NEWS -- Survey Responses
#1
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Survey Response Summary and Reflections

A huge thanks to all members that took the time to fill out our survey! We've received a lot of great suggestions and a few comments that we thought would be worthwhile to address as a whole so all members could see the responses. Please feel free to comment or PM any SA member if you'd like further clarification or have any (more) questions!


Additionally, anyone is welcome to post in this thread as well! We've left it unlocked for a reason! Big Grin


Question: why aren't there any pack games for Loners?

The games are one of the many incentives for members to have their character join packs. Additionally, since all packs have different themes and ideals, each game tends to be unique and tailored to suit each individual pack. A pack game equivalent will not be implemented for Loners since it is a means of encouraging members to join a pack.


Comment: characters are removed for low post counts in a pack.

Characters are only ever removed for complete failure to post, never for low post counts! Every month, we do a boardwide activity sweep and contact members who have not made a post in three weeks and PM them a reminder letting them know they are at risk of removal. We give them a date to post by to save themselves, but will extend this deadline if the member brings up a reason for their failure to post.

If you are removed for inactivity, rejoining is very easy! You can opt to rejoin OOC'ly very quickly. Additionally, if members are concerned they cannot meet the three-week requirement, in the short-term, they can go on absence or, in the long-term, discuss NPC status with their leader if they plan on returning.


Comment: the wiki needs to be updated more.

Then you're slacking! Tongue No, seriously, the wiki is for all 'Souls members to edit, so if it's missing information, that might be because the player never updated it! Additionally, a lot of characters may be missing information because their roleplayer did not fill out any information on their profiles to begin with. We can only update what we're given! Some members do try to write up character histories by digging through their archives, but this is a very time-consuming process! But if you can spare the time, it's a huge help, especially for characters involved in major plots!


Comment: if there was a detailed guide on how to edit the wiki, I would edit it (more).

We will be writing up a step-by-step guide on how to edit the wiki. It's pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it, though there are a few differences that set it apart from other Wiki languages or HTML. In light of this comment, we did write an introductory guide for new users. Please let us know if there are things we haven't covered, or just feel free to post any questions you have so we can add it to the Introduction page or make a F.A.Q. for the wiki!


Another page we hope to complete soon will have many handy codes frequently used in wiki pages. This might include an insert box where members post images with captions, right-aligned tables of contents, and so on! Big Grin


Comment: certain links are difficult to find, such as the page with the wiki password.

We hope the new organizational system has made it easier to locate things! For the most part, if you think of what category the link is, you can find the forum it's housed in. For example, Open Thread is located in the Thread Request forum since that's where folks go if they want more threads! But if you have ideas on how to rearrange the topics, let us know!

The wiki password is now in the Roleplay Aides forum. Previously, it was in OOC G, but that didn't make much sense! Tongue Either way, now it's stickied in the RA forum with the title "'Souls Wiki." I hope that helps!


We also received a few comments that information was tough to find, such as the offsite links. We tried to remedy this with the new layout, which has a dropdown list under the ranks titled "Offsite Links." Included are our most-updated offsite websites in order of importance: Twitter, deviantART, Formspring, Facebook, and Livejournal. These are also linked on our Community page on the Wiki!


We also received a suggestion to not feature as many links in the header bars. While the SA use the links almost daily, we could probably condense the second row of links into "extra information" compiled of procedures, packs, area, and staff. However, this might be a little too hidden, though all the links are in the first forum and should be easy enough to access by just clicking on the Roleplay Information forum.

So as you might have gathered, we're always trying to find new ways of organizing information. If you have any ideas, feel free to suggest them! Or, hey, just comment -- we're always interested in hearing what folks think. :O

We also received a lot of comments that the newcomer links are tough to find. We'd like to point out that there's a giant link for all unregistered users on the 'Souls home page and that the Introductory guide is pinned in the Roleplay Information forum. There's not much else we can do for confused newbies aside from point them in the right direction, even if we have to answer the same question over and over! Tongue

Another comment asked why we don't have a FAQ or walk-through for newbies. We do! Check the Quick and Dirty Guide to 'Souls; it has almost all of the frequently-encountered problems compiled.


