Archturus

Ay'up Sanguine. Just wanted to let you know that I'm loving what you've done with this character. She's seems to have a nicely rounded personality and between the Canterlot guard, Destriers and private collectors, there should be a healthy market for armour-smiths in Equestria. There doesn’t look to be all that much that'd need tweaking, at least not that I can spot. Hopefully a thumbs up from the staff will be all that’s needed to get Ms Sylver archived and ready for play

Let me start off by thanking all of you for all those wonderful and prompt replies. A lot of personal concerns I have were razed, expanded upon and answered within. I honestly did not mean to be rude and if I have offended then I do beg your pardon. No doubt you’ve heard many a complaint and criticism over the years pertaining to this subject. However my concern in this matter, while derived from my own experience, is more to do with the future inclusion of new members. FlutterScotch highlights the existence of the Free-for-all as a viable alternative while applications are in processing. Imagine yourself as a fresh faced former, lured by the wonderful community and quality of games within, only to be directed elsewhere? Therein lays my riposte. While certainly true of those who have dedicated players already lined up, there is comparably little in ‘free for all’ when compared to the much expansive world that the main RP section represents. And yet, my argument is inherently malformed. Crafting a character is like carving a statue from clay; it takes time and many slight adjustments to complete something convincing beyond the eye of its creator. Adding personal flare is central to this concept, bringing that character to life. It needs that detail to draw the personality out of the two dimensional plane and into the colourful world of our imagination. But this art from is not conjunctive to attracting new talent and healthy growth. Requiring a small army of helpers to clear the constant stream, it is still taking far more time then is available. While I agree that applications need to be vetted by human eyes before accepting, there must be something that we can do to make the experience easier and quicker for both staff and applicants. The concept I outlined is an attempt to normalise the application process, removing some of the uncertainty from things like the format and ensure information is on hand for the writer. As many of you have pointed out though, it is far from the perfect model. Indeed, this is precisely why I’m so interested to hear what everyone has to say on the matter. Having heard all the reasons why the system exists in its current format, I have to admit most of them are valid. This leaves me at something of a loss as too an appropriate answer. Pealing back the layers of the onion leaves me with a core question, to whit; If there was something you could change about the current approach to applications, what would it be?

You are correct sir, but this is precisely the point I’m trying to make. There are people who have dedicated thousands of hours between them to making this forum run smoothly and advance beyond the expectations of its community. And every single minuet of that time has been donated. Not out of some suppressed cultural guilt or pity, but because they want to see this place flourish and become a part of the clockwork that keeps the community ticking. As such we should be treating what time they can lend with respect, not wasting it on pointless menial tasks and repetition. Streamlining the applications process isn’t about happy customers, it isn’t a business in the first place. What is important is making use of the time everyone gives and making everyone involved feel as though they’ve contributed something important. Would you rather help someone forge an epic life of a Pirate Baker, sailing the four seas and selling crumpets to far off barbaric lands? Or is that time better spent reminding someone that their app is impossible to read when presented in florescent pink?

Blimy that was quick Well that is good news, nothing is ever truly lost to the ether. So is the system already automated, or do you and others have to personally watch every app until its clinging to the bottom of the list? Hmm, I can appreciate that, feedback is quite useful in that respect. The thing is though, it isn’t actually saving any time, given that the changes made would still have to be done irrelative of whether the application is WIP or not. And as it stands, those new users must have to specifically ask help staff peruse their application. I totally agree with catching things early though. The key area of changes seems to be the Background for the character. Perhaps the draft format of an application should be handled differently, maybe in bullet points rather than detailed paragraphs? Oh! Now what about this; Key events! Assuming an Application form is possible, you could have slots for key life events, bullet points that shape the character’s personality and can eventually be expanded into a full background. That way, not only does the player have to think about the character properly, but also those issues you mentioned are easily picked out early before they invest more time. -edit, actualy forget that last bit, needs a full reponce of its own-

