Free scripts is the lifeblood of this community. It is a place where you get started, give back, and more importantly can get notoriety by your work. I know with time everything that has happened will be all water under the bridge and the voids will be filled up by others but I humbly request options for scripters to be able to create without feeling there work will or might be stolen.
Is there a way for two free sections to coexist?
Open free script section (Shorter scripts, Newcomer, and/or Goal to attract a larger audience).
Restricted Free Section via a friend system (friends can only download) or tier system (tier 3 or higher).
Protecting the value of even free scripts is how new scripters can rise to the elite status like those hired/partnered by SLR/RS. The scripters library of free scripts and the quality of those scripts is how I know they are doing good work and how I and many others make purchasing decisions if they go that route.
I do know that this was talked about in some capacity in the past but in light of yesterdays chaotic thread, I decided to bring it up again.
PS this is not me meandering to try and get people to create free scripts. Behind the scenes I have been working on a way to gift/award people making high quality free scripts for their hard work. Just was waiting for funds to do this.
I was thinking of the lounge area but wanted to keep the discussion open for ideas.
Having two areas just gives options for a scripter. Reading the chaotic thread there seems to be some scripters that are not as passionate on how their scripts are shared and their are some that do. Both should be respected and we should give the option to the creator.
What we are technically able to do:
We could create more private categories restricted based on level. The lounge is for level 3 and up, but there are only ~40 people who fall into this bucket. If we make one for level 2 and up, we get closer to 1000.
General concerns:
I don’t know how I feel about heavily gating content. It feels quite exclusionary to the ordinary user. I understand the desire to not have your work stolen/uploaded elsewhere, and while I’m not condoning it, it does seem like it’s both a case of a few bad actors and that people who want to steal will find means to do so anyway. If that holds true, then this is only hurting innocent users.
I agree. People who want to steal will find the means to do so. Plus if you make an area like that a) it will discourage growth in the community. - This stuff can be daunting to get into. And I personally feel that when I first got here, seeing the variety and the quantity of scripts encouraged me to give it a shot. Furthermore, my mentality was “if everyone else is sharing, then I’m more than happy to try and give something back to the community that inspired me to try.” For what this site is, I honestly feel our community is mostly awesome people and a restricted area like that would put limitations on community interaction. B) I feel it would limit the growth of some scripters as you mentioned. - unfortunately I have no answer on how to address the problem the community is facing now. But I feel if we restrict the community, it will stifle growth. That being said, a imperfect solution is better than no solution at all. edit (sorry for bad formatting. Im on mobile) possible solution: time based releases of scripts. When a user uploads new scripts, only veterans or trusted members will download the script for x amount of time. Then naturally as time progresses, the script becomes downloadable to lower level users. This may restrict the initial spread of stolen scripts. It would also potentially make it easier to verify who is spreading them. This would also encourage people to pm the author for a copy of it if it’s not released at their level yet. That would help the authors reputation grow (if that’s what the lounge is then my apologies). Like you can say “I just launched a script for x video” and everyone could see the post, but only upper tier members could have instant access. It would also encourage ppl to be more involved in the community.
Personally, I got no dog in this fight. I personally script the wank material i want. Even if the whole site goes down or if people steal my script. Ill still make it. Specially if its good. Though id say it feels different now. It could be bias but it seems rts era felt more alive and more active compared to es. It would be nice to spice things up again. I like the idea of active people get first dibs than infrequent users and be made available after a certain amount of time.
My mentality is very close to yours. I script what I want and if other people like it great. Like my scripts are more likely than not, not to everyone’s liking. But they are to my liking so I make them that way. That being said, when someone shares something they’ve worked insanely hard on, it’s nice to be recognized. And some ppl aspire to be a professional at it. So I can fully understand the struggle some members are going through right now. And if this ends poorly, we may loose some talented people due to frustration at the situation, and that’s my worst fear at the moment. Like imagine if we lost someone like husky because hey felt the situation was beyond repair. The effect on the site would be catastrophic.
That is true. Thats why im open to the delayed availability on newer scripts. It still wont affect new people since they have a backlog of older scripts.
I know I have been supportive to restricting access to some scripts in the past, but I think this is not the way. The difference between trust levels 0-2 is not that big, if you want to restrict access for TL3 the requirements are huge.
Instead I would rather see maybe a subcategory in #general for votes, polls, contests etc. A place that people can easily access once a week without author of the post bumping topic to make it visible. A place that actually gets people more involved in the community, rather than hidden forums dividing people for those who have time to check eroscripts daily and for those that check eroscripts on weekends or are less tech-advanced or just don’t care. I think something like this would actually get more people into being active, rather than farming trust levels just so they can access some scripts.
I know I keep bringing unrest to this community lately.
