So why can't we do this?

#1

Here is a thread at www.rpg.net
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=221940

Why can't we do this? It should be right up our alley, but the two times I have seen it attempted, it basically petered out (Write up NPCs for the village and a deleted thread). Do we simply demand too much from our posts? Do you have an idea or opinion as to why?

Sound off

So why can't we do this?

#2

A thread can get sidetracked, or people might perceive the thread as "belonging" to one or a few posters, rather than being something that they can jump into.

What sort of group creation did you have in mind: haunted house (as in the RPGNet thread), giant robot, fantasy dungeon, space-base asteroid, cyberpunk city, personal history/backstory of an NPC, modern nation?

So why can't we do this?

#3

Kinslayer hits a few thoughts that I had. I don't think any of them are overpowering though. I initially thought ownership but then I look around and that will depend on the thread. You can sort of tell when the author has an angle they are going and when your own post might throw that a bit. Nobody is shy about saying that either, which is good, but maybe that throws up a few inhibitions. We do demand quality in our posts so it can sometimes be hard to let that go and post something that isn't our best idea.

I think those are factors, but small. I think mostly that those that are on the site are quite independent, they know what they like, they know their style and many are familiar with others on the board. There is no obligation to post and this forum isn't very big and the threads are pretty logically created so it isn't hard to refind a thread that may have once held your interest and have an idea for.

Everybody here is creative, but not every thread holds everybodies attention either. I go to rpg net and I see (at my time of viewing) 509 (280 members and 229 guests) on that board. In that thread you posted there are only 41 posts in 24hrs and 7,385 people have viewed that thread. Of that, ONLY 41 people had something to say. Compare that to here. If you give us the same amount of hits over an unlimited amount of time, I think we would come across even better than they did.

So, with this perspective, I think we have done relatively outstanding with our small, but brilliant, talent pool.

So why can't we do this?

#4

I had another thought that might work... applying the numbers you have from rpg.net.

Given RPG Nets PSU (peak simultaneous users on site) and Strolen's PSU, to give us a base ratio, then applying the number of posts with that ratio, implies we should generate approximatley 1.2 post per day for a simular thread.

Note: This occurs if that thread was "at the top" of its given forum, the number should be reduced for every postion below the top. (Don't believe me, watch the Idea Scroll section or the Settings Forge... people post statistically consistantly to the first four threads, with a higher strike rate to the first thread). Once a thread drops below the top four, its chances reduce greatly.

(Eliminate me from the equasion because of my adopted threads, and that pattern becomes more apparent-- I am always complaining to people that they post on the threads that I just posted up... instead of posting on something else to stir the forum).

So we would end up with a .8, .4 thread... then it gets much farther down.

Unless you have a group of people who specifically like this "game", the chance of it continuing... given the population at Strolens, which while dedicated is a fraction of RPG.net's (lets use 1/20th)... is small.

Numbers, when run properly and everyone believes in the same weighting factors, seldom lie. I think we have too few people to support such a project, unless we added time limits or made sure that people were dedicated to it.

If you don't believe me, think about The Quest.

Now this does not mean we don't get a lot done and other threads can continue with daily or multi-daily postings. But I have been contemplating it. I think it is a numbers game.

So why can't we do this?

#5

Won't disagree with a thing.

We just have to have more realistic expectations for what we are willing to accomplish and not be upset when it doesn't happen. If we want things like rpg.net, then we must become them. I don't personally want that, probably couldn't afford it.

Looks like you were getting to the conclusion that the question isn't why can't we support a thread like that, maybe it is how we can get more quality members to help us support a thread like that. That answer is one that many would pay dearly for. Perhaps V2.0 will add something that V1.0 is missing and we can get a steadier trickle of new blood. Who knows, it might even chase out who we have. ;)

So why can't we do this?

#6

Well, since I'm new in here, I thought I might point out a few things I've noticed about how I perceive the forum.

A lot of the time I'm just a lurker, as I am a little, if not more so, intimidated by the huge posters! :oops: I really would love to join an RPG, but it takes so long to read through everything, and I would feel very anxious about throwing myself in there, as well.

I do feel, since I'm a newb to the forums, that a lot of the posts are...well, other people's threads. Not that I'm not welcome to join in, it's more of an intimidation, and worrying if my posts are going to make any sense to the original thread {sometimes I read too fast and miss the point....} :roll:

{Or even if they are going to have the same quality, as seeing how fantastic some of the writers here are!}

So why can't we do this?

#7

I'd say it simply wouldn't work here.
We are not rpg.net; it's apples and oranges.
Another way of thinking about it is that (I would say, anyway) we are more like a small independent film crew to their Paramount Studios... We have a more focused region of talent which is less inclined to be contained by conventionality; in other words, we're a bunch of raving individualist artistes. ;)

So why can't we do this?

#8

Well, we do rather fit that aptly.

While the number of members at Strolen remains at a fairly high level, there isn't a very large pool of solid, regular posters. The quality is a key point here, alot of the work produced is in my opinion top quality. We also make a point of discouraging net shorthand, and other l33t crap that pops up in many other sites. This does make us of a rather different quality.

It is also intimidating to some new posters as DR mentioned above. With the criticism offered by some of our members, it can be a frightening idea to possibly do something and draw the ire of the Captain, or possibly myself. I'm not exactly sure how well I am filling out the position of Post-Nazi. For some reason I dont feel like I've been doing enough post-genocide or goose stepping in the jackboots.

Still, it remains that we are a smaller site, and don't churn out dozens or hundreds of posts per day. I've traipsed through those 'other' sites I didn't find anything worth spending my time on, other than in a desperate effort to repair or improve on. Then I found this place and it was good.

Change can be good, and it is inevitable but we shouldn't sacrifice the things that make the Citadel the Citadel to increase the number of posters, or responces.