Akashima: What do you think?

[Amaranthine]

When I first joined Althy I was instantly drawn towards the Akashima region as it was supposedly similar to Japan. But upon reading it's history and such, I soon found out it was actually rather different. I really wish the writer, AdventWings, was still active. I would LOVE to have him clear some of the confusion growing in my mind.

But anyways, I have been coming up with some ideas to help make Akashima more culturally true to it's model. It's my ultimate goal to possibly become the region's writer. But I want the input from Althanas in general, as to what they want to see in the realm changed, adapted, added, left alone...that sort of thing.

[SandStorm]

Akashima is Akashima, Japan is Japan. It seems that as of late this site is taking a turn towards becoming more like the real world. It's a "fantasy" role-playing website. Yeah Akashima is 'based' off of Japan, but that doesn't mean you should want to change it to be like Japan. That will sap the originality right out of it. I see far too many real world references around althanas and I can't help but conclude that it's the reason activity (from vets and newcomers alike) is so shakey even on a good day. Use your own creativity and do something unique with it.

[Caysim Winters]

I would love to see a more oriental Akashima, Amaranthine.

[Lord Anglekos]

Akashima is Akashima, Japan is Japan. It seems that as of late this site is taking a turn towards becoming more like the real world. It's a "fantasy" role-playing website. Yeah Akashima is 'based' off of Japan, but that doesn't mean you should want to change it to be like Japan. That will sap the originality right out of it. I see far too many real world references around althanas and I can't help but conclude that it's the reason activity (from vets and newcomers alike) is so shakey even on a good day. Use your own creativity and do something unique with it.

I link you here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=10247), SandStorm.
Yes, this is a "fantasy" roleplay, but you have to realize that inspiration sprouts from a source; whether that be books, video games, or even real life places. When AdventWings created the land, he intended it to be the oriental mixing pot for Althanas; Amaranthine only seeks to expand upon it, and make Akashima more of an actual, important place, rather than a mere subsection of Corone. Don't get me wrong; what AdventWings wrote was great, and very true to the influences by which they were inspired, yes, inspired, by; but all things, including Althanas, change.
I personally have seen the ideas that she has for Akashima, and I feel that they are both beneficial and unique; after all, most of the site already considers Akashima to be the "Japan" of Althanas. So why not make it more unique; make it stand out from the lands? So far, all it's been known for is samurai swords and cat people; let's add some culture there.
EDITED: It was brought up to me that my words were written in an insulting manner. I honestly didn't mean to write it as such, so I apologize.

[Melancor]

I think the fact that there are some gaps you might be confused about is a good thing; you can model the region as you please in your quests. Ultimately the writer has the freedom to place things within the settings as they please to fit their needs. So just keep in mind that overhauling a region or nip-and-tucking certain things about a more or less established region can come off as imposing things on people. Since, at least I think, being a region writer is technically writing cannon, I think that aside from very gradually advancing the storyline and developments within the region, region writers aren't supposed to edit much, only ever-so-slightly nourish and maintain.

But that's why you're asking for Althanas for their ideas.

[SandStorm]

I will not address Anglekos besides saying I think you have once again managed to misconstrue another OOC post in regards to your fiance. Please quit feeling the need to jump to her side every time someone says something OOC to her.

Amarathine, my intention wasn't to insult your ideas. I think it's great that such a new player is getting so involved. Awesome actually. I was just stating my say on the matter by saying that I would like to see less "real world references," and more creativity. I know you're unique, judging from what I've seen so far, so let's see what you can do.

Never said "don't go for it."

It's cool that you're trying to get the rest of Althanas involved too.

[Amaranthine]

I will not address Anglekos besides saying I think you have once again managed to misconstrue another OOC post in regards to your fiance. Please quit feeling the need to jump to her side every time someone says something OOC to her.

Amarathine, my intention wasn't to insult your ideas. I think it's great that such a new player is getting so involved. Awesome actually. I was just stating my say on the matter by saying that I would like to see less "real world references," and more creativity. I know you're unique, judging from what I've seen so far, so let's see what you can do.

Never said "don't go for it."

It's cool that you're trying to get the rest of Althanas involved too.

This entire thread was made specifically for people to express their thoughts on the matter. Whether or not you agree with me is besides the point Sandstorm. I appreciate your opinion and have taken it in stride. So there's no need to focus upon Anglekos' actions. What He said was to reiterate my initial thought on how Akashima was clearly based off of Japanese ideas. You mistook his words to be condescending and He's already addressed that. W/we do share a computer and yes, He is usually the one on it. Thus He takes the liberty to speak His mind more frequently. Aside from that W/we do support each other, so you can be damn sure He won't be hesitant to add something when He feels the need. With all due respect Sandstorm, I'd rather you didn't try to dictate how W/we act towards each other. Thanks.

But anyways, enough on that. Let's get back to the real topic at hand. One point that just irks me about Akashima is it's utter lack of Samurai. Several people here on Althy play as Samurai or Ronin and half-heartedly claim their homeland as Akashima. As it is now, Samurai and Ronin are basically outcasts from the society; they don't "actually" exist in the culture. So I would obviously make it to where they played a more substantial role.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Not to hop in and be a dick, but dude, Sandstorm, your last post was just...unnecessary. Really, it was. It sounded like you offered nothing but complaints and no real solution to the question at hand, and did so ina very left hand sort of way. Don't get me wrong, I see what you were trying to say there, but the way you did so was very rude.

Now, your reply post was much better. You offered something to her questions, and even complimented her for trying to make an effort. Kudos on the catching that. I say this because a lot of peeps on the site don't and come off as jackasses. (like me :D)

Akashima, to me, is an oriental melting pot, and I take what I please from many cultures as well as creative liberties. As far as history and what not go, maybe we can make Akashima more, i dunno, branched out. I'm not saying create more sub forums, but say. EAST of Akashima's main port is the Yonbo Port. Here the eastern guard keep peace from Oni and control customs. Most the trade of Akashima comes from here.

West of Akashima is the military city of insertnamehere-anawa, where the vast samurai army trains and the bulk of the Akashiman army is stationed. Here one can find many mentors and trainers.

You see what I'm saying?

EDIT: Sandstorm, sorry for adding in that part, but Amaranth ninja'd me! (GET IT, NINJA? Japanese references? God I'm badass!)

[Amaranthine]

EDIT: Sandstorm, sorry for adding in that part, but Amaranth ninja'd me! (GET IT, NINJA? Japanese references? God I'm badass!)
Oopsies my bad? The touch-pad can be really annoying sometimes whenever it prematurely clicks things. So sorry about that. -Giggles-

[SandStorm]

Or you could have different districts that each resemble a different part of oriental culture, and not just Japan; that would be pretty cool, all while staying true to the term "melting-pot."

I see where you're coming from though EI. Thanks for the kudos, but I prefer my Kudo in the form of Smorez Kudo Barz. ;)

[Enigmatic Immortal]

I like that district idea personally, cause then it gives it a more large town feel, which i only get from Knife's edge. Though I do think some larger areas need to understnably be designed. So the port district would be a larger part. (I believe that the Yonbo Port is already a part of the lore.)

Now, i know it has the princess Akashima, but what Akashima also needs is something for the more dark intuned. I'm talking Yakuza lords in the shadows. Warlords of districts, and gang leaders for small time stuff. Just like Courtiers for the goody tooshoos. Now i don't want it to be like a civil war sort of thing. But behind every great man is a large shadow to hide all the scum, and even the Emperor has been known to have his Underhand.

So what do you think of them apples?

[Amaranthine]

I actually did have every intention of creating several districts, it's just something that most Asian cultures tend to have. Each one can be dedicated and inspired by aspects of a specific Asian culture here in reality to really bring that "mixing-pot" idea alive. And I too agree on the lack of a "darker side" to Akashima.

[Letho]

One thing to keep in mind. Max told me that Akashima will be reduced to an almanac entry once Althanas 2.0 hits the stage. So I wouldn't be planning anything big just yet.

I personally always felt that there was too much Japan in Akashima for my tastes. And when people start tossing around Japanese terms in their writing on Althanas, I always felt the desire to strangle them with their own intestines. But that's just me. :P

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Ya know, just an aside. Could we maybe just...Show us what the hell 2.0 is going to be? Stop hiding it with stupid threads with no purpose. It's clear you guys already have the nuts and bolts in place, and that you have solid ideas of where the site is going. So just show the public what your doing already so we can voice the community's words. Instead of sit here and start really getting some ideas going only to have a mod come in and say "Don't bother, it's going to dissipate into thin air."

