because there's only sixteen games (plus playoffs) so there's a fairly limited commitment compared to other sports. Plus it give me something to talk about with my coworkers.

I used to follow basketball pretty closely, but not so much anymore. My team was always the New York Knickerbockers, and I fondly remember the days when Patrick Ewing was the big man in charge.

I've never been a huge hockey fan, but I did follow it a bit in the 90s. Back then my favorite team was the New Jersey Devils, so I'll go with them.

Baseball is probably my least favorite professional sport. And my least favorite team is by far the New York Yankees. So if I had to pick a favorite it would be the Boston Red Sox or the New York Mets, just to spite all the Yankees fans. I could also say the Baltimore Orioles since they're the local team for me nowadays and I don't really have any loyalty to another team.

I don't know what the big deal is. He's a nice guy I suppose, unless he's being dumb. I have no idea how Becca puts up with him though, honestly. He's just always talking, even in his sleep!

Love you bud!

A GLOBAL conspiracy.

They're all out to get me!

I'm onto you guys...

So I mentioned over here about some hiccups during the upgrade. Nothing major, but it was all your fault. Yes you, the blogging populace of BZPower.

Here's a quote from the IPS rep we worked with:

The long and short of all this is that the problem was with converting the tags in the blog. We've.. Still got problems there, and you have.. Somewhere around 69k tags.. Normally, I hit a site with 500 or 5000 tags.. Ok.. I can deal with that.. The sheer numbers here.. I had to get.. Shall we say.. Creative.

Geez guys, you got a little carried away over here, you think?

Anyway, they got through all the tags in the end, and hopefully it won't cause any problems in the future.

As a result of this, however, I have changed some settings for tags:
Maximum length per tag: 20 characters
Maximum tags per item: 5 tags

I think this should still be plenty for all your tagging needs.

We're not going to implement any new rules other than the above, but please try to take it easy with the tags.

Thanks!

So I just saw the Castle Season 4 finale.

Wow.

Definitely don't want to spoil anything, but it was certainly a roller coaster of an episode. The ending has me excited for Season 5 and sad I have to wait all summer to find out what happens next. That, to me, is the mark of some truly great writing.

I was also glad to see Tahmoh Penikett in there - he's a great actor and deserves a leading roll in something again. Maybe it's time to rewatch BSG...

BZPower has had a Calendar for a while now. It's seen intermittent use over the years depending on how the staff feel at the time.

I just discovered a new feature that must have been added with the recent upgrade - RSVPing. Now events can be created with the option to allow members to RSVP to them. So now for real life kind of meetups, or even for contests on BZPower, we can keep a running tally of who is going. To test it out, I've added two upcoming LEGO Conventions:

Bricks Cascade 2012
BrickFair 2012 VA

Do you guys think this is cool/useful? Right now only Staff can create events - should we open it up to Premier Members or OBZPCs?

Also, there's an option to be able to comment on events that is currently disabled. I'm not keen on enabling it (more work for the Staff), but thought I'd get everyone's input on that too.

Let me know what you think!

It's already been nearly a week, but I'm finally getting around to making an entry about PAX East.

In short, it was awesome.

I took the train up last Thursday, from Maryland to Boston. It was my first time on Amtrak in a few years (since BrickFest 2006) and it was a pretty good experience. Longer than flying, but less of a hassle than dealing with airports or driving all the way up. It was about seven hours, and thanks to free Wi-Fi I was even able to be somewhat productive.

Once in Boston I checked into the hotel and then waited for John (Watashi Wa) to show up. We enjoyed a little taste of what Boston has to offer before meeting up with my friend AJ. At that point we headed to Cambridge for a screening of Scott Pilgrim at the Brattle Theater hosted by Harmonix, the guys that make Rock Band. I love that movie, and it was awesome seeing it on the big screen again. We then had some dinner at Bertucci's, which was quite good. Then it was time for Rock Band Night back at the theater. People went up on stage to play the game to be voted on by a panel of judges for their skill and showmanship. Our dinner ran long so we didn't get a chance to participate, unfortunately, but it was still fun.

