Activity Feedback Thread

[Rugs]

Alright SWUvians, in the staff’s continued efforts to determine what’s caused the recent extended slowdown in site activity, we’re opening the floor to your feedback.

We’ve noticed that we have, on average between 20-30 people logging on per day. Not stellar, but it’s a fairly solid number. Problem is, no one is posting. Now some of you are in the process of making your first characters. That’s understandable. But the general amount of roleplaying going on has, for one reason or another, dropped dramatically.

So what we want to do is figure out why, and see what, if anything, we can do to try to address things.

We’ve thought of a few things that might be contributing to the problem. I’ll list them out, in no particular order:

Staff activity: One of those times where life affects us all. It’s hit us all at about the same time, and we aren’t always around all the time, though we make efforts to be when time allows. That said, we’ve had some talks about being more active, and if you guys would like to see us around the site more, I’m sure we can work it out if we need to. I’d say something about character reviews, but new character apps (that get finished) have declined as well. Make more characters, guys!

Missions/Story/Faction activity: We had a fairly decent number of missions available when we first rolled out the system. A few have been added here and there, but most have been attempted, to my knowledge. Would more missions be appealing to you, as the member base? It’s something we could work out fairly easily, and there are some things we have in the pipe for you. If there were more ready-made options available for you and some groups to jump into, would that help ease into roleplay, or even get a roleplay started if you’re not necessarily new. Would more main story-focused activity help? Similarly, do you want to see more activity among the factions, like the Sith and Jedi and Mandalorians, and so on, or even the smaller groups like the DLA or Mythics?

Approachability: SWU has pretty strong standards and we have a lot of very talented writers. Sometimes, it can probably be a little intimidating. Has that been an issue for anyone? Our standards define who we are, so they aren’t changing, but if you feel like you need more help or anything like that, let us know (you can always approach the staff for help — it’s what we’re here for). For posting, we do have the RP Mentor section if you feel like you need it, and we can always wrangle up Jazen or one of us if anyone wants mentoring.

The shoutbox: It’s not really used too terribly often, with the exception of bursts of activity here and there (ironically, it’s bustling while I write this =P). Though it’s harder to tell if that’s a reflection on it or the level activity of the site. It's not ideal. We know the issues — sometimes it doesn’t refresh like it’s supposed to and it doesn’t have a history log for regular members to see past the last few messages. It used to be that the box, when we had the old cbox, was a general hub of activity — a water cooler where people talked about general stuff, set up threads, discussed plots and helped with character creation or visitor questions. Members also seemed to connect better, and guests with questions about the site were less likely to be consumed into oblivion when it didn’t refresh. That’s not to those things don’t happen, because they do, but it’s not as steady as it was, though when people actually use the shoutbox, it works pretty well. Do you, as members, feel that it’s a hamper to use? Would the addition of something more reliable (like the cbox) make things better?

Finding partners: This has been a bit of a headscratcher for me, personally. The roleplay requests section is great. It doesn’t see much use these days, unfortunately. Is there something that we need to do to get that to happen? Are some of you wary about using it? It’s a generally-solid way to find people to thread with. And don’t be afraid to jump on a request if you see some in there, or ask for partners to play if you want to get something going. Also, as a personal note, the duel section, which is starting to see a little more use than it has been, is a great, great place, or has been in the past, to make roleplaying friends. Have some fun. Experiment. None of it counts,

Those are some of the main things we’ve discussed or noticed that might be contributing factors. But that’s not to say they’re the only things. Sometimes things in life just get in the way. Sometimes life just gets busy— we all know that as well as anyone. On top of that it’s nearly the holidays, and things pretty much always slow down here, because people have other, more important obligations in life. So we understand that side of things.

Keep in mind, in all of this, we’re not casting blame on anyone. What we want to know is if there’s anything on the site that we can try to address the general activity drop, what can we do? We want this place to stay active, because it’s a fun place for all of us. So if you have any comments for any of the above, or want to add some feedback of your own that I might have missed, feel free, and we’ll look at is as we continue looking at what we can do to get things cranking again here. Just keep things civil.

[Pembleton]

Well, here's the little request that I'd make (although I'm involved/going to be involved in 3 pretty awesome story threads currently):

I took a years-long break from RPing before coming back when I found SWU. The thing I most recall from my prior experience is how the main story was more or less everybody's focus. Incidental threads happened, but most of the site was actively involved in weekly Main Plot events. I understand that the timeline on this site moves very slowly, and I think a switch to the model of "Main Story battles every week until there's a victor in the current galactic conflict, then giving a few months' time-skip to the next conflict cropping up" would be a very difficult and frankly unnecessary change. However, I do wish I could see more threads/events wherein my character has an opportunity to participate in and contribute to the main story and have it moving forward at a better pace.

