City of IF

[Traveller]

Okay...I'll get things started here...My question is how SPECIFICLY do you plan to increase our population and keep the interest of our new recruits. I am asking for Specifics here...no generalities. I would like to hear detailed plans of where you would advertise and why you chose those spots. Also what you have in mind for keeping the newly arrived residents actively using the site rather than just joining, being interested for a week and wandering away.

Begin.

[Syranore]

I'd also like to hear the answer to that.

[Lilith]

First thing, Traveller, spelling, "specifically" :P

Sorry couldn't help it.

Well, as a few of you who came here from one site I advertised at, I have one link at a gaming forum called Mayhem Gaming. Which has brought a few people in that you all have become acquainted with pretty well as they are pretty active. (Guys, if you'd care to pop up here and say hello, now would be the time. :P)

See, the thing that made my link different from others that are just traded mutually? I am ACTIVE in the other site as well. This will take commitment from people who are going to try it, but the key goal here is to get our population up, correct? We need to find places that have people that LIKE to read, that WANT to write and become active there as well. The reason becoming active on their forums will work better to bring them over here? As you become more active somewhere, the more people see your posting as steady and worth checking out. And eventually, someone will go "Oh hey.. I know him/her... What's this site he/she is talking about.. welll I guess I'll check it out." I know, I know. It's asking a lot possibly of many of us with families and a job, possibly two. But it's worth a shot.

Possibly, the format we advertise in could be tweaked as well. Instead of advertising the whole site, why not use some newb-friendly SGs? They can read something right off! And if they want to comment, they can register and see the rest of the site as well.

As for specific areas, I am not too sure yet, but I would welcome any and all suggestions from not only Council Members, but all citizens of IF. :)

Now, those that come on for about a week or even a couple months and disappear for long periods of time? Well, people could lose the site out of their cache when those annoying updates happen along, their computer could be out of commission, or they may have lost internet access period. Whatever the cause, it would be a good reminder if they received an email, not a PM, from one of the mods, or admin, simply stating that we haven't seen him/her in awhile and that we miss them here i the city. The "Oh, hey, what's up? We remembered you came to our site awhile back, but we haven't seen you in a long time. Care to come back for a visit sometime soon?" will give the impression that we have active, caring members and make a potential regular more open to coming back. And if they just lost the address, well that's fixed as well. ;)

[sir wax]

I agree with Lily on many parts.

Let me construct a basic outline to what i'm thinking (as this will take a lot of time explaining and i want to take the time and keep it concise) and i'll edit this post soon.

Sincerely,
SirWaxaLot

EDIT:

Hello Traveller and all others that are interested... here are my answers to your questions.

Though i can't divulge all of what i have planned as some need a certain amount of spontaneity, i will tell you enough as to get those creative, motivating juices flowing.

First off, i will set up an ad campaign manager account. This will be me for the basically, but it will be handed down to others who can take up this position for the future. Since this is a community, it will take a community effort in this ad campaign.

I will institute a forum for those willing, to apply. This is everyone who believes they can make a contribution; readers, writers, animators, graphic artists, graphic designers, music makers, sound designers etc. They will be asked to fill out a short application so that i may collect, see and organize what their skills are and best suited for. After that, the council and i will pick the team that will become the government contracted Ifian Ad Agency, though at times, the all citizens of If will be asked to help with ideas.

While this is going on, a mass PM will be sent to every Ifian there is in the City. The basic thought behind this PM is for Ifians to tell what sites they game at, hang at, and have been a member of for sometime that they feel would help the community, instead of be detrimental to it. This PM would include a list of sites we would already be planning on adding also.

The point of this campaign is also to connect with senses that aren't yet here on If, such as audio and video. And the campaign, will be done in two phases, each one as grueling, but rewarding as the next.

Phase 1: Experimental - We collect sites and suggestions from the PM's. While we put this list together, we will be experimenting with the overall campaign 'idea'.
E.g. The idea is "Only If." ; one of the ads would say something like "A knight, a dragon and a robot walk into a bar... where? Only IF" or another one in live action where a person is sitting at a computer, then a huge titan-looking man and a fairy pop up next to this person and are talking in mid sentence, then they both say their greeting to the person. The person at the computer slowly and confusedly says as he types in sync "h e y . . .". then the "Only IF" title.

