2015 UCA After Action Review

[pbj]

disagree.

Duly noted and ignored. 

[opt2not]

disagree. The board should be in place during the year being reviewed. There should be private running threads of projects to watch.

That's also a valid point. See, you're thinking like a committee member already!

[yotsuya]

disagree. The board should be in place during the year being reviewed. There should be private running threads of projects to watch.

That's also a valid point. See, you're thinking like a committee member already!

The only problem with that proposal is the board doesn't do any of the actual nominating. They're more like facilitators.

In the past, I have thought it would be kind of interesting if the board picked the projects that go into the categories, and then the voters could pick their favorites from those nominees. Of course, there would be some people unhappy that their favorite projects were left out, but it's just another way to look at it. Every system has its pluses and minuses.

[Le Chuck]

Like an anarcho-syndicalist commune?

[edekoning]

the end result of that is him finally having a UCA and no one really giving a ---fudgesicle--- about them anymore.

Have you read your signature recently

In the past, I have thought it would be kind of interesting if the board picked the projects that go into the categories, and then the voters could pick their favorites from those nominees. Of course, there would be some people unhappy that their favorite projects were left out, but it's just another way to look at it. Every system has its pluses and minuses.

You could have both. The board nominates builds, each which has to be accepted by the majority of that board. These nominations will be presented before the community can start nominating builds. I would suggest a minimum of 3 votes before a community nomination is accepted. Note that board members should be excluded from this voting part.

[Malenko]

Have you read your signature recently

Just tryin to follow my boy Yotsie's lead 

[edekoning]

Just tryin to follow my boy Yotsie's lead 

In that case
  ⇓   ⇓    ⇓

[Aceldamor]

Aside from some pride ouchies, what would be the harm in skipping a year altogether?

[leapinlew]

Aside from some pride ouchies, what would be the harm in skipping a year altogether?

People not getting recognized for projects and products?
Loss of continuity and the risk of it never being picked up?
Sense of community?

The fact that some people take it serious is a recipe for disaster.

[Aceldamor]

Aside from some pride ouchies, what would be the harm in skipping a year altogether?

People not getting recognized for projects and products?
Loss of continuity and the risk of it never being picked up?
Sense of community?

The fact that some people take it serious is a recipe for disaster.

1. If you build something like this for the sole purpose of being recognized, you're doing it wrong
2. Seems to me like there was a loss of continuity this year anyway
3. This community is way stronger than an award.

Just sayin'

[harveybirdman]

2. Seems to me like there was a loss of continuity this year anyway

This is the root of the major points of contention, and I thought pbj and LeChuck would hash it out much more, but they kind of just owned it and moved on. 

Of course when I started jokingly (sort of) saying Chance's Flynn's was the new weecade earlier this year, I had no idea so many clones of it would be made nor that the tone in the feedback or acceptance thereof in those builds would become bitter.  There was a meltdown in the NASA build thread that culminated with a bunch of people determining that they hate each other which I have to say, had a good bit to do with actions from both sides (everyone's guilty)

As a result the UCA's suffered.  So those of you that bowed out should get yourselves back in.  And Chance you should come around more besides to pimp your videos.  And for those of you with a problem with him, you should probably just stay out of his threads and keep his name out your mouth.

Geez it's not like he's Kaneda or anything, even if his panel is fugly.

[yotsuya]

2. Seems to me like there was a loss of continuity this year anyway

This is the root of the major points of contention, and I thought pbj and LeChuck would hash it out much more, but they kind of just owned it and moved on. 

Of course when I started jokingly (sort of) saying Chance's Flynn's was the new weecade earlier this year, I had no idea so many clones of it would be made nor that the tone in the feedback or acceptance thereof in those builds would become bitter.  There was a meltdown in the NASA build thread that culminated with a bunch of people determining that they hate each other which I have to say, had a good bit to do with actions from both sides (everyone's guilty)

As a result the UCA's suffered.  So those of you that bowed out should get yourselves back in.  And Chance you should come around more besides to pimp your videos.  And for those of you with a problem with him, you should probably just stay out of his threads and keep his name out your mouth.

Geez it's not like he's Kaneda or anything, even if his panel is fugly.

This is me saying "well-said".

[yotsuya]

The fact that some people take it serious is a recipe for disaster.

If you're gonna do it, do it right.

Unless you mean they're super serious about winning them, then I agree with you. I can tell you from my time on the board that we definitely saw instances where people were doing things specifically fishing for awards. That I find very distasteful.

[Ond]

Like an anarcho-syndicalist commune?

Can't we just go all medieval on BYOAC's ass?  Let's have a King and errm, maybe a Queen, and some jesters! and whatnot.  Actually saint already is the King of BYOAC so I guess its a moot suggestion really.

