How can we make the 405th great?

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Art Andrews

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As mentioned elsewhere, we are very excited to be managing this community! We think it has a tremendous amount of potential and want to see it grow and flourish, but we need YOUR help to do that! This thread is for posting your thoughts and ideas about 1) existing changes as they are made and 2) changes you would like to see made.

Please bear in mind that there is only a handful of us and 10s of thousands of you, so we may not respond to every post or comment on every idea but we WILL read and consider every idea, comment and even criticism. Some things we should be able to implement quickly and easily while others may take time or not be feasible at all. Be patient with us as we already have a tremendous backlog of things that need to be done, but one-by-one, we will get to them.
 
Your argument would hold more water if we hadn't given you back the ability to change the color of your text. No matter what color we made the links, a member who wanted to be a pita could easily color their text to match, thereby masking links as well. If members choose to missue the software and hide links, well... there is not a lot we can do about it, but we aren't going to jump through hoops either. Underlines have worked quite well for communities much larger than this so underlines it is.

Sigh... in an attempt to aid in the fight for the cause of colored links, I've determined that the way I write is incorrect and that I should just go jump off a bridge because headings should only be formatted in terms of size and being boldfaced.

For what it is worth, here is a page on emphasis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emphasis_(typography)

Also:
Underlining is another dreary typewriter habit. Typewriters had no bold or italic styling. So the only way to em*pha*size text was to back up the carriage and type underscores beneath the text. It was a workaround for shortcomings in typewriter technology.

In the defense of Underlining, I will say that:
Bold/Caps = You read now!
Underlined = Not as important as bold, but still important
Italicized = I am emphasizing this word, but it doesn't really matter at all and I clearly don't care if you bother to read it as I am just detailing how I'm flexing a word as though we are having a conversation in person.

In short, I like to underline things when I feel like I have too much bold text. I also like to underline when I want to detail key words in a sentence. When I do that, I am not using it for emphasis at all.


Okay, now having said all this, @Art, you can change the color or not for how the text normally appears; having read what I have it won't really bother me, but could you please make it so that the Hover-Over color changes a bit more than it currently does?
 
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Okay, now having said all this, @Art, you can change the color or not for how the text normally appears; having read what I have it won't really bother me, but could you please make it so that the Hover-Over color changes a bit more than it currently does?

Technical point. Tagging doesn't work if you only use part of a user name. Sadly, tagging doesn't work quite like it does on facebook. ;)

Second, yes, I think we can create a SLIGHTLY greater hover color difference. We won't make it much different though because you have to remember that everyone's monitor is calibrated differently so what is slight or almost invisible for you may be extreme for others, so we try to be very careful with those things... but yeah... we can knock the difference down a bump or two.
 
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Alright.

Just so we are on the same page.

Typical text color is #222222.
Typical link color is #333333 and is underlined.

Typical link hover color WAS #555555 and is underlined.
Typical link hover color is now #666666 and is underlined.
 
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Technical point. Tagging doesn't work if you only use part of a user name. Sadly, tagging doesn't work quite like it does on facebook. ;)

Second, yes, I think we can create a SLIGHTLY greater hover color difference. We won't make it much different though because you have to remember that everyone's monitor is calibrated differently so what is slight or almost invisible for you may be extreme for others, so we try to be very careful with those things... but yeah... we can knock the difference down a bump or two.
Art Andrews, I'm honestly really surprised that tags work when there is a space in someone's name.

While changing the hover-over cover may not be a perfect solution to some of us here, I think changing it to contrast the standard color moreso than it currently does is a great solution to the "Is it a link or not?" issue.

May I humbly request that we use a different hue of color for the hover-over rather than just a change of the tint in greyscale? I don't think I'm the only one here who would nominate Blue.
I'm not sure how good blue works for color blind people to show contrast, maybe green would work better?


EDIT: Just fyi, I didn't get to see your last post before finishing my own post.


Also, I would just like to say that I absolutely LOVE the fact that I can highlight a word and hit Ctrl+B and format it. I know it is nothing new, but I just really love having the ability.

Is there a keyboard shortcut for Indent or Quote?
 
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@Art Andrews, I'm honestly really surprised that tags work when there is a space in someone's name.

It is JUST smart enough to handle that. Honestly, I am surprised by it as well, but it does work most of the time.

May I humbly request that we use a different hue of color for the hover-over rather than just a change of the tint in greyscale? I don't think I'm the only one here who would nominate Blue.
I'm not sure how good blue works for color blind people to show contrast, maybe green would work better?

