(05-18-2017, 05:23 PM)Kylin Wrote: This attitude is getting glaringly annoying. Why do people insist of demonizing people just for being realistic and trying to focus on solutions? Nobody who agrees with the lockout is saying "screw you" to newbies. Nobody. If anything, I'd argue the opposite. The people wanting more people in Balmung are the ones saying "eff you" to the newbies. What do you think happens to all those new people who immigrate in day after day? Are you there on the server to greet them personally and give them a tour when they become completely overwhelmed? No? Most of them are struggling. Not all, but most. How many big events do you go to and actually observe what happens? Did you go to the last Grindstone? Did you by chance pay attention to some of the people sitting on the sidelines trying to figure out who to contact to get involved or how to approach someone? Did you see as these individuals quietly got up and left without a word, their very existence not once acknowledged? This happens daily at every single large event. There are too many people and it's impossible for people to pay attention to them all and get them the attention they rightfully deserve. For all the love people claim to have for new RPers, they sure don't focus on retention strategies. It's all about "new blood, new blood, new blood!" And then nobody knows what to even do with the new blood.
So you can demonize us all you want and say we're being 'selfish.' But I'd argue the exact opposite. It goes right back to the whole buffet thing. People want all this food, but won't eat it. And guess what? That food can't wait around 4-6 months for someone to suddenly get a craving for it. It needs attention NOW or it spoils. That was the whole point of my analogy. The gluttony is just astounding.
FFXI had several tiny RP communities scattered across different servers and they mostly survived for over a decade. A freaking decade. And guess what? They weren't focused on 'new blood onry' strategies. They survived because they knew how to retain what they already had. New blood was scarce for them. So this whole mentality that the RP community MUST HAVE NEW BLOOD is a farce. I like new blood. Everyone likes new blood. But Balmung does not need it in its current condition! Out of 50 new blood people, we're lucky if even 10 of them are actually retained. Nobody notices it though because the immigration is so high that the next wave of immigrants quickly drowns out those who couldn't find a niche and vanished into the lifestream or wherever they went.
There are RPers out there who NEED attention. They need their existence acknowledged. Bringing in more people does not help with that. Gilgamesh was the one and only fully organized attempt to give another big alternative. It initially succeeded in spades. It failed later on for a variety of different reasons, and many of these reasons are no longer an issue with this new attempt.
For the record: I have 8 characters on Balmung. I'm giving serious consideration to giving Mateus a second chance and going back full time if the community is capable or rallying behind it. So I don't want to hear the accusation of me having mine on Balmung and not caring about those trying to get on.
First off, no one is arguing that Balmung needs 'new blood' so the RP community can just have more people and then... ignore them, or whatever it is you think is going on. The main concern is people having no warning being suddenly cut off from the main RP hub, people who might have had friends ready and waiting to transfer, and can do so no longer. And yes, after a time, new blood is necessary because people take breaks, they quit, they transfer - all manner of things. Having people come in to replace them is necessary for every community in every MMO. Yes, it is good to have an alternate option so Balmung is not inundated with massive amounts of people, but it is not healthy to sever the flow completely for a prolonged amount of time.
My main concern with your argument is that somehow more people = less opportunity for RP? Or something??? Like, I may not have any prior MMO RP experience to back my stance, but I really do not see how this could ever possibly be conceived as a bad thing. Shy, introverted RPers are going to exist on every server, regardless of size. Servers with a smaller RP community may still have large RP events, that will inevitably have some people stewing on the sidelines... just like a real high school dance.
So, what's your solution to this? You want Balmung to stay closed indefinitely, so what, shy people can get more RP, somehow? Because if no new people are coming in, long-time people will now be forced to pay attention to them and RP with them? I can't see how this is logically sound in any capacity, so much so I don't even see how the points you made pertain at ALL to Balmung being locked. Established RPers aren't going anywhere (unless SE does something drastic (doubtful)). Many of these sidelined RPers you keep talking about will stay because they know Balmung will remain the largest RP hub in the game for quite some time, even with an indefinite lockdown, and will thus continue to have a large and active community to try and integrate with.
Anyway I could go on and on about this but I feel it has very little to do with the topic at hand... your post included. The problems you pointed out have been going on before Balmung was locked, and will continue to exist unless SE just nukes the server entirely. But I'll stop before I give YoshiP any ideas.
