Reviving the Academy!

Ok, after a nice chat with Sinakis, I've learned that the academy has been dying over the last month or so...sadly. So I suggest we try and do something about it. I've got some ideas, but I wanted your opinions on them. So here they are:

- Recruiting through duels on KCVDS, DMG, etc. Pretty basic idea, try asking the people who you duel whether they're interested or not.

- Recruiting through other forums. I don't know if forums like pojo.biz allow advertising, but maybe putting the SDA userbar in your siggies helps.

- Recruiting through social networks: Facebook, Twitter, etc. I personnally dislike social networks, but it could work.

- Recruiting through video-sharing websites: Youtube, Megavideo, etc. using an AMV or something like that.

They're only ideas, let me know what you guys think of them. Ohter ideas are most welcome. :)

Thanks for the support, they're only ideas, so we'll see how everyone responds to them. :)

I agree with Phantom, in fact the way I joined SDA is because I saw the link in DGA, plus I was recruited into DGA by one of the members in a random duel, so i think those methods are the most effective.

Regarding the issue at hand, although i'm not a staff member at SDA nor am i a staff member at any other academy at this time. But I do have some experience regarding getting a rather inactive academy some new life.

You ( Staff of SDA ) should look at an Academy as a store and your members as customers and the rest of the people as potential customers ( prospects ). the first thing to keep in mind is, which type of people do oyu wish to attract to your academy. Answer: Duelists. What do duelists do: they play the game.

idea number 1: Hosting more tournaments, to keep people busy.

What do duelists do besides duel?; they talk about YGO.

Idea number 2 regarding getting new people to join SDA: Advertise.

How to advertise, you have the KC topic/forum in which you may advertise a site. We all have hamachi, spamm something that looks like an add throughout you hamachi nets and ask your members to do so as well.
You could also work together with an active academy in meaning of organizing something ( large tournament, i already have an idea but that is something forl ater ).

Idea 3: regarding making things more useful around here:

When i look at SDA i see a lot of people that know their YGO and a lot of people that are eager to learn, of course we have the article team ( which is inactive imo ) but why not have a class system. n meaning of having a few teachers ( for all i know just the normal Staff ) and teach people their YGO so that the tournaments you might wanna host are gaining extra meaning, it being the peopel that are learning are eager to try out the newly learned stuff.

Idea 4: Create a Youtube account for SDA and upload your duels a matches ( very good ones ) and post them in KC and in several other academies ( with in the describtion thingy the link to SDA and a catch phrase ) this way you will gain new prospects and become globally known.

These are my ideas at this time, good luck.

LegendaryFrost wrote:

I agree with Phantom, in fact the way I joined SDA is because I saw the
link in DGA, plus I was recruited into DGA by one of the members in a
random duel, so i think those methods are the most effective.

Well, I've got to be honest with you, I'm not into social networks, youtubes, etc. myself, but it was just an idea, i'm just trying to get things started :)

The_Dutch_Prince wrote:

Regarding the issue at hand, although i'm not a staff member at SDA nor
am i a staff member at any other academy at this time. But I do have
some experience regarding getting a rather inactive academy some new
life.

You ( Staff of SDA ) should look at an Academy as a store
and your members as customers and the rest of the people as potential
customers ( prospects ). the first thing to keep in mind is, which type
of people do oyu wish to attract to your academy. Answer: Duelists. What
do duelists do: they play the game.

idea number 1: Hosting more tournaments, to keep people busy.

What do duelists do besides duel?; they talk about YGO.

Idea number 2 regarding getting new people to join SDA: Advertise.

How
to advertise, you have the KC topic/forum in which you may advertise a
site. We all have hamachi, spamm something that looks like an add
throughout you hamachi nets and ask your members to do so as well.
You
could also work together with an active academy in meaning of
organizing something ( large tournament, i already have an idea but that
is something forl ater ).

Idea 3: regarding making things more useful around here:

When
i look at SDA i see a lot of people that know their YGO and a lot of
people that are eager to learn, of course we have the article team (
which is inactive imo ) but why not have a class system. n meaning of
having a few teachers ( for all i know just the normal Staff ) and teach
people their YGO so that the tournaments you might wanna host are
gaining extra meaning, it being the peopel that are learning are eager
to try out the newly learned stuff.