Not adding color to text. None of our sites use it and we aren't planning to start here.
 
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I've said this before, while some others might hate it, I find double-posting within reason given that you are at least coming in and addressing a subject that is substantially different than the one before; rather than just adding a sentence to what you were talking about in the previous post.

Secondly, if it is Your thread that You started, I think you should post as many times as you would like without needing someone else to post intermittently.
However, I'm not saying that you should be using a thread you start as a way to increase your post count. That should not be the reason as to why you are double posting.

Also, given the issues of Editing a post and others not realizing that you were editing the post while they were responding, it can cause information to be missed.

So, with this items stated, Art Andrews, I would like to hear your opinions on Double Posting, and when/if is it ever okay?



As for the real reason I came here to make a 2nd post...

I would REALLY like to know what is going on with the Regiments, you can PM about it if you'd like Art Andrews and we can keep the discussion in PMs, but after seeing that I've been identified as a Midwestern member, I'd really like to know what is going on.
When I posted in the Midwestern section, I did so dumbly. The "Midwest" sounds like what I would identify Oklahoma as, we're in the middle and we are in the west. After looking at a map I realized I posted foolishly and Oklahoma, as shown on 90% of region-divided maps is in the Southwest.

I meant to mention this yesterday, but THE Brad Thompson and I actually managed to meet up in person over the weekend. :D
I definitely learned a lot during my visit with him too and as soon as I can find someone who is willing to cover me in 6 rolls of duct tape, I can't wait to start my build now, plans or no plans, I'm excited and I've realized that if I mess up, I don't mind remaking something.
I shouldn't put the stress on myself to make things absolutely perfect the 1st time. Thinking that way has set me up to fail and has prolonged me starting on my build.

Anyways...
I didn't talk with Brad too much about having a Southwest Regiment but we might be seeing him back on the 405th more which is good news.
However, given the fact that he and I are both in Norman together now (we used to live in the same apartment complex actually lol) has got me thinking that I really would like to see a Southwest Regiment come into existence moreso than I was pushing for it in the past.

Where are all the major Conventions?
The large number of conventions in San Diego and Washington would be hosted by the Pacific Regiment, Dallas (Akon) would be the major convention hosted by the Southwest Regiment, Dragoncon (in Georgia) would be hosted by the Southeastern Regiment, and NYCC would be hosted by the Northeastern Regiment.

So.... what BIG convention(s) are located in the Midwestern/Great Lakes Region (not regiment) of the U.S.?


I know that we already have a Texas group on Facebook, which I think adheres to the point of "Why not have a Southwest Regiment?"

Art Andrews, I'm not sure what your vision is on how you plan on breaking up the U.S. into regiments, but I would love to see it.

EDIT:
I've been planning on creating a symbol for a Southwestern Regiment, so I would love to hear back from you on all things and any restrictions you might have on Regiment symbols.

I'm willing to step up and make the Regiment happen. That is something I can do, but managing people and signing up for booths and that kind of thing is not my strong suit at all.
 
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I've said this before, while some others might hate it, I find double-posting within reason given that you are at least coming in and addressing a subject that is substantially different than the one before; rather than just adding a sentence to what you were talking about in the previous post.

Secondly, if it is Your thread that You started, I think you should post as many times as you would like without needing someone else to post intermittently.
However, I'm not saying that you should be using a thread you start as a way to increase your post count. That should not be the reason as to why you are double posting.

Also, given the issues of Editing a post and others not realizing that you were editing the post while they were responding, it can cause information to be missed.

So, with this items stated, @Art Andrews, I would like to hear your opinions on Double Posting, and when/if is it ever okay?


I am not entirely sure I understand the question. Are you asking me if there is an issue with making back to back posts within the same thread? If so, there is no rule against it. You can either edit your original post or simply create a reply under the original post. Doesn't matter to us at all.

As for the real reason I came here to make a 2nd post...

I would REALLY like to know what is going on with the Regiments, you can PM about it if you'd like @Art Andrews and we can keep the discussion in PMs, but after seeing that I've been identified as a Midwestern member, I'd really like to know what is going on.
When I posted in the Midwestern section, I did so dumbly. The "Midwest" sounds like what I would identify Oklahoma as, we're in the middle and we are in the west. After looking at a map I realized I posted foolishly and Oklahoma, as shown on 90% of region-divided maps is in the Southwest.