Stuff like that, just throwing out ideas, would be the purpose of Phase 1.

Also, during Phase 1 (or what i like to call the 'kickin' it old skool' stage), I would also set up auditions for an Ifian Podcast: a podcast that would go out monthly or weekly or bi-week, we'll start small and see if it gains momentum. On this podcast we could have special guest authors come on the show, authors that we have all come to love on If and that have capabilities for doing it.

This will also be the 'scopin' phase, where the readers of the team have to scope out different places they can get to know and find other coolio sites to visit.


Phase 2: Campaign and Launch - We take all the good ideas and refine them in this period. We tally up all the sites that we want and also the ones suggested by members and approach each one in the best way possible. Also do google bombs as Syra had suggested in the past.

This may work, it may not work. However, the purpose of this is that we Ifians just work to do a single goal, work together and have fun doing it.


Also, we don't have a Wikipedia page, nor a definition of what a SG is, i want to work on collaboratively working on one of those as well.

Sincerely,
SirWaxaLot

[The Dark]

Quote: adverted

Advertised Lilith. ;)

The Dark would like to ask a question.

How would your reign of malevolence compare to the previous reigns of malevolence, if at all.

[DeadManWalking]

That question might be somewhat of a problem, dark, as a huge percentage of the candidates were really here only under the mayoral rule of Madam CrunchyFrog. That would mean that they only would be able to compare to one other mayoral reign.

Which of course doesn't help me, as I was here way back when Smee was mayor...

[Traveller]

I don't see how that has anything to do with the question...my question wasn't how they will do things different than past reigns or what they think of Madame Crunchyfrog's term...it is what will they do with their all-encompassing, omnecient powers to promote our fair city.

[Guest]

Well, my friend. I shall go to all the writers sites I know, who love reading and writing and those who love drawing things. I'd tell them about cityofif as I've done this for years and brought this year about quite a few Ifians in this site. I also bring in my friends whom I know love writing. Tough there is no way to keep the other ifians much interested, accept I will entertain them with drawings and funny stories. I'd encourage many to write a story and I'd tell them what fun it is to get replies from each other. I also tell them of the games you can play and the money currency in this place.

As for the ones who only jion for a week. I encourage them by helping them write a story. I've advertised on proboards, anime forum(which got me started in advertising, but I got one Ifain in here that is called Fallen)

I've even introduced cityofif at school in a oral of mine. (Yea, I know. What the? right?)

Our advertisements can have more colour in it, not only black, yellow and white, but more vibrant colours, text that stick out and cf's banner of the city in hangover gave me an idea of taking buildings shadows and bringing in the name cityofif in a nice yellow with a red lining.

As for Dark's question. I don't know what malevoilent means, sorry.

[Crossfire]

What Will I Do, How I Intend to Do It and Who Will I Tell- Question Time!

What would you do to increase the population and maintain the interest of new recruits?

That's a difficult one, and I could go on for pages about it, but I'll try to keep my answer brief.

Let's see. I'd set up a link system with dozens of popular sites on the main page (it already goes on for ages, but still!), I'd set up a weekly rotation of five high-quality SGs as "Popular Storygames", with a "Random StoryGame" link with a big button at the top of City Central...

I'd also run around begging people to join and, if I can collect enough donations, I promise to skywrite the URL over rural Kentucky, just to gather all those high-class Citizens out there whose lyrical spirits have been stifled!


Notifications

What I haven't mentioned is something Lilith already brought up... it doesn't mean it isn't just as important to me, though...

I really think that there should be a notification when you're just about to be "cleaned up", or if your StoryGames or topics are going to suffer the same.

It's really irritating to come back and find everything you worked so hard on has vanished- if only you had kept a backup somewhere!


When I Will Fix This

That's going to be one of the first things I implement, especially since it just happened to half the StoryGames I have, The Great War.

If only I wasn't away when the Dark Chancellor was beating my precious creation out of town, I could've done something... if only someone had told me!

