In Darkness - OOC

'allo, 'allo!

Just touching base to report on our activity status.

We did lose one player who ... didn't do anything all last month anyway. People are welcome to notice Dana Scully missing as of right now, if they are at all inclined.

Everyone else did sign in, and everyone who wasn't meeting the new requirements is aware and has promised to improve.

There is a very small but growing chance Mandy might be returning to us. She's checking the stability of her muses in our other game (or will be), and seeing where things are going from there. If she thinks there's a good chance things will go well, she'll shuffle back over here.

And if she doesn't, I'll eat her soul.

As for the move plot which is Wednesday (as in, the characters signed up for the mid-week move are being swiped to the new island Tuesday night/Wednesday morning), is everyone pretty clear how that's going down? The small group is being relocated, but will still be able to network with the people on the old island, but can only thread with people on the new island. New applicants will be sent to the new island as well. The lottery will be held on the new island, but the plot will take place on the old one, but not until Friday (the 22nd), because Matt does love screwing with his captives.

There will also be webcams while the groups are split, so have fun with that. >:D Once everyone's on the new island, no more webcams.

Once the groups are merged (the 24th, 'cause the moon's on the 25th XD), the new writeup and cast list will be put in the mod journal and the faq will be updated.

If anything's not clear or you have suggestions/comments/questions/concerns, hit me up.

Hello, and it's that time again!

If you could all kindly sign in with your name in the subject line, and use this form:

<textarea> <a href="THREADLINK">Character Name</a> (# of threads for character) (date of thread)

in the body of the comments, that'd be fantastically appreciated.

Failure to sign by Monday night in will result in removal from the game. Lack of threads with all characters or excessive dropped threads will result in us asking you to reconsider how well you fit into this game. If you think you can meet the new requirements, great, we'll see how things stand next month.

My apologies for the lateness of this. I had adventures on airplanes yesterday and I'm still adjusting to east-coast time. =P

( Met New Requirements )

( Did Not Meet New Requirements )

( Exempt )

Hey guys --

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up that we'll be doing checks early (yes, because of the move plot) and ending them earlier. Honestly, most everyone signs in within the first couple of days anyway, and .. consider this your week-warning.

That said, we'll be using this form:

<textarea> <a href="THREADLINK">Character Name</a> (total # of threads for character/# dropped) (date of most recent thread/complete or in progress?)

for sign-ins. We are asking you keep the one textarea box in the comment to make the copy/paste into the "safe" category easier on us. You can totally put all your characters in one box; just c/p the html part over and over and over ...

THIS IS NOT THE SIGN-IN POST. Checks will run from the 7th until the 11th. Anyone who hasn't signed in by Monday night will be removed.

This is just for those of us with a lot of characters that want to start getting our ducks lined up, so you have the form. Put it in a notepad document or something ;)

Since we did change the requirements mid-month, as previously stated, anyone who has only met the one thread minimum will pass checks, but will not be allowed to app further characters until their activity rises to the new requirements.

The only person exempt from this round of checks is our newest player; everyone else will be required to sign in.

'kay guys. If you have any questions, fire away. Otherwise, be ready for Thursday. Bwahahahaha!

Edit

If you need an example, you can look here

Hey guys.

This is a serious post and I am requesting that everyone comments (comments are screened) to acknowledge that you've seen and read it, even if you have nothing else to say about it.

We have discovered a serious oversight in our current activity rules. The way the rules are phrased now, it essentially allows any person with one character to remain inactive for most of the month but still remain in the game with a thread during activity checks.

This is not really what I want to see for the game.

That said, we were having a little bit of trouble coming up with exact parameters to define activity requirements. After dicking around and discarding ideas and finding flaws in all the ideas, we've come up with this. We honestly think it's the most fair way to ensure the game stays active, that people are not simply idling in the community or sitting on characters for the majority of the month, and that we have maximum player participation.

If you don't feel that you will be able to keep up with the new requirements, we'd like you to consider that ID might not be a good fit for your particular schedule or style of play.