I meant to mention this yesterday, but THE Brad Thompson and I actually managed to meet up in person over the weekend. :D
I definitely learned a lot during my visit with him too and as soon as I can find someone who is willing to cover me in 6 rolls of duct tape, I can't wait to start my build now, plans or no plans, I'm excited and I've realized that if I mess up, I don't mind remaking something.
I shouldn't put the stress on myself to make things absolutely perfect the 1st time. Thinking that way has set me up to fail and has prolonged me starting on my build.

Anyways...
I didn't talk with Brad too much about having a Southwest Regiment but we might be seeing him back on the 405th more which is good news.
However, given the fact that he and I are both in Norman together now (we used to live in the same apartment complex actually lol) has got me thinking that I really would like to see a Southwest Regiment come into existence moreso than I was pushing for it in the past.

Where are all the major Conventions?
The large number of conventions in San Diego and Washington would be hosted by the Pacific Regiment, Dallas (Akon) would be the major convention hosted by the Southwest Regiment, Dragoncon (in Georgia) would be hosted by the Southeastern Regiment, and NYCC would be hosted by the Northeastern Regiment.

So.... what BIG convention(s) are located in the Midwestern/Great Lakes Region (not regiment) of the U.S.?


I know that we already have a Texas group on Facebook, which I think adheres to the point of "Why not have a Southwest Regiment?"

@Art Andrews, I'm not sure what your vision is on how you plan on breaking up the U.S. into regiments, but I would love to see it.

I've been planning on creating a symbol for a Southwestern Regiment, so I would love to hear back from you on all things and any restrictions you might have on Regiment symbols.

As I mentioned some time ago, we really aren't/weren't quite ready for this and STILL aren't... but we didn't want to stop people while the excitement was high.

What you are seeing is us supporting the groups who already exist or who are just starting to form in an unofficial capacity. It is key to understand at this point these are considered unofficial groups and once the Covenant is complete, they will go through the process of becoming a formal Regiment of the 405th.

At the moment, it looks like things are breaking down like this for the US. We could get insanely technical with what is Midwest and what is Mountain or Southwest, but we prefer to allow the groups to form a bit more organically. We may guide them a bit along the way, but overall, we aren't going to force them too much.

405th US Map.jpg

If you want to head up forming a Southwest Regiment, you are more than welcome to start working on it and send us your thoughts. Right now, based on what we are seeing, my expectation is that you will end up with two Regiment that split up the remaining US states:

Regiment 1 - AR, LA, OK, TX

Regiment 2 (Mountain? West?) - AZ, CO, ID, MY, NM, NV, UT, WY
 
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EDIT:
I've been planning on creating a symbol for a Southwestern Regiment, so I would love to hear back from you on all things and any restrictions you might have on Regiment symbols.

I'm willing to step up and make the Regiment happen. That is something I can do, but managing people and signing up for booths and that kind of thing is not my strong suit at all.


Excellent. Check my post above. Define an area, work on the name to try to make it best fit. Know that if you take OK and TX we are probably going to ask you to include AR and LA considering they are all geographically right there. NM would be up to you.
 
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FYI I feel that AZ has more in common with SW (NM, TX) than Mountain (CO, UT and further north). Just my opinion. Take it as you will. Just let me know which Regiment I get assigned to eventually.
 
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FYI I feel that AZ has more in common with SW (NM, TX) than Mountain (CO, UT and further north). Just my opinion. Take it as you will. Just let me know which Regiment I get assigned to eventually.

While I completely agree with you here, I would like to see more opinions of where you are more likely to attend a convention.
Akon, the biggest convention in the Southwest is in Dallas, whereas on the other side of Arizona include all the California conventions. I think there are also a few Vegas conventions as well, so grouping it with Nevada is also something to consider.

While I stare at the map, and look at it simply in terms of the physical size of each of the regions, I think I would break them down like this:
Central SW: OK, TX, AR, LA
Mountain-South: AZ, NM, CO, UT
Mountain-North: ID, WY, MT
and that would leave Nevada to be grouped in with the Pacific.

But with members in these regions already spread quite thin, it is likely that we will simply just have to test the waters a bit and see who speaks up from wherever.
 
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While I completely agree with you here, I would like to see more opinions of where you are more likely to attend a convention.
For those of us who are interested in Halo but can only afford one convention per year, in my opionion, RTX is the way to go.