Until I become Mayor, you should save your work somewhere safe, away from the deadly suddeness of pre-me IF...

How would your reign of malevolence compare to the previous reigns of malevolence, if at all?

It would compare incomparably!

I would be sure to decrease the light level daily by fifteen percent per day near photosynthetic beings as soon as I became Mayor- and also make night last for eight hours out of every twelve!

Doomsayers would be mandatory on every street corner, and people who have more than twelve eyes would be whipped!

All in all, a new reign of tyranny would be at hand- but an absurdly friendly and helpful one!

Prepare for the coming of a new and darker IF...

...if that's what the voters want. *grins*

[The White Blacksmith]

Following on from the question about how you would attract more people to the site, how ould you ensure it remains the close community people love it for? Would you try to attract newbies or call back old users?

And how approachable do you think you are, to newbies or to regular users who have a problem with the site? Do you think people would feel they could trust you and confide in you?

[Lilith]

I rearranged the order of your first two questions, Whitey, because for my answers, they make better sense that way.

Would you try to attract newbies or call back old users?

As I have outlined before in different questions, I plan on BOTH.

Following on from the question about how you would attract more people to the site, how ould you ensure it remains the close community people love it for?

Calling back old users to show the newbies that have been attracted around. And of course, setting an example for the rest of IF by being as welcoming and friendly as possible to all.


And how approachable do you think you are, to newbies or to regular users who have a problem with the site?

Pretty approachable as I say "Hey" or "Hello" to newcomers and "Welcome to IF" when they have confirmed that they are new.

Do you think people would feel they could trust you and confide in you?

Yes, that's an old role I've been to many people for quite a few years, so I am used to it and I know how to handle it.

[NeverNeverGirl]

Quote: ...., I'd set up a weekly rotation of five high-quality SGs as "Popular Storygames", with a "Random StoryGame" link with a big button at the top of City Central...

This is already in the pipeline with Council - final design is being introduced now...


Quote:
I really think that there should be a notification when you're just about to be "cleaned up", or if your StoryGames or topics are going to suffer the same.

It's really irritating to come back and find everything you worked so hard on has vanished- if only you had kept a backup somewhere![/i][/size]

Mods are suppoused to ALREADY notify you if you are about to be deleted. If anyone has fallen through the gaps then IF and her Mods send you a full apology and you may claim compensation through this link! :p

Mayoress CF addressed this issue with Council very recently and we will endeavour to ensure that future Mods continue to notify Ifians of deletions. :D


Quote: That's going to be one of the first things I implement, especially since it just happened to half the StoryGames I have, The Great War.

Another reincarnation of the Great War? :shock:

Quote: Until I become Mayor, you should save your work somewhere safe, away from the deadly suddeness of pre-me IF...[/size]


I'm not sure of the Offical Key stance on this but this Mod's stance is that it is VERY VERY important to store your SGs elsewhere as well as on IF. Who knows when a time quake, new mod or other incident will occur and wipe out a section of IF? Accidents happen.

Also i think that if we write our SGs in Word or some other document creation program then we will discover that the SGs posted to IF are more cohesive and at the very least spell checked.

~ Keepin' it real in the IF Election May '08 ~

Ne.
You know you love me. ;)

[Chinaren]

Lordy posted a notice at least three weeks before he deleted apparently dead threads Xfire. There is a standing notice at the top of the forum as well, and it's only common sense to keep a backup copy on your PC or flash drive.

Then it was at least another month before you came back and noticed, so it's hardly suprising it was cleaned now, is it?

[Crossfire]

Yes. You shouldn't go on holiday, just in case someone files a demolition notice on your house.

Still, you are right, and I did keep a backup copy... If I hadn't, I would've lost a lot of work, and that is my issue.

To NeNe- I am very happy that my suggestion is going through! I was unaware that it was "in the pipeline", since, as you know, I am not privy to the inner workings of the Chambers...

Actually, I notice it's just gone up... thank you!

Back to my main topic, it should be safer... people should walk in the middle of a mountain path so that they don't fall off a cliff, but they might not...