Friday was the official start of the event. There were lots of panels and such to see. I'm going to list off some of the highlights:

• Rooster Teeth Panel - we got to see some of RvB Season 10 and listen to some hilarious commentary. These guys do not disappoint.
• BioWare and Mass Effect Panel - there was a BioWare Dragon Age panel at 3PM, the Mass Effect panel was in the same theater at 4:30PM. We walked by at 2:30PM and there was already a line forming for the ME one, so we queued up. The panel was well worth it. They talked about ME3 and the end so many people complained about, and I even got to ask them a question about the testing process!
• From Lurker to Leader: A Frags to Riches Story - this was by far the smallest panel we went to, but it was still great. A bunch of prominent people from the Halo community talked about what it was like to go from being a fan to working in the gaming industry or for fan sites. I found it very insightful.

Dinner was at Legal Harborside and was quite delicious.

Then came Saturday:

• Irrational Games: Making a Monster - the guys making Bioshock: Infinite held a panel about the creation process of enemies in the game. I envy the creativity of Ken Levine.
• Major Nelson Podcast - Major Nelson, e, and lollip0p joined by special guests Stepto and Felicia Day! It's great to look behind the scenes of the people who keep Xbox Live running. Also, Felicia Day is hilarious and even funnier than I thought she could be.
• Saturday Night Concerts - oh man they were so awesome. Video Game Orchestra, Paul & Storm, Jonathan Coulton, and MC Frontalot. These are always a highlight of the event. Paul & Storm and JoCo especially put on amazing shows, and I look forward to seeing them each year. If you have the chance to see them, don't miss it!

We got some takeout from AK's South Boston which we ate while standing in line for the concerts. Good Italian-style and deli foods if you're looking for something somewhat fast. Every time we've been there it's been busy though, so I suggest calling in or placing your order online.

And last, but not least, Sunday:

• Inside Gearbox Software - I'm not going to admit to how long we had to wait in line for this panel, but we got free pizza and some codes to give us a chance to make an easter egg for either Borderlands 2 or Aliens: Colonial Marines. Both games look pretty amazing and reminded me that I need to play Borderlands 1 and actually make an effort to see the Aliens movies in their entirety.

AJ had to leave early, but John and I went to the Atlantic Beer Garden for dinner. I had a cheeseburger stuffed with macaroni and cheese. I did not know such things existed, but it was so delicious!

Obviously we spent a lot of time on the show floor too. We saw some gameplay for Assassin's Creed 3, played Rock Band Blitz, waited in line but never saw Aliens: Colonial Marines, played the new Kid Icarus (you're welcome Kohaku), visited the Rooster Teeth guys, and many others I can't remember.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend with some good friends. PAX East is always a ton of fun and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Since I have the current RPG contest on the brain, I thought that might be an appropriate topic for a Behind BZP. But first, some questions.

Mailbag

1) just a question, but how far up/down on the list of improvements is the skin selection etc., and how long would it be estimated until it comes up?
2) What is the state of RPG staff? I know that only one RPG staff member is even active. Is appointing more staff or suchlike possible, and what are the chances of the inactive RPG staff becoming active again?

1. It's fairly close to the top, actually. That said, I can give no ETA on when things will change.
2. They're like the staff anywhere else, except moreso. They have real lives and get busy. I can't say when they might start showing their faces more often, but I always hope it will be soon. There's always a possibility of appointing more staff, but I only do that when I see a need. As of now, I think things are getting by alright.

Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line.

Running Contests
I'm going to start things off by saying that running a contest is different on each subforum of BZPower, and even between hosts there will be changes. That said, I'd like to think I've been around enough and run/hand my hand in a variety of contests that I can speak to them as a whole.

Contests have a long history on BZPower, dating all the way back to the early days of the BBC forum. Since then they've expanded to art, the Library, RPGs, fan-made games, LEGO creations, storyline, blogs, and, in one instance, poetry. That's a lot of variety, and it's something we're proud of and do our best to continue as the years go on.

The first contest I ran was, of course, in the RPG forum. I had gotten tired of members asking me for permission to make RPGs, and decided a contest would be more fair. This is pretty different from most other contests, where the motivation is to get members to make something cool and win a prize if people like it. It helps keep the community active and pushes people to flex their creative muscles.

