how can we make squidboards active again?

[kenta_ink]

-Twitter is being ruined by changes imo plus the community there leaves a lot to be desired. In a tweet system if you miss a tweet it's nearly impossible to go back and find it...
-Discord servers are closed off only to friend groups and large servers see mostly ingenuine meming posts. Something like Squidboards allows for organized discussions that help connect more comp players. I only heard about it for the first time last week and loved being on it. I want it to be more active.
Any suggestions?

 

[Cephalobro]

I think discussing how weapon changes affect the competitive portion would be a big thing that can help. I never see any place dedicated to Splatoon ever bringing up the impact of buffs and nerfs on the competitive scene as a main topic, as well as potentially finding some unique uses for weapons that do get nerfed.

 

[kenta_ink]

So for me smth I could make posts about would be how Stamper can be played at lower levels after the nerf? I could also talk about how Gloogas can fit into comps/ its playstyle?

 

[Cephalobro]

Yes, discussions like that.

 

[Elbowtross]

Well ain't that the million dollar question.

If you'd want to know how you yourself could make a difference then I'd say just post fairly regularly. Having actual active members makes this site feel more alive and will get more people to come here. As I'd imagine many people hear of Squidboards and go to it, see that the site is inactive, and then leave. However to actually make Squidboards be a community hub? That I'm not sure about. The best bet is to have a bunch of community figures promote and use the site themselves. And then have have their followers come en masse. That seems like the most straight-forward solution. Basically just a bandwagon effect pretty much.

But even then, this site has some problems like not being conducive to mobile platforms, and having to compete with sites that are more encompassing in broader subjects - like Twitter - in which compete for attention. So it could just end up being a flash in the pan sorta situation, and then we're back to square one.

I also understand this is more about competitive rather than the entire Splatoon community and some more specific strategies could be implemented to attract comp players. I'm just being more broad as to me any new faces are good to have.

 

[Blåhydra]

I think that it was summed up well by the squidschool video highlighting this problem. There are many, many scattered hubs where people gather for different purposes, and I figure many have their own circle of activity. The boards would be competing with discord, twitter, and other channels people use the communicate.

Though I think it hits the nail right on the head with the boards being in a bit of a catch 22. People come here, see no activity, leave and no new activity gets generated making the next person go: "Oh, no activity" and repeat that cycle. It also might be that forum boards appeal to a certain kind of audience. I imagine someone used to the constant stream of discord content might find a forum unintuitive at first, while (insterting personal experience here) on the flipside someone may find a forum way less busy than a discord, if only by virtue of topics being split up instead of being in a great big pile, so to say.

Maybe taking a focus to more competative splatoon at first would be good. Discord is fine and all, but having a more archiveable way of view discussion could help people understand why something would be impactful. People may know that running ink saver main on stamper is now kinda necessary, but what would be the best ISM amount and why is something that you can't natively understand.

And while I am sure there are video resources on youtube and discord servers with threads that contain the answers, neither can present the math as well as a massive text post can. Threads like these are amazing to learn exactly why X mechanic works for Y weapon or in general, but turning that into a video/discord formatted thread would be not the engaging content you'd want on those platforms. And while you could put it up as a google doc or something, it takes it away from a great hub of information it could exist in.

Long story short, I think seeing if we can all pitch in to create content and focussing that content around the audience we would want to find would be the way to start getting the ball rolling. After that, hopefully, it'll gather momentum and a bigger audience will flock to the site.

 

[Elbowtross]

Long story short, I think seeing if we can all pitch in to create content and focussing that content around the audience we would want to find would be the way to start getting the ball rolling. After that, hopefully, it'll gather momentum and a bigger audience will flock to the site.

I think this is the best way right now. Just posting something and keeping this site a little more lively is key. I'm trying to be more active in this site in hopes that other will do the same.

