Player/Staff Meeting : Player/Staff Relations

[Dalmeth]

<Nyr> Well, hello everyone.  Welcome to the Player/Staff meeting.  Sorry we're
starting a bit late, having some network trouble on this side.

Morgenes changes the topic to 'Welcome to the Player/Staff Meeting'

<Nyr> The first topic that I selected based on player response is "Player
Retention and Player Promotion for Arm 1/Arm2."  Most everyone in the game
agrees that we need to keep old players and promote the game towards new
players.  Some have mentioned their ideas already on the General Discussion
Board.

<Nyr> If you have a question, concern, or a statement you want to make about
this topic, send me a message.  We'll try to get to as many as possible.

<Nyr> To message me, /msg nyr whatever.  That'll send to me "whatever."

<Nyr> Once a person has been selected, they'll be given the ability to speak

<Nyr> Got three so far.  I'll grab you in order.

<Nyr> Medena first.

<Medena> Just a small suggestion on player retention.
 
<Nyr> When you're finished with your question, suggestion, or statement, just
say "done" on a line by itself.


<Medena> I think a bit more feedback would help this a lot. Just the odd
comment thrown into emails replying to clan issues. Like, throw in a "What you
did in that situation didn't work, maybe because..."  or "Great job on how you
did that. I like especially how you did... "
 
<Medena> This would not be a special email to do it. Like I said, just
something tossed into an email that was already going to be sent.

<Medena> done

<Nyr> Thanks Medena.  I think that'd definitely be a good thing to keep in
mind for staff in that kind of interaction.

<Nyr> Kevin, you're up

<Kevin> I believe one of the things that makes old players drift, and also
helps new players stay is the attention they and others recieve from immortals
and staff. Many have complained that karma is given out unfairly, or some
players are doted on, but it's impossible to spread attention to everywhere
it's needed.

<Kevin> Perhaps a good way to change this is to change the review command to
set up a que for each person that types it IG. That way, in order, each
player's char would get reviewed in the order they sent in their roleplay
review request. Maybe one immortal, on during similiar times could agree to
follow, or periodically watch that player.

<Nyr> Please remember to type "done" when you're done

<Nyr> (if you aren't, please continue)

<Kevin> In this way, each person, in a fair and disciplined manner could be
reviewed upon their roleplay in a timely manner. One request, set up first come
first serve. Hopefully, this will help organize and distribute staff attention.

<Kevin> done

<Nyr> go ahead adhira

<Adhira> Thanks Kevin. I think that you're right, one way we can do something
about player retention is by making better use of the review flag.

<Adhira> I know that for me as a staffer one issue I have is that some people
have had the review flag on for 3 years, and others keep it on even when
answered.

<Adhira> I think that your idea is interesting. And I'd like to further
explore how we can make better use of the review flag so that both players and
staff feel that it's worthwhile.

<Adhira> I'll follow up on this idea on the gdb and we'll take it from there.

<Nyr> Thanks Adhira

<Nyr> Just another note--try to formulate your response in advance so we can
read it as fast as possible, get it answered, read, etc.


<Nyr> You're up, Psionic_fungus

<Psionic_fungus> I am curious what the staff feels about an anonymous/guest
mudschool type area (for the current game or reborn) that can be accessed from
the menu before account creation?  I have many friends that play tabletops that
are interested in trying the game but intimidated by the text format, and I
think it would help if they could test the game syntax before committing
further.

<Psionic_fungus> I think having a chat like this, and web-based creation will
also help a lot, and I am curious about the amount of accounts that are created
that never end up making a character.  Is this an issue?  How many accounts
have only one character, and what can be done to get those people interested?

<Psionic_fungus> done

<Nyr> Thanks Psionic_fungus

<Morgenes> Re: of accounts with one character, we actually clean these out
with maintenance. It happens with some regularity, but I can't give you a real
number

<Morgenes> As for the 'mudschool' like area, there have been conversations and
plans for this on the staff side of things

<Morgenes> but I can't say much more about it than that

<Nyr> Thanks Morgenes

<Nyr> Go ahead Knoxx

<Knoxx> One issue I have seen with retention is the lack of Staff
Transparency.  While the new shift to animation is great, it only removes even
more transparency that was there in the first place.  This player/staff meeting
is one good way to increase it, are there plans to do more things like this
more often or ways to increase transparency or maybe have thoughts on what can
be done?  I feel if we can increase the relation between player and staff
somehow, it would help with both Retention of both New and Old players.

