Monthly Objectives, Requires Staff Attention

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

From scrolling the forum, I noticed the little "monthly objective" thing. Here

Now, I'm all for objectives that require work, but to get EXP or Funds for just getting approved in a certain month? Lol no. It's un-fair to the older people that have been here, earned their exp/funds through RP and actually posting.

I get that one could get bonus stuff for having a very good quality app, but for a normal app to just get EXP for being approved in April? That's just.. Bad. I've had other people agree to this, and i do expect them to post here.

I get trying to make activity come back to this site is a must, since it has been lacking some in the past week or so. Do it in a logical sense though, not just throwing out EXP for apps being approved.

Age : 33 Posts : 254

I had not previously agreed to this, in fact this is the first I've heard of it. While I don't discourage rewarding people for coming to the site and hammering through a character app, this would be going too far.

Age : 33 Posts : 48

I gotta say, I do like the idea of giving out some sort of MP/EXP award every month, or some sort of award. But these have to actually be awards for things such as doing an excellent job on an app(an example being a genin app w/jonin app quality/quantity), doing certain things IC/OC, etc. Really if your gunna do a monthly objective kind of deal, and the reward people for it... It needs to be slightly harder to get. It cannot be a give away like having an app accepted in april would be... Cross already hit on how it'd be unfair to everyone else if people just were up and giving xp simply for finishing an app... I more or less said my part, if needed I shall discuss some more.

Age : 33 Posts : 254

Get people to help the staff with their revamps, or to make suggestions which better the site and reward them when they do a good job. Although giving out EXP and MP still doesn't sit well with me when it's for OOC reasons.. We used to do that on ingoo and it took a lot of the fun out of character development.

EDIT: Perhaps instead of the monthly objective being OOC, it could be to complete a certain number of missions, to have a certain number of social topics, to consistently make high quality posts, etc. That would actually add something to the role play experience, at the same time as encouraging people to do it.

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

Quote :: Although giving out EXP and MP still doesn't sit well with me when it's for OOC reasons..

^ that.

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

ShykeWolfe wrote:: EDIT: Perhaps instead of the monthly objective being OOC, it could be to complete a certain number of missions, to have a certain number of social topics, to consistently make high quality posts, etc. That would actually add something to the role play experience, at the same time as encouraging people to do it.

I agree to this, because the older members who put a lot of time into their apps don't get shit, while people would now get stuff just for finishing an app. To me, that sounds unfair.

Age : 29 Posts : 3145

I also agree with Cross. I was quite interested in the topic until it said what this month's challenge was, at which point I felt it was just cheap and the whole system lost all of its interest to me.

If you HAVE to go down the EXP route, then make it count just towards Available Funds, rather than towards rank ups. On a similar note, you could give out free jutsu etc.

If you're thinking of making this a competition, we could have a THEME for every month and then the best topic e.g. wins a custom jutsu or weapon, whilst the runners up and others gain a minor reward.

P.S Young Money is absolutely terrible D<

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

Quote :: EDIT: Perhaps instead of the monthly objective being OOC, it could be to complete a certain number of missions, to have a certain number of social topics, to consistently make high quality posts, etc. That would actually add something to the role play experience, at the same time as encouraging people to do it.

That soudns sooooooo much better than what is implemented right now.
It's just ripping off the older members to make the newer ones more interested in the site.
if you have to do that(Exp, or funds) jsut for making new apps, that is just... Wrong and it makes it look bad.

and I know young Money is bad.
just a play on names ;3.

Age : 33 Posts : 254

YoungMoney wrote:

ShykeWolfe wrote:: EDIT: Perhaps instead of the monthly objective being OOC, it could be to complete a certain number of missions, to have a certain number of social topics, to consistently make high quality posts, etc. That would actually add something to the role play experience, at the same time as encouraging people to do it.

