City of IF

Crossfire

It's been something that's concerned me since the Mayoral Elections (which, as you know, I lost spectacularly. :P).

According to noted analytic organizations, the City of IF gets a bit over four thousand unique hits per month.

This is down around twenty-seven percent from the previous month, and about fourteen percent for the entire year. The main keywords that drive people to this site are tied to "free online rpgs", or "free rpg games", or variants on these.

Such keywords aren't even what the site is about! It's small wonder that the people who go here usually leave within a short time of arriving... they were misled...

Surely there's a better way of attracting attention to a world with such an interesting concept behind it.

I don't want it to end up like Lyran Tal Press... :o

It was a beautiful place, in ways... *sighs*

So! Suggestions!

What can we do to fix it, hmm...

The White Blacksmith · Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 2406

This has been raised several times before. We need someone to rewrite the intro to the site.

Krystal Latiana · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:04 pm Post subject:

I don't know. That's how I was brought to the site, and I actually plan on staying around for a while. Sometimes random travelers like me can like the idea of the storygame and would like to learn more about it. Maybe I'm just a freak. :P

Crossfire · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:53 pm Post subject:

*waves idly* Krystal, it's lovely that you not only came here, but also decided to stay with us- I came across this site in much the same way- however, it doesn't change the fact that people should also be able to come across this site when deliberately searching for a place to write in a fashion that gives readers freedom to interact, but leaves the author/authors free to express their ideas in a way they see fit.

The White Blacksmith, of course I know there have already been discussions to this effect... it's just that their topics don't exist any more!

*fiercely* I'm determined to make a push for this, 'cause I just KNOW there are lots of people out there who would be perfect Citizens and have so many ideas for stories floating about in their mind or lost amidst their notepads, and yet let them languish because the sites they've found didn't quite have enough people, or hadn't the right templates for their kind of story, or just weren't fluid enough for them to justify using so much time on something not materially productive...

...who knows, there might be dozens, hundreds of people out there who would like to style their stories in a StoryGaming fashion, and yet are repressed because the environment of the forum or other area they frequent is fanatically adherent to conventional or Role Playing linear/semi-linear stylistics!

*energetically* This needs to be fixed! I want new people to talk to, new worlds to explore... who's with me!

Crossfire waits expectantly for a moment, pausing, then wafts away; it knows its voice will take a little while to carry everywhere in the City...

...this is very important, it dimly remembers, lost in the joy of transcendent movement and strange and arcane ventures beyond the spheres from which it gates.

Crunchyfrog · Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 2242

I agree with this.

I think we should have keywords like interactive writing, collaborative writing, that sort of thing.

Lebrenth · Joined: 29 Dec 2005 Posts: 672 Location: Auburn, WA

I came to the site by searching very specifically for the word "storygame". I was surprised to find a site for it, and it was what I was looking for. However, we aren't really misleading anyone by saying "free online RPG". It may not be the kind of RPG they were looking for but these games are role-playing games, nonetheless and in a more original sense. If "storygames" becomes popular enough people will start looking for it by name, in the mean time, let those people looking for a flashy graphic interface find this as well. There will be some who want the immersive qualities of written stories who won't know what to search for and will probably start with RPG's.

NeverNeverGirl · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:03 am Post subject:

i agree X this is something that needs to be addressed. Changing the key words so that we fall into a few more search parameter thingys will more than likely increase the flow of traffic.

how about we think up an alternate intro to the site and some keywords - then we can put them too the Mayor and the council and see what they have to say on it?

I love this pro-active attitude you have X!

VIVA LA IF!

The Ne

Black Hawk · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:23 am Post subject:

I agree I found IF looking for a "free online rpg" though now that I've joined I'm glad I didn't keep looking

sir wax · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:17 pm Post subject:

I found this site the same way a lot of people did, by searching for an "RPG" site. This site wasn't what I was looking for, it was more. I don't think changing those keywords is necessary, I think we should add to them as most of the people on this site, yourself included X *looks over at the ethereal creature*, are role playing.

I do think that adding and re-writing the intro would be good for this site. Ultimately, I was hoping to attract more than just writers, but all interactive media to this site to create a creative consortium. Where a writers vision can come to life in more than just one way.

I agree with you X, that we should include in great detail that this is an interactive writing site, why I bring up other interactive media into the mix is because I am curious to see what the rest of If wants. Do the citizens of If want a reading/writing site? or would they want a site of many interactive mediums?

These are two different things and require two different ways to go about getting those users here. More than just keywords, though that should be added to as well.

