Discuss The Adventure Inn Conspiracy

[Ellerby]

[U][CENTER][SIZE=1][B]1.[/B] Conspiracy: An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act. [/SIZE][/CENTER][/U]

[LEFT][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][SIZE=1]Over the years of representing a member of OB, I have noticed a little 'conspiracy' in the Adventure Inn. (It has had many names. Adventure Inn being the newest.) It has come to my attention that whenever a "Team Leader/Member" or Moderator/Administrator starts a recruitment for an RPG in the Adventure Inn, the only ever accept people they are close to (respected members) or other Team Leaders (Etc..).

Now some of you may be thinking "This is true but some of the other members just didn't sign-up as well." What I have to say to this is simply the fact that if you look at alot of the sign-ups, some of the other members are better then the older more respected members. (Not all of the respected members are older, no offense to the younger ones.)

Also, have you ever noticed that when a "Respected Member" posts an RPG everyone scrambles to sign-up for it. Of course most are usually very very good ideas but I have a feeling that some members sign-up just so they can get a good relationship with the "In-Crowd" of OB. (As funny as that is... Lol... funny.)


What do [I]you[/I] think? I may be hallucinating here. But even if you disagree, post and tell me why. :) [/SIZE][/COLOR][/LEFT]

[B]>[/B]Lrb[B]][/B]

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1][B]I do and don't disagree with you here. I have noticed that some RPG get more members SOMETIMES because of the popularity of the member(s) who joined or started it, but I learned that life is life. Sometimes, RPG's get further with a lot of members who know each other and don't post as much or a story as the other RPGers who get no where. I'm not saying that any RPG's here that have gotten off page 1 are full of horrible post, not at all, but I'm saying that some good RPG story-lines get no where, were as some plains one get off the ground (No offence to anyone!).

I think Jokopoko's Star Trek RPG should have gotten somewhere, but not as many people signed up as I would have thought. My point is some good RPG's get no where because the member's who are in it aren't as popular as some, and some other RPG's with popular members in it do tend to get further.

I'm not sure about the Mod and Respected members thing, though. It might be because the Mod's have seen the old members RPG before and think they'll be good for the job of the RPG, or it might not be, but I'm not sure with what you said on that matter.[/SIZE][/B]

[Guest Midnight Rush]

Well you are right.

But think about this:

If a new kid freshman, or even a veteren freshman throws a party, what percentage of invites will be accepted? 40%? 30%? I don't have data so I don't know, but one can surmise it ain't that high.

But if I throw a party, what percentage of invites are accepted? I do have data on this, and I average between 85-90%.

A. I am known in my school

B. I have tons of "friends"

C. Many freinds (real ones)

It works the same way on OB. Popularity and influence rule, so if Shy throws an RP, he'll get like 50 replies. If I throw an RP, I'll get 0-2 replies (Mostly from Cyriel feeling bad for me)

[DeadSeraphim]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial]This may be true to a degree, but I wouldn't say its the be all and end all. In Kill Adam II, for example, James recruited a [i]New Member[/i] and a practically no name member to fill the new positions. It had nothing to do with their rep, it rested solely on their talent as a writer.

I don't agree that older more respected members get more sign ups, though, because it really depends on theconcept. I know James has had RPs that failed to even get off the ground because not enough people were interested in the concept. The fact that they [respected/older members] usually get lots of sign ups only rests a tiny bit on their reputation. The fact that they made an RP may get people looking, but only if someone likes the concept will they attempt a sign up.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Brasil]

Funny enough, I was having this exact discussion with Shy a few days ago, after I closed Sign-ups to Rebel Scum. I explained to him that I actually was worried that some people might get the wrong impression by whom I accepted into the RPG, that people may think I was "playing favorites." I'm sure Rebel Scum isn't what inspired your post, Lrb, but Rebel Scum is a valid discussion point here anyway.

There is no conspiracy. There is no "clique." There's no club; there's no secret society.

I can tell you right here, up-front, that even though the only members I accepted into Rebel Scum were Shy, Shinmaru, Kane, and Boba Fett, all of whom I consider good friends and whom I talk to on a fairly regular basis, my selection was not some conspiracy designed to exclude other members.

The other sign-ups were really good, but I checked out post history and such, and the previous posts just didn't have what I was looking for. Rebel Scum is a concept I hold very dear to myself, and I'm going to recruit members who I know can deliver what I'm looking for.

I think the only reason you see particular groups of members signing-up for particular members' RPGs is this:

Complementary writing styles often find each other.

That's a very apt description of what the Adventure Arena is, I think. You look at the "n00b" concepts, and quite often, they're novice members who create them, and novice members who sign-up for them. Often, you can look at the "OB Families" in some members' signatures and those Families are like calling cards for the RPG casts.

