The sad truth is SteamGamers is never going to become big, it's never going to be able to compete with the bigger communities. All I read now is how to get more people to the servers, forums, Facebook likes, etc. No big YouTube star is going to promote the community.
SteamGamers is a community run place, it couldn't survive without it's dedicated members, one which I used to be long ago, and I understand the passion that goes in to the community to keep it running. I just feel maybe you should focus on staying the size you are and giving the members a brilliant experience. More perps for the supporters, more loyalty perks for participation. Don't make SG all about getting promoted, because it's becoming like that. Don't over complicate things anymore, take the 4 million ranks away. Simplify things, only have servers that your players play, you don't need millions of servers. You need more of a structure for the current servers, don't jump on every new game. This is SG, it shouldn't change because you think you'll get a bunch of new members from opening a new server for a new game, be it CS:S or another game.
Work with what you've got, work for the members who are staying around, not trying to get new people in. That's the issue with any company, community, etc. They always want more, and it ruins it for the current people. They feel left out, sidelined, and all you do is pour resources in to getting new people when you could be pouring it in to the current players.
I am guilty of doing this when I ran the place, I wish I never put so much focus in to getting more members, and actually worked with the current members to improve the experience. SG is, and always will be the greatest online community I was a part of. Regardless of what happened with everyone, as a gamer at SG I enjoyed it so much. Haggard really built on making the community fun for the CURRENT users and it grew naturally because of this. When you try and artificially grow the community through a member recruit, it just doesn't work. Think about the saying, "It's true if you look for love you'll never find it, but if you don't look for love you'll find it". The same goes for the community, it will find you. The people will find you. PLEASE for the sake of SG, improve the gaming experience for your gamers.
Focus on the forums, SG is not just a great place to play, but it's also got a fanatic forum with a wide group of people. This is why when I ran the place, I made the new SG group SteamGamers community & forum (or whatever I called it) because when you've got the foundation (the forum) you have everything else. More competitions (but decent ones, actual goodies), more social media presence. Research some small tech companies (I mean those really shitty ones that resell servers, or gaming products), make a deal, advertise them in return for goodies. Make a great partnership, both grow and get in that way. YouTube stardom will never happen for SG, lets face it.
As just a normal user of SG now, I can actually step back and look at SG from when I owned the place, and as a player now. However much you dislike me for whatever reason, at least respect the fact I talk on behalf of gamers who'll always love SG.
So my question is, what you going to do to improve the experience for the supports, donators and gamers who keep the community thriving?
