A bit of unofficial Althanas research

[darkest.desires.]

Honestly;

It sounds like you really don't like smut threads or threads that contain sexual content. Which is fine; but if its an issue that is affecting the site you can either limit it; or put threads that are purely smut in their own section where they gain less exp?

I personally, when I write smut tend to also throw in a lot of story into it too: there's only been one time where it was pure smut and I personally wouldn't mind it going into like a 'after dark' section of the forum or whatever, and getting less exp for it. That way people can still write all the dirty deeds they want, but it won't be on the main section or the main focus of the site


I see no smut threads in the Workshop? I see one M rated thread, and that isn't smut its got some gore in it but thats it.
And its up to the rp people who pays what AP, if someone with more AP is willing to use it then by all means let them.

I agree to this a lot. If people don’t like smut then don’t read it. It’s what I am personally good at and also enjoy so I will continue to write it but if it does bother people so much, maybe it should be put in its own section. I am actually shocked with how much smut threads are causing an up roar. To each their own.

[Ebivoulya]

Nothing quite wrong with smut. Granted, it does seem to take up a large quantity of currently active threads.

Exactly, and we're giving people a 65 score for it. Some people don't even have to pay the AP. Bargain.

I can understand the frustration of seeing the place you had many memories change. But the way it also reads is you're upset that the vast majority of content just isn't content you prefer.

Things change, and I've never been afraid of change on any level. But this isn't change - this is eradication of our identity on an industrial scale. I don't prefer one style of content to another as long as its creative and free thinking. I just don't think smut for the sake of smut qualifies.

I believe these to be symptoms of the AP system's implementation.

The base scores for No Judgements and Workshops were put that high specifically to make fewer people request full judgements, due to the backlog. You basically have to be shooting for a JC to have any reason not to just make it a workshop, and if it's going to be a workshop anyways, there's no reason to worry too much about the writing. The system incentivizes this 'go big or give up' mentality.

The gap between the automatic JC score of 80, and the base workshop score of 65, is too small in my opinion. Even if it is increased, though, I don't think it alone will stop this trend of No Judgements and Workshops. From the number of 'nj this one?' comments I see in chat, it seems like most people just want to write for fun. We've cycled in quite a few new members over the last few years, and they are the new majority. Reducing the workshop base score will probably convince a few of them to try regular judgements, and they might find the more focused feedback makes them want to try to improve more, but none of us can control the type of threads they want to write.

The workshop system complicates this problem. It seems like most of the people who submit threads for workshops, do not themselves post in other people's workshops. Unless this stigma of a 'feedback bar' that needs to be met disappears, they won't ever have enough AP to start requesting bigger judgements anyways. Not to mention, if most of the workshop submissions dry up because people moved back to regular judgements, the entire AP system withers. It's practically built on the lack of confidence of the majority; unless you're confident you can get near a JC, you just workshop it and stay stuck propping up the system by creating the main source of AP, without ever gaining enough of it yourself to move up to better judgements.

We really need extra sources of AP to be able to untangle any of this.

[Lye]

I seem to have struck a chord yet again. Maybe if we got that next tournament going, things would balance out. It’ll still be a lot of stabbing and screaming, but not so much phalic in nature.

All in all, I gave my feedback form the point of view of someone who has been trying to nurture activity on this site (albeit poorly as of late). However, this is the most active I have seen it in years. We have plenty of new writers, some who prefer smut and others who prefer whatever else. How would you correct what you see as an issue? No sex in threads? Keep it PG-13? Not sure how well a PC Fantasy forum would go. Suppose we could try and be like Gaia? Do we ban explicit material? How do we police it?

The difference with olthanas and what we are doing now does have a lot to do with our member base. Despite the increased activity, the member count is still low. Oldthanas had members by the fistful and staff to crank out judgments left and right. There was freedom in how judges gave feedback and how they scored. One judge gave you a 34, but another thought you were a 72. One staffer approved you about as strong as a level three, while the next said you needed to lock all but one fireball spell.

There choas, and in it we heard complaints, drama, ruined friendships. We added more order, rules, regulations. Activity started to take a dive. Member count dropped, judgments were handled by maybe three people at most. Staffers burnt out, players got bored. Althanas needs to find that balance of flexibility and rigidity. Althanas points were an attempt at that. Did it work? Sort of? More currency, more rules, more systems to encourage an environment to participate in and be judged in a workshop setting. But also, less rules, more play. The players that want to write and enjoy the gaming aspect are using NJs and Workshops as intended. If they don’t write as well as you or someone else that deserves more, why punish them if they’re having fun and enjoying our site?

Are the causing any harm? No. Is it setting a bad atmosphere for new players interested to start writing here? Maybe. The workshop and growth of Althanas was our core and we used it as a means to create RPG elements into fictional writing. Those elements are still there, but optional because we simply don’t have the numbers. Staff already takes up half of the member base. But that’s not saying much since there’s such a small member base.

I miss oldthanas too. But until we’re seeing 30 people signed in at the same time and 120 logged in today (not those shitty google bots) it’s just not feasible. If Althanas went back to full rubric only, we’d lose staff and members alike. Then we’d be a group of a dozen old codgers writing for our own little circle. I’m surprised we’ve had Althanas this long. Most RP sites die within 5 years. So what if there’s a shit ton of smut now? It’s writing isn’t it? People are making stories together aren’t they? And that continued effort together is, whether or not it’s quantified, helping them grow as writers. The romance novel market is huge. Who’s to say Kayla or Tiffany couldn’t see themselves published because they enjoy a smutty thread or two?

