GILGAMESH AUGUST 10 2013 MEETING.
This meeting did not merely go well, but was quite enjoyable. At first, an introduction to the concerns of the community, and then, a discussion of interests and motivation of character and gameplay for the attendees, who numbered approximately 15 during the majority of the meeting. Thanks to all who attended! A summary of the meeting is as follows, in order of issues presented:
Item #1: The friction between servers:
It was established that friction between Balmung and Gilgamesh is inevitable and blameless. There is, independent of reason and rationale given by the communities of both servers, a competition for new members. This is the core of a predominantly civil competition between players on either side. It seems unlikely that an immediate solution exists, but it also seems likely that it will dissipate to a large (or total) extent after launch, as the RP communities on both servers will have a wealth of new players within the game to entice into joining their linkshells and roleplays.
An additional problem of friction between Balmung and Gilgmesh relates to the self-advertisement of Gilgamesh RP'ers. Attempts to stress the potential virtues or goals of the passionate but fledgling community getting started on Gilgamesh are frequently seen as implications of inadequacy by Balmung players towards the Balmung community. In most cases it is felt by the participants of the meeting that this is not the intent of Gilgamesh players; rather, a specific psychological problem: How are the players of Gilgamesh to distinguish themselves in a way that does not implicate that Balmung may lack the virtues the Gilgamesh community is reaching for?
Example(s):
If Gilgamesh is touted as the new server, Balmung can be construed as old.
If Gilgamesh is advertised as having an especially inclusive community, it is possible for a Balmung player to assume that this advertisement implies Balmung is not inclusive enough.
Feedback from Balmung players on this subject is desired, to develop methods of advertisement for Gilgamesh that are not perceived as antagonistic to Balmung's efforts.
Item #2: Reddit and other internet communities, and their presence on Gilgamesh.
One of the primary concerns of many new members (and some old ones moving to Gilgamesh) of the RPC, regards the presence of other strongly motivated communities who have also claimed Gilgamesh as their FFXIV home. Reddit is the most obvious example – they are numerous, and have a variable reputation.
The consensus of those at the meeting was that conflict with Reddit on any scale is the worst possible outcome to their presence on Gilgamesh. Their are numerous, organized, and can be supportive of each other. It is largely agreed that any conflict with so large a community would be one that the fledgling RPC on Gilgamesh cannot win.
To that end, the course of action that was indisputably in the favor of all speakers on this subject at the meeting, is to welcome Reddit at nearly any cost.
This includes, but is not limited to: Formal invitations to the Reddit FFXIV RP community to participate in our events, tolerance for out of character participants from Reddit at public events that are intended for in character interaction, and a general interest in recruiting from Reddit and Gilgamesh's “standard†player base, even if this includes spending a great deal of time teaching them the ropes, and turning the other cheek in response to hostility.
It was also remarked, to general agreement, that these players represented our future on Gilgamesh as an RPC, and that we would either recruit from them successfully or dwindle to numbers that are inadequate to sustain an independent roleplay community. In this circumstance, a move to (re)integrate with Balmung seems likely, as the official stance of the HRC is that a third server option will not be supported.
Item #3: The possibility of choosing another server than Gilgamesh was raised briefly.
This suggestion was met with universal disinterest. There were no dissenting individuals on this point. We have settled on Gilgamesh and will “dig in†for whatever may come.
Item #4: Additional subjects that users have raised:
(My memory was imperfect here, as I was charmingly compelled by a couple sweet girls and a handful of bold bros to write a summary of the meeting after it was over and after I had put away several substantial drinks – Dewdrivers, PM for the simple recipe - the last of which was insisted upon by a certain Isis, who I can't help but notice seems to be calling me out for my lateness in delivering these notes, and for my inebriation.)
At this time I can only recall one other major item of discussion – but I'm willing to allow for having missed one, or two, or three. If I did, please chime in.
What I do recall:
There was some support for Gilgamesh and Balmung alike to have their own general/ooc subforums, for the discussion of server-specific topics that are neither scheduled events, nor character directory entries. This is not all that useful or necessary as today, but the release of 2.0 will create discussions relating to trends, situations, community observations or other things that are distinctly server-specific, and would likely be confusing when posted in the RPC “general†subforum, requiring users to attach [BALMUNG] or [GILGAMESH] to their thread titles simply to avoid misleading players as to where the dicussion really applies.
A simple example: An deficit of a certain gathering profession on one server would create economic problems that required discussion to resolve, but these discussions would not apply to the other server. Having subforums for this kind of thing would simplify communications of this kind.
The subforums would need to be cleverly titled to avoid confusion with the present general forum, which is seen as something that should remain for FF14 discussion that is not server-specific.
EDIT: One other thing did spring to mind, after I had finished this impromptu report. While the participants of the meeting proved surprisingly self-organizing, even to the point of causing the organizers of the event to contentedly abandon their own speaking schedule, Skype was not as impressive, and had multiple instances of difficulty when networking a voice call among 15+ clients. The next meeting will probably take place on Mumble or Teamspeak. Typers are welcome, although speaking is encouraged.
...
Beyond this point there is mostly a haze of laughter, drinking and eating (I was hardly alone in this excess), good stories told about how we came to choose Gilgamesh, prior games played by various members of the meeting, and other pleasant social topics. Good fun was had by all, several hours after the end of the meeting. Now I'm off to put away a few bottles of water, pee for two minutes straight, and have a nice sleep. Be sure to attend the next meeting!
This meeting did not merely go well, but was quite enjoyable. At first, an introduction to the concerns of the community, and then, a discussion of interests and motivation of character and gameplay for the attendees, who numbered approximately 15 during the majority of the meeting. Thanks to all who attended! A summary of the meeting is as follows, in order of issues presented:
Item #1: The friction between servers:
It was established that friction between Balmung and Gilgamesh is inevitable and blameless. There is, independent of reason and rationale given by the communities of both servers, a competition for new members. This is the core of a predominantly civil competition between players on either side. It seems unlikely that an immediate solution exists, but it also seems likely that it will dissipate to a large (or total) extent after launch, as the RP communities on both servers will have a wealth of new players within the game to entice into joining their linkshells and roleplays.
An additional problem of friction between Balmung and Gilgmesh relates to the self-advertisement of Gilgamesh RP'ers. Attempts to stress the potential virtues or goals of the passionate but fledgling community getting started on Gilgamesh are frequently seen as implications of inadequacy by Balmung players towards the Balmung community. In most cases it is felt by the participants of the meeting that this is not the intent of Gilgamesh players; rather, a specific psychological problem: How are the players of Gilgamesh to distinguish themselves in a way that does not implicate that Balmung may lack the virtues the Gilgamesh community is reaching for?
Example(s):
If Gilgamesh is touted as the new server, Balmung can be construed as old.
If Gilgamesh is advertised as having an especially inclusive community, it is possible for a Balmung player to assume that this advertisement implies Balmung is not inclusive enough.
Feedback from Balmung players on this subject is desired, to develop methods of advertisement for Gilgamesh that are not perceived as antagonistic to Balmung's efforts.
Item #2: Reddit and other internet communities, and their presence on Gilgamesh.
One of the primary concerns of many new members (and some old ones moving to Gilgamesh) of the RPC, regards the presence of other strongly motivated communities who have also claimed Gilgamesh as their FFXIV home. Reddit is the most obvious example – they are numerous, and have a variable reputation.
The consensus of those at the meeting was that conflict with Reddit on any scale is the worst possible outcome to their presence on Gilgamesh. Their are numerous, organized, and can be supportive of each other. It is largely agreed that any conflict with so large a community would be one that the fledgling RPC on Gilgamesh cannot win.
To that end, the course of action that was indisputably in the favor of all speakers on this subject at the meeting, is to welcome Reddit at nearly any cost.
This includes, but is not limited to: Formal invitations to the Reddit FFXIV RP community to participate in our events, tolerance for out of character participants from Reddit at public events that are intended for in character interaction, and a general interest in recruiting from Reddit and Gilgamesh's “standard†player base, even if this includes spending a great deal of time teaching them the ropes, and turning the other cheek in response to hostility.
It was also remarked, to general agreement, that these players represented our future on Gilgamesh as an RPC, and that we would either recruit from them successfully or dwindle to numbers that are inadequate to sustain an independent roleplay community. In this circumstance, a move to (re)integrate with Balmung seems likely, as the official stance of the HRC is that a third server option will not be supported.
Item #3: The possibility of choosing another server than Gilgamesh was raised briefly.
This suggestion was met with universal disinterest. There were no dissenting individuals on this point. We have settled on Gilgamesh and will “dig in†for whatever may come.
Item #4: Additional subjects that users have raised:
(My memory was imperfect here, as I was charmingly compelled by a couple sweet girls and a handful of bold bros to write a summary of the meeting after it was over and after I had put away several substantial drinks – Dewdrivers, PM for the simple recipe - the last of which was insisted upon by a certain Isis, who I can't help but notice seems to be calling me out for my lateness in delivering these notes, and for my inebriation.)
At this time I can only recall one other major item of discussion – but I'm willing to allow for having missed one, or two, or three. If I did, please chime in.
What I do recall:
There was some support for Gilgamesh and Balmung alike to have their own general/ooc subforums, for the discussion of server-specific topics that are neither scheduled events, nor character directory entries. This is not all that useful or necessary as today, but the release of 2.0 will create discussions relating to trends, situations, community observations or other things that are distinctly server-specific, and would likely be confusing when posted in the RPC “general†subforum, requiring users to attach [BALMUNG] or [GILGAMESH] to their thread titles simply to avoid misleading players as to where the dicussion really applies.
A simple example: An deficit of a certain gathering profession on one server would create economic problems that required discussion to resolve, but these discussions would not apply to the other server. Having subforums for this kind of thing would simplify communications of this kind.
The subforums would need to be cleverly titled to avoid confusion with the present general forum, which is seen as something that should remain for FF14 discussion that is not server-specific.
EDIT: One other thing did spring to mind, after I had finished this impromptu report. While the participants of the meeting proved surprisingly self-organizing, even to the point of causing the organizers of the event to contentedly abandon their own speaking schedule, Skype was not as impressive, and had multiple instances of difficulty when networking a voice call among 15+ clients. The next meeting will probably take place on Mumble or Teamspeak. Typers are welcome, although speaking is encouraged.
...
Beyond this point there is mostly a haze of laughter, drinking and eating (I was hardly alone in this excess), good stories told about how we came to choose Gilgamesh, prior games played by various members of the meeting, and other pleasant social topics. Good fun was had by all, several hours after the end of the meeting. Now I'm off to put away a few bottles of water, pee for two minutes straight, and have a nice sleep. Be sure to attend the next meeting!
Yeldir's Wiki:Â
http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/wiki/index....r_Melfusor
Gilgamesh! Show your interest and RP pride in the official beta forums:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ARR-Test/th...RP-server. (Mind the trolls!)
http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/wiki/index....r_Melfusor
Gilgamesh! Show your interest and RP pride in the official beta forums:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ARR-Test/th...RP-server. (Mind the trolls!)