<Knoxx> done


<Nyr> Thanks Knoxx

<Adhira> Thanks for the question Knoxx. As far as more player staff meetings -
we don't have a schedule planned for these. At the moment we are thinking that
we'd like to make sure they happen at least annually.

<Adhira> There was a long period of time between this one and the last one. As
far as increased transparency - I'm not sure we'll ever get to a stage where
everyone is happy with the amount of information that staff give.

<Adhira> However we are working on our processes to make sure that we do keep
our communication with players at a certain level. For instance ensuring that
we answer emails in a timely manner, that we communicate changes to the
playerbase and that we have conversations and invite feedback on the gdb.

<Adhira> There's always room for improvement, and there may be other methods
that we could use, and we'd welcome hearing some of those through email or on
the gdb if possible.


<Nyr> Go ahead Loup
<Loup> I believe that an issue with long-term players is to some degree
account related, specifically in regard to karma advancement and the presence
of negative account notes.  Both can make a player feel under appreciated.
<Loup> First off, I know that some negative account notes are given for good
reason.  However, some might not.  So could there be an option where the note
is either removed or restricted to the access of a Highlord?  I would suggest a
review process which starts with the player presenting a case, then current
account notes are reviewed along with the player's clan staff, and a consistant
dialogue is maintained with the players so that they might explain any issues
on their own behalf.

<Loup> As far as karma is concerned, it's easy to punish players that are
doing wrong, but harder to elevate someone for their good work.  Would it be
possible to put in place a request system in place so that a player could call
for a review for their viability in the advancement of karma, with many of the
same procedures mentioned above?  I personally think the dialogue is most
important, as it gives players a chance to explain themselves, which is always
therapeutic, and allows players to better understand the staff's position.

<Loup> done

<Nyr> Thanks a lot Loup.  That's a pretty interesting statement by itself.  I
think that part of the problem in the perception of negative account notes is
that there are much fewer notes than there probably should be. Characters that
spend years--even RL years--playing and developing their RP should be commented
on it more liberally--both positive and negative (in my opinion)

<Nyr> A brief note--no more new questions or comments on this topic.  any of
you that have messaged me so far get to go when you are modded.  Thistle and
Olgaris have something to add to this.

<Thistle> A player who has had a negative account note and grown from it, has
shown their ability to learn and grow. Without the negative account not we
wouldn't be able to see that growth.

<Olgaris> One thing to keep in mind is that we don't hold grudges forever. In
fact, a number of staff including myself have received bad notes in the past.

<Olgaris> I'm going to quote one from my mortal account exactly for you:

<Olgaris> Some of teh worst thief abuse I've ever seen, reccomend taking
pickpocket away from him. -Bhag

<Olgaris> That was a long time ago, and 4-5 years after that note I was able
to join staff. There are still more bad account notes than good ones on my
account. So it shouldn't be taken very personally when you receive them.

<Olgaris> On the karma side of things, feel free to e-mail the mud if you feel
you've been looked over. It does happen, and developing a colossal system of
dealing with doling out karma may hinder us more than help us.

<Nyr> We are working on trying to note accounts more liberally--both positive
and negative.  Hopefully we'll be able to balance this out in the future

<Nyr> this can be discussed in more depth in the gdb afterwards if necessary

<Nyr> Meish, you're up

<Meish> Okay, I pre-typed this, so hang on while I copy/paste, my client gets
picky.

<Meish> Okay, so a major thing I see as a way to retain players is the
  tone immortals use. I've had imms reply to questions before in
ways that sounded, to me, accusatory and confrontational. When
  that happens, I reply and say how I interpreted the email,
and alot of times it's not how it was intended. Usually it's
not a problem on the verdict staff gave, but the tone. I've
been thanked by staff for telling them how I precieved their
tone before.

<Meish> Okay, so a major thing I see as a way to retain players is the
tone immortals use. I've had imms reply to questions before in
ways that sounded, to me, accusatory and confrontational. When
  that happens, I reply and say how I interpreted the email,
and alot of times it's not how it was intended. Usually it's
not a problem on the verdict staff gave, but the tone. I've
been thanked by staff for telling them how I precieved their
tone before.

<Meish> Wow, that was interesting. Continuing.

<Meish> I think it's really important that (despite as busy as you
all get) you make sure your replies have positive tones. I
know that many times other players won't always take the
  time to clarify things, and then things escalate, and no
one is happy.

<Meish> It just leaves a bad taste in a player's mouth if they
  get the feel that staff is more likely to believe the
inharent EVIL TWINKINESS of players. I'm sure Staff
can feel affronted by accusatory player tones as well,
but I think it's an issue that needs attention.