This is especially relevant as a Jedi character who's not a Blade. As of right now, I don't really know how I'd be allowed to get involved with the current Galactic Conflict. I wish I could get some new events which would influence the Council to start allowing the Order to become involved, and at that point, I wouldn't feel obligated to only interact with Sith characters in the Duel Zone in the interest of keeping true to my character's allegiance.

[Meira]

YES!

Tesok, to address your request, we are actually working on bringing in some new missions for the missions board. The purpose of this board was to do exactly what you are asking: allow members to take a more active role in the site-wide plot without having to rely entirely on major event threads (which move slowly and tend to die when people go inactive). The missions are designed to move the plot forward in smaller, more manageable pieces.

The new fringe mission I posted is an example. Conflict between the Exchange and the Hutt Cartel is going to the a huge thing in the fringe section, and we're going to bring it to life through these missions. So keep an eye out because We're planning on breathing life back into that section very soon.

[Julian]

I wholeheartedly support what Tesok said and Meira validated, but I also have a slightly different way of looking at some of this. Also, while this view will be largely based off of the perspective of the type of character that I play, I imagine that this applies to the other two military bodies.

My sole approved character is one of those fun and kooky death machines from the east side of the galaxy: The Mandalorians. Everyone who cares for that faction like I do knows that it is --on a very basic level-- a Grand Army of Evil. All of our characters are part of that big bad murder-squad, and yet...

It feels like we aren't. Granted, I have yet to participate in a major event and the mission I am participating in (with the wonderful Mara, praise be to the Flying Spaghetti Monster for her return) is just getting started. But. But but but but but. It often seems that the military part of things isn't tied into the faction's story. The Spec Ops are personal allies of Mandalore, so it makes sense for them to have their solo missions and their own style, yadda-yadda, but what about members of the Army and Navy? There seems to be nothing stopping us from jetting around the galaxy doing our own thing.

For Mandos, that can make sense, I suppose. Their cultural structure allows for that (although the Mando culture also seems to be absent from the bulk of the military, but that's unrelated). But what about the Republic and Sith armies? Again, there are exceptions to the rule, but it doesn't feel like we're part of these massive military forces participating in a galactic conflict.

We have so much free time to do whatever, and that's forgivable. Nobody wants to have their character running drills instead of going on adventures. Still, I would really like to feel like I can contribute to the machine. My character is a pretty respectable rank, but it doesn't seem that means anything until the next planet is up for grabs. There are missions for setting up trade, and for allies, and all that, but...

Let's see if I can finally get to the point and put my thought in a sentence.

I would like to feel that I can make a difference in my faction and its odds of success in the war. Obviously that is most easily done in missions, but I would almost like to say I want more mundane missions.

As someone who plays a military character, and to shamelessly reference Mass Effect, I would like that character to feel less like a Spectre and a mercenary, and more like a soldier.

[AFER]

*I* am your problem. I've been lurking here for months, written up 1.5 characters, and then never posted. Problem is, I can't figure out what's the story line since there's 15 different places people are posting.

I think it's suffering from scope. Take a look at the some of the other active RP's that scroll across the bottom of the main page. Each RP has a specific scope in which everyone can interact with everyone. Hunger Games throws everyone in an arena every couple months (with characters they keep outside). Star Trek has everyone on a single ship. Firefly has everyone on a ship.

Here, half of our characters can't interact on a daily basis. One is a Jedi Killer and one's a Jedi. One is a Republic Admiral, one is a Sith civilian. We are writing characters and then we've got 15 possible planets to place them on. I've always found it difficult to follow so many different thread pages, but it makes having our characters interact difficult....not in the sense of "finding" another author is difficult, but that it's the characters actually interacting that's been hard. I've contacted several people about starting something with a Jedi, they either say all their characters would want to kill a Jedi, or that there's no reason for them to be part of that idea.

Back to being a lurker!

[Squee]

I want to tag something on missions.

We say that these missions will impact later on the plot and that the outcome of them will be significant on what happens in the future. I guess part of me goes "How?"

How do these missions impact the plot? What are the circumstances? What will happen to this gang/faction/people, this world, this GALAXY if my character participates in these supposed critical missions. I haven't seen the new ones, but I've seen the old ones. All that's ever said is that it will, but I don't see it and so therefore I don't know how it changed the SW universe according to our timeline.

What will change. How does my character help make that change. I know I enjoy it tremendously when I feel my character is important, and therefore I'm certain others will to. I don't know if revealing such mysteries will so much as "spoil" the ending, but give me, and other persons, the change to actually feel apart of something big.

