The process (Full Version)

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dethhollow -> The process (10/20/2014 21:16:34)

Two years ago, the RPA process was created for this place's RPing section. Now, with literally more than enough time having passed for the process to change and prove that it could work, the RPing section is horribly inactive. In two years the RPing section has done horribly. Where before an IC RPing thread could easily get to 3-5 pages within a few weeks and make it to 10 or so if it was lucky, now after two years the furthest any RP in the IC section has managed to get is 2 pages with only 4 posts being made over the previous year. No other RP has even managed to get close to 1 full page long.

Some people might disagree with that and use the Elemental Championships as an example. BUT remember that the championship does not use the RPA process to push players through, they simply have to create a character like how RPs worked before the RPA process was put in place. This makes it a fair comparison for how active the site could be compared to how active it is with the current player approval system. Compared to the 2 pages The Tempest has managed to finish in it's 2 years, the ECs have managed to go through 10 pages in a mere 3 months. This means that the ECs managed to create 5 times the number of pages that The Tempest did in 1/8 of the time. So now I ask the question "Why is this RP so much more active than The Tempest, the only successful RP in the IC threads?"

I believe the answer is simply because the RPA process excludes people, especially people who are new to RPing, which leads to less people joining the IC threads, which leads to the IC threads seeming less active, which makes it even less likely that people will have the patience to go through the process. It's a vicious process and I've tried to warn people about the damage the RPA process is doing before but nobody ever seems to listen. Now, I believe it could become too late to do anything to turn this section around. I'm serious, listen to me this time. If no changes are made this section will die, IC RPing is already practically dead outside of the yearly EC tournaments. The RPA process needs to either be removed or streamlined as soon as possible. I can only hope that this time the staff will be able to put any preconceptions aside and make the right decision while there's still some interest in the section left over from the ECs....

Feel free to post agreement or disagreement to this issue.



Eukara Vox -> RE: The process (10/20/2014 21:52:26)

So, back for another round?

This seems an awful like a petition, or better yet, a poll. Which, of course is NOT allowed.

Tread carefully dethhollow. Very carefully.



dethhollow -> RE: The process (10/20/2014 22:12:44)

Sorry, Eukara, but this isn't a game. I really want to see this section succeed and actually become active and if it was working I wouldn't say a thing. But the fact is that the "new" RPA is far from as active as it could be. I know nothing would give you more satisfaction than to ban me just to shut me up but it would change nothing about the status of the section. Only the staff can change the RPA, I just want them to take a look at the activity and make the right decision by making it more accessible to newer players who can bring some life back to this place. This isn't a petition or a poll and the staff are always free to make decisions as they see fit based on the information available, but please, if nothing else, take the number of posts in the IC section into consideration as a definitive marker for the level of activity in the section.

As a side note, if there is any better or alternative methods to judge the activity of the IC RPing section, this would be a good thread to mention them in.



Eukara Vox -> RE: The process (10/20/2014 22:19:49)

Do not PRESUME to know what I think and what I don't think. You have no ground for that.

I am just warning you. If you start anything up like the last time, this will not be a good experience for anyone.

No, dethhollow, nothing that happens in places I watch, or help watch, is a game. I take it seriously. Stop typing words for me. It's not wise.


Make sure you keep this clean.




Zephyrial -> RE: The process (10/20/2014 22:30:52)

Looks like this unfortunate business all over again. How unpleasant. Perhaps we've finally "got to the end of this road."

Deth - If I were you, I'd give up. Fun stuff still goes on here - Kell is starting a new RP soon which should be a blast. Just enjoy the good times when they come.



dethhollow -> RE: The process (10/20/2014 23:30:42)

@Zeph

I wish Kell's RP goes well, but, based on Isle of Dracos, which had 8 OoC pages and a total of 6 posts, it's impossible to know exactly how well an RP will do until it actually starts. And, based on how successful previous RPs have been in the RPing section over the last 2 years, I'm not too confident that it will get past 1 page. There's always the possibility it'll bring people together and do well, but it's a fairly slim chance. Honestly, the only way I can see the RPing section becoming active again would be if there was some form of group effort to advertise across this site as well as others OR if the RPA section is changed. Neither of which seem likely given the "everything's fine" attitude the staff seem to have and how inactive the section is at the moment.