Now, don't get me wrong, that wasn't an attack on you letho, but I am really sick of mods dropping into forums and saying wait for 2.0 and see this change. Cause right now, you all aren't sharing and it's really annoying to not know what the fuck is going on.

[Amaranthine]

One thing to keep in mind. Max told me that Akashima will be reduced to an almanac entry once Althanas 2.0 hits the stage. So I wouldn't be planning anything big just yet.

I personally always felt that there was too much Japan in Akashima for my tastes. And when people start tossing around Japanese terms in their writing on Althanas, I always felt the desire to strangle them with their own intestines. But that's just me. :P

...lame.

[Lord Anglekos]

One thing to keep in mind. Max told me that Akashima will be reduced to an almanac entry once Althanas 2.0 hits the stage. So I wouldn't be planning anything big just yet.

I personally always felt that there was too much Japan in Akashima for my tastes. And when people start tossing around Japanese terms in their writing on Althanas, I always felt the desire to strangle them with their own intestines. But that's just me. :P

For the second time since my return to Althanas, I am just utterly...confused. Not the best word to describe myself, but when you're as half-crazed with funk as I am, who gives a bleep.
I agree with what EI has said. I have great respect for the staff in general, but constantly being blindsided is getting annoying. While it may not be perfect, I reiterate; at least give us a general outline.
On that, I ask this. What the hell do you mean it's being reduced to an almanac entry? Are you saying that the region will just cease to basically exist, or...what?
You're entitled to your opinions, Letho, just as we are to ours, but I'll say this; a lot of Althanas role-players are influenced by Japanese culture. They may not be the best writers or even characters, as we have anime to blame for that, but they all have the potential to become great and move on from those cliche's and tired anime fighting scenes to actual, original characters. Hell, my first character was largely influenced by Zaraki from Bleach. Shame on me.
Like I said, Letho, you're entitled to your opinion, and I can understand where some of that urge to strangle comes from; but perhaps we should thank Japanese culture in the first place for encouraging people to even come here and roleplay.

[Slayer of the Rot]

One thing to keep in mind. Max told me that Akashima will be reduced to an almanac entry once Althanas 2.0 hits the stage. So I wouldn't be planning anything big just yet.

I personally always felt that there was too much Japan in Akashima for my tastes. And when people start tossing around Japanese terms in their writing on Althanas, I always felt the desire to strangle them with their own intestines. But that's just me. :P

Uh. Fuck that? Akashima was accepted as a part of the canon quite some time ago. Its fucking bullshit that it would be tucked away into some dumbass index not to be used anymore. If you're going to just make it a tab of information, what is the point of even mentioning it? For the same reason men painstakingly paint their Warhammer figurines; Asperger's.

I am raking my brain and I can see no reason that one, Akashima should be delegated into some inferior version, or two, that someone genuinely interested in working on the continent shouldn't be at least auditioned for a writer. What, is it because the place is barely used? Well fuck it, let's make Alerar and Fallien Almanac Entries and just have a big ol' orgy in Corone.

[Duffy]

I don't have Asperger's, and I play Warhammer :p.

As an aside, Akashima to me has always been a vast rural Japan, swirling mists and rural farming villages tucked away in ancient valleys and forest glades, with a singular, central vast town, similar to a Shinto temple but on a massive scale.

I think bringing it to life more is something that needs to and should happen, but remember to keep it to the scale of the territory it's been allowed, and that it's ultimately a secretive society on the fringes of both Corone territory and Corone military man-handling.

[SirArtemis]

I think it's really difficult to write with respect to regions... To be honest, it has a lot to do with the skeletal structure of regions (at least from what I've seen. It may not be in every scenario.)

I'll pretend for the sake of analogy that I'm in a region created by a DM while I am playing D&D. In this region, the DM has established some history, some setting, some culture, some races, some economy, some politics, even a bestiary, and I interact with that world as a player, going through it and making the story go where I want it to.

In Althanas, it is so freeform that I feel the world of Althanas seems almost pointless. It's almost as basic as if you want to duel someone, go to the citadel, if you want winter, go to salvar, if you want desert, go to fallien.

I'd really like more of the regions to have a story for me to work with. I want to be able to implement things that are historic, cultural, unique, and weave them into my writing. That in itself is a challenge and can be enjoyable. I'm not saying people can't create their own history. That's perfectly fine, and if done well, it can become canon so that a future writer can take that and build on it.

I want Althanas to be ever-changing as a world with canon continuously being added through tournaments and well judged threads. This is especially true when many writers converge into a single umbrella plot such as the Ixian Knights storyline.

I would love the staff, even Amaranthine, to get involved and to create this world for us to interact in. Give us a ton of stuff and we can choose what to use and what not to use. For example, create a bestiary in Salvar. Let me know what I might run into in the wild. Perhaps a species of silver worg, or elk, or dark-green skinned orcs to the south of Knife's Edge.

My point is that it isn't that a writer won't be unique with their world and their setting, but if we are all writers interacting in a shared world, I think there should be more written and it would build consistencies within stories. I can bet there were writers who contradicted one another in their stories and things like this could be avoided with more background information. Have a list of the dragons of Althanas. Give their general locations, their names, their color, their age, stuff for us to work with. Say someone wants to do a group quest to go slay this dragon, or even to steal some of its treasure. Then if the group succeeds at killing a particular dragon, have the list updated. Update that it has been slain and occasionally add new dragons that have been "discovered" throughout the land. Perhaps the people who slayed the dragon take the cave and turn it into a base camp for a PG. There's so much that can be done but it has to be interactive and I wish there was more from the Althanas staff.

I feel like sometimes a writer can run out of things to write about, and then bam, the staff comes out with this new region, or a new legend, or a new great beast with a bounty on its head, and suddenly a group gets together in the recruiting forum and writes a quest, the mod saying that the story has been claimed.

Sure, there needs to be a judging staff, but I think Althanas could be far more lenient with hiring content staff. People with ideas who want to contribute and collaborate to create something fun for the writers to engage in. Just like in any game, new updates are released with new enemies and races and regions, and sometimes fairly frequently. Perhaps something like that would do wonders on a site like this, where not only is it a video game, but it could take months for a group to write a great story based on some content that a mod provided. Months of work and time and activity from a single idea that a content mod submitted.

/sigh

Rant over. In conclusion, I like your idea Amaranthine, and I hope you build on your idea and that people are more willing to expand on the world rather than leaving it tremendously free-form. There's plenty of leniency with creativity here. I think there needs to be more structure for those who want/need it as well.

[Max Dirks]

Akashima is high on our condense list for the following reasons: (1) it's creator, Adventwings, is gone, and with the exception of Amaranthine, it receives little interest; (2) activity there is low. Before the October 31st post, the last thread in the area was in August; (3) it is too similar in style to Japan.

Let me explain condense. Condense does not mean the region isn't playable or developable. It just means it won't have it's own subforum. All "Hitchhiker's Guide" material will be ported to the region almanac and players can utilize it at will. One of the biggest complaints we receive (still) from new players is that the forum is a maze and hard to traverse. We are condensing to make it easier for new members. Condensing, in no way, means removal of the region from playability, canon or development.

Furthermore, writers will no longer exist in Althanas 2.0. This is probably the first thing we agreed on as a staff. Writers, after developing content, become essentially a drain on our staff resources. Additionally, after developing a region, many writers become moderators or judges and gain other duties. What we're adding are Canon Masters. CMs write quests with players and each CM quest becomes canon. CMs will develop regions with the help of the Head Writer and Content Administrator through actual play rather than behind the scenes development. Cool huh?

[Enigmatic Immortal]

i suppose on paper, that sounds cool, but honestly what if someone wants to help flesh out the canon of akashima? can they do that under this new system? or because we are turning it to an almanac the focus is going to be shifted away so the limelight can shine on it? I understand simplifying things, it makes sense. But here's a player who wants to run ideas and flesh out a part of the althanas, and right now your modding up to shoot her down.

That's really discouraging! I know you meant well, but you honestly played with her puppy, petted it on the belly, and then SHOT HER PUPPY in the face. While she watched! A little more tack please!

[Silence Sei]

EI, I'm actually currently asking if we can keep 2 extra areas alongside the 'big four' I know we're keeping around. Of those two, Akashima is one.

As far as the almanac thing cgoes, I believe you're still going to be free to write your stuff with it, but I'm unsure.

