Message from Admin + Call for Thoughts

[Seph'elle]

So, in my imagination, the site died, but being the hopeful person I am, I just kept on paying the monthly hosting bill. Sort of like 'project completed' line of thinking.

Still, I noticed people coming back once in a while, so I wondered what could be done. I can't say that I figured anything out yet, but I'm going to think on it and join in on whatever RP is going on.

Some thoughts that come to mind are a) we need to start a new plot b) an active admin, a mod or two, and users c) a lot of programming work, because there is a frustratingly large about of bugs that I'm finding.

This thread is to get all of your thoughts too. Think of it as a task-list and brainstorming session put together.
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"Well SURE you can kill me... but wouldn't you rather have some cookies?"
-Seph'elle

[Rymaak]

Well, I'm not sure if you read my recent posts (and Auelin as well), but Rymaak has a little plan cooking up. I guess it's good for starters.
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If you're going to shoot a mime, don't use a silencer. His friends might hear.

[Auelin_Vluerona]

Oh my goodness its Seph! *Tacklehugsglomps* Righty O’ let’s see what I can think of.

Reintroduction of Outskirts
Perhaps it may seem a waste of time and resources to some but to be quite frank one of the firt things that drew me to this site was the fact that you had a guaranteed RP in as per the outskirts requirements.

Of course as the current city situation is rather unusual (aka over run with demons). I doubt the Guards will be letting anyone in, and as it stands now the gates are open to all. However if we change it to the gates ‘being sealed with powerful enchantments’ or something of the like, we could have, oh I don’t know a group of thieves willing to ‘help’ people obtain the appropriate documents necessary for entry.

Of course nothing in this world comes for free and this particular group will ask for a favour (or something similar) to be fulfilled at their choosing. Having new characters indebt to an ‘unknown’ group could be useful in the future. Of course if a character is absolutely adamant about not owing any one any favours we may be able to work something out.

Perhaps myself (or any admin/mod) and another role-player could do an entrance post under this new system so that there will be a readily accessible example for those looking to join?

Active Mod/Admin
Now this next one comes up quite a bit. An active admin/mob would be wonderful. Though I am back on the site (and will be able to run with outskirts post) my time is limited. So while I am always more than pleased to answer questions, close inactive threads, delete the occasional spam post (and just generally cause a nuisance *cough*) I know that I wouldn’t have the capacity to run a plot at this stage.

New Members
Of course there is always the dreaded new members, this is something that the site needs. Cause while I adore every single one of our old members, let’s face it we’re about as active as couch potatoes and many have been lured away by real life. How to obtain these allusive new members? Well I’ve never been very good at recruiting.

The Graveyard
Let’s face it there some exceptionally old (and closed/unused) threads lying around here. I would like an area for the old/finished/never to be used again threads to rest in peace, and yet still be readily accessible for information purposes if someone needs to look something up or just wants to check the previous events of Ocaeri.

Now I know we have the Outskirts of Ocaeri (Locked/old area) however I would like this changed to include sub folders for the Slums/Lake/Noble/Outskirts so that we can have a less cluttered looking active board. It would make it much easier to know just which threads are still active.

Shops
Every time someone who has the responsibility of maintaining a shop leaves the site or goes on holidays that shop becomes inactive. This is not a good thing for those who are either awaiting a item from said shop or need something to continue their RP.

My suggestion for this is quite simple. We have a list of shops. (Like the one Reb made for us here : http://www.demontears.com/clover/viewtopic.php?t=63) Except this time the first post for each shop would be a mod/Admin post (we could make an account called Store Assistant or something of the like) and this way each time a shop changes owners this account would be able to edit the initial shop description as well as step in as a shop assistant for when the owner is inactive or holidaying.

Also as the skill of the owners change the Mods/Admins could relocate the shop thread to the correct area (e.g from Slums to Lake) if the role-playing skill is applicable.

Hopefully this would help to cut down on response time.

Elimination of Error Message
Oh and I would love to see this error: Ran into problems sending Mail. Response: 553 sorry, sender mail address must correspond to local mail domain (#5.
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Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory

[Grey Eagle]

Hey, ive been on here once before and i noticed that its not getting much activity. me and a few friends are coming back and we have a few suggestions.

CLEAN OLD POSTS OUT Its so overwhelming to read all the old posts with old users on them, because you cant go there, nobody responds, and so on so on.

If we had a simple plot, cleaned out area and started completely over, i think it would work. Me, naka shojimi, master farret, and sorceress princess are in the same clique, and we all agree.

Thanks!
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The howl is quiet, the pounce is massive!

[Wandauvial]

Once a long time user, I left the site and now have returned. This site is so original and full of charm...in order to get it back we need to clean up all the old posts.

Then we need Moderators that'll be very active. Another forum I roamed had a rule that if the Mod was inactive after ten days without a post in the "Leaving and Returning board" they would be removed and replaced. The members had 30 days...That was very effective, this forum would really benifit from that. Benifit is spelled wrong, I'm pretty sure :L

We also need to fix the Outskirts--which will require active mods or at least active Gaurds.

We also need a complete guide to this world. What spieces, a complete list. What is allowed...just simply everything. Kept simple but everything.

And then after we have everything polished and finished, we'll have some very aggresive advertising.

[Auelin_Vluerona]

Hi Wandauvial – cause I am a curious person could I ask who you played previously? (Since you mentioned that you’re an old user )

A species guide actually sounds quite interesting – though I’d like it as a flexible guide (for instance as long as you obtain Mod/Admin approval then other species than those listed will be accepted).

Actually – this is something I can work on during my vacation from work (I am planning on devoting some time to this site during that time) and if there are any objections from Seph (or any other mod) then of course I will remove the list immediately.