Idea 4: Create a Youtube
account for SDA and upload your duels a matches ( very good ones ) and
post them in KC and in several other academies ( with in the describtion
thingy the link to SDA and a catch phrase ) this way you will gain new
prospects and become globally known.

These are my ideas at this time, good luck.

Thanks, nice to see my thread is taken seriously, I like some of the ideas you've mentioned.

I don't think it's dying...yet. But the admins need to be active or it will turn out that way like DGA is becoming :(. I like TDP's ideas, listen to him. We don't need 6 tournaments going at a time but 1 or 2 would be great. As well, I think it would help to every once in a while release a new section: like a trade section, a bounty hunting section, a turbo dueling section, an achievement section, a quiz of the week, things like that. New sections increase activity, and increases activity in other forgotten sections. Not as many people use the duel arena as they used to but maybe if there was a turbo dueling arena people would begin to use both more often.

About the tournaments, maybe a Tag Team Tournament might be nice... You could ask users to team up with someone from another academy, just an idea...

I will have to agree to the ideas you posted.
During this last month, I have to say that I am the only admin left carrying out duties, so I guess it's up to me to organise something new and radical.
It's positive and promising seeing members post ideas about renewing and improving a forum we've been working on.
As a member I have to say I have no experience in large forums and enjoy acting as a member more than being an administrator.
TDP's, V's and Harper's ideas will surely attract a lot more people than we are now attracting.
Are you sure you're all ready for that? It is like turning a village into a town.

As for the lack of staff, I will take care of it if we decide to move on something different than we are now.
Thank you for your ideas.
I am looking forward to Vem's or the rest of the staff's responce.

The current staff is enough for now. 1.5 administrators and 1 moderator. We will most probably won't hire more staff unless someone turns inactive.

Winduct wrote:

Actually, I don't think the academy is dying. On the contrary, activity has been rising since Febuary. Many new members joined and most of them are active.

The forum is not dying, it is just not as active as iyou wanted to be. That goes for me too. But i am supposed to be the one that should try to increase the activity, right ?
I can do it, but it is not my main priority at the moment.. It's not only because of school and stuff. I just got bored of the forums. I dreamt to have SDA reach the top, and i have the opportunity to achieve it or at least come close to it. The latter has been done. No one considered this forum to be great, but if you check the activity of the other major academies every day, you will see most of the times ( especially in January ) we fought in equal grounds or even surpassed them. I could help things go better, i just find it not necessary. I am happy with the activity as it is.
I also wanna say that this forum was dying some months ago and we decided together with some other guys to revive it. These people have went inactive. And some others aren't as active as they used to be. That's the major reason i got bored. Because the people i liked and used to hang on with are gone. That may sound egoistic, but it's the truth. No offense to new members either but yeah.. i am not as active and willing to help as i was before and i won't be until May. I have some fun ideas about summer, i am sure activity will go up then :)

Some of you mentioned tournaments. There have been many tournaments and new ones will be hosted.. but most people are inactive in tours and ruin the fun of the others too. I can't do anything about it. Also advertising is not my thing. Giving links to join a site, is the same as begging for money. Doing it distinctively, like putting a userbar in your sig is a great idea, i suggest you do that :) .

Quote :

When i look at SDA i see a lot of people that know their YGO and a lot of people that are eager to learn, of course we have the article team ( which is inactive imo ) but why not have a class system. n meaning of having a few teachers ( for all i know just the normal Staff ) and teach people their YGO so that the tournaments you might wanna host are gaining extra meaning, it being the peopel that are learning are eager to try out the newly learned stuff.

That would be no different from the article team which is inactive

Quote :

s well, I think it would help to every once in a while release a new section: like a trade section, a bounty hunting section, a turbo dueling section, an achievement section, a quiz of the week

Not so original ideas, i will may try out some of them though.

Thanks for the support and the ideas, keep them coming

SDA went dead... i didnt know of this O.o well GL SDA hope u get back on ur feet and shame on u inactive members! :twisted: