Settling the Past
The final point of Verence’s “what’s to be done†list, top of the second post.
I agree with it completely, however I’ve not seen any evidence that the RPC will operate differently. The reason many people have a negative view of the RPC does stem back to the arguments between two (general) camps of RPers in the past. While I myself am willing to let it go, I have to make sure that something has been learned from that conflict (or a series of conflicts) before I do that.
I want to improve the community, but I cannot say that the RPC at its core is any different than it was before, from an administrative side of things. To avoid circumlocution, Kylin, can you elaborate on your position with regards to these forums? Does your status as the administrator, provider of bandwith/monthly forum charge going to matter if there is (and there are bound to be) disagreements? Will you argue points one way or the other using your title as administrator? Are your personal views separate from your position as admin of the boards?
I personally have lost that connection a long time ago. Back then, when I contributed on the RPC, I was under the impression that I was helping the community as a whole, but when it was made clear that it’s not exactly a place which was welcoming of every RPer, but more like an administrator-controlled forum (which sat in the camp I and others were opposed to), I and many many others stopped contributing because it no longer felt like I was contributing to the RP community, but rather creating content for someone’s forum disguised as a community website.
As you can see, it’s easy to say “let’s just move on†but really – no one wants to walk into the same BS again, even if they have the slightest interest in doing more as a community.
What individual Role-Players ought to do?
I dislike prescribing to people how they should spend their time. Yes, I have my opinions of what you ought to do with your time, but I am not you, so it’s pointless for me to try to change what anyone does. Even if I could take up your puppet strings and make you do as I say, you won’t be happy, and then what the hell is the point of playing this game? This is why I avoid making arguments similar Rain’s. They are completely centered on the preferences and opinions of the person making the suggestions.
Changing it up
Then how do we change the behavior of individuals? Here are three ways I can think of off the top of my head.
>Re-branding. From changing the name of the community website, to re-launching it as a place welcoming everyone, with defined rules/guidelines for participation for both the users and administrator(s)/moderators.
>Changing the look of the site/forums. Tied to the re-branding, currently the forums are not the pinnacle of aesthetic excellence. Changing it up for the better may also influence activity, to a more psychological point; it would ‘feel’ different.
>Encouraging activity via the leaders of the community. Instead of prescribing every person with guidelines on what they ought to do and how they should RP, leaders of the community (LS leaders, people who want to be proactive freelancers, etc) should get to know one another, and evaluate if it’s worth investing the time/energy/creativity into making cross-LS RP events/story archs etc. via the forums. If we all had the same ideas of what ‘good’ and ‘fun’ RP is, this would not be needed, but unfortunately when you open up RP to a group of people who do not share your views, it ruins your RP, story, experience, and character progression. No one wants that. So a way to avoid that would be to actually communicate, that’s what this forum is for, right? That’s one reason I am for the leader-only boards being added. It’s an outlet which can generate some RP, with no real loss if it doesn’t.
There are other ways which I am sure are out there, the above were just off the top of my head. I’d like to hear more suggestions.
Encourage website participation, not RP
I’d like to make sure that we remain on the topic of the RPC, instead of RP in general. Individual RPers (of various/multiple linkshells) have been RPing together, despite the drop in activity on these boards. This means that encouraging people to RP with ‘strangers’ in game will not necessarily bring anything to this website. RP will go on, regardless if this site is used or not.
As a sidenote, let's not guilt-trip people who chose not to RP with every single person. If you're the type not to get bothered by jarring styles, or enjoy massive gatherings, and tavern RP - do not fault others for simply not finding those things fun to do. I personally knew RPers who hated groups larger than five. I myself avoid RPing with certain individuals because of prior experiences which weren't fun/interesting for me. It's not a bad thing. I think if we all really did RP with everyone else, the dramz from miscommunication and varying perspectives would far outweigh any benefits.
Incentives
What the RPC should aim for is to consolidate various ways people can/do interact in one place, while welcoming all RPers. It should also offer something which is not easily obtained elsewhere, thus drawing people to it. The wiki is a good example, an epic is another, but there needs to be a lot more. All of these things are incentives for people to check this site. The fewer disincentives there are and the more incentives offered by the RPC, the more people will participate in this site.
We will be on the right track once we stop thinking about how to prescribe behavior, and instead focus on what factors into people avoiding/visiting this site. There may be some who avoid it even given the best circumstances, and that behavior would fall to being irrational, which is outside the scope of our discussion.
Quote:To annul this displeasure and restore activity, the RPC must begin to operate differently
The final point of Verence’s “what’s to be done†list, top of the second post.
I agree with it completely, however I’ve not seen any evidence that the RPC will operate differently. The reason many people have a negative view of the RPC does stem back to the arguments between two (general) camps of RPers in the past. While I myself am willing to let it go, I have to make sure that something has been learned from that conflict (or a series of conflicts) before I do that.
I want to improve the community, but I cannot say that the RPC at its core is any different than it was before, from an administrative side of things. To avoid circumlocution, Kylin, can you elaborate on your position with regards to these forums? Does your status as the administrator, provider of bandwith/monthly forum charge going to matter if there is (and there are bound to be) disagreements? Will you argue points one way or the other using your title as administrator? Are your personal views separate from your position as admin of the boards?
I personally have lost that connection a long time ago. Back then, when I contributed on the RPC, I was under the impression that I was helping the community as a whole, but when it was made clear that it’s not exactly a place which was welcoming of every RPer, but more like an administrator-controlled forum (which sat in the camp I and others were opposed to), I and many many others stopped contributing because it no longer felt like I was contributing to the RP community, but rather creating content for someone’s forum disguised as a community website.
As you can see, it’s easy to say “let’s just move on†but really – no one wants to walk into the same BS again, even if they have the slightest interest in doing more as a community.
What individual Role-Players ought to do?
I dislike prescribing to people how they should spend their time. Yes, I have my opinions of what you ought to do with your time, but I am not you, so it’s pointless for me to try to change what anyone does. Even if I could take up your puppet strings and make you do as I say, you won’t be happy, and then what the hell is the point of playing this game? This is why I avoid making arguments similar Rain’s. They are completely centered on the preferences and opinions of the person making the suggestions.
Changing it up
Then how do we change the behavior of individuals? Here are three ways I can think of off the top of my head.
>Re-branding. From changing the name of the community website, to re-launching it as a place welcoming everyone, with defined rules/guidelines for participation for both the users and administrator(s)/moderators.
>Changing the look of the site/forums. Tied to the re-branding, currently the forums are not the pinnacle of aesthetic excellence. Changing it up for the better may also influence activity, to a more psychological point; it would ‘feel’ different.
>Encouraging activity via the leaders of the community. Instead of prescribing every person with guidelines on what they ought to do and how they should RP, leaders of the community (LS leaders, people who want to be proactive freelancers, etc) should get to know one another, and evaluate if it’s worth investing the time/energy/creativity into making cross-LS RP events/story archs etc. via the forums. If we all had the same ideas of what ‘good’ and ‘fun’ RP is, this would not be needed, but unfortunately when you open up RP to a group of people who do not share your views, it ruins your RP, story, experience, and character progression. No one wants that. So a way to avoid that would be to actually communicate, that’s what this forum is for, right? That’s one reason I am for the leader-only boards being added. It’s an outlet which can generate some RP, with no real loss if it doesn’t.
There are other ways which I am sure are out there, the above were just off the top of my head. I’d like to hear more suggestions.
Encourage website participation, not RP
I’d like to make sure that we remain on the topic of the RPC, instead of RP in general. Individual RPers (of various/multiple linkshells) have been RPing together, despite the drop in activity on these boards. This means that encouraging people to RP with ‘strangers’ in game will not necessarily bring anything to this website. RP will go on, regardless if this site is used or not.
As a sidenote, let's not guilt-trip people who chose not to RP with every single person. If you're the type not to get bothered by jarring styles, or enjoy massive gatherings, and tavern RP - do not fault others for simply not finding those things fun to do. I personally knew RPers who hated groups larger than five. I myself avoid RPing with certain individuals because of prior experiences which weren't fun/interesting for me. It's not a bad thing. I think if we all really did RP with everyone else, the dramz from miscommunication and varying perspectives would far outweigh any benefits.
Incentives
What the RPC should aim for is to consolidate various ways people can/do interact in one place, while welcoming all RPers. It should also offer something which is not easily obtained elsewhere, thus drawing people to it. The wiki is a good example, an epic is another, but there needs to be a lot more. All of these things are incentives for people to check this site. The fewer disincentives there are and the more incentives offered by the RPC, the more people will participate in this site.
We will be on the right track once we stop thinking about how to prescribe behavior, and instead focus on what factors into people avoiding/visiting this site. There may be some who avoid it even given the best circumstances, and that behavior would fall to being irrational, which is outside the scope of our discussion.
I’m the bullies you hate, that you became.