I have only once or twice signed up for a mission. That's partially because of my sporadic activity and partially because... I myself don't see the point. We all know there's something supposed to go on in the plot, but no one really knows exactly what it is or where it's headed or, really, how my character fits in unless, as I think Tesok, they are actually a part of the larger factions actually behind the plot.

I know, personally, I've only signed up once or twice for missions. Partially because I have sporadic activity and don't want to hold it up, but also because I myself don't see a massive point in the missions. I've always done something else with my characters, with something small but makes them important. Like saying Tesa and Jessoin took out a Republic factory making vehicles of war. That changes the outcome of the Sith/Republic war without being all that significant.

I, and also members, want to feel important, and it's not enough to just be told we're important; show us evidence and how we, and the characters, are important.

[tak]

Can you ask activity-unrelated questions here?

[sparrow]

Uh... that's what the catch-all question thread (link) is for, as well as the Questions sub-forum in general.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

I think there's one thing the missions are missing;

the possibility of failure. It is a mission, but it feels without risk. We sign up for it knowing that we'll write a bunch of cool stuff and then eventually yay, we do what we need to do, and if we choose so we make the mission a success. I think that participated missions should be scored in some way, or need some kind of "DM" who guides the mission and develops it as we go, creating challenges and deciding some of the effects of what our characters try to do.

ON TOP of that, after a mission is complete, there should be a summary written by a staff member on what the consequences of that mission are.

ON TOP OF THAT, I think that missions that nobody signs up for, after a certain period of time, should show up as "FAILED" missions, and a negative consequence should occur, with a negative summary on how it impacts the galaxy.

These are all just ideas. ;p

[Susan]

Nov 10, 2013 0:52:26 GMT -5 Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice* said:

I think there's one things the missions are missing;

the possibility of failure. It is a mission, not it feels riskless. We sign up for it knowing that we'll write a bunch of cool stuff and then eventually yay, we do what we need to do, and if we choose so we make the mission a success. I think that participated missions should be scored in some way, or need some kind of "DM" who guides the mission and develops it as we go, creating challenges and deciding some of the effects of what our characters try to do.

ON TOP of that, after a mission is complete, there should be a summary written by a staff member on what the consequences of that mission are.

ON TOP OF THAT, I think that missions that nobody signs up for, after a certain period of time, should show up as "FAILED" missions, and a negative consequence should occur, with a negative summary on how it impacts the galaxy.

These are all just ideas. ;p

I like this idea. A site I were on a long time ago instituted a policy of potential perma deaths on certain high risk missions. The possibility was there but it wouldn't just happen straight away. I always found it an interesting little twist on the missions, although it's a little different here with the time and effort going into character creation more so than most sites.

[Meira]

Nov 10, 2013 0:52:26 GMT -5 Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice* said:

I think there's one thing the missions are missing;

the possibility of failure. It is a mission, but it feels without risk. We sign up for it knowing that we'll write a bunch of cool stuff and then eventually yay, we do what we need to do, and if we choose so we make the mission a success. I think that participated missions should be scored in some way, or need some kind of "DM" who guides the mission and develops it as we go, creating challenges and deciding some of the effects of what our characters try to do.

ON TOP of that, after a mission is complete, there should be a summary written by a staff member on what the consequences of that mission are.

ON TOP OF THAT, I think that missions that nobody signs up for, after a certain period of time, should show up as "FAILED" missions, and a negative consequence should occur, with a negative summary on how it impacts the galaxy.

These are all just ideas. ;p

This is certainly an interesting idea, and something we've kinda broached on before, though I don't think anything we've discussed has had an outcome entirely unplanned. An example I can think of was a mission thread that I had suggested that unfortunately kinda died out. Failure wasn't just an option in that mission, it was actually the planned outcome. So we do indeed think of ways in which the endgame isn't positive for the players involved. Another example would be a recent failed invasion by the Mandalorians... if I remember correctly.

But what needs to be understood is that missions, because they are important to the progression of the main plot, need to have a predetermined end. Maybe not all of them, and we can certainly adjust and work toward more variable missions, but the ones we've developed were done so in a formulaic manner. This mission's outcome = next mission, etc. This kinda get's into the stuff that Squee posed earlier.

We've run into something of a problem with showing the effect the missions and the people that run them have on the main plot. Jenno has worked like a madman in order to create scenarios that unfold as missions are completed. We've discussed at length the pros and cons of divulging plot points or keeping them hidden in order to allow for some mystery and/or surprise. I have always been of the mind of trying to keep the plot less public for the sake of discovering it as we go, like reading a book or watching a movie. However, if it is shown that this is a major deterrent to keeping the site active, we can adjust and find a workable arrangement.

