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[PRANK] Zathyus Networks Resources and Support Merge
Topic Started: Mar 31 2011, 03:46 PM (1,607 Views)
Brian
Go Irish!

Announcing the merger of the Zathyus Network Support and Zaythus Network Resources boards!

Providing quality support to all the users of our service has always been our first priority. However, we also want to ensure that users have access to the best resources for their forums. Offering an official resource board was the first step, but now we feel the time has come to go even further.

Resources are a big part of this service. After a long discussion by ZNS and ZNR staff, we've decided that the best way to continue offering quality support and resources is through a merger of our two official boards. This is not a decision we undertake lightly, for we know that there will likely be some confusion during the transition period.

If you have an account on ZNS, none of your existing posts or topics will be affected. If you have an account on ZNR, it will not be transferred to this board, but we will transfer your post count (see below). We regret to inform members of ZNR that they will need to register a ZNS account if they do not already have one.

Late next week, we will begin to close down ZNR and move topics over to this board. During that time, you may encounter minor glitches on both boards as we tweak the organization and structure of the forums. Today you will notice the start of this transition as we begin to move over the Recommend Themes forum. We hope this will not be too much of an inconvenience, especially in light of the benefits to be gained from merging these boards.

For now, we have opened new forums and reopened old database forums to make the transition easier. Also, we have opened up a new introduction forum for users both new and old to introduce themselves. This is designed to make the transition easier as new and old faces have a forum to get to know their fellow members. We have also moved away from our current IRC host in order to make the channel even easier for our members to join and chat. Our unified #zetaboards channel is now on chatspike. We have updated all documentation and the IRC page on this board. Again, please bear with us as we make the changes to accommodate the new topics and corresponding sections on this board.

Our staff will now consist of Support, Community, Code and Resource teams. Given we already have an active admin staff, the ZNR admins will have new positions. Eccentric Feline will join and head the Resource Team. Reid will be the head of our Code Team. Nicolas will remain in his current position as support team member.

Originally, we had planned to announce this move at the end of last year. Planning this merger has occupied a lot of our time. We're aware that this is a big change for our members, but we think it's for the best. Ultimately, we decided to take the extra time to ensure a smooth transition.

Lastly, we will be transferring post counts upon request. A topic will be provided next week. Please do NOT PM staff members to request a post count adjustment.

Should you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to ask Stephen or Jonathan. They will be overseeing the merger process. We'll be posting an FAQ topic later in the week just prior to the transition. We'll also be opening up a poll that will allow users to vote for our new mascot. We hope you are as excited about this change as we are, and we are looking forward to great things from our future, combined network board!
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Stephen
Twilight is upon me, and soon night must fall.

As we near the end of the day, it is time to answer the question on everyone's mind: Was the merge announcement an April Fools Day prank?

A sharp eyed viewer may already have figured out the answer in Brian's Announcement:

Quote:
 
Announcing the merger of the Zathyus Network Support and Zaythus Network Resources boards!

Providing quality support to all the users of our service has always been our first priority. However, we also want to ensure that users have access to the best resources for their forums. Offering an official resource board was the first step, but now we feel the time has come to go even further.

Resources are a big part of this service. After a long discussion by ZNS and ZNR staff, we've decided that the best way to continue offering quality support and resources is through a merger of our two official boards. This is not a decision we undertake lightly, for we know that there will likely be some confusion during the transition period.

I
f you have an account on ZNS, none of your existing posts or topics will be affected. If you have an account on ZNR, it will not be transferred to this board, but we will transfer your post count (see below). We regret to inform members of ZNR that they will need to register a ZNS account if they do not already have one.

Late next week, we will begin to close down ZNR and move topics over to this board. During that time, you may encounter minor glitches on both boards as we tweak the organization and structure of the forums. Today you will notice the start of this transition as we begin to move over the Recommend Themes forum. We hope this will not be too much of an inconvenience, especially in light of the benefits to be gained from merging these boards.

For now, we have opened new forums and reopened old database forums to make the transition easier. Also, we have opened up a new introduction forum for users both new and old to introduce themselves. This is designed to make the transition easier as new and old faces have a forum to get to know their fellow members. We have also moved away from our current IRC host in order to make the channel even easier for our members to join and chat. Our unified #zetaboards channel is now on chatspike. We have updated all documentation and the IRC page on this board. Again, please bear with us as we make the changes to accommodate the new topics and corresponding sections on this board.

Our staff will now consist of Support, Community, Code and Resource teams. Given we already have an active admin staff, the ZNR admins will have new positions. Eccentric Feline will join and head the Resource Team. Reid will be the head of our Code Team. Nicolas will remain in his current position as support team member.

Originally, we had planned to announce this move at the end of last year. Planning this merger has occupied a lot of our time. We're aware that this is a big change for our members, but we think it's for the best. Ultimately, we decided to take the extra time to ensure a smooth transition.

Lastly, we will be transferring post counts upon request. A topic will be provided next week. Please do NOT PM staff members to request a post count adjustment.

Should you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to ask Stephen or Jonathan. They will be overseeing the merger process. We'll be posting an FAQ topic later in the week just prior to the transition. We'll also be opening up a poll that will allow users to vote for our new mascot. We hope you are as excited about this change as we are, and we are looking forward to great things from our future, combined network board!



So, naturally the question you all wish to know: Why did we take this so seriously?

While the merge may not be real today, the idea of a true board merge has been discussed. However, there are concerns over how to properly merge the boards, the staff and the different forums into one. Today's discussion was designed to get honest feedback. Every question asked was answered honestly if a merge were to take place in the near future.

As for what we learned? We received very valuable feedback on how to handle a merge if these two boards ever were to merge. That said, there is clearly more discussion and planning needed before such an idea could be implemented.

Finally, what was real about today? We snuck in the change of IRC hosts and our new introduction forum under the radar.

The freenode IRC channel had become difficult to work with and was genuinely difficult for our members to use. ElementalAlchemist began to explore other viable candidates. He settled on ChatSpike as the new host. The staff have been testing this channel for several weeks now and we are very pleased with the results. All our documentations have been updated and the IRC channel page is also updated for those without an IRC client.

'This is...' is our new Introduction forum. But, we wanted something more. Introduction forums are generally boring and involve a lot of "hi" and "welcome" and not much else. We wanted to encourage more. So, 'This is...' is a forum where each user can have their own topic to tell us whatever they'd like to tell us about who they are. The idea is to encourage our users to socialize more and make connections and get to know the faces behind the name. This forum is not limited to new members but is open to members from any join date. The ZNS staff, ZNR staff and some of our former staff have already made topics for you to model when making your own. Please take a few minutes and make your own topic. We want to know who you are! :)

For those of you who caught on early and played along, we appreciate it. For those of you who remained skeptical, you should commend yourselves for trusting your gut. For those of you who suspected this was real and treated it as such, your feedback was invaluable. This day has given us a lot to think about and discuss for the future of this network. Rest assured however that should the day come that we do decide to merge Resources and Support, you will have a say in how it happens.

Happy April Fools Day,

Brandon, Brian, Stephen, Jonathan and the Zathyus Networks Team.
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