Opinions wanted & needed from players!

[sinfulmods]

While December is going to be an even more stress free AC for everyone, let's chat about AC changes you might like to see starting in 2020, yeah?

First off, hiatuses: There's been more confusion about this, so no matter what you all want to do about AC, any hiatuses will be an automatic exemption from having to check into AC. Indefinite and consecutive hiatuses still won't be allowed, but for that month you need a hiatus? You don't have to check in. You must officially post it to the hiatus page when your hiatus begins, however, but that's it.

And now, AC chatter:

Option one for AC is: Leave it as is. AC is open all month long, just post one link to a thread with more than one comment from your character in it. The thread must be from the month being checked only.

Option two for AC: AC is open all month long, and you can pass AC with two threads (for each character you play) started within the past two months, so long as there are at minimum four comments from your character in each month. That's an average of one tag a week in a thread at minimum. Meaning for April's AC for example: You can use a thread from a post that was started in February as long as your character has four comments timestamped in February and four timestamped in March. If you use a thread from a post that was started in March, you just need four March timestamped comments. If you use a thread from something started in April, you just need more than one comment, just like the current system.

Post your votes and thoughts in the comments! Comments are not screened in this entry, so if you want to speak to the mod privately, please take it to the mod contact page or PM since your privacy won't be able to be ensured in the comments section of this entry.


EDIT DECEMBER 30th, 2019: THIS POST IS NOW CLOSED FOR VOTING. HERE ARE TWO THINGS TO KNOW NOW THAT IT IS CLOSED:
01. → Comments to this entry are temporarily screened while votes are being counted; comments will be unscreened as they are counted (since I couldn't do a traditional DW poll for this -- paid account features, sigh -- this is how I am keeping track of which ones have been counted). Don't worry, your comment will be publicly visible again shortly, unless you reach out and request otherwise of me. meaning that if anyone wants their comment to remain screened after the temporary screen, I will absolutely do so. Just ask!
02. → Expect results to be announced no later than January 1st, as that is when the new AC post will go up. That post will either contain a "no change" message, or one detailing the AC change, depending how this count shakes out.

Comments

[ibelieveintruth]

Thank you.

I am good with either. My instinct is to go with the first option, but I am willing to go with the other if more people want it. A check-in with at least one comment from each character seems logical.

[breakablegirl]

I 100% agree with hiatuses making people exempt for the month from AC. Are the people who have been swept while on hiatus going to have any issues re-apping in January if they wish to, considering the rule has been changed now? I remember seeing something about being swept as having a larger barrier for re-apping?

I like Option Two very much. It encourages people to finish or continue their ongoing threads.

[sinfulmods]

The hiatus rule would officially take effect in January since what we are doing of December's AC has already gone up, but after that, no, there would be no trouble for anyone wishing to reapply their swept characters. There's still a one month waiting period for dropped or swept characters, and people could still be swept for not replying to AC at all only while not being on hiatus ... but being swept for not checking in while on hiatus will be a thing of the past come 2020.

[solus_unus]

Re: Hiatuses and no longer having to check in for AC, yes, I'm in full support. It helps to know that if I'm sick/in a bad mental space, vacationing or taking a full month break from RP that I can do so without worrying about being swept, especially if I've taken the appropriate measures to hiatus correctly (ie: posted it in an official means).

Option Two

I did a poll not long ago on Plurk on whether players would like to see backtagging allowed (as long as there was activity shown in the month being checked), but life got in the way and it fell by the wayside. So, seeing this as an option is both exciting and a relief.

It just helps wrap up threads without worrying about getting something new going for the next month. When you're slow, it helps alleviate that extra stress that shouldn't come with a hobby.

And thank you! I appreciate being able to voice my opinion, as I'm sure the rest of the playerbase will, too.

[sinfulmods]

Gracias! Your input has been received. :D

[breakablegirl]

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification!

[sinfulmods]

Thank you for chiming in! Some things have had to change by virtue of me being only one person who only has so much individual capacity compared to what someone else as a mod might have, but AC is AC any which way you slice it and impacts players more as ... well, players ... than me just going through checking everyone's AC as a mod, so this one is all up to you guys. ♥

[sinfulmods]

No problem!