So, back to what I was originally responding to:

This is definitely an idea that I want to consider as we move forward with creating missions. Not all missions will be available in such a format, as the outcomes of certain things must occur in a way that progresses the plot in a specific direction, but there's no reason we can't accommodate some variables here and there. Thank you very much for this feedback.

[Rugs]

Just chiming in to say I largely agree with what Meira has said, and I generally agree with or take interest in the ideas/opinions posted so far. Gonna weigh in on one quick matter, since Meira's answered about missions for the moment.

For AFER, I can see where you're coming from. Thing about SW is that it's in a huge universe that's always growing and changing. That gives it a scope and scale beyond what most other roleplays (save similar universes like Star Treek) might have. That can make starting out difficult, especially when you only have one character or have particularly limited characters.

Now that said, there are smaller degrees of scope within that. Typically, characters of similar sorts congregate, with occasional path crossings with other characters (say, Jedi/Republic characters typically do friendly rps together, but might get into a misadventure with a good-hearted smuggler, or cross blades with a rogue DJ or Sith). Finding those things can take some work, yes, but it's doable. Though some of it may come down to the luck of the draw in who you ask. But there are almost always people that'll be willing to play. I'm pretty much always open, for example, and have enough characters that I can do just about anything with anyone. A few other members are similar.

And again, don't be afraid to start a thread in the requests section. Let people know what you've got and what you're looking for. Most of the time, you're going to garner someone's interest. And even if someone doesn't come with an idea to do something in particular, I've seen that most of the time, members can usually work some good things out when they put their heads together and brainstorm.

Also missions!

But yeah, I definitely feel what you mean. Just some suggestions for you (and others that might be in similar positions) that might help kickstart things a bit.

Let me know if I completely missed the point of what you meant >>

[Jenno]

Knowing me this will be a lengthy response to fill in some gaps I saw. If someone else has responded to part of your post then I won’t respond to that aspect of it .
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Pembleton: The Jedi Blades are those in the Order that want to get involved in the galactic conflict. They are still part of the Jedi Order as the two groups don’t want to cause a divide that leads to a repeat of the Mandalorian Wars/Jedi Civil War. Any Jedi can join the Blades, no sort of official joining thread is necessary, though if you want one you can just ask someone who currently has a character in the Blades. There’s also a little thread here where people can throw up their character info so we can vaguely keep track of who’s part of the group: swrponline2.proboards.com/thread/19287/blades-order
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Julian: Just a quick comment that I’d dispute the Grand Army of Evil quote, since one of the things we do here is try and add layers to make all different factions sympathetic to some degree (and avoid the ‘I am evil for evil’s sake!’ approach). Hence the setup of the Mandalorians being so strictly subjugated and kept in check over these last decades, they have a goal to achieve, they’re not, at the moment, just pillaging for the hell of it. But despite my little niggle around that comment, just wanted to say that your comments are definitely something Dutch should take a look at since he runs the Mandos, he just runs missions by me to make sure they don’t clash with anything.

As for the topic of more (I want to use this term) grunt-ish missions, that’s something I can certainly keep in mind for the next time I have the opportunity to write some more mission briefs.
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Squee: Well, from the get-go, I made some important and significant missions that would alter aspects of the Galaxy in one way or another. Of course, I made a lot of self-contained missions as well, because not everything will have a large/significant impact upon the Galaxy.

Some of the first missions I posted along with the missions board were Hungry For Power (Sith), One Less Space Slug (Fringe), For Great Science (Fringe) and Personal Theft (Sith). Not to mention there was another Sith mission on Felucia that I don’t remember the name of.

The Felucia and Hungry For Power missions were related to the conquest of planets by the Sith Empire. Hungry For Power would provide the Sith with a way to attack the extremely significant Republic world of Taris as it would give them a border with the planet. Felucia I actually found very interesting, but the initial thread simply died after trying to switch inactive folks out, in the end I wrote up that planet’s joining of the Empire in a news story. Those were one of the few times that I even set up changing a planet’s alignment in a single mission, even though ideally I’d want two or three missions to secure a planet (to avoid making it seem too easy).

Personal Theft was linking to events at the time I’d put in a news story, and was about how the Sith was trying to build the Order, start numbers growing since they need to be able to try and combat the larger numbers of the Jedi Order. There would have been a follow-up about the success of the mission and tying it into the other story. Even for missions that don’t have an instant or in-you-face impact, I still wanted to recognise through the news section that events are going on; since that is the best way I can think of doing it.

