[nirvAnA]

Benji initially made this as a blog VOD but I felt it was very well done, news worthy and a great example of how blogs should be! Also because we have been getting plenty of blogs lately, people should see it before it gets bumped off from the list. He shares many in depth thoughts on sponsorship, the new direction of Xeria Gaming, streaming and eSports in general. It also features a green screen!

You Tube

You Tube

Benji's disclaimer: It's important to remember that this is purely my opinion, and it is fine to have a differing one, but please keep it civil. Insults and the like achieve nothing. If you can't watch this without getting angry or pissed off, simply don't watch it.

Quick Comments

	x5.Revenant:	This is a uprep
	asdfSchnitzel:	+3 attack
	TAkrunch:	interesting blog, +1
	Junho:	i kick arse

[Stallion]

I liked the blog and listened to the whole thing. some cool ideas in terms of growing the scene. would love to see some people step up into helping with website etc so there could be more things like articles or those top 5 plays.

1 of the things I always think of is why arn't we getting our top players on TL. people like mafia who is a GM on korea and any pro player in kr seems to be auto featured so why not him. Of course I don't think he should be the only one with people like PiG who i think should deserve some TL love. Regardless instead of competing against the koreans for viewers why don't we invite more to compete in some of our leagues? (this is just a thought) as in have a tournament like the CO weekly where we can say invite a korean from each of the teams to compete in it on guest accounts or something and advertise it on TL? again just my thoughts.

enjoyed the vlog benji

Quick Comments

x5.Revenant:

Listened to the whole thing too~

[ROOTPetraeus]

Really good blog Benji. I have a lot more respect for you now

[TAEdgE]

Enjoyed this!

[iMSystem]

The major thing hindering us from the outside world is the fact that everyone else doesn't take us seriously.

I touched on this a bit on Reddit, but if you ask any NA player they will tell you that they can beat anyone of our players in a showmatch, funny thing is they never agree to one

Another contributing factor is that we have none of the "celebs" (Koreans, NA pros, etc.) which means our events to outside viewers have no interest in watching, even though our games might be just as high quality as any other tournament, and no matter how good our production is as well.

I feel that Australian hosted tournaments won't have anything more than 500 viewers unless we either start getting players out there (Showmatches, content videos, what ever) or bring popular players here.

Making content videos is quite easy, Benji's Top 5 Plays, Podcast are all really good in getting our players out there and getting eyes on our scene.
For the latter, getting international players here won't happen as often as we'd like. It is too expensive to fly players from NA to here so teams pass on the idea. (I asked this question on the recent Lo3 to Scoots) and Koreans, unfortunately, will dominated our tournaments (which might end up being counter productive).

Originally Posted by SQL.Stallion

why arn't we getting our top players on TL.

TL has specific rules as to who are allowed to be featured (Viewership and such) so it is quite hard to get your stream up there. People are instantly granted featured status if they win a major tournament or are in GSL.

Also, Benji, I am ~15days away from moving into my own house, when I do, there will be a studio set up!
So consider the challenge accepted!

Quick Comments

	nirvAnA:	new house nice!!!!!!!!
	Stallion:	BIG PLAYS
	inFeZa:	like destiny over mafia...... T_T
	Pandan:	Popularity > Skill 100% of the time - just sometimes people are popular & have skill (or are popular because of it)

[NDG.Stitch]

Yeah I watched the Vlog, and I was really impressed at the things said. The honesty in his video was great and not easy especially when there's so much going on for Benji at the moment.

In terms of production, its just not easy at all. I've heard so many down-sides of Australia's internet not really at the desirable speed and such, but they have the most casters over there! One thing that Team Eve is doing, in response to about somebody helping you set up overlays, update scores, for an online tournament is, our streamer is the observer in the games and only picks up our voices. This is something that needs a lot of good teamwork in a team, but I feel that it is very good as it somewhat simulates what would happen in a big LAN like the ACL where there are observers showing the game and the casters won't have to be bugged with doing overlays and updating scores. Just a food for thought

I think on most part, everybody would love to have more viewers in SEA. Every livestream we have only recieves an average of 10-15 viewers (for players) and our tournaments now average less than 200. I feel that just SEA itself can raise this number substantially! I guess for us tournament organizers, we should really be focusing how to draw more attention for our viewers, but on the most part I think the tournaments we are holding like ACL, xGTL, and some showmatches are already near the top events held in NA or EU.

What I think would be very great is if all these tournament organizers, event sponsors and such in SEA can really have one day where we can share our thoughts, upcoming plans, so the server can work as a unit. Sounds cheesy, but may be good if we are all looking to boost the SEA scene.

[syfChadMann]

Great blog Benji. Agree with many of the points in that blog Benji..

