L4W Discussion Thread III

[Atanatotatos]

Nope, I'm not a judge, although I have made some character approving (although not really much, sorry guys). Ozymandias is a judge too. As are Graf (on hiatus) and Halford (disappeared some time ago). There's Dunamin, too, but he hasn't been around in a while, although Atriden (I think) said that he'll be back.

 

[N3rday]

We will have to see what the judges say. Honestly, I haven't even been in a combat encounter yet, and I already feel like I'm capable of looking over and approving character sheets - I mean really, it's not a hard process, just a time consuming one. We don't necessarily want to push people into being judges if that isn't their thing, but we could outsource work. I do still think at least one judge should look over each character though - I'm skeptical of letting a bunch of non-judges approve characters and then end up regretting it later.

But I'd totally be willing to help with that or any other administrative duties that can be outsourced to non-judges, and I'm sure there are others who would too. With the impending slew of PHB2 characters about to hit, I think now is a good time to start recruiting some non-judges to take care of some of the grunt work - especially now that summer is here and us college kids don't have anything to do all day.

 

[Atanatotatos]

That's perfectly fine, N3. You can work as a character approver if you want to help. E-mail the judges to volunteer. Your suggestion is good, too, and is indeed a rule . To be approved, a character needs at least a character approver's and a full judge's approval.

 

[Lord Sessadore]

Eh? What's this about us judges?

Your list is inflated a little, dimsdale, unfortunately. If I recall correctly, our currently active judges are covaithe, garyh, Dunamin (who hasn't really been active in a while), Ozy, and myself. Halford and Graf were also judges, but they've both been inactive for several months. So, basically, at the moment there's 4 of us.

Ata's correct, N3 - you can volunteer to be a character approver if you wish; email the judge account and we'll set up a filter to send character approval-related emails to you so you know what's up on that front. I'm sure the other judges would agree that we'd all enjoy more help there. And we do have the rule that at least one of the two approvals must be from a full judge.

As for how much work it involves, I find it usually takes about an hour to thoroughly look over a sheet. I'm known to be a slow reader, though, so it may take others less time. And you're right, it really isn't hard work, just time consuming.

Lastly, thanks, dimsdale. We appreciate being appreciated, and I'm glad you're enjoying L4W - I know I have been! And has it really been 7 months?

 

[JoeNotCharles]

I'm also just a character approver, but that's the thing that's backed up most right now, so we could definitely use some more!

 

[dimsdale]

Your list is inflated a little, dimsdale, unfortunately. If I recall correctly, our currently active judges are covaithe, garyh, Dunamin (who hasn't really been active in a while), Ozy, and myself. Halford and Graf were also judges, but they've both been inactive for several months. So, basically, at the moment there's 4 of us.

Sorry Lord S, I obviously didn't do good research. And an apology is in order to you too Ozy for not originally including you on the list.

Why do people who play such an integral part in the creation of a pbp such as this one end up dropping out (Halford, Graf and Dunamin)? It's got to be incredibly frustrating to you. Is this par for the course in many pbp games? If so, what if anything can be done about it.

Lastly, thanks, dimsdale. We appreciate being appreciated, and I'm glad you're enjoying L4W - I know I have been! And has it really been 7 months?

Yes, I entered the tavern in Novemeber, 2008

 

[covaithe]

Why do people who play such an integral part in the creation of a pbp such as this one end up dropping out (Halford, Graf and Dunamin)? It's got to be incredibly frustrating to you. Is this par for the course in many pbp games? If so, what if anything can be done about it.

Lots of reasons, but they all boil down to the fact that this is just a game. Circumstances and interests change, and while it may once have been fun to spend hours a day poring over the details of character sheets and encounter prep, sooner or later just about everyone finds that they just don't have the time or interest anymore.

I don't think it's possible to avoid that completely. In an ideal world, new judges and DMs would step up and take on most of the work, giving people who are flagging a bit a chance to step back and recharge their batteries. If new people step up as fast or faster than old people get tired, it works. If they don't, it doesn't, and the world just kind of slows down. (Which in turn makes is less interesting to new people, and sooner or later everyone is tired. LEW and LEB are both in that position to varying degrees.)

If anyone wants to pony up a few full-time salaries, I'm sure we could find some takers to do this professionally. Short of that, we just have to be grateful for the volunteer time we do get.

 

[renau1g]

Yeah, same reason as DM burnout in RL. They get tired, drained, RL problems/requirements become more pressing, etc. With the time it took to get L4W off the ground, I'm not surprised that Graf had to take a break.

 

[Atanatotatos]

Yup. Give me a minimum wage (ymmv) and I'll approve all the sheets you want. Three adventure at a time? No problem. I'll even learn to use the wiki.

lol. Aside from that, I think Graf's case is a bit different. He warned us when he left, and I think he had some serious trouble he had to take care of. he still visits Enworld from time to time and has said that he'll be back when he'll be able to.

 

[stonegod]

Churn happens. As long as you have replacements, you're fine. LEW's doing fine after almost six years (though its less vibrant than it once way). LEB... LEB (and Living Supers to more of an extent) is an example of what happens when DMs and Judges disappear at a rate larger than interest sparks it.

So yes, its natural. Living worlds are designed for it, in fact. Thats why we have them. The alternative is for your normal PbP just to die w/o warning w/ nothing to do about it. I'll show you my list of 30+ characters to demonstrate.