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History
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Alright. Let me write a foreword. Moe's Tavern started because a group of us left EDMW. Too many restrictions. Over moderated etc. Ouroboro shu shu led us out of EDMW and created xyz. He parted the red sea. We followed him. Xyz was a beautiful forum. Ouroboros shu shu is a builder. He says he likes to build things. So while we were in xyz, he created many cool stuff. Things like AI. Chess games in a thread etc. Then one day, suay suay Ouroboros shu shu kena captured by aliens. He vanished mysteriously. Our small breakaway group was left homeless.
One survivor Taro heng dai created a Discord to house us all, about 30 survivors. The rest were lost. Discord is not exactly a forum. More like a whatsapp. People cannot anyhowly open threads to discuss new topics. There is no ability to grow the user base other than a “1-1 invite". There has to be a better solution.
I tinkered with all these for a few weeks. Someone has to step up. 为了江山. 为了武林.
So this is how Moe's Tavern was conceived.
Let me put it on record that I am not a techie. This new forum may not be as functional as xyz with all its cool stuff. I have little coding knowledge so my learning curve is steep. If anyone has coding knowledge and wants to help run this place, please reach out to me. Bo celery one, say first.
My background is in digital marketing. Meaning I agar agar know how to 拉客. I know how to SEO. I know how to market a site / forum. I know how to pull in crowds. What type you want, boy girl young old, all I can find. I have devoted a budget to do this. Or supposed to know lah. Moi is quite useless in what I do tbh.
Where we go from here, I have absolutely no idea. No business plan. No monetizing idea. I ish ownself pay ownself to set up this forum. Confirm will last longer than xyz and confirm i wont quietly abandon the forum. This is all I know haha.
But as the great LKY said, Let us all let go of the cult figures of the past and ownself go chase ownself rainbows.
So please be patient with me if there are any bugs or inconveniences you are experiencing. Create a thread in the Tech Section for every issue you encounter. I will see lowly see lowly try to fix them. If you can read up to here, I give you a +1
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The Future
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While the intention started with housing all 30 of us, I cannot just say this is it, done, forum built, period, end of story. Then, it is back to square one, aint it. Stuck at 30 pax.
So I have had to examine some precepts to grow this place. What type of forum will this be? Why will people want to join?
My time in discord taught me many things. Primarily and inherently, all 30 of us are different. We have different tastes in music, different views of life, different passions.
I like this anecdote. Former Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo related what a Roman Catholic cardinal told him about the late Pope John Paul. The cardinal had drafted , "Even though we're all different because we speak different languages, we are one". The Pope corrected him. "No, it is not even though we're different, we are one. It is because we are different, we are one."
It is because we are different, we are one. This is so profound. One team, different strengths.
I realized that to build our little home away from edmw, I cannot do this alone. I need all hands on deck.
Edmw practices an authoritarian approach. You join them. You share your passion. The mods are assigned to watch over you. You cross the line. The mods beat you. You learn to toe the line, while sharing your passion. Can meh?
If I have to form an idea for a forum that will thrive, I have to re-jig this part. Why not get people to build their own communities, and shape their own conversations?
One of the things I learned in discord is, your passion is not my passion. Suppose your passion is to ride a bike. Won't you prefer to build your own community, find 5 other bikers who are keen to ride with you, than to ride alone?
Someone who is keen on photography sharing his passion with someone who likes anime is only going to get the convo going for a short while. Skimming the surface. Superficial. The anime guy is not going to be interested in camera exposure and lighting talks. The convo dies.
However, if the photography enthusiast find another photography enthusiast, the conversation can go on and on for months or years! They enjoy their passion together. They lift each other.
So I think for a forum to thrive, each should build his/her own community. You will enjoy the process and result.
If you can read up to here, I will give you another +1
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I need your Help - Lets do this together
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So what does it mean to build your own community?
You champion your own passion. You moderate your own section. You start the conversations (threads). You shape your own conversations. I will bring in the people.
Let's use an example. Expresso likes photography. To build his own community, he will create (interesting) threads in the Photography section. He will grow his own community. He will mod his own section. He will shape the convo in his section.
Thread 1: What camera to buy?
Thread 2: Why is exposure important?
Thread 3: Which photography influencer videos are good?
Thread 4: How to take better pics. Where to position your camera?
Thread 5, 6, 7 etc etc
For someone interested in photography, the threads will be endless. Because this is his passion.
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Summary
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Guys, I may have built a working forum but I can't grow this forum alone.
Lets do this together ba
I am not asking for your money.
I ask for your help.
So that we will have our little home away from edmw.
A place you enjoy too with your own community.
Free of slavish moderation - I promise you this.
To me, it is also more fun to work and succeed with friends and people i know
Than to do it alone.
Sincerely,
Moe
