Hello there, I want to make this clear from the start this is not meant or written as hate towards the staff of WBO or any of the top people; these are thoughts that I have had, and other people have, I just wanted to have this shared. I want to just vocalize these thoughts on a thread because I feel it is important that as a community concerns are raised, and transparency on both sides is clearly expressed.
I've been on the WBO for almost maybe ten years and have talked to many bladers from the WBO, whether it is staff, organizers, players, etc... this is coming from my personal opinion, and I don't like to say this, but the WBO does need major changes done to the structure of how things are approved, the site, etc.... otherwise we are setting ourselves up to fail and shooting ourselves in the foot.
Site Changes Code:
So I am aware that the biggest issue with WBO before a lot of these can get implemented is the actual site changes, WBO operates on an outdated version of myBB even though it can run on PHP 5.2, PHP has long since advanced in code which is PHP 8.2.
The WBO site needs to run on the latest PHP Ver with the latest MySQL, MySQL Improved, SQLite 3, or PgSQL to run smoothly. It needs a service to support the latest version to be updated, and normally (BeyBrad) mentioned they worked around the site to make it mobile support but that was years ago. Right now what is going on with the WBO site is that there have been no actual quality-of-life changes done to the site in recent years. It is equivalent to puppeteering, an outdated code form that the site needs to fix.
So now that I have established what exactly the issue is and what are things the WBO:
- The "solution" is the WBO needs to generate revenue to find someone for a full-time position to administer the site (A person who is dedicated to dealing with code/programming language). Finding someone professional or with the knowledge and time to dedicate to this.
How can the WBO find people? It is as easy to put in the request to search on places like Fiverr(you can post an ad on there), and other places. This can be simple to update the site and that type of work.
I can also recommend a resource like https://community.mybb.com/forum-102.html this community forum.
Whatever person they find has to be dedicated and have knowledge of PHP, I do not believe personally that this is something impossible to do or find, they just need one person to run any of the updates for the site.
(Whoever is hosting the server, what service? Make sure it handles all versions)
Regarding cost and funding in general for things to pay someone to do the work, I will address the revenue section and proposal later in this thread.
Site Changes Ranking :
I'm sure many have expressed the idea of no rankings, or keep rankings or do an alternate form etc.. but here is something I think what I am about to say for this is something we should do once the site can get all changes done to it.
We need to have a new updated system for how ranking works and reflects players more accurately, but you may ask…what about the old rankings?
All the previous old rankings we have for MFB and Burst we freeze whatever are the final placements leave it and call it 'LEGACY RANKINGS'. That way if people want to see their achievements over the yearsi it will still be there. That way no one feels cheated or wronged that all their years aren't immortalized on the WBO.
What I think the WBO should do for updated rankings is an ANNUAL RANKINGS and have it divided TWO ways, the first way is WORLD-WIDE RANKINGS and the second would be continent divided by country-specific rankings.
I think annually long term maybe makes more sense than seasonal but another way I hold towards worldwide and continent divided by country. At the end of the year, WBO can post like the 10 ten people (and maybe honourable mentions?)
This would be a very cool way to show off players and give a sense of engagement with the community.
The system itself I don't really like the ELO system I think it be more simple just to have a simple W/L record and it scales the percent. I feel like this makes it more fair to me than like the weird loss and gain with points?
Last thing to leave off with but I think we should have ALL 3 gens reflected
PLASTICS
HMS
METAL FIGHT
BURST
(Plastics and HMS I separated because they are so drastically different from each other)
Site Changes DISPLAY:
This is very minor but also something that has irked me for so long but the upcoming tournaments and see all tournaments has two issue.
1. When you view all it is unorganized via dates
2. It should be divided by country or can be more specific like country/state etc...
Number two is very important because the WBO events especially here can have sign up traffic ignored because 20 different US state events is clogging up a Canada event to show, I feel if we have this more specific it can be easier for people to see and sign up to their area.
Adding a "My Tournaments Page" or a filter where it could be "SIGNED UP EVENTS" or "NOT SIGNED UP EVENTS" could also work.
Revenue Ideas:
So something the WBO needs to do is generate revenue, we cannot operate properly if we don't have funds to do so.
What can we do?
Tournament Revenue Ideas:
Idea 1 (Blader Passport):
Bring back the blader passport if the funds or how much it costs have to be adjusted then we can do so but this is something we had that worked in the past.
If there is worry on organizers with managing money or that responsibility, there is a harsh truth reality here but if you are on the WBO and an organizer, you need to be responsible. If they cannot handle money or manage that then I don't know what to say some positions I don't think should be for everyone?