[Saxon]

Furthermore, writers will no longer exist in Althanas 2.0. This is probably the first thing we agreed on as a staff. Writers, after developing content, become essentially a drain on our staff resources. Additionally, after developing a region, many writers become moderators or judges and gain other duties. What we're adding are Canon Masters. CMs write quests with players and each CM quest becomes canon. CMs will develop regions with the help of the Head Writer and Content Administrator through actual play rather than behind the scenes development. Cool huh?

My only question is whether the Head Writer and Content Administrator are still the same person or are you going to divvy the jobs up between two different people? I know it sounds obvious, but this was not the case awhile ago. Last time I checked, Taskmienster had 8+ jobs and 9+ Titles and he took up a lot of that role with region writing, judging, etc as administrator. There was not very much in the way of redundancy when he'd go on hiatuses because of personal stuff, so nobody was left to pick up the slack.


Akashima is Akashima, Japan is Japan. It seems that as of late this site is taking a turn towards becoming more like the real world. It's a "fantasy" role-playing website. Yeah Akashima is 'based' off of Japan, but that doesn't mean you should want to change it to be like Japan. That will sap the originality right out of it. I see far too many real world references around althanas and I can't help but conclude that it's the reason activity (from vets and newcomers alike) is so shakey even on a good day. Use your own creativity and do something unique with it.

You obviously haven't been around to see some of the more colorful characters around here that are distinct references from the real world. The one that sticks out the most is Private Mudd (Or was it In The Name of Mudd?) who was a soldier from one of the World Wars who ended up trapped on Althanas. And people loved that about him. There were others as well, but I cannot name them off the top of my head.

But, I really doubt originality and references to how we go about doing things in everyday life has any bearing on activity at all. Akashima was kind of cool, but I never used it. I have a very low interest in Japanese-magna-sutra-someshit, but it was still very popular for awhile when it was in its prime and Adventwings was around to develop it. I think one of the triads there I made up and Advent asked to use it for canon stuff. Overall, even if it was similar to Japan, it was a decent place.

I know when I was writing for Salvar, I modeled the region after a melting of renissance-era Eastern Europe/Russia. I even borrowed a lot of the names of places like Uroda and names of creatures and Gods from Slavic and Nordic lore. I mean, where the Hell us do you think I came up with so much of that crap? It all has to come from somewhere.

[Silence Sei]

As it stands right now, Task is content admin, and Slavegirl (yes, she is still around) is head writer.

[Tainted Bushido]

Akashima is high on our condense list for the following reasons: (1) it's creator, Adventwings, is gone, and with the exception of Amaranthine, it receives little interest; (2) activity there is low. Before the October 31st post, the last thread in the area was in August; (3) it is too similar in style to Japan.

Let me explain condense. Condense does not mean the region isn't playable or developable. It just means it won't have it's own subforum. All "Hitchhiker's Guide" material will be ported to the region almanac and players can utilize it at will. One of the biggest complaints we receive (still) from new players is that the forum is a maze and hard to traverse. We are condensing to make it easier for new members. Condensing, in no way, means removal of the region from playability, canon or development.

Furthermore, writers will no longer exist in Althanas 2.0. This is probably the first thing we agreed on as a staff. Writers, after developing content, become essentially a drain on our staff resources. Additionally, after developing a region, many writers become moderators or judges and gain other duties. What we're adding are Canon Masters. CMs write quests with players and each CM quest becomes canon. CMs will develop regions with the help of the Head Writer and Content Administrator through actual play rather than behind the scenes development. Cool huh?

You forgot the oni of Waukasa thread, and haven't even asked the players how many are thinking of putting up threads there...I knwo me and Rev had ideas for another thread at the very least...

And really Akashima under corone isn't THAT labyrinthine.

[Duffy]

I have active threads, or rather, the intent to finish and continue writing threads there too, once Little Miss Monocle is over and done with and I update Lillith's bio.

Blank needs to finish off Howling Ziggurat as well, so it's temporarily suspended, rather than 'utterly inactive.'

[Lord Anglekos]

Akashima is high on our condense list for the following reasons: (1) it's creator, Adventwings, is gone, and with the exception of Amaranthine, it receives little interest; (2) activity there is low. Before the October 31st post, the last thread in the area was in August; (3) it is too similar in style to Japan.

(1) So, just because it's creator is gone, when the one person who wants to expand upon it shows up, you're basically blowing it off the map entirely? I'm sure AdventWings would appreciate the interest in it, as long as she stayed true to it's sources; which she has.
(2) I don't even need to argue with you on this one, Max. Althanas can do that for me. Compared to the other regions, save Corone itself, activity there is a hustlin' and bustlin'. In fact, my two favorite places to roleplay are in a) Fallien, and b) Akashima. No, I haven't roleplayed in either of them lately, but that's simply because right now, it wouldn't make sense for Anglekos to be there. Give 'em some time.
(3) We may as well go and blow up Fallien, then, because it's too similar to all the deserts in the world. Look, I'm not trying to be rude here, but that's just plain stupid. Especially, and I go back to my previous example, that a lot of our newer roleplayers have Japanese references. I'll take the newest member who just put their character down; Keya Whitefang. Keya is Japanese. She uses an anime picture for both her avatar and profile picture. And if only Akashima were right there out in the open for people to see and not under some subsection that people barely know about, I imagine the activity, including Keya's, would spike; instead of one of us having to go around and say "Hi ho, guess wat lol? Der be a japaneeze place here, go take a look now ya'll see?"

What I'm saying is that Akashima is big enough to warrant it's own forum; Stick it out right there with the other big regions. Stop affiliating it with Corone, and interest will rise. Fallien has desert. Salvar, winterlands. Corone is basically forest, and Rai-whatever is, well, elves. Self explanatory. In fact, one of the more redundant realms out there is Scara Brae; now that it's not a beginner's realm and taken off the front page, it doesn't have nearly as much activity as it used to.
So why not just make Akashima it's own forum? It's certainly got the one thing to make it such; it's own entire culture.

Anyways.


Let me explain condense. Condense does not mean the region isn't playable or developable. It just means it won't have it's own subforum. All "Hitchhiker's Guide" material will be ported to the region almanac and players can utilize it at will. One of the biggest complaints we receive (still) from new players is that the forum is a maze and hard to traverse. We are condensing to make it easier for new members. Condensing, in no way, means removal of the region from playability, canon or development.
And who's really gonna look into the almanac for places to roleplay, huh? I sure as hell don't, and I doubt new members are going to either. Unless you put big huge signs and a huge arrow on the front page saying "LOOK HERE PLACES 2 RP", no one's even gonna pay attention to it. Then it will really be dead, except for the few hardcore members who actually know and love it. Duffy, Tainted, Slayer, myself; C'mon.
Sei, I appreciate that you're trying to keep it at least on the map. It's good to see our words are actually going somewhere. Thank you.


Furthermore, writers will no longer exist in Althanas 2.0. This is probably the first thing we agreed on as a staff. Writers, after developing content, become essentially a drain on our staff resources. Additionally, after developing a region, many writers become moderators or judges and gain other duties. What we're adding are Canon Masters. CMs write quests with players and each CM quest becomes canon. CMs will develop regions with the help of the Head Writer and Content Administrator through actual play rather than behind the scenes development. Cool huh?
That is neat and all, but EI already brought up my point; what about it's past? So you've got it's future down. So what? You already complained that after developing a region, writers becoming "draining"; then add this idea onto the actual writers of the regions. Give them something to do. It makes the writers more involved in the goings ons of Althanas, and in return progressing the world. It's a good idea, I'll give you that, but doing so instead of writers is lame.

[Max Dirks]

You are being rude, Anglekos.

Right now, numbers are against you. Not player opinion mind you, as suddenly half of Althanas loves Akashima, but the ones that count: activity. Let me make it clear: you have a month and a half to save Akashima and any other inactive regions you desire. If you and everyone else actively posts there, I'll leave it as an independent subforum. If you don't, it's gone. The power rests in your hands. Finally, there is no way a city based in Corone is going to become its own region, so stop barking up that tree.

And I'm sorry you don't consult the almanac for locations to RP in. Many players do.

[Amaranthine]

You know, I am simply disheartened now. And it's not because of my idea being denied, but rather the fact that it's not even being considered. I was told by several people before I even joined Althanas of the site's creative freedoms and how the staff typically listened to members ideas. How new members were appreciated and welcomed. ...I personally don't see that here. So far my very brainchild has been backhanded and almost welcomed to cease in existence. Ridiculous. The more I read and the more I'm told, I can't help but find Althanas to be an elitist society; where only the biggest names (staff basically) get to expand their creative wings and disembark on whatever it is they desire. I'm not trying to insult anybody directly, this is just my simple opinion based on observation.

