How to bring back the people?

[SwordSaintMusashi]

From what you are saying, it is exactly the crux of your point: You yourself are trying to build up a good reputation through a means related to an Admin position so that when you run, you will instill confidence in those voting for you.

[Adanu]

Way to miss my point

Anyway, I've said my piece here. Swift can keep missing what I'm saying all he wants.

[SwordSaintMusashi]

Way to miss my point

Anyway, I've said my piece here. Swift can keep missing what I'm saying all he wants.

Then plainly state your point, and stop dashing around the bush: I want to know what it is you've been rambling on about for 4 or 5 posts now as well.

[Swift]

Just because you run for adminship doesn't mean you will win, or even get anything done. LA is NOT the same as DMA, don't try to compare them.

So...if the community itself decides to vote against a candidate...how can that be the fault of the admin, or the old boys club, or any other group that supposedly holds ALFAs fate in their hands, rather than the community?

If there are problems with the way we go about voting for admin, or the eligibility criteria, that is specific discussion to have, separate to all the general "ALFA is dying, why?" threads. Lets have it and lets make it rational. I do not think anybody here is actually opposed to improving how we go about things, but blaming the old boys club or the Admin themselves or even the candidates that selflessly put their names into the hat time and time again despite how shitty it can be to be an Admin helps nobody. Is it really any wonder people do not want to be an Admin when they cop flak just because it isn't the first time they have put their name in the hat all because they want to help?

Nobody is every going to get everyone here to agree and Admin will sometimes (or often) do things you do not agree with, but nobody puts their name down because they want to have a laugh or piss on the community. I find it, quite frankly, disheartening the amount of shit that has been thrown at candidates recently just because it is not their first rodeo.

[I-KP]

- More jam; less toast. If we can’t find more jam then we get rid of the surplus toast. ALFA’s current activity is barely enough to moderately populate two servers; I suggest keeping TSM & BG and combine key areas from all other servers into one ‘campaign location’ server that is only accessible by means of DM’d adventures.
...

I can agree on all these points except for keeping TSM. That travel map is still pretty screwed. If anything, Keep BG and WHL/MS.

You won't get any argument from me on keeping MS over TSM. MS it's a criminally underused and well-rounded server IMHO.

[I-KP]

Other issues aside the soon to come push for getting DMS into regular sessions will have a great effect on getting more players spending more time in game.

It'll be good. Seriously.

Certainly can't hurt, can it.

[maxcell]

- More jam; less toast. If we can’t find more jam then we get rid of the surplus toast. ALFA’s current activity is barely enough to moderately populate two servers; I suggest keeping TSM & BG and combine key areas from all other servers into one ‘campaign location’ server that is only accessible by means of DM’d adventures.
...

I can agree on all these points except for keeping TSM. That travel map is still pretty screwed. If anything, Keep BG and WHL/MS.

You won't get any argument from me on keeping MS over TSM. MS it's a criminally underused and well-rounded server IMHO.

Twice. Twice in one thread, I am in agreement with Adanu.

[Blindhamsterman]

On the other hand, TSM is the server thats actually got someone building new areas for it, seems rather counterproductive to axe that one, might as well just tell Heero you don't care that he's spent a helluva lot of time building for it... :/

TSM is home to more players than MS, theres a reason for that, and it cannot really be DM activity as theres a few DMs on MS that have said they'd do stuff if folk were there.

[Adanu]

On the other hand, TSM is the server thats actually got someone building new areas for it, seems rather counterproductive to axe that one, might as well just tell Heero you don't care that he's spent a helluva lot of time building for it... :/

TSM is home to more players than MS, theres a reason for that, and it cannot really be DM activity as theres a few DMs on MS that have said they'd do stuff if folk were there.

It's because TSM has been around a lot longer and has more cemented players who won't leave without reason, despite the shitty map.

You remove TSM, and they'd flock to other servers out of necessity. Just look at BG when Sandy hit.

[Ronan]

- More jam; less toast. If we can’t find more jam then we get rid of the surplus toast. ALFA’s current activity is barely enough to moderately populate two servers; I suggest keeping TSM & BG and combine key areas from all other servers into one ‘campaign location’ server that is only accessible by means of DM’d adventures.

I know I've said this before, but I'll try again: the jam-toast analogy does not work here, because jam does not get up and walk. People do. If we allow multiple PCs per player, the jam can even teleport around at will. Players per server or players per area is not a useful metric for social density, because empty servers or empty areas have no effect on social density.

I see ALFA's social density problems as caused by the one-PC-per-server rule, as well as our various cliques that don't get along. I see its declining population as caused by lack of DM coverage, NWN2's decline, D&D's massive level imbalances and ALFA's slow level progression. However as BG showed not many months back, consistent, active DMs can produce 15+ player nights.

I think this bares repeating: ALFA does not and has probably never had the resources (in DMs, players, content, etc.) to support campaigns and parties spanning the entire range of character levels. Even if it did, DMing higher levels is simply harder than DMing lower levels. The result of this is that we don't support low-levels very well, and so people quit rather than re-roll.

Adanu, TA can only veto things, much like other admin. However they probably veto less often than other admin.

It is sad indeed if we need to reward, let alone force, people to play DnD together instead of alone. If that is where ALFA stands, then it might as well shut down now.
(Though removing combat xp from loners might be for the better. But some xp should be there to entice a person to log in and keep the flag up so that someone else would then follow.)

T, we already reduce combat XP for soloers. We do not change any other form of XP, which can incentivize not-paying-attention solo play because mailmen and taverners can rack up gains without paying close attention to the game. On BG we rarely see people adventuring or seeking combat. Delivering mail is much more common.

[Rotku]

The main two 'positions' that have the power to really change things for the better are DMA and TA.

Yet how long did it take to get someone to step up for the Tech Admin position this time round? Oh, and surprise surprise, it was someone who has held the role before! Curse those old-club peoples, stepping forward to help out when no one else does! How dare Ronan!

[Adanu]

Seems to me that a good first step would be asking why DMs leave or otherwise don't DM after a while, and going from there with them. A second step would be allowing two PCs at once to help reduce player burnout.

Here's the thing, I don't mean talk about it for months with no change. I mean actually ask about it, discuss the opinions and views that pop up, maybe poll, and then do something about the issues that pop up. I don't want to see a repeat of the Amn PC situation where a majority of people were for it but the minority said no and that was that.

Rotku, correlation doesn't equal causation. When I say old boys club, I mean those who refuse to think change might be a good thing, and goes against 'the spirit of ALFA".

This topic is about discussing ideas on how to help bring players back, not for you to do Ad Hominems against me. Get on topic or we might as well close this one down too.

[Heero]

Those arent ad hominems.

[Adanu]

This topic is about ideas and discussions to attract old players back, and possible bring new ones in as well. If you can't tolerate differing viewpoints and just want to degrade them and belittle them, there is no point to this thread. There is also no point to this thread if none of the ideas are being understood, as it seems is the case with what I'm saying. I honestly do want ALFA to make it past gamespys shutdown and help put some energy back into a decent RP place. So, we can either trade insults and passive aggressive Ad Hominems forever, or we can actually try and make progress on where to go from this point. I will stop using 'old boys club' if people will actualy listen to each other. Deal?

[dergon darkhelm]

I think what he means is that dismissing the argument brought by an individual is not the same as attacking the individual making the argument...hence not ad hominem.