Hey there, I’m going to just cut straight to the chase. My belief is that Squidboards is a great tool that the Splatoon community isn’t being utilized to its fullest. Not only can competitive players spread information, events, and discussions in a more structured manner but newer players can find and access these resources far easier than our current method. Of course it has its issues and I’ll be discussing those as well as what I believe the current strengths and weaknesses of the current community are.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the community is great and has a lot of heart. But we’re interested in growing the community, adding a bit more variety to the game, and paving the way for eSports, there’s more we can do to make that a reality.
Before I start, I want to preface this with two points:
Currently there’s a major emphasis on Twitter and Discord as the primary communication sources for Splatoon news. Tournaments, news, and general player chatter are shared on Twitter while players use Discord for running tournaments, hanging with friends, and discussing the game in more detailed discussions. Players are generally pretty friendly and respond to people who send them messages or join their Discord servers. The community can be a pretty fun place to be with a lot of players who have a lot of heart and are willing to help and provide resources whenever they can. Overall I think it’s a pretty relaxed system but there a few flaws with this system.
Spread of Information
When it comes to spreading information, there’s a bit of a disconnect due to the overabundance of information and channels presented. In other words, sensory overload. Think about it this way: the majority of Splatoon players use Twitter and Discord not just for Splatoon but their whole lives. Communicating with friends, setting up other activities, talking about life, and just speaking their mind. This isn’t a bad thing and I encourage everyone to feel comfortable with sharing their life with their friends. But when you’re looking specifically for Splatoon, it’s very easy for that information to get lost in the sea of other content. Splatoon is competing against a plethora of other topics, some of which are just more interesting or catch the eye better (no offense to Splatoon), making it difficult to see everything.
Before I continue, I’m not just referring to the things Nintendo posts about the game or the various Tumblr / Twitter / YouTube accounts that post important information. Most players follow those and get caught up on that information just fine. It’s community information like teams changes, tournaments, events, and discussion that often gets lost. Naturally there isn’t much to talk about while we wait for Splatoon 2, but because there’s so little to discuss, anything that is discussed is even harder to find and participate in it. But I digress, I talk about that more later.
Continuing on, this information only spreads if people are willing to spread it and actually knowing the people who do so. In Twitter’s case, following the right people is imperative to keeping up on Splatoon community news. In Discord’s case, being in the right servers and keeping up with the dozens of channels gets you information. This is perfect if you already have access to the right people but if you don’t you miss out on a lot of information.
However, if you’re out of the loop this becomes an issue especially if you’re a new or returning player. Think about it. If you were talking to a new player who just got a Twitter account, what kind of information would you give them? Who would they follow and why? What account should I look for to get into a team? What teams should I follow? What if they wanted to discuss map / mode combinations or gear or team synergy or…?
I would wager that the most seasoned players could actually answer most if not all of those questions. But would you want to answer those over and over again? And could you? Would you have the time? Would new players even be able to find you to get those answers? Would they want to seek you out and have a conversation with you in the first place? Many internet users are shy, especially those jumping into a community they know nothing about. It can be intimidating. Hell it can be intimidating for current users of this community to reach out to others.
In my opinion, the solution is then to have this information in a place that’s detached from the players. Players can seek out and acquire information at their own pace. Players can avoid the anxieties of having conversations with strangers to get the information they want. And players won’t have to sift through the lives of people they may not necessarily know to find essential information.
The Competitive Bubble
I mentioned earlier that our community can be intimidating for new players to get into. The community isn’t intimidating by any fault of its’ own. After all, plenty of players are kind and willing to help at a moment’s notice. I’ve seen countless examples of players helping each other, spotlighting and positively criticizing each other, and supporting each other in their times of need. Many teams are like extended families which is pretty cool to see. Why would that be intimidating?
Well, to be frank, it’s intimidating because the community is so closely knit in its cliques. It becomes difficult for players new and old to communicate because establishing friendships seems tougher than it actually is.
Assuming you can find the right users / servers, Twitter doesn’t have this problem as much because players tend to be pretty responsive when you directly address them. Private Discord servers, however, are a different story. Don’t get me wrong, private Discord servers are great for players to communicate with their team about various plans, events, and just palling around. And inviting others to those servers to have discussions and conversations can be a great way to get closer with those players. But while some servers are used specifically for the team, some are exclusive invite-only servers and others are public hangouts that are barely advertised and / or barely used.
