LP Updates, OTMs, & Other News

LP Updates, OTMs, & Other News

We've got a lot of updates for you guys today, so let's get right to it.

LP Updates

After several discussions through the months of August and September, the staff has proposed and decided on a handful of changes to the LP system based off of member feedback. The changes are:

• 200 Minimum Word Count: Based off that site survey we did earlier this year, many people seemed interested in lowering the required word count for the site. We've decided to lower the count from 250 to 200, although we always encourage our members to write as much as they want.
• 3+ Posts Required for LP: In the past, we have always just gone with "gut" feeling to determine if the participants of a thread had been active enough to earn the LP. We've decided to make it a concrete number to make it easier for the staff & for you guys. In any thread, as long as you have posted at least 3 times with each post being roughly 200 words, you are eligible to earn LP.
• 12 Post Skill LP Threads: For demonstration, practice, and successful/unsuccessful hunt threads with +2 wolves, the required total posts has been lowered from 15 to 12.
• LP for Old Threads: A couple of months ago, we introduced a rule stating that you could not claim LP for threads that had gone dead unless there was substantial development in the thread. We've also made this a concrete number. If your thread has a gap of 2+ months in it (where there were no posts), there needs to be at least 3 additional posts in order to claim LP for it.
  

These updates will be added to the library and other relevant places on the site by our librarians shortly.

September OTM Winners: Sarah, Kyna, and Round Stone Crest!

Hi guys! It's Sarah. I mean... you all know me, but I just wanted to extend my gratitude for an award I don't feel particularly deserving of. Ya'll are silly. Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know how grateful I am to be a part of this community and build all these great stories with you, make art occasionally, and help people wherever they ask for it. I am always available to talk to people publicly and privately no matter the time or the reason, because I genuinely care about you guys. Even if it's as simple as "FIX MY TABLE!" :P

Ace just recently adopted the shy little critter from Silent Moon Plateau, the wild accident that occurs when one combines Phineas with Aponi. That she wins this (and many other WoTM awards) so soon after taking on the character truly speaks to her adaptability to play anything and bring us all great enjoyment. Since adopting Kyna, the little girl has hung out all over Relic Lore, from the Fen to Riddle Heights, meeting all sorts of new wolves in new places. Watching her develop with Wren after the death of his mother in this thread here has certainly been both interesting and heartwarming. We all look forward to seeing what Kyna does in the absence of her own mother. Stay gold, Kyna!

And congratulations to Round Stone Crest for winning Pack of the Month! Their final pack life point value was 580, wow! Since you guys already won last month, there's no ribbon for you to claim just yet. But hey, I think if you guys keep going there will be another level awaiting you guys. Keep up the good work!

Leadership Handbook

Hey leaders, there is a new pinned thread in the Leadership forum that you all should check out ASAP. We've compiled all the essential information that you need in order to run your ship pack effectively. Have questions or think we left something out? Let us know so we can improve it! This is part of an effort to clean up the leadership forum and make sure all essential information is in one central location.

Character Chapters

Based off a suggestion posed to us in the site survey held earlier this year, we are introducing a new feature to the site: Character Chapters!. This forum, located in Wolf Central, is a place for you to keep track of what your character has been up to between threads. Did your character Bob go on a scouting trip around the borders? Did Bob find a particularly smelly patch of grass and decide to roll around in it? That's the kind of information that these blogs are for. Please review the guidelines listed at the top of the forum before posting. You may also use this forum to store extra items like avatars, skin codes, and tables.

To help you and others easily find your character profile, a new profile field will be added to your profile to link to your character chapter.

Chat PSA

The staff would also like to take this time to remind everybody what our main rule is for the site: Civility and respect is also important in RoW, everyone on the game should be treated with politeness and courtesy whether they are staff or not and in return you should expect the same treatment. We've had some issues come up recently where this rule is not being respected, particularly in the chat. We are asking that everybody please mind your behavior in the chat and consider how others might interpret your messages before you post them. We are also asking that character & pack plotting be kept to a minimum in the main chat. If you would like to use the chat to plot out developments, you are free to create your own public chat room or you can create a private chat room. If you have any concerns about what is being posted in the chat, please contact Rachel or Shadow so they can resolve the issue.

Have any comments, questions, or concerns about anything in this news announcement? Let us know so we can discuss it with you!

Awesome new changes! I have one question, though, about the 3+ posts to claim LP for a thread: Does that rule go into effect for threads that existed, or only for threads started from here on out? My gut feeling is that it's going to be the former, but it's always good to make sure. :D

It'll include existing threads and all new ones. Basically, if you haven't already received or tried to claim LP for a thread when I posted the announcement, it applies. :) it just makes it easier on the staff team that way.

That's what I thought. Thanks for the clarification!

Okay I like all these changes except,
say I'm waiting for that 10th post and I post in for attention of and all those proper channels and the person doesn't get around to it until the 2 month mark (which has happened), then if I want LP I need two more posts, the last again relying on that other person, therefor dragging on the thread even longer and possibly generating the same problem until finally I give up? x:

* Sahalie can't quote on mobile
@Gent
These are actually how the rules were before anyway, we're just making them more clear. The rules before said that a thread couldn't be revived just to have an ending tacked on to it, and that substantial work would have to be done to revive a thread. This is just giving you an actual number definition.

Question on the 3+ posts for LP rule, are 10 posts still the minimum to "complete" a thread? Rather than two chars doing a 6 post total thread, or three chars doing a 9 post thread?

Okay but my concerns remain the same. xD;
I mean I know there needs to be a cut off point, but if someone is already having problems getting the time to post then they probably aren't going to be able to go another round in any timely fashion.

(Oct 03, 2015, 06:53 PM)Nova Wrote:  Question on the 3+ posts for LP rule, are 10 posts still the minimum to "complete" a thread? Rather than two chars doing a 6 post total thread, or three chars doing a 9 post thread?

Yes, 10 is still the minimum :3

(Oct 03, 2015, 06:53 PM)Anneliese Wrote:  Okay but my concerns remain the same. xD;
I mean I know there needs to be a cut off point, but if someone is already having problems getting the time to post then they probably aren't going to be able to go another round in any timely fashion.

MMmmmm, I understand where you're coming from, but we do not think that this prevents anyone from finishing any threads that they want to finish. You just don't get LP. This will not likely be a common occurrence, as most people do not often take 2 months to reply to a thread. The staff does not feel that LP should be rewarded for every thread. We talked about a lot of different options, and this was the best alternative for discouraging people from reviving really old threads months later just to claim LP.

Actually, I have a question too. (Sorry! I feel like we're just poking holes in this, I do really like the changes!)

Do these updated rules apply towards threads that were archived just before they went into effect? I have a specific example: I archived the BTP pack meeting thread just a few days ago and haven't had a chance to go in and claim Bracken's points for it. At the time I archived the minimum was not spelled out, so Bracken only has two posts in it.

Now I totally don't mind having it revived and allowing Bracken (and any BTP wolves who are in the same boat) to add another post, but I was wondering if an exception would be made in this case?