01-25-2020, 03:41 PM
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Hi guys! Thank you to everybody who took time to respond to the survey! The results were incredibly helpful in getting a rough idea on where people stand when it comes to Flintlock. And so, lets just get right into it.
[spoiler= Survey Results]Q1. What is your current status in Flintlock Lodge?
• 50% currently have a character there
• 30% currently have a character there but they are not active
• 20% currently do not have a character there
Q2. What draws you into Flintlock?
• Flintlock's independence. Not relying too much on their allies. The ❛good guys❜ of TNW. Want to do what's right. Not afraid to stand up for themselves, but also willing to let people seek refuge with them.
• Characters and their dynamics, and most of the plots currently happening.
• The territory. Mountainous & isolated. Cold-type territory. A staple to Flintlock.
• The potential the group has.
• The theme of the community.
• Not much at the moment.
• The general history writers have with the group. The OOC community is beginning to feel like a safer environment. Tight-knit OOC community.
Q3. What draws you away from Flintlock?
• Lack of time.
• Lack of muse.
• OOC circumstances.
• Lack of plots or difficulty plotting with other people.
• Exclusive behavior IC & OOC. Tight-knit OOC community may make it difficult to feel included. Some feel like nobody wants them around in the community as only a select few make any effort to plot with them. Cliques.
• Slow activity.
• Too much focus on personal character plots.
• Character posts being overlooked.
Q4. Did/do you feel welcomed in the group?
• 60% said sometimes
• 20% said yes
• 20% said no
Q5. What are your thoughts on the OOC community currently?
• Borderline cliquey. A couple of people only plot and talk with the same group of people; they aren't interested in engaging unless it's within their clique. Character plot suggestions are often shot down. Some feel like particular individuals are difficult to interact with. Don't always interact with other people or characters. Ignoring threads and people.
• Inactive
• Every community could be improved. Issues are not solely a Flintlock problem.
• Focusing on Discord isolates potential for those for aren't active or don't use Discord looking to be involved.
• Would feel welcomed easily and feel welcomed in conversations if they wanted to chat OOC. Community is full of friends and people they'd like to get to know better; people are not being malicious or intentionally excluding others.
• Welcoming to a degree. People are willing to welcome you and be kind to you but are unwilling to follow up with consistent IC and OOC interaction.
• Some strong personalities OOC which can make it overwhelming.
Q6. Do you think that Flintlock Lodge is cliquey?
• 50% said sometimes
• 30% said yes
• 20% said no
Q7. Would you like to elaborate?
• Characters often pick and choose threads.
• It is difficult to draw in new members since the OOC community is so tight-knit. Makes it intimidating to interact with OOC community. OOC community tend to unintentionally ignore newcomers in favor of preexisting members. Feeling unwelcome has drained muse and removed nostalgia reasons for wanting to join. Struggling to find a foothold within the OOC community.
• No progress is being made in IC development.
• Characters outside the allowed norms are shunned.
• Everything in Flintlock revolves around a few characters and their writers.
Q8. What do you think of the current groupwide plot revolving around rising tensions between Flintlock and Bluestem?
• 6/10 participants like the idea. 3/10 participants think it's okay/unsure. 1/10 participants think it's confusing.
• People like how Flintlock is not doing it for themselves but for the group that has sought refuge in Flintlock. It isn't about anything that happened to Flintlock but they are extending a hand out to help people in need. Hones in on the concept that Flintlock are the ❛good guys❜ of TNW. A group-wide plot that TNW needed. Glad that there is finally a larger scale event that impacts more than one group. It's good to finally see tensions rising between groups. A perfect opportunity to prove that Flintlock is not passive and do-no-harm, but that they are a less than perfect group lead by people with complex ideals.
• It could be interesting but all participants must be willing to follow through on a plot like this.
• It doesn't feel natural.
• There's not much else to do.
• It's confusing.
Q9. What do you think about the current lack of HPs? Should HPs be earned through activity, IC contributions, or should there be a OOC request form for promotions? Do you have any ideas on how to encourage more people to work towards becoming a HP?
• The general consensus is that people think that a HP should be earned through activity and IC contributions, but there should also be an OOC tryouts form to show interest in working towards a particular promotion.
• 30% of participants felt that in the past HPs were not given enough responsibility for members to want to strive for a promotion; there was little incentive to becoming a HP. They felt helpless because they felt like even if they were a HP they would have no further influence in the group to implement ideas, join in discussions about Flintlock's future and feel like there is no IC incentives either.
• Mix of activity and IC contributions seem like the most realistic way to promote people.
• If someone consistently posts, they deserve the chance to be promoted. Additionally, someone who may post less but shows the initiative to help the Flintlock community also deserves the chance to be promoted, granted they do not slack off afterwards.
• Something must change to encourage people to become more competitive when trying to earn ranks.
• Tryouts would be a good idea as long as they then prove that they are a suitable candidate through activity and IC contributions across the board to hold the position.
• Characters tend to get dropped quickly, so something should be done to encourage development of the character and allow for the character to work towards becoming a HP.
• Flintlock needs more HPs.
Q10. What would you like to see more of?
• Long term plots 90%
• Political affairs (eg. trading) 70%
• Lighthearted events within the group 70%
• Violence/conflict 50%
• Tasks 50%
• Competitions 50%
• Social events 30%
• Interaction between other groups 30%
Q11. What would you not like to see more of? (results edited as I made an error on the form by making this a compulsory question)
• Interaction between other groups 30%
• Political affairs (eg. trading) 30%
• Tasks 30%
• Competitions 30%
• Social events 20%
• Long term plots 0%
• Violence/conflict 0%
• Lighthearted events within the group 0%
Q12. Is there anything that you'd like to see change/develop in Flintlock Lodge?
