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I don't really get this attitude.
When I started rping, Gilgamesh and Balmung were each fairly represented on these forums. I chose Balmung by happenstance; at the time, I didn't consider it to be notably better.
I also didn't know anyone.
I didn't have the benefit of knowing old guard, or whatever. I had no one.
So I did whatever I do whenever I join a new community: I started to talk to people. I browsed wikis, I chatted up other new people, I invited people to join me in forum threads should they not be on my server. And slowly, I built my connections.
Here's the thing: the reason why new servers could never become as big as balmung (or, at the time, Gilgamesh) was because a solid chunk of new people would either flat out join balmung via transfer (or get lucky in the ever shrinking character creation windows, at that time), or try out a smaller community, get frustrated with it, and then transfer to balmung.
But guess what! No one can get on! And there are plenty of new people looking for rp!
Yes, people in the overarching rp community helping to organize information does help. But beyond that, when it comes down to it, this is a game of individuals. This is a game of persuasion. This is a game of recruitment.
You want people to rp with you on a new server? Make yourself heard. Rather than preach to people on Balmung, preach to the new people. Preach to the people without a home. Preach to the ones who have not been successful at finding rp. Bring them to you. The more individuals with drive who do this, the higher a chance you'll get people settled onto a server who will put roots down and won't be willing to transfer.
And if Balmung opens up -- you dig your heels in and you keep preaching. Make yourself visible, make yourself heard. It's not necessarily what anyone on Balmung does at this point -- it's how welcoming and friendly and brilliant you make yourself appear when compared to Balmung's established reputation.
You know how Mateus got to be the heavyweight in the 'what new server?' discussion? Because they have people who stepped up and said 'hey, we're here! Hey, we're friendly! HEY, WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.'
Over. And over. And over. They made themselves visible. They dug their heels in. They're trying to make a place where people can set down roots and hopefully spawn multiple interconnected small communities within the server.
To do that, they didn't say 'Balmung, what are you doing, come on.' The main person I saw stepping up just flat out pitched his heart out, made himself available, and had some cheerfully dedicated people backing him up and making everyone feel welcome.
Rather than look over your shoulder at Balmung, start beckoning people to come to you. That's how you're gonna do it.
When I started rping, Gilgamesh and Balmung were each fairly represented on these forums. I chose Balmung by happenstance; at the time, I didn't consider it to be notably better.
I also didn't know anyone.
I didn't have the benefit of knowing old guard, or whatever. I had no one.
So I did whatever I do whenever I join a new community: I started to talk to people. I browsed wikis, I chatted up other new people, I invited people to join me in forum threads should they not be on my server. And slowly, I built my connections.
Here's the thing: the reason why new servers could never become as big as balmung (or, at the time, Gilgamesh) was because a solid chunk of new people would either flat out join balmung via transfer (or get lucky in the ever shrinking character creation windows, at that time), or try out a smaller community, get frustrated with it, and then transfer to balmung.
But guess what! No one can get on! And there are plenty of new people looking for rp!
Yes, people in the overarching rp community helping to organize information does help. But beyond that, when it comes down to it, this is a game of individuals. This is a game of persuasion. This is a game of recruitment.
You want people to rp with you on a new server? Make yourself heard. Rather than preach to people on Balmung, preach to the new people. Preach to the people without a home. Preach to the ones who have not been successful at finding rp. Bring them to you. The more individuals with drive who do this, the higher a chance you'll get people settled onto a server who will put roots down and won't be willing to transfer.
And if Balmung opens up -- you dig your heels in and you keep preaching. Make yourself visible, make yourself heard. It's not necessarily what anyone on Balmung does at this point -- it's how welcoming and friendly and brilliant you make yourself appear when compared to Balmung's established reputation.
You know how Mateus got to be the heavyweight in the 'what new server?' discussion? Because they have people who stepped up and said 'hey, we're here! Hey, we're friendly! HEY, WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.'
Over. And over. And over. They made themselves visible. They dug their heels in. They're trying to make a place where people can set down roots and hopefully spawn multiple interconnected small communities within the server.
To do that, they didn't say 'Balmung, what are you doing, come on.' The main person I saw stepping up just flat out pitched his heart out, made himself available, and had some cheerfully dedicated people backing him up and making everyone feel welcome.
Rather than look over your shoulder at Balmung, start beckoning people to come to you. That's how you're gonna do it.