JULY ACTIVITY CHECK

[groundrules]

Heya! A couple of items this round, starting wiiiiiiith —

ACTIVITY CHECK

To pass activity requirements, you need to have produced one of: 1 network post or 5 log comments or 10 network/text-style comments in the month of check. Activity can be carried out in game communities or in character inboxes.

In June, insufficient activity was found for:

Lilah | alterare &dmash; swept as a result of two consecutive AC strikes
Okita Souji | deathcough — RECLAIMED
Su Xunxian | topoiran — RECLAIMED
Diego Hargreeves | gladiokinesis — RECLAIMED

Check in here by 23:59 on 5 July to reclaim a character, or if they have activity that may have been missed. You will be required to meet regular activity requirements this month, if you reclaim.

Don't hesitate to PM by the same deadline, if you have any extenuating circumstances you don't feel comfortable disclosing publicly.

ADMIN

■ UPDATED: the July calendar.

■ Activity is waived for July except for those who reclaimed in June. This is just for one month, because of some mod upheaval.

■ APPLICATIONS: our next applications cycle will take place between 24-30 July, on an invite-only basis. It will be the last one for some two months after, and we may need to see how comfortable we are with numbers and whether we want to implement any kind of caps after.

■ YE OLDE ENABLING: ahead of the app cycle, do you folks want an Enable Me / Characters I'd Love to See Meme? Chip in here.

■ SMALL REQUEST: it's been a bit more the case recently that characters obtain NPC or plot information, but don't get around to sharing it with the group ICly — in turn, this can create bottlenecks for those who are trying to uncover the mystery of the day. As usual, A+ if we can please try to post ICly about these items.

Also, if anyone has an idea for how characters can relay information more efficiently, we can brainstorm here.

Comments

[chosenbylight]

Hmm, I would say yes and no?

If it's 100% the responsibility of the people that are interested in the plot to drag it out of the other characters who were given info but are hanging onto it then that would be super draining. I think there would probably be some element of that in the advertisement of there BEING a group of characters who are interested in knowing what they can about the mystery -- but to keep asking all the time WHAT DO U KNOW WHAT HAVE U HEARD would just be annoying.

But I think like if there were some mechanism to be like "hey club I talked to this NPC here's what he said", which happened on a regular basis and like. If people did not all attend then they might at least share their info with those who did? Idk IF THAT MAKES SENSE I am loosely basing this on several different mechanisms in other games when I used to run Monster Hunting Orders lmao

[groundrules]

I think, maybe if you're okay to give an example of the mechanisms or structures you're referring to — possibly, this is where I'm not following 100%.

Because right now, in my head, I'm thinking this sounds pretty much like the player-run study group, but on a set or more frequent schedule. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!)

[valeas]

I think this is where I fall on it, too -- info-sharing does feel more dialogue/communication heavy, so network posts for it make the most sense to me. It leaves the more action-y stuff for logs, and it's not like network convos can't lead to action, they often do.

I'm less certain on how I'd feel about there being an official club that others need report to, it might change the vibe of the group? Which admittedly is chaotic, so if it makes for more efficient exchanges then I do understand.

[gladiokinesis]

Reclaiming Diego, covid got the best of me

+1!

[northerndragon]

The study group idea is still useful, but network is convenient for fast and efficient info exchange. (I am not sure what the network is really even for, if it’s not for this and maybe calls for help!) It also obviates potential issues with stuff only getting shared at meetings that not everyone feels like their characters can/would attend.

Study group worked super well for the lighthouse, where we didn’t have a lot of NPCs, but might not be as viable in something like the current setting, where such a meeting would be noticed (and difficult because of the split between ships). In the future it seems like the same considerations might apply — there will be times when a study group is viable and fun, and times when it might be less workable.

