WC3search busts its britches- again

[VGsatomi]

As we approach the magic 5000 in our maps section, once again we are faced with the reality of space problems. Darky has reported that we are again over capacity. This means one of three things can happen. One woud be that we get enouph money to expand webspace (via paypal and by clicking the tiscali links). Darky is a starving student, so that much addtional money is not possible, so again we may be asking for donations i the very near future to help keep the site running as it is. The second option is additional hosts (which still may be solved by our collaberation with wc3anvil), and the third being reducing the number of hosted files down below the capacity mark (basically a purge).

We want to keep wc3search a favorite among the wc3 community, so let use hear your feedback.

 

[Kimbo]

i say purge, there is so much junk and stolen stuff, especially in the map section and model section.

 

[VGsatomi]

The problem with that is that a purge is only a temperary fix. The problem will inevitably rise again.
-VGsatomi

 

[Kimbo]

but it would hold until we can find another solution.

 

[Mr. Clean]

-For the map section, I suggest a rule that only finished maps are allowed. (Essentially no betas) This will help keep the bar of quality a little higher and reduce the map numbers by cutting unfinished maps.
-For the other sections, I'm in favor of having a decent quality standard but the only standard is how the skin/icon/model looks in game. (Essentially no restrictions on the method used since any method such as CnP, recolor, or geoset is capable of producing stuff that looks nice in game, which is what really counts for map makers.)

 

[blademasterEXO]

Bah Mr Clean...

Dey put BetAs so that ppl can feedback etc, to improve. Why not just limit people to upload only 1 version of that map? I saw many people added up v1.7 -2 etc.

The other sections could be the good average qualities. Remove also those "just edited original spells" spell map. Only put GUI enchanced or Jass enchanced.

delete up old maps that are low quality or stuff like the warcraft scenarios such as bomber command, Worm war.

For DotA stuff, jus delete all other previous versions of it and remove the AIs since they can take it from DotA's website.

So leave the custom, good quality (not too high), non blizz bla bla bla... maps alone since they are completely innocent.

 

[Afronight_76]

purge, purge, cmon purge!

 

[olofmoleman]

I vote for purge too.

The problem with that is that a purge is only a temperary fix. The problem will inevitably rise again.
-VGsatomi

Not if only decent to good quality is allowed.

 

[OutsiderXE]

Purge. Every fix is temporary. The number of files will rise no matter what. The only problem with purge I see is that it's difficult to tell what ressource is really useless. What might seem crappy to one maybe useful for another. Some people download crap and change a bit here and there to make it useful. I know I do.

Maps that seem not to be even in an alpha-state, or are very crappy to play. (Could be worked on much more before being uploaded). A demo/beta-section would be nice.

Skins and Models without real purpose. That were meant to look appropriately to the WC3-Engine and failed (opposed to those that were meant to look realistic/Not WC3-like).

Icons that have no DISBTN.

Spells that actually don't work, that don't do anything but massive AoE-damage and are just for show, especially those cinematic-spells)


In addition to that I would suggest to do a purge step by step (not per section, per quality) to watch the community's reaction.

 

[Ramza]

definetely purge the maps section. jusr remove all the alphas and betas. why dont they just finish the map and ask for improvent After that? quess where new versions r for

 

[HolyGuardian]

If it does come to the point where there will be a purge, I hope that great care is taken to determine which maps are "purged".

As for myself, I'm going to take some initiative and delete my older work.

 

[Kershbob]

Purge.

Get some purge admins; hopefully ones with itchy delete fingers.

 

[Metal_Sonic]

Purge. Although I'm one of those peopel who downloads nearly every model to see if it's worth editing to be useful, some of them are just really bad. Same with the maps section, peopel upload these half-finished maps that are basicly unplayable, there's no need.

 

[Anub'arak II]

Especially maps where there are three or four versions should be deleated, at least the old versions. Same with betas or demos after uploading the final map.
In the model-section it's the same problem: A model that didn't work correctly is simply uploaded again, but the old version is still there.

 

[Kam]

Do a purge now and then start saving up for when we near the 5000 mark again.

 

[DeadDogNoGoWoof]

Donate money. I'll send $200.

 

[Ramza]

i rly think purging is better, over 75% of this site is 15 or younger, the most of us dont even Have money :? at least i dont, i must pay my damn study

 

[Nasrudin]

A purge is the most immediate -and needed- solution. Now, I *could* contribute, but I'm not going to for sure. Why? This site has been left to rot since too much time. Errors everywere, slow code, bugs old YEARS. I don't see why me, or everyone that can, should support a site if the admin himself obviously don't care enough.

No offence intended for the few people that still try to keep this site in one piece.