• Roles for HPs.
• Few more traditions. Continued use of current traditions.
• Expansion of territory. More involvement of the ski lifts and the village.
• Solid political stance when it comes to dealing with other groups and unwavering set of international moral responsibilities. Political affairs.
• More cohesive IC community.
• Overdue for conflict; a war or something along these lines.
Q13. Is there anything that you think could change to improve the community?
• Encouraging more OOC chatting. Allows for everyone to get to know each other and form small connections. Make a way to get more people to know each other better (eg. an OOC ice breaker). Less cliquey behavior. Engaging with less active or new members of the community more.
• Encouraging more OOC plotting and regular members to create and contribute more plots (group-wide and personal). More opportunities to plot.
• Re-examine OOC and IC behaviour blending.
• Focus less on spring fever.
• Focus less on expansive NPC families.
• Consistent events to create conflict within the group.
Q14. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
• One person had to click "long term plots" on Q11 as the question was starred (Therefore, I have edited this result.)
• One person knows that they are not the only person avoiding Flintlock lately due to clique concerns, but would be glad if the concerns have been resolved or worked on.
• One person feels that interaction between other groups is great but all of the Christmas events made them feel burnt out. More worthwhile events rather than random ones.
• One person feels unwanted and so hopes that these issues can be resolved.
• Otherwise, people think that overall there is a good balance in Flintlock and that it has the potential to become an extremely popular group again with enough work.[/spoiler]
All right, so! Discussion time. Firstly, I would like to address concerns regarding the OOC community and recommend an action plan on how to work on highlighted issues. Afterwards, I will be discussing the IC community and recommend an action plan on how to improve the group itself.
OOC COMMUNITY
In general, people have mentioned that the current state of the OOC community has been steadily improving, beginning to feel like a safer environment and overall the majority seem to be a tight-knit group of people. But, there is always more work to be done in terms of increasing the enjoyment within the community!
When I gathered the results for this survey, the question really stuck out to me was Q4. Only 20% of people felt that they felt welcomed into the group. 20% said that they did not feel welcomed into the group. 60% did say that sometimes they did, but that does not excuse the fact that other times they did not feel welcome, and so I want to reduce the percentage of ❛no❜ and ❛sometimes❜ significantly. Of course, there will always be situations in which people feel uncomfortable and unfortunately I cannot control the actions of others, but what I can do is encourage everybody to generally make a more conscious effort to be more open and more welcoming to everyone. I would not like for Flintlock Lodge to be a group that is known to be exclusive and unwelcoming towards individuals, so lets devise some sort of plan in order to tackle this issue.
Q5 focuses on the thoughts of the OOC community. There was an alarming amount of people that brought up the words ❛cliquey❜ and ❛unwelcoming❜ which I think is unacceptable. Despite the mention that these issues are not solely an issue in Flintlock but rather an overall problem on Bearbones, I do not want Flintlock to be at all included in that narrative. A couple of people have mentioned that some people will only talk and plot within their circle and that they feel like these people don't always interact with other people or characters. This extends to some feeling like people ignore other people OOC or pick and choose threads.
Before I begin discussing what change I'd like to see implemented, I think I should also briefly mention that I do not believe that the majority, if any, of this behavior is intentional. In many cases there are other factors that influence these issues which people must bear in mind. For example, some people may have to pick and choose threads based on time and muse constraints. If you feel that your thread, personally, if being ignored, please do not hesitate to DM me so that we can work on solving the issue together. When it comes to plotting and having suggestions ❛shot down❜, we have to bear in mind that plotting is a two-way thing. A suggestion may be fitting for your character, but it may not be fitting for another. If this happens, I recommend that those plotting then talk together to work out a suitable alternative rather than leaving the person high and dry.
In addition, I am aware of a handful of people who feel uncomfortable chatting OOC with others, whether that be due to anxiety or shyness or anything entirely justifiable. If an individual, for the most part, chooses not to interact with the majority OOC then their choices must be respected and I will not force anybody out of their comfort zone.
However, if this behavior also extends to ignoring people IC whether that be picking and choosing threads, ignoring requests to plot or abruptly shutting down suggestions, then this would be where I draw the line. In addition, exclusive OOC behavior where an individual actively picks and chooses who they will chat with whilst ignoring others, and IC and OOC behaviors blending is also unacceptable. I cannot force people to interact, of course, but I have several suggestions on how to remedy this problem.
Firstly, I would like for people to try make a more conscious effort to be welcoming to others. This means responding to their messages (including discussions on their character's Discord channels) and making an effort to get to know everybody in the community. Whilst the community is already tight-knit generally, there should be no reason for people to doubt whether they can include themselves into this community. In addition, I encourage you all to start chatting and plotting more on the OOC Discussion board in Flintlock. I understand that Discord is more accessible for those throughout the day and easier to use on-the-go, but not everyone is active on Discord and not everyone uses Discord. An added upside is obviously the fact that it will make the board more active in general which will help boost activity and encourage new members to join in.
I have chosen to start an OOC Meet & Greet thread! I think that it will be very helpful in getting to know the OOC community better; I know that personally I have already learned so much more about a lot of you and it has been lovely to talk about it with you all. What I do notice with these sorts of threads, though, is that once somebody introduces themselves, no further conversation ensues which puts an abrupt end to all opportunity to get to know everybody better. Therefore, I highly encourage that you use people's answers as prompts for OOC discussion. Do you share the same likes as them? Then tell them! Do you appreciate a hobby that they spoke about? Ask them questions about it! It is the perfect opportunity to expel any exclusiveness from within the community. Plus, you can make a new friend or several from simply initiating conversation and making a consistent effort with them.
