Forum Suggestions
I have forwarded your suggestion to the HoH team, Opeila. Thank you for your feedback, Howard, it's much appreciated.
As of right now, we don't know what will happen to the main story. Lear is finishing the current story, but there hasn't been a decision on what will happen afterward. Creating a complex main story that engages a lot of the player base and evolves based on that engagement while still being able to be "solved" by the players takes a lot of effort. It needs time and dedication, and even then has the potential of not meeting people's expectations and not feeling inclusive enough (that was one of the main complaints).
Currently, I'm not sure that what some of the player base wants is even feasible, or more precisely, if we can make everyone happy with it. That might not be possible. The main story as you have seen it up to this point might not come back. I can't guarantee anything right now.
As of right now, we don't know what will happen to the main story. Lear is finishing the current story, but there hasn't been a decision on what will happen afterward. Creating a complex main story that engages a lot of the player base and evolves based on that engagement while still being able to be "solved" by the players takes a lot of effort. It needs time and dedication, and even then has the potential of not meeting people's expectations and not feeling inclusive enough (that was one of the main complaints).
Currently, I'm not sure that what some of the player base wants is even feasible, or more precisely, if we can make everyone happy with it. That might not be possible. The main story as you have seen it up to this point might not come back. I can't guarantee anything right now.
Cu ochii deschiși.
Forum Suggestions
Hi! I know that there's already a Main Story index, but it hasn't been updated in over a year.
For an easier way to update a main story index, maybe there could be a thread in context which essentially listed all the MS threads in chronological order, with dates and general tags.
The main sections to the MS so far seem to be [The Masked Figure], [Staff], [S.C.A.R.] and [Hags]. (There are probably more which I don't know about though.) You could also have an [Event] tag to use for things like the annual blossom ball. You could use multiple tags if needed, but you'd end up with a list which showed:
[thread title w/ link] [date] [participants (eg. 'ravenclaw house', 'erin ryan', ect. if it's the whole school or a whole house, you could point out people of note)] [tags]
Eg.
For an easier way to update a main story index, maybe there could be a thread in context which essentially listed all the MS threads in chronological order, with dates and general tags.
The main sections to the MS so far seem to be [The Masked Figure], [Staff], [S.C.A.R.] and [Hags]. (There are probably more which I don't know about though.) You could also have an [Event] tag to use for things like the annual blossom ball. You could use multiple tags if needed, but you'd end up with a list which showed:
[thread title w/ link] [date] [participants (eg. 'ravenclaw house', 'erin ryan', ect. if it's the whole school or a whole house, you could point out people of note)] [tags]
Eg.
This would help to easily organise MS threads, similarly to an RPG tracker, only with general tags instead of thread descriptions.In The Eleventh Hour | 26/09/21 | Santario Martin, Erin Ryan, Percival Gray | [Hags]Samhain Festival | 29/10/21 | Whole School, Erin Ryan | [Hags] [Event]
│= | #00308F ency • cassie heather | =│ | breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out Part-Veela • Alluring • Perfectionist • Scream • Sta 9 • Eva 9 • Stre 4 • Wis 10 • Arc 8 • Acc 9 | │ |
Forum Suggestions
The Main Story stuff is being dismantled after the completion of the major story elements due to complaints by users regarding the Main Story. They were unhappy with a number of aspects of the MS and their demands were not a standard I am capable of meeting so I chose to step down. That is why awards will no longer have anything MS related. As for the thread that was intended to Index MS, a difficulty was that these threads take months to accomplish, we were always several months behind. The thread ended up getting placed on a backburner due to the backlog and then forgotten.
But it is a great idea. Thank you, I am sorry.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
But it is a great idea. Thank you, I am sorry.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Forum Suggestions
I know that I have also dmd, but for the sake of adding to the discussion above, I agree very much with everything Howard and Opeila said, both in terms of respect for the staff but also sad to see main story go, especially considering it seems to be based on the complaints of a small number of users and may not reflect the majority (I have known many that appreciate the main story very much and the effort that has gone into it). I do really respect how much work was going into that main story and if it was not a feasible amount of work to continue that would be very understandable, but the part that disappoints me is that it seems that it may be removed due to complaints from users when there may be many users who were really enjoying and appreciating that aspect of the site. Again, if it's simply about the amount of work involved, then I do take back all my statements, because Im not trying to be unappreciative of how much was being done by the staff and Lear especially.