While I stare at the map, and look at it simply in terms of the physical size of each of the regions...
Another thing to consider is poulation density. The existing regiments are already pretty big, plus they are well populated. To make the last regiments similar in population, you can probably include more states in just two regiments.

But with members in these regions already spread quite thin, it is likely that we will simply just have to test the waters a bit and see who speaks up from wherever.
I think this is our best bet, but we need to inspire people in these regions to speak up. One way is to just declare the regiments and see who agrees or complains. Thanks for helping get this moving.
 
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So I guess the "simplest" solution to the links not standing out enough is to develop the habit of adding color code on an individual basis. Not being privy to the inner workings I can't truthfully say I know it would be this simple, but it seems like it shouldn't be any more difficult than changing one segment of code from underline to color to make a site-wide. But, I guess that's that.

As for regiments, I think the primary hold-up there isn't on the part of the administration. The bottleneck is more on the end of the people within the not-yet "officially recognized" regiments and needing them to get organized, get a head count of active members, figure out who has suits to rep at cons, who is actually able to attend cons (and which cons), and perhaps the most important step, decide on a spokesperson/representative to be the one the administration can contact to hand down assignments and requests. If, for example, Art (or any other staff member) gets a call from a convention planner, event coordinator, filmmaker, or photographer requesting the presence of armored individuals, it is much easier for him to contact one person and say "here's a request in your area" and let that individual handle it, as they will have a more intimate knowledge of the 405th members within their designated area. For one, it takes the strain off the administration so they don't have to keep track of (or track down) everyone in any given region, and two, it's a lot easier if there is a representative who can speak to 405th and/or event staff on behalf of their entire regiment rather than having them bombarded with dozens (or hundreds) of individual members all trying to have their voices heard. It is far more efficient and effective to delegate. Organization is the main hurdle I think. The Northeastern regiment thread was started two years ago, and we're just now starting to get people to step forward and take charge a bit more to get the ball rolling. I'd imagine there's a similar situation going on with the other as-of-yet "unofficial" regiments. So, to anyone else asking about the status of regiments, I would advise finding out if there is one in the making for your area. And if there isn't one in your area yet, maybe start a thread to see if there's any interest. I'd also make the suggestion to check the Geolocation thread to see who else is nearby and perhaps send them a PM to see if they have any interest. If the population is sparse in your area, you may have to consider a larger geographic region for your regiment, but also bear in mind that not every 405th member has put a pin on that map (and the map only shows pins form the page number currently being viewed), so it is entirely possible there are more members in your area than there are on the map, so starting a thread and listing the areas you would like the regiment to include is probably the best way to see if there are enough people around and go from there.

Does that sound about right as far as the current status and suggested procedure?
 
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Yep! That sounds like a good start.

A lot of the organization, such as what states will be in what regions, will be driven by what community members prefer
 
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Yep! That sounds like a good start.

A lot of the organization, such as what states will be in what regions, will be driven by what community members prefer

The only change I'd personally make for the Midwest, and it'd be a topic for the Midwesterners to discuss before anything moved on, would be to take North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota, and make those states either the Midwest or Plains States Regiment and take Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan and make them the Great Lakes Regiment. Being in MI, it would be really hard to do anything outside the great lakes states, between a crappy job and bills, so I'd be hard pressed to make an event in Iowa let alone the Dakotas. But like I said, it'd have to be discussed in depth before anything changes.
 
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The only change I'd personally make for the Midwest, and it'd be a topic for the Midwesterners to discuss before anything moved on, would be to take North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota, and make those states either the Midwest or Plains States Regiment and take Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan and make them the Great Lakes Regiment. Being in MI, it would be really hard to do anything outside the great lakes states, between a crappy job and bills, so I'd be hard pressed to make an event in Iowa let alone the Dakotas. But like I said, it'd have to be discussed in depth before anything changes.

In time that will likely happen naturally... once the Midwest gets large enough to divide on its own.
 
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The bottleneck is more on the end of the people within the not-yet "officially recognized" regiments and needing them to get organized, get a head count of active members, figure out who has suits to rep at cons, who is actually able to attend cons (and which cons), and perhaps the most important step, decide on a spokesperson/representative to be the one the administration can contact to hand down assignments and requests. If, for example, Art (or any other staff member) gets a call from a convention planner, event coordinator, filmmaker, or photographer requesting the presence of armored individuals, it is much easier for him to contact one person and say "here's a request in your area" and let that individual handle it, as they will have a more intimate knowledge of the 405th members within their designated area. For one, it takes the strain off the administration so they don't have to keep track of (or track down) everyone in any given region, and two, it's a lot easier if there is a representative who can speak to 405th and/or event staff on behalf of their entire regiment rather than having them bombarded with dozens (or hundreds) of individual members all trying to have their voices heard.