That soudns sooooooo much better than what is implemented right now.
It's just ripping off the older members to make the newer ones more interested in the site.
if you have to do that(Exp, or funds) jsut for making new apps, that is just... Wrong and it makes it look bad.

I'm happy I was able to add something to the topic. <3

Age : 32 Posts : 683

Do you guys even read?

Age : 29 Posts : 4301

I can't believe this is even a topic. The purpose of April's objective was to boost the amount of character applications being created and approved, due to the current lack of applications being approved and no, this is not a chance to have a shot at the Staff for being lazy or incompetent, far from it in fact. Now I believe that the objective fits the purpose rather well, it'll encourage currently unapproved members to create characters at a faster pace in order to be approved for this month.

As for this month appearing as a giant middle finger to you approved members, just... wut. This is the first month of this entire system and you've all jumped on the bandwagon to pay out on how all the approved members are receiving nothing from this. It doesn't appear that one of you have thought that yes, this month isn't of any use to all those approved, but hey, maybe instead of moaning about it, we should instead wait to see what next month brings and then consider creating a topic about the Monthly Objectives. The lack of patience from all of you is simply astounding, the first day of the first month and we've already got a topic filled with complaints.

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

Cookie Monster wrote:: The lack of patience from all of you is simply astounding, the first day of the first month and we've already got a topic filled with complaints.

Posts : 1729

It's not like this is granting members an actual EXP boost. If you'd read it carefully, you'd have seen that,for this month at least, the bonus is only going to be additional FUNDS. They won't be any closer to the next rank, they'll just be able to grab a few items or jutsu they didn't think of/didn't have room for during creation; custom kits spring to mind.

Age : 31 Posts : 1637

Mors Atra wrote:: It's not like this is granting members an actual EXP boost. If you'd read it carefully, you'd have seen that,for this month at least, the bonus is only going to be additional FUNDS. They won't be any closer to the next rank, they'll just be able to grab a few items or jutsu they didn't think of/didn't have room for during creation; custom kits spring to mind.

Also, this. Cookie Naruto

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

I Apologize for not reading correctly

But "April's objective is labelled as Application April, which means for all who are able to have their character application approved within April will receive a reward of fifteen EXP within their Additional Funds."

that sentence there is the one that screwed me over. don't put EXP and funds in the same sentence.

From having a staff stand point, sites usually only do this when their activity is being slowed down, or to a stand still. Might want to rethink it a little more clearer next time.

This topic can be solved.

Age : 35 Posts : 1113

Meh, I'll weigh in with my tuppence here. As an older, approved member (who likes to think she put a lot of work into her application), it doesn't really bother me that those with new applications are getting additional funds for having a character app approved. It's not EXP they'll be getting and the staff aren't going to be any more lenient in processing these so they should at least attain a certain standard.

I do feel that for future reference (if not for now), this system should NOT exclude a group of people from obtaining the 'bonus'. This month's does just that and I can see why some of our members are miffed.

Now, I don't like to involve myself and not make at least one constructive suggestion. Why not have two, maybe three challenges with varying rewards for each? There could be one that can be obtained OOC and rewards you with funds, and another one or two that must be completed IC that bring EXP.

Obviously this current system is still being trialled and we ought to have a little patience with it. Let's see if we can have it just right by May, hm?

~Soph out.

EDIT: Seems the whole thing died down while I was posting. Still, I'm leaving my comments up.

Age : 49 Posts : 1036

Sorry Cookie but for all the bluster and fury in your post the others have a much stronger point. Primarily because this whole "get rewarded for being approved in a moth to spur activity" is not addressing why applications aren't being made or approved. That being that while many people register to see what goes on fewer actually become attached enough to make and finish a character application. And even fewer can get the staff to stop dragging their heels on an application over irrelevant details for long enough to actually get the approval process completed on time. Besides, if someone rushes through a character in a month to get the "bonus" then abandons it shortly afterward because they don't like it, is it really any better than if the character had never been made? If anything it sounds like something that wastes staff time and just encourages a bare-minimum approach to maximize the speed of approval instead of the sort of quality character that someone becomes attached to enough to actually want to keep and play with.

