On Newbies, and How to Keep Them
Aug 20, 2020 15:29:27 GMT -4
Keiran, Jace Berna, and 5 more like this
Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Aug 20, 2020 15:29:27 GMT -4
Joining a new community is hard work! You have to learn a bunch of new faces, get a new character, and then you have to convince some of those faces that the guy you just poured your soul into is worth their time! If you were fortunate enough to be invited by a friend (as many of you reading were), you're practically guaranteed a foot in the door! But if not, it's easy to see how making those first few steps can be an uphill battle.
This isn't an issue specific to True Path, but that's no excuse for us to let it be. Every community needs new blood to thrive, and those younglings should find joining us as easy as possible - before, during and after their character is made.
And so here lies a thread to brainstorm ways we can make the site easier for people to join and settle into. I've got one to get the ball rolling:
group-finder templates for Discord!
The group-finder channel could use some improvement, but stop me if you've seen this kind of message before:
new character, feel free to dm me about plots! [app link]
[app link] i want more threads
[just a link to an open thread]
These suck, and here's why. If you want people to join your thread, they have to be interested in either the thread or your character. If they don't know either of those, then it's up to you to tell them why, and not up to them to read through your 1000 word app to figure out if or why they should care. That's why I think most, if not all group-finder listings should come with an elevator pitch - a quick ad telling people what the thread - and perhaps more importantly, the character - is about.
With a few sentences, everybody can glance and see if their character and Shinichi's has a shared faction or a shared interest, and they know a bit about his personality. They've got enough hooks to go right into brainstorming a thread, or at least know if the character is one they'd want to read more into. All without clicking a link!
My apologies if this all feels a bit long-winded to read, but I hope that by explaining why this benefits players new and old, it will help everybody to start connecting with characters outside their sphere more easily.
Best of all? This doesn't need clearance! Screw the staff, we don't need those guys to make a change! If people start providing more info in their group-finder messages, others will follow suit, including the new dude that few people have heard about.
Onto stuff that might need staff to change... There's been mentions of an introductions channel, specifically for new characters, and a RP bonus for interacting with new characters is on the staff table at the moment. If there's any other suggestions people have to help, or tweaks to the ones above, here's the place to put them!
EDIT: Please keep any clique-related discussion to this thread, or I will stab you with Sporky.
This isn't an issue specific to True Path, but that's no excuse for us to let it be. Every community needs new blood to thrive, and those younglings should find joining us as easy as possible - before, during and after their character is made.
And so here lies a thread to brainstorm ways we can make the site easier for people to join and settle into. I've got one to get the ball rolling:
group-finder templates for Discord!
The group-finder channel could use some improvement, but stop me if you've seen this kind of message before:
new character, feel free to dm me about plots! [app link]
[app link] i want more threads
[just a link to an open thread]
These suck, and here's why. If you want people to join your thread, they have to be interested in either the thread or your character. If they don't know either of those, then it's up to you to tell them why, and not up to them to read through your 1000 word app to figure out if or why they should care. That's why I think most, if not all group-finder listings should come with an elevator pitch - a quick ad telling people what the thread - and perhaps more importantly, the character - is about.
Name: Shinichi Jones
Faction: Student, First Year
I want to plot about: Meeting new students that share Shinichi's passion for stabbing people in the knees, cooking, and opera!
Fun Fact: Shinichi's family runs Musutafu's only dim sum restaurant, and because he works there before and after school, he smells like steamed dumplings. A lot.
Thread: I don't have a thread yet, but tag me in plots-and-characters so we can make one tailored to our characters!
Faction: Student, First Year
I want to plot about: Meeting new students that share Shinichi's passion for stabbing people in the knees, cooking, and opera!
Fun Fact: Shinichi's family runs Musutafu's only dim sum restaurant, and because he works there before and after school, he smells like steamed dumplings. A lot.
Thread: I don't have a thread yet, but tag me in plots-and-characters so we can make one tailored to our characters!
With a few sentences, everybody can glance and see if their character and Shinichi's has a shared faction or a shared interest, and they know a bit about his personality. They've got enough hooks to go right into brainstorming a thread, or at least know if the character is one they'd want to read more into. All without clicking a link!
My apologies if this all feels a bit long-winded to read, but I hope that by explaining why this benefits players new and old, it will help everybody to start connecting with characters outside their sphere more easily.
Best of all? This doesn't need clearance! Screw the staff, we don't need those guys to make a change! If people start providing more info in their group-finder messages, others will follow suit, including the new dude that few people have heard about.
Onto stuff that might need staff to change... There's been mentions of an introductions channel, specifically for new characters, and a RP bonus for interacting with new characters is on the staff table at the moment. If there's any other suggestions people have to help, or tweaks to the ones above, here's the place to put them!
EDIT: Please keep any clique-related discussion to this thread, or I will stab you with Sporky.