I’m getting a little off topic here. Smut isn’t as big a deal as this thread has brought it out to be. As an admin, I’d like to see a little less of it and a little more fantasy adventure, but it’s also my fault for not providing the members with inspiration and opportunity. The important thing and what we should really be discussing is passion. Not the sexual kind but pure, emotional, driving passion. What does this site need to do to kindle that in you writers and new writers who have yet to find our site? What is it about Althanas that makes you passionate about it? What makes you argue your point when we want to make it better? How do I and the staff use that to make this place better?

That’s what we need to open the floor to. What would make you excited to write? To participate in a workshop? To want to improve as a writer? Rewards? Praise? Acknowledgement? Or just a comfortable community to call your own where you can write what you want when you want without people saying “this sucks” or “I don’t like it”?

I have no side in this argument except Althanas and it’s members. I just want people to have fun, strive to improve themselves on their own terms, and create a welcoming community that welcomes you however you are. Weird, normal, strict, horny, or flippant.

Or maybe I’m outdated? Maybe I’m wrong and should take this more seriously? Maybe you do have a point that has been made abundantly clear to both smutty and non-smutty writers. Maybe that statement alone is enough. You tell me.

[Flamebird]

I sucked at writing when I first came here. Still trying to improve today, but at a much slower pace. There are those threads where I'm determined to go for the gold, then other threads where I just want to unwind or don't even try. Sometimes the start of a thread I was trying to write well looks so bad to me, I give up, get lazy, and just submit it for EXP instead. I don't feel as pressured now as I felt several years back, but maybe it's that pressure that pushed me as far as I've gotten? I don't know... Once again, it feels more relaxed here nowadays, but that could be both a bad and a good thing. Althanas was always a place to improve your writing in my eyes. These days I feel like the writing improvement aspect has taken a back seat. I like that power leveling and goof off threads are a little bit more common now, but the AP system makes it hard to submit a full rubric, which made it feel "official" to me. Then there's the badges and stuff too. Yeah, they were fun at first, but that was around the time the AP system and the perspective shift happened. Some good came out of the recent changes, and some bad too. So... dunno...

[Lye]

I sucked at writing when I first came here. Still trying to improve today, but at a much slower pace. There are those threads where I'm determined to go for the gold, then other threads where I just want to unwind or don't even try. Sometimes the start of a thread I was trying to write well looks so bad to me, I give up, get lazy, and just submit it for EXP instead. I don't feel as pressured now as I felt several years back, but maybe it's that pressure that pushed me as far as I've gotten? I don't know... Once again, it feels more relaxed here nowadays, but that could be both a bad and a good thing. Althanas was always a place to improve your writing in my eyes. These days I feel like the writing improvement aspect has taken a back seat. I like that power leveling and goof off threads are a little bit more common now, but the AP system makes it hard to submit a full rubric, which made it feel "official" to me. Then there's the badges and stuff too. Yeah, they were fun at first, but that was around the time the AP system and the perspective shift happened. Some good came out of the recent changes, and some bad too. So... dunno...

What would you like to see change if anything, Ashla?

[darkest.desires.]

I still blame my smut on Lye, he was suppose to teach me how to fight. This is all his fault for having a personal life... damn you Lye, damn you all to hell!

[Lye]

I still blame my smut on Lye, he was suppose to teach me how to fight. This is all his fault for having a personal life... damn you Lye, damn you all to hell!

This is accurate. I am a terrible senpai.

[Amari]

I like putting things in workshop for feedback but feedback is rare. Out of the three threads I've put in there re entry one has feedback.

There is negative connotation going into workshops where people say you're only doing it for extra exp, which makes others cautious of submitting work there.


Honestly it's not hard to gain ap, I did a tonne of workshops so got a backlog of it.

I think we just need to get rid of this stigma of good writing vs bad. Sure a lot of writing is better than others. Gosh knows I've done some poorly written threads.

I write equal amounts of story and smut. Others not so much. I'm hap py there is activity here. Regardless of content


To help drive story I suggest grabbing some staff and have them woek on copying over the wiki (I'd be up for that) and telling people hey if they want stuff to happen thays canon get to writing. And If it's deemed good enough (encourages writing improvement) and not world breaking then get people to wrire that.

More Althanas lore building and continent and country building.

I liked the monthly event thing where they had like "oh no alerar needs spider silk respiratora help them!"

Cause it gave you a mini goal or quest

[Shinsou Vaan Osiris]

Well, if anything this thread has been exceedingly useful as a research tool. Looking at the feedback from both our leadership and the members I guess Althanas's expectations and gold standard has changed to suit the times. There wiĺl come a time where people like me (the old guys) will run out of writing partners and we slink off into the ether, returning for the odd tournament and to complain about the price of milk.

Until then, I'll carry on fighting the good fight, waving my zimmerframe about as I try to take over Corone, occasionally stopping to argue with cats.

[FennWenn]

Do these cats have blue hair?

Probably is a little late for it, but I thought I might give a tiny bit of personal feedback. I’m planning to be a writer-type as a career, so I like using Althy as a place to practice and make writer-buddy friends; that’s always how I’ve seen my roleplay communities. It’s not going to have my most polished work because this is me throwing paint against a wall and seeing what I can make by dragging a brush through it. “Quality” depends more on my personal investment in a particular than in anything else. Whether or not I thread with someone depends on how engaging the thread sounds. tl;dr — Fenn is not superduper serious here.

Opinion on recent smut; lesbian pairings or I skip over the diddly doo.