Chapter 3: Q&A / Discussion

[Josh]

** Seriously guys, I'm having real trouble keeping up with this. Seems like I log on after 24 hours and I've missed about forty or fifty entries. It's hard to read all that and really absorb it. Just for the record. **

I'm feeling the same way, actually. I know it's hard to keep everyone on the same pace, but if anyone notices that they're having a back-and-forth that's between only two or three PCs, it's time to let the rest catch up.

Kal asked for something from Goran. Really, he should probably wait for Goran's reply before continuing on. Or at least give him 24 hours to respond!

[Jeff]

So then, shall we mandate a maximum number of posts per day? 1? 2? If we go this route, then I'd probably want to mandate a minimum number of posts, too.

What does everyone else think?

[Darren]

In my own defense, I WAS waiting for a response from Goran, but then everyone started moving ahead around me, so I figured if I didn't say something else, I was going to lose out on everything I was trying to do, so I figured that Goran would be able to catch up later.

We've been down the road of post limits before, and I still think it's a bad idea. If we know someone won't be around, we can work around that. Otherwise, we generally assume there's a flow to the game. If we limit everyone to one post a day, beyond people not really responding directly to things that are going on, the game will take FOREVER. Especially with the way we find ourselves discussing things. Think about it. If we each had one post a day, we'd probably still be back in Fairhaven right now. If you know you won't be able to check in more than once in a 24 hour period, let us know that and give us a suggestion for how you want to deal with it.

[Josh]

I can say that from this end, there is nothing more dissatisfying than coming back after less than 24 hours and seeing tons of posts between a few people. People have been expressing that sentiment from the beginning.

Being able to check in and post once a day is pretty much essential to be part of the action, BUT when you have to spend that time playing more catch up than moving forward, it results in curt, weary posts.

There's not a very good solution. Obviously there are some people who are able to and are going to post more than others. HOWEVER, if a PC specifically addresses another PC, it would be a good idea to at least give that person a chance to respond before things get out of hand and the response becomes pointless.

The matter at hand, yesterday for instance, is not that big a deal. Things didn't move beyond a point at which Goran's post was out of place.

It's up to each player to just look at the page— if your avatar is domination, and you don't see another one up there very much, how about dialing back a bit and letting people catch up?

[Jeff]

if your avatar is domination, and you don't see another one up there very much, how about dialing back a bit and letting people catch up?

It's a sound stance, Josh. But my one question to that is, how long do you wait? In some cases, days elapse. I think that's what we want to avoid.

[Ken]

I certainly understand that viewpoint. And I was hesitant to even add that final post from Belarin last night for that reason. On the flip side, there are days where there are next-to-no posts from a particular person, and days where that person's character is directly tied to an event or conversation. So usually these things tend to balance out.

Here's my suggestion: We don't need a hard limit on posts, but we're all smart, considerate people here, so how about a strongly recommended guideline of no more than three posts per day. In other words, if you've already posted three times today, take a step back and ask yourself, "Do I really need to jump back in here again or am I falling too much in love with my glorious writing? Maybe I'll let someone else jump in." If you DO post more than that, then it really should be something consequential that addresses the plot. This pretty much follows Josh's advice.

[Darren]

What Jeff said, but also...if there is a conversation going on between two people, does that mean that conversation has to end because other people haven't posted yet that day? To use recent events as an example....Kal enters the building and starts speaking with Worm. Charis and Streko also enter and join the conversation. The other characters are outside. Should the conversation inside stop because the characters outside haven't said anything?

I don't want conversations to have to be treated like turn-based combat, you know?

[Ken]

Jun 11, 2008 9:11:47 GMT -4 Darren said:

I don't want conversations to have to be treated like turn-based combat, you know?

No, it shouldn't be -- but if three or four characters are having a conversation and each of them is posting multiple times a day, it still means that all the other players have to read those posts just to make sure they didn't miss anything important. It does take time, and can lead to an "out of the loop" feeling.

Again, I don't think we need a hard rule, just more self-awareness and self-regulation.

[Josh]

Exactly. Reading these conversations, even if you want to, can be totally overwhelming.

Ken's advice of just being sensible is sound. I've found myself withholding posts because I don't want to go to far without others, in both conversational and action situations. Just because you're the first person to see a post from the DM doesn't mean you have to be the first person to act on it.

Just everyone be aware of the pace (that goes for too much AND too little posting, by the way).

[Jeff]

The latest round of ads in the Chapter 3 gameplay thread is for Iams, and other dog-related products/training. Hilarious.

[Darren]

Alright, seriously, guys. There were complaints about too much posting, so I've restrained myself, and you're still not posting anything, so I don't think the problem has been that there's too many posts to catch up on. So what's the deal?

[Joe]

Darren, just post. We'll keep up with you! :-)

[Josh]

Or we won't.

[Jeff]

Chapter 3 has ended. I'm not going to divvy out roleplaying XP right now, because XP itself is shifting a bit with the 4E conversion. But I will still account for it. Just wait and see.