This is likewise for the "developed" concepts. You have more experienced members creating more intuitive RPGs and developing deeper concepts, and often, the members who sign-up there are experienced members who have a style that "fits" with the RPG creator.

I honestly don't think there's any malicious Roleplay-Gate going on. I think it's merely how things work. It seems that the "novices" "flock" together, and the "oldies" "flock" together.

[Beorhun]

You know, I agree with you, Lrb. I made an RPG a few days ago (I was a newbie, I won't be after this post, leastways I don't think I will) And I got fifty or so views with only one person signing up, and he was a really wierd and distrustable guy. To add to that, many respected members discouraged me from keeping the RPG going, running me into the ground and whatnot. To summarize, no one signs up for any RPGs by a newbie.

This may or may not be a conspiracy, but you never do know...Also, to comment on Siren's post, anyone will allow someone on if they post well. I'd like to think I posted well, and no one signed up. Part of this is that nOObs get no respect. I think that the new member sign below the title may play into this 'conspiracy', but I could be wrong... Well, I don't have much else to say, but I'll edit this if I think of anything else...

[satan665]

I think its just best for me to not have any idea what goes on here. I've been on OB for a while but don't have close relationships with anyone, and none of my real friends go here. I'm not really even sure who the popular or important members are besides a couple of mods and James (obviously). A few people I will remember, like wrist cutter because he's a Japanese music buff but I have little insight.

It does make sense that people would want to do the RPG's with their friends though, internet or real.

[Brasil]

[quote name='Lord Eliwood']This may or may not be a conspiracy, but you never do know...Also, to comment on Siren's post, anyone will allow someone on if they post well.[/quote]
I don't know about others, but the actual sign-up is only a part of my criteria. I also take into account previous RPG experience, dedication, and post history. I'm not treating anyone unfairly by not accepting a member when I see a few RPG drop-outs in their resume, or when they post rarely. I don't need that kind of member in my RPGs.

The sign-up may be spectacular, but if a member isn't committed, how is their participation going to benefit the RPG?

It simply won't.

[url=http://otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=42909][u]One of your RPGs[/u][/url].

You had it up for about a day. I've had Rebel Scum sign-ups active for about 2.5 weeks before I closed them. Others' sign-up threads have been active for longer than that. One day isn't sufficient time to get sign-ups, and it's ridiculous to think there's some conspiracy against n00bs when you are being so unreasonable in expecting sign-ups.

[...]

Okay, first of all, put yourself in this person's shoes. Here you are making a story. AND YOU ALONE have the right to say someone is accepted, while another is not. To question the person's decision is petty. Period.

Now, while I'm not saying that what you're saying has absolutely NO truth to it, I am saying to pick the person a part because they are a "mod" or a well liked person, is just unfair. I'm sure if we all wanted to, we can scrutinize EACH AND EVERY PERSON here for denying people from Story threads.

Bottomline, it really isn't that big of an issue IMO. Because I know that if I started a thread, I wouldn't want people saying I'm being unfair when I choose who stays and who goes. Because it's MY thread. And I make the rules as far as who I want posting in my story.

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkSlateGray]I thought about this a while ago (when I was at about 100 posts) I was still kind of new...okay...I still consider myself new...but anyways.

At that time I would have agreed with you, but now I'm not so sure. I have noticed that yes, moderators/older members tend to get accepted over newer members, but isn't that why they are moderators? It's because they have skills as a writer, so they should be some of the best posters on the OB, so I guess it makes sense.

I think Tony did well with Torment (hopefully someone will start it for him) he ha a pretty balanced cast:
For example he had the likes of Arcadia and Charles and then writing along side them will have been normal members, like me, Delerium and Ouka.

I think giving relatively unknown members a chance is a good idea, but I have to admit, I do get a bit worried when I see that the only person who signs up for my RP is a New Member, although on a few occasions that worry has not been justified.

All in all, it?s down to writing skills and if anyone plays favourites, then it's their choice. There isn't much we can do about it >_>[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[cinnamon]

The well known authors of Rp's do tend to sign up the other well know people. But you can't forget why these people are Rp Celebrities- because they are great at Rping! So why shouldn't they sign each other up. True, Rp's are quite exclusive todays, but people want the best- they can't afford not to, otherwise the Rp will be a flop from bad posts and uncommitted players, and all the effort they put in will be wasted. They choose the people who they know are committed, and that will compliment the Rp with great writing and diverse characters. Its a matter of trust and respect.
Also, many of the greats in Rp's are friends from doing Rp's together, and friends trust each other. And it's more fun ^^
So give these guys a break, and instead of complaining, why not go blow everybodies minds with some outstanding roleplaying. Trust me, there are other talents waiting to be discovered out there along with you ^_~
~Cinnamon

[James]

[QUOTE=Lord Eliwood] To summarize, no one signs up for any RPGs by a newbie.

