New Name for Circus Maximus

UncleSam

Leading this village
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
[11:54] <UncleSam> yo
[11:54] <UncleSam> im not sure why no one has thought of this before
[11:54] <UncleSam> but we should change the title of circus maximus to something that would actually turn up on a google search
[11:54] <UncleSam> for someone looking to play online mafia
[11:55] <UncleSam> it could be something as mundane as 'online competitive mafia forum'
[11:55] <UncleSam> and frankly i dont give a shit if people think the name isnt 'cool' if suddenly people who want to play mafia start showing up on the site
[11:59] <UncleSam> lightwolf agrees with me
[11:59] <UncleSam> and given how frequently that happens
[11:59] <UncleSam> you know this must be a good idea
[11:59] <UncleSam> how infrequently*
[11:59] <UncleSam> though i guess frequently could work as well
[12:05] <iDLE> both refer to the frequency so both grammatically work
[12:05] <iDLE> and im in agreement
[12:06] <UncleSam> who can change
[12:06] <UncleSam> a forum title
[12:06] <iDLE> no idea
[12:06] <iDLE> probably an admin
[12:06] <UncleSam> k well
[12:06] <UncleSam> we should probably come up with
[12:06] <UncleSam> a good name
[12:06] <UncleSam> ill start an osi topic
[12:06] <iDLE> ya and then we can nag mekkah or something
[12:06] <UncleSam> asking for suggestions and opinions


So basically I (and DLE and LW agree with me) think that changing the name of this forum to something more descriptive would be a lot more likely to attract newer users who are looking to play mafia (and it would help people on other parts of the site identify what this forum is about to boot). I think we can all agree that if people googling 'play mafia competitively online' were redirected to this forum it would be a big plus (obviously that isn't likely to happen, but being somewhere in the search result couldn't hurt).

So basically this thread is a marketing thread for Circus Maximus, with the principle questions to be answered being:
1. Do you agree that Circus could use a new name? If not, why not?
2. What should this new name be?

My first suggestion for a new name was 'Online Competitive Mafia Forum' in an attempt to be as descriptive as possible, but it obviously lacks much tact or aesthetic appeal that frankly I think this forum and community count as a huge advantage over most other online ones. I'm sure there are better ones, and feel free to discuss the merits of those names as well.

Finally, if anyone knows exactly who can alter the name of a forum, that would be valuable information as well.
 

Da Letter El

Officially internet famous
is a Community Leader Alumnus
I think the only note I have before thinking of names is that Circus isn't just mafia (although that's definitely the majority of it) so a name that takes that into account would be nice. I happen to like the name of Circus Maximus so I wouldn't be heartbroken if it didn't change but think that a name that has more obvious utility at least has some extra chance of bringing in new people.
 
You're really bored at work huh.

It would generally be in line with the aesthetic change the main site has made with respect to naming - perhaps strategy games instead of mafia to keep the level of variety that the forum has generaly offered?
 

LightWolf

lightwoof
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
We need the creative people to come up with a clear but fitting name here clearly.

Also really the subtitle of no pc+++ games kinda is unneeded in this day and age, when we approve NOC games which do quickly turn into that anyways. We also need to highlight other activities under it(Like Diplo, RPs p much the most common second place things we do).

Wouldn't hurt if we promoted #circus in the subtitle as well, we need to breath life into a channel of our own and restart the old bonding exercises of IRC mafia, wittybot and even cop5 or Real Time Mafia. (Plugging the RP headquarters of #flamel in the forums Intro thread wouldn't hurt either, also updating it even, in a way that puts it first not behind propose a game and stuff). Oh also it'd help for getting more people into resistance games, another great bonding exercise!

Mafia IS the main thing we want to do though, so making that obvious in the main title should be priority, mentioning the rest in the subtitle is enough. Even right now the subtitle only says "Mafia and etc" so it's not like it'd be a change for the worse.

EDIT: I do want to keep Circus Maximus in the subtitle though! That's major Nostalgia.
 

UncleSam

Leading this village
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
I agree that making sure people understand it isn't just mafia is something that should happen, but it's really a question of what will attract the most newer users; if people come to play mafia then some will join in the other games as well, it's undeniably beneficial to everyone (even people who don't play mafia) to have more people coming in regardless of anything else.

I think that emphasizing the mafia aspect is probably the best way to attract and retain completely new users with no idea what the forum is about, and that being nebulous, while more accurate, might be harmful to everyone involved. However I'm not particularly opposed to a more general title/subtitle.
 
I sorta agree with TIK's idea of FORUM GAMES, but I think it needs a little more description... maybe what LW suggested we needed, only without relegating it to subtitles, I think MAFIA, DIPLOMACY, AND TABLETOP GAMES could cover it.
 

shade

be sharp, say nowt
is a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
i think it is a nice idea but honestly would not work, doesn't harm to try though. lightwolf is correct, we need to get irc mafia going again because i honestly think that was the biggest driver of participation in forum mafia.
 

UncleSam

Leading this village
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
DLE suggested 'Circus Maximus: The Competitive Mafia Hub' and I actually really like this idea, where the subtitle could be 'Also a place for Diplomacy, Patherfinder, and other strategy games'. This keeps the nostalgia while giving Smogon it's own recognizable brand of mafia while at least making it obvious that that is in fact the main attraction.
 

LightWolf

lightwoof
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Do not just restrict it to Pathfinder, we don't only do that(PSW is going homebrew based and we have been branching out into other stuff)
 

UncleSam

Leading this village
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
I mean what would you suggest for the subtitle then? Bearing in mind that it has to be succinct.
 

Acklow

I am always tired. Don't bother me.
Here are some of my ideas for some subtitles. Keep in mind that these are still prototype names and there is room to change them:

"The Lynch is Right"

"Lynch or No Lynch"

"Smogonian Gladiators"

"Who wants to be a Village Leader?"

"Smogon: Game Night"

"Whose Lynch is it Anyways?"

"Wheel of Idling"

"Hell's Fuck Tiger"

"Survivor"
 

Ampharos

tag walls, punch fascists
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
I like Sam's suggestion as far as naming goes, though RODAN's actually isn't bad.

re: pathfinder, maybe rephrase it to "tabletop RPGs"

edit: it might also be prudent to mention somewhere that mafia is also commonly known as Werewolf, as everyone I've talked to IRL knows it by the latter name
 

vonFiedler

I Like Chopin
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnus
I like Sam's suggestion as far as naming goes, though RODAN's actually isn't bad.

re: pathfinder, maybe rephrase it to "tabletop RPGs"

edit: it might also be prudent to mention somewhere that mafia is also commonly known as Werewolf, as everyone I've talked to IRL knows it by the latter name
Liking this post alone probably runs the risk of not going far enough.

Both reffering to PF as "Tabletop RPGs" and referring to Mafia as "Mafia aka Werewolf" should absolutely make it into the subtitle.

Other than that, Rodan's suggestion is pretty on the mark.
 

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