Feature Creep
Pretty much since the inception of BYOND, we've had something we call "feature creep". "Creep" is a bad word and "feature creep" is no different-- it's bad, BAD! It is, in fact, why we, the developers, have had to live penniless with roommates and such for so long, appeasing the Altar of El Feature Creepo rather than the pursuit of money. Worse, you, the community never seems to appreciate it! But I digress...Anyway, a while ago we introduced a Feature Tracker, to attempt to contain the Creep to one section of the website. This is basically a list of feature requests by you, the community. Some of you may think that the purpose was to ignore these requests, but that is not the case. We actually do look at each and every request, usually the moment it is made. The problem, we realized quite quickly, is that between your ideas of how BYOND should go (new-style Creep) and our own (old-style Creep), it would take us the lifetime of the universe to complete every request. So we have to compromise... but how?
So what we've done here is stolen an approach from UserVoice.com and come up with a way to rate ideas. In a nutshell, every BYOND Member has 5 votes that they can allocate to any of the posted features (you can view your current votes through the My Issues page). When a feature is resolved (either by being implemented or by being rejected), votes are returned. Features are ordered by #votes by default (you can click on the header items to sort by other criteria, and rest assured we do this to view new features). So right now, we can see that Icon Editor Zooming is something people want so we'll (reluctantly) take a look at it. Of course this is just one measure of judging a feature-- ease of implementation is a huge factor, as well as our own whimsy-- but it does help organize the pile. For you non-members who want to play this game, please join up!
Developer Feedback
The most important form of communication is between the developers and the players. Positive feedback can inspire developers and negative feedback can help them improve (if its constructive) or drive them away (if its not). So what we want to do is foster an environment where players are constantly leaving praise or constructive criticism over the games they play and libraries they use.
Now, the first time you play or download a game or resource, you'll be sent an alert after a few hours. We don't intend this to be obtrusive-- it is easy to dismiss and really, how many new games are we playing here? The purpose is to give you an opportunity to become a fan of the game or leave a comment while it is fresh in your mind. Developers of games want to know if you liked it or what needs to be improved; developers of libraries want to know if their hours of work helped you out. Take a few seconds and let them know!