If this fails, then I have a plan B to promote inclusiveness within the community; that is to pair people up OOC to play a game of 21 questions. Of course, if people are interested in this idea then I can set this up regardless. My plan would be so use a random generator to pick out pairs of people currently in Flintlock Lodge and ask for them to DM one another (either on Bearbones or Discord) to play a game of 21 questions with one another. I believe that it will be a good idea to encourage people to talk to those they would not otherwise talk much to.
50% of people believe that Flintlock can sometimes be cliquey, so lets work together to dissolve this entirely. Everybody deserves a chance to feel welcome and safe within this community.
I have received the names of a few individuals that others fear may be showing signs of exclusive behavior, and I am concerned that I am not fully aware of the extent of this issue. And so, I set up an additional form which will be available permanently for use. It is an anonymous complaint form where you can freely express your concerns with me. This is not limited to complaints about individual people but can also be used to file a concern regarding anything about Flintlock Lodge.
For now, I will be monitoring individuals who have been mentioned and if I continue to see exclusive behavior I will be quickly popping a DM to them to discuss what can be done to remedy this issue. Please note that if you receive a DM discussing this, it is not a warning or a lecture as I am sure you do not intend to show this behavior, but instead we can work together on figuring out how to come across more welcoming and open towards everyone in the community.
Next comes the issue of general slow activity within the group which seems to draw people away. As I mentioned previously, I think that chatting and plotting around the OOC board rather than Discord will be a helpful way to bring in more activity! In addition, linking to my previous discussion about inclusiveness, being welcoming and open to those in the community will not only benefit others in helping them feel more included and welcome, but it will also benefit you as it'll help promote activity on the board. So, if nothing else will encourage people to include others more, then let that be your motivation. It's as simple as that; if you want a more active board, you have to ensure people have a reason to want to join and want to stay.
With that being said, there are other factors to be aware of in terms of inactivity. Many mentioned OOC circumstances make it difficult to be active as well as lack of time, plots and muse. Sadly, OOC circumstances cannot be helped, nor can a lack of time because I strongly believe that, with writing being a hobby, it is ultimately secondary to real life. In terms of plots and muse, I do think that that can be helped.
People suggested that encouraging more plotting, as well as encouraging regular members to contribute towards group-wide and personal plots, will help with the issue of a lack of plots and muse. I have created a brand new plotting thread on the OOC board in the hopes of it being used more regularly, and I also encourage you to create your own threads to create plots with your characters. I think plotting threads for your characters are insanely helpful especially when you make it clear what sort of plots you are after. It helps to inspire those to respond with plot suggestions between your characters.
It was mentioned that there needs to be more opportunities to plot and, unfortunately, I am not sure how to do this. We have the Discord plotting channel which is frequently used, a plotting thread in the OOC Discussion board and DMs are always open for people to initiate plotting. Additionally, I will be posting a prompts thread which can be used as inspiration for plotting. If you have any other ideas, then please let me know!
Concerns have been raised about how characters are seen within the OOC community. There has been a mention that Flintlock tends to revolve around only a few characters and their writers, and people focus too much on personal character plots. There was also a mention about the focus on expansive NPC families. Firstly, unfortunately I haven't been provided with the names of which characters and writers Flintlock tends to revolve around, but please bear in mind that currently there are very few active characters in Flintlock Lodge and so I believe that this does contribute massively to this perception. Furthermore, I do not wish to discourage people focusing on personal character plots because that tends to be the development required to maintain a solid muse for that character!
Instead, I encourage people to begin suggesting plots of a larger scale that can affect multiple people or the group as a whole. Although I am constantly thinking of plot ideas which can involve multiple people, it is difficult to do so on my own. Therefore, please suggest any ideas that you may have for larger scale plots whether you share on Discord, on the plotting thread or DM me privately! I'd be more than happy to discuss your ideas with you and very keen on including member-made plots in the history of Flintlock Lodge!
Lastly, I'd like to ask for any clarification on the mention of focusing less on expansive NPC families; as far as I'm aware there are no NPC families in Flintlock and they are all actual characters. If you wish to remain anonymous in discussing any of this, please don't hesitate to use the new complaint form for clarification on this issue so that I know how to handle it.
IC Community
Okay so first I am going to discuss the recent changes in the group and what this means for everyone/everything involved in these changes. Then I'll discuss more suggested changes/developments and how to implement them, then then briefly tough on plots!
So, as you may already know, there have been some recent changes to Flintlock Lodge. Firstly, a new guide has been made with an entirely revamped introduction, reference pictures, a new set of IC rules which will be firmly implemented by HPs, and finally... a whole new set of ranks! Currently, traditions and events have remained the same because the majority suggested more of them and I would like to discuss with you guys what you'd be interested in seeing. What traditions and events would you like to see in Flintlock?
The new IC rules have slightly deviated from the previous set of rules, clarifying boundaries and also creating some leniency and freedom in other areas. And, very excitingly, the members of FL are being assigned ranks upon joining! I hope that this will help guide further character development as they are expected to take part in activities relating to their rank. Ranks can be applied for here!
The next point that I'd like to discuss is the apparent need for HPs. This new ranking system gives more opportunities for members to actively work towards a promotion! There are IC and OOC benefits towards being promoted, and there are currently six promotions up for grabs so I hope that that will encourage a competitive nature between members in order to climb the ranks. Alternatively, once high positions begin to get filled up, there is also an opportunity for characters in any ranked position to receive a loyalist title under a set of certain criteria. This too has its rewards IC and OOC and there are unlimited spots for this title.
As for requirements for a promotion, it has been agreed on by the majority that the HP should be earned through consistent activity on the board as well as IC contributions. Therefore, I am planning on writing up a thread in the OOC Discussion board to clarify the rules to becoming a HP. But, as a basic rundown, I will be looking for:
• Consistent activity on the board.