But if it's being pulled because it seemed the users did not enjoy it, could it be discussed more site-wide (a poll, etc) to see whether that is truly a majority opinion or not? I think there are probably many others that really enjoyed that aspect of the site, and it seems sad to have something like that stopped because of a few complaints that may be a vocal minority. I know for me it was actually one of the things that stood out most to me about the site early on, was that we did have these main story events and especially ones that anybody could take part in and where the students could be the heroes. I've always found it something that helped make the site special.
Forum Suggestions
The work load was heavy, I was always behind because the average moderation took 6 hours and that is in addition to any planning or cooperation that was involved. There was also the development of other characters to engage or be closer statistically to newer players and ensuring that they maintained a presence in the community even if what was said or done was a few words in an OC area took time. It was a full-time effort and sometimes it got delayed if the site itself was having an issue, if there was user drama/some sort of social incident, or there was a policy rework/development need that took precedent since the site needs to run first and foremost. In short, I am always busy here and I am never caught up or ahead. In truth I did not mind it, I don't mind being busy. Considering my vocation and the pandemic that has touched probably all of us in some appreciable way, there are things I cannot unsee so the distraction was welcome. Without MS in a few months I will likely focus on development projects.
That said, I was at my limit and honestly slightly past it because as I said, I was never caught up. Things like logging the threads fell to the wayside, users were upset that their specific situation was not considered when developing the thread (such as having an incident happen on the first day of the school year causing a conflict with their character who has already forward dated threads as they chose to not participate in Summer Camp), wanting to know in advance for the sake of rewards what specifically the adventure would be about because they felt that some reward adventures (like a conversation with an antagonist for instance) would not be compelling enough for them. These things take time I already lack. Often I do not know the adventure until 72 hours before it happens because I look at the other adventure(s) in progress (since many take several month) and determine if they probably conclude this way then I can do this. The inherent complexity of the MS was another complaint, which was purposeful because players tend to metagame and this is something I contend with already. There were also aspects that were beyond my control that were complained about as well -- for example they felt that as newer users they were being excluded by their fellow player because they were not being given a run down in character, perhaps out of character, regarding what was going on. Admittedly there was also a mention that they were unhappy when someone referenced something main story in one of their threads also because that was not really what they were looking for in that thread. Due to the fact that they were unhappy (I felt) regardless, I had/have limited ability to make this issue better.
There have been suggestions such as having a team do what I have been doing. This site has seen 3 teams before me, adventures did not really happen in great numbers under them. There were a lot of reasons for this, but I can narrow it down to a few key reasons why adventures were often limited. Getting a team to agree on a project is hard to do. With each team, they had a different story idea that they wished to pursue. Leonie was behind the Umbridge murder. Sebastian was behind the mask. Leeds and company was behind the aurors (I think). This is in order of their existence as a team, each wanted to make a new thing and the previous was left to the wayside. These elements were brought back up by me and woven together into a single story later, I came fourth but I was alone. I was the head of house for Hufflepuff and I had a seperate thing going with hags as Hufflepuff was the first to experience the darkness many years ago before it left curses and evolved into something more. New teams will mean likely new stories and as the membership changes, likely a change in story wants. This being an observation that persisted from my previous community where I was a member from 2005 until I joined here, so this is not unique to HiO. The second issue is membership, it changes. That said, there are different people on staff today, maybe this time will be different from all the rest. Things also died off when the major contributor/pusher of that story left the community or became less active. This can be said of all three teams where the major contributing member left, went inactive, or deactivated. There are other reasons of course and this is very simplified -- changes in membership and getting people to agree are barriers in short.
