kmj's platform and question thread

[oldgrayrogue]

As Lead Admin, what are you going to do about the fact that once someone becomes and Admin they stop playing as a player in Alfa?

I know this is KMJ's thread, but this is not an accurate statement. I have continued playing since becoming Admin. So did Audark. Other Admin DM or build. There are a lot of different ways to play in ALFA.

[CloudDancing]

For example some Admin

I don't debate that some people log in once or twice a week/month to play and so forth. But that ignores the anecdotal evidence I have read from Admin, stating that their enjoyment of the game and their ability to play has decreased as well as their ability to enjoy it (mainly because they were getting interrupted during their play time with admin issues; which I have seen happen to Admin WHILE I was dming them.)

But until the core attention to players needs and desires is answered and we are retaining new players through some attractive and natural features of the Alfa servers, what role are Admin serving?

[Rotku]

For example some Admin havn't played a character or interacted with the players beyond IRC chat in many years while others found the position so overwhelming it removed any pleasure they ever had from helping people as players and withdraw entirely. Or they take NO pleasure in this game anymore and hang on due to some sense of nostalgia for players and people that will never come back here and do not care.

I don't know what you are talking about, Cloud. Nor, I think, do you.

Out of the current Admin:

AL Plays
Curm HDMs
OGR Plays
Both myself and Hialmar would like to play (or DM) if we had a bit more time on our hands.

And kmj, who will take over LA soon by th elooks of it, currently plays.

With that in mind how do you feel about the fact that the refusal to provide basic concessions, such as player housing, reliable scheduled DM times, refusing player attempts to improve and contribute to the game, providing trained and committed Dms (that relflect the PLAYERS interests), as well as the current assumed rule of PG-13 servers is effecting Alfa's ability to both attract and retain players?

That is a loaded question, if I ever saw one.

(1) Player housing, reliable DM schedules, 'attempts to imrpove and contribute to the game, committed DMs that reflect players interests and to a certain extent DM training, the Admin have no say over. Are you wanting the DMA to say that no one can DM unless they can committe to a regular schedule? Or maybe the Lead Admin to veto any DM intakes unless they can be sure the DMs are fully committed.

(2) The "current assumed rule of PG-13" issue you have completely lost me on. ALFA does have a PG-13 rule, unless where mutual consent is provided. I don't know what you are getting at here, but I would be willing to guess that this dirty laundry has nothing to do with kmj, Lead Admin or 99% of ALFA's members.

what role are Admin serving?

You know the server, where all your characters are stored? Admin.
This website where we are able to all communicate? Admin
What about the haks, from which we draw all our custom content? Admin.
Oh yeah, you know that Admissions system, through which all new members come? Guess what... Admin
And the recruiting and training of new DMs? Admin.

Need I go on? I fear you are mistaking Admin as solely a legislative body. This is incorrect. Admin's largest function is executive, involving the day to day running of ALFA.

[Audark]

I think it best we refrain from sidetracking this thread about kmjs nomination,

Cloud I would suggest you start a separate thread to discuss your problems more directly instead of asking them in a roundabout fashion in someones nomination thread, he likely has no idea of what you are even complaining about. Without the background information being given to frame your questions, no one can respond reasonably to your concerns and it just looks like forum sniping.

All of us have our concerns or frustrations in ALFA but, while slow and tedious in process sometimes, they can be addressed properly if we give it a chance.

[danielmn]

Copied from another thread and posted here, as it may be relevent....

No-one wants automatic scripts to generate random death to PCs people have dedicated time and creative effort to. ... The land isn't supposed to be unpredictable and deadly for PCs to wander, without them pursuing some worthwhile story and challenge, also known as a DM event.

Right.

This is the talking out of both sides of the mouth part that I get confused about.

ALFA is super serious, hardcore RP, realistic all the time.

ALFA is true to PNP.

ALFA is not true to PNP because that doesn't work in an online game.

ALFA is not hardcore all the time because that's no fun.

ALFA is a campaign server, not a persistent world, because script suck and DMs rock.

ALFA is a persistent world, not a campaign server, because not everyone can play with DMs.

You know, ALFA has a serious identity crisis.

I would prefer an environment that is implemented to serve any niche well, over one that accomplishes a little bit of everything equally poorly.

PS: So no "random death," eh? PC death should be purely the domain of DM bias? Or are we going to pretend that doesn't exist, hm?

Do you see Lead Admin as being responsible for the direction the project proceeds in? If so, do you plan on handling the quanderies above in some fashion, and if so how?

[CloudDancing]

I know I come off a bit harsh here and Rotku makes vaild points in regards to this. He is perfectly right and I really don't think this is place to detail how each item the below has been handled in the last year because we all know of the ups and downs that occured.