I am sorry for that.
For me, I think I found a solution that I can continue to give back to the good part of the community. If it is technically possible, I will provide scripts through my site (xSCRIPTS) based on the likes received and given here as well as the posts.
I am not a scripter however I do recognize the value and handwork that goes into making a script. My only issue/concern is this community thrives off of the work done by scripter.
Shouldn’t they have some say or option on how their scripts are shared? (It is the least we can do especially if it is free)
I think many people only think like a consumer and not of the creator of the script which is why some scripters feel upset or disrespected for their work especially when it is free.
I don’t know the solution here but IMO if protections or features can not be made for the scripter then over time you will alienate those scripters or make them disinterested in the hobby itself. I do understand that some scripters do not care how their work is shared but I am sure some would like more control or features to protect their work.
Thank you everyone that has shared their opinions on the matter. I have read them all and do think you all have very good points.
Can you more specifically list out the subcategories you’re thinking about. I like what you’re saying but I don’t understand exactly what that looks like
I was thinking about one subcategory under #general or #script-requests called “Polls, contests” (or similar). Basically a inverted request section where scripter asks people to help choose a video to script. A place for topics like this:
Whenever posts like this are created they quickly dissappear from front page or general category, and its own category could be a great place for people who can’t/ don’t want to script, but would like to take a part in script selection.
Hmm, I thought this was a site for discussing the tech (scripts, scripting, hardware) and sharing what scripts you created, so the idea of “restricted access” to me is complete and utter bullshit. If you don’t want it shared, don’t upload it here.
Now, I have witnessed more recently, some actors trying to monetize their efforts and although I’m not against that activity, I would say that “a community” is not where that behavior belongs, that belongs in “a marketplace”.
Therefore, some ideas:
Create a marketplace section here, separate and distinct for the community forums (if possible).
Restrict “marketing activities” to the paid scripts forum
Ban “sales” altogether. - Let’s be honest, if you can figure out how to script, you can figure out how to setup a website (this is middle school level shit or below).
Also, stop sounding like Disney and the rest of the whiners about “lost revenue”, piracy is always part of the equation. (i.e. don’t complain about the rules of the game because you’re loosing it - GiT GuD).
Oh, and before anyone gets confused, if you don’t agree with me, I don’t care, go complain to your mom, she might give a shit.
I’m not sure how I would feel about a restricted area. I believe that the majority of people on here (including myself) that make scripts do it for fun in their spare time. I either script content that im interested in or if someone has a request and I have time to do it. I don’t have any desire to monetize or time to worry about people stealing my scripts and I feel thats what a huge chunk of people on here think.
I am an artist and so I staunchly believe in the importance of credit but there will always be people who will do things in bad faith in terms of stealing content and scripts will not be an exception. I personally believe removing scripts/content to get back at bad actors or gatekeeping for that specific reason doesn’t do any good for anybody. The folks who monetize are a somewhat small section of what is a community based on sharing and to divide a community for that reason is bad in my view.
Sure you have your recognizable users like husky, sentinel, evilpapa666, etc. But there are so many more great scripts made by people who post maybe once or twice a month or at all.
If you want to build a more active and flourishing community then I agree a 100% with @Husky and @Slibowitz. The community would and should thrive on collaboration and involvement. A section for ideas is great and I love to make polls for those very reasons. Its motivating and fun to be a part of something which is why I’ve also messed around with the idea of there being a section for scripters to come together to create scripts for long media. Such as dividing a +60min video/compilation into to 5 to 10 min sections where multiple scripters choose and work on a section in their own style.
Restrictions and trust levels have their place and uses but we should push for more ways to hold discussions first, at least for now.
As a user, I find a lot of scripts to be very good but yet some can be artistic and I don’t like when people steal others work. I am myself a content creator, not this type of content tho. I feel that you all are a great collection of content script creators, (Some better than others) and this is a very good site that brings all of that talent together in a community way which is unique and drew my attention here. I don’t have any sites or social media that I actually take part in due to restrictions, gatekeeping, regulations, time served limits, censorship, etc. This site is really the only site outside of work responsibilities that I actually get on almost daily. Coming in and seeing the new scripts posted is like candy. Yeh there are a lot of flavors I don’t try but hey everyone has their likings. I’ve been thinking of trying to script something but havent had the time to ask someone to help me learn and it seems to be a bit complicated and intimidating. I feel keeping this place a community should be a priority and not a high school where we separate the clicks. We deal with that enough in the real world. I find calm and peace on this site and escape from reality really. Well there’s my opinion, I know it wasn’t asked for but I hope it helps. Oh and because I have a concussion, if I misinterpret what you all are discussing, forgive me. Great site keep up the great work.
Great site keep up the great work.