[artistwithasickness]

I'm glad to see that the AC rules regarding Hiatus has been by and large reverted. I'm sure future players will deeply appreciate the consideration.

I prefer option 2, so that scenes can be completed and not dropped so quickly. It gives it more value and allows those of us with busier lives to have a little cushion if we happen to have a particularly crazy couple of weeks.

Thank you for the open poll.

SOME CLARIFICATION ON OPTION TWO:

[sinfulmods]

I just sent this to a player who had this very fair question and asked me via PM, so I will lay only my response out here for you all as well. Also notifs are messed up right now and I am not sure when they will get my reply via PM:

For option two, you need two threads, but however of those three options you want to combine in a combo would be up to the player. If that makes sense. So, here is my play and I call it: A Comedy of AC in Four Acts.

Say I had four threads over two months for Wanda and it's now time for February's AC. Thread one I started in December, and I tagged it four times in early December and five times in late January (and maybe I did or didn't tag it four more times in early February - either way works for this example, so choose your own adventure here), because I dunno, RL got crazy or I lost brain power for a minute. Thread one I can still technically use for February AC.

Thread two I started in early February and tagged it twelve times that day and then I dropped it or it wrapped. I can use thread two for AC, sweet, I have my two AC threads.

But wait, there's more, like an infomercial! Maybe thread two was NSFW and I am a shy bean about using NSFW threads for AC. I'm not, but let's pretend I am. So, I still need a second thread. Hrm.

Thread three I started in November and tagged it twenty times in November and five times in early December. I can't use that for February's AC since it was from a post three months ago, and now I'm like 'aw shit I guess I have to use my filthy smut for AC'. But I find a fourth thread.

Thread four, my lifesaver. I started this safe for work thread in mid-December and tagged it eight times that month, four times in January, and four times in February. I can use it for February AC and my dirty smut is not on my AC form and I can pretend like I'm not smut trash for another day. But I also probably plurked that smut thread anyway so yeah.

Re: SOME CLARIFICATION ON OPTION TWO:

[waypastasking]

I am so sorry, but I suck at story problems. is there a way for you to break it down more simply? Feel free to message my journal or plurk if its easier.

Thanks for doing this. I also agree with the changes to the hiatus policy and like that you could potentially use threads for longer. I know that personally, it takes me longer to complete a thread.

[sinfulmods]

This was the longer version. The shorter one is in the top post to this entry!

[sinfulmods]

Thanks for your response! Like I told Lily above, I'm gonna be checking AC either way obviously, but how you all get there should be up to you all.

[solus_unus]

On second thought, after reading the clarification, I'm changing my mind and going to the first option. Mostly because two became a little more confusing and feels more like a punishment for wanting to complete my older threads.

If we could use backtags the same way as we can show activity in the current month being checked, that would be cool. But requesting 8+ comments over two months and then activity for a current month for anyone wanting to use their backdated threads? In my opinion, that's steep for a game that has such a small character base.

[waypastasking]

Thank you. I'm sorry if I bothered you. I was on my phone and missed it. :)

[imaginationswoes]

I like Option Two.

[sinfulmods]

Not a problem! ❤ If you have any other questions please give a shout!

[pythianwoman]

After reading (and re-reading) the options my vote is for Option One. As much as I fully believe we should be able to use backtags for AC, option two is unnecessarily convoluted and has only gotten more confusing with the clarifications being made.

It very much reads more like we're being punished for wanting to finish our threads and to be able to use them for AC. To expect 8-16+ tags in such a small game just to be able to use backtags is super steep and way more complicated than it needs to be.

[sinfulmods]

Noted!

