New NZ Wargaming Forum Set Up

After last week posting on why I avoid forums over blogs this post may come as a surprise.

One of the things I am envious of the Australian Wargaming community for is the wide acceptance and use of WargamerAu. This is a general Wargaming forum that covers the country, is multi-system and acts a a general focal point for their community. It has been running for the past 12-13 years and is generally the first port of call for Oz Wargaming news both nationally and internationally.

I had been giving some thought to whether the concept would work here in New Zealand where a similar focal point for the whole country is missing. There are local forums but no nationwide one. In the end I decided that the best way to see if there was a need and/or sufficient interest.

To this end - with the help of Jack - I've created a forum which will launch next week. This forum is not attached to any club, website or indeed person and has been established as a community venture. It is also not system-specific and is free to grow in response to the demands of its members.

Initially it has a general forum section covering news, events, hobby and a marketplace, and system sections for Warmachine, Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy. That doesn't mean other systems aren't welcome and happy to set up sections for any game/genre that would like to use it.

To help establish this forum I have reached out and asked people within those three communities whether they are willing to moderate the forum for their particular interest. Jeff Kent, James Brown and Tim Joss will be doing this for Fantasy. Hagen Kerr and Pascal Roggen have signed up for 40k (and I'm talking to a third person). I have also asked Sean Lincoln, Chris Otton and Dave Stent whether they would be interested in looking after the Warmachine forum and hopefully that will come to pass.

The forum is not meant to replace blogs but act as an alternative discussion place. Given that it is outside the control of any one person, club or system I'm hoping that it can become a community hub and be a place gamers across the country can contribute or get info.

It is also completely separate from this blog. I have purchased a suitable domain name for the site and set up initial architecture but that's where my direct influence finishes. From here the Mods can shape it and frame it how they like. For it to succeed it needs to be community run.

I will put up a button on the blog next week so that people can find the site once it launches but from then it's its own entity.

Let's test "If you build it, they will come".

Posted with Blogsy