I've previously mentioned the other big thing people can do to support eSports, follow their social media (Facebook, twitter, youtube, etc..) and if you make any purchasing decisions based on eSports support - tweet to that company that you've bought X product because of their support of eSports in Australia. But your right, most companies are using eSports sponsorship as a method of marketing communication and brand development/awareness. Telling them that you're supporting their company because of this support really helps them justify and quantify the ROI on supporting eSports... so be active in the community and make noises about the companies that support our community.

Great blog tho Benji, look forward to more - people should submit questions that you can perhaps give that inside insight on.

[Benji]

I think the argument about our internet is a poor one. All our internet does is lowers the max video quality we can stream at, it does not effect event production in the slightest. If we overnight got amazing internet, and we could all stream 1080p with no effort, would we get any noticeable rise in viewers?

Great blog tho Benji, look forward to more - people should submit questions that you can perhaps give that inside insight on.

Yea for sure, if people have questions, go ahead and post them (In this thread or the blog)

[Dox]

Originally Posted by SQL.Stallion

I liked the blog and listened to the whole thing. some cool ideas in terms of growing the scene. would love to see some people step up into helping with website etc so there could be more things like articles or those top 5 plays.

I've been trying to do this for over a year, but unfortunately nirvana isn't willing to share these permissions with anyone. (Which is fine, that's his choice)

So instead I've been working on a dedicated eSports portal for the past month and it'll be launching after WCS.


P.S. @Benji - I'm really glad you said "It's fine to disagree, not everyone has to get along. Sometimes disagreement leads to growth." I'm always saying this and people think I'm being a prick when I say it. It's absolutely true. You and I have disagreed on a few topics here and there and I think it's definitely healthy, whilst (thanks to a certain someone antagonising) everyone else seems to think we're out to ******* murder eachother or something. The Utopian "everyone has to get along and agree or else you'll be banned" atmosphere of this site has almost definitely silenced a lot of potentially valuable opinions.

Quick Comments

	iMSystem:	Tell me more about this portal :O
	TAriiChard:	well said
	nirvAnA:	Re: The site policy. Its more like disagreeing is fine - just don't be an asshole / personally attack people who do.
	x5.Revenant:	I wonder who that certain someone is~
	neKo:	Dox can have my portal anyday

[nirvAnA]

Originally Posted by Dox

I've been trying to do this for over a year, but unfortunately nirvana isn't willing to share these permissions with anyone. (Which is fine, that's his choice)

You're taking a statement out of context to make me look like I'm deliberately trying to hinder the growth of the site and I'm sure most people can see how absurd that idea is.

You requested permissions to edit the sticky note, which due to the CMS limitations required me to give you full administrator permissions of the site so i declined. Unfortunately the site doesn't separate these permissions well, otherwise all the mods would have permissions to edit the sticky note and besides its a very very small thing anyway. 99.9% of the time people do not need admin let alone mod permissions to help with the site, especially in regards to the stuff stally suggested.

Content creation is always welcome and articles like "Top 5 plays" would be nice to see. As Benji said, initiative is good and it will be nice to see people stepping in to help. It was encouraging to see new admins Bash, Hyrdoid and BenAD step in and help with the GESC qualifiers and I noticed there are many more eager guys too, i guess they just don't know where to start! I think the first step will be to form a SC2SEA article / content creation team spearheaded by someone with the dedication and free time.

[Dox]

I've been asking since July last year so that I could implement new features and even offered to redesign the site for you. I also said it's fine that you declined! No big deal. Just pointing out to Stallion that offering to help out on this site is a task that is hindered by severe limitations, since not everyone knows that.

[nirvAnA]

Yea the idea for new replay system was great and I was excited when you said you were going to work on it. When I asked you what was happening with it or how development was going i just got ignored. No biggie, i just assumed you were too busy so after waiting a few months I talked with veteris about it and we spent quite some time creating it from scratch. If anything, that was progressing the site not hindering it . I did ask for the replay parser code that displays the replay chat from you since you figured it out and we didn't, about 2-3 times got ignored (assumed you were too busy or did not want to share it) and decided not to follow it up. Not a big deal, as you are a busy man! Same goes with the theme, was really happy to hear that you wanted to help re-design it and told you that you were more than welcome to create it on a demo site and i would move it over - as I added in a lot of custom coded stuff which would break the site instantly if just one line of code was out of place.

So yea, I dislike this notion of the site being "hindered by severe limitations" because it isn't, and its especially untrue since people know me and a few others have spent enormous amounts of time trying to progress it. Veteris / paperclip have done amazing work on the site and at no time did they ever ask for full admin control of the site or FTP access because it just isn't necessary. If your need for absolute control drives you to make another site that will inevitably split the community then so be it man, just don't you dare try to put it on me as the reason.

[Peleus]

To be completely honest I've never really "liked' you (not disliked either) much because of some stuff I've seen happen in the community, but I've certainly gained a lot more respect for you from this blog, perhaps I was mistaken in the past or just seeing some negatives or even what I expected to see rather than how it was.

Keep it up.

Quick Comments

nirvAnA:

glad this newspost helped so many see benji in a more accurate light.