One Less Space Slug is a huge example of impacting the galaxy as it’s the mission that kicks off the Shadow Conflict, the large Fringe plot I’ve wanted to start for ages. The death of the mission’s target is going to be the plot’s trigger. The difficulty is, the thread has died at least three times, it may actually be four. And it’s gotten to the point now where I’m going to skip over PC players doing it and write up the events happening in the news section.

And again, For Great Science is the first mission to do with introducing both Bacta as a valuable resource and the NPC faction of the Corporate Alliance very very gradually. But once more, the thread died. So there are missions with impact and significant events, but those involved never get the thread done, so all that’s left to do is to try the mission again with different people or write it up as a news story to try and get things progressing. And it’s quite frustrating for me because I have a bunch of stuff planned that I want to get to, but we just never do.
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Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*: Scoring is something I’d really just not want to do, even with a DM, it doesn’t really fit in with how the style works. We could still have DM folks run missions, and it was actually something we’ve debated before, but they would focus on the character experience, providing a challenge for character growth/development/struggle.

The issue is, running a mission, providing it with direction through the use of the NPCs, is not really a simple thing if you want to do a good job of it. By this I mean we can have a decent number of missions going on at the same time. When we first brought the board out, we had about 8 or so of them signed up for pretty quickly. Now you need to find at least three people to split those between, and these people have got to understand the SWU canon, have a good grasp on their writing and have a lot of free time to dedicate to these threads whilst also writing with their own characters. Given the mod workload, having them run missions was something we’d want to avoid, because then it’s just more likely that either application reviews or the missions would suffer after a bit of time, or both.

There’s then no real way to set a DM system up without it being a really significant risk, even if it is something that we want. I mean, even considering all that, there are some people who prefer running missions within their group. It’s maybe something to reconsider, but I think I’d personally still come down on the side of not have a group of DMs.

For the summary thing, the plan’s to try and use the news section to kind of summaries the impact of events in an IC way, though the news group struggles to maintain members like the mission threads themselves.

And whilst the time limit on missions is a cool theory, it would be very off-putting for me since I come up with the vast majority of the missions myself and spend a lot of time researching planets/groups for scenarios to write that fit within SWU’s canon.
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Wow, that was a long post. Time to hide again.

[Dutch]

Ok-

I got a lot to say still, so... yeah. I ain't done with ya'll yet.

However!

In response to those wanting more active threads, I have started this:

swrponline2.proboards.com/thread/19465/circle-open-mandos

Open to anyone with a Mandalorian. I'm a little rusty, but feel free to jump in and help me hone my claws again.

Cheers

[Mara]

Not sure I'm really qualified to speak about activity levels, considering I have been less than active myself over the last month or so, due to my computer issues. (And on a lesser degree, about the last year and a half when my activity has slipped in a general way, due to life crapping on me.) And honestly, I thought about just ignoring this thread and not getting involved, because I know how I would be treated. I thought about deleting this whole post a few times.

However, I do think I have some things to bring up. Things that I probably have brought up before but was not treated nicely for doing so. But here goes. I've developed thick skin, plus I'm not exactly active, so I probably won't be back for a few days anyway.


Regarding comments addressed to the shoutbox --
Besides just a general decrease in activity that obviously effects the whole site, including the shoutbox, I think part of the problem is that many members communicate with each other in other ways, therefore not seeing any reason to use the shoutbox. Whether it's PM or IM or Skype or e-mail or what have you.
I remember having bustling discussions down there, likely when I myself was more active, but now whenever I find the time to sign in, the 'box is dead. Sometimes I'll see that it's been over a day since it was last posted in.
And getting a different chatbox, I'm not sure it would solve anything (if Proboards coding even allows for a change). I think it's really down to just the general activity/inactivity of the site, and whether members are more comfortable speaking to their friends elsewhere.


Regarding the RP requests board/finding people to RP with --
Again, I think this is just a result of where people are more comfortable communicating with each other. A lot of members here are friendly with one another off-site. And I think generally a lot of thread planning happens there, not on-site. Or maybe through PMs but nothing public. (Because I'll see many new threads popping up all over the place, but the requests board has no new replies.)
And as for those who do use the requests board, speaking of someone who uses it almost exclusively now, due to my decreased activity and unavailability for the shoutbox, it does go ignored, I think, for the most part. I have probably posted a couple dozen threads in there over the years, of which I may have had four to five threads flourish.
Also, and I hate to say this, but I personally feel that it depends on which member has posted the request. In other words, there are cliques, and favoritism at work on SWU. I have seen two different members post one at about the same time; one will have ten replies in it by day's end, and the other will go untouched for months. Maybe it's the content of the idea, but I really think it has to do more with whether a member wants to RP with that member.  Which is why I believe my request threads go ignored for the most part.
Maybe I got a little too personal here, but it's how I feel things are working here. And I honestly don't know how we can fix that.