[inferus]

I worry it can feel difficult to have multiple IC conversations that are essentially the same thing/answering the same questions over and over especially when the character has no further information so it's a lot of 'I don't know'. It'd be nice if there is a regular 'sharing post' where people could comment: "Here's the new things my character learned" or "Here is what my character investigated" like a bullet point list or a sentence, which is OOC, but use that as the starter. And then characters can ICly comment to that starter if they have anything to add, anything that connects with that information, anything of interest to say, any more in depth questions to ask, but that starter lays it all out on the line up front so all basic questions are answered.

I think that would be easier to digest and organize. On top of that, it would still allow IC conversations and connections to happen, but it can also help if people are busy that month and can't thread as much. They could quickly look through to see what their character could learn.

Otherwise, there's just a lot of information to try to absorb and trying to thread out everything would be very time consuming. I think before there was an OOC portion above and an IC portion below, but maybe just combining them in a network post could help streamline and allow people to engage more easily.

And I agree I tend to only network post if it's a Big Thing like the couple of times Wrath has done so - he had a lot to share, and the information would affect the entire group. Otherwise it's hard to make a network post for every single thing learned cause it's hard to know how much it matters in the grand scheme of thing.

[valeas]

yeah, i actually do really agree that it can depend on the setting/arc. this intermission has felt more like a mini-arc as opposed to an intermission like ellethia did (in terms of all the irons in the furnace), so maybe it can be a mix and match sort of thing according to need.

[groundrules]

So glad you're better! And, of course — reclaimed!

[groundrules]

I think your idea does a good job of compiling what everyone's been throwing around!

Everyone seems to like the thought of a discussion fixture to communicate what they've learned. I worry a little that if it's done exclusively OOCly, it could devolve into joyless hand-waving. However, I'm really intrigued by this idea of a hybrid you're suggesting — all top levels into that post can be very short OOC-style summaries (either of discoveries or of what's been being undertaken as investigation), and characters can ICly comment with their reactions, their questions, their speculation.

That could be a prospectively very elegant solution to keep things compact (through OOC summaries), responsive (with IC interaction) and timely (through a regular fixture). There's an inevitable danger of 'what if something is discussed ten times over in various subthreads,' but I admit I don't think that's ever going to be 100% avoidable.

I guess the one thing is: if characters aren't... really compelled to post ICly about their clues, would they submit their information to the compilation post? And who'd run it? I guess one easy answer would be having whatever NPC is in charge of them do it. Presumably characters would feel a tiny bit more compelled to answer the call of that 'authority.' Or enough so that it could give players a plausible reason to say they did.

+1

[rumorate]

I know that this is supposed to be in favor of more IC options, but I really don't think that the OOC options should be neglected? Because as much as I want to try to engage with as many people ICly as possible, if we are receiving these small, disparate clues to the bigger picture, a better OOC forum might help for people to realize that the clues are connected, and discuss how to bring those characters together ICly.

At the speed with which the game moves at times, trying to find the pieces to fit together organically through IC conversations can be difficult. If it's not something big enough to warrant a network post, it's harder to figure out how to share. Perhaps these two pieces together do warrant a post, but the characters have to connect to realize that. We need to be able to tell who has what and sometimes the most efficient way to do that is with an OOC portion.

[weifinder]

I wonder on this: for each event section, can we "pin" a post in the Network Community to act as that kind of touchstone? I forget what the limitations are for communities and post pinning, but that way it's always easy on hand, so you can roll in there and add a new bit or check in and start up an IC interaction for someone's bit anytime without losing track of it on the community?

As far as compelling, maybe have it be part of the structure of signing up for NPC interactions or plot pieces. Posting an OOC summary in this Network Post, and responding to any IC interactions it spawns? The handwave can be why characters all know of this, being that they're perhaps networking with each other more regularly -- or we don't worry about it at all, since that's a logistics failure I see happen often enough in games, just go right for it instead of worry over the specific whys?

[chosenbylight]

I'm not 100% sure of the mechanisms that would work in this game, or the interest in what I'm describing tbh. But like I said I think we could benefit from more structure besides "everybody should post when they have information" since it's difficult to get an idea of when that is, and IC-ly it may not make sense to do so.