Sorry if that's not the most optimistic way to look at the RPA, but I'm just going off of the numbers and information available at this point.



TJByrum -> RE: The process (10/21/2014 4:31:34)

Isle of Dracos mostly crashed cause I left it, which is my fault. Perhaps it could have continued for a little while longer. There are a multitude of people who can RP (as in, passed the RPA) but I don't think they have an urge to RP right now.



dethhollow -> RE: The process (10/21/2014 7:32:52)

@TJB

It's not just Isle of Dracos, though. In 2 years there's been only 3 IC threads. And The Tempest, the one thread everyone's forced to make a character for to pass the RPA, is the only one to make it past 6 IC posts. So it's not like this is a new problem by any means and it's pretty clear that there are still people out there who have an interest in RPing based off of the Elemental Championship threads. For some reason threads are either not gaining enough active players who are willing to commit to the RP or there's some issue in who can make IC threads or how they're approved. I remember a while back it was a thing that only certain people could make IC threads for whatever reason which might be the cause of the inactivity, but I have no idea if that rule was changed or not. I still wish the RPA would be more efficient either way because even if the problem is in how IC threads are set up, an easier RPA would definitely lead to more people joining who could contribute to IC threads whenever they appear, but it might not be the only change that could restore some activity.



Ronin Of Dreams -> RE: The process (10/21/2014 15:34:17)

You are misremembering a certain detail here. The issue with the IC threads was an issue with the forum's auto-purge settings of inactive threads. All this required was our setting any new threads as Sticky in order to prevent the auto purge from triggering, and to be fair, this is not a setting directly controllable by either Ryu or myself. That was the primary issue on IC threads. The RP Hosts system is something of Ryu's design, one which I am not capable of commenting on at this time, but I believe that was meant more as a privilege which could be removed rather than a bar that one needed to climb above before creating an RP.

As for activity, there are currently just shy of 90 approved graduates from the RPA under the current system. Yes, it is a system, and like people no system is perfect. However, since the current system shows at least a minimum level of dedication to the craft of RP to pass...to blame the system itself as the source and sum total of RPer apathy on these boards is poor tactics. The current system is being discussed behind closed doors, but RPer apathy is just as crucial as a cause as it is a symptom, and off the top of my head the current numbers mean around only 10% of graduates push to RP afterwards at all.



dethhollow -> RE: The process (10/21/2014 20:42:32)

Fair point, Ronin, but two things. First, I'm pretty sure a thread that was inactive long enough to be auto-purged, at least 30 days or so without a post, is slow enough to be considered just plain inactive. Which really isn't a great sign.

Second and more importantly, I'm fairly sure the sticky-thread solution was put in around a year ago. So I'd like to ask you what you believe is the cause of the inactivity over at least the past year after the IC threads were stickied, keeping in mind that this year's Elemental Championship was easily several times more active than any other IC thread.



Starstruck -> RE: The process (10/22/2014 0:11:10)

You don't HAVE any answers, deth. Honestly I don't see why people are even bothering to address your posts, because it's immediately crystal clear that you have no intention of actually setting forth methods of solving the problem. You tell us to listen to you, but you have nothing to say. You tell us the forum is dying, but you don't put in the time or effort to keep it alive.

I have told you repeatedly that the way to make the RP forums active is to participate. You have not done this. You do not post in the RP boards. You are not a member of the AE RP community. You do not host or participate in any RPs. You have not even attempted the approval process. You want me to listen to you, but I think it should be the other way around: you should listen to me instead.

If you think that the RP boards aren't active, participate. You can join my winter mystery RP. You can join Kell's new RP. But you can't do anything until you take a few days to craft a bio, collaborate with another user, and post an IC post. That's all it takes.

quote:

BUT remember that the championship does not use the RPA process to push players through, they simply have to create a character like how RPs worked before the RPA process was put in place.


