It&#039;s novel time.<br /><br />I would like to start off by saying I agree that this season&#039;s admins have put in the most effort into reaching decisions.&nbsp; I don&#039;t think anyone doubts that.&nbsp; The issue is when the board is making decisions that the majority of the community is REALLY not happy with, and the board just blows off those opinions because of stubbornness or whatever the reason may be.<br /><br />Well, I&#039;m glad to see the board replacing some of the crappy maps in the wad.&nbsp; The main reason I left the board several seasons ago was because everyone was so damn [b]stubborn[/b] and wouldn&#039;t take the players&#039; opinions into account.&nbsp; If NOBODY wants to play certain maps, just throw them out before you make a wad that is going to last 1-2 seasons.&nbsp; The board should be reflecting on the opinions/wants of the player base instead of pushing only their own views.<br /><br />How do we do this? Polls.<br />[list]<br />[li]Xen just started a poll about map28 and map32.&nbsp; Thanks for letting the players voice their opinions, this is what needs to happen more often.[/li]<br />[li]The contest map poll was also great. Letting the players vote on what maps they like the most and include them.[/li]<br />[/list]<br /><br />Maybe a new poll is needed to determine what to do with all the controversial maps that the board still wants to keep in.&nbsp; Maps 25 and 27 come to mind right away.&nbsp; Sure it could take some time to get the opinions of each map from each player, but I think it would produce a better wad with more maps that people want to play.&nbsp; Remember last seasons wad?&nbsp; Ghoul&#039;s hallway map?&nbsp; Yeah, NOBODY wanted to play that.&nbsp; That is the perfect example of when players&#039; opinions are needed the most.<br /><br />Why not fill a server with 16 people and get a yes/maybe/no answer for each of the 32 maps?&nbsp; That way the board can get a better idea of which maps are liked or hated.&nbsp; The more people who voice their opinion, the better the final wad will most likely be.&nbsp; Or pester people on irc to go through the wad and make a list of their yes/maybe/no answers and someone tally up the responses.&nbsp; Who wants to do that? Probably not many people, but I&#039;d do it.&nbsp; I can start pestering people tonight if you want.<br /><br />I would urge current board members to select the controversial maps when you are a captain in priv.&nbsp; You should really use that time to take in players&#039; opinions and such.&nbsp; Instead of board members thinking &quot;Do I like this map? I think I do and it should be included so that&#039;s it. I&#039;m not going to change my mind at all.&quot;&nbsp; board members should more likely be thinking &quot;Do most players like this map? Is it in the best interest of the IDL community to place this map into a wad that will last 1-2 seasons?&quot;&nbsp; <br /><br />This is what typically happens when you pick the &quot;bad&quot; maps:<br />Captain 1: &quot;map 27&quot;<br />Everyone else in the server: &quot;wtf&quot; &quot;why?&quot; &quot;that map fucking sucks&quot; &quot;*Player has disconnected*&quot;<br />Are the players the only ones who see a problem with this?<br /><br />I think the board has been productive in this off-season, but the main problem that several people are speaking of is the shitty map selection for the wad.&nbsp; Take the opinions of the players and use that to construct a better wad.&nbsp; Having 32 maps that everyone wants to play is better than having about 16-20 maps that get played and the rest are never touched.&nbsp; Don&#039;t waste wad space with those crappy maps, put in something that people want to play. [b]Simple.[/b]<br /><br />ZD07 taken out? Why? People picked it in priv somewhat often.<br />ZDU30 taken out? It was played alot too.<br />While I hate to say it, ODA02 was played quite a bit as well even though I personally didn&#039;t like it because it was too much of a grind.&nbsp; But people wanted to play it, so why not just throw it back in?<br /><br />I would write more, but I think I got my main point across.<br /><br />Summary of my post:&nbsp; Open up and listen to the players more.&nbsp; You might pick certain maps because you genuinely think that you are making the best choices.&nbsp; But when you see the majority of the community bitching about your map picks, you really need to step back and consider those complaints.&nbsp; Drop the stubbornness and represent the player base.&nbsp; I keep seeing this kind of attitude from the board: &quot;You guys are dumb and don&#039;t know what you&#039;re talking about. These maps are great.&quot;&nbsp; How many players do you think want to play in a league in which the admins have this attitude?&nbsp; Please take player opinions in with a little more respect and thought, and perhaps the player base won&#039;t erupt like it has been lately and will show respect back.<br /><br />I&#039;d also like to say that I&#039;m not singling out any particular board members for these problems, but rather as a collective group.