Plan for Ben Garney

A quick foreword: If you want to have a say on what features go into the upcoming revision of TorqueScript, please see my last plan and post! Now, onto the rest of the plan...

How To Ask Questions: The Smart Way <-- Please Read This.

This document outlines a very good set of guidelines for asking technical questions. Although GG's products aren't in quite the same category as, say, Apache or GCC, we have a lot more in common with them than with, say, Word or Excel. We wouldn't be where we are without our open codebase and an active, vibrant community.

Asking and answering smart questions is an absolutely critical part of the culture here, what makes this a worthwhile place to be if you're an indie game developer. Naturally, there are plenty of things that get discussed that aren't Torque-specific, but smart questions are a universal goal to shoot for.

A bad question leeches knowledge or wastes people's time. A good question gets you an answer you need. A great question gives the community a chance to shine, for people to come together, for everyone to benefit. Great questions make threads that people will go back and read for years to come.

And asking great questions isn't necessarily all that hard. See the link for details. :) This is a great read for anyone, newbie or veteran, experienced or not.

(And for you foreign guys - it's available in a LOT of different languages: Chinese Czech Danish Estonian French German Hebrew Hungarian Italian Japanese Polish Russian Spanish Swedish Turkish.)

A lot of us GG "old timers" have noticed that as the community here grows, it's changing. This is a good thing. The newbies of today are the veterans of tomorrow, so to speak. :) But for it to grow in a healthy way, we all need to establish values, set the tone. People that come here often comment on how they love the prompt responses to their questions, the knowledgeable people, the willingness to help and to problem-solve.

I am excited to have that be the perception of our community! A community reflects its members, and we have some really awesome people in our community. They donate their time and experience, often thanklessly. And by so doing, they attract more peoplel like themselves - and impress everyone else. This is a very positive thing.

But as the community grows, as more people come through, the game changes. A community of ten thousand is different than a community of a hundred. A community of a hundred thousand is different yet again. Growth brings change. Things that were once implicit have to become conscious decisions. As the garage grows, we have to learn how to welcome people in, how to help them be the best they can be, and show them how they can help others, including ourselves.

Personally, just speaking for myself, I want GG to be the kind of place:

• Where we have fun. (Why make it a drag to be here?)
• Where we are dedicated to making fun and interesting games. (It's GarageGames, not GarageTech. Although I think we all really like tech a lot. ;)
• Where there is a high level of game development expertise. (Best of the best! In code, art, and design!)
• Where there are places for all levels of ability (like Jeff says - from Cradle to Grave). (Newbies won't drown in our community.)
• Where we have a strong culture of asking smart questions, sharing resources, and helping one another finish projects.
• Where we welcome and enable coders and artists of all types. (Programming is only half the equation!)

Of course, there's a gap between saying something and making it so, especially in a large community... But without goals, we'll never get anywhere. :) These are the goals I'm shooting for.