[CotH-aluation] The Community

[Loxmardin]

Hello everyone.

As part of the CotH-aluation project, I've opened this topic for discussion. This topic is a bit more vague, but that's deliberate. This is meant to express any grievances you have with the community itself. That is... CotH. The playerbase. The whole. I know people have brought up many times in the past that some issues we sometimes experience here are very much community-based and not on one individual player or staff member to mend since it involves way more people than that. Sometimes it involves the mechanics of the community itself, the unspoken rules and expectations that people have of eachother or the server and community as a whole. This is a good place to bring stuff like that up, and also to reflect on what you think and feel about the CotH community and let you define it more, perhaps, than you already did before.

So, for the purpose of this discussion, here are a few base inquiries:

• What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?
  
• Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?
  
• What causes these issues, according to you?
  
• How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?
  
• If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

Feel free to add any questions or thoughts beyond those mentioned above. Seeing as this is a very vague and broad topic, there's bound to be other thoughts, concerns and ideas that don't necessarily answer or relate to any of the questions asked.

Love,
Loxmardin

[Paylonas]

And I strike again, I'm just gonna do these in a row since I started them - No point in stopping now.

What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?

Decent. There are things in the community that I feel can and should change, but these are just my opinions and most of them are unlikely to happen because I'm a self centered bi- Anyway, back to the question! The community is pretty slow and small, but then again I do notice there aren't a ton of active players; there's a decent amount, but CotH definitely has room to grow. Otherwise the community is great, there are barely any rules that I notice are being broken, the RP is great. What more could I ask for without being a self centered bi- Moving on.

Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?

I'm not going to name any names here, because of two reasons!
1. I can't remember the names
2. Not going to put someone on the spot like that.

But so far I have encountered a couple of cases (were/where? I suck with that) people are being disrespectful or breaking the rules. This hasn't happened much, and it's usually shut down almost instantly by a courageous player - Or a staff member.

Also, I feel as if the community is pretty slow - There are a ton of events going on, but other than that there isn't much RP other than tavern stuff. That can get boring after a while, come on people pick it up! (Mostly kidding, although I do think it's slow at times.)

What causes these issues, according to you?

Well, it's just natural in my opinion. People are going to be ignorant, rude, disrespectful, break the rules, it just happens - Sure we can get rid of people from doing it, but there's nothing we can really do to stop it other than removing them once it gets out of hand.

The server isn't well advertised, we don't have new people coming in regularly enough. While we don't want a bunch of dongus' coming in - I do feel that better advertisement for the server would help us pick up better.

How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?

I really wouldn't, ever - I don't have what it takes to do this kind of stuff, I'd crawl under a rock and hope it worked itself out. Sorry that I'm not much help here.

If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

Advertisement, I'd definitely try and put the word of CotH out and about more. This one is tough to answer, but I suppose recommending it to friends who are also interested in the community that CotH has, making videos on Youtube, launching a campaign on twitter, facebook, whatever it might be!

[Kirabo]

As said in another, I've only recently returned from a break, so my information may be incorrect throughout this whole post. Apologies in advance, if that turns out to be the case.

The community is in a better state than it was some three months ago. Something happened in the meantime, perhaps it was a guild, or some big event, and people were sparked back up to RP. The activity is, of course, greater during the weekends, but that doesn't worry me, because I feel that it's a normal thing. However, it's not nearly as difficult to find RP these last few days. Simply going to GMI and asking for a partner works pretty well. I also feel that there's less conflicts. There used to be a period where a lot of people were banned for breaking the Tolerance and Respect rules. Those seem to be gone, and the atmosphere on the server is a lot lighter. Everyone seems much more relaxed, they're not at each other's throats, and whatnot.

We could do with some more open-mindedness, though. People are, as always, divided into cliques, which is not wrong, but I think that we should give chances to other people as well. Go out, chat up a random person, go RP with them. Who knows, you may just find your bestest RP buddy everrrrrr~! And before you say that your character wouldn't do something like that, check my signature. /wink

I think these issues are caused mostly because people quickly get used to a single RP environment and don't feel like shifting to a different one. Variety and adaptation takes effort, after all. I know for a fact that many RPers are alt-tabbed on Facebook, Youtube, Animes, other video games, or something else of equal or greater distracting value a good deal of the time. I don't mind it, but that won't leave a good impression on the people who are trying to RP with you, but end up waiting for minutes to get a response in the lines of "Yeah" or /e nods. I personally feel like sitting inside my wardrobe for the rest of the day after such a session. Put in some effort, and it will -definitely- be rewarded. In order to feel good in a community, you need to give to it.