 

[AztraL-]

I agree with the purge. Purge every section and order members to help searching since i guess doing it all alone is pretty hard.
Maybe removing hunderd of useless accounts by sending a mail. Simple -> no response = bye account. so also if that account has uploaded an avatar it shall be removed. It may sound stupid, but it might help a little bit.

And if i could donate, i did. But since i'm 17 and got some parents that won't allow it i'm pwned .

(Sorry for my sucky english)

AztraL-

 

[dudeofwar]

Yes, purge is the best solution by the moment, well Im responsible with this site and each time I upload a new version of my maps I delete the old version, not like others that have like 10 versions of the same map :shock: I say purge until a better solution can be found, also I cant donate im only 14 soon to 15

 

[Preskooldude]

Alot of people want the purge. If this was a vote, then purging definately won.

Purging sounds good, especially to all those maps that are copies of each other.... But leave the maps and spells in the directors choice...

I would be donating, but hey, how much money can a Preschooler make?

 

[CodeMaster2]

Purging will only help to a certain extent, everyone knows that and they just want to avoid donating.

People really are just lazy to make the effort to donate. I'm 14 years old, I have no posts here, my mom is a house keeper and I live in Brazil. You think you're in a tough situation? That's bullsh*t. If you actually think that just using age/financial state as an excuse to not help the site, then whatever. If it makes you feel better then tell yourself what you need, but don't waste the server's space, it's cluttered as it is. -.-

I just donated 10 dollars, and I know that doesn't seem like much, but if 10 people did the same as I have, you could have yourself another dedicated server altogether. Guys, even if it's just 5 bucks, come on, just donate, the I don't have money excuse doesn't exist... If you can afford actually being on the internet, you can afford to send like 5 or heck, 10 dollars. Just consider what it's for...



All that aside, I'm just curious, is the site still slugish as hell for the same reason as on January? Cause damn, it takes more than a minute for me to load a page... The SQL query shows around 110+ secs always >.<

Oh and, how much do you guys pay per month on hosting? And have you seen GoDaddy.com's servers? Cheap as hell ^^, check it out if you guys think it'll be cheaper than what you have now.

Anyways, good luck, I really hope this site pulls through, eh?

-CodeMaster2

 

[Ramza]

Purging will only help to a certain extent, everyone knows that and they just want to avoid donating.

expand webspace will only help to a certain extent to. or u could pay money for a larger limit, or u dont pay anything and lower the amount of maps. both the same except that u dont need money, and that u will remove useless maps with puirging

 

[Eziekiel_Rage]

Purge!!!

 

[dudeofwar]

People really are just lazy to make the effort to donate. I'm 14 years old, I have no posts here, my mom is a house keeper and I live in Brazil. You think you're in a tough situation? That's bullsh*t. If you actually think that just using age/financial state as an excuse to not help the site, then whatever. If it makes you feel better then tell yourself what you need, but don't waste the server's space, it's cluttered as it is. -.-

Oh yeah FIRST: i have 33 posts here, SECOND: Im not in a tough situation man and I would like to help, THIRD: I am not SELFISH that only thinks about himself I am willing to help people in any way I can. Also purge is a temporary fix to this problem, there is enough trash in this site that we could erase all those bad/old maps and have lot of space for use, and also people when u discuss about something, dont convert it into a fight plz :x

 

[Mechanical Man]

Definitely purge. Who actually looks at three months old crap maps?

 

[Capcy]

An annoyingly unfair way to fix this is to have someone test the map and say if it goes or stays but the problem is they would need alot of time...

 

[Ramza]

yes that would Rly take to much time (although i test every finished map) we should just do the same as wc3campaigns, no alphas and betas allowed

 

[Dr Super Good]

Like mentioned purging is the only way to reduce space but do not just do it in the maps section.

Maps
All badly made maps that leak or crash after x time should be purged.
All demos or alphas (not betas) should be purged.
All LoaPs that are not slightly balenced should be purged.
Old betas that have not been updated should be purged.
All maps that are not worth playing twice should be purged.

Spells
All spell clones and easily made gui spells should be purged.
Spells that leak too much should be purged.
Spells that have a realy easily created effect should be purged.

Fourms
Since few people look in more than the last 500 post (probably only last 250) all posts that have more than 250 posts above them should be purged.

If theses are folowed then it should buy enough time to solve server spece troubles for a year or so.

If the admin team are needing help purging maps or spells ill be willing to helpout.

 

[Vexorian]

Purge

I keep examining this site. I can only think of a solution. And it is to sweep the maps section.

