Activity Check Results
The results for the Activity Check are in. Please note that the following characters were either inactive, didn't post to the activity check, or failed to speak to a moderator about their activity. Also added were characters who have dropped, for your convenience.
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That said, I know it was the same when the drafts first started. I've been here since before then. Like I said in my original comment, I've actually been bothered by this for awhile, I was just hoping something might change before I felt the need to say anything.
And... I actually think I'll have to disagree with what you said on the timeframe new muns have. When you consider how long it takes some of those apps to even be accepted compared to how quickly muns already in the game will sign up once it's announced the list is clear, that's still a pretty small window. If your app is among the last to be accepted, you could sign up the moment you get in and still be behind everyone else.
I don't see how that's logical, or more importantly, fair. Well, let me take that back. I can see how it is a nice precaution. About half of the new characters we receive drop in the first month or two, so it's nice to see if they'd even stick around that long.
But to use your example again, even if they sign up right after, they're likely going to have to wait until the draft after the first one they're there for for their characters to go. That can be spell a longer wait than necessary, especially if you're having a hard time getting involved in the game. And frankly, one new character - or even just a few - on a list of several dozen doesn't make much of a difference.
I don't think randomizing the queue would help much, for the same reasons you gave. I too actually like the way the draft is handled, more or less. For me, it's just this one issue. I'd just like to see a balance with this, which is why I think it'd be better to place a limit on how many times a character can go in a row (...and to clarify, I didn't mean they could never go again after, just that they'd have to wait a turn before going again so soon).
As for that whole "more right to influence the plot" thing - that's not true. They have the same right as anyone else to influence the plot; just because they happen to get chosen for drafts often doesn't really mean much. They get to fight back the Third Party more often, yes, but... does that actually affect the plot much in most cases? Not really.
Well, that depends. And before I say anything, I wasn't referring just to the characters that get chosen the most often when I was asking to see other characters get the chance to contribute to the plot. I meant more with people who just never seem to get to go on these things at all, even if they're signed up.
I mean, look at the last draft. Everyone who didn't get to go was told both IC and OOC that anything they would try and do to help their situation from home would be completely useless. Even if some of them did try anyways because that was IC of them to do, the fact we as muns knew it wouldn't matter in the long run made it pointless. That could have been handled differently if the characters in the village were given something to do (even if it was just a much smaller task by comparison), but in that instance the only characters that could do anything that mattered where the ones chosen for the draft. The draftees were the only ones who could contribute to the plot.
What it comes down is that older muns (usually with more characters) get to often gain both CR and take part in the plot-aspects of the draft, where newer muns (usually with fewer characters), have less opportunity for either. I've been here for a while myself, but I don't really think it's fair to do that to them.
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I'm inclined to disagree with what you said there regarding the time frame new muns have to sign up, though - as I mentioned in my comment to the anon below, I'm among the ones who recently apped a new character as well. And despite the fact he was accepted the day applications closed again and the fact that I hesitated for a while before signing him up (which led to me not actually doing so until January 16th), he... ended up on page 4. Which, once the post is cleared out again, means he's likely going to end up on the first page - as will a lot of other new characters on that page. Yes, these characters don't get to go this time, and will thus still have to wait a few more months before the next draft, but... well, considering the fact that this time, the first three pages of characters were chosen, all of which were people who signed up in December or earlier? That'd have happened even if someone's character had somehow gotten in a minute after applications opened and immediately rushed to get their character signed up for the draft.
It may not be fair, per se, but it gives new characters time to get settled in before they get booted out of the village for a few days to fight in a war they might not even have heard all that much about just yet. Your viewpoint may differ there, anon, but I personally don't think having a character drafted that soon is a particularly good thing. It's probably not going to help all that much if you've been having trouble getting involved in the game as a whole, either - that's my opinion on that particular matter, anyway.
Like I said to the anon below, a limit would admittedly help resolve the issue you brought up, but at the same time, it's also going to cause some problems. If there's another plot-heavy draft like the December one and someone who usually doesn't manage to get their character involved in plot events (like, say, the infiltration a while back) isn't allowed to have their character go solely because they've been drafted twice, maybe thrice in a row previously, that's not very fair either, is it? It really strikes me as a lose-lose situation. (And I didn't think that you meant that, don't worry! Never going again at all simply because a character went a few times in a row would've been awfully extreme, so I figured you meant they'd simply sit a round out.)
I'll admit that the last draft was definitely a case of the draftees actually having some influence on the plot, but out of all the drafts thus far, it's kind of an exception. The first two drafts didn't really affect the plot much beyond the draftees getting to fight back the Third Party, which... is really just what they were supposed to do anyway and wouldn't really do much in regards to the plot unless everyone suddenly failed their given task or something.
...But you know what? You bring up a really good idea there - giving the people who remain in the village something to do during the drafts! Especially if there's going to be another plot-heavy one someday. That'd give the people who weren't chosen something to do while the draft's going on, and it might just give them the opportunity to influence the plot a little somehow.
I can't really disagree with your last point - it's definitely true that older muns have an advantage in regards to drafts, simply because they have more time to sign up for them. But so do the newer muns once they've been around for a little while. It's really just a matter of patience at the moment. I know waiting for a newly signed up character's turn can be a little frustrating, but... patience is a virtue, I guess? And as I've already said, in this regard it does pay off.
As with the anon below, I apologize if that didn't make much sense - it's still very early over here and I... honestly haven't been awake for that long yet. :|;
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One thing I feel the need to point out is that this draft is considerably larger than the last ones. In the past, not as many people were chosen for these things.
Though actually now that I think of it, perhaps that's the better solution we can afford for a balance. A larger draft nets newer characters sooner, after all, which I think would help. Patience really is a virtue, but I don't think I'd want to wait over two months (ie. more than one draft) for my turn on the roller coaster. If the mods continue to draft a larger number of characters like they have on this one, however, I think that goes a long way in making both sides happy. The newer characters won't have to wait as long, and there will be more variety even if older muns sign up their characters again right away.
And of course, stuff for the villagers would be awesome! I think these two things combined would bring about a very win-win situation.
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Yeah, that's true. It's a much bigger draft this time around, and because of that, the queue's cleared faster, so it doesn't take as long until people who recently signed up get to go. And as you said, if that keeps up, it'd go a long way toward making both sides of the problem happy - or at the very least, it should speed things up a lot. That's no doubt a good thing.
...Though it looks like the mods already found a way to deal with the issue to some extent! Allowing more draftees in addition to the already large list (comparing the recruitment post to the new list, that's a whole page of extra characters who have the choice to go if they want - that's four pages of draftees now!) definitely strikes me as a good decision. The handicap might leave some characters unable to do much on their first day out there, but considering we're allowed to choose what that handicap is, I'd say it's a fair compromise for having such a large number of additional people go if they so wish.
And I agree on that! A large number of people being chosen for the drafts plus things for the villagers to do would both help resolve the issue of people having to wait awfully long and the one regarding villagers having very little to do while the others are out there fighting. It won't make it a total win-win situation just yet, but it'd surely improve the situation a lot, at least. ♪
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