Community - Commune

Right?

The one thing I would change is making monthly meet'n'greets, but ones where people would actually get to talk to random people they haven't met yet, and look for someone new to write with. I'd also like to see a system where people are rewarded for a wide plethora of RP partners. Again, I know many of us aren't the kind to RP with anybody, but the charm is to try and try until you find someone fitting. It's just like watching a movie you don't like in the end. You have to watch it in order to define what kind of movies you dislike.

Mostly comes down to laziness, though. /shrug
We're all lazy bastards.

[ghaskan]

My evaluation of the community?

Spoiler:

Joking aside...

What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?

I would dare say it's a little... quiet. Sure, sometimes you'll see a lot of activity and whatnot, but sometimes there's either no one on the server or people are stuck on GMI. I know, I know, it's a taboo subject but you asked me to be honest, so here goes. Anyway, I still try to poke others into RP whenever I can, and I've seen many others do so too, and more often than not we do get answered, which is good. Anyway, my issues with activity -might- be slightly related to my timezone, since I'm usually asleep during the American peak time.

Other than that, I think that the community is friendly and welcoming, overall. Of course, there's always a black sheep or another, but I haven't had any experience that was truly negative, just a moment or two in which I felt... awkward? Something like that. On the forums, I sense some venom sometimes, which isn't too nice but I can mostly handle it, since previous experiences (in other forums) thickened my skin a bit.

Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?

I ended up answering this above.

What causes these issues, according to you?

No idea. I suppose it happens depending on the personality of people, their views, and such. I really don't know.

How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?

For activity, going online and trying to foster RP is the best to do - maybe even poke people on the chatbox, Skype or something. For the other things I... don't know. Maybe talking with people right away would be the best thing, but it's a very touchy subject.

If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

MOAR ORC AND TAUREN RPEers

Just kidding. Well, having more people and variety would be nice, but that's not something one can 'change', at least not easily.

[Psychyn]

Edited post, pending removal. Too much risk in escalating for me to feel comfortable with my own post.

[FlyingSquirrel]

• What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?

Honestly, I think the server's dying. I mean, the great RP's still there, and the great people are still there, but I just feel like there's less. And it's not the less like you would expect from distilling it. It's just a plain less.

• Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?

I just think that a lot of people are picking fights for the sake of it. You disagree with someone on one thing, so you immediately refuse to agree with them on a different bit.

• What causes these issues, according to you?

It honestly depends. It can be on circumstances out of the server's control, it can merely be a mutual animosity, it can be any number of things that can't really be watched.

• How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?

As I said, you can't really control these things. They're out of the server's control. If I had to do something, I would just either let the two feuding sides duke it out or take both players aside and ask them to both take a breath.

• If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

I honestly would just be kind of stricter. On everything. If there's a questionable RP that's happening (I.E., doesn't really follow lore, etc), get involved and talk with the players who are RPing. This's probably an incredibly unpopular opinion, but meh.

--

Apart from that, rule breaches all over the board from minor to major ones. Not going to list them or the people involved.

I don't really see the point of saying something like this if you're not going to say who or even what. How would you expect anyone on the server to benefit from this information? We all know it happens. Acknowledging it isn't going to do anything. If you want anything to be done (and my guess is that you do), you can't just refuse to point out people who are, in your own opinion, being issues in the server.

[Psychyn]

Similar thought, pending removal.

[Dae]

I feel like CotH could really benefit from a larger playerbase. The staff is pretty darn good at maintaining a consistent level of quality with the character profiling and other measures; more people will only get the creative juices flowing more.

I'd like some sort of advertisement going on. Not banner ads or stuff like that, mind you. Just something placed outside our server that exemplifies why this community is worth being a part of, both OoCly and ICly.

I'm sure one of you could come up with something that would get a decent amount of upvotes on reddit or imgur or something like that.