In short, what the staff has put forward is, fair or unfair aside, something that runs counter to the stated goal. At least unless your goal is to create a short-term bloat of characters that creates the impression we're another ingoo filled with piss-poor players and a staff who only care about numbers and not quality.

Now if you really want activity to go up then... GET YOUR ASS ACTIVE! Honestly, we have an event that is still going on over a month past the deadline because Adam takes weeks to close the thread after the people who were still active in it finished. There are applications sitting around that need checking to see if the person who made it is even active or not, and yet all the staff can come up with to spur activity is giving out xp for getting an application completed? Maybe instead of focusing on enticing people to make more applications your focus should be on clearing up the backlog and getting the characters that exist active in threads that don't take months to resolve due to spotty posting. I know when I go looking at sites I don't base the level of activity on how many applications are put out and I doubt many (and none who make good players) are that that naive or stupid. I look at the number of active RP threads and how recent the last post is and I imagine many others do the same.

Hell, maybe instead of digging your heels when Phantom suggested letting others look at the various villages you should have stopped to think. You do realize that people just visiting the site to see if they want to join can't read those threads right? If all they see are the sections filled with old posts and a bare handful of others written by the same people it creates the impression that the sight is down to a handful of diehards just puttering along. Maybe if they could see the activity in the villages they would have a better impression.

Anyway I'm done. I've learned long ago that when it comes to this staff that, no matter how logical or practical an idea, if a post is anything but praise most take it as a personal affront that someone dares to find a flaw in their creations. As far as I'm concerned this site is starting its latest downward slide - I'm just here to laugh when the bottom is reached and people are asking what happened.

Age : 30 Posts : 1012

^ alll. Alllllllll.

Age : 33 Posts : 254

I was gonna make my own argument, but I'll just thumbs up Nuclear Treerat.

In regards to OOC rewards, that's something I've been a part of on ingoo. It was not successful in creating activity, it did just what NT said, it created a bloat of characters and poor quality role play. It's not progressive and it certainly doesn't encourage our member base to role play. Which is what they're supposed to be doing to attain EXP and MP. Please do not hand out OOC rewards, please.

Age : 29 Posts : 3145

Cookie Monster wrote:: This is the first month of this entire system and you've all jumped on the bandwagon to pay out on how all the approved members are receiving nothing from this. It doesn't appear that one of you have thought that yes, this month isn't of any use to all those approved, but hey, maybe instead of moaning about it, we should instead wait to see what next month brings and then consider creating a topic about the Monthly Objectives. The lack of patience from all of you is simply astounding, the first day of the first month and we've already got a topic filled with complaints.

We're complaining on the first day, because the announcement says that you get one goal per month i.e. it doesn't matter which day it is or which day we complain on.

We're also complaining because though this is supposed to be a site-wide 'event' it affects new members, who like Nuclear had said, will probably be unaffected by the promise of reward, because they likely didn't finish their apps for reasons other than because there was no reward for it. So yeah, this is kinda like a middle finger to the old members.

This is not an attack. Just don't call it a site-wide goal when all you are doing is getting people to join.

Age : 33 Posts : 254

The good that comes of rewarding people with 15 EXP to get a character approved this month:

A few more characters.

The good that comes of rewarding people with IC objectives, such as completing missions, performing with high quality posts, achieving a certain rank:

More topics, more activity, more interest, more plot.

Edit: I wish to again say, rewarding character creation is a good idea. But it is not a priority when the system can be used in a far more effective manner, especially when these objectives go on for a whole month. I don't want anybody who came up with the idea to feel offended, but please hear what we've got to say and simply understand where we're coming from.

Age : 35 Posts : 1113

I agree with a lot of what's being said.