[Saxon]

(1) So, just because it's creator is gone, when the one person who wants to expand upon it shows up, you're basically blowing it off the map entirely? I'm sure AdventWings would appreciate the interest in it, as long as she stayed true to it's sources; which she has.

Yeah, because actually removing Akashima as a subforum on that basis is a legitimate reason and makes sense to do so. Adventwings (who is a guy, by the way), isn't around at all any more. And while Akashima had a bit of a following, it wasn't a cult favorite. And if activity in using it as a subforum is abyssmally low anyway, what's the point to keep it around? Fan service?

Akashima would be much better served if it were referenced in Corone's almanac. And since people do read the almanac, they can use it at their leisure rather then having somebody around whose sole function is to manage a subforum within a region. Which is stupid and a waste of time and resources.



And who's really gonna look into the almanac for places to roleplay, huh? I sure as hell don't, and I doubt new members are going to either.




And I'm sorry you don't consult the almanac for locations to RP in. Many players do.


I agree with Max here, more people read it then you'd think. When I had my almanac for Salvar almost finished, I was frequently asked questions, thanked for my contributions and especially for the consolidation of information for a region that the definition of it was for a very long time was vague. Now, while I have my own opinions of the merit of what I did personally, I still think at some level the almanac as an idea is fantastic. Regardless if you or newer folks who haven't found their way around yet don't want to read it, the almanac definitely gives people a concentrated dose of exactly what that region has to offer them with canon that they can use and interpret themselves in their own way.

That is a good idea. I disagree with your thoughts that such tools would be completely disregarded by all the members here because it simply is not true. I've seen people use it and implement it at their own level through mentioning different things in their quests in passing, using some of the more fundamental aspects of it such as race or religion to identify with their own characters and generally use it to plan their own stories.

It works.



So what? You already complained that after developing a region, writers becoming "draining"; then add this idea onto the actual writers of the regions. Give them something to do. It makes the writers more involved in the goings ons of Althanas, and in return progressing the world. It's a good idea, I'll give you that, but doing so instead of writers is lame.


Being somebody who actually did it, I can tell you that being a region writer sucks. Sure, other region writers will probably furiously disagree with me on that, but hear me out. While you can develop projects to use for your region and you probably become more protective and watchful over it, you as a staff member have two functions. To a) Write canon, which in itself is very time consuming and with little reward outside of personal and community gratitude, and b) Do other stuff to pick up the slack like Judging, bazaar modding, etc.

There really isn't much of a future in region writing, and you essentially have no rights or any kind of ownership of what you implement to your region other then what you use personally with your character. Which, not many region writers really identify or care about, but somebody like me does. You're writing full-time for a region you have no rights over, and spending the time to plot and expand on your ideas for the region in a volunteer-based position is a poor choice of how you spend your time. I'd rather be paid for my efforts which I usually deliver very well, but you might feel differently.

Either way, region writing isn't much of a job. Management of it is a bueracratic nightmare, implementing changes is kind of cool to do but too time consuming to be worth the reward, and region writers utilize no other function other then to be the content administrator's secretary unless they choose to get their hands dirty by asking to do other things. It took me a good month or two before I could convince somebody to let me take a crack at judging, and I immediately walked away from the idea of moderating the bazaar when I read the archaic formulas for configuring your experience and the amount of money you're going to spend on your purchase.

But, if you're saying that region writing still has some kind of merit because of how long its been used, wait there's more. The future of a region writer is bleak considering most either get burnt out or quit to move onto other things to do with the staff, so the turnover rate is ridiculously high. We don't get paid, so there's no incentive to do this other then out of the goodness of our hearts and for the community's benefit either. And we can't take whatever we've implemented with us when we leave, so essentially it is absorbed into the site and is made available for everybody to use.

Now, maybe you're all starry eyed and can't see the reality of what is asked of you as a region writer, but from experience I can assure you that if somebody had told me all of this before I accepted the offer to become a region writer instead of a judge, which is what I wanted in the first place, I would have reconsidered.

I guess what I'm basically trying to say is that region writing as a mechanism for implementing canon is a poor one. The CM idea isn't much better because of the reality that few people will probably use what other people to do outside of what is mentioned in an almanac, but it is so much better then the idea of region writing. Leaving one person to run a region in the dilapadated system we already have is too much to ask without considering the idea of defining their responsibilities, giving them more oversight and paying them for their time.

But, if you think I'm just bitching about what a region writer does because of my disagreements with the staff, please do. But I'm willing to wager that many of the former region writers who read the entirety of this post can identify with or testify that they've encountered at least one of the problems I've described. But, take it for what its worth.

[Lord Anglekos]

Yeah, actually removing Akashima as a subforum on that basis is a legitimate reason to do so. Adventwings (who is a guy, by the way), isn't around at all any more. And while Akashima had a bit of a following, it wasn't a cult favorite. And if activity in using it as a subforum is abyssmally low anyway, what's the point to keep it around? Fan service?

Akashima would be much better served if it were referenced in Corone's almanac. And since people do read the almanac, they can use it at their leisure rather then having somebody around whose sole function is to manage a subforum within a region. Which is stupid and a waste of time and resources.

I agree with Max here, more then you'd think. When I had my almanac for Salvar almost finished, I was frequently asked questions, thanked for my contributions and especially for the consolidation of information for a region that the definition of it was for a very long time was vague. Now, while I have my own opinions of the merit of what I did personally, I still think at some level the almanac as an idea is fantastic. Regardless if you or newer folks who haven't found their way around yet don't want to read it, the almanac definitely gives people a concentrated dose of exactly what that region has to offer them with canon that they can use and interpret themselves in their own way.

That is a good idea. I disagree with your thoughts that such tools would be completely disregarded by all the members here because it simply is not true. I've seen people use it and implement it at their own level through mentioning different things in their quests in passing, using some of the more fundamental aspects of it such as race or religion to identify with their own characters and generally use it to plan their own stories.

It works.



Being somebody who actually did it, I can tell you that being a region writer sucks. Sure, other region writers will probably furiously disagree with me on that, but hear me out. While you can develop projects to use for your region and you probably become more protective and watchful over it, you as a staff member have two functions. To a) Write canon, which in itself is very time consuming and with little reward outside of personal and community gratitude, and b) Do other stuff to pick up the slack like Judging, bazaar modding, etc.

There really isn't much of a future in region writing, and you essentially have no rights or any kind of ownership of what you implement to your region other then what you use personally with your character. Which, not many region writers really identify or care about, but somebody like me does. You're writing full-time for a region you have no rights over, and spending the time to plot and expand on your ideas for the region in a volunteer-based position is a poor choice of how you spend your time. I'd rather be paid for my efforts which I usually deliver very well, but you might feel differently.

Either way, region writing isn't much of a job. Management of it is a bueracratic nightmare, implementing changes is kind of cool to do but too time consuming to be worth the reward, and region writers utilize no other function other then to be the content administrator's secretary unless they choose to get their hands dirty by asking to do other things. It took me a good month or two before I could convince somebody to let me take a crack at judging, and I immediately walked away from the idea of moderating the bazaar when I read the archaic formulas for configuring your experience and the amount of money you're going to spend on your purchase.

But, if you're saying that region writing still has some kind of merit because of how long its been used, wait there's more.The future of a region writer is bleak considering most either get burnt out or quit to move onto other things to do with the staff, so the turnover rate is ridiculously high. We don't get paid, so there's no incentive to do this other then out of the goodness of our hearts and for the community's benefit.

I guess what I'm basically trying to say is that region writing as a mechanism for implementing canon is a poor one. The CM idea isn't much better because of the reality that few people will probably use what other people to do outside of what is mentioned in an almanac, but it is so much better then the idea of region writing. Leaving one person to run a region in the dilapadated system we already have is too much to ask without considering the idea of defining their responsibilities, giving them more oversight and paying them for their time.

But, if you think I'm just bitching about what a region writer does because of my disagreements with the staff, please do. But I'm willing to wager that many of the former region writers who read the entirety of this post can identify with or testify that they've encountered one of the problems I mentioned. But, take it for what its worth.

Seeing as I haven't personally been a region writer, I'll have to take what you say for granted. My stance still stands (and Max, forgive me for being honest), but in some of my points I stand corrected. And by she, Saxon, I meant Amaranthine, not AdventWings.

To be honest, when the term "almanac" was used, I didn't even consider the regions' almanacs; I immediately thought of some big, deep archive down within the depths of Middle Earth. Known about, but as the cobwebs testify, barely used.
I still believe Akashima shouldn't be stowed away in there, but it's a bit better than my Middle-Earth example. So, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions.