I suppose just to clarify my note on option two without as much narrative? The idea behind something like option two is for players to mix and match their threads - if they don't have two back-tagged threads, that's fine, and they could provide two threads for the current month and pass just as easily. Certainly it's not a perfect system as is (the current AC system or option two here), but also polling you all regardless tells me what you all think are the issues in AC since your (general 'your', as in players) role in it is much different than mine, so .. perspective differences, and that may very well mean you're catching AC kinks that I may think is just a minor speedbump and no biggie. However, if option two is implemented and it works well-ish and people like it, but it doesn't work well *enough* (i.e.: people like it but are finding it a little Much), then I would come back with another poll a few months into it that would say, more or less, 'hey so I know you guys like this AC system but we're still having issues; if you prefer to keep this system in place as opposed to going back to the previous one, how do you feel about making the timestamped comments on backtagged threads to be 2 (or 3) comments per month instead of 4? If you don't prefer that, then the other option is to use our old system'. Or, heck, maybe even proposing an every other month AC. Option two as it stands in this poll is not about punishing but making sure that backtagged threads can be used for AC while also ensuring that backtagged threads have a better shot at being either played to completion or getting more than a couple tags in before a new AC rolls back around, as thread dropping has also been an oft received player complaint. This is very much a 'living document', as it can be ironed out as the game shrinks and grows, and the needs of the playerbase change. tl;dr - there's no right or wrong answer here in my eyes since whatever happens, it's going to let me know what you all need from the system.

So, again, thank you for your input - it really does help and is/will be heard.

[sinfulmods]

Noted! Thank you :)

[sinfulmods]

Thank you!

I suppose just to clarify my note on option two without as much narrative? The idea behind something like option two is for players to mix and match their threads - if they don't have two back-tagged threads, that's fine, and they could provide two threads for the current month and pass just as easily. Certainly it's not a perfect system as is (the current AC system or option two here), but also polling you all regardless tells me what you all think are the issues in AC since your (general 'your', as in players) role in it is much different than mine, so .. perspective differences, and that may very well mean you're catching AC kinks that I may think is just a minor speedbump and no biggie. However, if option two is implemented and it works well-ish and people like it, but it doesn't work well *enough* (i.e.: people like it but are finding it a little Much), then I would come back with another poll a few months into it that would say, more or less, 'hey so I know you guys like this AC system but we're still having issues; if you prefer to keep this system in place as opposed to going back to the previous one, how do you feel about making the timestamped comments on backtagged threads to be 2 (or 3) comments per month instead of 4? If you don't prefer that, then the other option is to use our old system'. Or, heck, maybe even proposing an every other month AC. Option two as it stands in this poll is not about punishing but making sure that backtagged threads can be used for AC while also ensuring that backtagged threads have a better shot at being either played to completion or getting more than a couple tags in before a new AC rolls back around, as thread dropping has also been an oft received player complaint. This is very much a 'living document', as it can be ironed out as the game shrinks and grows, and the needs of the playerbase change. tl;dr - there's no right or wrong answer here in my eyes since whatever happens, it's going to let me know what you all need from the system.

[artistwithasickness]

Yes, thank you. Could you also possibly explain why we're no longer allowed to see if people are on hiatus or have dropped? I can make the AC thread make sense, even if it stops friends from helping one another but I'm struggling to see the reason behind the others.

[sinfulmods]

Oh, for the AC threads on option #2, the two threads could technically be with the same characters; I'm not looking to propose being that much of a stickler right out of the gate, heh. If and when it becomes an issue should option two be picked, then it'll be addressed if/when it needs to be.

The drops and hiatus comments aren't screened by default; I manually do those. For drops, I screen them as a way to flag them to myself to mean 'I have already removed this journal from the taken/housing/contact lists and all that jazz, and it needs no further action on my part'. For hiatuses, those are screened once the hiatus is over; it keeps the page from looking cluttered up when people are wanting to see who's on hiatus currently, not who was on hiatus four months ago.

[thehawksnest]

Option Two

I feel that four tags in a thread isn't too awfully hard to hit within two months time, and gives folks more wiggle room for when RL crap kicks down the door.

[katerrifically]

Option One

[solus_unus]

I think it's being overexplained. If I can use 4+ backdated replies as activity proof during a current month's AC then that's all I need to know.

Appreciate the clarification though!

[icefromfire]

I 100% agree with option two, I think it helps us finish threads and complete stories rather than worry about starting a new thread within the new ac month.

I do think hiatuses should be exempt from checking in - many times hiatus is used because the person genuinely cannot be around and I think it adds stress.

[sinfulmods]

Thank you! o/

The hiatus rule is being changed to that regardless of what happens or doesn't happen with AC, so that'll at least be a weight off everyone's shoulders as of January, since the other way was clearly way more confusion and/or hassle than it was worth on everyone's (player-side and mod-side) part. Stress-free hiatuses coming to a game near us soon.