 

[kenta_ink]

Ty all for the replies :) <3 I'm going to take Blåhydra's idea and make a post talking about Stamper and its place in comp rn ty :)

 

[Blåhydra]

Thinking about my own idea, how would we feel about a recurring thread that tries to bridge the gap between non competitive and competitive players? I had an idea pop into my head for a sort of informal thread where a central question is posed like: "How do I know my skill is good enough for comp?" or "How do I judge my own performance/review my own replays?" and have people answer with how they think about it. While keeping it a bit informal to maybe make it more inviting for people to make the step up to competitive play by having more personal views, rather than more general resources.

This may or may not inspired by my own tries to get into comp and insecurities about my skill in splatoon, but I can't be the only one sitting with these questions even though there are good resources on the topics out there.

 

[Cephalobro]

Thinking about my own idea, how would we feel about a recurring thread that tries to bridge the gap between non competitive and competitive players? I had an idea pop into my head for a sort of informal thread where a central question is posed like: "How do I know my skill is good enough for comp?" or "How do I judge my own performance/review my own replays?" and have people answer with how they think about it. While keeping it a bit informal to maybe make it more inviting for people to make the step up to competitive play by having more personal views, rather than more general resources.

This may or may not inspired by my own tries to get into comp and insecurities about my skill in splatoon, but I can't be the only one sitting with these questions even though there are good resources on the topics out there.

That's actually a great idea. I for one, don't play the Anarchy Battles right now, but since the last Challenge forced me to play Tower Control, I think this will help more players get a better grasp for the upcoming Challenges. Tower Control for example, doesn't take your turf into consideration, the opposing team might have inked more ground than you, but that won't matter if your team is still in the lead in terms of tower movement before time runs out (or just moving the tower all the way).

 

[Blåhydra]

That's actually a great idea. I for one, don't play the Anarchy Battles right now, but since the last Challenge forced me to play Tower Control, I think this will help more players get a better grasp for the upcoming Challenges. Tower Control for example, doesn't take your turf into consideration, the opposing team might have inked more ground than you, but that won't matter if your team is still in the lead in terms of tower movement before time runs out (or just moving the tower all the way).

You know, I hadn't thought about that but a "What do you think?" About the high watermark gamemodes and how to play them would also be very interesting. Between questions about anarchy gameplay, judging your player skill, weapon roles it would fill a good few threads.

Going to write this one down!

 

[kenta_ink]

Thinking about my own idea, how would we feel about a recurring thread that tries to bridge the gap between non competitive and competitive players? I had an idea pop into my head for a sort of informal thread where a central question is posed like: "How do I know my skill is good enough for comp?" or "How do I judge my own performance/review my own replays?" and have people answer with how they think about it. While keeping it a bit informal to maybe make it more inviting for people to make the step up to competitive play by having more personal views, rather than more general resources.

This may or may not inspired by my own tries to get into comp and insecurities about my skill in splatoon, but I can't be the only one sitting with these questions even though there are good resources on the topics out there.

I love this idea!! I would 100% be active in smth like that. Inclusivity and making comp accessible really matters to me.

 

[Blåhydra]

I love this idea!! I would 100% be active in smth like that. Inclusivity and making comp accessible really matters to me.

Haha, I'm glad the idea is well liked. Getting into comp myself has been a challenge and one of the big hurdles is honestly the mindset and the nagging questions about skill or really anything. And I can't be the only one that will be dealing with self doubt, so leaving a bit of a informal trail hopefully can help more people along their journey.

 

[Cephalobro]

Haha, I'm glad the idea is well liked. Getting into comp myself has been a challenge and one of the big hurdles is honestly the mindset and the nagging questions about skill or really anything. And I can't be the only one that will be dealing with self doubt, so leaving a bit of a informal trail hopefully can help more people along their journey.

I'm planning to return to competitive at some point just to get all of the badges associated with Anarchy Battles.

 

[kenta_ink]

Haha, I'm glad the idea is well liked. Getting into comp myself has been a challenge and one of the big hurdles is honestly the mindset and the nagging questions about skill or really anything. And I can't be the only one that will be dealing with self doubt, so leaving a bit of a informal trail hopefully can help more people along their journey.

yeah.. the self doubt is real. I've been in it for 6 months and still half the time wonder if I even "deserve" to be playing it despite how flaws logic that is