• IC contributions and initiative to help the community.
• Sound and responsible behavior OOC. This includes being welcoming to everyone and overall being a good representative for the group.
30% of people felt that in the past, HPs were not given enough responsibility which made promotions undesirable. In addition, they felt helpless even as a HP as they felt that they had no further influence in the group to implement ideas, join in discussions about Flintlock's future, plus they felt like there were no IC incentives either. Therefore, I have created new HP ranks where I have delegated responsibilities across five branches. Whilst the Captain and General can still veto decisions, the five advisers of each branch ultimately have the freedom to shape the particular branch that they have the responsibility of overseeing. And, although this isn't entirely related, I have also given normal ranks and apprentices more general responsibilities so all characters in Flintlock have some kind of job to do in a more organized format. I hope that this also makes the IC community more cohesive.
I hope that this is a helpful incentive to encourage those to work towards promotions. Someone mentioned that character tend to get dropped quickly, and so I hope this also helps encourage those to develop their character to work towards becoming a HP. This also helps with those struggling with muse to develop their character in that particular branch. As well as this, other incentives include bones which can purchase additional perks such as weapons or solar panels, an IC ❛salary❜ in the form of HPs receiving material luxuries from the Captain, the opportunity to act as the figurehead for that branch and to have more authority and respect within the group. Also, for those who get promoted, they will be included in a monthly OOC meeting to discuss what they think they can all do to improve Flintlock.
Although promotions must be earned, I will be posting an OOC tryouts so that I can see who intends on working towards a HP. I will not promote anybody who has not first applied and, for those who do apply, only then will I be looking out for the requirements I set out above in order for you to prove that you'll be able to manage the position.
Q8 asks about the current plot between Flintlock and Bluestem. I am incredibly pleased to see that the majority like the idea and so we will be pushing on with that plot where tensions will only continue to rise. For those who think that the plot is unnatural, I'd be grateful for some clarification on what makes it unnatural so that we can work on improving the plot. And, for those who are confused about it, do you think Flintlock could benefit with a summary of the plot idea for clarification? For those who don't think there is much else to do, the plot at least can help prompt some ideas for further plots! This is a good opportunity to continue plotting. Overall, I'm glad about the positive outcome and I am excited to continue developing this plot with everybody. Perhaps the tensions end up blowing up and creating some sort of conflict or drama. What are your thoughts?
In terms of developing or changing aspects about Flintlock Lodge, I believe that I have already elaborated on some of the points so I will continue with the points I have not brought up yet. First is the expansion of territory as well as more involvement of the ski lifts and village. An expansion can be a good idea to give Flintlock more things to do around the territory. And so, perhaps over time I can expand their horizons a little bit with people's help. In addition, I have given the diplomacy rank the responsibility of maintaining infrastructure as well as expanding territory!
I also have additional ideas which came to mind whilst revamping the guide. What are your thoughts on Flintlock farming caribou? Also, what are your thoughts on making dog sledding (and breeding sled breeds like Canadian Eskimo Dogs and Alaskan Malamutes) and horse sleighs a form of transport across the territory? I already imagine horses are used for jobs such as transporting timber to the lodge, but I think it would be interesting to look into this idea a little more.
As for more involvement with the ski lifts and village, I completely agree with everyone on the village. I do believe there should be more specific things down in the village in order for that location to be used more frequently. Have you got any suggestions of what you want to see in the village? As for the ski lift, my only concern is that it cannot really function without electricity. Unless we eventually purchase a solar panel large enough to provide enough to use the ski lift? I think we will have to ask staff if this is all right first.
Also, when it comes to a solid political stance, I agree that we should focus on how Flintlock deals with foreign groups. I think this is vital especially for the diplomacy branch as they will be the ones in charge of ensuring good relations. In addition, there should be an unwavering set of international moral responsibilities. I know that most people want Flintlock to be seen as the ❛good guys❜ of TNW so to speak, so I think that their moral code should reflect that. I want to steer Flintlock away from being a necessarily neutral group as I believe we already have enough of those groups in TNW, and I do not want Flintlock becoming a bad or malicious group either.
On that note, I want to quickly just clarify that whilst Eddie is also the leader of his family's criminal enterprise, I have no intentions of turning Flintlock into a Stirling criminal hub. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Eddie wants to keep his criminal life and his Flintlock life entirely separate and so will do so accordingly. From his experience in being involved in an organised group, his way of leading, implementing roles and being a stickler for structure and efficiency is the only things mildly influenced by his background, but never will Flintlock become anything like his family's organisation.
And so, with that being said, what sort of moral responsibilities do you think would be good for Flintlock to stand true to in politics? I think they shouldn't be the type to sit on the fence about anything, being very proactive in trying to diffuse conflict between other groups whilst showing that they won't let any group try to walk over them.
And, last but not least, plots! What I think I want to do is take the results from Q10 and Q11 and move them to the plotting thread so that we can all plot there! I have decided to work out, on average, what seems to be the most popular plots and events.
As a summary, I notice that almost everybody wanted to see more long term plots.
For now, I won't be pushing plots for interactions between other groups and so we will start to focus less on hosting events for foreign groups. In addition, social events do not seem to be the most popular currently, as well as competitions nor tasks. For tasks, I will continue to offer tasks but I will not make it a frequent occurrence.
Violence, lighthearted events and politics seem to be popular choices. We have the upcoming Bluestem and Flintlock group-wide plot which gives writers the opportunity to plot conflict, and I think some more lighthearted events will be excellent.
I am so sorry for how long this thread is, but I had a lot that I wanted to discuss. I would be grateful for anyone who wants to share an opinion, suggestion or give me any feedback!
