Where Players Found Us: December 2014

[Talia]

Raw data for December

Total new accounts created:  151 (compared to 278 for November)
Duplicates (created multiple accounts out of confusion/staff accounts/etc):  6
New accounts minus the above: 145 (compared to 271 for November = -126 = -46%)



Where people came from
(noteworthy results mentioned, some might be concurrent)

Topmudsites:  8 (compared to 14 for Nov)
Themudconnector: 52 (compared to 103 for Nov)
Google: 15 (note that these can probably be attributed to either TMS or TMC or may be otherwise concurrent with the above)
Search/web: 31 (these also can probably be attributed to either TMS or TMC)
Friends/other players/family/co-workers/homies:  18
Facebook:  4
Reddit:  3
Wikipedia:  2
TVTropes:  1

"How did you hear about us?" A smattering of some miscellaneous answers:
"divine intervention"
"THE ALMIGHTY ZOD!!! ... Also a google search for TOP MUD SITES"
"had an account that got banned about a year ago"
"the void"
"A conversation over coffee"
"No idea... I just typed in apocalpytic then added in arma then included online game"
"My mercenarie uncle form tuluk"



Login data

Made account but did not create a character:  66 (46%) (Nov was 49%)
Created a character: 79 (54%) (Nov was 51%)
Created a character that was approved but didn't play: 13 (24%) (Nov was 27%)

Actual logins (created a character that was approved and they logged in):  44 (30%) (Nov was 66 = 24%)
-- 1 hour or less in playtime: 12 (Nov was 21)
-- 1-2 hours of playtime:  7 (Nov was 11)
-- 2-6 hours of playtime:  11 (Nov was 13)
-- 6-20 hours of playtime:  8 (Nov was 13)
-- 20+ hours of playtime:  7 (Nov was 8 )

Of all these, appear to still be playing in the first week of the next month: 19 (13%) (Nov was 22 / 8%) (these came from a mixture of sources, but mostly "Friend" and "TMC" and "Internet")

Are you a new player with comments about how you found us and how the game has been for you so far?  Feel free to chime in here!  Getting your perspective on things will hopefully help out future players.

P.S. I think we all know what happened in December: Our voting efforts totally sucked. That being said, I believe we got at least 3 or 4 good new players during that month, who are still around. Welcome, newbies!

[bcw81]

"had an account that got banned about a year ago"

Question - Was this account allowed back?

[Harmless]

I hope so. I hope the ban was temporary and would have run out by now anyway. I would give the player points for admitting openly why they made a new account and given the chance to return to re using the old account instead.

[MeTekillot]

afaik, the only things that get you banned are flagrant disregard of the consent rules and rampant abuse of OOC information, or completely ignoring the IC realities of the game. Do we want a player like that back?

I mean, I think you get banned if you call Nyr a shiteater in the request tool, too, but I don't think there's official documentation on that so I'm not entirely sure.

[nauta]

afaik, the only things that get you banned are flagrant disregard of the consent rules and rampant abuse of OOC information, or completely ignoring the IC realities of the game. Do we want a player like that back?

I mean, I think you get banned if you call Nyr a shiteater in the request tool, too, but I don't think there's official documentation on that so I'm not entirely sure.

People make mistakes and grow up, so yeah, we do, is my view.

[bcw81]

afaik, the only things that get you banned are flagrant disregard of the consent rules and rampant abuse of OOC information, or completely ignoring the IC realities of the game. Do we want a player like that back?

I mean, I think you get banned if you call Nyr a shiteater in the request tool, too, but I don't think there's official documentation on that so I'm not entirely sure.

People make mistakes and grow up, so yeah, we do, is my view.

You're still able to use the request tool to ask to be unbanned when banned - one shouldn't skirt the rules trying to create a new account.

[Talia]

We don't talk about particular accounts and their statuses on the GDB. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in any response to the "where did you hear about us" question; very often those are joke responses. The ones I post are more there for the amusement factor than because they are particularly illuminating or illustrative.

I would say that in general, with bannings, we are pretty un-draconian. If a player comes back after a ban that they received for being a total douchenozzle, and then they start with being a douchenozzle again, well...we're going to see that and they'll probably get banned again. If they come back and have learned how to behave properly, that's a thing that will also be taken into consideration.

[Nyr]

I mean, I think you get banned if you call Nyr a shiteater in the request tool, too, but I don't think there's official documentation on that so I'm not entirely sure.

Perhaps surprisingly, there are plenty of people that have told staff to fuck off or have had single (or few) instances of bad communication directed at staff--even complaints pretty much calling Nyr a shiteater in the request tool--and they're still playing the game without being banned.

The other reasons we would ban people, well, we'd probably reban them for doing the same stupid stuff, as Talia mentions.

[Fujikoma]

I mean, I think you get banned if you call Nyr a shiteater in the request tool, too, but I don't think there's official documentation on that so I'm not entirely sure.

Perhaps surprisingly, there are plenty of people that have told staff to fuck off or have had single (or few) instances of bad communication directed at staff--even complaints pretty much calling Nyr a shiteater in the request tool--and they're still playing the game without being banned.

The other reasons we would ban people, well, we'd probably reban them for doing the same stupid stuff, as Talia mentions.

Sorry Nyr, I didn't mean it. 

(I never called him a shit-eater, but I've had some pretty choice words for staff in general that they really didn't deserve, I was quite, distraught at the time, I'm getting used to it and not just going nuts every time something awful happens)

[RogueGunslinger]

New accounts cut in half, though retained players stayed pretty much the same past a couple hours.. Interesting.