Suggestion: we should have more plots: big, small, and everything in between!

So suggest some! We have received a few plot suggestion recently from various member, so we'll be considering those.

Still, it's worth keeping in mind that plots take a lot of work by ALL members to maintain. Many times, plots drop off and end awkwardly because members involved lose interest, key people get busy, or members just forget about it. Members are always welcome to make suggestions and come forward to volunteer to help run a plot.


Suggestion: add a c-box to 'Souls

We've received this suggestion numerous times, but would prefer not to have a cbox on 'Souls for the following reasons:

  • Bots. Though it may not be noticeable, we do get a lot of bots and spammers, so we foresee it being abused by non-members.
  • Flaming. Moreso from non-members again, but there's a concern members will post rude messages since there's the option of anonymity.
  • Professionalism. None of the Staff members like the look of a cbox on a forum index since it looks tacky.

Additionally, since we disabled Javascript, we would be unable to post a cbox in a thread! An integrated forum chat feature has been in the works. Unfortunately, progress on this front has been slow thus far. However, members have many alternatives, such as using Meebo on an AIM account or using an IM client, such as AIM, Adium, and so on! Many members also have Twitters and Livejournals if you would like to connect with them.


Comment: The differentiation between which species can high speech and low speech is confusing. Which species can do what?

All major predators can use high speech, while all lesser predators and herbivores use low speech. All creatures in the family Canidae, which includes wolves, foxes, dholes, coyotes, and so on, can use high speech. Other major predators, such as big cats and bears can use high speech. For a discussion on this, click here!

We will, however, be updating the RP Guide to include more explicit information on high- and low-speech in light of this comment!


Question: Why are African Wild Dogs and foxes listed as Creatures rather than Loners?

Only animals in the genus Canis are considered Loners because only animals in the genus Canis are Luperci-capable. This includes grey wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) primarily.

There are animals in the family Canidae that are NOT in the genus Canis. These include African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus), foxes (Urocyon and Vulpes), and Maned Wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus). These animals do not have the possibility of becoming Luperci and are subsequently classified as Creatures rather than Loners.

We created a chart (click!) to show how canines are considered Loners and Luperci.


Comment: the 45 post requirement for a second character is steep considering replies are slow.

This rule is in place to dissuade newcomers from picking up important characters and then vanishing. It also ensures a user is planning to stick around before picking up another character. If you're finding that responses to your threads are taking a long time, you can specifically request a thread with another user to have quick posts ("spree"). Many members enjoy fast-paced threads with quick responses, so you will probably find some interest if you post a request in the thread request forum!


Comment: the joining processes are confusing! Why are there three?

Because we don't care! Seriously, the SA and leaders just want to know newcomers can write, so we don't care how you show us — through previous roleplaying samples, a profile, or a thread. Unfortunately, we do recognize that this can be confusing to newcomers. As always, we encourage anyone with questions to post in the Mentorship forum or PM leaders or members of staff -- we're all more than happy to help!

However, we will not be changing our joining procedures. We have significantly altered and slimmed down our joining page and now have a dedicated Loner and Creature joining forum to decrease confusion. For pack joiners, we still recommend newcomers join with an In Character post to get the feel of the site rather than selecting the other two methods, but we like giving more experienced roleplayers other options all the same.


Suggestion: award points for completing threads

Great idea! We have passed this suggestion on to our leaders for their pack games.

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Thanks for all of your suggestions, comments, questions, and ideas, guys! We tried to answer as many as we could without being too wordy (you be the judge of how well we did, heh! Tongue )

Please feel free to respond to this topic!
#2
*Points to her thread*
http://soulsrpg.com/ipb/viewtopic.php?t=13032

any chance we could get some more opinions happening in there? ^_^
#3
We were actually discussing something similar to that in the Admin forum, if it helps! :O I'm still not sure what we're going to be doing regarding another boardwide plot, since they are generally very time-consuming for those running it and don't always get wrapped up. I though we had a response regarding boardwide plots in this, but now that I re-read it, I see it's not there! Hmm! So I will reply now. Big Grin

