Hey there! I'm going to try to be as clear and concise as possible, but it's the morning so I beg your pardon in case this turns out more disjointed than intended.
Regarding apps;
Is posting apps really that much of an inconvenience? I don't mean to sound rude by that question--it's just that in order to post an app, your options are either 'link it', or 'post it'. So presumably posting is what a potential apper would have done in the first place, had linking not been an option. Time-wise, they're relatively similar, and if you really want to avoid having to calculate character or word counts (and I absolutely cannot blame you on this, it's a pain), the simple solution is to divide your post by sections rather than word count. Having more (uneven) comments for your app might look messy, but it gets the job done more effectively than trying to figure out whether to cut things off at paragraph 4 or 5.
We chose it because this was the solution we could find that was the least fussy and easiest to implement for everyone involved. We definitely understand it's going to take some time before people settle into posting instead of linking, and we'll take the pulse of things after a few app rounds to see how things are going. We're trying to be more on the ball and more responsive here, not less, so please don't think we're dismissing you. Any feedback helps.
Your comment on spoilers is duly noted--we'll test run the new system for a few app rounds, and if linking doesn't decrease, we'll consider white-texting, as someone has proposed, or simply marking the entire app post for spoilers. To be more specific on what kind of things we mean by 'spoilers', we're talking things that absolutely have to be mentioned in, say, the personality section because it was a LIFE CHANGING EVENT, or a history write-up, since most canon wikis have their own spoiler-cuts. I hear you on spoilers for older canons, but we feel it would be unreasonable to expect, say, a Vanitas player not to expose his face more than six months after the canon has come out, even though it constitutes a spoiler.
Regarding passwords;
The short answer: we have the password system because Route is huge, and there's too much information and too many new people apping each round to risk new players coming in blind. We know it's flawed; that's why we want to change it.
The long answer: Route has, physically, the biggestsetting of any LJRP I've been in. (I don't want to speak in absolutes, since I can't possibly claim to know every RP out there.) Multiple cities, roads that take weeks to travel, Teams, over two hundred creatures with types and weaknesses...and maybe, at some point, whole new regions (but you didn't hear it from me). Compound this with a game mechanic that spans a series of real-life video games that not all our players are familiar with to start, and you can see that not having everybody on the same page is a recipe for disaster. Of course, on our end, we're working on updating the FAQ and streamlining things. This is part of that process. We know the password system is flawed; that's why we want to make it better. But the honor system feels inadequate for a game of this size.
We'll definitely consider exempting veteran players from giving us passwords or completing tasks--if we do change the system--because that seems really sound, or try to devise a solution that veteran players would easily be able to answer and new players would have to look up.
Your response wasn't rude and I hope mine didn't come off that way, either! I really hope this helped clear a couple things up. Ugh, why do morning exist? Thanks for helping us out with your lovely feedback. The more information we get, the more we can change things for the better!
no subject
Regarding apps;
Is posting apps really that much of an inconvenience? I don't mean to sound rude by that question--it's just that in order to post an app, your options are either 'link it', or 'post it'. So presumably posting is what a potential apper would have done in the first place, had linking not been an option. Time-wise, they're relatively similar, and if you really want to avoid having to calculate character or word counts (and I absolutely cannot blame you on this, it's a pain), the simple solution is to divide your post by sections rather than word count. Having more (uneven) comments for your app might look messy, but it gets the job done more effectively than trying to figure out whether to cut things off at paragraph 4 or 5.
We chose it because this was the solution we could find that was the least fussy and easiest to implement for everyone involved. We definitely understand it's going to take some time before people settle into posting instead of linking, and we'll take the pulse of things after a few app rounds to see how things are going. We're trying to be more on the ball and more responsive here, not less, so please don't think we're dismissing you. Any feedback helps.
Your comment on spoilers is duly noted--we'll test run the new system for a few app rounds, and if linking doesn't decrease, we'll consider white-texting, as someone has proposed, or simply marking the entire app post for spoilers. To be more specific on what kind of things we mean by 'spoilers', we're talking things that absolutely have to be mentioned in, say, the personality section because it was a LIFE CHANGING EVENT, or a history write-up, since most canon wikis have their own spoiler-cuts. I hear you on spoilers for older canons, but we feel it would be unreasonable to expect, say, a Vanitas player not to expose his face more than six months after the canon has come out, even though it constitutes a spoiler.
Regarding passwords;
The short answer: we have the password system because Route is huge, and there's too much information and too many new people apping each round to risk new players coming in blind. We know it's flawed; that's why we want to change it.
The long answer: Route has, physically, the biggestsetting of any LJRP I've been in. (I don't want to speak in absolutes, since I can't possibly claim to know every RP out there.) Multiple cities, roads that take weeks to travel, Teams, over two hundred creatures with types and weaknesses...and maybe, at some point, whole new regions (but you didn't hear it from me). Compound this with a game mechanic that spans a series of real-life video games that not all our players are familiar with to start, and you can see that not having everybody on the same page is a recipe for disaster. Of course, on our end, we're working on updating the FAQ and streamlining things. This is part of that process. We know the password system is flawed; that's why we want to make it better. But the honor system feels inadequate for a game of this size.
We'll definitely consider exempting veteran players from giving us passwords or completing tasks--if we do change the system--because that seems really sound, or try to devise a solution that veteran players would easily be able to answer and new players would have to look up.
Your response wasn't rude and I hope mine didn't come off that way, either! I really hope this helped clear a couple things up. Ugh, why do morning exist? Thanks for helping us out with your lovely feedback. The more information we get, the more we can change things for the better!