Post Quality and You
Sept 1, 2014 20:10:07 GMT -6
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Sept 1, 2014 20:10:07 GMT -6
While Way of the Warrior is generally pretty lax about post length and quality, there has been a downward spiral in post quality over the last year that has only accelerated in recent weeks. It has finally hit critical mass, and so after much discussion, we have been forced to take action.
First, the good news: if you put any effort whatsoever into your posts, this will likely have little to no effect on you. Shine on and keep making WotW awesome.
Now for the bad news. Since we are attempting to remedy several issues at once, there will be several changes to the rules, and certain of them will be enforced much more harshly.
-Post minimum length is now stated as "two solid paragraphs minimum," with the clear understanding that that is a MINIMUM, not an average, and we will begin to penalize people who go under that minimum, or consistently hover at said minimum, with loss of post count. Not every post has to be twelve million words long, but ~3 real paragraphs is a solid range for actually roleplaying your character, rather than solely moving the topic along to farm post count. The follow is an example of this minimum:
-Length, in itself, doesn't mean a ton. Post quality has also dropped precipitously, and we would like to remind people that WotW is not a MMORPG, a race to the best gear - it's a roleplay, a collaborative story, not a post grinding simulator. There is nothing wrong with posting fast and quick growth, but it should always be secondary to the story being told. Post count rewards are supposed to be incentive for sticking with a character's story, not the goal in themselves. Remember RPers that post quality posts that build up not only their own characters, but those around them, and do so in topics that add to the board as a whole are more likely to get their plots approved and integrated into the site canon.
-We now request that people wait two days before skipping someone in a topic. Life happens. People can't always get on to post 30 seconds after you do. Try to respect that. After two days, carte blanche. If everyone involved agrees, you are free to ignore this rule. Now, if someone is consistently making the topic wait 2+ days, 3 times to be specific, they lose their spot in the posting order for the rest of the thread unless otherwise agreed upon. As a correlation - please try to respect your RP partners in general. Don't constantly beg people to post, attempt to wrest control of a topic from someone else, or give them a crappy post just to get +1 post count. In an event thread, this limit is extended to a week given the plot important nature of the thread.
Hopefully these changes will be sufficient to remedy the situation. If not, more drastic action may be required.
First, the good news: if you put any effort whatsoever into your posts, this will likely have little to no effect on you. Shine on and keep making WotW awesome.
Now for the bad news. Since we are attempting to remedy several issues at once, there will be several changes to the rules, and certain of them will be enforced much more harshly.
-Post minimum length is now stated as "two solid paragraphs minimum," with the clear understanding that that is a MINIMUM, not an average, and we will begin to penalize people who go under that minimum, or consistently hover at said minimum, with loss of post count. Not every post has to be twelve million words long, but ~3 real paragraphs is a solid range for actually roleplaying your character, rather than solely moving the topic along to farm post count. The follow is an example of this minimum:
Finally finished eating his steak, Richter took a brief moment to survey the diner. There were a few drunken men laughing it up at the bar, but for the most part everyone else was quiet, focused on eating their own meals. Good. Richter wasn't in the mood to be watched right now. He just wanted to eat his dinner in peace, then get back on the road. He'd have left this afternoon if it wasn't for the merchant the he'd saved this afternoon demanding that he meet his family. Richter hadn't wanted to be rude.
"Hello everyone, I am here!"
What? That voice... Richter looked over in the direction it had come from. Eventually, his eyes came to rest on a hooded figure standing in the doorway. He was short, looked to be rather thin beneath his coat, and had a malevolent smile the peaked out from under his hood. His cheeks looked sunken and his skin sallow. It took Richter little more than a second to realize just who it was that stood at the door; a man of true villainy, whose legendary evil was only comparable to that of Hargus himself. No, no, this man was worse. Far worse. Richter's face twisted into an angry bitter scowl as the man pulled back his hood. He stood up from his seat, batting his bowl of porridge aside and pulled Boreas out from under his cape. The man spoke first.
"I am Kraft, Lord of Macaroni! Behold my cheese, ye mighty, and despair!"
"Hello everyone, I am here!"
What? That voice... Richter looked over in the direction it had come from. Eventually, his eyes came to rest on a hooded figure standing in the doorway. He was short, looked to be rather thin beneath his coat, and had a malevolent smile the peaked out from under his hood. His cheeks looked sunken and his skin sallow. It took Richter little more than a second to realize just who it was that stood at the door; a man of true villainy, whose legendary evil was only comparable to that of Hargus himself. No, no, this man was worse. Far worse. Richter's face twisted into an angry bitter scowl as the man pulled back his hood. He stood up from his seat, batting his bowl of porridge aside and pulled Boreas out from under his cape. The man spoke first.
"I am Kraft, Lord of Macaroni! Behold my cheese, ye mighty, and despair!"
-Length, in itself, doesn't mean a ton. Post quality has also dropped precipitously, and we would like to remind people that WotW is not a MMORPG, a race to the best gear - it's a roleplay, a collaborative story, not a post grinding simulator. There is nothing wrong with posting fast and quick growth, but it should always be secondary to the story being told. Post count rewards are supposed to be incentive for sticking with a character's story, not the goal in themselves. Remember RPers that post quality posts that build up not only their own characters, but those around them, and do so in topics that add to the board as a whole are more likely to get their plots approved and integrated into the site canon.
-We now request that people wait two days before skipping someone in a topic. Life happens. People can't always get on to post 30 seconds after you do. Try to respect that. After two days, carte blanche. If everyone involved agrees, you are free to ignore this rule. Now, if someone is consistently making the topic wait 2+ days, 3 times to be specific, they lose their spot in the posting order for the rest of the thread unless otherwise agreed upon. As a correlation - please try to respect your RP partners in general. Don't constantly beg people to post, attempt to wrest control of a topic from someone else, or give them a crappy post just to get +1 post count. In an event thread, this limit is extended to a week given the plot important nature of the thread.
Hopefully these changes will be sufficient to remedy the situation. If not, more drastic action may be required.