Idea 2 (WBO Merch):
WBO has two mascots that they can easily use for merch on simple T-Shirts and maybe have it through T-Spring or some service like that, but let us say that legally the WBO cannot use them for the merch then there can be alternatives like commissioning artists for designs for shirts and the WBO sells them through the site.
There could also be keychains so much potential here, yes you have to find someone but that is fine for the digital industry.
Social Media / General Site QOL Community Work:
Beyblade Creations:
This is my personal perspective but to me while I think forums are outdated form of communication, I think there is some merrit to them for easily documented conversations that are easy to find, I would say things like easier search to find posts/threads would be nice but I thought of some other stuff with the general site. I don't know if the WBO has this for Beyblade in specific but I feel a way to maybe have a section on the site for it or not but perhaps a forum page where people can share their 3D print creations or custom paint Beyblade, drawings etc… that is more prevalent like visually there on the main page of Beyblade discussion would be really nice. I feel it is a way too that can engage the community well!!
Also something that could happen if programmed into the site maybe like highlight pictures of the week? Like maybe people can submit their stuff and at the start of each week maybe shows like submissions of the previous week? It would be something like really cool; it would be a nice way for people to show their creativity and reward.
WBO Content Creators / WBO Social Media:
So one thing i think the WBO is aggressively lacking on is the social media side while I understand it is finding people who are willing to do so if it is free labour I think the WBO should find a trusted person that can be active to manage the socials and type of content.
TikTok/ YouTube Shorts:
I don't really like TikTok but the platform can spread and have stuff be massively viral and any videos created for this can be uploaded to both.
WBO could benefit with informative shorts maybe on Beyblade stuff and promote the wbo at the end, or maybe tournament highlights for hype moments? These are limitless potential for what the WBO could do to promote themselves on short form content.
YouTube:
Long form content would be the same idea but just longer form, perhaps if people want to record their events and could submit to have it appear on the WBO YouTube channel maybe just a simple edit of highlights?
Things like this can work to promote WBO.
Twitter:
I think the way the old Twitter was run was fine just more frequent is really just the key here with any content creation for social media the key thing is consistency on work, this also doesn't have to be one person it can be trusted to multiple people.
Leadership / Transparency
The biggest issue I personally have with the WBO beyond site, is kinda what goes on behind the scenes I feel there is a lack of transparency and communication with the community, that is NOT to say that concerns are not listened to and choices that are QOL aren't made they are but that isn't what I am talking about.
I am more referring to things like choices made answer what exactly is happening, everyone is kinda left in the dark for what changes are being talked about what discussion was had and we only see updates on the sometimes monthly updates. No one knows what goes on behind the scenes, no one understands what is being worked on or talked about there is a lack of communication and updates consistent to the community. (Who is in charge, who makes the choices, how often do they meet to make choices? What is the criteria for this? One per month? One every few months?)
This to me is very important because I feel the community SHOULD know this type of stuff, in specific stuff like "hey we are trying to work on the site right now and searching", "hey we are having a discussion on limited vs unlimited and finalizing the final rule set" etc…
It is very vague what goes on and what actually gets approved or what can't get approved for reasons we do not know.
An example can be the on going saga had with the DB Stadium that took forever to be legalized for WBO Ranked play.
Or for no bans to happen or bans to happen, what exactly is the WBO criteria to influence this decision? How many events? How many people to attend the events? How long of a time span?
I feel the biggest issue here is dead weight or people that do not contribute in the position that they are in this does NOT mean EVERYONE in OP or EVERYONE IN STAFF but IF there are people at a higher position that are not doing anything to make choices and decisions or have any sake of progression are they needed to be there on the higher up for WBO?
What is a solution to this? The WBO needs to be able to share and trust responsibility towards more individuals so that choices can be done if we are stagnanting because there is 3 people or 5 or whatever many that have to decide and do rarely ever so often you have to ask what exactly are we doing?
Divide and conquer is the idea here, have more people that are qualified for specific positions, maybe for organized play you have burst specific people like a team for burst balancing, maybe for plastics and mfb and etc.. you get the idea
The same idea for marketing, the same idea for the site ideas etc…
Allow MORE people in that are qualified don't let anyone that does not contribute to freeze the WBO. We need more people so that we can get more consistent work done for the WBO.
I would also like to add on below:
For in regards to choices made like OP discussion talk whether or not it could be a audio podcast style where the convo gets released for the discussion and proposals that occur where the audio gets released and people can listen to and share their thoughts or more simply like a thread where it is
OP UPDATES:
Proposal:
People who voted against it:
People who voted for it:
Also with the individual person to give their reasoning for why they made their choice.