We have a sliding scale of activity

What this essentially means that, if you have one-three characters, we will be requiring somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 threads a month (collectively, not per character) + optional network activity. If you have 4-7 characters, we'll be looking for a minimum of 5 threads a month (collectively, not per character), plus significant network activity from any non-threaded characters. If you have 8+ characters, we'll be looking for something closer to 1-2 threads a month per character + optional network activity. Regardless of the number of characters you have, all characters must have some form of activity each month.

If you have any questions or need this clarified or have any other thoughts on it, comments are screened (and signing in is required).

All righty. Activity checks are now closed.

Thank you, to everyone who signed in. At the end of the post will be a list of dropped characters, for the sake of reference or if any of your characters want to notice them missing.

For the next check, we will be allowing threads started during the prior check to count under certain circumstances. For example, if you have twenty characters and are being active but only managed to thread with X character once during the prior check but the thread took three weeks to complete, it will be allowed to count since activity with the character was recent, even if the thread was started during checks.

However, under no circumstances can one person use the same thread to count for two consecutive checks. For example, if I had a thread started on Wednesday during a check and used the thread to count for the current check, I could not use said thread for the following activity check. If you need this clarified or have if/then scenarios, please present your conundrums in comments.

For this month, we will be evaluating dropped threads, so please make sure you use the "!dropped" tag when you consider a thread dropped, and communicate with your thread-mates if there are circumstances that are slowing you down so you aren't unfairly marked as dropped. If we notice you are consistently dropping threads, we will ask that you consider cutting some characters from your cast, or dropping the game entirely if you don't have time to keep up with it. I know it's a slightly faster paced/more thread-intensive game than most, and I'd like to maintain a 'completed thread' standard, rather than having a majority of our threads dropped.

Announced hiatuses or "oh shit this week of RL is killing me" OOC posts will be taken into consideration when we look at the threads as well, though if possible, give us a heads-up before rather than after. We really aren't psychic, as much as we'd like to think otherwise. ;) Most of you are really on top of this though, and we definitely appreciate the communication.

There will be a plot-post outline written up after this ... at some point ... eventually, so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks guys!

( dropped/removed )

Hello and welcome to our third activity check!

For those new to this, we just need you to comment to this post. Put your name in the subject line, and provide links to threads for each character you currently have in play. Please do not link to network activity, as it will not get you past the check. We do require at least one complete or in progress thread. You have until the end of the check (which will be Friday, September 17, at 11:59:59 PM, Pacific time).

The thread must be dated after the conclusion of the last activity check -- so 8/20 and on.

If you are not going to thread or feel the game is not a good fit, please use this opportunity to drop from the game. If you feel you have too many characters, you are welcome to drop some at this time as well.

Failure to sign in will result in removal from the game. If you have only one character and no threads, you will be removed from the game. If you have more than one character and haven't yet threaded with all of them, you have until the end of check to thread with each one who has not yet met the activity requirements, or you will be asked to consider dropping a character or two until you can keep up with the activity requirements.

Everyone currently in-game must sign in. The only exceptions to activity checks are new players accepted after the start of check.

There will be no reminder emails/comments, and there will be no follow-up emails after the check has been completed and people have been dropped.

If there are extenuating circumstances and you need an extension, please comment with your request. All comments are screened.

( Checked In / Safe )

( Dropped )

Happy Saturday Morning!

Our activity check concluded just about ten minutes ago. Three players and four characters were removed for lack of activity and/or failure to sign in.

We lost the following characters:

Jack Sparrow
Will Vandom

and Hermione Granger and Willow Rosenberg who never actually made it into play and thus have no game canon to speak of.

Thanks to everyone who signed in, and hope to see you signing in again next month :)

Hello, and welcome to our second activity check!