Facts
-5000 maps sounds impressive to some, but for me sounds as "useless" Nobody needs 5000 maps on a site.
- I seriously doubt people would need the maps after page 6, and if some of the authors still wants to have his map in the section he can upload again. None of the new users actually browse the whole maps section, they just use the first pages.
- It is just a bunch of maps. Nobody cares.

---
These are the options: Beg for more money, depend even more on anvil, close the site or SWEEP THE MAPS SECTION.

Sweeping seems to be the only logical step left.

---
Just do this: remove every map that matches these conditions:
- It is not in page 1,2,3,4 or 5
- It is not a director's pick
- It is not a campaign.

You should save a lot of bandwidth with this.

I think that the same happens with the spells section, also notice that most of those spells are outdated anyways. I would say remove every spell that is not in 50 first, is not in director's choice and is not one of Darky's

 

[Sansui]

i agree with vex.

now give me the power to delete everything.

Ive complained about this before.
Its far too hard for a mod to delete alot of items.
i mean the site is to slow to open each item to delete them.

we need a faster method.

 

[Daelin]

Actually... removing everything is not a solution. There are a lot of crappy maps there, but just removing old maps because they didn't receive DA would mean erasing some good maps too... I don't find it a good solution.

After checking the alternative, I come with this solution. It is pretty clear that earning more money is pretty difficult. Money have always been a problem in this world. It is true, that we could rely on PayPal and other stuff but it's just a short term solution. Donations do not guarantee that in one year we won't run out of money, when the problem will return.

The second alternative with searching for someone to help us with space is not that bad. However, wc3anvil has already done what it could. I have lately been close to another good community, and that is TheHelper. Not only did they recently move to a new server (private as far as I heard, entirely dedicated to the site) but also the administrator is serious and trustworthy. I do not know if they would accept to host some of our files on their server but it's worth a shot. That is the best community I can think of.

The third alternative is also good, but if it is not lead to extreme. wc3sear.ch is known for diversity, and not for super quality resources. It is true that we have quality stuff as well, but usually a lot of people go on quantity when they need something specific. Someone who wants to make a Dragon Ball map for example will search for quality stuff, but if they don't exist, they will take the masses alternative.

So yes, my solution would be combining the last two. Contact TheHelper and start doing a medium purge. Maps section is indeed a big problem, but any other resources in large quantities can waste quite a lot of space.

~Daelin

 

[Sansui]

daelin geting people to host our files does not solve the problem in the long run.

running a constant purge status would deleting old useless files and keeping the old great ones while accepting new files however does work.
i know this site has always been a haven for lower quality producers, but its about time wc3ear.ch steps up and decides to limit the "JUNK"

the best and most long term solutiopn would be the constant purge of low quality files and old files.
and to be honest even doing this will not limit the variety that much.
i think a purge is needed for all of the resources not just maps.
but as i said before right now its too hard to purge you can only really poke the sections.


sory for the bad grammar and spelling,
Im really sleepy.

 

[Kitabatake]

There is no solution that would remove the problem once and for all. I recommend purging bad maps.

 

[olofmoleman]

I agree with Daelin

 

[daxtreme]

Remember also that maps take up a huge space compared to other ressources (models for example takes up between 50 and 500 Kb) except for insanely huge models. Skins alone don't take up much space, and spells even less. Icons also don't take much.

But most maps take up between 500 and 1500 Kb. I don't know how you guys would consider setting up a "No-Junk" system, but for that you'll need people to test. A computer rarely can detect if a map is good or bad

Considering the number of maps uploaded daily... I think it would be impossible to have enough testers.

I'm from TheHelper and yea I have to agree that the administrator is trustworthy. I don't know if they could host your files though :? They have a really good server, maybe it would be possible.

Regarding Purging... Well I must agree. It is needed IMHO. If purge isn't the solution, another solution is needed, and fast :roll: Considering that it is urging, I suggest purging.

 

[aquilla]

PURGE! You could easily remove over half of the resources without someone ever noticing. Maybe this would speed up the site as well? As in less crap to search through.. :lol:

 

[Retro Vertigo]

Purge!

[rant=medium]
Purging is needed, I waste so much time browsing between crap maps on here, the speed of the site doesn't help much, either

After that, I suggest banning alphas, betas and demos, seriously. There are communities that could do with more beta-version spamming, give'm to them! :twisted:

Also, I thought of something that could be implemented: A simple voting system, if a map is crap, people can vote "crap", if it's not, they can give it a rank. If a map is getting loads of "crap" votes compared to good votes, it should be automatically deleted, with a notice sent to the author.
Ever been to Newgrounds? Same principle, let the people decide what stays and what doesn't.

As an afterthought, I also think there should be a message in BIG, BOLD, RED letters, that says: "If your map is a clone of another, not innovative at all, and/or you don't seriouslty think people will like it, don't submit!"