Anyways, so for boardwide plots, we did have one recently with the First and Second Dahlian Wars. However, that doesn't mean we're tired of them! It just takes a lot of organization to get them started, especially now that we're working on documenting IC events better so newcomers to the game can jump in more easily without being confused (this includes both new members and old members who weren't following the plot!) At the same time, we continuously consider new ideas for boardwide plots, so yours has not been forgotten! Sorry for not acknowledging it until now. Sad
#4
Personally, I'd rather there be a game than an actual plot. Something that people can decide to join if they want rather than being forced to join in on it because it was something happening board wide. To me games are funner because they are voluntary. People can sign up to do them and if stuff doesn't get complete it doesn't really matter because it was done for fun and doesn't effect everyone on the board.
#5
Hmm, well Astryd's plot idea could reasonably be a voluntary boardwide plot, since during outbreaks of diseases, there will always be characters that go unaffected. So in that regard, it could feasibly work since this would not require participation unless someone wanted. :O We do usually try to make most plots optional, though I think the fire plot was the one exception since everyone had to move. XD
#6
Still, whether you choose to participate or not it still affects the whole board. It's not something that you can pretend never happened like you can with a game. I mean, what if that disease affected plant life? That would in turn effect characters even if they didn't have their character became diseased. After all prey animals eat the plants and then become digested by the predators. So now if you don't want your character affected you have to be extra careful of what you eat or not eat at all. One way or another you get affected even if you don't want to be part of it. *thinks things through to a great degree and how one act can affect the future*
#7
*Katie is a crab-ass here*
#8
I know I said this in the survey a million times but there are too many places to look for links. I still have no idea what you mean when you say there is a drop down menu with off site links. I can't find it for the life of me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEASE make a comprehensive site map of all our links and if anyone can't find anything THERE IT WILL BE. or tell me why are we against this idea?

*cry whine moan and other unhelpful annoying noises*

also, we did we do the survey like this this time, I actually really liked reading other people's responses o.0 were people more helpful/honest with this system?

Edit-WOAH, I JUST found the off site links. do you guys know how well that blends in for me? I am a dummy. but I still want my super big page o'links. I've wasted so much time looking for other links. like the wiki password. and others. and yeah. CRY. I could just learn where they all are OR WE CAN MAKE A BIG UGLY LIST OF THEM ON A SEPARATE PAGE.
#9
Quote:Comment: certain links are difficult to find, such as the page with the wiki password.

I agree with this statement. If the sub forums aren't listed on the homepage, it is a bit of a hassle to search through the forums. An example is catacombs. A player would need to go through a few pages to find the thread Smile

Quote:Suggestion: add a c-box to 'Souls

No. That's all I have to say and agree with all the points. This is not a good idea and is the reason we have the OOC Garbage forum. We can talk about the game or life without an instant chat. It also does look tacky.

Quote:Comment: the 45 post requirement for a second character is steep considering replies are slow.

To a committed member (who should be comfortably given the right to be awarded another character) this is not very many posts. Anyone who thinks this may be too much is not as active as the Staff may encourage.

Just a few comments Wink
#10
QUOTE (Anann Kelevra @ Nov 15 2010, 07:46 PM)
Ive spent about 10 months trying to get a plot, involving several characters for a couple different packs, figured out and up and going. And basically I'm stalled out now thanks to SA, or my, apparently, inadequate activity. However you want to look at it, since I can't get approval the third character key to kicking things off in time to make plot lines work...so much for effort. So now everything I've done with Anann may or may not be a waste of time since it's in their hands for it to ever reach its climatic end.

So much for trying. [/quote]
We are currently discussing this with you, Katie. This isn't really the place to bring this up since we are currently talking to you about this.

QUOTE (Nayru)
I know I said this in the survey a million times but there are too many places to look for links. I still have no idea what you mean when you say there is a drop down menu with off site links. I can't find it for the life of me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEASE make a comprehensive site map of all our links and if anyone can't find anything THERE IT WILL BE. or tell me why are we against this idea?[/quote]
Site map :O It's in Mentorship. I've been meaning to put a link at the bottom with the Site Map like you'd see in the footer of most websites. Derp, still need to do that!