To extend my metaphor (I promise to stop using them- if you elect me to the office of Mayor), railings are always nice for small children and the vision-impaired.

Lastly- NeNe, capitalisation is optional. Trust me on this, I'm me! *grins*

[Chinaren]

Crossfire wrote: Yes. You shouldn't go on holiday, just in case someone files a demolition notice on your house.


Unless you have signed the contract when you bought the house which states this may happen if you go away.

At the top of the NSgames forum, in the Read me first thread, it states:


Quote:
Please note:

SGames that haven't been updated to in some time may be deleted with no notice. If you know you are going to be away, and you don't want your story deleted, please notify a Mod, and they will move it to the vault.

This isn't a new thing, and you've been around IF, in one form or another, XFire, to know this.

[Crossfire]

Chinaren wrote:

Unless you have signed the contract when you bought the house which states this may happen if you go away.

At the top of the NSgames forum, in the Read me first thread, it states:


Quote:
Please note:

SGames that haven't been updated to in some time may be deleted with no notice. If you know you are going to be away, and you don't want your story deleted, please notify a Mod, and they will move it to the vault.

This isn't a new thing, and you've been around IF, in one form or another, XFire, to know this.

Oooh! Well, that was certainly difficult to pick up!

It rather seems something along the lines of "...in a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory in the darkened, stairless cellar of the planning office, behind a sign reading 'Beware of the Leopard'...", but I understand what you're writing, and the giant "Read Me First" Announcement may help a little.

Perhaps at some point I should've paid heed to that notice, although the point I rose stands. That "without warning" part is a little annoying, but if it's going to be a bone of contention with the current Council, I won't push it.

[Fats_Masterson]

Umm.. not to be difficult Xfire, but I believe that that particular quote is in the sticky section of Info Street called 'Newcomers read here first'.

And as If is a public area, that I myself don't have access to, I have always kept back ups of my stories. You should get into the habit yourself, not just to save yourself the hassle of Time Quakes and RL, but also to simply have a copy yourself. Imagine you write the next 'Tired of Death' or 'Magician's Touch' or 'Superhuman', do you really want the only record of your accomplishments to be on someone else's server? (Even if is Key's ;) )

Finally I would also like to add that there seems to be a lot of "promising" and "changing" happening in this election. Some of these have been relevant issues but a lot have been non-issues brought up simply to give the candidates something to argue about. These non-issues have no place in politics and serve only to distract the voters at election time. (sorry, I may have a beef about that, things are weird right now in North America)

Anyway forgive my rant, I just want to know that the candidates know that Mayor is a huge responsibility and it is a position for upkeep, not necessarily change.

[Crossfire]

You are quite correct on both counts scissorkitty, although you may want to read the posts before you more carefully before posting, since I mentioned the Announcement in there. It's an Announcement, by the way.

I am aware that upkeep will take a lot of time, and I see a lot of things that have fallen into disrepair unintentionally, simply because the Mayors didn't have enough time.

For example, the New StoryGames district. The reason why Lordy initiated a cleanup was because there was a lot of old, unfinished StoryGames lurking in its darkest corners.

Cyberworm raised some interesting points that got me thinking...

Why?


About New StoryGames- You Should Know More

It's because they weren't given enough attention after a while. People only pay attention to the newest StoryGames or StoryGames they enjoy, so a couple of bad chapters can really impact on the chances of sustaining a SG beyond a certain point.

There's no incentive to post in a New StoryGame. The Fable count per post is zero.

This is one of the main reasons why there are and were so many StoryGames in there that either barely survive on a small amount of readers or simply die because of their lack.

Admittedly some of them have died because a Citizen lost interest or left IF, but I feel that it is mostly because the Fable system.

There are astonishing similarities present in Linear Lane- not only is there no reward for posting there either, but Linear Stories are always at a disadvantage because they can never be promoted to their own forum, to a higher level and will never get the same level of exposure as a StoryGame of similar popularity...

What is the reason for that (it gets worse...)?

There's only a handful of links to LL throughout the entirety of IF!