Hi guys! Thank you to everybody who took time to respond to the survey! The results were incredibly helpful in getting a rough idea on where people stand when it comes to Flintlock. And so, lets just get right into it.
[spoiler= Survey Results]Q1. What is your current status in Flintlock Lodge?
• 50% currently have a character there
• 30% currently have a character there but they are not active
• 20% currently do not have a character there
Q2. What draws you into Flintlock?
• Flintlock's independence. Not relying too much on their allies. The ❛good guys❜ of TNW. Want to do what's right. Not afraid to stand up for themselves, but also willing to let people seek refuge with them.
• Characters and their dynamics, and most of the plots currently happening.
• The territory. Mountainous & isolated. Cold-type territory. A staple to Flintlock.
• The potential the group has.
• The theme of the community.
• Not much at the moment.
• The general history writers have with the group. The OOC community is beginning to feel like a safer environment. Tight-knit OOC community.
Q3. What draws you away from Flintlock?
• Lack of time.
• Lack of muse.
• OOC circumstances.
• Lack of plots or difficulty plotting with other people.
• Exclusive behavior IC & OOC. Tight-knit OOC community may make it difficult to feel included. Some feel like nobody wants them around in the community as only a select few make any effort to plot with them. Cliques.
• Slow activity.
• Too much focus on personal character plots.
• Character posts being overlooked.
Q4. Did/do you feel welcomed in the group?
• 60% said sometimes
• 20% said yes
• 20% said no
Q5. What are your thoughts on the OOC community currently?
• Borderline cliquey. A couple of people only plot and talk with the same group of people; they aren't interested in engaging unless it's within their clique. Character plot suggestions are often shot down. Some feel like particular individuals are difficult to interact with. Don't always interact with other people or characters. Ignoring threads and people.
• Inactive
• Every community could be improved. Issues are not solely a Flintlock problem.
• Focusing on Discord isolates potential for those for aren't active or don't use Discord looking to be involved.
• Would feel welcomed easily and feel welcomed in conversations if they wanted to chat OOC. Community is full of friends and people they'd like to get to know better; people are not being malicious or intentionally excluding others.
• Welcoming to a degree. People are willing to welcome you and be kind to you but are unwilling to follow up with consistent IC and OOC interaction.
• Some strong personalities OOC which can make it overwhelming.
Q6. Do you think that Flintlock Lodge is cliquey?
• 50% said sometimes
• 30% said yes
• 20% said no
Q7. Would you like to elaborate?
• Characters often pick and choose threads.
• It is difficult to draw in new members since the OOC community is so tight-knit. Makes it intimidating to interact with OOC community. OOC community tend to unintentionally ignore newcomers in favor of preexisting members. Feeling unwelcome has drained muse and removed nostalgia reasons for wanting to join. Struggling to find a foothold within the OOC community.
• No progress is being made in IC development.
• Characters outside the allowed norms are shunned.
• Everything in Flintlock revolves around a few characters and their writers.
Q8. What do you think of the current groupwide plot revolving around rising tensions between Flintlock and Bluestem?
• 6/10 participants like the idea. 3/10 participants think it's okay/unsure. 1/10 participants think it's confusing.
• People like how Flintlock is not doing it for themselves but for the group that has sought refuge in Flintlock. It isn't about anything that happened to Flintlock but they are extending a hand out to help people in need. Hones in on the concept that Flintlock are the ❛good guys❜ of TNW. A group-wide plot that TNW needed. Glad that there is finally a larger scale event that impacts more than one group. It's good to finally see tensions rising between groups. A perfect opportunity to prove that Flintlock is not passive and do-no-harm, but that they are a less than perfect group lead by people with complex ideals.
• It could be interesting but all participants must be willing to follow through on a plot like this.
• It doesn't feel natural.
• There's not much else to do.
• It's confusing.
Q9. What do you think about the current lack of HPs? Should HPs be earned through activity, IC contributions, or should there be a OOC request form for promotions? Do you have any ideas on how to encourage more people to work towards becoming a HP?
• The general consensus is that people think that a HP should be earned through activity and IC contributions, but there should also be an OOC tryouts form to show interest in working towards a particular promotion.
• 30% of participants felt that in the past HPs were not given enough responsibility for members to want to strive for a promotion; there was little incentive to becoming a HP. They felt helpless because they felt like even if they were a HP they would have no further influence in the group to implement ideas, join in discussions about Flintlock's future and feel like there is no IC incentives either.
• Mix of activity and IC contributions seem like the most realistic way to promote people.
• If someone consistently posts, they deserve the chance to be promoted. Additionally, someone who may post less but shows the initiative to help the Flintlock community also deserves the chance to be promoted, granted they do not slack off afterwards.
• Something must change to encourage people to become more competitive when trying to earn ranks.
• Tryouts would be a good idea as long as they then prove that they are a suitable candidate through activity and IC contributions across the board to hold the position.
• Characters tend to get dropped quickly, so something should be done to encourage development of the character and allow for the character to work towards becoming a HP.
• Flintlock needs more HPs.
Q10. What would you like to see more of?
• Long term plots 90%
• Political affairs (eg. trading) 70%
• Lighthearted events within the group 70%
• Violence/conflict 50%
• Tasks 50%
• Competitions 50%
• Social events 30%
• Interaction between other groups 30%
Q11. What would you not like to see more of? (results edited as I made an error on the form by making this a compulsory question)
• Interaction between other groups 30%
• Political affairs (eg. trading) 30%
• Tasks 30%
• Competitions 30%
• Social events 20%
• Long term plots 0%
• Violence/conflict 0%
• Lighthearted events within the group 0%
Q12. Is there anything that you'd like to see change/develop in Flintlock Lodge?
• Roles for HPs.
