What do YOU want?

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

A well meaning question deserves a well meaning answer. Without wanting this to sound like something you post on youtube before blowing your brains out, I have thoughts. For those who don't want to hear the rants of an old man, scroll on.

What I want is what is good for Althanas. What is good for Althanas depends entirely on everyone's outlook and circumstances, so here is my "wish list":

1. The absolute abolition of auto-scoring 65 for workshops

I don't mind admitting publicly that I was the one who raised concerns in the staff forum about this, I don't mind admitting that I am sick to death of seeing empty workshop threads in the Writer's Workshop section and I don't care how many people jump on my back about it. I am absolutely adamant that in its current format of a hybrid writing workshop and roleplay site, Althanas is bleeding quality.

"But Shin, that's elitist, you pig. We're here to write and have fun, who are you to judge what quality is?" I hear you all screaming at your monitors.

I know I've come across as elitist before, and to anyone this offended I sincerely apologise, but I realised I never really properly explained myself. This is the problem. To understand where I am coing from, you need to understand my definition of quality. I'm talking not about someone getting a 75 on a thread instead of a 65, or getting a perfect score in mechanics, or pumping a JC out of their ass every day. I'm talking about participation. I'm talking people not wanting the feedback, not having the drive to improve and not utilising the resources we have gone to great lengths to design and upkeep properly. I'm talking about people submitting threads for a 65 because they know the EXP is better than a no judgment. I'm talking about some of those people being the benficiaries of six threads worth of those bonuses because their partners pay the AP. I'm talking about important Althanas tournaments barely having any entrants because people are afraid of being judged, leaving only the "good writers" (another phrase that pisses me off because that is creating a stereotype in itself; if you don't try you never get). I'm talking about people who want to make invincible characters who are going to end up very, very bland and boring.

"What does any of that have to do with the auto-scoring, you knob?" I hear you reply.

It's simple - It's a mentality. If we take away the auto-scoring, not only does it stop obvious gaming of the system but it actually forces people to get some sort of feedback. Not just a pile of shit "good job, well done" backslapping or "this is shit" shredding, but helpful, constructive feedback to actually help people, if they want it. You will all be AMAZED at how much of a difference it makes to your writing and confidence to get some nice comments, to get a "hey, that was fucking cool". That's what this site BADLY needs; and you can take that from a guy who was here before it and will be here long after it. It needs positivity flowing in both directions.

I'm not blind - I know to some people Althanas is a game, and to others a creative writing site, and to others both. We all have different wants and means. But, Althanas has an identity for a reason; it is THE reason why it has stuck around for 16, nearly 17 years whilst competing against the rise of the gaming industry. That reason is it had quality ideas, quality writing, quality gaming, quality staff, a quality community. It had people willing to help with writing, to take risks with writing. If the current leadership is happy with activity, posts, active members - which they should be - then that's fine, but when the identity changes from that evergreen, famous hybrid writing workshop to "just another RPG / hentai fanfic site", the castle is going to crumble.

2. If number one is impossible, then this:

More workshop feedback.

Seriously, guys. If we ARE going to maintain the status quo, then let's make a solid effort to give the people who submit there with good intentions some actual feedback. Dirks has wanted for some time a policy whereby one member of staff is required to post at least one piece of feedback on each workshop, whoever it is. Let's do it, me included. I have no valid excuse (other than time, but who has that anyway) to not do it either.

[TaintedBushido]

A well meaning question deserves a well meaning answer. Without wanting this to sound like something you post on youtube before blowing your brains out, I have thoughts. For those who don't want to hear the rants of an old man, scroll on.

What I want is what is good for Althanas. What is good for Althanas depends entirely on everyone's outlook and circumstances, so here is my "wish list":

1. The absolute abolition of auto-scoring 65 for workshops

I don't mind admitting publicly that I was the one who raised concerns in the staff forum about this, I don't mind admitting that I am sick to death of seeing empty workshop threads in the Writer's Workshop section and I don't care how many people jump on my back about it. I am absolutely adamant that in its current format of a hybrid writing workshop and roleplay site, Althanas is bleeding quality.

"But Shin, that's elitist, you pig. We're here to write and have fun, who are you to judge what quality is?" I hear you all screaming at your monitors.

I know I've come across as elitist before, and to anyone this offened I sincerely apologise, but I realised I never really properly explained myself. This is the problem. To understand where I am coing from, you need to understand my definition of quality. I'm talking not about someone getting a 75 on a thread instead of a 65, or getting a perfect score in mechanics, or pumping a JC out of their ass every day. I'm talking about participation. I'm talking people not wanting the feedback, not having the drive to improve and not utilising the resources we have gone to great lengths to design and upkeep properly. I'm talking about people submitting threads for a 65 because they know the EXP is better than a no judgment. I'm talking about some of those people being the benficiaries of six threads worth of those bonuses because their partners pay the AP. I'm talking about important Althanas tournaments barely having any entrants because people are afraid of being judged, leaving only the "good writers" (another phrase that pisses me off because that is creating a stereotype in itself; if you don't try you never get). I'm talking about people who want to make invincible characters who are going to end up very, very bland and boring.

"What does any of that have to do with the auto-scoring, you knob?" I hear you reply.

It's simple - It's a mentality. If we take away the auto-scoring, not only does it stop obvious gaming of the system but it actually forces people to get some sort of feedback. Not just a pile of shit "good job, well done" backslapping or "this is shit" shredding, but helpful, constructive feedback to actually help people, if they want it. You will all be AMAZED at how much of a difference it makes to your writing and confidence to get some nice comments, to get a "hey, that was fucking cool". That's what this site BADLY needs; and you can take that from a guy who was here before it and will be here long after it. It needs positivity flowing in both directions.