Is this a problem? Not really, no. There’s nothing wrong with having a tightly knit group of friends. If anything that shows how this game can bring people together not just for Splatoon but for long lasting relationships.
However, if we want welcome players into the fold while reaching out to those currently in the community, there needs to be a place where it’s much easier to communicate with everyone while still having a good time with your close friends. Discord and Twitter don’t need to disappear but another system needs to be in place to bridge the communication gap between teams of all levels and new players. This system would naturally be less personal but it’d be far more inclusive and far easier to engage each other.
So, why Squidboards?
Squidboards has many tools to be a great community hub. The forum structure itself is great for deeper, more structured content that’s easily searchable / linkable for players of all types to see. Information being split across different sections makes it easier to find what you’re looking for whether it’s finding players, tournaments, events, polls, or discussions. Reaching out to someone is as simple as responding to a post / topic and older players can set an example for newer ones by being themselves.
That said, Squidboards itself isn’t immune to flaws. Though I personally don’t have any issues with it, I’ve seen criticism about the speed of loading, navigating the website, a lack of motivation to come back to the site, and even criticism about the moderators themselves. There’s a lot of feedback in the feedback thread as well to add more features and fix bugs but it’s hard to say what the admins are working on. This lack of transparency creates a disconnect between the users and admins which makes it harder to support them.
What’s the reasoning behind this? I think the most obvious one is the lack of interest in the site in the first place. The admins have little reason to keep the site updated because users rarely use it. Unfortunately, users then use it less because they want a more updated website. The two problems compound on each other, causing interest to wane on both sides.
Luckily, both sides benefit from the effort of the other. For instance, if Squidboards’s admins express their desire to improve the site and reach out to players for their assistance and ideas, then players are more likely to navigate to the site to enjoy the progress they’ve made. On the flip side, if players start using the site more while adding their feedback and ideas to the mix, admins are more likely to tailor the site towards helping the more loyal users.
But note that I used “more likely”, not “guaranteed”. There’s no guarantee that either side will see the efforts of one side and respond in turn. Ideally the site would improve as users get more and more interested in it but that may be a slow process and it could end up lopsided effort-wise.
So what’s the solution? Well...that’s up to all of us. Ideally if the players express the interest and provide the content while admins improve the site in ways that make that content creation easier then we’d have a great relationship. But I don’t have an answer to retaining that interest in using the forums. Even if this article has made you want to use Squidboards a little more, there’s no guarantee that your interest won’t wane in these dry months waiting for Splatoon 2.
The Goal
In an ideal world I’d love to see Squidboards, Discord, and Twitter working together to create a welcoming community. Discord and Twitter would exist for the personal lives of the players while Squidboards would exist for all the discussion and information.
I’d love to see Discord servers and Twitter accounts linking to threads showing off player theories, artistic creations, and discussions about the game. I’d love to see Discord servers advertised on Squidboards to welcome more players into chatrooms. I’d love to see teams advertise themselves on Squidboards that link to individual players and descriptions that give players a look at who they should follow. And there’s so much more we could do. Community spotlights, fun / unconventional events, discussions about the future, meta discussions, weekly polls w/ discussion, art threads for content creators, and so on and so on. That’s what I personally envision for us anyway.
Splatoon 2 is [indeterminate months away]. There’s plenty of time to make this a reality. It doesn’t have to be an immediate change and I don’t expect tons of users to flock to the site talking about every little scrap of info we get from Nintendo (though that Roller acceleration is pretty legit amirite). It’s something we can work on together to make Splatoon into one amazing community.
All I’m asking is think about it. Think about the community and what you want for it. Don’t be afraid to express what you think it could use. And if you think Squidboards could be a good tool to improve the community, help out the cause. Add feedback, post topics and share ‘em with friends, and keep an open mind in the future. And Squidboards mods if you’re reading this, help us help you. We'd love to hear more about your goals for the future to better understand what we can look forward to.
Thanks for reading!
Don’t get me wrong, I think the community is great and has a lot of heart. But we’re interested in growing the community, adding a bit more variety to the game, and paving the way for eSports, there’s more we can do to make that a reality.