<Meish> I hope the phrasing in that comes across right. I don't think staff
often times mean to come off as harsh as they seem from a player perspective.

<Meish> I think that taking the time to examine how a reply will be read is
good, if that makes sense.

<Meish> -Done

<Nyr> Thanks Meish.  Adhira's taking over as moderator for now, I've posted
who is next for questions/comments.  I will be back shortly.

<Thistle> Thank you for your thoughts Meish. Communication is something that I
think we could always work on and never perfect. It is very important to us as
staff to maintain a professional attitude during all of our interactions and I
know that I personally always re-read my emails.

<Thistle> However interpretation is difficult over a text based medium and
when receiving criticism it can certainly seem mean spirited when it is not
intended to be. Also everyone, staff and players, have bad days, which can
affect the way the tone is written and interpreted.

<Thistle> If you ever feel that an email is sent to you that appears mean,
please feel free to clarify with staff. With the staff teams there are usually
multiple members reading every email and I can assure you that any questions
will be answered and clarified and that none of us are out to get anyone.

<Adhira> Lysine, your up.

<Lysine> I have two suggestions to improve new player retention:

<Lysine> 1. Someone pointed out on the GDB that new players frequently create
elves or half-elves as first characters. I don't think they should be made into
karma class, but a warning in the character creation process, that they really
aren't recommended as first characters, might help prevent a sort of shock and
lack of involvement that would otherwise drive them away.

<Lysine> 2. Often, even when there are 60 players in the game, the taverns are
empty! Bustling taverns would definitely help to retain new players. Toward
this, I suggest that crafting not be disallowed or frowned upon, at least in
some taverns.

<Lysine> done

<Olgaris> We do have information in the help files recommending players pick
human warrior for their first characters, and I'm not sure if it would be
possible to change the application process to add that information for a
player's first character, but we could look into it.

<Olgaris> As far as crafting in taverns goes, the consensus seems to be that
it just doesn't make sense to have a bunch of people crafting in the taverns.
In Tuluk there are communal crafting areas, but Allanak does lack that. It
wouldn't really fit very well in Allanaki society. Also, generally people
aren't keeping out of the taverns because they're busy crafting.

<Olgaris> It's usually because they're busy having fun in various areas of the
game.

<Adhira> Ok, Jcljules is the last person for this topic.

<Jcljules> Just my little addition here--I think player retention could be helped by players not feeling
that staff ignores them. Which is often perceived to be true, but not the case. One area I feel should be
improved is the Wish system--PCs should always get a response to their wishes, even if its a rejection. I
remember Wishing up for ridiculous things as a newbie and not understanding why I was never answered.
I felt ignored, though I later realized I was just not experienced enough to realize what wish requests were
reasonable.

<Jcljules> done

<Nyr> Thanks, Jcljules

<Nyr> The policy on wishes has gotten a bit more lax.  Storytellers can answer
wishes for their own clans.  Wish answering has gotten better too, even if it's
to tell someone the proper use for wishing.

<Nyr> As it is, with a volunteer staff, I think we handle wish answering
pretty well.  It's a little difficult to track how many go unanswered, though.
We will try to do the best we can in the meantime, and the coders are bouncing
ideas around for keeping statistics on that as a possibility for Arm 2.

[Dalmeth]

<Olgaris> On the karma side of things, feel free to e-mail the mud if you feel
you've been looked over. It does happen, and developing a colossal system of
dealing with doling out karma may hinder us more than help us.

The problem with, "send me an email," is that there is no defined end to it.  A request for review could be lost for an indeterminate amount of time for the simple fact a staff member may not be clear on the next step in the process.  The idea is to create a streamlined process to get this sort of issue resolved quickly.

[Archbaron]

<Olgaris> On the karma side of things, feel free to e-mail the mud if you feel
you've been looked over. It does happen, and developing a colossal system of
dealing with doling out karma may hinder us more than help us.

The problem with, "send me an email," is that there is no defined end to it.  A request for review could be lost for an indeterminate amount of time for the simple fact a staff member may not be clear on the next step in the process.  The idea is to create a streamlined process to get this sort of issue resolved quickly.

Right, perhaps it could go on the request tool and have a 6 month timer on it like account notes.

[Adhira]

One reason it goes to mudmail is because the person assigned to mudmail would then follow through. We have a clearout time on mail directed to the mud and it would be resolved before the next person took charge.