Totally agree with this. The problem I'm having at the moment is that myself and other 405AUS members are trying to get ourselves out there (although, the Halo group that we also run, Delta Six is already very far reaching, and is a subunit within our regiment). Everything in terms of what you've stated is already sorted, however we're just having problems of not having people come forward to raise our numbers. Once we can, I believe that we can get ourselves officially recognised.

I was going to ask though, @Art, is it possible to put some form of advertising on the bottom of the page so that people are aware that 405AUS exists?
 
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Dibs on Southern. I'll be making my home there and getting pretty established once I'm settled in trying to generate MakerSpace options for fellow armourers close by.
 
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Would anyone happen to have a map of the U.S. that highlights the locations as to where the biggest conventions are? I mean of course Washington and California will be covered with dots, but I'd like to see where the dots appear across the map. Perhaps having the dots colored coated in regards to the attendance size of the conventions would be something nice to include.

While I know that there are some of us who might be willing to travel any distance for a convention, I'm wanting to look at the map to determine how far a given state would need to drive in order to attend a particular convention.

Like Colfork said, maybe the Midwest Regiment could be split up a little better. What is the closest major convention that people from Kansas and Missouri can drive to? My guess is Akon, but then again, I really don't know what the large conventions are that occur in the Midwest.



Also, just FYI, there is a reason I keep saying things like the "biggest" or "large" conventions.

For instance, AnimeFest occured this last weekend (I think) in Dallas, and this year it had an attendance of 10,000.
But then there is Akon which is known to reach an attendance of 20,000.
...and then there are all the little conventions with less than 10,000 or less than 5,000 that attend.

Now lets say all of these happen in Dallas (both AnimeFest and Akon DO happen in Dallas).
What is the likelyhood of someone in-state versus out-of-state traveling to each of those conventions?

I'm sure most of us would prefer getting together and meeting up at the larger conventions. I'm definitely going to try and have something done for Akon next year.
In fact, if we can get the Southwest Regiment going strong, I would likely select Akon as our yearly meetup since it is the largest convention in our region.
Also, since it is the biggest in our region, it will be the one that we would host for members of other Regiments to come visit us.

As for AnimeFest, I'm not sure if I'm willing to drive from Oklahoma to Dallas for that one and I'm sure others share the same feelings, and it isn't due to the type of convention it is, it's due to the size; I'd be willing to rock Halo armor at an Anime, Comic, or Gaming convention, it doesn't matter to me.
I wouldn't expect members from other Regiments to come visit at conventions like these, but they could be good for meeting up with members of only your Regiment.

Then there are the conventions that are so small that I haven't even heard of them. While they'd be great for Battalions (or whatever we decide to call subdivisions within Regiments), I can't see an entire Regiment going to attend unless it is Gaming or Halo themed.


Maybe I have the wrong perspective on this, I'm not sure, but I would like to hear the input of others.


I'm not saying that the Pacific Regiment should be split up, but there are a large concentration of conventions in the Southwestern part of California (Los Angeles and San Diego) and then there are the large number of conventions that occur in Seattle Washington.

Who is going to drive to Seattle? I would guess those of us from Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Maybe even those who are from Wyoming.
Who is going to drive to the Southwestern conventions in California? I would guess those from Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Maybe even those from Colorado and New Mexico.


I'm not sure if this would be called something like an Atomic Bubble or the "Bubble Effect" or something like that, but the distance it takes to travel to the location you are most likely to meet up with other members of your regiment is important.
While I'm not saying that we should split regions up by the attendance density at particular conventions, I do think it will be something to keep strongly in mind due to the fact that conventions are going to be the most likely place we will meet up with one another. The Pacific Regiment might be different since they have a high population density, but for those of us in the Southwest, unless you live in the same city as another member, you are probably only going to see other members from your Regiment at conventions.




I think this is our best bet, but we need to inspire people in these regions to speak up. One way is to just declare the regiments and see who agrees or complains. Thanks for helping get this moving.
Would it be a good idea to setup subforums for Regiments even if they aren't fully established just to see who pokes their head in?
 
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