[Maulbane]

I'll corroborate that we really do need more players, though without aggressive methods to get 'em. I think we should start encouraging referrals and otherwise touting the server in relevant communities. A lot of problems can just be solved by getting more people - although, we'll want to sort out a lot of the changing systems before we encourage an influx of people.

[Grakor456]

I'll try to keep this different from the other topic about communication, and speak particularly on aspects not dealing with the methods of communication.

What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?

To put this briefly: small and restless, at least at points.

Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?

I can definitely tell there is a bit of mistrust amongst the community, particularly with regards to how the players perceive the staff. Not that long ago I was pressed with a question that I believe implied a belief that the staff was abusing their position for their own personal RP, though no direct complaint was lodged.

The size issue as well, of course. Our playerbase isn't the size it once was.

What causes these issues, according to you?

For our population problems, it's hard to say. I'd like to think that CotH is a better place than it was a few years ago when we had a much larger community. However, I think Warcraft burn-out and other games cropping up may have an influence on our problems.

As far as mistrust, it is hard to say. I do know that there are some issues that the playerbase feels strongly about that might yield certain beliefs: for example, GMs leveling their characters without approved profiles.

How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?

I do try to encourage GMs to be responsible with their powers, profile their characters, etc. Unfortunately, I can only see so much.

As for the size issue, I'm uncertain how to resolve that. "Advertise" is an easy thing to say, but not the easiest thing in its actual execution.

If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

I've no idea 'how', but I would like greater faith placed in the GM team. If this is due to legitimate misconduct on their part, then I'd need to be made aware so that things can be resolved on that end. Otherwise, it may simply be unavoidable issues.

[ThePharaoh]

What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?

A bit segregated and 'event driven'. I think people keep more so to their groups and peers more so than before.


Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?

No issues that weren't always there, Idling in OOC areas, groupings, perhaps population size.


What causes these issues, according to you?

Disinterest. Friends and comfortable Rp, convenience, 'scaling of playable characters'.

How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?

I would make a Conquest of the Horde guild, or a server wide guild that everyone made an alt for. The officers would be Gm's and players who would lead events and storyline missions for other chars. This way if two or more players were online but had main chars of opposing factions, or alignments they could hop onto their CoTh alt and get to know a new player and always RP. Updates through server news, could be a way to keep old and new players updated and involved. Something that we could actually come together as a community with. Independent storylines/guilds could spawn off of this or remain unaffected. It would be cool for new players to the server as well.

If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

I wish stories were more intertwined, so the butterfly effect could happen more.

[Ural]

• What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?
  • I'd call it segmented and stretched thin. Sometimes that causes people to get frustrated and lead to difficult situations. I can't really fault the community for being hungry for activity.
• Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?
  • When I look back at my roots, it seemed to me that we were a lot more self-sufficient then compared to now. We seem needy, desperate and frankly, thankless. We're not sure what we want, but we want it now. We're not sure what we'll do with it, but we'll make sure everyone knows when we get it. Then we'll move on to the next flavor-of-the-month without acknowledging those who've helped us get where we are.
• What causes these issues, according to you?
  • Honestly? I think we're spoiled. GMs have been freed up from a number of areas they once overwhelmed with. (Vouch-intros, tokens, profiles, server-wide events) They are available in-game more often and are free to help spawn and run events for others. Likewise, they are able to run their own storylines. We gobble up these events and become lazy in our own endeavors and character development. Occasionally, we go through an event with no meaningful impact to our characters. All that mattered was the reward, and if it was only coin then big deal. We've forgotten how to have small, personal events in favor of a rail-cart hack n' slash we can coast through. We've lost our drive when nice things are handed to us.
• How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?
  • Give everyone a bowl of ice cream! Encourage smaller player-run events and make myself available to help make them more immersive. Create a few of my own and keep things simple, stupid! Help others create storylines and prod them into making an outline. They really do help keep everything together and focused.
• If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?
  • I'd like to change how apathetic we are after our characters are approved. It's like we set that character down and deem it as "complete".. and move onto the next one. I'm terribly guilty at this myself, hence the slow-down in my own profiles. I don't really have a solution outside of maybe attaching an outline of a story to progress though alongside a profile. I've been experimenting this with this storyline, but have had mixed results. There's been other progressions with that character that have been distracting and I find myself disinterested once again. Even so, that is not a fair assessment because there have certainly been other changes during this time.