More on New StoryGames and Others- As There Should Be

Even if a New StoryGame is promoted to a higher level, that doesn't really mean much- except for the fact that people might not read a StoryGame that is far advanced but hasn't been promoted because they believe it is poor quality.

There is a vast pile-up of non-SGoTM stories in each of the main forums which, after a while and a degree of neglect, suffer the same fate as those in the Linear Lane and New StoryGames- Start Here forums.

That fate is- if they are fortunate, or perhaps if they are not- a crippled struggle to finish, or a simple death, followed by erasement.

It's something that isn't change, but is important.

Not only that, but contrary to my statements in the IFquirer...

...that's going to be the very first thing I put before the Council, a degree of Fable earnings in the neglected forums.

In addition to that, and tied into it, I'm going to put forward a promotion campaign for high-quality New Stories, Linear Stories and "loose ends" in the main StoryGaming forums whose authors are still active or can be persuaded to become so again.

[Chinaren]

Crossfire wrote: You are quite correct on both counts scissorkitty, although you may want to read the posts before you more carefullybefore posting,

I think it was Fats, not Skitty Xfire. ;)


Crossfire wrote:
I am aware that upkeep will take a lot of time, and I see a lot of things that have fallen into disrepair unintentionally, simply because the Mayors didn't have enough time.

I don't think a lot of things have fallen into disrepair at all. The Mayor doesn't police the forums, the mods do that. If a forum is neglected, perhaps the Mods need a reminder!


Crossfire wrote:
It's because they weren't given enough attention after a while. People only pay attention to the newest StoryGames or StoryGames they enjoy, so a couple of bad chapters can really impact on the chances of sustaining a SG beyond a certain point.

There's no incentive to post in a New StoryGame. The Fable count per post is zero.


I disagree. the incentive to post there is to start a good Sgame and get out of there. Authors who consistently write good Sgames are given the ability to post straight into the main forums. Hence only newbies, and authors who, how can I delicately put this? 'Need to try harder,' will end up in the NSG section.

Crossfire wrote:
This is one of the main reasons why there are and were so many StoryGames in there that either barely survive on a small amount of readers or simply die because of their lack. Admittedly some of them have died because a Citizen lost interest or left IF, but I feel that it is mostly because the Fable system.

A good SGame, with new chapters added reasonably regularly, will attract readers. There's nothing else to it.

It's nothing to do with Fables or lack of interest. You only have to look at the SGames that are promoted quickly, and how many comments/votes they get, new IFian or otherwise.

Crossfire wrote:
There are astonishing similarities present in Linear Lane- not only is there no reward for posting there either, but Linear Stories are always at a disadvantage because they can never be promoted to their own forum, to a higher level and will never get the same level of exposure as a StoryGame of similar popularity...

What is the reason for that (it gets worse...)?

There's only a handful of links to LL throughout the entirety of IF![/size]

The reason for this is that this is a StoryGaming site. A decision was made some time ago to retain emphasis on the SGames, not the linears. Even so, LL was recently expanded to encourage contributions, and a Linear SGame of the (something) has recently been discussed in the Council Chambers.


Crossfire wrote:
There is a vast pile-up of non-SGoTM stories in each of the main forums which, after a while and a degree of neglect, suffer the same fate as those in the Linear Lane and New StoryGames- Start Here forums.

That fate is- if they are fortunate, or perhaps if they are not- a crippled struggle to finish, or a simple death, followed by erasement.

It's something that isn't change, but is important.

Again, a good SSgame, regularly updated, will have a decent reader following. There's no other secret to this.



Crossfire wrote:
...that's going to be the very first thing I put before the Council, a degree of Fable earnings in the neglected forums.

There are people who have proposed this before. I have personally always been strongly opposed to this though. We now have Crit Corner where people can earn Fables for critting either linear or SGames though, which has added something to Linear Lane I think.


Crossfire wrote:
In addition to that, and tied into it, I'm going to put forward a promotion campaign for high-quality New Stories, Linear Stories

The whole purpose of the New SGame section is precisely this. To promote quality.

[sir wax]

I posted my response, to you Trav and anybody else. This is the system that i have come up with so far.

Sincerely,
SirWaxaLot