[leapinlew]

Aside from some pride ouchies, what would be the harm in skipping a year altogether?

People not getting recognized for projects and products?
Loss of continuity and the risk of it never being picked up?
Sense of community?

The fact that some people take it serious is a recipe for disaster.

1. If you build something like this for the sole purpose of being recognized, you're doing it wrong
2. Seems to me like there was a loss of continuity this year anyway
3. This community is way stronger than an award.

Just sayin'

1. No one said anything about "sole purpose".  I would agree that if someones sole purpose was to get a community driven award, that would be "doing it wrong", but since no one but you suggested that...
2. The awards are a nice highlight to the year. To mark the progress and to give a nod to those who not only did something good, but have benefited the community. Personally, I see nothing wrong with it. Sure, there's a swirl of drama this year but think of it like building a cabinet. You'll find some challenges along the way but are you going to give up just because some things aren't going right? Hell no! You get some bondo and you get to work. The UCA's just need some bondo. 
3. Duh. Conflict is absolutely normal in a project like this. Getting butt hurt and wanting to take your ball and go home - that's weak.

[saint]

I did meet this lady in a puddle of water with a sword once...

Like an anarcho-syndicalist commune?

Can't we just go all medieval on BYOAC's ass?  Let's have a King and errm, maybe a Queen, and some jesters! and whatnot.  Actually saint already is the King of BYOAC so I guess its a moot suggestion really.

[saint]

Thread cleaned up.

[Le Chuck]

I did meet this lady in a puddle of water with a sword once...

Well you can't expect to wield supreme executive power
just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!

[yotsuya]

I like what PBJ proposed. Can we table this until October? Let's just celebrate the current winners, go on with building thoughout the spring and summer, and then around Halloween elect a board and let the process play out? Maybe the distance of time will give some clarity to the process going forward. What say you guys?

[CheffoJeffo]

I hate when I come to a thread after saint cleans it up. And I bet nobody did me the courtesy of screencapping it, right? 

I miss the Mameys. 

[saint]

Spent a few hours today restoring some deleted posts. Few hours of my life I won't get back. Back to your regularly scheduled fun.

[n3wt0n]

As long as you didn't delete the juicy stuff! I agree. Let's celebrate the winners and form a solid UCA committee later.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Locke141]

Haven't been on the boards a lot lately do to my new job.

I noticed a problem with one cab I love (holaplaneta's Maquinita To Go Portable). It was announced as finished after December 31. I didn't think enough of it to point it out before but this seems like the proper time to do so.

As for the complaints about some people being overcritical. When I was new here I definitely felt a little put off by some less then tactful feed back. Now that I know the community, I think the honest feed back is the best part of BYOAC. Lots of guys here are quick to let you know when something is not working. Having an out side opinion has saved me from some very poor decisions.

When you put a lot of time and energy into a build it's easy to become sensitive. Le Chuck told a story once about dressing up as Cyrano de Bergerac thinking he was being creative and his mom thinking he looked like he had a penis on his face, I think it was in LT's warp zone build but all his threads are hard to search through now. To me that story is the best analogy to some of the honest, if not tactful feed back you will get here. 

[leapinlew]

Totally agree that some of the best things to come from BYOAC are LeChuck and his penis stories...

[yotsuya]

Haven't been on the boards a lot lately do to my new job.

I noticed a problem with one cab I love (holaplaneta's Maquinita To Go Portable). It was announced as finished after December 31. I didn't think enough of it to point it out before but this seems like the proper time to do so.

As for the complaints about some people being overcritical. When I was new here I definitely felt a little put off by some less then tactful feed back. Now that I know the community, I think the honest feed back is the best part of BYOAC. Lots of guys here are quick to let you know when something is not working. Having an out side opinion has saved me from some very poor decisions.

When you put a lot of time and energy into a build it's easy to become sensitive. Le Chuck told a story once about dressing up as Cyrano de Bergerac thinking he was being creative and his mom thinking he looked like he had a penis on his face, I think it was in LT's warp zone build but all his threads are hard to search through now. To me that story is the best analogy to some of the honest, if not tactful feed back you will get here.

I'm glad to see somebody gets it. Your builds have definitely gotten better over time. If anything, honest feedback allows you to revise your plans, and you know what, there's nothing wrong with saying, "Thanks, but I think I'm going to do it this way." But the fact that you've gotten some additional feedback can only make you better.

That's what happened with my Macross cabinet. People said I should have gone full side side art, but I had a vision of this game looking like a kit game. So I stuck with what I wanted. However, there were lots of other places where community feedback came into play, and it made my cabinet better. Its a give-and-take.

[leapinlew]

I also think the forum you post in matters.