Anyway, the first thing you do when you want to run a contest is decide to have one, quickly followed by where you want to have it. Then you need to come up with a theme, unless you're lazy and want it to be an open contest. At this point, the next step is usually to go steal the rules from the last contest of that type and tweak them until they fit what you're trying to do. After that, you have to determine how long the entry period is going to be. This varies based on the type of contest, and in some cases, like if the finalists of the contest are supposed to send their entries to BrickFair, is very time-sensitive. Careful planning is also done to avoid/give extra time when major holidays are involved.

You get all your info together, pick your dates, themes, and rules, and you post it. Then you wait for people to enter. If you're lucky a Reporter will post about your contest on the front page to help make people aware of it. But mainly you wait, answering questions here and there.

Then the entry period comes to a close. If you're smart, you've been updating the entry list as you go, because otherwise you have a bunch of work to do now, sifting through the entrants and making sure everyone followed the rules. It helps if you have some assistants to do some of that tedious work. (Hey, it pays to have minions.) Once all the entries are together, you do one of two things - split them up into polls or start judging. Polls is by far the easier of the two - several rounds of people picking their favorites culminating with a winner and several runners-up. Judging is a bit of a nightmare - you need to get people to help, and then hope they don't back out. Then you wait for them to go through all the entries and get back to you with their results. Overall it's necessary for things with long, intricate entries like stories. Most members aren't going to read them and would just vote randomly or based on whether they like a member or not, and that's not very fair.

Congratulations to the winners! The contest is nearly done! But now comes the hardest part - prizes. Oftentimes contest hosts turn to me to ask if I can provide prizes for a contest, and usually I say yes. The problem is I tend to have a difficult time shipping them out in a prompt manner, so my apologies to all those who I still owe prizes. It's on the list of things to take care of, I swear. In the meantime, you may see us giving out more Premier Memberships as prizes, since those are a lot easier to deal with.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this look behind the scenes. If you have an idea for a Behind BZP, let me know!

I've had these sitting in my inbox for a bit, and I figured before they became completely irrelevant I should do something about them.

Mailbag

1. I've been wondering -- how come you run the RPG Forum but never participate in any of the active RPGs? What's stopping you from handing the mantle of control over to someone like Friar Tuck or Nuju Metru? Is it nostalgia/loyalty from the fact that you used to role-play?

2. If you had time, would you ever consider joining one of the winners from an RPG contest?

3. If yes to the above, what kind of game/game aspects/elements would you look for?

4. Also in relation to the above, when am I going to get the two prizes from my RPGC #20 and 21 wins? It's been over a year.

5. And speaking of RPG contests, how do you decide on the themes for the themed contests? Is it random, or do you just think of something that sounds cool?

1. Time. I really don't have the time even if I wasn't the Forum Leader over there. And not that I do a huge amount (other than reading through all the contest RPGs, dealing with reports, and running the contests - you know, little things), I haven't seen any other staffer maintain a level of activity in there that I'd be ready to hand things over to them. And yes, it is my baby.

2. I would. There's a lot of great ideas that have come out of those contests.

3. I'm a fan of classic fantasy, or anything that captures the mystery of 2001.

4. I recently updated the sidebar here to show everyone how far behind I am with contest prizes. You have not been forgotten.

5. There is most definitely a pattern, one that a few have figured out. I don't see any need to address it further.

Your still doing this in your blog, right?


What would you do if someone made a skin for BZP and presented it to you that you found suitable enough and didn't break any rules?

Is there some thing you can activate for the forum software [like how there are the different tabs (forum, members, blogs, calendars, and store)and maybe you or bink could make one for "skins"] that would make a place to select a skin (for the computer you are using, not the entire forum) like I mention in the quote above?

Is there some way to change the standard color (for instance right now it is blue at the top and all the tabs have blue at the top) to a different color temporarily and save screenshots of it or something so when someone makes a skin that they could download the pictures of the different colors of the skin "headers" or "banners" that are on the tabs and main forum page so they wound't have to go through the effort to change the backround color?

just wondering, because I have an amazing idea for a Bzp skin.

thanks in advance.

If we had multiple skins available, a menu would appear to allow you to select them (I've tested it, none of you were paying attention though).

We're still working on figuring out how we're going to handle members creating skins. At this point in time it's looking like it's going to involve providing you guys with our CSS file and the important images that make up the forum. Them members will create their own, custom versions, and we'll vote to see which ones people like the best.

Want to see your questions answered? PM them to me and put 'Mailbag' in the subject line.