Semi serious?

[Grunt]

No one said we're not also working on bigger stuff though, most of my time actually goes towards work on way bigger updates. The small ones are just things I can quickly slide in and release within half an hour.

To reiterate what I said initially:

The trouble with development is there is alot of people in the team and for its size, not many notable releases. I personally think not announcing projects being worked on with a feasible timeline is a bad idea, since teasing players with new content promotes retention which we lack currently.

Small releases are good for QoL but it's not going to make FL get a player surge. It would be really cool to announce a plan of development, or even just announce a big project being worked on that you and the development team can feasibly work on and complete.

Set a date to be completed by and assign someone devs and contributors to it and make a post on the forums about it. See what happens when you release it, I bet you it will bring back players if it's a big project.

[Zona]

Structure won't work, it's impossible to have it on a team doing so much work for little reward. Developers and Contributors are currently free to work on whatever they want, with contributors having a lot more leniency in how active they are. Demotion a Contributor or Developer for being a bit inactive doesn't help anyone. If they come every once in a while and work on something, it's still better than nothing.

It's important to keep a mix of minor and major changes, some of the smaller updates we have pushed out have been amazing QoL changes or have fixed a much wanted feature.

Stuff simply takes time and we also have lives outside of FL. I personally have been extremely busy, as such work from me has slowed down a bit (which is shown in the changelog too).

Structure won't work? Not to be rude or anything but have you lived under a rock for the past 10 years? Setting up a team and having a leader who manages to create a good structure for a team is always the better alternative. From a player's perspective (my perspective) then I don't see much structure within the team. Why are developers working on smaller works which could have been done by the contributors? If you have loads to do then hand more over to the contributors! If you don't do work as a contributor, then why are you even on the team? Same with admins these days! If you don't have time to come online and administrate then resign and let someone else take your position so we can have an active team. 

I'm shocked for what you just stated and not to be rude once again, but I really think the development team needs a leader who can set an example and actually get things going there. I understand that you have a life, but once again if you have limited time, use it wisely and on the bigger projects so you can get them released out and let the contributors take the smaller issues like minor bugs, changes etc. FL has none structure what so ever on both the staff team and development side from what it seems to be. Disagree or agree or correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a gaming community ... The work you guys are doing doesn't have to be a 100% secret. Let us know what you guys are working on and update us a bit ... 

You can say that I'm wrong but look at the stats and players statements, there is something wrong with FL right now and instead of defending the systems FL has been using for the past 10 years, start developing new structures and systems which prepares the community for the future, not the past ... Start taking criticism instead of defending the current system as it doesn't work anymore. Be creative, you are a developer.

[Pollux]

Structure won't work? Not to be rude or anything but have you lived under a rock for the past 10 years? Setting up a team and having a leader who manages to create a good structure for a team is always the better alternative. From a player's perspective (my perspective) then I don't see much structure within the team. Why are developers working on smaller works which could have been done by the contributors? If you have loads to do then hand more over to the contributors! If you don't do work as a contributor, then why are you even on the team? Same with admins these days! If you don't have time to come online and administrate then resign and let someone else take your position so we can have an active team. 

I'm shocked for what you just stated and not to be rude once again, but I really think the development team needs a leader who can set an example and actually get things going there. I understand that you have a life, but once again if you have limited time, use it wisely and on the bigger projects so you can get them released out and let the contributors take the smaller issues like minor bugs, changes etc. FL has none structure what so ever on both the staff team and development side from what it seems to be. Disagree or agree or correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a gaming community ... The work you guys are doing doesn't have to be a 100% secret. Let us know what you guys are working on and update us a bit ... 

You can say that I'm wrong but look at the stats and players statements, there is something wrong with FL right now and instead of defending the systems FL has been using for the past 10 years, start developing new structures and systems which prepares the community for the future, not the past ... Start taking criticism instead of defending the current system as it doesn't work anymore. Be creative, you are a developer.

I don't think you really understand how Development works here, people are able to choose what projects they'd like to work on. No one tells the Contributors what to work on, they decide for themselves and we simply tell them if they can do it or not. This system works as it means people are generally doing something they enjoy and aren't being forced to do anything. Contributors can work on large things if they wish and it's generally better for Developers to do the minor small things as it's quicker. As soon as we start forcing people to do stuff, nothing is ever going to be done.

We don't have limits slots in the Development team, we can take on new people whenever we can't so I don't really understand the "let others take your position" argument. We don't have the same luxury as the Administration team to be strict as Developers are hard to come across for FL. The current system for Development is the best and it does work fine as things are actually getting done for the first time in a while. We do have a head of Development (Tomo) who does get involved, however you're pretty much asking him to boss everyone around and tell them exactly what to do which won't work in the slightest. We do ask Contributors on status every once in a while and Developers usually keep their thread updated. We do ask Contributors what's up if it looks like they're not making much progress, however I don't really see what else you want us to do.

I can tell you there is for sure structure, that's why we have someone overlooking us and it's the same for the Administration team. This is the most active Development team we've had in a while too, so it's obvious it's working.

[Yonno]

Good luck hammering on volunteer work.

