simpathis: (Default)
Empatheias Mods ([personal profile] simpathis) wrote in [community profile] empatheias_ooc2018-03-16 06:15 am
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Mid-Month Announcement: March

— MID-MONTH MOD ANNOUNCEMENT: MARCH —


Hello everyone! We hope March has been good to you so far. This month’s mid-month update includes your usual calendar reminders and Emotion Tracker updates, as well as information on an upcoming player plot! We also have two polls this month in which we would greatly appreciate your feedback. In the meantime, don’t let the foul weather here on the island get you down, and take care not to let the rising bug population get under your skin! They’re probably just afraid of you as you are of them. As always, please be sure to read this post thoroughly.

» CALENDAR


The main calendar spreadsheet is here as reference.

Here are the basic dates to keep up with:
  • 3/14-3/18: Event.
  • 3/18: Test Drive.
  • 3/23: Player Plot.
  • 3/25: Activity Check starts; Reservations open.
  • 3/31: Activity Check ends.


» EMOTION TRACKER UPDATE


As always, it's kind of early to tell where the Emotion Tracker is going.

As a reminder, this is just a "mid-month" check to give everyone an idea of where the Emotion Tracker stands. If you haven't had a chance to submit your threads, don't worry! You can still fill out the survey here.

Here is the screenshot for this month so far:



As always, it’s a little early to tell where the Emotion Tracker is going to end up for the month, but at the moment we are back in the green, if only by a little bit. Compared to the end of last month, the situation on the island is much more balanced, which is certainly a good sign! It will be interesting to see what the rest of the month will bring.

» PLAYER PLOT


As indicated in the previous mod post and the calendar above, Ryoko will be hosting a player plot on the 23rd! Kylo Ren is up to his usual antics, which will provide a few interesting effects for characters in Verens to play with for the rest of the month and into the next. You can find more details and ask any questions here!


» CANON UPDATE POLL


It has recently been brought to our attention that there is currently no rule concerning a required wait period before canon updating to new material like there is with applications, where a canon must have been out for one month after before a character can be apped into the game. But before we change anything regarding canon updates, we wanted to ask your opinion! Please let us know if you think that canon updates should have a required wait period to avoiding spoiling other players on new material immediately after release, or if the current guidelines should remain as they are.

Poll #19654 Canon Updates
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 51

Should there be a waiting period for canon updates?

Yes, canon updates should follow the same one month wait rule as applications.
37 (72.5%)

Yes, canon updates should be restricted, but for a different amount of time. (please comment)
4 (7.8%)

No, canon updates are infrequent enough that they are fine as is.
10 (19.6%)





» HOW'S MY DRIVING MEME + POLL


Some players have expressed interest in having an HMD meme on a regular basis. This meme is intended to be constructive and to help each other grow as roleplayers and writers. Of course, while we are having fun in the game, we would also like to remain as in-character as possible. Receiving constructive criticism or general input from others on how we play our characters is a way of improving ourselves.

That said, we would like to poll the game on what you guys think regarding the return of a regular HMD meme. While the game used to host regular HMD memes, they eventually went unused and were discontinued, but after receiving a number of player suggestions, we are more than willing to reinstate them if the response from the playerbase is favorable. Please note that if the HMD were to make a return, it would be entirely optional, and we do not have any intention of making them required in the future. Please answer the poll below and let us know your thoughts!

Poll #19655 HMD Meme
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 66

Should we have a regular gamewide HMD Meme?

Yes
55 (84.6%)

No
10 (15.4%)

How frequently would you like to see the HMD Meme posted?

Monthly (the 15th of each month)
2 (3.3%)

Bi-monthly (the 15th of every other month)
45 (73.8%)

Other (please comment)
14 (23.0%)

Should we allow anonymous responses to the HMD?

Yes
30 (47.6%)

No
33 (52.4%)



If you voted "no" to having a regular gamewide HMD meme, there's no need to vote on the following two questions.

For other comments regarding the meme, feel free to state them in the comments below!


» NETWORK USAGE CLARIFICATION


We've recently noticed a trend with how the network is being used, so we would like to clarify certain things to make sure that everyone is on the same page with how the mechanic works!

