Post
by hammr7 » Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:53 pm
I agree, and have for some time agreed, that this site needs serious updating and broader membership from the Magic Community.
This site was once the best not only for information on older rarities (it still is, at least for most categories it covers), but was also the melting pot for those who lived through, and in many cases, created, all the Magic cards and Magic related items the enriched the entire gaming experience. Coming here meant not only the chance to research factual information, but to also get many of the background stories about the individuals and companies that played important roles (often directly from key individuals).
These days it seems to have been reduced to:
1. A place for old-timers to list what languages new Magic products are produced in, and ISBN codes for those products. Or to list new tokens and list cards.
2. An informal place for old-timers to describe possible new "errors".
3. A place where old-timers can buy/trade/sell and brag about recent pickups with each other.
In other words, it has become quite "provincial", a comfortable site for a few old friends, and now focusing on the special collecting ativities of those few members. This is a far cry from the original mission of being the pre-eminent, world class, best of class site for accumulating all that was Magic, especially all the rarities.
Even with the information that has been amassed, most of these categories have not been updated in many years. As the repository for information regarding specific older items, there are many authorized releases of related items, such as promotional items, dating back to the mid-1990's, that are not even mentioned on this site.
We have been through discussions of this problem before. Alexis has detailed medical and personal problems that have adversely impacted his ability to handle the site. Like everyone, I feel bad for the calamities with which Alexis has dealt. But feeling bad about what has happened does not help anything.
The current problem is that Alexis offers no contingency to improve or expand the site unless he personally performs and approves each action. And it is more than obvious that he is currently either unable or uninterested in personally promoting the site itself, or necessary site improvements.
Even when he can show up, this site needs more than Alexis just updating certain categories. This site needs more than tolerating a few new members. These actions are necessary tactical procedures required of any real-time informational site, but there should be a strategic vision as well.
And this site needs a lot more overall activity than has happened over the last 4 years. Even as the game of Magic is reaching larger world-wide audiences, more and more of the earliest movers and shakers of the game are disappearing. Their knowledge is disappearing as well. This site is the logical repository for every bit of information they can offer, but they can't even say hello, and we are woefully inadequate to even ask for their stories if they could say hello.
I have no insights into Alexis' current situation or to his motivations. But there is no optimistic answer unless Alexis either becomes more involved or allows others to assume additional responsibility. If life precludes his personal participation, and if his personality or ego preclude his allowing others to help, there is little or nothing the rest of us can do.