• Few more traditions. Continued use of current traditions.
• Expansion of territory. More involvement of the ski lifts and the village.
• Solid political stance when it comes to dealing with other groups and unwavering set of international moral responsibilities. Political affairs.
• More cohesive IC community.
• Overdue for conflict; a war or something along these lines.
Q13. Is there anything that you think could change to improve the community?
• Encouraging more OOC chatting. Allows for everyone to get to know each other and form small connections. Make a way to get more people to know each other better (eg. an OOC ice breaker). Less cliquey behavior. Engaging with less active or new members of the community more.
• Encouraging more OOC plotting and regular members to create and contribute more plots (group-wide and personal). More opportunities to plot.
• Re-examine OOC and IC behaviour blending.
• Focus less on spring fever.
• Focus less on expansive NPC families.
• Consistent events to create conflict within the group.
Q14. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
• One person had to click "long term plots" on Q11 as the question was starred (Therefore, I have edited this result.)
• One person knows that they are not the only person avoiding Flintlock lately due to clique concerns, but would be glad if the concerns have been resolved or worked on.
• One person feels that interaction between other groups is great but all of the Christmas events made them feel burnt out. More worthwhile events rather than random ones.
• One person feels unwanted and so hopes that these issues can be resolved.
• Otherwise, people think that overall there is a good balance in Flintlock and that it has the potential to become an extremely popular group again with enough work.[/spoiler]
All right, so! Discussion time. Firstly, I would like to address concerns regarding the OOC community and recommend an action plan on how to work on highlighted issues. Afterwards, I will be discussing the IC community and recommend an action plan on how to improve the group itself.
OOC COMMUNITY
In general, people have mentioned that the current state of the OOC community has been steadily improving, beginning to feel like a safer environment and overall the majority seem to be a tight-knit group of people. But, there is always more work to be done in terms of increasing the enjoyment within the community!
When I gathered the results for this survey, the question really stuck out to me was Q4. Only 20% of people felt that they felt welcomed into the group. 20% said that they did not feel welcomed into the group. 60% did say that sometimes they did, but that does not excuse the fact that other times they did not feel welcome, and so I want to reduce the percentage of ❛no❜ and ❛sometimes❜ significantly. Of course, there will always be situations in which people feel uncomfortable and unfortunately I cannot control the actions of others, but what I can do is encourage everybody to generally make a more conscious effort to be more open and more welcoming to everyone. I would not like for Flintlock Lodge to be a group that is known to be exclusive and unwelcoming towards individuals, so lets devise some sort of plan in order to tackle this issue.
Q5 focuses on the thoughts of the OOC community. There was an alarming amount of people that brought up the words ❛cliquey❜ and ❛unwelcoming❜ which I think is unacceptable. Despite the mention that these issues are not solely an issue in Flintlock but rather an overall problem on Bearbones, I do not want Flintlock to be at all included in that narrative. A couple of people have mentioned that some people will only talk and plot within their circle and that they feel like these people don't always interact with other people or characters. This extends to some feeling like people ignore other people OOC or pick and choose threads.
Before I begin discussing what change I'd like to see implemented, I think I should also briefly mention that I do not believe that the majority, if any, of this behavior is intentional. In many cases there are other factors that influence these issues which people must bear in mind. For example, some people may have to pick and choose threads based on time and muse constraints. If you feel that your thread, personally, if being ignored, please do not hesitate to DM me so that we can work on solving the issue together. When it comes to plotting and having suggestions ❛shot down❜, we have to bear in mind that plotting is a two-way thing. A suggestion may be fitting for your character, but it may not be fitting for another. If this happens, I recommend that those plotting then talk together to work out a suitable alternative rather than leaving the person high and dry.
In addition, I am aware of a handful of people who feel uncomfortable chatting OOC with others, whether that be due to anxiety or shyness or anything entirely justifiable. If an individual, for the most part, chooses not to interact with the majority OOC then their choices must be respected and I will not force anybody out of their comfort zone.
However, if this behavior also extends to ignoring people IC whether that be picking and choosing threads, ignoring requests to plot or abruptly shutting down suggestions, then this would be where I draw the line. In addition, exclusive OOC behavior where an individual actively picks and chooses who they will chat with whilst ignoring others, and IC and OOC behaviors blending is also unacceptable. I cannot force people to interact, of course, but I have several suggestions on how to remedy this problem.
Firstly, I would like for people to try make a more conscious effort to be welcoming to others. This means responding to their messages (including discussions on their character's Discord channels) and making an effort to get to know everybody in the community. Whilst the community is already tight-knit generally, there should be no reason for people to doubt whether they can include themselves into this community. In addition, I encourage you all to start chatting and plotting more on the OOC Discussion board in Flintlock. I understand that Discord is more accessible for those throughout the day and easier to use on-the-go, but not everyone is active on Discord and not everyone uses Discord. An added upside is obviously the fact that it will make the board more active in general which will help boost activity and encourage new members to join in.
I have chosen to start an OOC Meet & Greet thread! I think that it will be very helpful in getting to know the OOC community better; I know that personally I have already learned so much more about a lot of you and it has been lovely to talk about it with you all. What I do notice with these sorts of threads, though, is that once somebody introduces themselves, no further conversation ensues which puts an abrupt end to all opportunity to get to know everybody better. Therefore, I highly encourage that you use people's answers as prompts for OOC discussion. Do you share the same likes as them? Then tell them! Do you appreciate a hobby that they spoke about? Ask them questions about it! It is the perfect opportunity to expel any exclusiveness from within the community. Plus, you can make a new friend or several from simply initiating conversation and making a consistent effort with them.