[/rant]

 

[Sansui]

Voting does not work this site used to use a voting system.

people like to make multiple accounts and upvote their own maps and down vote others.

its pretty sad but people are stupid.

best solution equals a constant purge.
and making maps submitted to mods before they are placed on the site.

 

[dudeofwar]

Ok guys dont be scared but we have already 5002 maps in this moment PURGE NOW, PURGE NOW, everyone wants purge so do it

 

[Dr Super Good]

I would be happy to spend some of my free time each day to check every map's and spell's quality and to decide weather it should stay or be deleted.

And im sure many other people will be happy to as well.

For purging map and spell sections more moderators are called for.

With 2 moderators on each they could be purged of rubish very quickly.

With more people a constant purge of rubish is quite possiable.

 

[daxtreme]

I'd be happy to purge maps. I already test maps.

 

[Retro Vertigo]

people like to make multiple accounts and upvote their own maps and down vote others.

Well, let's take Newgrounds as an example again (since I like their blam/protect system a lot ). Isn't it possible to make the voting possible only once per computer, instead of per account? If everyone votes, this system may well work, no?

Or maybe I'm just being stupid :?

Feh.

 

[olofmoleman]

people like to make multiple accounts and upvote their own maps and down vote others.

Well, let's take Newgrounds as an example again (since I like their blam/protect system a lot ). Isn't it possible to make the voting possible only once per computer, instead of per account? If everyone votes, this system may well work, no?

Or maybe I'm just being stupid :?

Feh.

That wouldn't work, people are stupid, even if they can only vote once, then they'll still downvote and give insanely hight ratings for no reason at all.

 

[AmadiTheGreat]

There was reason why voting system was here..

"Remova all files with score less than 2.5"

Well. IMO purging at least icons section from icons that just dont fit WC3 theme (Wc3 icons look like drawn and at same time detailed) And from icons that look crappy anyway. Then doing same to skins/models.

Map section is harder because rating maps is much more about opinion, you cant remove map that doesnt "fit wc3 theme" because they perhaps arent all meant to fit.

Perhaps remove all maps with no prewief picture. That will help browsing it and maps without pictures arent been put that much effort anyway. (With few exceptions, that is. But every war has it's martyr(s))

Another possibility is increasing the bandwith size but it is also only temporary. IMO purging stuff out would be best option.

 

[VGsatomi]

Alright, we will begin with a thinning of the archive. Nowhere near the purge that Sansui wants. That is just illogical IMO. I will never never never delete a decent map just because its been buried in the archives for a long time or are not quite DC quality. Thinning some of the junk on the surface may help such maps get downloads again.

No alpha stage maps is already a rule. No betas would kill over 90% of the archive, including some of the best maps.

I will chew off my right foot before I promote people to mods just to delete stuff. Moderating involves much more then just that. I WILL be asking people in the near future if they would be interested in mod positions, but overall I will simply be promoting the exiting ones to be able to cover all sections, because I trust their common sense.

Codemaster2, you are a fine individual. I wish there were more people like you. Only a true supporter of thise site would do such a thing despite obvious financial difficulties. I will make sure you are recognized for this.

I'm teaching 6 hours a day with 4 hours "unnofficial" work I have to do at the school (i.e. tutoring). So my days are long and busy at the moment. Likely this weekend I will begin map thinning and promoting mods to deal with the other sections.

Thats all for now. Thanks.
-VGsatomi

 

[VGsatomi]

Sorry for the double post, but you know how non-secure computers and logging in are....

If you are wondering by whos standards maps will be judged by, it will be mine. However there is the obvious problems of not being enouph map testers. More will be asked to be mods in the very near future (should they choose to accept it).

Forums clean will not be nessesary. It doesnt take that much space as it is, and its good for us to know exactly how active people are.
-VGsatomi

 

[Preskooldude]

Purging will only help to a certain extent, everyone knows that and they just want to avoid donating.

If you actually think that just using age/financial state as an excuse to not help the site, then whatever. If it makes you feel better then tell yourself what you need, but don't waste the server's space, it's cluttered as it is. -.-

Well gee... if you want donations so badly... I guess I could donate the only $1 I've ever had... (Which is pretty much my entire piggy bank)

 

[Leon_the_Great]

purge

25% of maps are old/outdated

25% of maps are really crap (you can tell from minimap)

thats 50% of your space freed.

 

[dudeofwar]

Hey VG I can test maps around here if u want I would like to help in any way I can, I know that being a moderator is tiring sometimes and if more are called then I am proposed to do it but lets see what happens in the choosing of the moderators ok?