Respectfully and Sincerely,
SirWaxaLot

Crossfire · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:31 am Post subject:

Although the skill of the City technicians has increased wonderfully, the multimedia interface is not a viable option at present- or, at the very least, it is an option which would require a far greater level of effort by comparison to the other option.

I believe that the simplicity of the current design is one of the key factors, along with the community and near-unique method of story development (online), which keeps the attention of our resident populace here, and not... elsewhere...

Crossfire's eyes... blur, and it smiles with an alien, awful sorrow.

Alternatives to shadowed voyages seeking far-flung, lonely worlds, sheathed in stratospheres of lifeless stone, burning winds and fractured ice, with none to fire the minute gun, to sing their lost souls home, to shroud the raging sun one moment, leave their coils gracefully in homes away from life.

To the best of my knowledge there are few Citizens here that are highly experienced in the implementation of such m-

Crossfire begins to... flicker...

...the difficulties in construction for an inexperienced operator stagger the mi-

Crossfire wavers in and out of the room, distracted by something unexpectedly perfectthe sound of her and the radiant, effervescent flow of the light through the spaces between the worlds...

...and although I do not wish to sway the parties involved in this debate, I suggest we continue to discuss the main topic.

I will not participate in this debate further until the firing lines have been established. It would be nice to know what views everyone holds before we begin the battle.

*slowly... resolves, smiling gently to itself*

...I'll be ready, and waiting. Farewell.

*fades*

Cyberworm · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:56 am Post subject:

Quote: the sound of her

The sound of who? A thought occurred to me, like, I thought Xfire was female for a second. :shock:

Novelest_Ninjagirl · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:22 am Post subject:

I actually didn't find this site- my brother did. He joined it for rpgs, and didn't stick around afterwards, but he did give me the site. So, I like the idea of adding onto hte key words, but not just changing them. Because, who knows, maybe others will find this site through their non-writer siblings! :D

scissorkitty · Joined: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 359 Location: Bottom of a teapot

I found the site the same way- looking for an RPG. The only thing, as a mroe adult participant- I was looking for an RPG that was less shoot-stab-kill, and more interactive, which is exactly what I find IF to be.

I love the idea of rewriting the intro to include interactive writing, stories, stuff like that.. but also something about "alternative RPG gaming" and "storygaming" should be included.. i think that might intrigue people looking at some search engine results.

Lebrenth · Joined: 29 Dec 2005 Posts: 672 Location: Auburn, WA

There have been some forays into other media on IF. There have been IF comics, and IF animations, and they were received with a great deal of enthusiasm. Two examples would be Scrapyard by Argonaut and (originally)Angel's Destiny by Argon18 (something about those Argonians...). Perhaps more could come. If large files could be uploaded and displayed on IF, perhaps the flashy interface that a lot of people expect could be found here as well. But I suppose that's beside the point. I don't think changing the site description will increase the number of IFians. I do think the city will grow over time, but with a craft that takes as much patience as storygames, the increase shouldn't be expected to be much. Besides the amount of time it takes to write and read, there's a gap of several weeks per chapter, and many stories are never finished. With multimedia, the gap could be even longer... there were several months between Angel's Destiny chapters and, truth be told, the animations weren't especially long or complicated.

But maybe with a simplified template and some sort of accomodating software, stories could be told with vivid color and animation. ... Maybe they're air castles, but my real point is this: There aren't enough people looking for "interactive stories" or "collaborative writing" to increase the population. If we want more IFians, we need to kidnap them from the RPG-ers. The better we appeal to them, the more likely we'll hook a few to stay for a while and try a creative source that requires more cultivation.

Reasoner · Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 23

When we try to hook reader's, we must use something that draws them in. By just getting the site more hits does near nothing. We need the site to get to the right people, and we need to be patient while doing it that way.

I understand a lot of kids and teenagers are looking for a entricate and detailed games online, not just reading and responding to stories. So we must break this down and rethink it, not try to get more people the way we are now.

*turns to a whiteboard that is convienently placed behind him*

First, we must find a good way to advertise to the people that would be intrested in our site. Using the internet and search engines to do this is near impossible.

Second, we must think of ways you have stumbled across other websites of any source (advertisement techniques, popularity, ratings, etc.). We need to spread word of our site somehow, not just let people drift upon it.

Third and last, we need some member participation. If you know anybody that would be remotely intrested in posting what they write. Let them know about this site. We could even have a youtube post to bring in attention....(not sure how well that would work)

Just remember, we need you.

*leaves, adrenaline pumping with his short speech. He turns back unsurely, second-guessing what he said, then leaves unsteadily*

The White Blacksmith · Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 2406

There was actually a YouTube shoutout some years ago, by Shanty. I can't find the link though, so you'll just have to believe me.