Why Do You Vote Every Day?

[Marauder Moe]

Hey, I noticed we're 7 and climbing.  (Lately I've just been voting without looking at TMS ranking... was depressing.)

Good job!  I bet we could close out the month at 6.

[Nergal]

When we start voting in earnest from the beginning of November, I'm sure we'll reach even higher ranks.

[Nergal]

[Desertman]

[Nergal]

A new month is approaching. Get into the habit now so we can kick ass right from the beginning.

[Desertman]

[Barzalene]

We're gaining on first place. We might not need to wait for next month at this rate!

[Lizzie]

First, second, and third are locked in and have been for a couple of years now on TMS.  Most people who actually pay attention regularly don't even bother to look at the top few anymore. However, we are only 2 away from beating Gemstone for 6th place.

[Seeker]

Suck it, Gemstone.


Seeker

[Desertman]

Suck it, Gemstone.


Seeker

This guy right here put us in position six.

What a fucking beast.

[Nergal]

Let's keep it up.

[Desertman]

We're coming for you Discworld. Going to make you our girlfriend. Discworld? More like welcome to the real world Sweetheart. The world where you do my laundry and make my sammiches. Get on my level. You can't handle this much moustache.

[Nergal]

Don't forget!

[Desertman]

Every time you vote, a Jar Jar Binks get elbowed right in the face hole.

Do your part for this galaxy, and a galaxy far far away.

[Nyr]

First, second, and third are locked in and have been for a couple of years now on TMS

First, yes.  That's a guaranteed lock and it is only ever challenged in the first two days of voting.

Second place, 1072 votes, approximately 20 people voting twice per day averaged out over the course of the entire month.
Third place, 922 votes, approximately 18 people voting twice per day averaged out over the course of the entire month.
Fourth place, 884 votes, approximately 17 people voting twice per day averaged out over the course of the entire month.
Fifth place, 805 votes, just about 16 people voting twice per day averaged out over the course of the entire month.
Sixth place (us), 746 votes, approximately 15 people voting twice per day averaged out over the course of the entire month.

We had 23 players active in the past 15 minutes on the GDB.  I think we can muster a #2 spot next month.

[Delirium]

That's why.

It won't help if we can't keep the new players we gain, though. IMO, staff needs to take a hard look at available plot hooks into both overarching and short-term stories, and the quality/type of stories you're telling. How visible is it? How fantastic is it? How fun is it? Does it invoke wonder and the sense of being a part of something crazy and meaningful?

Bored players are lost players, and the burden can't be entirely on the playerbase.

[Nyr]

That's why.

That's why we should vote, right?  I wanted to be sure I didn't misunderstand that graph! 

It won't help if we can't keep the new players we gain, though. IMO, staff needs to take a hard look at available plot hooks into both overarching and short-term stories, and the quality/type of stories you're telling. How visible is it? How fantastic is it? How fun is it? Does it invoke wonder and the sense of being a part of something crazy and meaningful?

Bored players are lost players, and the burden can't be entirely on the playerbase.

Absolutely.  Though this is a thread about the voting part of it--the big end of the funnel--not the other stuff we (staff and players) can/should/might be able to do in order to retain players.  I'd be happy to create a thread to that effect, though.

[Desertman]

Don't you dare page roll my fantasy violence with your crap.  

[Delirium]

Yes, I meant that I vote because it's been proven to help boost player numbers, which are sorely needed.

All the votes are essentially meaningless if we don't boost player retention, though. So I'm not averse to a thread on the topic.

As for Desertman's post, I'm not really sure what he means and it seems needlessly antagonistic.

[Desertman]

Yes, I meant that I vote because it's been proven to help boost player numbers, which are sorely needed.

All the votes are essentially meaningless if we don't boost player retention, though. So I'm not averse to a thread on the topic.

As for Desertman's post, I'm not really sure what he means and it seems needlessly antagonistic.

It's a goofy joke about my Jar Jar Binks picture. You are being needlessly sensitive.

[whitt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNk6-0rDdto

[Nergal]

Don't forget!

[Desertman]

[Nergal]

Punch in your votes!

[Lizzie]

I just noticed, there's a statistics site called MUDSTATS that has a lot of incorrect information. It's used by some mudders to search for muds, some producers/administrator types to watch trends on their own games, and some players to help form their opinions about the games they're playing.

According to mudstats, we place 18th on topmudsites.
According to topmudsites, we place 6th.

They don't list hourly average play for our game - and yet, it's peak time that is the most significant. So when they do an "average weekly" player population check - they're including the 1 person logged in at 4:30AM eastern time, but they don't indicate anywhere on the site that there is only 1 person logged in at 4:30AM. The average is skewed by the fact that our off-peak times are long and lean.

This doesn't explain an overall downward trend between this year and last year, but it definitely isn't accurate. Averages really don't mean much in muds, precisely because we have peak and off-peak times. If there are an average of 50 players logged in between 8PM and 1AM consistently every night, but less than 10 between 3AM and noon the next day, then those daily averages are going to look abyssmal even when they really aren't bad at all.

So when y'all are voting (which is what you should be doing instead of reading this post, doh), please remember to also play. Play long and hard. Take your Ambien so you can sleepwalk and sleep-play at 3AM. Non-Americans - play! PLAY! Play and vote!

And then play some more.

I blame Nyr for the off peakers not voting enough. I also blame Nyr for my Ambien not making me sleep-walk and sleep-play. BUT I VOTE ANYWAY!