IDEA: Interclan Communication

[nauta]

Here's the idea.

Each clan would have a gdb account / password that leadership have access to.  (So: Byn_Leadership, Kadius_Leadership, Salarr_Leadership, AoD_Leadership, Templarate, etc.) Leaders not in the clan can PM that leadership account with messages.

Why?  Coordinating playtimes for an RPT/delivery/etc, e.g., cancelling if sick, or scheduling a new playtime for an RPT which often requires some back and forth.  One thing leaders seem to do a lot (and aides too) is run through their contacts for other clans to deliver a message or coordinate an RPT.

Using the gdb would be a 'solution' that doesn't require new code.

Potential flaws/fixes:

1. Probably limit it to just leaders, so only leaders can send messages back and forth.  This avoids minions from abusing it with petty things.  I think gdb can have whitelist/blacklist for PMs, right?  If it can't, it could just be documented that the use of this feature is for coordinating playtimes between clans and not anything else.

[Samoa]

No, because this is exactly what minions are for. When you remove the capability for plans to be intercepted, you remove a core component of the game. This would result in flash mobs.

[Lizzie]

No for a different reason: I don't think it's appropriate or fair to impose the responsibility of OOC coordination on another player, just because he/she is playing a leadership role. Not merely sponsored roles, but leaders who were promoted in-game. It's hard enough to be a leader, we don't need to add that onto the list of "things you're required to do."

[Voular]

I never understood why we didn't have "messenger" NPC just standing around somewhere. You could pay him 20 sid and he'd repeat something if you gave (tell, way him whatever) him a keyword agreed on by the parties involved. Say your name is Amos, your boss tells you go check with the messenger if you don't hear from me in two weeks.

Two weeks pass, you go to the messenger say Amos and the guy is "I have a message for you: If you get this and can't find me, then know I am in Red Storm and unreachable. Go collect some obsidian for a few weeks.".

Or something? Help a European brother out man.

[Yam]

I don't see how this is much different from clan forums?

[nauta]

I don't see how this is much different from clan forums?

Yeah, it's an extension of the clan forums.  On clans, you can sometimes PM your leader (if they ask for it, god forbid).  But with inter-clan there's no way to PM the leader of another clan, since you don't know their handle.  The times this would be useful (and perhaps the only times they could be used) are almost always going to be OOC related ones: scheduling RPTs or orders.  I'd prefer to keep OOC stuff OOC, and not juggle it around IC.  I don't want to play an aide whose entire job is to just coordinate playtimes, for instance, nor do I enjoy spending my time IG coordinating playtimes.  Just shoot a quick PM, schedule it, and be done with it.

This probably makes most sense with only certain clans.

[Riev]

On the one hand, I like the idea of aides doing this, thematically.

On the other, this is a game that we all play, and we all have (or should have) real world responsibilities. Having another PC who is around when you are, -and- the other clan's leadership, isn't always possible. And having Aide A talk to Trooper B so he can tell Sergeant C that Agent D is looking for him... is stupid. Plain and simple, its stupid, because if the game were consistent and we were still there when we log off, we would've Wayed one another and hashed out the details. But we couldn't, because I had a doctor's appointment or your kid had baseball?

[lostinspace]

In the event that you're playing a clan leader and coordinating with another clan leader, can't you just ooc exchange forum names and PM?

I see no reason why we should have a centralized board for this. Capt. Byn has no reason to know that Salarr and Kadius are having a drink up on Saturday.

[Vox]

No, because this is exactly what minions are for. When you remove the capability for plans to be intercepted, you remove a core component of the game.

+1

I think clan forums offer plenty of OOC coordination opportunity, and personally for big RPT's I'd love IC info added to in-game tavern boards to reflect people talking about it in public to assist in giving other players who don't have OOC access to those boards the chance to intercept this info.

[Riev]

No, because this is exactly what minions are for. When you remove the capability for plans to be intercepted, you remove a core component of the game.

+1

I think clan forums offer plenty of OOC coordination opportunity, and personally for big RPT's I'd love IC info added to in-game tavern boards to reflect people talking about it in public to assist in giving other players who don't have OOC access to those boards the chance to intercept this info.

Convenience and playability vs. gameworld

This is always going to be an issue, and I tend to bounce back and forth. With this though, there has to be a better way than "hope the other person logs in tonight". Because if you want gameworld, technically you both made the Psi's over the Way while you were both logged out and hashed out the details.

I find it incredibly unfair that an event may or may not happen based solely on people's ability to log into the game. "get an aide" only works if that aide plays more than you do, or during hours both you -and- the other party does. That is an extremely limited cross-section.

However, I agree, if you make all your plans OOCly, who is to say you didn't make 'other' plans? And how come your plans won't ever be intercepted? At least with some sort of centralized "Part of Leadership - Byn" account, you could check messages, and staff could 'leak' the stuff they think is important enough to leak, in game.

[nauta]

This would just be for leadership PCs to coordinate RPTs and/or order deliveries across clans.  We can already coordinate RPTs within a clan via the gdb, but at present there is no way to coordinate an RPT between clans.  This would not be for plotting or MCB.  Since it is limited to leadership, who already have a lot of responsibility for not abusing other mechanisms available to them, I feel it'd be pretty safe and just an extension of the tools they already have.

As for spies: passing on the information to minions would still allow a spy to do their spy magick, and in any case this wouldn't affect that part of the process as nobody uses the clan boards in game anyway for at least the three years I've been around.

Examples:

Salarri Guards and Kadian Falcons want to get together to kill Something Big.  They plan on an RPT on Saturday, but the leader of the Salarri Guard is sick, so the RPT is cancelled.  A quick note to the Salarri gdb from that leader to cancel and a quick note to the Kadian_Leadership gdb account, and done. 

House Boob wants to hire the Byn for a contract, but the Lord in House Boob has no aide and Lord Boob has different playtimes than Byn Sergeants.  Lord Boob sends a quick note to Byn_Leadership to schedule a time to meet to talk about the contract.  Done.

And so on, a merchant sends a note in that the order is done, etc.

[Miradus]

I find this a little bit amusing because, in my experience, all these clan leaders and muckety mucks are already pals on each other's IM list coordinating activities for the past ten years.

[Riev]

I find this a little bit amusing because, in my experience, all these clan leaders and muckety mucks are already pals on each other's IM list coordinating activities for the past ten years.

I can assure you, in the admittedly few "clan leader" roles I've been in, I have only ever had I think ONE other leader that I'd talk to outside of the game. And that was in the Byn, and one of the other Sergeants was going through IRL struggles and couldn't make meetings or log in, so I'd send PMs on the GDB to ask questions while he was indisposed.

Some people talk to each other a lot. we don't all.