“When a system no longer serves the purpose for which it was designed, change must be sought.” Ladies and gentlemen of Canterlot, I am worried that the character application system on our forums is no longer fulfilling its intended design. Allow me to elaborate. Eighteen days ago, I joined this forum with the intent of leaping into the collective writing experience offered by the fair valleys of Equestria. Since then I have lost interest in my original reasons for embarking on this voyage, instead carefully observing not only my own, but the many other applications awaiting approval. Thusly I discovered something rather shocking. The average turnaround for an application is presently fourteen days. When you consider that the average time span for securing a uk passport is shorter than this, we can safely conclude that something is amiss. If the collective writing section of this forum is to continue to grow throughout the upcoming season, this must be attended upon posthaste. Through examination of the various applications within the confines of the system, I think I have determined three key issues that are ripe for discussion. 1; First of all, I would like to point out that the moderators / help-staff are just as much victims of this as the participants. The present model is more reminiscent of orchestrated chaos then an effective system, wasting not only their time in repeated instructions, but demanding an unrealistic level of dedication on their part. 2; The number of rules and regulations spread across multiple threads is disorientating to newcomers and a recipe for ignorance. Like lightning, it is human nature to take the path of least resistance. Though the basic guide for character Aplication design has been recently streamlined, there are many other more detailed guides and instructions that are taken as law, yet buried within the FAQ threads. The format as it stands dissuades applicants and will often result in aforesaid users skipping the most important points within the maelstrom of information. 3; Assessment takes far too long for both parties involved. Though primarily linked in to the first two points, there are other issues that should be isolated under their own heading. These issues stem from the innately mixed view points of staff, each searching for different levels of engagement within an application. Help Staff should not be required to cross-examine apps unless requested by the initial examiner, as this risks unwanted contradiction with one another. Yet all parties are encouraged to access applications in post order, rather than through an adoption process dedicated to pushing apps to completion quickly and efficiently. Again, not their fault, just the way the system has been constructed. There are many other issues that have become integral to the weighing down of this system. Small changes made over a long period of time have produced an analogue of British Rail, a model of inefficiency that places undue stress on both its staff and passengers. At the heart of any Application is whimsy. An idea will come to someone spontaneously or during discourse, sometimes for use only in one particular story. As such, the system accompanying this should be quick and responsive, lest the player lose interest entirely. In the same breath though, help-staff and moderators should not be taking on a second (unpaid) job when they accept said titles. It’s a difficult balance to achieve, one which has resulted in a great number of headaches I don’t doubt. True, I am making a lot of assumptions here, and I apologize if anything I’ve said so far has been out of line. But I feel quite strongly that improvements could be easily made to ensure a better experience for all involved. If possible, can there be a formal discussion on this subject and changes that could be made to improve the situation? It would be of special interest to hear the thoughts of the staff, their experiences and what they find to be most time consuming. In the meantime, here are a few suggestions I would like to put forth based upon what I have observed. Keep in mind that these are all just suggestions and ideas. Above all I am interested to hear what others think about the system and their own suggestions on what they would keep / change and why. Automation; When first joining the forum and posting in the ‘introduction’ area, the new user is greeted by an interface constructed of simple questions and dropdown boxes. Why can’t this system be applied within the applications area? We have already established a standard format for all apps, so why give players the option of failing that particular aspect of character creation? The creation of form that appears whenever a new post is created within this forum would save a considerable amount of time. This would include the reduction of such selective items as ‘Species’, ‘sex’, ‘age’, ‘colour pallet’ and ‘location’ to a dropdown selection, coupled with