1) The game's crystal network system is telepathy based, not device based, so everything involved occurs within the characters' minds! Voice-based telepathic communications will be another voice in one's head, image-based telepathic communications will be the other person projecting an image into another person's mind while (usually) hearing a voice, and text is essentially a simpler form of image, where words appear in the character's mind. This also means that some typical functions of device networks are unavailable, such as copying and pasting, but that there are also additional benefits that are only limited by the characters' imaginations! Emojis live on in people's hearts and minds, after all.

2) The network is private by default unless otherwise stated by the player or players involved, and is unhackable. This means that unless a post is designated as an open conference message, responders to a post cannot view or hear other responses, and cannot respond to them. This means there should logically be no "threadjacking," unless the other characters in the conversation have willingly opened their conversation up to the "threadjacker."

3) Nothing is recorded. Characters cannot go back to a message that was sent through the network two days ago to either respond or view/hear the message (ICly; backdating is fine, of course!). If characters ignore the hum that indicates an incoming message, rather than deciding to view or listen to it, that's it—they won't be able to hear or see it! The only recording of any network messages are the memories of the characters involved, but these are sharable thanks to the nature of the network. It is, of course, limited by how well characters can remember things...

We hope this clears up some things regarding the network. If you have any questions, make sure to check out the network info page, and please don't hesitate to ask for further clarifications!


» MEME COMMUNITY


This is just a reminder that we now have a meme community for all your meme needs! The community is [community profile] memepatheias! From here on, we will be posting the Test Drive Meme and Plot/CR With Me Memes on this community. OOC Player Intros will remain on the OOC comm.

Players are free to post on the meme comm with whatever meme they wish to post, whenever they wish.

With the meme comm now present, the latest mod announcement and likely the player intros or the latest event details will be pinned (stickied) to the OOC comm, while the TDM and Plot/CR With Me memes will be pinned to the meme comm each month for easier access.

Any decisions regarding the polls we've conducted will be announced in the April mod announcement.

That's it for now! If you guys have any questions or concerns regarding any of the above, please don’t hesitate to comment to this post! For other announcements in March, you may refer to this post.
rokubro: (‡ 065)

[personal profile] rokubro 2018-03-15 10:35 pm (UTC)(link)
My thoughts on the canon updates: I'd suggest two time restrictions.

If it's a standalone product like a movie or video game of a series (current examples, Marvel movies and upcoming Kingdom Hearts), restrict to 3-4 weeks, so similar to current canon wait period. This follows the original idea in which it's substantive content that requires more time and resources to obtain.

If it's episodic, like a chapter or episode, 1-2 weeks. These should be more easily accessible and spoilers less of an issue because the product is more immediately consumed.
gainsaiyan: (Default)

[personal profile] gainsaiyan 2018-03-15 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
As far as canon updates go, i'm in complete agreement with Lae: Things like video games and such restricted to the standard wait already in place, while smaller material such as the latest chapter of a manga being limited to 1-2 weeks since they're more easily accessed and consumed.

As far as HMD goes, while I'm fine with one every other month, personally I think the ideal would actually be once every three months. Whether intentional by design or not, Empatheias is very much a game whose changes go with the seasons. The game's tone and direction shifts over the course of three months in accordance with the emotion tracker and as the plot dictates. Likewise, three months is enough time to gauge where someone is at compared to last time, as well as be able to more effectively weigh in on the current state of the game itself.
glorifies: (→ point guard)

[personal profile] glorifies 2018-03-15 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
As a player, quarterly/every three months for the HMD sounds good to me! +1.
heartofalioness: (YES now you've got it!)

[personal profile] heartofalioness 2018-03-15 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooh, that's a really good compromise! Still keeping my vote at no, but if time limits do become a thing I wouldn't mind this system at all.
heartofalioness: (Calm Smile)

[personal profile] heartofalioness 2018-03-15 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
+1 to quarterly HDMs!
newrecipe: (Default)

[personal profile] newrecipe 2018-03-15 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
As a player, another +1 to quarterly HMDs!
rokubro: (‡ 061)

[personal profile] rokubro 2018-03-15 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
As an ex-mod and player, +1000 on quarterly HMDs!
untalented: (glasses)

[personal profile] untalented 2018-03-15 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Agreed! Quarterly HMDs please!
peacewithouttyranny: (NoMoreFighting)

[personal profile] peacewithouttyranny 2018-03-15 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Adding another +1! Quarterly HMDs sounds good!
sonofson: (0217)

[personal profile] sonofson 2018-03-15 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Also +1 to quarterly HMD
nailed_it: (Hellooooooooo)