In one of the games I was in, for the Hunter Group, we did have a regular check-in with each other for anything that they had going on/what they had learned. This WAS conducted in an OOC format but it had a lot of engagement back and forth. It also served as something of a regular post for us to use as a sounding board to plan other interactions/posts off of. WHILE I AM in favor of handling mostly everything IC, if OOC things like that are used to then PRODUCE IC interactions, this is good also! I mainly just am not into a bullet list dump of information and that's where it leaves off.

+1

[rumorate]

I like this idea! I think it's a great way to track what's going on, and if it's an actual live post, people can track top levels so they can stay on top/tag in as things are added/relevant to what they have to offer. It also means having to comb through less posts/threads to try and keep track of what's being discovered.

[inferus]

I think if people had a post that they could collectively come to in order to offer up their clues in an easy, streamlined fashion, they would. They may be feeling like the rest of us, thinking their small clue isn't worthy of its own network post or not having the time to manage an entire network post based on a small clue or hoping that whoever had the rest of the clue saw their post and realized it related.

Maybe they're looking for an opening to share/exchange information more easily.

I think the issue with a NPC-ICly posting it is that none of the characters trust any of the NPCs like at all. However, if the post was just like a placeholder for all potential clue discussion and not from a specific NPC at all (even if the mod journal is the one that made the network post) then characters would use it more if that makes sense?

+1

[weifinder]

+1

[inferus]

The pinning would be super helpful and having one post per like event, or per part of the arc, or monthly/whatever makes the most sense. And I agree not worrying about the why would be really nice too, because there's so much information that being able to disseminate it easily and straightforwardly to as many people as possible is the most important part.

[weifinder]

My other thought here is -- make a network post, but have the summary of what was learned and a link to that post in this Gathering Intel Post, so you can find it easy, but people can go wild talking there and keep the Gathering Intel Post clear and easy to look through. For the same less combing through to figure out what's important, and more motivation to post over information learned to share around ICly.

Re: +1

[groundrules]

Any idea if journals without a paid account can track top levels? Just want to make sure we wouldn't be unintentionally excluding folks.

Actually, I'm talking as if I don't have a perfectly useful non-paid account here. I'll give it a whirl.

Re: +1

[rumorate]

Yes! All journals can track top levels. You click the bell -> More Options -> and then select the checkbox for tracking top levels (also make sure to remove the check box for sending all the comments if you don't want them).

It's easy and I use it to keep track of top levels on event posts all the time.

[weifinder]

Let me check -- yes, you can track a whole post for every time a new comment is made to it with an unpaid account! You can't track individual threads, just the whole post.

[rumorate]

Yeah, this also would work too! As long as we had like ... one central depository for plot information so people can engage and plan I think that would be a big help.

[weifinder]

Yeah also this for top levels, though it wouldn't tell you about conversations within those threads, for where that matters (or if it does).

Re: +1

[groundrules]

Thanks so much — we could include the tracking instructions for grandmas like me in a post note. I'm not sure about pinning it — I'll give that a think. But for sure we can tag it.

I think my only other lingering concern is: removing plot discussion from the network and centring it in just a compiled post could effectively heavily reduce IC network use and opportunities for characters to make new CR. But let's give things a go first and see where we land.

[weifinder]

Yeah, and as I was also thinking about up above: having one Gathering Intel Post, and using it to leave links to the actual network posts to discuss the info that on the Gathering Intel Post is summarised and linked to. Mostly so we can streamline the Gathering Intel Post, and keep the fun of IC interactions in the network comm happening, but not have to hunt around for when info was shared.

Also means you could leave a comment to the Gathering Intel Post top-levels with "and here My Character talked about Evil Jellyfish Driving the Boats, Actually" or whatever else they knew but hadn't made a full post about yet, but did bring up in someone else's network post.

[groundrules]

I think Wrath's player has put forward a solid solution that might answer some of what you flagged.