[Zona]

I don't think you really understand how Development works here, people are able to choose what projects they'd like to work on. No one tells the Contributors what to work on, they decide for themselves and we simply tell them if they can do it or not. This system works as it means people are generally doing something they enjoy and aren't being forced to do anything. Contributors can work on large things if they wish and it's generally better for Developers to do the minor small things as it's quicker. As soon as we start forcing people to do stuff, nothing is ever going to be done.

We don't have limits slots in the Development team, we can take on new people whenever we can't so I don't really understand the "let others take your position" argument. We don't have the same luxury as the Administration team to be strict as Developers are hard to come across for FL. The current system for Development is the best and it does work fine as things are actually getting done for the first time in a while. We do have a head of Development (Tomo) who does get involved, however you're pretty much asking him to boss everyone around and tell them exactly what to do which won't work in the slightest. We do ask Contributors on status every once in a while and Developers usually keep their thread updated. We do ask Contributors what's up if it looks like they're not making much progress, however I don't really see what else you want us to do.

I can tell you there is for sure structure, that's why we have someone overlooking us and it's the same for the Administration team. This is the most active Development team we've had in a while too, so it's obvious it's working.

Typical FL. Always the same old system and structure which has been used. I spoke to Wolf a long time ago so I do know how it works but what I am saying is that this isn't really a structure as you say ... People do this in their free time, sure well I do lead my local political party in real life in my free time and it would go to hell if we didn't have structure and well .. See where FL is today .. You can defend FL's old systems and ways of doing, but that doesn't make it sound better or makes the system even better. You are not open to others opinions to the old systems and ways of doing things. Take the criticism from someone who actually leads people in real life and by the way ... I am also a coder so I do know how it is with projects etc. Maybe haven't worked here at FL with development, but as I said; I do have experience with leading in real life and not just on a game.

[Zona]

Good luck hammering on volunteer work.

It has actually shown that inspiring leaders and leaders who actually hand out work to people with deadlines give better results and efficiency    What I am saying is to create a new, fresh and better structure, because FL doesn't really have a modern structure, maybe it worked everything from 10 to 3 years ago, but the world keeps on moving and same does the gaming communities. You keep on updating the forums, game servers but why not keep up the back-end staff and management systems?

[Pollux]

Good luck hammering on volunteer work.

It has actually shown that inspiring leaders and leaders who actually hand out work to people with deadlines give better results and efficiency    What I am saying is to create a new, fresh and better structure, because FL doesn't really have a modern structure, maybe it worked everything from 10 to 3 years ago, but the world keeps on moving and same does the gaming communities. You keep on updating the forums, game servers but why not keep up the back-end staff and management systems?

There isn't a big problem on how Development is run, that's why there's no need to change it and possibly ruin it. If anything it's being run quite well considering we have updates out very frequently.

[[LT] Sparx]

Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that we absolutely do care about the state of the server. I don't speak for everyone on the SA team of course, however personally I've been very busy with sixth form starting again recently, so I apologise if it seems like I'm not doing anything. We're constantly discussing ideas and I assure you that having read this thread, all your concerns have been noted and all your suggestions will be explored as possibilities within the team. Clearly there is a general feeling that the community is not being listened to, and I hope that in the future we can present some exciting new changes that will change your mind about that.

[Yonno]

Good luck hammering on volunteer work.

It has actually shown that inspiring leaders and leaders who actually hand out work to people with deadlines give better results and efficiency    What I am saying is to create a new, fresh and better structure, because FL doesn't really have a modern structure, maybe it worked everything from 10 to 3 years ago, but the world keeps on moving and same does the gaming communities. You keep on updating the forums, game servers but why not keep up the back-end staff and management systems?

All due respect, but I really don't require a lecture on leadership and management. In no way is it comparable to this case either. 
Fearless works with (mostly) underaged volunteers doing development because they care about the community. There's no budget involved, there are no rewards involved. There is no incentive other than positive feedback from the community or a compliment, and that only gets you so far.

Setting deadlines and whatnot is simply not realistic as there is no timeframe given. Unless they start paying people, nobody is going to put in such effort as it's not rewarding.

On another note, development has probably been the most active for the past months for a long time, while not always including positive changes (surprise), it's more than obvious that the team is open for feedback and criticism, and I personally think it's been heading in the right direction lately.

[Joe Joe]

Good luck hammering on volunteer work.

It has actually shown that inspiring leaders and leaders who actually hand out work to people with deadlines give better results and efficiency    What I am saying is to create a new, fresh and better structure, because FL doesn't really have a modern structure, maybe it worked everything from 10 to 3 years ago, but the world keeps on moving and same does the gaming communities. You keep on updating the forums, game servers but why not keep up the back-end staff and management systems?

Even though your critique is appreciated you must understand you can't apply all Politics to a game server. Even if we had the most inspiring leader possible you must understand our lives are not completely revolving around Fearless. Everyone on the team has a life outside of FL and what we put into the community is us volunteering our time for something we enjoy. Even though from the position I'm in constructive feedback from myself would look bias but the Dev team has produced quite a lot this year some not liked obviously its how things work. However we must be doing something right otherwise I'm sure players would stop playing and donating and go else where.