So have another bout of insomnia so it is time for another installment of constructive criticism from Bane!!!! I am putting the TLDR at the top but if you want a more in depth commentary read the whole thing (don't expect you to).
TLDR
If staff members are not already able to use the in game notification system please allow them to use it. This is to make sure players know all of rule or policy changes for the server. You guys are wasting a whole lot of staff time warning people one by one.
If there is a rule or policy change please do the following: update the Rules of this Shard page, create a forum post about the change, use the in game notification system to notify all logged in players of the change with a link to the forum post, and update the log in message to include a mention of the rule change with a link. Effective communication with your players is easily the most important retention tool you have.
Why Am I Posting This?
What prompted this post, besides not being able to sleep, is I recently heard about a change in policy about using boats to engage with players on land. Essentially you should not use them because there is a bug that crashes players that use Sallos.
Now this post is not about the merits of this policy change. The problem is that I had to hear about this large rule change from another player. There is no mention of this policy change in the forums and there was no notification in game about this change for the players that don't frequent the forums. This is a problem.
How long have we had this problem?1
For at least the last 18 months (Full Disclosure: had a break in the middle there) changes to rules, hints as to what is to come, and temporary policy changes (so the staff has a chance to talk) have been communicated through IRC or in game warnings without any documentation on the Rules page, forums, or broadcast in game notification. The staff is limited as it is. I don't know how you can expect to manage letting everyone know about these changes on a case by case basis.
Proposed Solution
First step is to realize that it is far more efficient to take a little more time up front and notify players of changes to rule changes using the tools you already have. This should reduce in game pages and accusations of favoritism. If a rule is going to applied (permanent or temporary) here is the minimum that should be done to get the word out:
Conclusion
Regardless of what you do in response to this post I will continue to enjoy playing on UOF. That said it doesn't mean we can't improve. Please only constructive replies.
Bane.
TLDR
If staff members are not already able to use the in game notification system please allow them to use it. This is to make sure players know all of rule or policy changes for the server. You guys are wasting a whole lot of staff time warning people one by one.
If there is a rule or policy change please do the following: update the Rules of this Shard page, create a forum post about the change, use the in game notification system to notify all logged in players of the change with a link to the forum post, and update the log in message to include a mention of the rule change with a link. Effective communication with your players is easily the most important retention tool you have.
Why Am I Posting This?
What prompted this post, besides not being able to sleep, is I recently heard about a change in policy about using boats to engage with players on land. Essentially you should not use them because there is a bug that crashes players that use Sallos.
Now this post is not about the merits of this policy change. The problem is that I had to hear about this large rule change from another player. There is no mention of this policy change in the forums and there was no notification in game about this change for the players that don't frequent the forums. This is a problem.
How long have we had this problem?1
For at least the last 18 months (Full Disclosure: had a break in the middle there) changes to rules, hints as to what is to come, and temporary policy changes (so the staff has a chance to talk) have been communicated through IRC or in game warnings without any documentation on the Rules page, forums, or broadcast in game notification. The staff is limited as it is. I don't know how you can expect to manage letting everyone know about these changes on a case by case basis.
Proposed Solution
First step is to realize that it is far more efficient to take a little more time up front and notify players of changes to rule changes using the tools you already have. This should reduce in game pages and accusations of favoritism. If a rule is going to applied (permanent or temporary) here is the minimum that should be done to get the word out:
- Create a forum post for the rule change and don't allow replies. Indicate whether this is a change pending review from Adam and/or Shane or if it is permanent. If you have time you can add why you changed/added the rule but this is just extra. Please don't point fingers at abusers as this is just counter productive.
- Create a one time in game notification that shows to all players currently logged in as well as to players that log in later. Include a TLDR version of the rule change and a link to the forum post. I am sure there are a ton of players that rarely look at the forums. This makes sure that players are informed.
- Once the rule is approved by the top dogs and becomes permanent add it to the Rules page so new players know about it going forward.
Conclusion
Regardless of what you do in response to this post I will continue to enjoy playing on UOF. That said it doesn't mean we can't improve. Please only constructive replies.
Bane.
Last edited by a moderator:
. Will try it out thanks.
