A NEW RULE APPEARS

[these_balls]

Hey, Route!

Yes, more new stuff. Everything chaaanges, chaaaanges, it's evolutionary~

1) New apps rule!:
In the interest of clarity and app processing speed, we now ask that potential applicants post their application in comments rather than linking. If the app contains explicit references to 'hard' spoilers (think big reveals, like 'Dumbledore dies', I SEE DEAD PEOPLE, I am your father etc), players should put the application in their own journal or their character's journal and link it, making sure to mention the presence of spoilers within.

We've always gotten linked apps (goodness knows I'm guilty of linking an app or five that was spoiler-free!), but having them all on the page means the mods don't have to open a million tabs while processing, and spoiler links keep fellow players from stumbling onto things that might ruin a canon for them.

This is a rule; as of today (the 11th of October), if your app is linked but not marked for spoilers, it will not be processed that week. We trust all our players will read and abide by the rules list, which has not changed besides this.

2) Polling about the passwords:
RELAX, we're not changing anything concerning passwords...yet. But we're thinking it's about time this thing got an overhaul, don't you think?

Our proposed fix: What we'd like to do is remove the passwords altogether and replace them with something of a task system: on the rules and FAQ pages, tasks such as 'explain in one sentence how your character feels about strawberries in their personality section' or 'include a link to your favorite youtube video in the canon links section'.

The goal here is to make sure people have at least given a cursory visit to both pages. These tasks would change arbitrarily and be located arbitrarily within the FAQ and rules. Yes, these would be more work for you, and for us, but the current password system feels outdated and obvious.

Your turn: How do you feel, Route? Hate this idea? Love passwords? Have a better idea? Let us know!

[Poll #1785767]


If you have grievances, comments, suggestions or ideas concerning either the new app rule or the password system, you can: PM the mod account, PM any of us individually, catch us on AIM, or post (anonymously or not) to our (screened) Suggestions post.

Looking forward to hear from you!

Comments

[bakuhadera.livejournal.com]

How is linking apps considered negative? Just asking out of general curiosity here because any time I've ever modded a game, I've opened tabs to each application I had to read and then went through them like a check list. Having an app all in one place doesn't seem any different than opening a tab to those app comments to me. But I am sorry I caused an inconvenience with mine when I did that. I just saw it as a chance, as an apper, to not have to worry about character limits in my comments. It's the single-most annoying thing I've ever found about doing an app in the first place.

On a more constructive note... If you're worried about the password so much, I would suggest putting it into the faq section and have it set as a screened comment post. This way, you can force new acceptances into commenting to let you know they've read through it. Though it seems easier to just have it apply to players who are new to the game, since older or current players would likely already know this information. This might require the mods to make a master list of players (new and old) that only they can see and crosscheck apps with players, but it would be worth it. And if people don't comment for whatever reason, the mods could always gently nudge them that way as a reminder that they're important information. I say the faq section, though, because as important as the rules really are in any game... they're all pretty much the same in every game anyway. Reading that section becomes redundant, and people generally skim through for any major discrepancies each comm might have to their particular set. Something that's hidden in a rules section can be easily missed if people aren't paying enough attention, but a faq section forces people to at least read through more carefully since it's important information on how the game really works.

I'm not sure my suggestion is helpful, but it would be an alternative to having past appers go through the pain of rereading reference material for any new password on another character they're applying for. Unless you completely disregard that section entirely if they're still a current player? Which might be more helpful entirely XD;

...edited because I read through it afterward and it made no sense at all in some areas. Hopefully this is better. @@ And I really shouldn't comment when I'm tired lol.

[these_balls]

It isn't negative! Or at least, it would definitely be less noticeable for us, if say, Route got somewhere around 10-15 apps a week. But Route gets, on average, about 25 apps per app round, sometimes more, sometimes less, but at least 20.

With 25-odd apps and three to five mods checking them every week (and we can't necessarily split them up, since each app has to be approved by at the very least 2 people, to avoid stuff like cast bias), having everything in one place saves us time and energy we can otherwise spend actually checking apps. Compound that with the fact that note every LJ user knows how to turn off custom comment pages, and the convenience of being able to keep track of everything as much as possible for future reference...I realize that as an ex-mod you probably know all this already, but I just wanted to clarify for anyone else who might be reading.

No one individually caused an inconvenience--it's just an effect that stacks with time. One or two linked apps isn't a hassle. Ten out of twenty, with five of those in strange colors, is what becomes daunting. We didn't want to overhaul the system or anything, this just seemed like most mess-free solution for everybody involved.

As much as I think your proposed solution re: passwords has merit, I think it would work very well in a small game. I'm not sure how applicable it would be in a game as big as Route, though. With over a hundred players handling a few hundred characters, the seven of us put in enough time keeping track of starters, the taken lists, the drops and apps every week, I can't imagine adding a list that big to the pile. Not to mention, it would get really confusing if someone apped and dropped a character, then re-apped say, six months later, or players using the same handle, etc. Essentially, I'm sure it would work fine for a smaller game, but it seems like too complex a solution for us.

Your suggestion is helpful--any feedback is precious. And I hear you about the rules being similar in every game; we feel they merit emphasis, though, so we're not likely to take the spotlight off them. What we ARE considering is a system that seasoned players would have little trouble with, and that new players would have to look up. But nothing's been changed yet, and we might not even change a thing, depending on how the poll turns out.

I hope that clears up our reasoning a bit? Thanks for taking the time to let us know your thoughts!