Reviving the Review Forum
If you read my personal introduction you know I'm an avid portal player. I'm also quite good at writing reviews and quite good at portal 
I love playing user created content and I would love to write reviews for you guys' maps. If the review forum was reopened I would do my best to play and review maps for everyone. The only catch is that I can only play maps in the BMZ format so I would only be able to review maps submitted that way.
Anyways, just a thought. Either way I know I'm going to enjoy being a member of this community. See you all in the lab!
Your high-minded zealotry about bmzs seems pointless and divisive. The community is moving that way on its own, and stomping your feet probably won't do a whole lot. What you're engaging in is the equivalent of going to someone's New Year's Eve party and then bitching about the brand of champagne that you're being served for free.
On the other hand, educating and teaching how to issue complete maps with sounds and textures in a bmz would be helpful and engender much appreciation. That's how this works. It's a gift economy: you get respect when you deliver the goods.
As for reviews: write a review in the style of those previously written, maintaining stylistic integrity (use the "out of portals" ratings, the headers, etc) of any community spotlight map that has not already been reviewed. Submit it to me via PM it to me and we'll go from there.
All I said was I can only play BMZs, hardly "high-minded zealotry". I posted this thread to offer my services to the community in the form of written reviews, which I'm still ready to offer, but I thought my desire to contribute would be appreciated, rather than chastised. Hober, do you treat all new members this way, or just the ones who try to help out?
I'll work on a review in the style of those previously submitted, however, I can't say that I'll stick around if the other moderators treat me with as much skepticism and malice as you have.
Does anyone else have any constructive thoughts on reopening the review forum?
I do: Why the crap can you only play .bmz maps? You sill haven't answered that question. All you did is come here with your "high-minded zealotry" and then get mad at people instead of answering the freakin' question.
You my friend, are a ten.
Look at it from my perspective. You show up one day, making multiple posts which you admit are propaganda towards the BMZ. You then refuse to use anything else.
Since I have spent many hours wrestling with BMZs, I know how difficult they can be to use, as well was the fact that they are simply a container for bsp map files, textures, sounds, and so forth. Since I can see no technical (low-level) reason that your computer couldn't use bsps, I am forced to assume it is some kind of deliberate (high-minded) agenda-pushing.
Thus, the crux of my argument is encapsulated in the champagne metaphor. You appear at this little party of ours and tell us we're doing things all wrong, without helping to solve some of the outstanding issues with packaging maps in BMZ format. When users show up with something to contribute, I'm usually much more hospitable.
As for constructive feedback on opening the review forum: my offer was 100% genuine and completely detached from the rest of the post. I would love to have reviews to read, and I think it's one of the the things that could really make TWP stand out. My problem is that I just can't beat levels that require the skill of some of our more veteran speed-runners, so I never could write many of my own.
You my friend, are a ten.
I'm sorry, I was asked the same question in another thread where I answered it. rellikpd was active in the other thread so I just answered the question there to avoid answering it twice: hello-lab-rats-t1073.html
And please don't judge me by that post, I can be pretty defensive against people who appear to be forum flamers. However, Hober has thoroughly explained himself in his most recent post and I now realize he wasn't just flaming my post.
@Hober: Thanks for giving a bit more insight. The fact is that for one reason or another my Portal game doesn't let me play maps imported in the classic fashion, just BMZs (I explained a bit more in the previously linked post). I meant it purely as "I'm sorry but BMZ is all I can do," I didn't mean "I only like BMZ."
So when I made my first post I wasn't trying to be a wine connoisseur, (prepare for my analogy) I felt like I was a car repairman offering free services, but I only have the tools to repair American-made cars. It sounded like you were mad at me for refusing to freely repair all kinds of cars.
Anyways, enough angry-mode... Truce?
So if the forum is reopened, is anyone else out there willing to write a few reviews to get it back up to speed? I mean, I'll do as much as I can but since I'm only able to review BMZs (please don't hurt me 
) there'll be a lot of maps I can't review.
Stop picking on the guy. He merely stated his shortcoming in the matter of reviewing maps. There's no hidden meaning in it.
If I say "the shirt is green", I'm not pissing and moaning about the shirt being an unsatisfactory colour. I'm merely stating the shirt is BLOODY GREEN. Maybe put all that writing effort into making a review, instead of starting the dickwaving. /offtopic
As for the person looking to review a map, I full-heartedly agree that you should write up a review so that we can see what you are capable of.
P.S. Lots of IRC talk helps.
I wholeheartedly agree I'm just about to take my last final for the semester so I oughtta be able to get a review up soon. Dickwaving just comes naturally to me so it doesn't take any extra time or effort. I'll make sure my reviews are extra special and full of love and care.
*cheers*
i still have no idea why you can only use bmz's. ALL a bmz does is put the .bsp in your map directory (or /bmzname/map directory) etc etc. so i'm more in line to believe that you either don't know how to get the maps in the right place, or some other reason that i'm not going to put here.
but on topic. i'm not the bestestest writer in the world but i have messaged msleeper about doing reviews.. what i lack in writing skillz i make up for with energy, dedication (i'm here like 24/7) and portalling skills lol. if you really get into doing reviews i'll try to help you.