NEW + OPEN DISCUSSION

[tripled_mods]

Hey everyone! First of all, I've got some great news! We finally have a PREMISE PAGE! This will help all members, new and current, to describe what the game is about. Enabling will be easier and figuring out just what we do here will as well. (I know that was something a lot of people asked when first thinking about joining the game-- I get asked it all the time, so hopefully this will help everyone out!)

SECONDLY and very important, the moderators would like to launch an open discussion about methods to help make the game more accessible, bring in new players, and improve the game overall. Anon comments will be enabled so long as there is no harassment of other players. Please use this post to give suggestions, things you would like to see in the game, current problems with the game itself that you would like to bring up, or anything else you can think of related to these purposes. Bear in mind that this is for constructive purposes! If you have a comment, make sure to provide a possible solution or improvement that you would like to see.

THIS DISCUSSION IS OPEN TO ANY WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE: MEMBERS AND POTENTIAL MEMBERS ALIKE.

( A Note: This is not a complaint, love, or HMD post for specific players, as usual please use the suggestions/complaints page or wait until the next HMD if you have a situation that you need to bring up with another player. )

Comments

[lifeisbrief]

The mod team has been working to make the game more open, and to make our roles clearer and continue to involve the playerbase. The elimination of the modpole role and the institution of lists of mod duties to accompany our contact information was a part of that. Just looking at the first page of the OOC community right now, we have not only this post and the October virus poll, but Andy's post to get us ready for ATP, and the runoff poll regarding the ic newsletter. And, of course, that game newsletter is a project we're enacting with lots of input from the playerbase, though it was delayed by the departure of the mod who was originally going to run it.

It is a good idea to put some information about the pace and general style on the premise page. It sounds like the people you're talking to have an impression of the game that's rather outdated at this point, so the more channels to give them an accurate idea the better.

Regarding the CR meme, the virus/event plot posts are usually more fruitful. More friending memes and open conversations to involve players more with each other are definitely ideas we like. You can also post ic and ooc memes whenever you want! The system in DDD is open to allow a lot of player participation like that.

A regularly scheduled test drive would be great, thank you for suggesting that!

[(Anonymous)]

I appreciate the push from the mods to be more active and visible but there's one area I wonder if it wouldn't be better if there was a modpole: apps. This isn't criticism of Ichi so much as acknowledgement that apps are (hopefully) frequent. While there are times we're able to get to them quickly, other times they wait more than a week. While that's common in other games, DDD isn't quiet so large. I suppose a schedule would be an alternative but again, I don't think the size warrants it. Having another mod help out is another solution, if you have the time for it, if you didn't want to bring in another player to the mod team.

Another suggestion would be a more detailed reason for rejection. I've had players tell me they weren't quiet sure what to change and looking at the rejection notes from some other games, ours are a bit short.

I'm glad there's going to be a bigger push for ATP and that there's a premise page. I'm raising the concerns about apps because if successful, it will lead to more of them.

I'd also like to second, or third, a more frequent test drive.

[dualer]

Hey there, anon! Thanks for the suggestions. Firstly, I'm very sorry for my recent slowness on getting to applications; to make up for my hiatus, the other mods have offered to help me out with apps until I'm back, so hopefully judgements shouldn't become too slow or fall behind too much! When I return in November, I should be back to handling applications every couple of days, and honestly, no matter how frequent they are, they aren't particularly hard to keep up with! But the other mods are still always around to give me a hand when I need it, so there shouldn't be a problem there.

I'd be happy to try giving more detailed reasons for rejections, too! It's a good idea, so thank you for that! Sometimes, it really is something as simple as the application not showing a grasp for the character voice or personality, but in future rejections, I can take some time to see if I can't more thoroughly explain my reasoning or how I think things could be improved.

EDIT because I shouldn't respond to things when I'm in a hurry omfg I missed a whole thing.

While I'm all for the extra details in app rejections, for the purposes of privacy, it seems better to make sure that players know that they can request a detailed explanation for app rejection, with the option to receive it in private; some people may be apprehensive of asking for further details if it's going to be in public, and I want to make sure that they feel comfortable requesting that explanation! So, we'll add a note to the applications page that a more detailed (and private) explanation of rejection can be requested, and I'll also make the offer for that directly to the player when I reject apps.