I'm burnt out from arguing with words, so I'll do as Max suggests and try to save Akashima with my own two hands. Being a subforum is better than nothing, and seeing that it's obvious it won't ever become anything larger than that, it may as well stay where it is.

What other regions have been targeted for destruction? Haidia? Dheathain? Please, just tell us what's going to be kept and what isn't.

[Amber Eyes]

Amaranthine, I really hate that you are feeling like we aren't taking this into consideration. Some might not be, but we're not the elitist group your making us out to be.

If you love Akashima and don't want it to be removed Max has given you an option. Step up writing there and show us why it matters. Heck, go ahead and flesh out your ideas and show Max that you can make it an awesome place to role play. We're simply saying that as it stands right now it's simply not used enough to warrant the staff continuing to put resources into it. I hope you can prove us wrong.

Take this as a challenge and not a no. I personally think if you are that drawn to it you should speak with Max about becoming a CM and then you can write the cannon. I have read some of your writing and I'm impressed. I just ask that you look at the options placed before you before you say that we don't care. I promise you we do and that's why we're working on all of this. If we didn't care we would have no interest in working on 2.0 at all.
Each and every idea we've presented is still under discussion in the Mod forum.

Basically what I'm trying to say is this; we care about every players wants on the site, but if we're to be successful we have to put our resources where they are needed most. I'm rambling now so I'm going to stop, but I just don't want you to have the impression you do of the staff. We're not this big bad group of bullies trying to force people to do what we want, (That's just Duffy and Letho :P)

Edit: apparently I'm slow and was Ninja'd...:)

[Amaranthine]

Amaranthine, I really hate that you are feeling like we aren't taking this into consideration. Some might not be, but we're not the elitist group your making us out to be.

If you love Akashima and don't want it to be removed Max has given you an option. Step up writing there and show us why it matters. Heck, go ahead and flesh out your ideas and show Max that you can make it an awesome place to role play. We're simply saying that as it stands right now it's simply not used enough to warrant the staff continuing to put resources into it. I hope you can prove us wrong.

Take this as a challenge and not a no. I personally think if you are that drawn to it you should speak with Max about becoming a CM and then you can write the cannon. I have read some of your writing and I'm impressed. I just ask that you look at the options placed before you before you say that we don't care. I promise you we do and that's why we're working on all of this. If we didn't care we would have no interest in working on 2.0 at all.
Each and every idea we've presented is still under discussion in the Mod forum.

Basically what I'm trying to say is this; we care about every players wants on the site, but if we're to be successful we have to put our resources where they are needed most. I'm rambling now so I'm going to stop, but I just don't want you to have the impression you do of the staff. We're not this big bad group of bullies trying to force people to do what we want, (That's just Duffy and Letho :P)

Edit: apparently I'm slow and was Ninja'd...:)

Hell hath no fury like a writer scorned.
I'm far from feeling better about the whole situation, but I had decided a long time ago (when I first started thinking about Akashima) that I would go through with my ideas, whether or not I had the official support of the staff. Meaning that I would just make a thread with my ideas laid out and that I would personally use it to RP out my idea of Akashima. Even if I have to single-handedly save Akashima, it's going to happen. Period.

[Christoph]

The problem with being a Region Writer is that few people really care about canon, save for what immediately surrounds their respective characters or projects. The other problem is that there were about six or so RWs at any given time, and on average two or three were inactive and most of the rest would never make effort or accept invitation to actually work together and collaborate with any of the other region writers. As a result, out of the six or so regions, three were usually dead and the other three of which were basically their own worlds that could have easily existed as independent settings.

What's the point of putting forth a bunch of effort as a Region Writer, just to have both players and other RW basically ignore the content you added? Everybody just does their own thing. There's no sense of community or integration on Althanas anymore. I'm not sure if there ever was one. It seems like most characters have their own made-up homelands and independent histories. Some even come from the goddamn Real World. I mean, seriously? Althanas has a rich and diverse enough setting that anybody should be able to make a great 'native' character. Nobody tries to be part of something bigger than themselves, and the staff and community has never made a real effort to curb this tendency.

A perfect example of this is back when another member and I joined this forum together. This other member submitted a character, listing a specific Real World language as one of the character's known languages. The approval mod at the time started off by kindly explaining that this language didn't actually exist on Althanas, but then suggested that this person perhaps make the character FROM the Real World. You know, instead of saying, "That isn't a language that exists on Althanas, but X culture/region/whatever has a comparable dialect and set of customs that would serve nicely as a birthplace for your character. Here's a link to that region's almanac."

In some ways (all the wrong ways), our character registration system is too permissive. "Sure, you can be a time-traveling cyborg space cop from Mars. BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE THE GUN!!!!"

All that said, I prefer leaning more on Almanacs rather than having a subforum for everything. If someone's not going to read the almanac before starting, I would rather them NOT know about a specific sub-region. Besides, just because the forum isn't there doesn't mean that the region was consumed by the Abyss. It's still there for the members to enjoy.

[Cyrus the virus]

Didn't Max just mention how you can affect the canon of a region by writing with a Canon Master? Althanas has been broken for a very long time and this is the best idea I've heard out of Max EVER. I think some of y'alls are getting way too defensive.

And as far as my opinion goes, Akashima sucks. People aren't going to come out of the woodwork to tell you that just to offset the few people here who really like it. If it gets tucked into a subforum 'hub' of smaller regions/areas, I don't see a problem with that.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Wow, i just can't get enough of the blatant ass hattery that goes on. I'm amazed. Speechless....Well not speechless.

I took some time to think about the almanac, and i agree. I don't think this is the death nail int he coffin of akashima. I think we have a chance to take the ideas created here and MAKE THEM WORK for the first time ever. Everyone is a little defensive, but I see now how it works. So seriously. Woo.

But the next part? What the fuck was that Cyrus? Seriously? You just sorta came in, made a decent point, and then you go and lift a middle finger to all the people who happen to be interested with Akashima. Wtf man? I understand and get that it is just your opinion. But that wasn't the point of the thread. It was to come up with ideas to make it better.

If we do go to the almanac, fine! i support it! This thread right god damn here, is the player's way of getting the fundamentals into place for the Canon Masters. But no...you just fucking hate it. So it sucks.

Well, your mom sucks. That's my opinion.

See how that is just sorta....awkward? Didn't add anything to the discussion? But fuck man, i feel great saying that so i guess it's good for me and shitty for them. right? Dude, you have way more class than that. You always were the first person to tell people to lay off others for their opinions. And then you come here riding the middle finger of Godhand Striker boldly declaring how your opinion is everyone who likes akashima sucks? I admit, it looks badass, but you're really just an ass.

Seriously people. Stop fucking hating on the akashima if you aren't going to try and discuss ways to improve it. You don't like how close it is to real world Japan? Fine, what would you do to change it besides mentioning how much it sucks. Fucks sake people, she's new to the site as well. Stop being a bunch of little bitches with an internet spine and hide behind your screens. Let's get some progress moving.

I used to think you were cool, Cyrus.... (I still think you are, but man, wtf?)

[Letho]

Paul, man, take it easy. You're going to give yourself an aneurysm.

I'd just like to add that I find it somewhat irksome how easily people get riled up when their ideas aren't instantly implemented or god forbid they get rejected. I mean, nowadays it seems to me that every time someone gets a brain fart, they make a thread and expect for their idea to be considered the best of all time. This isn't aimed at you in particular, Amaranthine, nor directly at this thread. I think it's commendable that you're trying to get involved with Akashima, even though I never really cared about it all that much. I just get the feeling that the general Althanas populace is becoming more bitchy and prone to hissy fits whenever things don't go their way. You need to learn patience, young Skywalkers.

[Lakin_of_DpN]

It doesn't matter where Akashima ends up, go hard with your ideas. I wasn't all that true to Japan in East Akishima, but I had a great time playing with Advents creation. It will be nice to read your inspiration for the place.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

What? Me? Oh no, i'm okay. had a cup of hot cocoa actually. Marshmellows were good. Letho, we need to write more. I don't want these meetings in the OOC to be all we have. So much more for us, but i digress *Sips cocoa*

I actually, for the first time ever, supported 2.0. I even supported the plan and Cyrus telling people to chill on that aspect. I do! i support 2.0 and everyone giving the almanac time to build up. It's not death to the region just because it doesn't have a sub forum. I think the idea is great to remove the clutter, store it away and update the core when needed.

