A seadog looking for crewmates
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Pacing
POST CREATED Mar 3, 2015 1:34:54 GMT -8
Jacob likes this
Post by Elena on Mar 3, 2015 1:34:54 GMT -8
I have heard people say that the staff gives the pacing for a site; that they are creating by the power of example the community they want. Is it really so?
I find that no matter how quickly I answer the received posts, the others will post back, at their turn, much slower than I'd like.
How can I enforce a quicker pace? It used to be quicker in the past, but I think with a different member base. For me, the ideal case would be to receive 1-2 posts a week from everybody in a thread.
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Pacing
POST CREATED Mar 3, 2015 4:29:51 GMT -8
Elena likes this
Post by Jacob on Mar 3, 2015 4:29:51 GMT -8
Your dedication to your site is quite rare, Elena. Most owners abandon their own for various reasons, mime being unfortunate examples as you already know. That stated, I personally believe administrators and/or moderators posting slower does not necessarily mean they are "flakes." When able to join more locales, their responses might suffer; juggling multiple venues isn't always easy.
Offering rewards might help spark inspiration in some. That tactic certainly worked at a spot I had been a member of. Another brainchild would be to perhaps separate groups in site events to smaller ones. For instance, I shall never wrote with more than two individuals in a thread; also like you're aware, I can't determine when my symptoms will flare. No different than what is said by me to my family, I'll not keep their merriment stalled whilst I am confined to the lavatory.
In your predicament, Elena, try acquiring posters among the least busy beyond the computer screen. Given how Before the Mast dominantly attracts older players, with scarce historically minded adolescents, I do not think you would endure much trouble on the particular point. Added how you hail from Romania, European based members may further straiten the living souls which could satisfy your desires.
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the greatest general under the heavens
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Post by Egao, Egao Everywhere on Mar 3, 2015 4:34:28 GMT -8
A site's pacing boils down to two things: interest and experience. Interest is what we have when we're first joining the site. Experience is the result of the interaction with the site. The latter is what's important on the long run. If you want to build an active member base, the site has to have provided them a good time, and members can get this feeling by feeling accomplished from the site.
So speed is primarily a consequence of experience. When your rping in the site feels rewarding, interest will always follow. If you only have interest over something but lacking experience, it's gonna die like a lit candle on a windy day.
With this, I unfortunately don't really have a suggestion on how you can improve the pacing. It depends from community-to-community, like how philosophies and government styles may work on one country but not on another. Generically, you set up events, keep things going and rolling, with the key idea of making the rp experience a rewarding experience for members.
I've always promoted the staff as the leaders of site activity because it's their site. They have to have the interest and they are naturally optimistic about the experience. They have every reason to be active on their own site. If a staff is slow and uninterested, then what more of the member?
Recently, the sites I've been for the past year have only lasted 2-3 months, but the posts were quick but worth it. I've also improved a lot with both speed and writing. The member base in those sites have been strong too, but the staff lost interest.
Interestingly, it was the same in Gangnam Style. A lot of us staff lost interest. Not in the site but in, well, maintaining it and I for one was pretty ok with the idea of GS just dying. It happens. And I was being honest with myself. I can't drag this site from the slums when I already have trouble with activity myself. But as you might be aware, through the actions of several individuals who, on their own initiative and without any sort of conspiracy with each other, insisted on its continual. Suggestions happened, new people became staff, changes were made.
I think this is something that was a result of what GS had been. People were interested and people wanted it to continue. They must have had a good experience with GS because why else would they make the effort? And looking back, it's quite natural that the staff like me would lose interest. There were a lot of drama. I mean, I'm not against drama but it's tiring dealing with them. And yet, I know I need to deal with them because it's the right thing, it's my job.
So I think it was appropriate that new people step in to fill the role. For people to be willing, I think the former staff didn't do a completely bad job then. And of course, it's all thanks to the community too.
This got longer than I thought haha. And it doesn't really answer your question either xD sorry about that
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Pacing
POST CREATED Mar 9, 2015 17:29:21 GMT -8
Elena likes this
Post by ★SIRIUS on Mar 9, 2015 17:29:21 GMT -8
i do think that the commitment of the staff influences people. it doesn't exactly 'set the par' of post speed, but i think when people can tell the staff team is interested, it gives them dedication because they know the site's not going to disappear. once people get invested though they can sometimes get complacent and slow down. i mean, it's easy to be really excited and into it at first, but eventually the honeymoon phase wears off and us staff have to work harder to keep our members on their toes.
i've found it helps to have a goal that members can work towards. i started off my own forum with solely member-driven plots, but sometimes people need a little push. a little boost of inspiration. i don't think they necessarily get bored, but they get distracted. site events are a good way to snag their attention again. mandatory events in the form of an activity check are another thing to consider. i have frequent ac's on my own forum and issue activity warnings if an account hasn't posted in a few weeks. yeah, sometimes i get people whining, but for the most part everyone does a good job at keeping up and it stops them from getting lazy.
unfortunately i think there will always be lulls in activity between really active patches. i guess what you have to figure out is.. are people slow because they're lazy and relaxed or are they slow because offline stuff is eating up their time? if it's the second there isn't much you can do sadly. our sites may be a top priority for us staff, but when you're a member it's easier to not have rp as high up on the list. the best you can do is decide what pace you want and try to encourage it and gently nudge everyone toward it.
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