[/QUOTE]
[color=#707875]Incorrect. Do you remember Arcadia's first RPG? She posted it as a newbie, before she became a Moderator. And now that RPG (Laeth E'Thae, I hope I'm spelling it correctly) has become one of the most popular RPGs around.

It's not a question of rank or anything like that. A good RPG (or an RPG that interests the most people) is going to have more sign-ups. It's as simple as that.

I've had plenty of RPGs that never even got off the ground, because the concept wasn't popular enough. And yet I have the highest rank/responsibility on this site. My status has absolutely nothing to do with it, there's just too much evidence in my own experiences to suggest otherwise.

In regard to who gets in...well, that comes down to the individual creator.

You will find that usually, a member who makes an RPG will allow in friends, and people whom they feel have the kind of posts that they need.

I [i]never[/i] choose people based on who they are, or their status. I choose people based on their sign-ups, and whether or not I feel that they'd contribute positively to the RPG.

Now, it's true that you do see Moderators getting into my RPGs at various times. Why? Several reasons -- one, many of these people are friends of mine. Therefore, I trust them and I know that they will do justice to my RPG. Two, their sign-ups are often very high quality. These guys are Moderators afterall; they became Moderators because of their oustanding post quality. So it stands to reason that they are generally going to do pretty well when they sign-up for things.

But it isn't based on their status at all. I'm not going to let a Moderator join my RPG if I don't like their sign-up, or if I feel that they didn't care about what they were writing.

On the reverse side, I often try to give "newbies" a chance in my RPGs. Kill Adam II features two such members -- people whom I've never had in my RPGs, but who I gave very large roles to (and who will play a very important part in the story).

And when you see my next RPG, you'll see an even bigger example of that.

So, in short, there's no "conspiracy" here. That's just sour grapes and it comes off as being really lame. lol

Members will often choose friends and trusted people to join their RPGs, or they will choose writers whose work they like. Why is it suddenly labeled as a conspiracy when staff do it? That's massively unfair.

In addition, many of the most successful RPGs have never been created by OB staff (like Sage's many successful RPGs). So, there really isn't much evidence to support the idea that the staff are gathering around a table and deliberately excluding members from their RPGs (as if we have nothing better to do lol).

Oh and, this thread is in the incorrect forum. It belongs in Arena Underground. I'll move it there now.[/color]

[Kei]

[color=darkblue]It's not always true that when Moderators post a new RPG, people flock to it, either. As James said, there were a few of his that didn't fly (OB Kart never even made it out of Recruitment) and as for myself, I had to wait a good month before my latest RPG got the interest it did.

As for the playing favorites bit, it goes back to what James said about it coming down to the creator. Sure, sometimes other Moderators and some of the people I talk to regularly may get into my RPGS, but that's because their sign-ups are very well-written and I personally feel that they'll move the plot along in the proper direction and at a reasonable pace. With the RPG I mentioned before, I accepted people whose work I've never seen before and at least one new member, so it's definately not just an older member deal.

So, what I suppose I'm basically trying to get at here is that it's certainly not some sort of conspiracy against the newer members. It's just a matter of who can do what and how well, in my opinion. [/color]

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Lrb][color=darkolivegreen][size=1]Also, have you ever noticed that when a "Respected Member" posts an RPG everyone scrambles to sign-up for it. Of course most are usually very very good ideas but I have a feeling that some members sign-up just so they can get a good relationship with the "In-Crowd" of OB. (As funny as that is... Lol... funny.)[/size'][/color][/quote][color=#503f86]That's not true.

Quite a few of my more obscure RPGs hardly got any sign-ups: one died after only 11 posts in the actual Arena, and three of those were mine >.> And not all Moderators actually participate in RPGs anyway.

I think you're taking this too much at face value. If an RPG really catches my eye, I'll sign up for it regardless of who started it. But bear in mind that a lot of 'New Members' aren't necessarily fully aare of the kind of standards that usually go far on OB, so by the time they might have perfected their tone they're no longer 'New Members' and have made friendships throughout the community, making them popular.