Regarding missions --
They are a good way to get members who normally wouldn't ever have the chance or inclination to RP with each other. I don't deny that. I thought it was a good idea to implement them.
However, I think the problem with their success relies heavily on the activity of the site and of the members who sign up for them. I have seen many missions started but very, very few actually finished. Either due to members disappearing or not being able to find NPCs or a host of reasons.
Also, on a smaller note, something I mentioned years ago and nothing was done about it, even though I was told it would be, I think the rules and protocol of the missions need to be explained more clearly. There have been times where I've seen members confused about how they worked. When they were allowed to start them, who could NPC them, etc.
Plus, there's not exactly a large staff presence there to begin with, and I think the missions get forgotten at times.
So besides increased activity, which would fix everything in this thread and things unsaid about the site in whole, I think the focus of the missions should be maybe pointing out some rules or standards or something... and paying more attention to them.


And just a general comment on inactivity --
Little things can be done to boost activity but they are only temporary. I don't think there is one over-arcing fix that will annihilate inactivity for good. There will always be ups and downs. We're just in a down right now, and I don't really see how it's any different than previous years. People get busy. People leave. Staff get busy and/or disappear. New staff, with a history of unreliability, are hired, are active, then disappear as per their usual. And the cycle repeats itself. Threads go unfinished. New threads are started to replace the unfinished threads, when really those should be finished before others are started, if possible (i.e. a thread for Mandos, when the current one has barely started/been posted in).

So maybe we need a better process in finding dedicated staff members who won't flake on the site.
Maybe we need to be more proactive in making sure threads, especially important ones that effect the main site plot (like Makem Te), get finished before new ones are continually started.
Maybe we need to focus more on the missions board and the requests board.
Try to fix what we have, instead of working on adding new projects.
And the list could go on...



But like I said, I'm not really active myself right now, though I wish I was. So I won't blame you if you ignore me, like most of you already do.
I'm not trying to start an argument here, or a hate war with anyone. These are just my thoughts. So if anyone does want to reply to me, check your ego and your hatred at the door. Otherwise, move on.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Nov 11, 2013 14:22:59 GMT -5 Mara said:

Regarding comments addressed to the shoutbox --
Besides just a general decrease in activity that obviously effects the whole site, including the shoutbox, I think part of the problem is that many members communicate with each other in other ways, therefore not seeing any reason to use the shoutbox. Whether it's PM or IM or Skype or e-mail or what have you.
I remember having bustling discussions down there, likely when I myself was more active, but now whenever I find the time to sign in, the 'box is dead. Sometimes I'll see that it's been over a day since it was last posted in.
And getting a different chatbox, I'm not sure it would solve anything (if Proboards coding even allows for a change). I think it's really down to just the general activity/inactivity of the site, and whether members are more comfortable speaking to their friends elsewhere.

I think Mara is definitely correct here. If you actually want to talk to someone, you send them a pm or skype chat with them, you don't usually hit them up on the C-box. And that's for various reasons;
1. if it actually matters, you want to make sure they see it, unless you already have their attention in the c-box, you don't know if they will see it.
2. If you want to joke or clown around with a friend you may not want to run into buzzkills, so again, you just send them a message.
3. We generally take our thread plotting and character plotting pretty seriously, and we're not always comfortable just splaying out the rough draft ideas for everyone.
The shoutbox is still useful, however, in regards to general questions and quick information gathering, especially for visitors or new members. And that is one thing the C-box has always been, and it has served that purpose gloriously, even though once upon a time it was a general chat hub.

Nov 11, 2013 14:22:59 GMT -5 Mara said:

Regarding the RP requests board/finding people to RP with --
Again, I think this is just a result of where people are more comfortable communicating with each other. A lot of members here are friendly with one another off-site. And I think generally a lot of thread planning happens there, not on-site. Or maybe through PMs but nothing public. (Because I'll see many new threads popping up all over the place, but the requests board has no new replies.)
And as for those who do use the requests board, speaking of someone who uses it almost exclusively now, due to my decreased activity and unavailability for the shoutbox, it does go ignored, I think, for the most part. I have probably posted a couple dozen threads in there over the years, of which I may have had four to five threads flourish.
Also, and I hate to say this, but I personally feel that it depends on which member has posted the request. In other words, there are cliques, and favoritism at work on SWU. I have seen two different members post one at about the same time; one will have ten replies in it by day's end, and the other will go untouched for months. Maybe it's the content of the idea, but I really think it has to do more with whether a member wants to RP with that member.  Which is why I believe my request threads go ignored for the most part.
Maybe I got a little too personal here, but it's how I feel things are working

I didn't want to say this, but I agree with Mara. Yes, the Roleplay Requests Section is extremely touch and go. Its a great tool, but it is a complete shot in the dark, and I find myself always doubting whether or not anyone will even LOOK at my request section. All of the successful requests I have had in the past I had to go in the c-box ( and this was when people were actually in the c-box, mind you ) and fish for people just to get views.

