AA Forums Back

[Jatta Pake]

Well said.

What upsets me the most is it almost feels like we are in competition with the official forum. Why any company would want to bury a fan site is beyond me.

As you may recall we were going to have both an ask AA and an ask DST, upon the return of the AA board itts all now mysteriously quiet on that front.

As for prizes for regular posters, its possibly worth remembering that the Bombmates were driven by a member, the MOTM mates took 6 months to make it to people and Im still waiting on my *pay* 9 months after been told what I was getting as a thank you. (Where as we have had several successful give aways)

That and most of us have been here before "Regular Updates blah blah" which soon fizzle out into nothing, I'd love to be wrong on this one though.

I used to love AA, as a company not just a purveyor of minimates. I bought their Trek stuff, Jump Tribe, Tony Hawk, Dark Angel, Asylum Ultimates - heck I bought everything they did. I scoured the net looking for news as they never provided any and I kepy an almost constant eye on the board, as did Gardi, PL, Donster and Lurch, all of whom were dismissed without even a thank you. I stuck around for the community whence they pulled it with no notice I stuck this place up to stay in touch with all the Minimate fans and now its really pissing me off that AA (or at least certain people) seem to want to fight a fan site for members.

Well, this could get interesting. A competition between an entrenched innovative grassroots fan based forum vs. a hierarchical company forum.

If today's changes to the AA forum are any prelude ...

Hopefully the AA group can find their sea legs with their website and generate additive content for the Minimate fan community. I have a feeling they are still trying to 'find their way' so to speak with the forum.

[Fujis]

Everything that AA has ever promised in the way of prizes and updates seems to never quite hit the mark and I doubt if Morpheus dangling a little prize is going to draw people away from this forum.

I always check here and Minimates Central (and the HQ but I write the news over there!) before I check the AA forums anyway and that's not going to change. We've got some pretty dedicated Minimate fans here that seem to be able to round up and break news more frequently and consistently than AA does. And isn't that all we want? Regular updates and a little follow-through when it comes to promises? That's available here and only here.

That being said, yes, I do check out the AA forums in the hopes that JP is right, that they are just trying to "find their way" and creating a dedicated Minimates section does make it a little more appealing. If only slightly.

As has been said before (and more eloquently I'm sure) Ady created this community for us and it's for the community that I stay. The Minimates are almost a secondary consideration. And as Ady said the Bombermate, the Soapmate, the John Stewart Begging List - these are things born of a community that at it's core wants to help each other and spread the word of the Minimates.

This isn't a question of loyalties but how many forums has AA already dumped? I've been through two such ordeals and I've only been around for a little over a year. AA needs to strike up a balance with the Multiverse, not try to steal it's members. What they need to remember is that we are fans and consumers of the product so what forum we post on is irrelevant.

And let's be honest: there are just too damn many Trekkies over there!

[psychopanda]

In my experience, fan driven forums/sites are better than official sites. You would think that would be a "flag" to the Corporates, but it never is. The official sites don't seem to have the time/resources to invest in the sites and are often bound by their own regulations. I saw this same sort of issue with computer game sites over the years. I doubt it will ever change. So yeah, I'll keep checking this site foremost because people here are fun and not constrained in anyway. That's my two cents.

[Shanester]

What upsets me the most is it almost feels like we are in competition with the official forum. Why any company would want to bury a fan site is beyond me.

I think this is a good point that is worth pointing out to AA. What are their intentions?

[Danny]

I don't want to get into any kind of pissing contest here but on the one hand you have sites like Minimates Central that have been going nearly 3 years with regular news updates and reviews, a site which initially brought in dozens of people to the original AA forums, and you have places like this, and MMHQ, designed specifically for Minimates fans and run by Minimates fans.

I really don't see why there should be any competition between "us" and "them". People can visit any forum they want. But in the end, you can't keep dangling stuff in front of people and never deliver, cos people will get tired of it.

[Amazing.JL]

I agree with you Danny, not sure why there should be any competition. Sure it creped into my mind once, but I don't see it that way. They are just separate entities. In the end, people will be happy where they want to be.

I've signed up but don't even go over there nearly at all, only when some one here posts about something mentioned over there.

Regular updates and prizes aren't going to make me jump ship. The people are what make a place. Besides I won't hold my breath on these bribes. It is not my intention to bash anyone over there, but that place is more of a dictatorship run by Trek fans. Frankly imo they don't have the love for minimates as much as I think some us do. Every section other than Trek is totally bare and not worth visiting.

I would really like to stop talking about this stuff and let time set its course.

[AdyCarter]

I would really like to stop talking about this stuff and let time set its course.

Ive said my piece in this thread and here and thats pretty much the end of it really as far as Im concerned.

I'd rather concentrate on running this place.