[Jonoth]

Basically, agreeing with Ural's points above. I'd love to see more characters start from the bottom rather than the top, which in turn could make for more frequent and non/small event driven RP. If a character starts with so much power, there isn't much for him to do except for big events, whereas a character that still needs to grow can benefit from even the most trivial situations.

[Sorum]

What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?

The state of the community.. this is a bit difficult to answer from my point of view at least. OOCly, I don't really see many issues, if any. A lot of people talk, socialize and are nice with each other. Or at least that's what I see in public. The community is fine.. I suppose? A little smaller than I'd like it to be but that might change with the time.

Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?

Issues.. hm, let's see. I didn't notice something that would pop out in the face to everyone. But as with any community, there's the problem of circlejerking (pardon my word but I don't have a better one). What do I mean by that? I mean that there are groups of people which spend a lot of time with each other. And when one of them doesn't like a particular individual from outside the group, the others tend to follow. Obviously, this happens in real life and pretty much everywhere and there isn't something you can do about it.

Only thing that can be done is publicly ask people to judge less. And be more welcoming.. In the end.. it's in their interest to have more friends. And in the same time, it would also do the server a favor.. Making new players feel wanted and accepted within the community. In short.. as I am not sure if I worded everything properly and actually made sense: Be nicer with new people you meet and don't judge too much. You will end up with more friends.

What causes these issues, according to you?

Already answered.

How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?

I just said what I have a problem with here. I am sure others will read. But if there are other issues which bother me (even tho it's pretty hard to actually bother me) I would just talk with a staff member and see what's going on.

If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

What I'd change.. Hm.. I'd change people's mentality.. or at least I'd push them to RP more. It's an RP server and I'd really love to see more public RP. But I don't think I will ever be able to change people and/or push them to RP more. In the end, it's up to the player if they want to RP or not. And I don't think that forcing everyone to go RP will end well.

I am sorry for the pink. <3

[Loxmardin]

What is the state of the community currently, in your opinion? How would you describe it?

• Small and struggling, as far as I can see. The same can be said for the current staff, and it's been worrying me for some time that it's taking this direction. It's nothing new, though, that CotH is getting smaller as we go and I'm trying to wrap my head around the causes for this, but... Right now, we have a community that isn't all that interested in branching out or getting involved with other players. We have a few regulars who mostly stick to themselves and the people they know, keeping in their groups and mostly chatting away on Skype or occasionally keeping their eyes here on the forums but they don't actually go on the server much other than to stand around for a while, quietly, and then log back off because nothing's happening.
  
  I notice that our community today isn't very enthused, at all, about keeping things up and alive or to take strides. ... Because no one else is, then they aren't feeling particularly motivated to do so themselves. Most of the people who tend to stick around are those that are content sticking to themselves and their small group of friends, in the first place, so there's no real desire from the regulars to expand or draw new people in. Many just don't have an interest to interact with the world that the rest of the players live in, or the GMs moderate.

Are there any issues within the community that you've noticed? Which?

• Now I realize how stupid it was to make two questions out of this. I already mentioned all of it above, really. Well, most of it. I'm unsure if I can really put words to much else, but... All in all, our community is tired and lacks motivation and interest in changing the direction it's currently going, which rubs off on everyone else and winds up with no one bothering to try.

What causes these issues, according to you?

• ... I think I already answered this, in part, in either of the above, heh.

How would you address the issues in the community, if you could?

• I don't know, to be honest. The first thing would be to give people more to log on for, be it spontaneous RP and mini-events or starting slow by building on some forum-RP here on CotH so to get interest from players in the characters and storylines before drawing them on into the game. That's really the only thing I could think of from the get-go, since anything else would require more people to log on in the first place, wouldn't it?

If there was one thing you could change about the community, what would that be? How, if you can answer that?

• I would really like it if we could attract more people here. I've been working hard on trying to figure out what our community lacks that attracts people elsewhere. ... Apart from the quantity/size, that is. The size is definitely a problem, and I don't know how to address that. Advertisement is a good way to go, but... I don't know. Honestly, I'm a bit at a loss and open for suggestions.