I don't think there is an 'In-Crowd' on OB: there are different groups of friendships anywhere, and it's likely that the same friends will be interested in the same sorts of things and will have the same ideas, so will sign up for similar RPGs. But if it were a true conspiracy, you'd see the same people in every single RPG ever. Which is definitely not the case.[/color]

[Ellerby]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Wow, well you are all very correct. Before I start my thoughts I'd like to say one thing: I didn't mean this as an actual conspiracy (notice the 's around conspiracy in my first post), I kinda just meant it in a way to point out what is happening. Now onto more important matters.

You are all correct when you say that The Respected Members are only looking for good posters and that's how they choose, like everyone else. But think about this, some of you said that you try to have at least 1 New Member per RPG. What's that supposed to mean? Is that pointing out that Newer Members are bad-posters? Or are you simply pointing out that for, well I can't think of another reason. Lol.

Others said you agree with me 100%. You said that (In Lord Eliwood's words) "To summarize, no one signs up for any RPGs by a newbie." and also vice versa. This is not true. I did not mean this. I am saying that most, or some, people sign up for an RPG by a New Member. I believe that the fact that someone is a New Member [I]does[/I] have an impact on this though. And so I'll leave you to even [I]more[/I] debating. :)[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[James]

[QUOTE=Lrb][size=1][color=darkolivegreen]You are all correct when you say that The Respected Members are only looking for good posters and that's how they choose, like everyone else. But think about this, some of you said that you try to have at least 1 New Member per RPG. What's that supposed to mean? Is that pointing out that Newer Members are bad-posters? Or are you simply pointing out that for, well I can't think of another reason. Lol.

[/color][/size][/QUOTE]
[color=#707875]No, it doesn't mean that new members are bad posters. It means that we try to inject some variety into our RPGs, as far as members are concerned.

I could quite easily have a small group of four or five of the same people in every single RPG I do, if only because their posts are great and they usually seem to enjoy the RPGs that I come up with.

But where's the fun in that?

My aim is always to be as diverse as I can, but to also ensure that I'm looking at quality before anything else.

Bear in mind, I made Arcadia a Moderator only days after she registered. I copped a lot of flak for that, simply because I'd "chosen a newbie with not enough experience".

Yet, the fact that Arcadia has been so successful and has done so well, is proof positive of my philosophy; that post quality and attitude is more important than anything else, including status or the amount of time you've posted, or the amount of years you've been here.

That same principle can be applied to RPGs, I believe.[/color]

[Albel the Wicked]

Well, this is a very big concept. I think that each side of this debate is equal. Such as Eliwood said,"No one signs up for a thread made by a newbie." This is not true. An RPG made, is by how much effort and thought you have put into the story. Also, like Siren said, you can't just wait for one day and then give up. Many people have been patient unlike me and you. Both of us are hoping that we have enough sign ups after day one. I'll admit though, that I am learning to be more patient, in that I'm just hoping for ONE sign up at the end of a day. But, I do agree however, that the popularity DOES affect the number of sign ups. Such as, the more popular members WILL get more sign ups and that the status of new member MIGHT affect if people sign up. But, like I said, it all depends on how much effort you put into the RPG. An great example is when Aqua posted her RPGs and she was still a new member. Since she put effort into those RPGs, she got the number of sign ups that she needed. Like myself, I didn't put much effort into very many of my RPGs, except for Winds of Sorrow. So, like I said, you need to put more effort into your RPG, if you want sign ups.

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Captain Jack Sparrow']But, I do agree however, that the popularity DOES affect the number of sign ups. Such as, the more popular members WILL get more sign ups and that the status of new member MIGHT affect if people sign up. But, like I said, it all depends on how much effort you put into the RPG.[/quote][color=#503f86]Only insofar as it is a popular RPG. A Popular person could create a really obscure RPG that nobody really develops an interest in and hence get very few sign-ups. I'll agree that a popular member will tend to get more [i]views[/i] than a normal RPG because people already know what that person's capable of and are taking an interest in what their friend's written.[/color]

[QUOTE]An great example is when Aqua posted her RPGs and she was still a new member. Since she put effort into those RPGs, she got the number of sign ups that she needed. Like myself, I didn't put much effort into very many of my RPGs, except for Winds of Sorrow. So, like I said, you need to put more effort into your RPG, if you want sign ups.[/QUOTE][color=#503f86]Exactly. But even then the amount of effort you put into an RPG isn't always represented by the number of people who apply. I put a hideous amount of effort into a Starfox RPG I made years ago and got fewer sign-ups than the average battle thread, and I was already a Moderator at the time. But it didn't work because I was too restrictive on the storyline.[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]So it's really about creating something which is universally appealing but while still containing a unique twist of originality. I've seen at least five Digimon RPGs starring the Ten Spirit Warriors and it just makes me switch off. Not because I don't like the members who created them, but simply because I don't like the format of the RPG.[/color]