Nexus 2.0

[Kenguin]

(Crossposted at http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=280194)

"Web 2.0" is the term for the transition of the web from static, authoritative, one-way content to dynamic, user-submitted, community-organized content.

A very similar shift is now occurring in the world of Uru Live with the announcement of an impending open source release of the software.

With that in mind, I started to think about how such an "open" uru would operate, not just in the short term, but one or two years down the road. What if it becomes really popular? What if there are hundreds -- even thousands -- of user ages to explore eventually? How will it all be managable?

I had an idea for this, which I'm calling "Nexus 2.0" for fun, and which I will present in the form of a "Youtube" analogy (youtube being an example of a successful web 2.0 site that manages millions of user-contributed videos in a user-friendly way).

* On youtube, users can vote and comment on videos
-- In openuru, explorers could use the KI to submit votes and comments on user-submitted ages. They could vote in several categories, such as atmosphere, depth, story, stability, challenge.

* Youtube allows users to sort videos by "higest rated," "most visited," "most recent," etc..
-- The Nexus interface could provide all these kinds of lists and more

* Youtube allows users to find videos they're interested in by searching for keywords or browsing categories
-- Ages could have keywords attached to them, either statically or dynamically through some sort of "tagging" system. Additionally, the description of an age could be searchable. Also, ages could be organized into categories such as: garden age, puzzle age, OOC age, etc.

* Youtube allows you to keep a collection of your "favorite" videos. Other users can see what people have favorited.
-- In uru, you could put linking books on your relto bookshelf to your favorite ages. You can invite other people to your relto so they can see what ages you've chosen and explore them with you.

* Youtube offers suggestions as to related videos you may like, and videos by the same user
-- Your KI or the nexus could offer suggestions as to related ages you may like, or ages by the same writer.

* Youtube displays "featured" videos on the front page to demonstrate some of its highest-quality content.
-- The nexus could likewise have a list of "featured" ages. And some rare gems will get the honor of having linking books placed in public areas such as the cavern by the shard maintainers. Neighborhood owners could also have their own mini featured lists by having a neighborhood bookshelf of favorite or related ages.

An additional thing I think this system will need to really work well -- and this may be controversial -- is a mechanism that allows the adding of "unapproved" ages to a shard. Basically, any user could upload an age, and soon as it passes some sort of bare-bones screening (doesn't mess up server state, doesn't crash the client, has no copyright infringements, meets possible content restrictions (adult material, etc)), then it will be added to their relto bookshelf and the Nexus 2.0 system. However, it will be clearly tagged as "unapproved" meaning the maintainers of the shard have not yet gone through a more thorough examination to ensure that it's up to all the standards of the shard. People going through the nexus lists would have to specifically indicate that they're ok with unapproved ages. But the user can still invite people to the age and share it in all the ways available, and people can still vote on it and comment on it, and if people will like it, it will rise to the top of the nexus 2.0 system, making it more likely to get in line for maintainer approval.

I think this system will lower the barriers of entry for new and inexperienced writers who want to just try things out. It will also reduce the load on shard maintainers and admins, and is overall much more scalable. I think the idea of an official "testing server" or "approval process" can be daunting -- especially if OpenUru gets more popular and writers are competing with dozens and even hundreds of other high-quality ages for maintainer attention. This system will let newbies get their worlds into the uru universe, allowing them and their friends to explore together, while still providing a method for the cream of the crop to get the attention it deserves.

[realXCV]

Are you sure it won't be too much ? What you are explaining works well in a web site but how should it be integrated (visually) to the game ?

[Grogyan]

We are just fans, not gods.

I've already suggested plans to modify the Nexus and the KI to better work for us, and still be accomplishable

[Kenguin]

I'm surprised by the nay-saying. Some of the ideas I've suggested are a bit ambitious but most of the important ones are definitely accomplishable. Especially given that we will have the source code, and we have many accomplished programmers in our fandom. Also, I expect different alternative KI/Nexus interfaces to be developed, and people will decide which ones work best for them. There doesn't have to be "One True OpenURU KI"

[Joxaren]

I do not think it is nay-saying. People are a bit tired of suggestions to change that which work now that the work to fix that that may not work is drawing near. In reality not many know exactly how much work and resources it will take to open the cavern for visitors, and those that do won't tell.
Nexus 2.0 may just be a suggestion that have to wait around a little for a better reception

[Baron]

Let's not dismiss these ideas as a too-ambitious Nexus. Yes, it'd eventually need an interface somewhere, but the important aspects of Kenguin's ideas are about ways to rate and organize Ages, especially ones that are incomplete or imperfect.

Belford laid out some similar ideas just over a year ago (http://www.eblong.com/zarf/uru/rj/essay ... -ages.html). He was addressing his ideas to Cyan, but now they fall to us.

As Belford noted, lots of tiny fan Ages will be created, in which novices develop just one or two aspects of Age creation... There will be Ages with great sound effects but poor geometry, mediocre locations with journals full of well-written poetry, and so on. They're not garbage just because they're not as immersive as Teledahn. In fact, they are of huge value because they may lead to more elaborate collaborations between the sound expert, the poet, and so on. A Web 2.0 type scheme of the sort Kenguin is proposing would be very useful.

For finished Ages, when there are more and more of them, the benefits of good descriptive tags are obvious.

This is a good suggestion. Sure, it probably can't be added to the system anytime soon, but having the ratings system thought out early is definitely worthwhile. Even if it just turns into a form that assists volunteer Age testers in applying descriptive tags to new Ages, it's constructive. And if we're being too pessimistic... if it CAN somehow be put into place before lots of new people start making Ages, it'd streamline the testing and browsing process greatly.


Swinging by someone's suggestion thread to declare it unnecessary or overly difficult is indeed nay-saying. Sorry you're on the receiving end this time, Kenguin. Sadly, this is a proud tradition that dates back before Prologue, when people used to argue that the arrow keys were the proper way to steer, and no one should be asking for WASD controls.

There's probably also a term for denouncing someone's suggestion because it would require changes to one's own preexisting suggestion, but I'm not sure what that is.

[Alahmnat]

There's probably also a term for denouncing someone's suggestion because it would require changes to one's own preexisting suggestion, but I'm not sure what that is.

Stubborn pig-headedness, I believe, is the scientific term.

[Joxaren]

He he! I belive Winston Churchill was called that...