If this fails, then I have a plan B to promote inclusiveness within the community; that is to pair people up OOC to play a game of 21 questions. Of course, if people are interested in this idea then I can set this up regardless. My plan would be so use a random generator to pick out pairs of people currently in Flintlock Lodge and ask for them to DM one another (either on Bearbones or Discord) to play a game of 21 questions with one another. I believe that it will be a good idea to encourage people to talk to those they would not otherwise talk much to.
50% of people believe that Flintlock can sometimes be cliquey, so lets work together to dissolve this entirely. Everybody deserves a chance to feel welcome and safe within this community.
I have received the names of a few individuals that others fear may be showing signs of exclusive behavior, and I am concerned that I am not fully aware of the extent of this issue. And so, I set up an additional form which will be available permanently for use. It is an anonymous complaint form where you can freely express your concerns with me. This is not limited to complaints about individual people but can also be used to file a concern regarding anything about Flintlock Lodge.
For now, I will be monitoring individuals who have been mentioned and if I continue to see exclusive behavior I will be quickly popping a DM to them to discuss what can be done to remedy this issue. Please note that if you receive a DM discussing this, it is not a warning or a lecture as I am sure you do not intend to show this behavior, but instead we can work together on figuring out how to come across more welcoming and open towards everyone in the community.
Next comes the issue of general slow activity within the group which seems to draw people away. As I mentioned previously, I think that chatting and plotting around the OOC board rather than Discord will be a helpful way to bring in more activity! In addition, linking to my previous discussion about inclusiveness, being welcoming and open to those in the community will not only benefit others in helping them feel more included and welcome, but it will also benefit you as it'll help promote activity on the board. So, if nothing else will encourage people to include others more, then let that be your motivation. It's as simple as that; if you want a more active board, you have to ensure people have a reason to want to join and want to stay.
With that being said, there are other factors to be aware of in terms of inactivity. Many mentioned OOC circumstances make it difficult to be active as well as lack of time, plots and muse. Sadly, OOC circumstances cannot be helped, nor can a lack of time because I strongly believe that, with writing being a hobby, it is ultimately secondary to real life. In terms of plots and muse, I do think that that can be helped.
People suggested that encouraging more plotting, as well as encouraging regular members to contribute towards group-wide and personal plots, will help with the issue of a lack of plots and muse. I have created a brand new plotting thread on the OOC board in the hopes of it being used more regularly, and I also encourage you to create your own threads to create plots with your characters. I think plotting threads for your characters are insanely helpful especially when you make it clear what sort of plots you are after. It helps to inspire those to respond with plot suggestions between your characters.
It was mentioned that there needs to be more opportunities to plot and, unfortunately, I am not sure how to do this. We have the Discord plotting channel which is frequently used, a plotting thread in the OOC Discussion board and DMs are always open for people to initiate plotting. Additionally, I will be posting a prompts thread which can be used as inspiration for plotting. If you have any other ideas, then please let me know!
Concerns have been raised about how characters are seen within the OOC community. There has been a mention that Flintlock tends to revolve around only a few characters and their writers, and people focus too much on personal character plots. There was also a mention about the focus on expansive NPC families. Firstly, unfortunately I haven't been provided with the names of which characters and writers Flintlock tends to revolve around, but please bear in mind that currently there are very few active characters in Flintlock Lodge and so I believe that this does contribute massively to this perception. Furthermore, I do not wish to discourage people focusing on personal character plots because that tends to be the development required to maintain a solid muse for that character!
Instead, I encourage people to begin suggesting plots of a larger scale that can affect multiple people or the group as a whole. Although I am constantly thinking of plot ideas which can involve multiple people, it is difficult to do so on my own. Therefore, please suggest any ideas that you may have for larger scale plots whether you share on Discord, on the plotting thread or DM me privately! I'd be more than happy to discuss your ideas with you and very keen on including member-made plots in the history of Flintlock Lodge!
Lastly, I'd like to ask for any clarification on the mention of focusing less on expansive NPC families; as far as I'm aware there are no NPC families in Flintlock and they are all actual characters. If you wish to remain anonymous in discussing any of this, please don't hesitate to use the new complaint form for clarification on this issue so that I know how to handle it.
IC Community
Okay so first I am going to discuss the recent changes in the group and what this means for everyone/everything involved in these changes. Then I'll discuss more suggested changes/developments and how to implement them, then then briefly tough on plots!
So, as you may already know, there have been some recent changes to Flintlock Lodge. Firstly, a new guide has been made with an entirely revamped introduction, reference pictures, a new set of IC rules which will be firmly implemented by HPs, and finally... a whole new set of ranks! Currently, traditions and events have remained the same because the majority suggested more of them and I would like to discuss with you guys what you'd be interested in seeing. What traditions and events would you like to see in Flintlock?
The new IC rules have slightly deviated from the previous set of rules, clarifying boundaries and also creating some leniency and freedom in other areas. And, very excitingly, the members of FL are being assigned ranks upon joining! I hope that this will help guide further character development as they are expected to take part in activities relating to their rank. Ranks can be applied for here!
The next point that I'd like to discuss is the apparent need for HPs. This new ranking system gives more opportunities for members to actively work towards a promotion! There are IC and OOC benefits towards being promoted, and there are currently six promotions up for grabs so I hope that that will encourage a competitive nature between members in order to climb the ranks. Alternatively, once high positions begin to get filled up, there is also an opportunity for characters in any ranked position to receive a loyalist title under a set of certain criteria. This too has its rewards IC and OOC and there are unlimited spots for this title.
As for requirements for a promotion, it has been agreed on by the majority that the HP should be earned through consistent activity on the board as well as IC contributions. Therefore, I am planning on writing up a thread in the OOC Discussion board to clarify the rules to becoming a HP. But, as a basic rundown, I will be looking for:
• Consistent activity on the board.