Edit: added a link to the site map to the second link bar. :O

QUOTE (Nayru)
also, we did we do the survey like this this time, I actually really liked reading other people's responses o.0 were people more helpful/honest with this system[/quote]
We could definitely release the responses. :O We have an aggregated page that sums up responses into pie charts and bar graphs, so we could release that. Though, I didn't think of releasing the answers. If anyone wants me to post their responses for others to read, PM me and let me know so I can start working on compiling them. :3

QUOTE (Ever Mayawyn)
I agree with this statement. If the sub forums aren't listed on the homepage, it is a bit of a hassle to search through the forums. An example is catacombs. A player would need to go through a few pages to find the thread Smile[/quote]
Unfortunately, we can only feature so many links without the forums getting cluttered. One option would be to have a drop down list of important links, but then it would not be as user friendly because you could not ctrl+f and find anything. A quick scan of the forum would not be very helpful since you would only see the drop down list, too. :O Those are the two options I can think of for now.

On the other hand, if you can't find something, the search function is pretty handy. You can also use google to search 'Souls. If you google "siteConfusedoulsrpg.com/forum search term", google displays all the pages matching the terms. Not too helpful for catacombs (since it's displayed on every page), but great for thread titles and specific posts.

Although, some links are pretty intuitive. I'd say both Catacombs and the Wiki are. If you follow this train of thought:
Wiki > Roleplaying > but not really roleplaying, so... > Roleplay Aides
Catacombs > I put this in my profile > Profiles and Post Logs

We could move the Catacombs to RP Aides, but I don't think that'd help much, since it's listed in the Profiles/ Post Logs forum description...! :B

Dunno! I feel like the current organizational system is a lot better, but yeah, we do have a lot of links. And yes, sometimes it'll be tough to find them. But we've discussed our options and what we have now works alright. While Catacombs is an important topic, it's not important enough to be listed on the header bar. And we did test out some hover-over menu's, but a lot of them are glitchy, require Javascript, or are extremely finicky and don't work for everyone. x__x; It is kind of a balancing act, but we're working on making things easier to find! I swear! :O

And while I might think things make sense, not everyone might agree. XD; So as always, if you have any more ideas on updating things or re-arranging the topics, let me know~ :3

But thanks for the comments so far, guys! :]
#11
A. AWESOME. haha, i couldn't find the site map. i am happy now that it is at the top. thank you x 1000.

and B. pie charts and graphs?!? awesome! release please?!?!
#12
I think that the disease idea is fantastic :3 It's like a returner to the original outbreak of the Luperci disease that got all of the canines, except now it's detrimental instead of evolutionary.

To comment on Izaak's concerns: True, others could not go about as if nothing ever happened. But there's always the choices that a) the character could be immune, as is a typical trend in many plots, b) the character could choose to have an immune gene that helps everyone (this would have to be debated, as not everyone could go around claiming to be immune and the hope of wolfdom -_-), and/or c) they can be in a non-contamination area, such as an area well-guarded from infected canines. Since summer's(this is faulty censored word, the answer should be evident >.>) coming up, the amount of rain decreases as snow increases, and the need to boil snow--which kills off bacteria--becomes more practical than digging under ice to gain water. No large-scale disasters can ever be avoided; they are facts of nature. And this seems very plausible given humanity's history.

Concerning an extension on option b, conflict could arise from a fight over who would gain control over the immune wolf--or plant, whichever is decided by the board--resulting in chaos or the amazing gathering and agreement of leaders. Everyone's character has unique personalities, so the outcome is all very dependent on the reactions of the players from the initial outbreak.

Just wanted to add my little bit of input :3 (Don't I just sound terrible? Helping to plan the outbreak of a disease >P)
#13
Is there any news about the Lascivio Aedes allowing new characters to be tested there or is it still only current/previous characters are allowed there?
#14
I may just be biased, but I don't really like the disease idea right now because of Hufflepuff. >.< " It's true that there can't be characters who just ignore this, and CdA is a new and small pack that won't be completely immune, either - and this is their first summer together, so it'd kind of suck if it fell apart within three months of creation. Just my two cents. ^^ "


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