ext_24919 ([identity profile] burningvigor.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] damned_lounge2011-09-26 07:14 pm
Entry tags:

Activity Check Discussion Post + Contact List Update

Hello, everyone!

While the game has been trucking along pretty nicely (I hope the military arc has been enjoyable for most of you!), recently there's been a lot of talk about people's waning activity. I do think that Damned is a place where you can afford to be slow at times, where you don't have to post to every shift -- this isn't meant to discourage people who aren't lightning taggers like some of us. It's already been mentioned a number of times, but there's little I can do as a mod to make people post faster, and yet there are a few changes that can be made to possibly work through this problem. I definitely want to encourage people to put their all into the game when possible and to play out some awesome plots, so here goes.

This issue was brought up over on the suggestions post, so this is mainly just meant to be a continuation of that. It was mentioned there that this is something that should be talked about by the game as a whole, and so this post is basically an open forum for people to give their thoughts and talk things out. Whether you're one of the people who's frustrated or someone who is on the slow side and looking to explain your side of things, feel free to reply and comment around!

The two solutions which have been brought up are as follows:

a) changing the requirements for the activity check
b) adding a "Posting Speed" section to the plot post form

The second option there would mainly be a way for people to know from the start what to expect from potential thread partners. It's not much of a change, but it would allow an open line of communication to be present from the start.

Changing the Activity Check requirements is something that is going to require some more thought, and so I'd like to start by polling you all on if you think it's something that needs to be revised.

[Poll #1781912]

So go ahead and fill that out, reply here with your thoughts, and we'll see what we can do about this! I'm sorry there's not more I can do, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Additionally, some changes have been made to the Contact List in order to make communication easier for everyone. There's been a spot added for people to list their plurk names if they wish. It's in no way required, but if you are open to people contacting you/conversing with you through plurk then please feel free to list it. More importantly, a Preferred Method of Contact section has been added so that other players can know how you would like to be contacted. I'd like to ask for everyone to respond to the contact list with their response to that section if possible! Thanks a lot for reading all this, and have a nice night, everyone.
stellarregions: (Default)

[personal profile] stellarregions 2011-09-27 08:03 am (UTC)(link)
Okay. I want to take a step back here. I'm not talking about doing nothing about seriously inactive canonmates. That would be ridiculous. If someone never posts, and you contact them (you can't just wait for them to contact you) and nothing comes of it, take that straight to the mods, because it is hard to deal with. But if it comes to that, and they get booted, or you get told you have to wait for them to get booted, yeah, you take the hit. Like I said, I've been there, it sucks, but you work through it. As far as I'm aware, taking that sort of inactivity to the mods has always been an option.

But a more moderate problem, like someone slow-posting to threads or maybe missing a thread or two, that should not be seriously messing up your ability to play your character. Especially in Damned, where it means maybe they're gone for a 'day' or less.
ofthemotions: (Default)

[personal profile] ofthemotions 2011-09-27 08:08 am (UTC)(link)
I know you don't want me to post back to you, but those are two separate points entirely. One has nothing to do with the other. The scenario Psyche was talking about is for inactive canonmates; the second paragraph you wrote has nothing to do with this thread at all. People's random slow posting is their own as long as it doesn't affect other people. If referencing my original point that I made, it was for dropped threads, or not posting to you altogether so you're in a state of limbo.
stellarregions: (Default)

[personal profile] stellarregions 2011-09-27 08:11 am (UTC)(link)
We sort of lost the point when we went from slow activity ----> completely absent canonmates, which wasn't really where I was going with things at all.

At any rate, it's 3AM, so I doubt I can even sift back through to see where it all got tangled up. I should have been in bed 3 hours ago, so that's where I'm going.
psyches: (Default)

[personal profile] psyches 2011-09-27 08:12 am (UTC)(link)
I think you're misunderstanding my point. Everything I've been saying was in response to the following comment you made:

"Unless they are joined at the hip, [the castmate thing] is (pardon my french) bullshit."

I'm not talking about slow posting. I'm not talking about missing a thread or two. I'm not even really talking about avenues of handling an inactive castmate. My point was that a castmate affecting another castmate is not "bullshit". It's much more complicated than that. I'm going to post my own words again so it's more clear on what I'm trying to clarify:

"Please, before you write off castmates affecting others as 'bullshit', consider that there are a wide variety of characters, and they each approach their canon relations differently. Not all are going to be well-adjusted to having missing CR. Some may end up negatively affected because of someone's inactivity."

"That's my stance here. Canonmates affect canonmates. We can easily not overburden these sorts of players with unnecessary negativity if we just communicate and work out things instead of falling into inactivity. Sure, negativity may happen, but at least it would be worked out. That's my stance."
stellarregions: (Default)

[personal profile] stellarregions 2011-09-27 08:16 am (UTC)(link)
Okay. That's where we went wrong. I should have been more clear on that, I guess. I wasn't talking about your situation, I meant that I was seeing things where people seemed not able to deal with a slow castmate, not a virtually nonexistant one.

Please forgive my sleep-deprived lack of clarity on that point?
ofthemotions: (Default)

[personal profile] ofthemotions 2011-09-27 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry, again, stepping in; feel free to tell me to fuck off. But I originally said: "I've seen people remain in the game for over six months with two threads to their name, and it does mess up your canonmates/threadmates." Which was, in fact, in reference to this situation. Which is why I believe that both Psyche and I found offense in what you said.

Slow canonmates are a fact of nature. I don't think anyone would really argue against that in particular.
stellarregions: (Default)

[personal profile] stellarregions 2011-09-27 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, now I'm a little confused... are we having a competition to see who's right? Because I feel like it, and that's not what I wanted.
ofthemotions: (Default)

[personal profile] ofthemotions 2011-09-27 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
Not in any way? I was just confused why it turned into a discussion about slow canonmates when it was never about that to begin with, and wasn't brought up originally, so I was clarifying why we both reacted to that. And then I was agreeing with the slow canonmate thing, that it's a give and take and not something to be upset over?
psyches: ((kindly deeds and an isolated soul))

[personal profile] psyches 2011-09-27 08:23 am (UTC)(link)
I see. No worries. I think we're all a little sleep-deprived at this point. LMAO

Anyway, since my point in this particular discussion has been clarified, it's probably best to end the canonmates stuff here.
stellarregions: (Default)

[personal profile] stellarregions 2011-09-27 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I think so. Sorry for dragging that out way more than necessary.