You know the server, where all your characters are stored? Admin.
This website where we are able to all communicate? Admin
What about the haks, from which we draw all our custom content? Admin.
Oh yeah, you know that Admissions system, through which all new members come? Guess what... Admin
And the recruiting and training of new DMs? Admin.

Need I go on? I fear you are mistaking Admin as solely a legislative body. This is incorrect. Admin's largest function is executive, involving the day to day running of ALFA

But the questions are relevant for a Lead Admin to consider.

Who is the most consistent DM in Alfa right now? Viigas. He comes every week if he can, same night if he can. He does not falter and he does not fade. His core group, the Alfa old guard of players who do not play with anyone else but his group except rare occasions and Garlus (who is a very special Dwarf ) And I think in his esscence has provided the most sustainable model and that which reflects the vision of PnP style roleplaying.

Those issues I outlined while harsh, are real. And I know change is painful and heart-wrenching when so much time and investment has been made. And that is a Lead Admin's role.

[kmj2587]

Copied from another thread and posted here, as it may be relevent....

Lots of insightful stuff

Do you see Lead Admin as being responsible for the direction the project proceeds in? If so, do you plan on handling the quanderies above in some fashion, and if so how?

No, I don't see the Lead Admin being responsible for the project's direction. I observed a lot of admin behavior over the course of my time as head of the CC, and it really seems to me that the Lead Admin position exists primarily for three reasons: Not everything falls conveniently into the portfolio of the other admin, someone has to settle disputes between admin, and having an odd number of admin ensures there's never a tie in an admin vote. I think the name of the position is deceptive relative to the actual responsibility that comes with it. The power of the Lead Admin to set the tone for the project stems from the personal influence wielded by the person occupying the position.

That being said, I'd still like to address the queries above. Regalis is absolutely right about the dichotomy that exists within ALFA. The problem is that every single one of those statements is true. ALFA is a globe spanning organization in which player and DM density vary widely depending on your time zone. There is no single ALFA experience, there is only what you can find to fit your schedule.

There are, however, two camps which I have seen spring up in arguments time and again. Not everyone fits into one or the other of these groups, but they always seem to show up. The first is the group of people who come to ALFA with a strong background in PnP. They often come to ALFA looking for a recreation of the game that they know and sit around the table playing with their friends. The second group comes to ALFA with experience centered more around video games and CRPGs in particular. This group tends to wonder why we're changing things so much in the first place and is more likely to emphasize the imperfections and drawbacks of rule changes, even when they are designed to make the game conform to PnP.

I'm not saying that either side is right or wrong, but I think it's these different perspectives in background and in game experience that have led to the "identity crisis" that we see now.

If you want my personal opinion, I prefer a more campaign oriented setup that emulates PnP to whatever degree can be reasonably obtained. I'm looking for DnD in digital form. That being said, if the situation I'm presented with gives me an option between proceeding more in the direction of a persistent world, or staying with the status quo, I will not stand in the way of a more persistent world system that doesn't conform to PnP. I would rather see ALFA move forward in ANY direction than stand still.

Cloud:
Your questions and most of your statements are all heavily loaded and/or based on incorrect information and assumptions. When you can take the time to formulate better questions, I will take the time to answer them. If you are simply looking to air your grievances, I suggest you do so in private. My inbox is always open.

[Blindhamsterman]

I prefer a more campaign oriented setup that emulates PnP to whatever degree can be reasonably obtained. I'm looking for DnD in digital form.

Do you have any thoughts on ways to attract additional DMs to ALFA, one of the biggest issues we face with achieving your preferred setup for ALFA is DMs, the few we have, have for the most part chosen their groups and stick to them or more often, are in timezones that do not fit a portion of the players.

Ideally we could do with having a DM for each side of the pond per server.

Any thoughts on ways to entice additional players to ALFA, due to the nature of three live servers, for the most part the player base is spread very thin, this causes large periods of time where one or even at times all three servers are completely empty. To resolve this, we'd likely either need to downsize (which results in players being closer together) or better, get additional players.

What are your thoughts on player retention? In the time I've been back playing ALFA, a massive number of players have logged in, played for a couple of weeks, or in some cases, only a day or so, then never been seen or heard from again.

Finally, From your point of view, where is ALFAs biggest weakness i.e. What is, in your mind the biggest issue for ALFA as it currently stands, and do you have any ideas on resolving this issue?

Thanks in advance!

[oldgrayrogue]

One of ALFA's "Pillars" is that ALFA shall be a persistent world. Do you think this should be abandoned in favor of pure campaign style play? How do you think ALFA can sustain a vibrant and active player base and DM presence if its servers are pure campaign servers as opposed to a persistent world which is its mandate? Do you believe static content for all live ALFA servers is necessary for ALFA to be considered a persistent world as opposed to a pure campaign server platform?