For those of you who were here last time, you know the drill. For all you new folk (or the ones who need a reminder) ... this is how we swing these things:

Comments are screened, so if you have anything you want to add to your sign-in, or if you have questions, or explanations, or promises to do better, ;) you can leave those in your sign-in comment.

In the subject line of the comment, please put your name - or whatever handle you gave me when you applied.

In the body of the comment, please provide links to one or two pieces of your most recent activity. Threads are NOT required for this check, so for this check, you are allowed to submit network activity to pass the check. Next month, however, you are required to have at least one thread per character.

Only activity occurring between the end of the last check and the end of this check will count. (So, July 16 - August 20). Anyone who has not signed in by 11:59:59 PM Pacific time on August 20th (so, next Friday night) will be removed from the game. There will be no reminder links this time, and there will be no emails informing you of your removal. This is an interest check as much as an activity check. That said, if you have not yet been active but still wish to play in the game, please sign in as well and we'll discuss it from there.

Please only comment once. If you've already signed in with all of your characters, there's no need to give me links to your new activity after the check has started.

If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up.

( Safe! )

( Exempt )

Hello, hello!

So, in order to incite activity (lol, let's see if this really works ;) ), I've shifted the activity requirements slightly. This rule will NOT apply to the August activity check, but WILL be in place for the September one. So for utter clarification, if you haven't met the new activity requirement by the August activity check deadline, no worries; the old one's still in place for that. However, starting after the August activity check is completed, we will expect to see the new activity rule adhered to.

While I did update the rules page, here it is for your convenience:

"Activity

All players are required to maintain activity with all characters they apply for. We are requiring at least one completed log a month. Network participation is encouraged and will count toward activity as well, but we do want to see threads."


"In progress" logs will count as long as they are actively being worked on. I know some people can genuinely only tag a few times a week - and that's fine, as long as we see that you're still here and active. Narratives will also count as a log/thread. Open posts that receive no response will still count toward your activity.

That said, we'll be starting the August activity check on August 13th, so everyone has a heads-up to start getting your ducks in a row. Like last time, you will be required to sign in with a link to your activity; failure to sign in will result in removal from the community.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, don't hesitate to hit me up.

Thanks guys!

Hello! It is about that time.

Everyone has from now, until 11:59:59 PM Pacific time on July 16th to sign in to this activity check.

What I need from you is:

Your name in the subject line of the comment, with your characters and a link to their latest activity within the comment. At this time, activity standards are here. While this is subject to change, there will be an announcement and ample warning if we opt to increase the requirements.

Failure to reply to this post by 11:59:59 PM Pacific time on July 16th will result in your removal from the game. I think a week is ample time to notice this post, corral your activity, and hit me up with a reply. There will be no follow-up e-mail with an extra week.

If you have not yet been active, or if you have not met the requirements for the month, you have until 11:59:59 PM Pacific time on July 16th to be active. This does include signing in.

If you have decided the game is not a good fit for you, please comment here to drop rather than simply running out the activity check.

People removed for inactivity are welcome to reapply at any point in the future - I know sometimes life gets overwhelming and games need to be cut from the deck until things calm down, and I'm down with that. I don't want any hard feelings on either side, so please everyone wear your big kid britches and just be honest and communicate your status with me.

Comments are screened, so you're welcome to drop any other commentary here as well.

Thanks, guys! Looking forward to seeing your activity sign-ins.

( Signed in )



( Exempt )

Good sleepy morning, and happy long weekend (for those of us who have Monday off XD)

Wanted to give everyone a heads up that we'll be running activity checks next weekend. The way we're going to do this (and please, feel free to suggest alternates if you've been in a comm that had better/easier ways of doing it).

I will toss up an activity check post in the OOC comm
You will sign in with your character and a link to their most recent bit of activity.
If your character has not been active in the past month, then you will have until the end of activity check to do something with them. I mean, we are all here to play, right? XD
The activity check will run form the 10th to the 17th.

You may drop characters during the check (or really, at any time, ever); just let us know.

'kay.

As always, should you have any questions, hit me up :)