Fight Club schedule shuffle?

clarinetJWD · Jul 11, 2010

One of our new members, OrionsByte (HIII), had an idea in the discussion thread that I think really warrants some thought. The idea was a way to ake fight club asynchronous, so it works for everyone's schedules, but that's always been fraught with problems: People have advance notice of topics, can see other people's ideas, etc.

I think I figured out a way to make it work. If I set up a gmail account for Fight Club, I can set a vacation message with the topics. When you're ready to play, simply email the account, and the topics will be immediately emailed back. From the time you send the email, you'll have the normal 1 hour plus straggler time to submit your photos.

They are submitted by emailing that address. You would still host them yourself, and the email would be:

Subject said:
username

Body said:
username
link to photo 1
link to photo 2
link to photo 3
link to photo 4
link to photo 5

This allows me to write a script to automate posting everyone's photos so it doesn't turn into a huge chore

What do you think?

bentcountershaft · Jul 11, 2010

I think it's a hell of an idea. Would everyone still be participating on the same day or would it be stretched out to multiple days?

OrionsByte · Jul 11, 2010

That implementation is way better than my suggestion was... :thumbup:

I'd be interested in seeing what the script to post them all looks like. I wasn't sure what kind of automation was available through vBulletin.

clarinetJWD · Jul 11, 2010

I think it's be a few days, like a fast paced boxer turtle!

The script wouldn't be vBulletin, as I'm only a mod in this subforum, and don't have access to any of the tools. I'll probably write one in autohotkey that will essentially copy a line, alt+tab, paste, repeat. I do that already with posting the "top 20" section of the results.

Josh66 · Jul 11, 2010

Sounds like a good idea, but I'm not really 100% sure how it all will work...

We e-mail the links back to you, and they get posted in the thread, or we post them ourselves?

Do all the pictures get posted at once, at some predetermined time?

clarinetJWD · Jul 11, 2010

Exactly, Josh. I collect all the photos and post them all at once. I could even do it anonymously

Goontz · Jul 12, 2010

This sounds like it could work really well and would most likely bump participation. Personally, I think having a little more leeway on when I could play would allow me to play a lot more often, based on how that's been going for me lately.

If it wouldn't be too much more trouble you could maybe even still have a posting (at the end of the email-submission time period) so that anyone who wants to play the "normal" way could still do so; that is, if anyone still preferred that way over the new one.

clarinetJWD · Jul 12, 2010

Goontz said:
This sounds like it could work really well and would most likely bump participation. Personally, I think having a little more leeway on when I could play would allow me to play a lot more often, based on how that's been going for me lately.

If it wouldn't be too much more trouble you could maybe even still have a posting (at the end of the email-submission time period) so that anyone who wants to play the "normal" way could still do so; that is, if anyone still preferred that way over the new one.

good idea!

Only problem is that keeps me restricted to a time as usual. The reason I'm liking this so much is that I don't have to plan my Sundays around being here anymore. Maybe there could be a hybrid, where say Sunday at 3 is the cutoff, so anyone who wants to play normally emails to get the topics at 2, and then submits as usual. That way people can keep playing usually, and I can go somewhere! Then, sometime in the evening, I'd post the rest and open voting.

This is really starting to take shape. I might take next weekend to get everything locked down so we can begin a week from Sunday with the new and improved Fight Club!

misskrys · Jul 13, 2010

That would be amazing! I'd love to participate in Fight Club, but I work every Sunday, so I can never make it.

RalphP13 · Jul 13, 2010

So if I'm understanding you, somewhere between say, Friday noon and a Sunday midnight I send an e-mail to you (when I have a free hour) and you automatically reply with the subject topics. I then have one hour to e-mail you my links back. On Monday morning (or whenever), all of the photographs are published in the thread and we vote until Thursday. Then, start all over again. :boogie:

If you can pull something like that off, I think it would be great.

I haven't had a chance to participate in fight club for over a month due to work, soccer, swimming, picnics, birthdays, vacation, etc. etc.

Ralph

clarinetJWD · Jul 13, 2010

Ralph: That's essentially it! The times haven't been locked down yet, but yes. You'd have the weekend to shoot and email, then everything goes up at once!

Goontz · Jul 14, 2010

clarinetJWD said:
Only problem is that keeps me restricted to a time as usual.

Yeah, I realized that, and certainly wouldn't want you to have to keep that burden. Your compromise sounds like it could work. Another consideration is that maybe everyone would be just fine doing it the email way (such is the general consensus in this thread so far), and the idea of keeping the old way available for a only few isn't necessary.

We'd have to keep in mind that an automated reply might take a few minutes to send out and make it to the recipient too, depending on their ISPs, email provider, etc. That shouldn't be much time, though, so I suppose that could be accounted for easily enough just by the normal straggler time. (don't mind me, I guess I was just thinking out loud there :greenpbl

clarinetJWD · Jul 14, 2010

Exactly, yes, it might take a few minutes (and that's something me and a few friends will test), but that should be easy to make up since the straggler time is about 15 mins.

clarinetJWD · Jul 16, 2010

I have a question for all of you...

One of the things I liked the most about Fight Club was people talking before hand, and then commenting on pictures as they came up. It was a really nice community dynamic. I'm afraid by taking the need to visit the thread out of the equation, it'll kill some of that.

My proposed solution is:
First, there will only be one thread for the photos and the voting, so that you can talk about the photos before you vote, and what-not.
Second, the posting will NOT be anonymous. I'll say the voting might be more fair if no one knew who posted what, but it would also keep people from talking about their own photos!

Does that seem reasonable? I'm preparing to update the Fight Club rules post, and make some graphics for my sig, but I want to give you a chance to chime in on any aspects before I do so.