[Killthorne]

One of ALFA's "Pillars" is that ALFA shall be a persistent world. Do you think this should be abandoned in favor of pure campaign style play? How do you think ALFA can sustain a vibrant and active player base and DM presence if its servers are pure campaign servers as opposed to a persistent world which is its mandate? Do you believe static content for all live ALFA servers is necessary for ALFA to be considered a persistent world as opposed to a pure campaign server platform?

Can I answer these for kmj?

To answer all three questions simply: No. It can't. Yes, if there is not enough DM coverage.

~Killy, kmj representative since 1809~

[kmj2587]

One of ALFA's "Pillars" is that ALFA shall be a persistent world. Do you think this should be abandoned in favor of pure campaign style play? How do you think ALFA can sustain a vibrant and active player base and DM presence if its servers are pure campaign servers as opposed to a persistent world which is its mandate? Do you believe static content for all live ALFA servers is necessary for ALFA to be considered a persistent world as opposed to a pure campaign server platform?

What do you mean by "pure" campaign play? No one logs in unless there's a scheduled session? I don't think all vestiges of persistency should be dropped. My own behavior may be illustrative of my point. I rolled up Alex because I knew beforehand that there would be a regular DM campaign to participate in. In between campaign sessions, I log in pretty often to RP with other characters. For me, the PW aspect of ALFA serves mostly to further character development. Without the larger story of a DM campaign to make the character matter, I lose interest and generally end up retiring.

Campaign play and persistence are not mutually exclusive; each has its place. However, when it comes to allocating scarce resources to improve ALFA, I'm going to favor improving the campaign experience over the PW experience. To me, it's the DnD experience in ALFA that provides real value. The PW experience is much more of a CRPG experience to me, and there are many games that can provide a much better CRPG experience than NwN2.

I do think there is a minimum level of static content necessary for ALFA servers to survive, regardless of what they are classified as. Eventually characters run out of things to talk about, and Sir Shanksalot can only tell the tragic tale of his being orphaned by orcs so many times before no one wants to hear it anymore. However, this doesn't just extend to quests. Interesting sights to see, odd shops, or activities like the card table in the Elfsong on BG can all serve to stimulate RP. In addition, I'd also say that things like persistent storage and player housing should be included in the category of "static content", especially since they were supposed to be included in the roll out of the NwN2 servers in the first place.

As for our illustrious pillars, I mostly consider them bunk. In general I tend to think ALFA's system is unnecessarily legalistic, resulting from the plethora of lawyers among our membership. In most cases however, there is some utility in it once you look past the very formal looking exterior. In the case of the pillars though, they are nothing more than a pointless mission statement. I think we need to pursue what is in ALFA's interests now, in an environment which is very different from the one in which the pillars were written. There are none of the pillars with which I have any particular disagreement, but I don't like the idea that our hands are tied by a series of arbitrary declarations. Also, they spelled persistent wrong.

Do you have any thoughts on ways to attract additional DMs to ALFA, one of the biggest issues we face with achieving your preferred setup for ALFA is DMs, the few we have, have for the most part chosen their groups and stick to them or more often, are in timezones that do not fit a portion of the players.

Ideally we could do with having a DM for each side of the pond per server.

Any thoughts on ways to entice additional players to ALFA, due to the nature of three live servers, for the most part the player base is spread very thin, this causes large periods of time where one or even at times all three servers are completely empty. To resolve this, we'd likely either need to downsize (which results in players being closer together) or better, get additional players.

What are your thoughts on player retention? In the time I've been back playing ALFA, a massive number of players have logged in, played for a couple of weeks, or in some cases, only a day or so, then never been seen or heard from again.

I don't think we need to consider attracting new players and new DMs separately. We need to do two things: attract more members and make DMing a less intimidating experience. I've discussed my intentions on the PR side previously. While most of that discussion revolved around cooperation, that is because I think the best way to attract new members is to make genuine improvements to ALFA, rather than use PR tactics. As for making DMing a friendlier experience, I'd have to discuss that with our DMA. I apologize if that's an unsatisfying answer, but I prefer not to make promises or statements I am not capable of upholding. Suffice to say, I am very much in agreement with you that expansion of membership is preferable to downsizing our servers.

Unfortunately my answer is much the same on Player Retention. I have some ideas to throw around, but I'll need to discuss them with OGR first.

~Killy, kmj representative since 1809~

Since you've so much experience in speaking for me, how would you like to be my PR assistant?

[Killthorne]

Since you've so much experience in speaking for me, how would you like to be my PR assistant?

~Killy, kmj representative since 1782~

[JaydeMoon]

Ugh, are we still voting? Cause now I need to change my vote...

[Killthorne]

Ugh, are we still voting? Cause now I need to change my vote...

To what? Killthorne for Lead?




~Killy~

[mogonk]

If you want my personal opinion, I prefer a more campaign oriented setup that emulates PnP to whatever degree can be reasonably obtained. I'm looking for DnD in digital form.

All I needed to hear.

/support