character limited description boxes where appropriate. Location should also be generalized to regions and specifics left for the character background. Yes, there is a housing shortage in Ponyville, but that doesn’t mean that the character cannot live with reasonable proximity of the town. This applies to any rule that is seen as static; if you don’t want something to be a variable, don’t give applicants the option in the first place. It invites failure. Build rules into the App Form; Many things about a character application form should be self explanatory, but there are always exceptions. In addition to the rules / guidelines posts in FAQ and on the app section itself, each option box on the form should have an explanation link of some kind attached. Each opens a popup with both a short and ‘advanced view’ detailed explanation of what is expected within that part of the form. This ensures that all relevant information is to hand while creating the application, rather than stored elsewhere. Notifications and Time Limits; Once posted, there will be an initial period of interest in which the creator will be watching it like a hawk. If there is a response within say five hours or so, the poster is almost certain to have the drive required to make the necessary changes. The longer it is left unacknowledged, the less interested they will be in its completion. At the outmost, the active period for an application should be around three days from initial post to completion. You may scoff, but it is possible. Right now the system is clogged with a backlog of apps which should have been quick to clear. We need to make each thread as easy as possible for Staff to sort and reply too. Standardizing will go a long way towards this, but another major addition would be automatic notifications for both the OP and the Editor. Also, from what I can see, moderators are required to post on individual apps that have fallen silent, a waste of time and energy on all accounts. Introducing a posting bot may resolve some of these issues. Right now, the notification system is very good for keeping track of replies across the forum, but sadly does little to highlight more important information which can easily get buried. This could be solved by including a script that notifies the participants of an app via PM whenever there is a reply waiting. After remaining inactive for three days, the bot will post a reminder on the thread and send a Personal Message to the OP. After a further three days, if post bot’s reply is still the last response, the thread is automatically deleted, keeping the forum clean. But what if the poster simply went on holiday! Now the app they’ve worked so hard on is gone forever! Well not so much; The primary reason for the bot’s PM is to send a quote of the thread’s first post to the recipient, there by effectively saving a copy of the character application. Removal of Work In Progress Tags; Why is WIP even applicable? Staff don’t look at apps until they are marked as Final. Instead of encouraging posters to clog up the apps section with half finished products, we should direct any applicant to use a word processor to produce the draft copy of their character background; this being the only thing that should need work at all with the implementation of a standardized application form. In the age of Google Docs and many other free Word Processors, there should be no reason for anything to be half finished in the first place. Moving Cast Apps; Many cast apps are contested and thus have multiple threads concerning the same character spread across several pages. Again, this clogs the system. The creation of a dedicated Cast Application sub-forum would keep these apps nicely organized. Under this forum a altered version of the application form could include additional choices, as the tier of the proposed character. These changes could be integrated with the cast list to prevent characters being applied for if they are already allocated to a player. All available Tier One characters are listed on the initial ‘Name’ option as a dropdown list / auto complete, the latter flashing a warning if the named character is already taken. On a far lesser note; do we need to canonize every background character? There are some fanons that are obviously going to be contested, such as Ditzy, Lyra and Bonbon, Vinyl Scratch etc, but even the nameless faceless scene fillers seem to be mentioned here there and everywhere. Could these just be classified as OC with reference to their appearance? Perhaps an irrelevant comment, but I may as well throw that in here somewhere. Many of these ideas would be a nightmare to implement or downright impossible due to code limitations. These are just all just ‘ideal world’ concepts, a base to work from as it were. Above all I am interested to hear what others think about the system and their own suggestions on what they would keep / change and why. Archturus out!