Feel like this could go a long way to give more context to the convos that happen in WBO.
I've been on the WBO for almost maybe ten years and have talked to many bladers from the WBO, whether it is staff, organizers, players, etc... this is coming from my personal opinion, and I don't like to say this, but the WBO does need major changes done to the structure of how things are approved, the site, etc.... otherwise we are setting ourselves up to fail and shooting ourselves in the foot.
Site Changes Code:
So I am aware that the biggest issue with WBO before a lot of these can get implemented is the actual site changes, WBO operates on an outdated version of myBB even though it can run on PHP 5.2, PHP has long since advanced in code which is PHP 8.2.
The WBO site needs to run on the latest PHP Ver with the latest MySQL, MySQL Improved, SQLite 3, or PgSQL to run smoothly. It needs a service to support the latest version to be updated, and normally (BeyBrad) mentioned they worked around the site to make it mobile support but that was years ago. Right now what is going on with the WBO site is that there have been no actual quality-of-life changes done to the site in recent years. It is equivalent to puppeteering, an outdated code form that the site needs to fix.
So now that I have established what exactly the issue is and what are things the WBO:
- The "solution" is the WBO needs to generate revenue to find someone for a full-time position to administer the site (A person who is dedicated to dealing with code/programming language). Finding someone professional or with the knowledge and time to dedicate to this.
How can the WBO find people? It is as easy to put in the request to search on places like Fiverr(you can post an ad on there), and other places. This can be simple to update the site and that type of work.
I can also recommend a resource like https://community.mybb.com/forum-102.html this community forum.
Whatever person they find has to be dedicated and have knowledge of PHP, I do not believe personally that this is something impossible to do or find, they just need one person to run any of the updates for the site.
(Whoever is hosting the server, what service? Make sure it handles all versions)
Regarding cost and funding in general for things to pay someone to do the work, I will address the revenue section and proposal later in this thread.
Site Changes Ranking :
I'm sure many have expressed the idea of no rankings, or keep rankings or do an alternate form etc.. but here is something I think what I am about to say for this is something we should do once the site can get all changes done to it.
We need to have a new updated system for how ranking works and reflects players more accurately, but you may ask…what about the old rankings?
All the previous old rankings we have for MFB and Burst we freeze whatever are the final placements leave it and call it 'LEGACY RANKINGS'. That way if people want to see their achievements over the yearsi it will still be there. That way no one feels cheated or wronged that all their years aren't immortalized on the WBO.
What I think the WBO should do for updated rankings is an ANNUAL RANKINGS and have it divided TWO ways, the first way is WORLD-WIDE RANKINGS and the second would be continent divided by country-specific rankings.
I think annually long term maybe makes more sense than seasonal but another way I hold towards worldwide and continent divided by country. At the end of the year, WBO can post like the 10 ten people (and maybe honourable mentions?)
This would be a very cool way to show off players and give a sense of engagement with the community.
The system itself I don't really like the ELO system I think it be more simple just to have a simple W/L record and it scales the percent. I feel like this makes it more fair to me than like the weird loss and gain with points?
Last thing to leave off with but I think we should have ALL 3 gens reflected
PLASTICS
HMS
METAL FIGHT
BURST
(Plastics and HMS I separated because they are so drastically different from each other)
Site Changes DISPLAY:
This is very minor but also something that has irked me for so long but the upcoming tournaments and see all tournaments has two issue.
1. When you view all it is unorganized via dates
2. It should be divided by country or can be more specific like country/state etc...
Number two is very important because the WBO events especially here can have sign up traffic ignored because 20 different US state events is clogging up a Canada event to show, I feel if we have this more specific it can be easier for people to see and sign up to their area.
Adding a "My Tournaments Page" or a filter where it could be "SIGNED UP EVENTS" or "NOT SIGNED UP EVENTS" could also work.
Revenue Ideas:
So something the WBO needs to do is generate revenue, we cannot operate properly if we don't have funds to do so.
What can we do?
Tournament Revenue Ideas:
Idea 1 (Blader Passport):
Bring back the blader passport if the funds or how much it costs have to be adjusted then we can do so but this is something we had that worked in the past.
If there is worry on organizers with managing money or that responsibility, there is a harsh truth reality here but if you are on the WBO and an organizer, you need to be responsible. If they cannot handle money or manage that then I don't know what to say some positions I don't think should be for everyone?