I'm not blind - I know to some people Althanas is a game, and to others a creative writing site, and to others both. We all have different wants and means. But, Althanas has an identity for a reason; it is THE reason why it has stuck around for 16, nearly 17 years whilst competing against the rise of the gaming industry. That reason is it had quality ideas, quality writing, quality gaming, quality staff, a quality community. It had people willing to help with writing, to take risks with writing. If the current leadership is happy with activity, posts, active members - which they should be - then that's fine, but when the identity changes from that evergreen, famous hybrid writing workshop to "just another RPG / hentai fanfic site", the castle is going to crumble.

Maybe if you didn't hide feedback behind a paywall people would be more inclined to seek it out. We had someone who was doing shit posts in the Workshop threads for AP so he could buy a boat. He even freely admitted to it, when it was painfully clear he wasn't following along with the threads in question and asked questions that could have been answered if he had read them. The quality of feedback is greatly diminished by such acts it makes the entire workshop principal a joke and not a particularly funny one at that.

2. If number one is impossible, then this:

More workshop feedback.

Seriously, guys. If we ARE going to maintain the status quo, then let's make a solid effort to give the people who submit there with good intentions some actual feedback. Dirks has wanted for some time a policy whereby one member of staff is required to post at least one piece of feedback on each workshop, whoever it is. Let's do it, me included. I have no valid excuse (other than time, but who has that anyway) to not do it either.

This argument only feeds into my initial concern. Asking for more feedback encourages bad feedback, the kind of feedback that helps no one and forces the situation to degrade even further. Perhaps you should ask yourself what the system itself encourages because I've seen both kinds of abuse in there. As of right now? It only encourages abuse and spamming on both sides of the equation.

Also bitching about someone getting a free ride because others pay for them is not a problem on that person. Its more of a problem of other people always paying for them. If those people don't care then its just you being salty, and that's on YOU not on the system.

[Max Dirks]

Maybe if you didn't hide feedback behind a paywall people would be more inclined to seek it out. We had someone who was doing shit posts in the Workshop threads for AP so he could buy a boat. He even freely admitted to it, when it was painfully clear he wasn't following along with the threads in question and asked questions that could have been answered if he had read them. The quality of feedback is greatly diminished by such acts it makes the entire workshop principal a joke and not a particularly funny one at that.

That particular situation is being handled. We're drafting very clear expectations for feedback to get certain awards. As to the so-called "paywall," the reality is even with our diminished forces and the so-called decreased in quality of writing at the site (which is patently false, Mr. Shinsou), I simply do not have the staff resources to offer "free" judgments. Yes, that's what makes Althanas unique, but like I said before I don't really have people jumping at the bit to join staff and judge. For the foreseeable future, I plan to keep things in the realm of you get out what you put in.

[TaintedBushido]

That particular situation is being handled. We're drafting very clear expectations for feedback to get certain awards. As to the so-called "paywall," the reality is even with our diminished forces and the so-called decreased in quality of writing at the site (which is patently false, Mr. Shinsou), I simply do not have the staff resources to offer "free" judgments. Yes, that's what makes Althanas unique, but like I said before I don't really have people jumping at the bit to join staff and judge. For the foreseeable future, I plan to keep things in the realm of you get out what you put in.

Oh no, I totally agree we don't have the resources for it. However, I also think that the system as is currently encoruages spamming on both ends, and that the rewards for meaningful contribution don't equate to much beyond those of merely participating. Especially when the costs of things are so high.

[Max Dirks]

Oh no, I totally agree we don't have the resources for it. However, I also think that the system as is currently encoruages spamming on both ends, and that the rewards for meaningful contribution don't equate to much beyond those of merely participating. Especially when the costs of things are so high.

On the flip side, if they care enough to cheat the system, it means they care for the site. As long as there are systems and Althanas remains partially a game, there will be ways to exploit it. I'll close off the most one sided loopholes, but I intentionally leave a lot of them open, particularly w/ spoils and the bazaar (that no one yet has picked up on, but I like giving competitive advantage to those willing to look for it).

[Max Dirks]

1. The absolute abolition of auto-scoring 65 for workshops

Althanas means a lot of things to different people. I'll tell you right now, from an ownership perspective, all I care about is activity. The trend of writing right now is for fun. Indeed, Lorenor showed me Valucre today and they have over 100 active members with no judgment system. We are cooler than them, offer more draws, yet are far behind in activity. Flexibility in writing is paramount to any choice I make for Althanas. You all might disagree, but that's why I see things how I do. Auto scoring of 65 in workshops was designed to get more people to use them, and it seems to have worked.

2. If number one is impossible, then this:

More workshop feedback.

Seriously, guys. If we ARE going to maintain the status quo, then let's make a solid effort to give the people who submit there with good intentions some actual feedback. Dirks has wanted for some time a policy whereby one member of staff is required to post at least one piece of feedback on each workshop, whoever it is. Let's do it, me included. I have no valid excuse (other than time, but who has that anyway) to not do it either.

I totally agree. We made workshop prizes ridiculous, yet no one (save a select few contribute). What can I do to change this. From a staffing end, I'll admit that it is still a goal to have at least one judge comment on a workshop, but resources are thin. If people aren't jumping at the bit to contribute to the workshop, I don't really find it suprising that no one is jumping at the bit to be a judge.

Also good stuff.