Before I start, I want to preface this with two points:
- I’m not going to ask you to do anything right now. Yes I said there’s more we can do but this isn’t about convincing you to take up arms and man the battle stations. There’s still plenty of time until Splatoon 2 and there isn’t a lot to discuss right now. I want people to find their own answers to the bigger picture. I’m just here to hopefully give some ideas to the community that we can move forward with.
- You don’t have to stop using Twitter and Discord. No, I’m not targeting flc when I say this, I’m more referring to the idea that these systems still have their uses. I think Squidboards can fit with them just fine, we just have to think about them a bit differently. This also comes into play since the next header probably seems like I’m attacking Discord and Twitter but I’m not. You’ll see what I mean.
Currently there’s a major emphasis on Twitter and Discord as the primary communication sources for Splatoon news. Tournaments, news, and general player chatter are shared on Twitter while players use Discord for running tournaments, hanging with friends, and discussing the game in more detailed discussions. Players are generally pretty friendly and respond to people who send them messages or join their Discord servers. The community can be a pretty fun place to be with a lot of players who have a lot of heart and are willing to help and provide resources whenever they can. Overall I think it’s a pretty relaxed system but there a few flaws with this system.
Spread of Information
When it comes to spreading information, there’s a bit of a disconnect due to the overabundance of information and channels presented. In other words, sensory overload. Think about it this way: the majority of Splatoon players use Twitter and Discord not just for Splatoon but their whole lives. Communicating with friends, setting up other activities, talking about life, and just speaking their mind. This isn’t a bad thing and I encourage everyone to feel comfortable with sharing their life with their friends. But when you’re looking specifically for Splatoon, it’s very easy for that information to get lost in the sea of other content. Splatoon is competing against a plethora of other topics, some of which are just more interesting or catch the eye better (no offense to Splatoon), making it difficult to see everything.
Before I continue, I’m not just referring to the things Nintendo posts about the game or the various Tumblr / Twitter / YouTube accounts that post important information. Most players follow those and get caught up on that information just fine. It’s community information like teams changes, tournaments, events, and discussion that often gets lost. Naturally there isn’t much to talk about while we wait for Splatoon 2, but because there’s so little to discuss, anything that is discussed is even harder to find and participate in it. But I digress, I talk about that more later.
Continuing on, this information only spreads if people are willing to spread it and actually knowing the people who do so. In Twitter’s case, following the right people is imperative to keeping up on Splatoon community news. In Discord’s case, being in the right servers and keeping up with the dozens of channels gets you information. This is perfect if you already have access to the right people but if you don’t you miss out on a lot of information.
However, if you’re out of the loop this becomes an issue especially if you’re a new or returning player. Think about it. If you were talking to a new player who just got a Twitter account, what kind of information would you give them? Who would they follow and why? What account should I look for to get into a team? What teams should I follow? What if they wanted to discuss map / mode combinations or gear or team synergy or…?
I would wager that the most seasoned players could actually answer most if not all of those questions. But would you want to answer those over and over again? And could you? Would you have the time? Would new players even be able to find you to get those answers? Would they want to seek you out and have a conversation with you in the first place? Many internet users are shy, especially those jumping into a community they know nothing about. It can be intimidating. Hell it can be intimidating for current users of this community to reach out to others.
In my opinion, the solution is then to have this information in a place that’s detached from the players. Players can seek out and acquire information at their own pace. Players can avoid the anxieties of having conversations with strangers to get the information they want. And players won’t have to sift through the lives of people they may not necessarily know to find essential information.
The Competitive Bubble
I mentioned earlier that our community can be intimidating for new players to get into. The community isn’t intimidating by any fault of its’ own. After all, plenty of players are kind and willing to help at a moment’s notice. I’ve seen countless examples of players helping each other, spotlighting and positively criticizing each other, and supporting each other in their times of need. Many teams are like extended families which is pretty cool to see. Why would that be intimidating?
Well, to be frank, it’s intimidating because the community is so closely knit in its cliques. It becomes difficult for players new and old to communicate because establishing friendships seems tougher than it actually is.