Idea 2 (WBO Merch):
WBO has two mascots that they can easily use for merch on simple T-Shirts and maybe have it through T-Spring or some service like that, but let us say that legally the WBO cannot use them for the merch then there can be alternatives like commissioning artists for designs for shirts and the WBO sells them through the site.
There could also be keychains so much potential here, yes you have to find someone but that is fine for the digital industry.
Social Media / General Site QOL Community Work:
Beyblade Creations:
This is my personal perspective but to me while I think forums are outdated form of communication, I think there is some merrit to them for easily documented conversations that are easy to find, I would say things like easier search to find posts/threads would be nice but I thought of some other stuff with the general site. I don't know if the WBO has this for Beyblade in specific but I feel a way to maybe have a section on the site for it or not but perhaps a forum page where people can share their 3D print creations or custom paint Beyblade, drawings etc… that is more prevalent like visually there on the main page of Beyblade discussion would be really nice. I feel it is a way too that can engage the community well!!
Also something that could happen if programmed into the site maybe like highlight pictures of the week? Like maybe people can submit their stuff and at the start of each week maybe shows like submissions of the previous week? It would be something like really cool; it would be a nice way for people to show their creativity and reward.
WBO Content Creators / WBO Social Media:
So one thing i think the WBO is aggressively lacking on is the social media side while I understand it is finding people who are willing to do so if it is free labour I think the WBO should find a trusted person that can be active to manage the socials and type of content.
TikTok/ YouTube Shorts:
I don't really like TikTok but the platform can spread and have stuff be massively viral and any videos created for this can be uploaded to both.
WBO could benefit with informative shorts maybe on Beyblade stuff and promote the wbo at the end, or maybe tournament highlights for hype moments? These are limitless potential for what the WBO could do to promote themselves on short form content.
YouTube:
Long form content would be the same idea but just longer form, perhaps if people want to record their events and could submit to have it appear on the WBO YouTube channel maybe just a simple edit of highlights?
Things like this can work to promote WBO.
Twitter:
I think the way the old Twitter was run was fine just more frequent is really just the key here with any content creation for social media the key thing is consistency on work, this also doesn't have to be one person it can be trusted to multiple people.
Leadership / Transparency
The biggest issue I personally have with the WBO beyond site, is kinda what goes on behind the scenes I feel there is a lack of transparency and communication with the community, that is NOT to say that concerns are not listened to and choices that are QOL aren't made they are but that isn't what I am talking about.
I am more referring to things like choices made answer what exactly is happening, everyone is kinda left in the dark for what changes are being talked about what discussion was had and we only see updates on the sometimes monthly updates. No one knows what goes on behind the scenes, no one understands what is being worked on or talked about there is a lack of communication and updates consistent to the community. (Who is in charge, who makes the choices, how often do they meet to make choices? What is the criteria for this? One per month? One every few months?)
This to me is very important because I feel the community SHOULD know this type of stuff, in specific stuff like "hey we are trying to work on the site right now and searching", "hey we are having a discussion on limited vs unlimited and finalizing the final rule set" etc…
It is very vague what goes on and what actually gets approved or what can't get approved for reasons we do not know.
An example can be the on going saga had with the DB Stadium that took forever to be legalized for WBO Ranked play.
Or for no bans to happen or bans to happen, what exactly is the WBO criteria to influence this decision? How many events? How many people to attend the events? How long of a time span?
I feel the biggest issue here is dead weight or people that do not contribute in the position that they are in this does NOT mean EVERYONE in OP or EVERYONE IN STAFF but IF there are people at a higher position that are not doing anything to make choices and decisions or have any sake of progression are they needed to be there on the higher up for WBO?
What is a solution to this? The WBO needs to be able to share and trust responsibility towards more individuals so that choices can be done if we are stagnanting because there is 3 people or 5 or whatever many that have to decide and do rarely ever so often you have to ask what exactly are we doing?
Divide and conquer is the idea here, have more people that are qualified for specific positions, maybe for organized play you have burst specific people like a team for burst balancing, maybe for plastics and mfb and etc.. you get the idea
The same idea for marketing, the same idea for the site ideas etc…
Allow MORE people in that are qualified don't let anyone that does not contribute to freeze the WBO. We need more people so that we can get more consistent work done for the WBO.
I would also like to add on below:
For in regards to choices made like OP discussion talk whether or not it could be a audio podcast style where the convo gets released for the discussion and proposals that occur where the audio gets released and people can listen to and share their thoughts or more simply like a thread where it is
OP UPDATES:
Proposal:
People who voted against it:
People who voted for it:
Also with the individual person to give their reasoning for why they made their choice.
Feel like this could go a long way to give more context to the convos that happen in WBO.