Feedback in Project Announcements is bad form unless requested. In every other sub-forum, it's a given.

[yotsuya]

I also think the forum you post in matters.

Feedback in Project Announcements is bad form unless requested. In every other sub-forum, it's a given.

I don't know, lots of people post projects in Project Announcements that are nowhere near done. And a lot of times, there specifically posting in there looking for feedback. Do you envision that forum for only finished products?

I'm kind of at the point where I only offer feedback if it's requested, and even at that, I generally now only give feedback over stuff I liked. I'm a little burnt out on some of the drama that comes to telling somebody they should rethink their ideas. I mean, I can only take being called a circle jerker or a crazy old veteran only so many times.

[vwalbridge]

I also think the forum you post in matters.

Feedback in Project Announcements is bad form unless requested. In every other sub-forum, it's a given.

I mostly agree with this. However, the community is going to call the OP out on their project thread if they do something fundamentally wrong. And they should. It's for everyone's good. The OP's and everyone following. And it's because we care...not because we want to be mean-spirited.

[yotsuya]

As it's been pointed out, the purpose behind offering honest feedback isn't necessarily just for the person posting the thread, but for future people interested in building who may come across that thread. The one thing we don't want to do is perpetuate bad design ideas. While what might be considered a bad design idea is subjective, I think we can agree there are some things that are universal.

[Token]

If a user doesn't want to hear honest feedback, then they shouldn't end their post with, "What do you guys think?"

The vast majority of feedback here is constructive. Sometimes there is an edge to it, but I haven't seen much pointlessly antagonistic feedback lately. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong threads.

[yotsuya]

If a user doesn't want to hear honest feedback, then they shouldn't end their post with, "What do you guys think?"

The vast majority of feedback here is constructive. Sometimes there is an edge to it, but I haven't seen much pointlessly antagonistic feedback lately. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong threads.

Well put, Token.

I think there's an unfair perception that there's a lot of negative feedback, but realistically, it's probably happened in a few threads, and the trigger usually is an OP who doesn't take kindly to their grand vision being challenged. Or you have somebody jump in to defend the OP, and for some reason they take it personally. That's why terms like circle jerk get tossed about.

[yotsuya]

Oh, & I think feedback gets edgy when it's clear that the person hasn't done their homework. I know I probably looked on this site for two months, taking everything in before I felt confident posting on here. As it is, I didn't post a build thread for almost 2 years.

[leapinlew]

I don't provide feedback unless requested in Project Announcements. A fundamental wrong decision could be my choice and a fight breaking out in someones PA thread about angled joysticks, frankenpanels, busy art, etc is just rude

When I read PA, I don't see many rude comments, but I'd sure hate to see the same kind of responses that we see in the main forum when people post stuff.

[harveybirdman]

My take from now on is when hottly debated mistakes come up I will endeavor to point the person to other threads where the matter is dicussed outside of their build thread.

I also feel strongly about the documentation on site and posterity.  That's why it pisses me off when people don't store their pictures here.  It's bad enough when people necrobump threads when the OP has been long gone for years, but it's especially annoying when it's because something of value they posted is gone because of broken links.

However as much as we might like to we can't go making subjective rules for UCA nominations, I think we just have to live with sometimes builds getting nominated that we don't like. And that goes for board members as well.

[vwalbridge]

I sure as hell don't know everything. In fact, I'm learning something new here everyday.

I hope you guys call me right out in my threads if I ever do something questionable. Weather I ask for it or not. That's exactly what I would expect from my brosephs.

It's when I stop getting feedback...now that's when I should start to worry.

[Le Chuck]

Out of all the facts and opinions that have been said in this thread the most factual is that I have shared a lot of penis stories.  The most opinionated is that they constitute the best of anything - but nevertheless I endeavor to keep this place the interesting sausage party that it is. 

[yotsuya]

Out of all the facts and opinions that have been said in this thread the most factual is that I have shared a lot of penis stories.  The most opinionated is that they constitute the best of anything - but nevertheless I endeavor to keep this place the interesting sausage party that it is.

Thank your penis for its service to BYOAC for us, brother.

[wp34]

I don't have strong feelings on the matter but tend to agree with Lew about feedback.  Having said that if I never see another post about "honest feedback" it will be too soon.  Go ahead and give your feedback to builders but please give the topic of "honest feedback" a rest.  It is almost getting comical how much it gets brought up.

[dmckean]

I know that I want feedback in Project Announcements. If I didn't, I wouldn't post my progress and only post the pictures and a description of the finished project.

[leapinlew]

I know that I want feedback in Project Announcements. If I didn't, I wouldn't post my progress and only post the pictures and a description of the finished project.

If that's the case, you better get your butt moving on that tempest cabaret.