I agree with a lot of what’s been said so far, especially about the lack of communication that exists. It’s sad when you know just about every Rper’s name by heart but haven’t interacted with so many of them on any level (IC or OOC). The “wolf pack†mentality most definitely exists and has for quite some time.
Regarding “cleaning up:†I have actually tried multiple methods to do this (not counting just the aesthetic changes to the site). There was a new RP linkshell roll call thread posted several months ago. Not one person responded though (I since deleted the post as a result during the site overhaul). I’ve also sent emails to some of the more obscure RP linkshells, particularly the “light†ones in which so many of us have never even seen/heard of. One of their leaders insisted that he wanted to keep the shell active (even though by anyone else’s definition, it clearly wasn’t/isn’t). So I can’t really up and remove it from the list just because I /think/ it’s inactive.
The old inactive moderation team has been wiped and replaced with some more active mods to help oversee the forums as well. So that’s helped a bit considering you can actually see moderators posting now.
Regarding linkshell leader stuff: As I said on another past thread, I’m not opposed to adding a LS leader forum section. However, keep in mind we’ve tried this before. While I’ve since buried most of the threads there, I can tell you that the section got really ugly toward the end. Elitism reared its ugly head and some smaller linkshells were even dubbed “lolshells†just because they had a different style than some of the other more established shells at the time. Politics swirled out of control and it caused an intense amount of drama that killed friendships and caused the community itself to become incredibly turned off from this site. This is why the original RPC charter was killed. If we’re going to do a round two of this, we need to ensure the past doesn’t repeat itself somehow.
I also agree with Mtoto about the community being oversaturated with linkshells, considering the current size of the community right now. Too many leaders, not enough followers. This is why, after 6 months of struggling, I had no choice but to dissolve Archavalon. As you can see though, I’ve kept the noble house concept alive IC even without the shell and plan to take the story to a glorious finish nonetheless >.>. It’s extremely difficult to compete with already established shells, no matter how active you are in the community or how aggressive you are in recruitment or how experienced you are in leading shells. However, what can really be done about that? Nobody has any right to tell another RP group that they shouldn’t exist. Nobody is going agree to a merge since it will kill their own concept and undo all of their own hard work. We have no right to put a “cap†on how many RP shells the server can have, and even if we did, we couldn’t enforce it.
This site has definitely picked up activity in recent months compared to the stale atmosphere that existed for a long time not too long after launch. Communication is on the increase, though it still needs a little push here and there. I’m still shocked when I learn that some Rpers have never even heard of the RPC. I mean…maybe I have a lot of bias due to being an administrator. But everyone playing this game has a PC. Everyone playing has Internet access. Therefore, everyone playing has access to these forums. Yet so many don’t utilize them. It’s frustrating to repeat information over and over again (whether it’s about an upcoming event or an important thread like this) when all the information is right here on these forums to begin with. I know it’s impossible to force people to come here every now and then, but it’s frustrating when people just outright refuse to check out the forums out of laziness or whatever. In this day and age, this type of global communication is imperative in any MMO. This is why so many linkshells require prospective members to register/apply through a website.
I also wanted to take this moment to mention other fansites. When the RPC first launched, I had managed to snag support from Zam and Eorzeapedia (now Gamer Escape), along with a host of other smaller fan sites. Our server choice was promoted on the front page of many of these sites. The administration of these sites have been supportive in other ways as well. Zam gave us a wiki page, Eorzeapedia gave us a podcast, both offered to set us up an IRC room if needed, and more. Obviously these other sites will be imperative to our future promotional efforts, though their own activity has dwindled quite a bit. In regards to an earlier question about getting on SE’s fansite page, I have indeed tried that. Pikko, an admin at Zam, sent an email about us to her SE contact. No response was ever made however ; ;. Gamer Escape asked SE directly in an interview about their plans for the RP community. That’s when we got our first official response related to a RP server, and it was later confirmed that we were indeed getting one in 2.0. That leads me to another point (I know I’m all over the place right now xD).
Balmung may very well not be our final home server. When SE does designate a RP server, it may be a brand new one that comes with PS3 launch. This makes promoting Balmung a very tricky situation. Also, while I have no issue at all jumping to the official RP server when it's given, I fear that not all Rpers will share that sentiment. We have to be prepared that some may stay behind to stay with their OOC pals, further splitting the community.
