Mod Announcement

[rubycitymods]

Hi there folks!

We'd like to come to you with a proposal to make a change in the activity check guidelines. Don't panic! This is by no means something that will happen, only what might happen if it's met with general approval by the game's players.

Up until now, the activity checks have required either a thread of fifteen comments total, or a log/post with fifteen comments total within it.

Double activity has either been one thread of thirty comments, two threads with fifteen comments, a log/post with thirty comments, or two logs/posts with fifteen comments.

What we are proposing is as follows:

1. Two posts/logs with at least one comment
2. One post/log with at least one comment plus a thread of ten (10) comments total
3. Two threads with fifteen (15) comments overall [To clarify, this is fifteen comments total, we're not going to suddenly ask for thirty!]

Double activity would then be:

1. Three posts/logs with at least one comment
2. Two posts/logs with at least one comment plus a thread of ten (10) comments total OR one post/log with two threads of at least fifteen (15) comments overall.
3. Twenty five (25) comments total spread over two to four threads.

As stated previously, this is not a certain change, and we're bringing this to you before we consider implementing it so that we can answer your questions, hear your concerns, and if it's shown that this isn't going to work, the proposal won't go any further and the activity check guidelines will remain as they are! If there's a good amount of discussion both ways, the decision may be put to a poll, which will be posted using one of the moderator's paid accounts.

Please keep all discussion in this post polite, and if you have a question which you think we may not see, please indicate in the subject line of your comment! Anon is enabled so that everyone feels free to say what's on their mind, but be aware that if this is abused we will withdraw anon commenting.

Thank you for your attention!
The RC Mods.

Comments

[timidtones]

First, the moderators are not going to arbitrarily increase the AC unless it does prove to be what the community's majority wants. This has been clearly stated in this very post. Unfortunately the only fair way to go about something like this if there is enough interest is a vote and then going with what the majority decides. That will mean that some people will be unsatisfied with the end result, you cannot please everyone. Ultimately I would be happy with the AC increasing, or even staying the same even though I feel that the increase would be beneficial rather than detrimental.

However I will continue to disagree that increasing it would be a detriment to the game. It would certainly change things -- but Ruby City is not exactly the small slow paced game that it was a year+ ago. It has grown quite a bit larger, and sometimes, like with the way applications have been changed, things need to adjust in order to fit growing pains. It's certainly not a fast or even upper middle paced game, but it's definitely growing and speeding up even on its own.

The applications and activity have already changed once in the past. Originally the game required only samples in order to be approved and had no activity check at all. This was changed once the game had established itself and it was shown that character squatting was an abundant problem. In order to resolve some of these issues the moderators at the time (one of which happened to be me) implemented these changes with the best of the whole in mind. At the time we didn't poll the group, and while that was not the best choice in the end the decision helped the game grow more from its starting point. In this instance at least, if the moderators decide to put forth the idea of an AC change, they plan on polling the populace, as I stated before.

In the case of your example:

" if I suddenly came across something in my RL that would hinder my playing ability and put me at a slower pace, I'd be able to keep up should the AC maintain itself, but were it to rise, I'd hate to feel like I'd have to drop someone to keep up with the game"

I would like to think that in a case like that should you talk to the moderators something could be worked out for you, or anyone else who was having a problem. This is why communicating with moderators is essential no matter what happens to be going on at a game.

I'm not sure why you're so certain so many people will wind up dropping the game over a small increase like this, as it's coming across that you think people will drop off like flies.I also continue to be confused how this particular level activity change is one that suddenly makes the game unrelaxed and stressful. I can see how that would be an argument had the moderators brought forth the suggestion that the AC be 30 comments+ or 3 posts or even more than that. But if you read the AC proposed one of the options is pretty much the same as what we have now, except it's stipulated that the activity be spread out over two threads rather than just one.

3. Two threads with fifteen (15) comments overall

That there is the option I'm talking about specifically. Once again this is less than half a tag a day a month, even with three 4 characters you're essentially required to do two tags a day, but with the requirement that it's over more than just one thread. People who are truly busy could take this option for AC and still manage to pass with the same number of comments they currently do while spreading out their AC at the same time. To me, this implies that the moderators are more concerned about players tagging out than they are with bolstering the number of tags they put out in total. I do not see this as a particular added stress to the players who are looking for a slower pace as it's essentially the same pace, just required that it is spread out a little bit more.

[threesecondslate]

This really goes to show I should read things better before jumping in with unbased opinions, I didn't really notice you could stack up comments from different threads to reach the necessary number!

It really does sort of invalidate most of my concerns, so this AC system does sound like a good change, especially considering it promotes multiple threads instead of one long one, even if it isn't absolutely perfect!