Hmm, maybe if we ever manage to wrestle a few more members back we could hold a completion on the site for a new ‘Ocaeri Race’ – something 'native' to this place, like the Daeki. With slightly more status than ‘outlanders’, and of course less than the predominant race.

Continuing this I am aware that we have a lovely little list here on religions within the region, and which races tie in with them, (and I do so love the details that are gone into here) however I would like a list that includes a few other races beliefs and hold a few less than shall we say ‘kind’ gods – so that those who follow other (darker) paths also have someone to worship.

I would also like a single thread within the Lake District for a ‘Temple of Equality’ (or some such rot) that holds a shrines to the greater or well known gods and offers healing for a suitable ‘donation’. This would allow us to have paladins or others who wish to serve their deity a place to pray or perhaps there could be certain missions for those who prove themselves pious to their god/goddess.

Edit: -----------

So I’ve been thinking (or at least attempting to think )and came up with a couple more things I’d like to see implemented in the future.

The Noticeboard
One of the most overused ideas in role-play history, and yet it’s still something that I would like to see. After all a place where your character can go to earn a bit of extra coin or simply find a job to occupy their time? Well, that’d be priceless – obviously this would require active mods so that there someone to run a short campaign / short plot type thing. Alternatively we could make Peffer the ‘got to man’ for pointing out jobs for outlanders.

End of Demon Plot
So here’s the thing, I know there is a plot currently in action, what this plot is and how it was originally intended to work I do not know – but I would like to see it either come to an end though IC RP, or though literally throwing it out though OOC intervention. (The OOC intervention option should only come about if we are left with no other choice).

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Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory

[Wandauvial]

I had like a bajillion names but I played a simular character I'm playing now, only now it's less lame and way less female :0. Just as much purple though...so much purple. Um, anywho.

Yeah, it be flexible, but like I would want to know what certain speices are like..ya know. I think it be great to have a list, and then be able to PM the mods for speices thar arn't on the list and then the site users can decide whether it be a good move to add them. Micromanaging is a good thing :3

Yeah, on the regilion note, there needs to be broader ones notjust tied to races. I like to think of D&D where they have Dragon gods worshiped by human/humanoid druids for their bounty powers. Likewiuse some Demon gods are worshiped by holier creatures for their justice and punishment powers :3 We should establish Gods then maybe...?

I like the shrine and noticeboard idea.

I am all for throwing the current plots out and starting over. We can start up the same exact plot, but right now we seem to have reached a climax and then nothing happened. It just collasped. There were too many loose ends...

Also, I think we should up the age from 13 to 15, for increased violence but that's just me. I mean, any plot we end up doing will lead to an epic fight scene, no?

[Auelin_Vluerona]

Haha! I am chuckling now Wandauvial – and my curiosity is going to keep me guessing as to whether I would have know one of your characters.

The list is coming along exceptionally slowly – but hey I’ve made a start.

The increased age thing could be a bit of a problem, since I think quite few of our members started young – but in the same respect I understand the suggestion…

N’way while we’re throwing ideas out there this is more than likely the last one I can think of.

Starter Pack

I understand the one-item/power rule (and in fact support it). But it seems to me that it’s taken to the extreme, which is why I’d like to introduce a ‘starter pack’. Which means that each person who enters has at least some basic supplies.

My suggestion would be:

A rations pack – containing enough dried fruit and meat for two meals.

An extra set of clothes of the players choosing – most people only start with what they wear. But I feel this is unrealistic.

A small knife – useless for combat but at least it’s a way to cut up your meal on the road.

One personal item – now this one can be a bit tricky, after all people just love trying to sneak things in. But by a personal item I mean a locket with a photo, a bag of herbs or a gift that is exceptionally dear to your character that you would need an equally exceptional reason to part with. Or if you say you’re at Ocaeri to be an emissary then you can have your countries sealed letter under this section. Ultimately a mod/admin will have to take a look at the profile and say yes or no to what’s been decided.
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Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory

[Wandauvial]

:3 Hahaha, I can't wait to roleplay again.

Yes, if we started older, people would (read: should) have a better grasp of how to not suck. :0 And you know, we could up the violence.

I really like the start pack idea...

I just had an idea that stopped me from what I was doing and propelled me from the sofa. And that idea is this: stats

If might sound difficult now, but if we all had stats we would know where we stood in a fight and it would bring any chance of godmodding down to zero.

The stats could work like money, where only the moderators can approve them. We'd need like a stats tower or a place on the profile or something.

You'd start with a basic stat asianged to that race and you'd work from there...um, say this is an Elf's basic stats.

Stats: 20 pts

Then you could seperate the points amongst your stats.

Hp: 4
At: 3
Df: 3
In: 3
Cris: 5
Sp: 2

Your elf would be slower than stronger, but more charming than everything else :3

In a fight. A ranger/warrior/whatever with a 7 AT would easily overpower your elf, but with your elf's charm, maybe you could smooze your way out, as the rangers In 1 and yours is 3, he'd easily fall for your tricks.

See? :3


And then you could raise your stats by training. We could have a whole set up of this and that. Hrhm, we should add spirit to the stats too maybe?

[The Sorceress Princess]

Aue, yes, you do know who Wandauvial is. I thought it was you, Big Dubbya (Hey, it works with this username as well!). =p She's been here a looong time, haha. (I also think I know who Grey Eagle is, his writing, his name, his knowing of my friends and me though I've never talked to his username, lol.)

I really like the stats idea, though. Is there a way we can get a tech whiz to incorporate some automatic stat stuff?


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"Beverly, make sure you don't put babies in there!" - Mr. Smith to me, referring to plastic bins.