The thread that belongs to oblivion

[Kokoro Hane]

I think every member is important to the community! Even if you don't make wads or stuff for people to use, the fact you are playing or using the things people make is what counts. Being a creative is useless if nobody enjoys them! So even if all you can give is your thoughts, that is equally as important as everything else! I myself don't really map (I am trying to learn, but even then I know I probably won't release stuff often) but I love to play other people's wads and give my insight when I have the time. There would be no community if people didn't have a common interest and gathered for it, and in our case... it's our love for DOOM, classic or new, be it making stuff or enjoying stuff.

[how to delete account]

Yes

[Sotenga]

I do think you shouldn't worry if you don't contribute much. Hell, I just joined and I haven't done very much, and I have no mapping, coding, or artistic talent, but even people who don't do a lot should still be welcomed into the community, as their opinions and input are as valid as anyone else's. As long as you don't troll, you're good.

[D4NUK1]

I don't trink so, as many people share the same hobbie or passion to talk or play Doom, that's the one most thing that keep the fandom alive, so if anything, that a bunch of players are still playing and talking about gamesof the 90 it's the reason as why many other developers are understading the love for retro games.

[Major Arlene]

If everyone was a creator, we wouldn't have any players. Full stop. 
This seems to come up a lot with the newer folks coming in, I understand it's easy to get overwhelmed by such a saturated market of musicians, mappers, spriters, etc but at the end of the day, Doom was made to be played.
 

Now go chill and play Doom.

[Endless]

The beauty of this community is the simple fact that even though we are small, we form a complementary circle that has diversified over the years. People who in one way or another have given their contribution to this community. It does not matter if you have not won a Cacoward or your name is not known. Every mountain is formed by small grains of earth. But if you really want to give something instead of being the taker, there's sooooo much options and opportunities:

 

You can be a mapper.
You can be a musician.
You can be a texture artist.
You can be a reviewer.
You can be a video creator.
You can be a playtester.
You can be an archivist.
You can be whatever you want to be.

 

But in the end, only one thing is true... Rule number one for being a valuable member of the community? Be a good person. That's all it takes and you'll see yourself quickly inmersed among the best of the best.

[SteelPH]

It's the reason I don't say much. Better to not dig any holes I've made over the years any deeper and whatnot.

Edited January 14, 2021 by SteelPH

[Retro Dino]

Yes, i even got banned the other day for quacking (Quack) to much. I don't have friends, and i don't have the motivation or inspiration to make WADS because i know nobody will play them. So what's the point? :( 

[NieMaMordy]

I kinda like being a lurker :D

[spineapple tea]

Occasionally, why?

[SiMpLeToNiUm]

5 hours ago, NoXion said:

not everyone who enjoys reading novels needs to be bursting with their own ideas for a book. Same thing with playing Doom.

I like this idea a lot, good way to conceptualize being able to like things without the need to do those things yourself.

[The Great Communicator]

I'm going to add to my previous statement, and say that what/how much you contribute isn't as important as that you apply yourself to what you do. I just post here; it's a very unimportant contribution. But I do try to make what I say meaningful, instead of just posting, "lol ya jk" and hitting up the next topic.

[Misty]

Yeah, there are some days then I feel worthless and useless to community(mostly due depression), but mostly I feel good being here and contributing things like making levels, playing them or just chatting with people about favourite game and user made content. 

[Gaia74]

Very, literally I have not done anything remarkable, and that sincerely make me sad, but I will not give up and try some day, to make something that is a contribution to the community

[DJVCardMaster]

Yes, being or doing something is not enough, for me at least.

[SgtGhost Pepper]

Buddy a community needs players and fans as much as it needs content creators, if we all made maps and tested them to death we'd have no energy to test them and hence no one'd play em!

In all seriousness, just hang around man, we're all here for the discussion and love of the game.

[Zakken]

Not really, although I've always had to live with the lingering concern that I could always do more for the community I'm a part of, and I often have to consciously strike a balance between overworking myself and lazing around, to make sure that I maintain a constant stream of productivity without having to say hello to the usual burnout symptoms.

 

Above all else, I think being able to meet and connect with other people with a shared interest is the most worthwhile aspect of any community, so as long as you're enjoying yourself and finding friends around here, you're already validating your entire involvement with those around you here. I believe content creation should come from a place of artistic passion and amibition, and while that's definitely one such means to accomplish this social goal, you should never approach it with the idea that you won't be appreciated or recognised unless you create something. No such thing as meritoracy!

[Mayomancer]

I've only made 1 wad years ago and rarely even play Doom anymore, but some of my snarky comments get a few reactions so i guess i have that going

[Pechudin]

When my memes get upvoted I feel good.

 

Honestly man, just engaging with the community is good enough. Even leaving short feedback reply to a new mapper can mean a world to them. I know it did for me.

[Archanhell]

I do not know what kind of thread is this, at least in idea - No one is worthless, at all, everyone is special and worthy whether you are a content creator or a player, if you want to leave your grain of sand, go ahead! Others will enjoy what you make, while others will help you to become better, but if you want to simply be a player on this community, then there is absolutely zero problems with it! Enjoy what others make instead, play with your friends, and overall have fun with how simple it is to do so, thanks to all 25+ years (27 so far, maybe?) of the community being together!

 

Obviously, you would want to avoid bothering others in the sense of being a troll or the typical "dislikeable" person, while you focus on yourself, or on having fun with those you appreciate as friends or that simply share the same tastes as you (Not specifically limited to DooM), then that for me it is enough.

I say this as someone who wanted to leave a grain of sand for the future generations, and I still plan on doing this, not alone, but with all my friends, in order to make both others and ourselves happy of the final product.