Assuming you can find the right users / servers, Twitter doesn’t have this problem as much because players tend to be pretty responsive when you directly address them. Private Discord servers, however, are a different story. Don’t get me wrong, private Discord servers are great for players to communicate with their team about various plans, events, and just palling around. And inviting others to those servers to have discussions and conversations can be a great way to get closer with those players. But while some servers are used specifically for the team, some are exclusive invite-only servers and others are public hangouts that are barely advertised and / or barely used.
Is this a problem? Not really, no. There’s nothing wrong with having a tightly knit group of friends. If anything that shows how this game can bring people together not just for Splatoon but for long lasting relationships.
However, if we want welcome players into the fold while reaching out to those currently in the community, there needs to be a place where it’s much easier to communicate with everyone while still having a good time with your close friends. Discord and Twitter don’t need to disappear but another system needs to be in place to bridge the communication gap between teams of all levels and new players. This system would naturally be less personal but it’d be far more inclusive and far easier to engage each other.
So, why Squidboards?
Squidboards has many tools to be a great community hub. The forum structure itself is great for deeper, more structured content that’s easily searchable / linkable for players of all types to see. Information being split across different sections makes it easier to find what you’re looking for whether it’s finding players, tournaments, events, polls, or discussions. Reaching out to someone is as simple as responding to a post / topic and older players can set an example for newer ones by being themselves.
That said, Squidboards itself isn’t immune to flaws. Though I personally don’t have any issues with it, I’ve seen criticism about the speed of loading, navigating the website, a lack of motivation to come back to the site, and even criticism about the moderators themselves. There’s a lot of feedback in the feedback thread as well to add more features and fix bugs but it’s hard to say what the admins are working on. This lack of transparency creates a disconnect between the users and admins which makes it harder to support them.
What’s the reasoning behind this? I think the most obvious one is the lack of interest in the site in the first place. The admins have little reason to keep the site updated because users rarely use it. Unfortunately, users then use it less because they want a more updated website. The two problems compound on each other, causing interest to wane on both sides.
Luckily, both sides benefit from the effort of the other. For instance, if Squidboards’s admins express their desire to improve the site and reach out to players for their assistance and ideas, then players are more likely to navigate to the site to enjoy the progress they’ve made. On the flip side, if players start using the site more while adding their feedback and ideas to the mix, admins are more likely to tailor the site towards helping the more loyal users.
But note that I used “more likely”, not “guaranteed”. There’s no guarantee that either side will see the efforts of one side and respond in turn. Ideally the site would improve as users get more and more interested in it but that may be a slow process and it could end up lopsided effort-wise.
So what’s the solution? Well...that’s up to all of us. Ideally if the players express the interest and provide the content while admins improve the site in ways that make that content creation easier then we’d have a great relationship. But I don’t have an answer to retaining that interest in using the forums. Even if this article has made you want to use Squidboards a little more, there’s no guarantee that your interest won’t wane in these dry months waiting for Splatoon 2.
The Goal
In an ideal world I’d love to see Squidboards, Discord, and Twitter working together to create a welcoming community. Discord and Twitter would exist for the personal lives of the players while Squidboards would exist for all the discussion and information.
I’d love to see Discord servers and Twitter accounts linking to threads showing off player theories, artistic creations, and discussions about the game. I’d love to see Discord servers advertised on Squidboards to welcome more players into chatrooms. I’d love to see teams advertise themselves on Squidboards that link to individual players and descriptions that give players a look at who they should follow. And there’s so much more we could do. Community spotlights, fun / unconventional events, discussions about the future, meta discussions, weekly polls w/ discussion, art threads for content creators, and so on and so on. That’s what I personally envision for us anyway.
Splatoon 2 is [indeterminate months away]. There’s plenty of time to make this a reality. It doesn’t have to be an immediate change and I don’t expect tons of users to flock to the site talking about every little scrap of info we get from Nintendo (though that Roller acceleration is pretty legit amirite). It’s something we can work on together to make Splatoon into one amazing community.
All I’m asking is think about it. Think about the community and what you want for it. Don’t be afraid to express what you think it could use. And if you think Squidboards could be a good tool to improve the community, help out the cause. Add feedback, post topics and share ‘em with friends, and keep an open mind in the future. And Squidboards mods if you’re reading this, help us help you. We'd love to hear more about your goals for the future to better understand what we can look forward to.
Thanks for reading!