[x5.NotoriouS]

Watched the whole thing through to the end. You seem like a real sincere guy and you mean/are doing well for the sea community, keep it up ^_^

Quick Comments

FSGauL:

me 2 :X

[nGenLight]

Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, good and bad attributes. Although many of the criticism previously directed at Benji had it's rightful merits, we often forget or neglect the positive attributes of Benji , and the huge amount of contribution he has brought for SEA E-Sports.

On the note of agreeing to disagree - This is ridiculous hard. Many people have the theory that "their must be a right or wrong". There isn't, just opinions, which could be of the majority and minority. & when you are against the majority, you are usually "wrong" and probably being called a "retard" or "herpderp" or something ridiculously discouraging for future opinions.

Quick Comments

TAEdgE:

always the first to bring this up ;;

[dippa]

Group stage -> single elim is a good mix between the tournament formats IMO.

Nice vlog.

Quick Comments

	inFeZa:	TRIPLE ELIM
	PiG:	yup agree

[inFeZa]

Was a good blog, good to hear your thoughts on everything without using the communication barrier of text.

[Sephyre]

Enjoyed the Nirvana/Dox back-and-forth immensely

Quick Comments

	crAzerk:	drama!
	Dox:	discussion isn't drama.

[breadfan]

I enjoyed this vlog, keen to see where xG goes with its recruits

I also really enjoy double elim, but I agree about the final - IMO that should be single elim. I mean, you have LB champion vs WB champion - at this point, players have "left" their brackets behind and should just play one series (longer series if needed)

And I certainly agree about the community needing to grow. I'll definitely consider ways I can do a bit more myself, it's something I've always meant to

[Dox]

I'm on the fence about Double Elimination, and unfortunately when it comes to ACL this is out of my hands. ACL is always about offering players more games (read: value for money) and Groups/Double Elimination is one way to support this.

Furthermore, there were soooooo many tournaments for a very long period of time where players would say, "wtf? Single Elim?" or "wtf? Best of 1?" because it puts everything on a knifes edge. One accident or misplaced engagement and you're out. It's not very forgiving. So it's nice to have that extra security.

However I do agree that most of the time, the grand finals are very underwhelming for a spectator.

But recently, we saw a perfect example of how Double Elimination Grand Finals can be an absolute spectacle - tgun vs TargA in the ASUS / Gamespot Pro-Am. tgun fell to TargA 0-2 in the WB finals, then came back to win the whole thing 2-0 2-1 in the Grand Final. Those are the sorts of storylines which truly make you appreciate double elimination. There was so much tension going into that final set, and final map. We've rarely seen anything like it.

So yeah... I'm truly torn. There needs to be a healthy balance between viewer satisfaction and player satisfaction. As far as ACL is concerned, this isn't going to change any time soon. As for the rest of the events I operate, I'd be interested to poll the community and see what consensus emerges. If people want more Single Elimination, I'm flexible!

Originally Posted by nirvAnA

When I asked you what was happening with it or how development was going i just got ignored.

Uhhh? I asked for FTP access to implement it and you said no.

I did ask for the replay parser code that displays the replay chat from you since you figured it out and we didn't, about 2-3 times got ignored

What the hell? I linked you and like 5 other people to the files.

told you that you were more than welcome to create it on a demo site and i would move it over - as I added in a lot of custom coded stuff which would break the site instantly if just one line of code was out of place.

I'm really struggling to wrap my head around the logic here. We've already spoken about this but you still seem to be under the impression that I'd be modifying production files rather than working in test environment.

So yea, I dislike this notion of the site being "hindered by severe limitations" because it isn't, and its especially untrue since people know me and a few others have spent enormous amounts of time trying to progress it. Veteris / paperclip have done amazing work on the site and at no time did they ever ask for full admin control of the site or FTP access because it just isn't necessary.

I have about 3 hours every day to contribute to the site, and your "solution" of copy/pasting blocks of code to me on skype so that i could edit them and send them back to you for implementation is less than ideal. I don't know why you're being so bloody defensive when I clearly said in my first post, "That's his choice, it's fine." Can you please read that slowly and repeatedly? I'm okay with it. I wanted to contribute more, but you put a limit on how much I could actually do. This doesn't make you a bad guy, it just makes you a little bit foolish for turning down a free service which would inevitably bring you more money.

If your need for absolute control drives you to make another site that will inevitably split the community then so be it man, just don't you dare try to put it on me as the reason.

It's not about control, it's about having to jump through ridiculous hoops to implement enhancements. I do this shit for a living, and not once has any of my clients ever refused access to a server/database because they recognise that this is critical to the implementation process. I offer to build you a house and you tell me to do it one-handed. Why do you think it'll "inevitably split the community?" I'm not planning to detract from SC2SEA, I'm simply offering facilities that it cannot.

Quick Comments

	crAzerk:	'need for absolute control' made me think of the words 'pot, kettle', hmmm
	x5.Revenant:	Sir Superman.