1. Rushed characters as a result of 'Application April': fair point. I could see this happening. But we won't know for sure unless we trial it. Of course, if we trial it and we do end up with poor quality RPers/characters, then we can't take it back... ugh. Rock and a hard place. But a BIG yes please to IC objectives! Can't see the downside, myself.

2. Cleaning up the forum (closing old events, tidying up the app sections) would be very welcome, I'm sure. But the activity of members cannot be guaranteed no matter what anyone does. I like that our staff are looking for simple ways to increase activity and I can only hope that developing new ideas does not result in menial tasks going unnoticed.

3. When scouting out other forums (I have yet to actually commit to any others), I do exactly what you do, Nuclear. And in relation to the de-privatizing of certain areas of the villages, this is an important point. Most newcomers choose to become village-nin - fact. Which suggests that most newcomers want to become village-nin. Are we limiting our member-base by not allowing those 'on the fence about joining' to glimpse what they could be involved in? Maybe.

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If we want the staff to respect and listen to our views, we ought to afford them the same courtesy. This would be easier to achieve with a more open staffroom, I agree. Big topics like this wouldn't happen half as often if the regular members were able to offer input during development rather than during implementation. However, let's have some perspective on a few things that I think go unchecked:

A) This is an online, RP forum. It's fun, sociable and creative. It's NOT the most critical thing in any of our lives. Historically, people have been known to get unnecessarily aggravated on here and that won't do us any favors with potential newcomers either.

B) The staff do jobs that we (the other members) probably don't want to have to do. I'd like being in a position of responsibility, sure, but I recognize that I don't want to (and/or can't dedicate the time to) be checking posts, writing evaluations, sorting out bickering users etc.

Age : 33 Posts : 254

I understand all of what you've said Fox, and I'm sure many of us would love to be involved with coming up for ideas. There could be a suggestions area in General discussion maybe, just a sticky topic where we can make suggestions for the monthly objectives. That way everyone gets a say, and it's clear what people actually want from this new system.

But as for this first objective, as a monthly objective it should be something the majority of the site can be involved with. If people have been complaining that they need events, creating one for people who don't have characters and don't have this desire for events, because they lack characters with which to perform them, is not solving the problem either.. This monthly objectives system is a GREAT idea, and I love it, I would love for it to be implemented in a more interactive fashion.

Age : 35 Posts : 1113

Oh don't get me wrong - I'd much prefer to see IC objectives that most (if not all) of our members can get stuck into.

~Fox~ wrote:: I do feel that for future reference (if not for now), this system should NOT exclude a group of people from obtaining the 'bonus'. This month's does just that and I can see why some of our members are miffed.

Age : 31 Posts : 8965

I've had to sort of answer this a few times already and it's hilarious that such outrage has occurred over this. In Feb we were handing out points for people who posted advertisements. A better comparison is when we started awarding points to Spotlight winners, nobody from the month before who just missed out kicked up a stink. As the topic states every month will have a different focus for example next month we are doing something similiar to what Shyke had in mind which will be focusing on adding a bonus MP reward for every completed mission. Not everything is going to apply to everybody and not everything should be as Darius said this month we're focusing on bringing in new members and awarding them for it. If you go shopping and buy something and go in the next day again and it's now buy one get one free you don't file a complaint at the store and claim you've been treated unfairly. 15 points is 1 B-rank technique or a 2 C-ranks that isn't that 'unfair'.

The issue here seems to be that not everybody is involved and therefore do not even have the chance to earn points, but can I just say that this will happen again at some time and happens with other things as it is. It's like Kumo having an event when Kiri and Konoha don't and their members being given an EXP award afterwards, which HAS happened. There will be something different every month, people will have their chance to win points. Though to call it a middle finger to older members Chris, when people voicing concern in this topic like Nuclear, Sophie and yourself have won Spotlight award after Spotlight award acknowledging your achievements on the site and being awarded points for it, I can only say sorry if you feel wronged and better luck next month.

Topic locked.