As the resident expert on sending kudos--yes that is a brag, but it's based on the fact that over 50% of my requests to staff are for player or staff kudos--I want to encourage every player as we start into this new Season to send kudos now rather than waiting. Why should you do that? Who should get kudos? When should you send them? I'm here to give you a +1 to wis on all that.
Why should you send kudos?- Good vibes. Saying nice things (OOC, obviously, don't say nice things IC, that'd be weird), helps create a positive game vibe.
- It makes players feel like they matter, that their RP efforts are recognized, that their PC is having an impact. Sometimes this helps players stick to the game.
- The player who sends the kudos also gets a little dopamine hit of pleasure. (Yes this is why I send kudos, for selfish reasons.)
- When staffers get kudos, those kudos go on the IDB for all staff to see. It's a nice little moment of feel-good for everyone on the staffing team.
- Kudos can be seen by staff. If they've overlooked a player, kudos might help them see the player and notice what they're doing. The kudos you send may indirectly influence that player's karma or opportunity to get sponsored roles.
Who should get kudos?- The newbie who is trying really, really hard to learn emote code, understand the world of Zalanthas, get involved, and roll with the punches.
- The PC that you saw helping a newbie out once, or taking them under their wing. This behavior is so important to new player retention that I wish every player who did it was getting all the kudos.
- The PC you only had one scene with, but you were impressed by their emoting, characterization, ability to bring the world to life, or ability to create a dramatic or engaging scene.
- The BFF, friend, mate, boss, minion, frenemy, or enemy whose roleplay and engagement enriches your PC's life, and whom your game would be less without.
- The player who just PKed your PC, or the PC you just PKed, to thank them for an exciting, weird, or dramatic event.
- The leader PC of your clan, or the leader PC of a different clan who is working really hard for the game.
- Players who are volunteering for stuff outside of the game, whose impact you feel, such as the mod team, helpers, or tech support folks.
- Your clan staff or other staff who have helped you out, built something you love, animated, thrown RPTs, or run plots.
- The veteran player who helped or involved YOU if you're a current newbie.
When should you send kudos?- Literally right now.
- In fact, just go open the request tool...
- ...start a player or staff kudos...
- ...type that bad boy out...
- ...and press Submit.
- Don't wait until the PC is dead. You don't need to do that. Send the kudos as soon as you start thinking you should send it. Yes there used to be a weird rule that in order to not "taint" the roleplay or "reveal IC info" you should wait until after the PCs are both dead, but that's not a rule now and it's not necessary.
What should go in kudos?- If possible, both the PC's name and their short description (unhooded).
- If you don't have both name and sdesc, give what you've got.
- If you don't have name or sdesc, then a description of the date and time and location of the scene. The more info the better, and logs don't last forever, so if you want to send this kind of kudos do it quickly.
- Specific praise for emoting, characterization, leadership, interaction, etc.
- Preferably more than a single sentence. You're bothering to send kudos, put a bit of effort in!
What should NOT go in kudos?- Your PC's name. Except sometimes it's OK, especially if you really can't say what you're grateful for without referring to stuff that would make it obvious.
- In general, identifying information about you or your PC. Be vague, even if ultimately the other player is likely to figure it out.
- Criticism of the other PC's roleplay. Kudos are not the time for "you're doing a great job, BUT here is where you suck." Do not do the "feedback sandwich" format, only say positive things.
- Anything that would reveal IC info that the other player doesn't/shouldn't know: "Too bad you killed my mindbender PC for pickpocketing, that would have been fun for you later. Now my buddy Amos will be out for revenge!"
Thank you for coming to my ARM talk. Now go send some kudos!
Fine. I sent 3.
I can't underline enough how wonderful it is to receive kudos. Giving that gift to someone else very possibly makes their day.
SEND MORE KUDOS
IMPORTANT PSA ABOUT HOW TO SEND KUDOS
Please send your kudos in separate requests per PC that you're sending kudos to. Staff have to go through a number of steps to resolve each kudos request: Looking up the PC, researching the PC if some details have been left out, editing the kudos if necessary, emailing the kudos to the player, then noting both YOUR account and the account of the other player. This is a lot of steps so if you're putting multiple kudos in one request, it can be overwhelming!
Checking through threads I missed and this one deserves a bump!
I sent in a kudos recently and staff resolved it same day.