The end of ISRP chat?

Merle · Mar 29, 2011

I'm not sure if it's by accident or design, but it seems like Enworld staff simply doesn't care whether the ISRP chat portion of the site works.

The place has been pretty well barren since the server move and the subsequent downtime. I know a handful of players are already moved over to UH (Unlikely Heroes Chat) but where did everyone else go?

Bari · Mar 29, 2011

I'll let you in a little secret. The remaining players?

I ate them.

...

With my ass.

EDIT: I recieved complaints that this answer wasn't "thoughtful" enough. So: E=mc power 2.

Magi_Nashira · Apr 4, 2011

Unlikely Heroes is certainly the place to default to for the time being. ISRP, we hope, still has a long and lively future. I myself has been on quite a bit over at UH. I hope to see you all there!

Magi_Trelian · Apr 7, 2011

I have to agree with Nashira, it looks like we're on Unlikely-Heroes for the foreseeable future, but it's not yet a formal change of location and there might still be switches.

BTW, on Unlikely-Heroes there isn't the box below chat where you can look up char descriptions. Instead, find the name on the sidebar of rooms, left-click to see menu options, and pick "profile". Char descriptions are being put under "Interests". If it's your own char, you'll be able to edit the fields.

Merle · Apr 10, 2011

Honestly, UH is being abandoned in droves. There seems to be all of six players on there trying to keep it alive, but a group has moved off to imaginechat and other servers.

Unless there's an influx of new players - and I don't see that happening - ISRP/UH have fallen below sustainability levels and are going extinct.

DireWereTeddy · Apr 10, 2011

Not to crush your pessimistic outlook, but there's more than six players who regularly visit UH. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say we have anywhere between fifteen and twenty players. Not all of those players are online a lot, but they do regularly visit. And the site is not being abandoned in droves. One group of players decided to leave the site, for whatever reason.

Is the community small? Yes, most certainly. It's been small since I returned to the site back in October. I get the impression it's been small for a while now. That doesn't mean it's below sustainable levels or that it's going extinct. Do we need new players? Yes, we do. How do we go about that? I'm not entirely sure. I've advertised on a small handful of other sites I visit. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

Personally, I think it would be great if our ISRP community was more involved with the greater part of EnWorld. As it stands, we're a separate community who's borrowing space on their message boards. Or at least, that's how it feels to me.

Bari · Apr 12, 2011

What we need is story arcs... and story arcs that have some kind of effect in the setting, instead of dying out of etherealism.

Merle · Apr 13, 2011

Bari said:
What we need is story arcs... and story arcs that have some kind of effect in the setting, instead of dying out of etherealism.

^^ This. There's been some arcs come into play (The dairy farm and the recent demon attacks) but there's no over-arching plots to keep people engaged.

Well, that and it's near time for final exams. That always takes a toll.

Magi_Trelian · Apr 14, 2011

There's several things coming into play here.

(1) The fewer people we have, the less chance to get involved in someone else's story, even if they're willing to let you in (which has also been a problem).

(2) EN World has been a kind and generous host. But they do seem to keep moving in a direction that we can't/don't/won't follow. (For instance, it's now blocked by my work as a gaming site, so I can't monitor during random hours as I used to. Oops.)

(3) UH could be a better fit, but it relies on one person whose hours are limited. (*waves to Gabe*)

ISRP is still considered to be a moderated site. People have told us they prefer it that way, that they like to know that rules exist and there are moderators who can be called on to enforce those rules.

Given the problems with accessing ISRP chat on EN World, it's time (and well past time) to call a moderators' meeting to talk about where we want ISRP to officially live.

*and then backs down* but it has to wait till after US tax day, at least for me.