• IC contributions and initiative to help the community.
• Sound and responsible behavior OOC. This includes being welcoming to everyone and overall being a good representative for the group.
30% of people felt that in the past, HPs were not given enough responsibility which made promotions undesirable. In addition, they felt helpless even as a HP as they felt that they had no further influence in the group to implement ideas, join in discussions about Flintlock's future, plus they felt like there were no IC incentives either. Therefore, I have created new HP ranks where I have delegated responsibilities across five branches. Whilst the Captain and General can still veto decisions, the five advisers of each branch ultimately have the freedom to shape the particular branch that they have the responsibility of overseeing. And, although this isn't entirely related, I have also given normal ranks and apprentices more general responsibilities so all characters in Flintlock have some kind of job to do in a more organized format. I hope that this also makes the IC community more cohesive.
I hope that this is a helpful incentive to encourage those to work towards promotions. Someone mentioned that character tend to get dropped quickly, and so I hope this also helps encourage those to develop their character to work towards becoming a HP. This also helps with those struggling with muse to develop their character in that particular branch. As well as this, other incentives include bones which can purchase additional perks such as weapons or solar panels, an IC ❛salary❜ in the form of HPs receiving material luxuries from the Captain, the opportunity to act as the figurehead for that branch and to have more authority and respect within the group. Also, for those who get promoted, they will be included in a monthly OOC meeting to discuss what they think they can all do to improve Flintlock.
Although promotions must be earned, I will be posting an OOC tryouts so that I can see who intends on working towards a HP. I will not promote anybody who has not first applied and, for those who do apply, only then will I be looking out for the requirements I set out above in order for you to prove that you'll be able to manage the position.
Q8 asks about the current plot between Flintlock and Bluestem. I am incredibly pleased to see that the majority like the idea and so we will be pushing on with that plot where tensions will only continue to rise. For those who think that the plot is unnatural, I'd be grateful for some clarification on what makes it unnatural so that we can work on improving the plot. And, for those who are confused about it, do you think Flintlock could benefit with a summary of the plot idea for clarification? For those who don't think there is much else to do, the plot at least can help prompt some ideas for further plots! This is a good opportunity to continue plotting. Overall, I'm glad about the positive outcome and I am excited to continue developing this plot with everybody. Perhaps the tensions end up blowing up and creating some sort of conflict or drama. What are your thoughts?
In terms of developing or changing aspects about Flintlock Lodge, I believe that I have already elaborated on some of the points so I will continue with the points I have not brought up yet. First is the expansion of territory as well as more involvement of the ski lifts and village. An expansion can be a good idea to give Flintlock more things to do around the territory. And so, perhaps over time I can expand their horizons a little bit with people's help. In addition, I have given the diplomacy rank the responsibility of maintaining infrastructure as well as expanding territory!
I also have additional ideas which came to mind whilst revamping the guide. What are your thoughts on Flintlock farming caribou? Also, what are your thoughts on making dog sledding (and breeding sled breeds like Canadian Eskimo Dogs and Alaskan Malamutes) and horse sleighs a form of transport across the territory? I already imagine horses are used for jobs such as transporting timber to the lodge, but I think it would be interesting to look into this idea a little more.
As for more involvement with the ski lifts and village, I completely agree with everyone on the village. I do believe there should be more specific things down in the village in order for that location to be used more frequently. Have you got any suggestions of what you want to see in the village? As for the ski lift, my only concern is that it cannot really function without electricity. Unless we eventually purchase a solar panel large enough to provide enough to use the ski lift? I think we will have to ask staff if this is all right first.
Also, when it comes to a solid political stance, I agree that we should focus on how Flintlock deals with foreign groups. I think this is vital especially for the diplomacy branch as they will be the ones in charge of ensuring good relations. In addition, there should be an unwavering set of international moral responsibilities. I know that most people want Flintlock to be seen as the ❛good guys❜ of TNW so to speak, so I think that their moral code should reflect that. I want to steer Flintlock away from being a necessarily neutral group as I believe we already have enough of those groups in TNW, and I do not want Flintlock becoming a bad or malicious group either.
On that note, I want to quickly just clarify that whilst Eddie is also the leader of his family's criminal enterprise, I have no intentions of turning Flintlock into a Stirling criminal hub. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Eddie wants to keep his criminal life and his Flintlock life entirely separate and so will do so accordingly. From his experience in being involved in an organised group, his way of leading, implementing roles and being a stickler for structure and efficiency is the only things mildly influenced by his background, but never will Flintlock become anything like his family's organisation.
And so, with that being said, what sort of moral responsibilities do you think would be good for Flintlock to stand true to in politics? I think they shouldn't be the type to sit on the fence about anything, being very proactive in trying to diffuse conflict between other groups whilst showing that they won't let any group try to walk over them.
And, last but not least, plots! What I think I want to do is take the results from Q10 and Q11 and move them to the plotting thread so that we can all plot there! I have decided to work out, on average, what seems to be the most popular plots and events.
As a summary, I notice that almost everybody wanted to see more long term plots.
For now, I won't be pushing plots for interactions between other groups and so we will start to focus less on hosting events for foreign groups. In addition, social events do not seem to be the most popular currently, as well as competitions nor tasks. For tasks, I will continue to offer tasks but I will not make it a frequent occurrence.
Violence, lighthearted events and politics seem to be popular choices. We have the upcoming Bluestem and Flintlock group-wide plot which gives writers the opportunity to plot conflict, and I think some more lighthearted events will be excellent.
I am so sorry for how long this thread is, but I had a lot that I wanted to discuss. I would be grateful for anyone who wants to share an opinion, suggestion or give me any feedback!
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I'M OUT OF MY MIND, REPLAYING THE SCENE