As for making a thread, having a discussion, you are welcome to it. As long as it can be said and done respectfully I am in support of it.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
That said, I was at my limit and honestly slightly past it because as I said, I was never caught up. Things like logging the threads fell to the wayside, users were upset that their specific situation was not considered when developing the thread (such as having an incident happen on the first day of the school year causing a conflict with their character who has already forward dated threads as they chose to not participate in Summer Camp), wanting to know in advance for the sake of rewards what specifically the adventure would be about because they felt that some reward adventures (like a conversation with an antagonist for instance) would not be compelling enough for them. These things take time I already lack. Often I do not know the adventure until 72 hours before it happens because I look at the other adventure(s) in progress (since many take several month) and determine if they probably conclude this way then I can do this. The inherent complexity of the MS was another complaint, which was purposeful because players tend to metagame and this is something I contend with already. There were also aspects that were beyond my control that were complained about as well -- for example they felt that as newer users they were being excluded by their fellow player because they were not being given a run down in character, perhaps out of character, regarding what was going on. Admittedly there was also a mention that they were unhappy when someone referenced something main story in one of their threads also because that was not really what they were looking for in that thread. Due to the fact that they were unhappy (I felt) regardless, I had/have limited ability to make this issue better.
There have been suggestions such as having a team do what I have been doing. This site has seen 3 teams before me, adventures did not really happen in great numbers under them. There were a lot of reasons for this, but I can narrow it down to a few key reasons why adventures were often limited. Getting a team to agree on a project is hard to do. With each team, they had a different story idea that they wished to pursue. Leonie was behind the Umbridge murder. Sebastian was behind the mask. Leeds and company was behind the aurors (I think). This is in order of their existence as a team, each wanted to make a new thing and the previous was left to the wayside. These elements were brought back up by me and woven together into a single story later, I came fourth but I was alone. I was the head of house for Hufflepuff and I had a seperate thing going with hags as Hufflepuff was the first to experience the darkness many years ago before it left curses and evolved into something more. New teams will mean likely new stories and as the membership changes, likely a change in story wants. This being an observation that persisted from my previous community where I was a member from 2005 until I joined here, so this is not unique to HiO. The second issue is membership, it changes. That said, there are different people on staff today, maybe this time will be different from all the rest. Things also died off when the major contributor/pusher of that story left the community or became less active. This can be said of all three teams where the major contributing member left, went inactive, or deactivated. There are other reasons of course and this is very simplified -- changes in membership and getting people to agree are barriers in short.
As for making a thread, having a discussion, you are welcome to it. As long as it can be said and done respectfully I am in support of it.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
Forum Suggestions
It may be more useful to regular users, but it will be big burden for staff. Because it would mean every time a professor has marked a certain piece of assignment, they would have to check whose assignment they've just marked, visit that student's ency, and add the spell/potion manually.
Moreover, there can be issues with students who say, "I don't want you putting my spell/potion like this or like that, I want this kind of code." Adding the spells/potions this way means we staff are more likely to work twice, first to add the thing and second to "repair" the code.
However, if you refer to the system (meaning you'd like the spells and potions to be added by computer instead of humans), it all depends on Zachary Winslow, the sole web coding (programming) expert on our site. Zachary runs all the programming factor on Hogwarts.io by himself and he does it voluntarily on his free time amid his busy life. I'm not an expert at this but according to my best understanding, this would require a complex and time-consuming programming/coding.
Moreover, there can be issues with students who say, "I don't want you putting my spell/potion like this or like that, I want this kind of code." Adding the spells/potions this way means we staff are more likely to work twice, first to add the thing and second to "repair" the code.
However, if you refer to the system (meaning you'd like the spells and potions to be added by computer instead of humans), it all depends on Zachary Winslow, the sole web coding (programming) expert on our site. Zachary runs all the programming factor on Hogwarts.io by himself and he does it voluntarily on his free time amid his busy life. I'm not an expert at this but according to my best understanding, this would require a complex and time-consuming programming/coding.
Let There Be Light
Forum Suggestions
It might just be a silly idea, but when we purchase the calender of matches for quidditch, why not add something that notify you of quidditch matches coming up at Hogwarts, or is currently happening, with the spectator thread included in the notifications- (ie mentions)
Just to notify people who have the calender, you could just mention the calender of matches having it notify everyone with it- would that work?
Just to notify people who have the calender, you could just mention the calender of matches having it notify everyone with it- would that work?
Forum Suggestions
That would require coding and the only person who can do it on our site is Zach. We can help you forward your request to them, but there's no guarantee since Zach is so busy IRL and on site there are also lots of other things to improve which also requires coding.
Let There Be Light