IMPORTANT: Content?

[Krillin]

We need to collectively discuss this in an organized manner, ideally through some sort of a conference session in IM or some voice server or something. This is an issue too broad for just one topic stickied in the Asylum.

A reset would provide the tabula rosa needed to really kickstart things. At this point, it feels like we're just considering upgrading a stagnant system. I don't think any amount of new Tech upgrades or spar-to-reward algorithms are going to help activity.

Just for kicks, I made a poll. Might be good to know the statistics on what the masses think.

[Aqua]

Not just active members, but the only members who have remained active since the reset's announcement. It was the announcement of the reset that served as the catalyst for the 1 year decline in activity. I've always been of a mind that if you're going to reset a site, you might as well just make a new one. That's like saying, "Well I've gotten really far in Halo 2, let me clear all my records so i can play Halo 3 now." Why swipe the records, if you want to play Halo 3, go play Halo 3. Resetting is a totally superfluous gesture. You'd be just as well off to make a brand new site and build it from scratch. But let's be honest, the reason you don't want to do that is because it wouldn't have near the success as a potential reset on an already active site has. It's a lot easier to convince a community to stay than it is to initiate a new community. So I get the logic behind it. But reseting is just a desperate grasp at straws by older members who have lost interest in their over-powered, over-developed characters and or, younger members who want a chance to shoot for the number one spot. To me, the beauty of a writing RPG is that it is all cumulative and a character's strength indicates that.

I know we discussed the reset in the other thread a couple weeks ago, and I know that this thread isn't for arguing ideas, but I can honestly say that in 10 years of DBZ RPing I've never seen a stat reset that improved the activity of the site for longer than a couple months. The inevitable hype that would accompany a reset on chubbs would very like result in a boom in activity for a while, but after the luster of having "new characters and a new chance to compete" wears off, the same problems are going to remain that created the overall problem with activity now.

The basic rules of message board RPG activity are simple. Activity breeds activity (people post more when other people are posting). And people write more when they are given an incentive to do so (yes, that means offering some type of reward system for work/ quantity). If you give people a reason to write (beyond just expecting them to be interested and actually acknowledging the gamer aspect of the rpg) they will write, and their writing will encourage others to do the same.

[Bardock]

Any discussion about the idea of a reset should be moved to the poll thread. Other content ideas are welcome.

[Aqua]

Honestly, as it stands, there are like 15-20 active characters on the site. it's not as if this place is a ghost town. The initiatives for quest gathering seem to have really perked people's interest to RP (incentives for RPing beyond just appreciating the art of writing, imagine that...) So in lieu of this, what do you guys think of instituting a job system? Something where a character can earn a job through a quest and, once obtaining that job, receives a certain amount of zeni each week and receives periodic assignments as part of their job?

[Krillin]

We tried something like that in the Guilds. It failed, and that was back when there was even more activity than there is now.

Sixteen active members, by my count (defined as anyone who has roleplayed in the last month, which is pretty liberal, actually). That's not a whole lot. You might be perfectly content with it, but this is a joke compared to Chubbs's usual activity.

[Aqua]

It seems to me that the new staff additions have only been in position a couple of weeks. It seems that, since the additions/ changes, activity has steadily begun to pick up. It also seems that assuming failure is a bit premature at this point especially when things are on the upturn. If anything, all this talk of a reset is only going to hender what was being accomplished as of late (as it did in April when activity was almost double its current state).

[Orion]

I found the biggest contributor to my RPing laziness is the two week deactivation rule. I understand there is a need to regulate inactive members, but a lot of the time I feel more obligated to roleplay than want to. I love rping, but not when someone says "do it within this time or you're gone."

[Krillin]

FALLACIES

1) New Staff additions have been in place for eleven days, not "weeks".

2) Eleven days is hardly enough time to estimate an upturn in activity, but even if it was, I see no particular surge in activity from members that haven't already been posting.

3) I assume failure because Chubbs has been, and is, declining. Your standard of activity, 15-20 members, is laughable compared to what Chubbs used to be like. Something needs to happen. This isn't something that will gradually get better. Something drastic was promised, something drastic needs to happen.

The discussion of a reset is necessary. It is a possibility. It could potentially create a surge in activity. As it stands, it seems the only people that are really roleplaying are those who have an interest in this discussion (ironically, including you, as you seem to argue passionately in these discussions, despite apparently feeling the issue needs to be dropped).

[Bardock]

I found the biggest contributor to my RPing laziness is the two week deactivation rule. I understand there is a need to regulate inactive members, but a lot of the time I feel more obligated to roleplay than want to. I love rping, but not when someone says "do it within this time or you're gone."

How would you regulate activity so that we don't carry a load of inactives, yet still not have a feeling of obligation?

[Orion]

That's just the problem. RL will always be more important to me than this, and if I'm busy for a long period of time, and then I realise I only have two days to rp on Chubbs before I'm ousted, I lose desire. It's not really something that can be regulated. To the point, it's to do with my own circumstances.

[Bardock]

Right, forgot to mention: if you don't like a suggestion, don't waste your time arguing about it.

Like I said previously, this is a place to say what's on your "wish list" for Chubbs. Not a place for saying someone else is wishing for something stupid. You have opinions, you're entitled to them, but I don't want to read through a bunch of bitching and moaning in the hopes of finding something remotely credibly.

And as I said, any discussion of a reset should be moved to the appropriate poll.

This is not a thread for debate. This is a thread for suggestions.

[Krillin]

Apologies.

[Bardock]

That's just the problem. RL will always be more important to me than this, and if I'm busy for a long period of time, and then I realise I only have two days to rp on Chubbs before I'm ousted, I lose desire. It's not really something that can be regulated. To the point, it's to do with my own circumstances.

Okay. That's fine. If anyone else feels like this is a difficulty and has an idea about it, feel free to share.

EDIT: Other than a reset or custom characters.

[Krillin]

I agree, actually, that the two week requirement was really oppressive.

EDITED out by Bardock: Stop it, Krillin.

EDIT: Bardock, you asked for suggestions, I gave one. It's a perfectly valid suggestion. I made no further discussion on the topic, I simply pointed out that it would fix the issue. Don't be a hard-ass. You were much more agreeable before you became a mechanized Super Mod.

[Aqua]

i don't think "being forced" to write 300 words once every two weeks to earn the right to be considered active is a lot to ask. I've often felt too overwhelmed with RL to want to sit down and write for the sake of writing, but forced through it because of activity restrictions. But ultimately, it's 15 minutes of my life to fulfill a pretty useful requirement in a game.

I do think, though, that if you guys are planning on moving away from a weekly training format to the XP boost type system, then there shouldn't really be a need for an activity requirement, especially if you're going to be allowing customs.

[Krillin]

Not all of us are comfortable with putting up the bare minimum. When we post, we like to polish them, and this can take a good amount of time. We are aware how long 300 words are, and we are aware how easy it is to write something of that length. We don't like to post junk.

[Burter]

Then stop bitching. We gave you an alternative and you're pretty much saying "I don't want that either." That's not our fault.

Anyway, Tien has made a pretty badass saga idea that we plan on implementing soon. I know we've been working on adding in content changes, little at a time. Hopefully that'll start come December.

[Krillin]

What alternative was given to the two-week rule? I see no alternative. All I see is that the rule has largely been scrapped because no one is roleplaying.

[Reijin]

God damn I'm glad I don't have to deal with this shit anymore.

[Burter]

I hate you, dude.