As far as the Cliquey thing goes, definitely. But SWU has been like that ever since I was here, and I've always known that. I don't really think it is that much of a bad thing, either, it helps when you have those members that everyone knows and it helps when you have groups of people doing interesting things and boosting activity and adding to the plot. When you see people getting excited over threads because, "OMG RUGS POSTED I AM SO EXCITE" it helps others get slightly excited, even if they a) don't know who the hell Rugs is ( heh, unlikely ) b.) don't plan on reading it. It just makes them feel like things are happening. Anyway, I've always noticed the cliques, and it rarely bothers me. Of course, I had my own crowd too ( of them, few remain, lol. ).

But yes, I definitely feel as though if you are not either well known or your plot idea/thread is not backed by a well known member, your chances of even getting it started are...well, zero to none.

Nov 11, 2013 14:22:59 GMT -5 Mara said:

Threads go unfinished. New threads are started to replace the unfinished threads, when really those should be finished before others are started, if possible (i.e. a thread for Mandos, when the current one has barely started/been posted in).

This is a problem I have seen in every forum everywhere since the founding of evertown. Threads go a few pages, and stop. Because people are too busy, they don't care, they lack commitment, integrity, or SOMETHING. I am as guilty as the next guy. I disappear for months at a time. I'm like the town drunk when it comes to disappearing and showing up in weird places at strange times. ( For instance, I have posted in one thread, once a month, for a 8 months, that's about it. And yet I post in this thread. Highly ironic. I feel like I blacked out and woke up in the City Hall bathroom, only to walk out and find they are all in session taking a vote. )

Anywho, the reason I'm down to one character and one post is because it takes sooooooooooo long to receive a response post, and every plot except for one has died on me. When I actually did have a character who was doing something and it felt like they were apart of things and important and going somewhere, that was during the time of "The Dominion" faction, and my character fought in one of the big battles for the Sith, but as soon as that was finished, the Dominion just suddenly and without warning died; vanish-ed. Mostly because Karl left, and bad management, and the fact that everyone else in the faction disappeared too. So that left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, because I had a character who did something that made an impact, and now its irrelevant.

With player unreliability and threads going unfinished, it makes me think; "Why should I try?"

Now I know this is not the Administrations fault. How can it be? It can't. it's up to the members who participate. I just felt that the community has let me down so often it is hard for me to get excited anymore.

I am going to work on that though. I've got two characters in their own plot-lines, and I want to work on my commitment and get a third character who will participate in less...exclusive threads. I plan to do my part, and I hope that others plan to do their parts too to make this a fun experience where people do not drop out of threads in the middle of them.

( btw, I'm not talking about you Sparrow, I like what's happening with the Ss'ss'th Zarene thing and I think the next mission and whatnot is gonna be the shit, for-rizzle. )

[Deleted]

Ah don't worry, once I get my character finished, i'll be more active in RP than a hungry Wampa chasing after a pack of Tauntauns. Oh, and I had a idea. You could have players submit the custom faction missions, as I currently saw none. It could be a specific faction that could do the mission or as many as you want.

Say for instance, the custom faction could help a planet to gain their allegiance, whilst another faction tries to do the same. It raises a competitive feeling that makes you want to RP more. You could also do a mission where one faction tries to stop a rebellion, while another tries to support it.

Just a thought though. See you guys on the battlefield soon!

[Apillis]

Chiming in as one of the players who's been kicking around this site for several years now as non-staff. I haven't really been that active lately and just kinda' regulated myself to lurking. And my lack of posting has been two-fold. Lately typically I just say I hadn't been posting because work and major ff14 addiction (couple that with my recent purchase of DW7 Empires), but if I'm being honest, there's another factor. It's I've had no motivation to. Because I mean, hell, if I had the motivation I could just step away from ff14 for a couple hours and toss up some posts, which in a couple cases I should because it's been pretty douchey of me not to, because they're private threads.

But when it comes to getting involved with the site plot, honestly, where and how? All things being candid, and everyone who has been involved in these conversations will know precisely what I'm talking about, which is a couple or few of us will come up with storyline ideas that involves or touches upon the site plot. Suddenly it can't be done and has been--or has to be regulated into it's own little contained thing much like the "Missions" board, not actually part of the site plot but serving largely as a placebo for believing they may actually progress something and to quote what I was told when I came up with my first Sith plot years back "...to have no impact". But the actual movement for main site plot aspects that previously mentioned storyline ideas interfere with will be non-existent for literal years.