I do however, think it's useless bullshit to come into a thread where someone is looking to create a culture for Akashima, expressed desires to get the community to help with the idea, and to have people come in and say "Akashima sucks" is just plain fucking rude. I completly and full heartedly understand it's a matter of opinion. However the tact used is just so plain wrong. It's upsetting, honestly.

It's like Ryu and Guile. I don't like charge characters in Street Fighter, the whole premise of them to me is just silly, but you know what. If someone was practicing Guile and asked me to help, i won't say "Guile sucks, charge characters suck. Play Ryu/Ken/Sagat/Akuma/Goken/Sakura/Dan. (Which seriously, capcom, stop making clones...)" It just not helpful. And is egotistical.

I WILL ADMIT RIGHT NOW, I HAVE DONE SOME THINGS WRONG! Thank you. I have attacked people just as they have attacked others. This doesn't make me right. It makes me horribly, horribly wrong. But i do insist on trying on emore time to make my point. In a more rational manner.

Now, i'm going to state this one last time in a more rational mind set, as a good buddy on AIM asked i do:

She asked for help about something she cares about.

You told her the thing she cares about sucks.

Do you see how damaging that is? Do you see how insanely ASSHOLISH that is? Can we maybe, please, all of us (Me included, and Ryu too, cause he's a fucking whuss with his stupid dragon punch Metsu Hadoken! It's not a combo ryu! it's a stupid set up!) try to act a bit more civil and understanding.

I think we can turn this thread into a gathering pot of ideas for the Althanas Almanac of Corone: Akashima.


(or was that still to rude? I can edit! We have buttons! *sips cocoa*

[Amaranthine]

I promised myself that I was just going to stay away from this thread for a while as it's clearly become so far off topic it's pitiful. This was supposed to be a place for people to voice IDEAS for Akashima. Not a place to say "Oh I don't like Akashima, it sucks.", nor "It's going to be tucked away in where-ever-the-hell-land." Because at the end of the day it doesn't matter where Akashima goes or how many people like it, it's still going to exist. If not physically on Althanas anymore, then in the minds of those who cared enough to remember.

Anyways. Despite the fact that your statement, Letho, wasn't "directly" aimed towards me, it nevertheless effects me. No I don't expect my idea to be embraced with open arms and put into use the next damn day. That's just asinine. What is upsetting me is how people (mostly staff) keep shoving crap in my face, telling me not to bother in wasting the time to develop Akashima. The only person who seems to understand how to address the idea, is Amber Eyes. I'll openly admit though that at this point I am just growing tired of everything in general, as I am now throughly disheartened. I'm not entirely convinced that I should put forth the effort and waste hours of my time for something that others are going to merely glance at and upturn their noses. But at the same time, I WANT to waste those hours just in spite of those silly people. So here I am all in a hissy because I tried to be ambitious, shame on me.

The people of Althanas are not bitching either. They are just growing tired of the facade that's being laid over their eyes. And at this point, I don't blame them.

[Lakin_of_DpN]

Bring what you imagine for Akashima and see what happens. Don’t give up.

[Letho]

The people of Althanas are not bitching either. They are just growing tired of the facade that's being laid over their eyes. And at this point, I don't blame them. [/FONT]That's a bold statement coming from someone who's been here for a relatively short period of time. I swear, according to some of these statements, it seems like the big bad mods are behind their curtain just to make the life of the players more miserable. Which is about as far from the truth as you could get, because everything we do, we do with our members best interest in mind. And yes, sometimes that means stepping on a few toes and pissing some people off. But you can never make everybody happy.

Also, the shoving crap in your face part, I don't really remember seeing it anywhere. You proposed an idea, we told you about the future plans and Max offered an alternative. If you think that was harsh, you're going to have grow a thicker hide in order to survive the Althanas OOC.


EDIT: And Paul, man, Guile does suck! :P

[Melancor]

Hmmm. You know I'd never really looked into Akashima very much, for the simple fact that it was to Asian-like for my character.

So what if Akashima has something specific that would require people to come to the region. While I am not keen on thinking that Akashima should have a Japanese-Like culture instead of an oriental-based one, what region on Althanas isn't based out of something that already exists? Most of Althana's is sort of Euro-Steampunkish-Victorian. Atleast it is a setting we can relate to the Northern European cities with some Anglo Saxon influences - at least the human lands. But even then I still feel the culture is pretty similar in the Elven ones.

While I don't think Akashima shouldn't have any samurai or ronin or any asian-swordsman denomination I don't see why it shouldn't have its own brand of swordsmanship that could be similar to that of Asian cultures. It could be a place where people could go strengthen their swordsmanship without having to look for long. Like... swordsman heaven.

[Godhand]

Althanas staff aren't malicious so much as rabidly incompetent. Letho in particular is the worst; I'm pretty sure him running the Realm of Greeting like he does kills nearly all of what little influx of new members we get. We've fought him on it and I think I've even applied for RoG mod once or twice but he's in with the people that matter slash nobody with a track record less monstrous than mine who's active is willing to take the job so it stays like it is, meanwhile they're all giddy about althanas 2.0 "Oh my god, it's going to be so awesome, just you wait!" but this is the exact same sort of gimmick the FQ and that multi-site tournament were. We need to focus on bringing people in and then KEEPING THEM, not warding them off at the gate with no wings, no magic, 1.5 speed, final destination. But again, it's me saying this so who cares, I'm trolling, so on and etc.

As for Akashima, I always thought of it less as Japan and more like Asia. I did a quest there once based on those old Spaghetti Easterns from Golden Harvest and I totally ignored that Nip shit and just focused on Chinese stuff. Pretty fun. It has HUGE potential as a region simply because people on the internet are huge nerds/race traitors who hate being baka gaijin roundeye and want to play in japan and eat their goten in their gohan while drinking sake and eating sushi, uhh...Ramen kawaii sugoii uguu. IT'S LIKE I'M REALLY JAPANESE! Making it it's own region with subforums for Chinaeraia and Japanasanth or whatever would be cool, and yeah I know what you're gonna say, "It's an original creation stop acting like it's japan or china nag nag nag" but you know EXACTLY what it is, don't play that game. Anyway, weeaboos don't want to write in kinda-sorta-maybe-if-you-squint fantasy japan. They want to play in fantasy japan, full stop. You may not like it, but you better learn to love it, because those are the sort of people we're going to have to be forced to at least partly cater to if we want to keep new blood flowing in instead of seeing the same eight people on the who's online list at all times.

They might be terrible and annoying at first, but none of us started out great. In the best of cases we were shaped into who we are now by the elite writers that were here when we were starting out. For me it was Treslizn, Sorjax, Ashiakin back when his username was I Hate My Parents or whatever, Hell basically all of the Holy Three (Leopold, Ashiakin and Sighter), Thoracis and the rest of the great ones. Those are big shoes to fill and obviously none of us measure up in my estimation, but it's us or nothing so we at least have to try.

[Tainted Bushido]

They might be terrible and annoying at first, but none of us started out great. In the best of cases we were shaped into who we are now by the elite writers that were here when we were starting out. For me it was Treslizn, Sorjax, Ashiakin back when his username was I Hate My Parents or whatever, Hell basically all of the Holy Three (Leopold, Ashiakin and Sighter), Thoracis and the rest of the great ones. Those are big shoes to fill and obviously none of us measure up in my estimation, but it's us or nothing so we at least have to try.

I'm just going out on a limb to say, a lot of our problems came from Madison pushing his agenda to the breaking point on this site. most of the changes implemented in the recent years was part of Madison's doing.

He may have been an okay admin, but he was not wearing the white suit you put him in.

The FQ? Madison.

Salvar's Inclusion? Ashiakin.

The bazaar? Dirks, one of the couple he had.

Cross Site Plan? Christoph, Dirks, and Santhalas. A little of me too. I trusted that people knew what they were doing a bit too much.

Hush Puppy and the controversy that followed? Leopold. Chumley too. Do I even need to go on? Don't doll them up as perfect, anyone ont he staff can tell you they were anything but. Frank was a hothead with a holier than thou attitude. Madison was a stubborn git who had to do his own research to prove I was right about reincarnation. Ashiakin never effected policy because he often was seen supporting others, rather than doing his own thing, to the point that the joke was Ashiakin was a second account for Madison.

[Slayer of the Rot]

You know, honestly, in Leopold's defense, he was trolling, and he was doing it perfectly, since everyone got their panties in a twist. Frank was not afraid to make fun of anyone's tired shit and I do believe that is a freedom that we all enjoy. We're all guilty of making our own parodies and shit.

