2010-05-28, 12:31 PM
@Extraction comments: I think it's important to note that one of the biggest aspects of this site Paul implemented to set it apart from others like Sleepywood and Basilmarket was an extraction section that always had the first information for any version of MS. It's one reason a large portion of people, those who usually don't post or don't even have accounts, visit this site: because the Maple News is top-notch. How many of you posting for the elimination of extractions get pissed off when other sites essentially copy and paste Paul's hard work to their own General MapleStory sections? Regardless of if you get pissed off or not, most of those threads all say "credits to" and, under whatever rules the site may have, pay tribute to Paul/SP for the information. The bottom line is that without SP extractions, the Maple community would receive game information that much longer. The organization and process of providing such information on SP is so well done that (aside from the social forums which, might I add, really only the small community of users that frequent SP post on) it is one of the biggest highlights of the site.
Keep in mind, too, that if you want to play the forum statistics game, you have to keep the reality of the matters in check. The social forums are usually only visited by the most active Southperricans, while Extractions only come a few times a month. Even MapleStory Discussion/Class-Related threads are few and far between simply because it's easier to throw a new internet meme/viral video in the Funhouse than it is to create a discussion on some aspect of MapleStory that hasn't already been discussed.
In the end, I think it's imperative to recognize the importance and innovation of a forum for Extractions, especially when condemning it to death in order to keep the site as a whole alive. If it came down to the option of "let the whole site die" or "let the site continue sans Extractions," of course I would vote for letting the site continue, as most would, but we still have 2.5 weeks. If possible, let's try to find someone who can do extractions for the site a few times a month rather than condemn the practice immediately.
Keep in mind, too, that if you want to play the forum statistics game, you have to keep the reality of the matters in check. The social forums are usually only visited by the most active Southperricans, while Extractions only come a few times a month. Even MapleStory Discussion/Class-Related threads are few and far between simply because it's easier to throw a new internet meme/viral video in the Funhouse than it is to create a discussion on some aspect of MapleStory that hasn't already been discussed.
In the end, I think it's imperative to recognize the importance and innovation of a forum for Extractions, especially when condemning it to death in order to keep the site as a whole alive. If it came down to the option of "let the whole site die" or "let the site continue sans Extractions," of course I would vote for letting the site continue, as most would, but we still have 2.5 weeks. If possible, let's try to find someone who can do extractions for the site a few times a month rather than condemn the practice immediately.