Regarding “cleaning up:†I have actually tried multiple methods to do this (not counting just the aesthetic changes to the site). There was a new RP linkshell roll call thread posted several months ago. Not one person responded though (I since deleted the post as a result during the site overhaul). I’ve also sent emails to some of the more obscure RP linkshells, particularly the “light†ones in which so many of us have never even seen/heard of. One of their leaders insisted that he wanted to keep the shell active (even though by anyone else’s definition, it clearly wasn’t/isn’t). So I can’t really up and remove it from the list just because I /think/ it’s inactive.
The old inactive moderation team has been wiped and replaced with some more active mods to help oversee the forums as well. So that’s helped a bit considering you can actually see moderators posting now.
Regarding linkshell leader stuff: As I said on another past thread, I’m not opposed to adding a LS leader forum section. However, keep in mind we’ve tried this before. While I’ve since buried most of the threads there, I can tell you that the section got really ugly toward the end. Elitism reared its ugly head and some smaller linkshells were even dubbed “lolshells†just because they had a different style than some of the other more established shells at the time. Politics swirled out of control and it caused an intense amount of drama that killed friendships and caused the community itself to become incredibly turned off from this site. This is why the original RPC charter was killed. If we’re going to do a round two of this, we need to ensure the past doesn’t repeat itself somehow.
I also agree with Mtoto about the community being oversaturated with linkshells, considering the current size of the community right now. Too many leaders, not enough followers. This is why, after 6 months of struggling, I had no choice but to dissolve Archavalon. As you can see though, I’ve kept the noble house concept alive IC even without the shell and plan to take the story to a glorious finish nonetheless >.>. It’s extremely difficult to compete with already established shells, no matter how active you are in the community or how aggressive you are in recruitment or how experienced you are in leading shells. However, what can really be done about that? Nobody has any right to tell another RP group that they shouldn’t exist. Nobody is going agree to a merge since it will kill their own concept and undo all of their own hard work. We have no right to put a “cap†on how many RP shells the server can have, and even if we did, we couldn’t enforce it.
This site has definitely picked up activity in recent months compared to the stale atmosphere that existed for a long time not too long after launch. Communication is on the increase, though it still needs a little push here and there. I’m still shocked when I learn that some Rpers have never even heard of the RPC. I mean…maybe I have a lot of bias due to being an administrator. But everyone playing this game has a PC. Everyone playing has Internet access. Therefore, everyone playing has access to these forums. Yet so many don’t utilize them. It’s frustrating to repeat information over and over again (whether it’s about an upcoming event or an important thread like this) when all the information is right here on these forums to begin with. I know it’s impossible to force people to come here every now and then, but it’s frustrating when people just outright refuse to check out the forums out of laziness or whatever. In this day and age, this type of global communication is imperative in any MMO. This is why so many linkshells require prospective members to register/apply through a website.
I also wanted to take this moment to mention other fansites. When the RPC first launched, I had managed to snag support from Zam and Eorzeapedia (now Gamer Escape), along with a host of other smaller fan sites. Our server choice was promoted on the front page of many of these sites. The administration of these sites have been supportive in other ways as well. Zam gave us a wiki page, Eorzeapedia gave us a podcast, both offered to set us up an IRC room if needed, and more. Obviously these other sites will be imperative to our future promotional efforts, though their own activity has dwindled quite a bit. In regards to an earlier question about getting on SE’s fansite page, I have indeed tried that. Pikko, an admin at Zam, sent an email about us to her SE contact. No response was ever made however ; ;. Gamer Escape asked SE directly in an interview about their plans for the RP community. That’s when we got our first official response related to a RP server, and it was later confirmed that we were indeed getting one in 2.0. That leads me to another point (I know I’m all over the place right now xD).
Balmung may very well not be our final home server. When SE does designate a RP server, it may be a brand new one that comes with PS3 launch. This makes promoting Balmung a very tricky situation. Also, while I have no issue at all jumping to the official RP server when it's given, I fear that not all Rpers will share that sentiment. We have to be prepared that some may stay behind to stay with their OOC pals, further splitting the community.