And I guess I'm a race traitor since I'll be one of the ones posting in Akashima for that month and a half ultimatum. Me rikey ricey.

[Tainted Bushido]

You know, honestly, in Leopold's defense, he was trolling, and he was doing it perfectly, since everyone got their panties in a twist. Frank was not afraid to make fun of anyone's tired shit and I do believe that is a freedom that we all enjoy. We're all guilty of making our own parodies and shit.

And I guess I'm a race traitor since I'll be one of the ones posting in Akashima for that month and a half ultimatum. Me rikey ricey.

Frank crossed the line several times to the point of being an obsessive homogay.

He was a bad troll, he just tried to play it off like he was a good one.

[Godhand]

I was talking about them as writers, not policy makers, but whatever, I'll swing at anything:


The FQ? Madison.

Could have been great if the execution hadn't been fucked up. The FQ was pretty awesome at the start. But it is Madison's fault in the sense that he left so fuck him on this, I agree.


Salvar's Inclusion? Ashiakin.

I have no strong feelings about this one way or the other.


The bazaar? Dirks, one of the couple he had.

Okay.


Cross Site Plan? Christoph, Dirks, and Santhalas. A little of me too. I trusted that people knew what they were doing a bit too much.

This was a massive fuckup but the bare bones of it was a good idea so don't beat yourself up too much. It was the execution, like always, that was phenomenally bad.


Hush Puppy and the controversy that followed? Leopold.

I don't know what that is.


Chumley too.

Are you fucking serious? People bitched about Chumley? While funny, Chumley was such a milquetoast neutered poke-fun-at-yourself all-in-good-fun TOOTHLESS fucking parody that if anybody takes themselves so seriously that they honestly got offended at it then I really and truly wish them fucking ill.


Do I even need to go on?

Yeah, you kind of do.


Don't doll them up as perfect, anyone ont he staff can tell you they were anything but. Frank was a hothead with a holier than thou attitude.

Frank WAS holier than thou! He was the best writer in Althanas history! We're fucking gibbons compared to him!


Madison was a stubborn git who had to do his own research to prove I was right about reincarnation.

God forbid someone independently make sure of something before shitting up the site with untested, unverified, un-vetted bullshit.


Ashiakin never effected policy because he often was seen supporting others, rather than doing his own thing, to the point that the joke was Ashiakin was a second account for Madison.

That's unfortunate but not everyone needs to be a fucking superstar, making huge sweeping changes and exposing his ass twenty four hours a day because he's afraid if he doesn't share his dumbass idea it'll curdle inside his brain. Sometimes it's enough to just take care of the region you're assigned to. Although whether Ash even did that is another question. At the very least he never fucked shit up so he's still high, high up in my esteem.

[Max Dirks]

Cross site plan? No, that was Dirks.

I convinced Santh not to go through with it.

Oh, you meant the ToC. Yeah, that was my bad too.

[Slayer of the Rot]

Anyway how about let's stop giving each other enemas and biting out throats because we're all soulless stupid assholes that fuck up everything we do.

And kind of get back to the topic at hand.

[Jack Frost]

God, I rejoined the site, walked into this argument, ignored it, went through the rest of my school day, got home, screwed around for three hours, and you're all still raging about this when you've gotten completely off topic. I can't even vote yet and I have enough sensibility to realize that you're all being hopelessly immature about things that happened in the past and won't change. get back to the topic at hand so we can see something productive done. My opinion, find some active members and give them jobs you know thy can handle. If it means turning akashima over to amaranthine, who has expressed interest in it, do so.

(Sorry if I sounded like an ass.)

[Christoph]

Oh, you meant the ToC. Yeah, that was my bad too.

I recall that conversation. I'm pretty sure the conversation ended something like this:

Me: "I love tournaments and everything, but the ToL didn't exactly go well. It'll be a bitch to make our version successful. There's a very real chance that it could blow up in our faces."

Dirks: "Yep."

Me: "...Okay, let's do it."

I still think it was a good idea in principle, but we had no precedent of how to make it work -- just how NOT to. I think a shift from people coming to represent their home forums, thus creating a "warring camps" environment, would be beneficial if any sort of mass recruitment event were to be attempted again. Have a big cool event, but change the atmosphere to actually bringing people into the site to join the "Althanas family" instead of them coming to "kick Althanas's ass".

[Letho]

Althanas staff aren't malicious so much as rabidly incompetent. Letho in particular is the worst; I'm pretty sure him running the Realm of Greeting like he does kills nearly all of what little influx of new members we get. We've fought him on it and I think I've even applied for RoG mod once or twice but he's in with the people that matter slash nobody with a track record less monstrous than mine who's active is willing to take the job so it stays like it is, meanwhile they're all giddy about althanas 2.0 "Oh my god, it's going to be so awesome, just you wait!" but this is the exact same sort of gimmick the FQ and that multi-site tournament were. We need to focus on bringing people in and then KEEPING THEM, not warding them off at the gate with no wings, no magic, 1.5 speed, final destination. But again, it's me saying this so who cares, I'm trolling, so on and etc.Letho follows the rules and does his fucking job. I didn't make the rules, all I do is enforce them and try to keep everything balanced. But if you need to vent your pent up frustration to untwist your own panties and get your kicks and act like Althanas own assholish Robin Hood, I don't really mind being vilified. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and badmouth everything, but someone has to get their hands dirty.

But yeah, this thread went so far off its tracks it's funny. At first it wasn't funny, but now it's funny again.

[Caysim Winters]

I agree, Letho.

[Godhand]

Letho follows the rules and does his fucking job. I didn't make the rules, all I do is enforce them and try to keep everything balanced.

And bitch and moan and complain and hissy fit whenever any sort of change to the RoG policy is brought up while endlessly campaigning behind the scenes to keep things exactly the way they are. You're like one of those toy accordions; no matter which way someone squeezes you you always make the same sound.


But if you need to vent your pent up frustration to untwist your own panties and get your kicks and act like Althanas own assholish Robin Hood, I don't really mind being vilified. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and badmouth everything, but someone has to get their hands dirty.

This would be a good point if I hadn't just said that I've applied for the job multiple times, but nice try trying to paint me as the heckler who would refuse to help if given the opportunity.


But yeah, this thread went so far off its tracks it's funny. At first it wasn't funny, but now it's funny again.

Agreed. It's unfortunate but people always seem to get pissed and dredge up big picture, occasionally unrelated shit when discussing althanas' clockwork gears and cogs; I guess it's hard to separate one thing from the other.

[Letho]

So the pissing contest continues, eh?
And bitch and moan and complain and hissy fit whenever any sort of change to the RoG policy is brought up while endlessly campaigning behind the scenes to keep things exactly the way they are. You're like one of those toy accordions; no matter which way someone squeezes you you always make the same sound.It's called having an opinion. I'm sorry if my idea of Althanas doesn't coincide with yours, but in the end it's of little importance. Because I'm just one person and have relatively little say in the matter. My "campaigns" to stop the change usually fall well short because the majority disagrees with me nowadays.

This would be a good point if I hadn't just said that I've applied for the job multiple times, but nice try trying to paint me as the heckler who would refuse to help if given the opportunity.You've applied twice from what I can see in denied applications, and only one of those application was even remotely serious. Not to mention that it was an application for, and I quote: "Bazaar staff and maybe Realm of Greeting staff". So no, you didn't apply multiple times for the job, and even when you did, neither your application nor your attitude gave us any assurance that you would be a valuable addition to the staff.

If we absolutely must continue this, please take it to the PM or make a new thread about it so we don't pollute this thread any more than we already did.

[Rayse Valentino]

Frank WAS holier than thou! He was the best writer in Althanas history! We're fucking gibbons compared to him!


I would probably let him break my be-hymen if he was still around. There was nobody on this site who I felt was some sort of genius besides him.

Anyway, Letho to me seems like some spooky ghost that only shows up if you call his name 3 times. Complaint about high levels? Elitism? Bad weather? He's there, and he's ready to take offense. This isn't to you personally, Letho, but I think mods who more or less haven't attempted any RP in months and aren't planning to should be a little more subservient to the community. You guys, while you have some trivial duties, do not contribute to the meat of the site. I respect a crappy but active poster more than a do-little mod. Granted, most of the arguing is done by people who haven't RP'd in a while, so I don't mind your responses to Godhand (that guy is SUCH a flake).

Anyway, I don't care one way or the other about what he's doing in the RoG (it's the easiest job in the world. i should know, i did it for a while). I don't know if RoG policies cause poor member retention. It seems to me that people are just flaky and have ADD and just never come back after one visit. I don't know, it probably has more to do with the site's presentation and the amount of easily-accessible interesting information than RoG policies, but I'm not graphic design major or whatever.