This is not why the Elemental Championships are so well-attended. It mostly has to do with timing, although the fact that the tournament is a lot of fun helps significantly. It was always more popular than every other RP due to its speed and its regularity, even when it was closed to less experienced RPers.



dethhollow -> RE: The process (10/22/2014 7:37:04)

@Star

I've tried to provide solutions and come up with ideas for a long time now but pretty much every time, people simply don't seem to even see that there is a problem and just shrug it off. So this time I'm just trying to show using logic and definitive numbers that, yes, there is something going on here that needs to be improved and even then I've already mentioned some possible options the staff could use. Change/get rid of the RPA process, advertise the section, or remove restrictions on making IC threads. I appreciate that you believe that one person can flip the entire section and make IC threads active again for the first time in over a year but, unfortunately, that really is just a hopeless ideal based on no evidence whatsoever. If I'm going to spend time coming up with a character and putting the time and effort into a thread, then it needs to be a bit more active than just one reply every 2-4 months. By my standards, based off of how the RPA used to be and several other RPing sites I've been on since then, 2 weeks is really the limit on how long a thread can go without a reply and still be considered "active". Past that, it just becomes too tedious to gain any interest.

The fact is that there ARE problems with how the section handles some important steps that is causing the problem. And it's going to probably continue to be a problem until these issues are finally fixed by the staff in some way, shape, or form.



Arthur -> RE: The process (10/22/2014 11:17:19)

quote:

I appreciate that you believe that one person can flip the entire section and make IC threads active again for the first time in over a year but, unfortunately, that really is just a hopeless ideal based on no evidence whatsoever.


Nuh-uh. Wrong again, mate. It's possible. TJByrum did it with Assassin's Guild, didn't he...? That was during the inactive state.

quote:

If I'm going to spend time coming up with a character and putting the time and effort into a thread, then it needs to be a bit more active than just one reply every 2-4 months. By my standards, based off of how the RPA used to be and several other RPing sites I've been on since then, 2 weeks is really the limit on how long a thread can go without a reply and still be considered "active".


I do hope you understand that you can't compare an RP Section of a non-RP Forum to a Forum dedicated wholly to RPing. It won't be fair.

Come on, just put in a bit of effort, just finish the Steps and you're there.

Anyways, I believe this inactivity is in part, my own fault(and of my college-work too :P). Despite having graduated from the RPA, I haven't been using my powers all too well. I guess I'll get back into the game and start with Kell's RP. :)



dethhollow -> RE: The process (10/22/2014 14:08:57)

quote:

I do hope you understand that you can't compare an RP Section of a non-RP Forum to a Forum dedicated wholly to RPing. It won't be fair.


No, 2 weeks is taking into consideration that this isn't a forum dedicated solely to RPing. If this was a forum made JUST for RPing, around 5-7 days would be the standard I'd put on inactivity. You have to understand that there's only so much patience that most people have for an RP and only so long an RP can be on hold before it's seen as inactive. And when the only visibly active RP's last post was 4 months ago, it looks bad on the section in general... which makes people not want to invest their time in the section... which keeps things inactive and makes it even more difficult for new members to have enough motivation to join. Which is only made worse the more difficult it is to join the section. The more work that someone has to put into joining an RP, the harder it is to keep it active because there's simply less people around. That's why I personally hate the RPA process so much. This section already has to overcome the fact that the site's not made for RPing, the RPing section is just a small part of it off to the side. But when you throw in a hurdle like a 3-step process on top of that, logically, it can cause problems with activity. Which is exactly what we see going on with the RPing section here, activity's decreased and gotten worse over time, new members are less and less likely to make it through the full process, and when there is an RP available that doesn't require the extra steps it ends up being more active than the normal RPs. As I mentioned before, there are other ways to get around this by having more RPs or advertising the section more to get more people involved, but that's only a temporary solution. If we want the RPing section to stay active, then we need to recognize that inactivity is a problem and make changes to make it easier for people to join and make RPs.



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