COMMUNITY - FORUMS - GENERAL DISCUSSION
[ PSA ] On Bumping Threads...

A few persons brought up the difference in traffic in the various sub-forums, and also that the bumping issue was not limited to Guild Recruitment. So, for now, it's been moved to General Discussion for greater visibility!

Though this PSA references organizations, the sentiment there :)


Hail, fellows—

It warms my heart to see you guys so actively engaged in creating and nurturing your own communities within ours. To unite a group of people with a shared ideal or cause is no easy task, especially as not everyone will agree on everything regardless of their shared passion.

That said, it's been recently brought to my attention that the threads of many of the smaller organizations are being bumped off the front page — and ultimately out of visibility — by the larger, louder organizations.

While we do encourage activity, a closer look at just what was being posted to keep these threads at the top of the listing merits conversation...


So, what's happening, exactly?

Social butterflies are flitting from one thread to another, pollinating the various threads they land on with activity. There's nothing wrong with this, really, as it promotes discussion between people with shared goals and interests!

However... the issue lies with the fact that conversation isn't being promoted.

The content in many of the posts being made tends to be lacking more often than not and when the same person has posted in multiple threads within the span of minutes, the substance in those posts are, sadly, little to none.

In many cases, the wording is pretty much the same. In a few, there's only one word... and in others, not even a word at all.

This violates our Code of Conduct.

Do not spam the forums by reposting a comment multiple times within a single thread. Furthermore, do not spam the forums with comments comprising a single word or link.

.

Avoid posting the same comment multiple times across multiple threads.

I recognize that our current Code of Conduct does not specify one-liners, nor does it elaborate on what constitutes as a non/constructive post. This is an oversight that we will be correcting with a revised and updated CoC in the near-future.

We want this community to thrive and succeed in their various endeavors. We want you guys to be able to converse with one another and, for the Guild Recruitment forum specifically, be able to recruit like-minded individuals to your organization — no matter if said organization is a seasoned veteran well-established within the community or a fledgling newcomer seeking to make a name for themselves.

This is difficult to achieve when a lot of threads are being bumped out of visibility, and difficult to bear when those bumps occur because of what amounts to spam. It's all well and good to welcome someone new to your organization, but please — try and keep others in mind and keep your posts constructive.

Venture away from static, uninvolving posts and keep your thread bumped with relevant updates regarding the recent going-ons in your organization. Use the prose you guys have shown time and again that you have! Not only would this increase the relevancy of your bumps, but it would also help improve the impression newcomers might have of your organization when they stumble upon a thread filled not with page after page of simple text, but a story of a developing organization.

By switching your method of bumps from something trivial to something material, you allow other organizations the chance to blossom, too. And, who knows? They may end up becoming a valuable ally in the future, or a notable adversary to rise against... all of which generates more story elements for you to partake in and enrich your experience in Elyria.


Pledged to the continued cultivation of camaraderie, as campaigner of the community and company,

Caeoltoiri


5/26/2017 12:40:49 AM #1

Needs more condensed salt ;) (Joke from Discord)

No but honestly, this is a great reminder. I myself have fallen prey to the occasional regularly bumped post or We're still here type of post to bump a recruitment thread. Sometimes it's just hard to come up with something relevant during the lulls. Still, one should always attempt to be constructive and informative.

It just highlights once again that bumping for bumping's sake is just not amusing. No one wants to read an entire thread of bumps. I know I'd rather read an entire page of comments comprised of relevant information or interesting facts, stories, or humor.

Maybe bumping via limericks will catch on now... who knows xD


5/26/2017 1:27:41 AM #2

I think you're absolutely right!

I have a suggestion:

You have two boxes that shows new posts in general and new posts answered by the developer team in the forum's front page.

My question is if you could create a new one ONLY for recruitment related posts. It wouldn't solve the problem enterely, but it would help I believe. :)


5/26/2017 1:43:20 AM #3

The competition in guild recruitment section is harsh, partially because all servers, guilds, towns, counties etc. are still crammed into one list and everyone wants to stay at the top. At least those bumps aren't filling up the Recent Posts anymore.

It's surprisingly hard for a smaller organization to bump itself in a meaningful way since the recruitment section is not the hotspot for conversations. It's rare to see anyone outside of the organization to randomly come and comment threads.

On the other hand there are people who seem to comment on every thread in Recent Posts with useless oneliners just to increase their post counts and to make themselves (and their signature) seen. It's just a minor nuisance but still against good forum etiquette.