 

So, that is everything to this, no one is worthless, and everyone has their own worth!

[Doomkid]

OP: Does the fact that I don't make mods mean I'm a worthless member of the community?

 

Me: Does the fact that I spend my life making Doom mods mean I'm a worthless member of society?

 

 

On 1/14/2021 at 5:58 AM, Van Daemon said:

Absolutely. My content is not great, it is pretty simple and silly and for some reason people don't feel like interacting with me a lot. Let's say I don't fit anywhere, not "awesome" enough.

If you have any content you've posted that never garnered much response/feedback, let me know and I'll be happy to give it a spin.

 

It's kind of heartbreaking that multiple people feel ostracized somehow. I guess I've attained "somebody" status in the community ^{(pukes in mouth at the thought of community engagement being a popularity contest)} but I can say that for the first 5-10 years of my community tenure, basically no one knew who I was. I just kept on pumping out wad after wad and shoving them in the face of every last Doom forum/site/server I could find year after year until it - at a glacial speed - started to garner me some friends and my work some attention.

 

By no means do I think that approach is for everyone.. it could be argued that I've pissed away a lot of valuable time, but I can't think of anything else I'd have rather done.

 

~~ N O   R E G E R T S ! ! 1 ~~

[Stupid Bunny]

“This WAD makes me a champion and a hero!”

 

”To who!?”

 

”To those weirdos at the Doom forum!”

[Aku]

I would like to be a bit more connected to the community then i have been, but i feel sometimes a bit overwealmed with all thats on here, like i have put a lot of my time into building doom maps, but it conflicts with all the other artistic endevears in my life, i have the push to creat, but often become disshearted when i spend weeks on end working on something that instantly fades into obscurity.

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by Aku
Spellin correct

[Wereknight]

On 1/13/2021 at 5:00 PM, dmslr said:

I don't make maps, mods, TCs, midis, custom sprites, textures, don't host useful sites for doomers, don't write articles for doomwiki, don't develop source ports or other soft.

I just use the things that made by someone else.😔 

 

Edit: I want you to know: I'm not calling the regular members worthless. It's just me wishing something contributed on my part.

No and never had, and that's npt because I'm one of the Cult of Sprite member (...wha~?), I'm important in a way that trough me people I'm meeting and they never heard about Doom and its communities are do know. 

[Doomkid]

1 hour ago, MidnightMage said:

This is an interesting post. 

 

I would consider myself a fairly insignificant member of the community.

A mediocre map maker at best with nothing particularly of value to contribute to the greater community.

But I'm ok with that.

Several of my projects greatly benefited from your efforts!!

[Midnight_00]

I've spent years doing nothing besides lurking and downloading WADs. Making an account is an improvement on that score. I would like to create WADs myself, not just out of wanting to contribute, but a genuine interest in what I could come up with. It's a matter of having the time as well, though.

[geekmarine]

I've only made a couple of maps here and there, did a little very minor sprite work for Freedoom, but you know, the truth is, it doesn't matter if you don't make anything at all, because the important thing, I think, to creators is that there are people out there to enjoy their content.  I mean, for what little I've done, I don't care whether the people who played my levels made levels of their own, it's enough to know that they played them and hopefully enjoyed the experience.  So as long as you're still playing, you're still contributing in a sense, because you're giving other people the motivation to create new content.  Nobody wants their masterpiece to just sit around on a server somewhere never getting downloaded, people create to have their work be experienced.

[BigBoy91]

Just have fun and don't overanalyze it. I love the game and crank out shitty speedruns. Feels good man. Maybe I'll learn to map one of these days.

Edited January 17, 2021 by CleaverHeaver

[Somniac]

I get where OP is coming from as much as I agree with the counterarguments that have been presented. For me, as I'm sure for all of us, Doom has been an integral part of my life for many years now - in spite of the occasional long breaks I've had from it. Its not just "a video game" to me. Sure, its a video game, its fun, its entertainment, all of that is true and if you're happy with experiencing the incredible work the community has done over many years and leaving it at that, that's okay too. 

 

But I'd be lying if so many custom WADs out there didn't leave me saying one of the following:

 

"Damn, I've got to do this too"

 

or

 

"Damn, I could never do this"

 

Its like the first time I played Toxic Touch. That level is a beautifully coherent, atmospheric piece of art where everything comes together in a way that is a rung above what the original game seemed capable of. Obviously, Kim Andre Malde was a highly talented mapper who's work stands on a tier of its own - and that goes for anything out of Alien Vendetta, or any of the incredible works I've been fortunate to experience over the years - there are too many to mention. I felt the same about BTSX Episode 1 when that came out, for instance. I could be here all day naming these things. Its a double edged sword when you look at something like that and feel inspired, but also very aware of your own limitations and thinking you could only ever hope to imitate. 

 

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try if you really want to. I'm in the process of making my first real level, and despite being proud of the fact that I've finally made it this far, there's still room for the vagaries of the creative process to come out of the woodwork. Like anything, its a constant uphill battle against your own demons in that regard. Not out of perfectionism, because I have to be realistic - but more out of that nagging feeling that, if such great things have already been accomplished since as far back as the late 90s, what difference will my first amateur level make? Its about doing it for you. There's a fantastic thread on this forum about "mapping sadness" that sums these feelings up perfectly and I suggest anyone who needs some motivation reads through it. Definitely helped me, and reaffirmed my conviction that the Doom community is the best community out there. 

[Crusader No Regret]

This is one of those communities where participation is voluntary.  So no, I don't really think about the question of worthiness.