(ooc; so apparantly my notifications haven't been working and I didn't know this had been replied too 0.0 Criky. Will try to get up to date and back in the game asap )

What do first? Personaly. I'd chase my life long dream of being the perfect stunt double.

“Good that you stand with us, Moonlight the Just! With justice on our side, we are sure to win the day!” Jumping down from his short pedestal, the butterscotch Paint Earthpony gestured to the tall shelves that stretched around the gathered foals. “These hills are rich in.... stuff for us to use. Come! Let us mine some -errrm- Bookite stone for mighty walls!” With that, Archie ran up to the nearest shelf and heaved another large book from its home. Pushing it across the floor with outstretched fore-hooves, the foal started trying to lift the heavy tome upright.

[colour=#4b0082]In Defence of Fort Book[/colour] It’s the weekend, and the great library of Canterlot should be closed for the next few days for some much needed renovation. Supposedly accessible only to authorised members of the palace staff, no pony has noticed the muffled sounds coming from deep within the maze of shelves. You know what they say; while the cats are away, the mice will play. Under the pretence of going out for a picnic, the foals of Canterlot have gained entry to this normally forbidden playground. Having snuck a key from one of your parents, your herd has brought along everything you need for a day out away from the prying eyes of your guardians. Now within the Library, there’s only one possible thing to be done. Build a Book Fort! This is a light hearted RP intended for all who wish to join. The task? Build a book fort and protect it from the evil gribbles of your imaginations! Join in with whatever young characters you want, whether a representation of your forum persona, or a known foal / OC from Main RP. Players are encouraged to add elements of comedy and adventure. Above all; HAVE FUN Canterlot Library. By far the largest collection of magical and mundane texts reside on its three open plan floors, tucked into thousands of carefully organised rows of shelving. On such a weekend as this, there would have been little room to manoeuvre through the packed foyer as dozens of scholars, students and citizens delved into the bastion of knowledge. This particular day though was a librarian’s dream, silence had descended upon every isle and desk. True, areas were roped off ready for the builders to resume work and dust sheets covered every conservable surface, but that did not detract from the serenity that was a quiet library. That was, until the maintenance exit clanged open to a flurry of nervous whinnies and muffled ‘shush’ing. Normally this was one of those places foals avoided as though it had cooties, just like the doctors, the dentist and any food remotely healthy for them. Yet despite the fear of catching terminal boredom, the deep silence that had these empty halls now been interrupted by a plethora of shuffling hooves and excited whispers. Archie nickered softly as he gazed around in awe at the decorative glass dome far above his tiny head. True, the young foal had been here once before when his mother needed some books for her final dissertation, but back then he’d been far too busy complaining about not being allowed outside to notice the sheer scale of the building around him. He couldn’t remember whose idea it had been, but everypony had been up for it after somepony said they could get the key to the backdoor. Now they had the biggest playground in the whole world all to themselves! After a short trot through the aisles of covered books, several impromptu games of tag had broken out among the small herd. Many didn’t notice the sign hanging above the door way in front of them, fewer still could have read the magic runes across its surface, labling this area as the ‘Deep Magics’ department. While his friends charged around the long open spaces the library offered, Archie began examining a very large tome that had been carefully set aside. Taller than the colt and almost as wide, the book was clearly ancient and probably invaluable. It was perfect! Wriggling around the back of the giant volume, the excitable colt hefted his withers against its papery surface. With a loud ‘whumph’ a plume of dust rolled out across the marbled floor. Standing atop the thick pedestal, Archie pushed out his chest proudly and announced to the world; “I am Sir Archie Bighoof! Gatekeepor of Fort Book and Knight of Librari-ninium! Man the walls Brothers and Sisters, the evil army of evilness marches upon us come the morn!” So enthralled with his grandstanding, the colt failed to notice the slim purple glow that shimmered briefly from between the ancient tome’s pages.

Hay there After reading the aplication instructions, it struck me that there's rather alot asked for in the Summery section. Would it be okay to brake this down in to smaller segments, like on a character sheet? Say something like; Background; Skills; Advantages; Flaws; Personality summery; Would that be an acceptable format?

*Sets his bags down inside* Well this is just lovely. Now, where's the buffe! Muffins abound

About Myself: Twenty something year old male from westyorkshire, seeking fun and friendship. Hobies are Guardening, writing, table top RP and cooking. How I found Canterlot.com: A friend directed me here How I became a fan of MLP:FiM: Discovered the show not long after the explotion of contect following its firt airing. Oddly, FiM rekindled my faith in humanity and did a lot more for me then any theropist ever could. My favourite main cast pony/s: AppleJack Good morning Fillies and Gentlecolts! This is Mike here, heralding from the Wold of the Yorkshire dales. After a recent return to table top role-play resulted in my joining a Roleplay Is Magic game, I let slip that I used to enjoy collective writing. The result is clear to be seen, given that I now stand before the gates of Canterlot seeking RP, friendship and possibly apple crumble. So! Is there space for one more in this merry herd? Your's, Mike