Hopefully we will be seeing a better recruitment section with subsections soon ;)


5/26/2017 2:17:38 AM #4

@Caeoltoiri

If possible, could the site manager provide data on the peak/lull traffic times with a specific time zone marker?

This would provide those with something they want viewed an optimal window to post it.


5/26/2017 2:37:55 AM #5

Posted By Kelipski at 10:17 PM - Thu May 25 2017

@Caeoltoiri

If possible, could the site manager provide data on the peak/lull traffic times with a specific time zone marker?

This would provide those with something they want viewed an optimal window to post it.

That's the same problem condensed into those times.


I don't know anymore.

5/26/2017 2:42:54 AM #6

Posted By Rofus at 11:43 AM - Fri May 26 2017

Hopefully we will be seeing a better recruitment section with subsections soon ;)

I've long believed a recruitment forum split into NA, EU and ANZ would be a start. NA may even require an East/West split to really go some way to solving the problem, but at least a general split into those three areas would do a lot of good to begin with.


FWIW, I was KS Backer #21 and wanted nothing but the best for this game.

5/26/2017 2:45:55 AM #7

Posted By Takeda_Shinukage at 10:37 PM - Thu May 25 2017

Posted By Kelipski at 10:17 PM - Thu May 25 2017

@Caeoltoiri

If possible, could the site manager provide data on the peak/lull traffic times with a specific time zone marker?

This would provide those with something they want viewed an optimal window to post it.

That's the same problem condensed into those times.

But its not bumping old threads hoping to get noticed. The board can hold several messages. At least posting during peak activity provides a better probability that someone just watching the front page will notice. If your thread doesn't survive then, maybe it is because people aren't too interested.


5/26/2017 3:02:21 AM #8

I was really hoping when I saw the thread title that I could come and leave a bump as a joke but then realised this was a serious thread from Caeoltoiri not a whine from a random community member.

Also if people are intending to RP once in game why not RP in your recruitment threads. This way you can keep the thread alive build your characters and their interactions while maintaining a strong community.


5/26/2017 3:48:33 AM #9

Kingdoms are pretty stable atm, One option could be to just create a dedicated board for each Kingdom and then any bump wars would be the problem of the Kingdom it belongs too.

Problem solved, delegating is fun and efficient!

5/26/2017 4:19:55 AM #10

This is why I'm waiting the forum split to come. It's basically impossible for any APAC recruitment post to stay on the first page for longer than a few hours. Unless it's our peak time. More so when one person from that community bumps about 10+ threads from their kingdom.


5/26/2017 4:53:14 AM #11

If you have nothing to say dont post. If forum becomes full of telemarketers not even going to come on forums and your bumps do more to ruin reputation than build it. If you want to spam go on linkedin.


5/26/2017 6:42:28 AM #12

So you make a recruitment section, and then limit recruitment? Sure...

Given we don't bump: How will the little guys recruit people when all everybody talks about is the giant kingdoms and 100+ organizations?

Edit: I realize this is in the General Discussion forum, perhaps I should've put this in the original thread in Recruitment, my beard


5/26/2017 7:04:57 AM #13

I would recommend reading the whole post @Exhibition.

5/26/2017 7:14:57 AM #14

@Sev I'll try to reiterate: No bumping -> no movement in the list other than updates on changes (which is technically bumping but lets exclude that for now) -> the first page filled with large organizations and the later pages hosting the smaller organizations.

Then again, we'd all be better off with a proper recruitment system, such as is said to be worked on with the V3 update. Which makes me think, why are we even having this conversation? They're going to fix it anyways right? >.>

Edit I'd like to add Sev: I have read the whole post. Automatically assuming I haven't if I disagree with something is very low. Get a grip.


5/26/2017 7:40:34 AM #15

Posted By Exhibition at 03:14 AM - Fri May 26 2017

@Sev I'll try to reiterate: No bumping -> no movement in the list other than updates on changes (which is technically bumping but lets exclude that for now) -> the first page filled with large organizations and the later pages hosting the smaller organizations.

Then again, we'd all be better off with a proper recruitment system, such as is said to be worked on with the V3 update. Which makes me think, why are we even having this conversation? They're going to fix it anyways right? >.>

Edit I'd like to add Sev: I have read the whole post. Automatically assuming I haven't if I disagree with something is very low. Get a grip.

There's nothing wrong with bumping a thread but they don't want people to constantly spam "Bump!" in every thread their Kingdom tells them to. Actually engage with the people or let the thread die?