Uh, what was this thread about again? Oh, right. Um, why is a special sub-forum necessary for region-revamping? It's just a visual thing. There's nothing stopping you from GMing the entire region. Have a bunch of other people consider it canon and it essentially is. I've yet to see someone do something that they really wanted to be canon and for someone to tell them "no." Well, except for Letho a few pages back, but let's just ignore that for now.

Just do it! You don't need permission! Unless your threads/posts are outright deleted you are free to do whatever you want! Become the region writer! Unofficially! This 'appeal to authority' shit has to stop, because for 10 years it has not worked. You do what you want EXACTLY how you want to FIRST, and THEN worry about the consequences.

Hell, I think I'm gonna start thinking of Salvar as a snow-covered region with short summers and long winters. Due to the disturbance of the weather-mage system from the civil war, the region is reverted back to its cold, rural state that it was before the warmer weather turned it into a superpower. Maybe big trade cities and certain places could have their own personal weather-mage and thus those limited areas won't be cold/snowy, but whatever. Who is gonna stop me? Do I get points off if I make a thread in this setting? No. Can anyone use it after me? Yes.

It doesn't freakin' matter, people. In a site where you are an angel for making a thread to roleplay with other people, nobody would dare to tell you that you couldn't do it.

[Cyrus the virus]

I understand and get that it is just your opinion.

I don't really think you do, but I could have made my point a bit better. Someone before me made the point of "look all the people who like Akashima and write there a lot!", I was just trying to say that people who don't particularly like Akashima are not going to make it a priority to contradict those who do. The more we condense the forum layout the better, as has been said many times by new members and those behind '2.0'. I dunno, maybe it was a bad point to make in the first place. I certainly don't want the region to disappear.

As for FQs, amazing idea. Very very very hard to carry out. Having a large-scale setting is alright, but we really made that thing much bigger than it needed to be. Best to keep it condensed, too. Not one thread, mind you, but certainly one forum.

And I hated Chumley initially, but that's because I was a whiny kid looking to be irritated with something. I still struggle with that sometimes. In retrospect all of Frank's threads at the time were really fun to read, even if him being in The Cell and winning it (I believe) made me mad then. I don't know why I call that guy Frank like I know him, don't think we ever talked. Frank Frank.

Madison was awesome for Althanas, but perhaps (definitely) had lofty goals.

I just wanted to type lots.

[Lillith]

I have a hypothetical point, or rather an issue to raise with the earlier point about Samurai.

Given that the vast majority of Althanas is set in the technological black period between the late 1800's and early 1900's of comparable Earth history, would it and could it not be feasible that Akashima is set sometime after the dissolution of the Samurai in Japanese culture? I rather like the diminished presence and the otherwise outlaw nature they have currently. Re-establishing them in canon and general practice would be detrimental to the renegade state image, or perhaps in doing so, we could make it less traditional. Perhaps the Samurai could be the mythological and somewhat secretive 'border police' that keep Corone's spies from entering the mountains?

The revival of the hannamachi type rural culture and the fleshing out of Akashima as a region is a brilliant idea and I support it fully, but I think we should tread carefully in doing so.

[Godhand]

So the pissing contest continues, eh?

It takes two to tango. Un dos tres, un pasito pa' 'lante maria, un dos tres, un pasito pa' tras.


It's called having an opinion. I'm sorry if my idea of Althanas doesn't coincide with yours, but in the end it's of little importance. Because I'm just one person and have relatively little say in the matter. My "campaigns" to stop the change usually fall well short because the majority disagrees with me nowadays.

Holly golly gee wow fuck I wonder why that is.


You've applied twice from what I can see in denied applications, and only one of those application was even remotely serious. Not to mention that it was an application for, and I quote: "Bazaar staff and maybe Realm of Greeting staff". So no, you didn't apply multiple times for the job, and even when you did, neither your application nor your attitude gave us any assurance that you would be a valuable addition to the staff.

It's actually been more than twice, the others have just gotten eaten in crashes but that it's irrelevant because hot tip: it turns out multiple just means 'more than one', not whatever random minimum was apparently in your head. Whoops.


If we absolutely must continue this, please take it to the PM or make a new thread about it so we don't pollute this thread any more than we already did.

This here is a beautifully executed example of the 1-2 Mod Classic. You simultaneously get to land a couple of parting jabs and then SHUT THE FUCKER DOWN by telling the other guy to take it to PM's (like anyone is that fucking pathetic or deluded enough to think they're honestly going to change someone's mind just through something as internet-ly worthless as reason without browbeating them HARD in public where there's no refuge) without seeming like an authoritative douche and closing the thread outright. But enough of this! For once I agree wholeheartedly with you; my original comment was nothing more than a passing jab to let the world know I've degenerated into being Visla-level bitchy you. You were passingly relevant and so I mentioned you. No more earnest bright-eyed belief you'd eventually see what was right and vital for Althanas. You've broken me, Letho.

But enough of this. Take it to PM's or make a new thread about it, because I'm done with that in this thread. This issue here is too immediate to bother with something that will likely never get solved.

Akashima as a land probably has far and away the most niche appeal out of all the regions, or at the very least it's equal with Raiaera. The way I see it in a fantasy site you need three pillars to really appease every dork: The human lands, the elflands, and the weeaboo lands. But for some reason Akashima wasn't part of the original layout of the site. Hell, it wasn't even made by a mod if I recall correctly. The cynical part of me says that's why it never had a chance; because it wasn't mod-made, it was player made and that's why mods resent it so much and do their damnedest to hide it and relegate it to sub-region status when it's clear it could be a booming region on it's own with all the draw it has with the nerds. See, and this is my timeline but my memory is prodigious so I'm probably right, Akashima started as a land in the backstory of a character named Asuka Strikes and her sister...I can't remember her name. Probably Asuka something. It was her homeland and it was decently fleshed out. Now, this character never made a huge splash, neither one did, Hell I think only one of them even made it to level one, but for some reason or another (maybe it was because the character was a chick and everyone reads/cruises for chick profiles, see: nerds) the place really took off as a region. It started getting mentioned more and more, first just as a throwaway reference as to where people got their rice wine (I'm looking at you, Slayer), then oldbies started to dig it so they made their alts come from there, then people started doing full blown quests there in Other Regions (Ran or Reiko as he's known now alone did like twenty). Soon some fringe mods started suggesting to samurai characters that they could say their guy came from there, and then finally when the brass just couldn't ignore it anymore they (grudgingly?) made it an official region, but whether because of resentment or incompetence they made it a SUB-region and hid it where no one could find it and tagged a generic blurb and steadfastly refuse to make it a region to this day which leads us to today, here and now, where it's going to get destroyed because of a 'lack of activity', whatever the fuck that means. By that same token you could kill off Alerar and Dheathain and Fallien, but you'd be WRONG and RETARDED because these regions already have established backstories and timelines and religions and militaries and HISTORY someone worked hard on, so you'd be throwing perfectly good HARD WORK away, to replace it with 'TBD' only to moan at us later when we bitch about how the site is empty about how we don't know how hard you work and you have to come up with all these regions and so on etc. and yet here you are turning away one of the few people interested in DOING SOMETHING for this fucking site? You're on the cross and pleading but curse us out when we approach with a nail-remover.

Christ what's the fucking use?

[Max Dirks]

I love your enthusiasm, Godhand, but it was I who decided on the canonization of Akashima. I really don't have any secret hatred for Akashima or Azukastrikes (who won a contest to create the sub-region, by the way) either. It just had very low activity so I decided it was time for it to go.

However, I do like the save Akashima campaign. Seriously, if you're going to take parting jabs at anyone for this, take them at me. In a way, I've tricked people into using the region.

[Tayu]

⋆☆⋆
For those who can't put two and two together; this is also Amaranthine.

This thread barely served it's purpose to begin with, but thanks to the few who actually did share their ideas, it's appreciated. But seeing as it's now become one huge bickering-fest, I just don't see the reason for this to stay open anymore. I honestly just don't care now as to what the mods are going to do about Akashima. I have already started going ahead with my plans and am pleased to say that several others are taking part in them as well. (Thanks to you all!~) There. Done. Whatever.

Close this thread please, you're all giving me a nasty headache.

[Letho]

Someone once said that you should never argue with a moron, because he'll pull you down on his level and beat you on experience. So I guess you beat me, Godhand.

Thread closed, as per Tayu's request.