[personal profile] nailed_it 2018-03-16 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
Also throwing in my support for a quarterly HMD!
bifroster: (Default)

[personal profile] bifroster 2018-03-16 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
Excellent idea! I endorse this +1 too!
oligomania: (my name is screaming)

[personal profile] oligomania 2018-03-16 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
I agree with the different updates for different medias.
oligomania: (when you meet your demise)

[personal profile] oligomania 2018-03-16 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
+1
unhappy: (em wtf stop looking so hot in this icon)

[personal profile] unhappy 2018-03-16 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
Agreeing, this makes a lot of sense.
oratorical: (Default)

[personal profile] oratorical 2018-03-16 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
I think this depends on how you define episodic. Many series now get huge batches of episodes at once, or get an entire season dumped in one day, and not everyone has the time to sit through an entire season of a show they're interested in in only 1-2 weeks. A huge episode dump is, to me, less "episodic" and more along the lines of movie or video games because of just how much content is involved in that update.

For example: Jessica Jones season 2 just dropped a little over a week ago, and if we had anyone from that canon here, they would be able to update within that time. But to me, at least, an entire season of 13 or so hour-long episode is far more comparable to a standalone product like a movie or video game than a weekly tv show or a manga that updates weekly because of the longer time commitment involved. Additionally, would video game dlc be episodic? It's, again, a longer time commitment and not the same length or same content as a weekly tv show episode or manga chapter.
rokubro: (‡ 076)

[personal profile] rokubro 2018-03-16 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
Aaah, I'm not familiar with season dumps like that, I was going by the more common system of weekly updates (or daily for certain manga series). I think in that case, I'd agree with you. Although the material is readily available, it would take more time. Granted, I think the source itself will lend to the wait time, as in it would likely take a few days at least, anyway.

DLCs I honestly could see at min 2 weeks since usually those don't take as long to play through. The full month also works, but I feel that might be overkill. Granted, that also depends on the actual length, but DLCs are USUALLY meant for a few hours of play as opposed to a whole new game (like the FFXV ones).

That's just my take on it, at least! I think these are good points, especially DLCs since those are becoming more of a thing for video games. It might even come down to a case-by-case scenario.
torsion: (Default)

[personal profile] torsion 2018-03-16 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
I'm going to argue for an anon HMD option here. It's as simple as IP logging being on and the moderators being able to stop anything if it gets out of hand. People still get nervous about leaving crit for a reason and there's no reason they should be denied the ability to offer it for that reason! Mods should and will ensure the safety of their players so there's no fear of it.

The only thing it really benefits is someone being more comfortable in what they're saying if they're your friend or it's something they keep convincing themselves is a small thing that they don't need to mention. I hope some will sincerely consider it and not be afraid of it.
hamnation: (declaration)

[personal profile] hamnation 2018-03-16 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
+1 to quarterly HMDs as well!
zephlyrt: (008)

[personal profile] zephlyrt 2018-03-16 07:56 am (UTC)(link)
I think this is primarily a Netflix thing - they tend to release entire seasons at once because of the trend of viewers to binge a TV show season over the course of a few days.

I think it'd be fair to set the wait time to a single episode or chapter as 1-2 weeks, with a max of 4 week wait on multiple episodes/chapters/issues released at once. For example, if someone wanted to update from the first couple of episodes of a fully released at once season, they could do so in less than a month, but if they wanted to update from further along in the season, they'd have to wait the full month.
rokubro: (‡ 006)

[personal profile] rokubro 2018-03-16 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
OOOOOOH okay! Yeah that makes a lot of sense now (and I learned something huzzah). I think your idea makes sense and would be a pretty good compromise for that situation. Plus, 2 weeks is a pretty reasonable time for someone to at least get started in watching the new season drop, even if they don't complete it.
zephlyrt: (Default)

[personal profile] zephlyrt 2018-03-17 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
No problem!
fabling: (Default)

[personal profile] fabling 2018-03-19 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
+1 to every 3 months! If issues are big enough people can usually go to a personal HMD anyway.
housewareshero: (Default)

[personal profile] housewareshero 2018-03-29 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I think this is a good division of the two - and the Netflix "season dump" brought up below makes sense, too. I don't know if I'll be updating Ash anytime soon - it depends on how this season winds up ... but I figured I should throw my 2 cents in anyway. :)
housewareshero: (hell yeah)

[personal profile] housewareshero 2018-03-29 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
+1 to quarterly!