A perfect example of what I'm talking about was there were a couple of us who were kicking around ideas of doing a major plot for the rise of the Black Sun via a sort of coup and extermination of the Exchange, because even within canon it's around about this era that actually does happen. But then we were told that couldn't happen because there's this big plot in the works with the Hutts and Exchange, and so couldn't interfere with that. Well. You know when that convo' occurred? I remember it quite vividly, it was back in '10, over the 3 years ago now... and nothing. And that's not the only example that can be made.

The question Squee poses here:

We say that these missions will impact later on the plot and that the outcome of them will be significant on what happens in the future. I guess part of me goes "How?"

The question "How?" is something I ask myself every time I see those mission threads be tossed up or even a supposed "major plot battle". And the more I think about it, the more I don't even have the foggiest clue. And it's just as she says in her post, we're told "this is important" and given some loose explanation will be tossed out as to how it is, but it never really makes any sense. And really it just leads me to asking more questions, and not about the plot but more along the lines, "How many literal years will I have to wait to see some movement within the site plot if I invest my time in this?" Because as what mods tell people when it comes writing character bios with the varying things the character knows, "Don't tell me, show me.", because is there anything tangible--anything that affects/effects the site plot--truly?

Honestly, I don't know.

So, for the past several years of being here, I largely just did my own thing coming up with my own little plots with those I tended to rp with most. But even that now I feel spent on, because even those if I wanted to do something significant, I felt like I was walking on eggshells because god forbid I might unwittingly touch upon something within the main site plot without ever knowing about it. And I just don't have the energy or stamina anymore for if I try coming up with a detailed plotline that I may tread on some supposed sacred ground within the main plot or some other plot tied to whatever that has never been disclosed, and all things being honest may not see the light of day for years to come or never will. I just don't have the energy to deal with that anymore--and so the natural conclusion is--don't. So I don't.

I mean, the only real tangible thing that has changed I can think of since I joined the site back in the spring of '09 is that people can sign up to be Sith from the onset now. Because really look at the main plot and honestly break down what has tangibly changed in the last what is for me personally approaching 5 years now. The Mandalorians are still in the same exact situation they had been since I made my character Shannon back in '09, which was over 4 years ago, she was made just before the reclaiming of Concord Dawn. What was the next big battle the Mandos were involved in to reclaim lost ground? Shogun which happened earlier this year, i.e. roughly 4 years later... Outside of that, the Mandos have had 3 different Mandalores, but how has it changed the Mandalorians disposition--really? In no real way. Since the Sith have "reemerged" how has it tangibly altered the galaxy within the site? What greater danger for them and those who oppose them since then? Honestly, I haven't the foggiest, I been RPing it the same before and after no differently for the past 4 approaching 5 years. Hell, look at the Sith roster, for those who have been on this site for a few years are well aware there's a particular section of it that hasn't changed in over 4 years. The site plotlines with the Hutts and Exchange that eclipsed the ideas that were being tossed around for the emergence of the Black Sun? Maybe I'm just ignorant (I can concede to that), but I haven't seen anything with that on the site since it was brought up a few years ago.

While, I understand, believe me, I understand what it means to have a career and being busy with it. Hell, mine own has largely defined my life and the spare time I can muster within it for the past decade now. But addressing a significant aspect of the site's activity issue is addressing the stagnation within the major plotlines. Because there's only so much players are going to be willing to do on their own within a setting and plot that isn't theirs in any shape or form no matter what they do within it until they eventually just decide to move on. Those that have remained, like myself simply found either their own little niche or friends to hang with or both.

[Vroxen]

Personally I think the review period takes too long, this is largely based on the EXTREAMLY high quality of a lot of peoples characters (Not Mine.)

I personally think that what would be good is if unaccepted characters could have a OOC board that they could roleplay on. The threads could be Viewed by the mod's and it would help them address issues with how the role-player and the prospect character sync up e.g. if someone says there character is cruel but does not show that in there OOC then it can be improved, everyone benefits from people here improving... It also allows the person who currently has no characters and is new to the site a chance to get a feel for SWU.

The threads would be open and could be jumped into by ANYONE with a prospective character in the respective section.

[sparrow]

Nov 12, 2013 12:43:38 GMT -5 Vroxen said:

I personally think that what would be good is if unaccepted characters could have a OOC board that they could roleplay on.

Well, we... uh... sorta have a place for that. People have been using the "Parody" board for RP-ing with unapproved characters. We should probably consider re-naming the place or spinning it off into its own board, because that really isn't parody.