Logfile from Nerak - HT.
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Date: Tue Feb 17 18:02:18 2004 CST
From: Sudanna (#17031)
Subject: Healer Hall
As we all know, the Hall is, for lack of a better term.. quietly dying.
From conversations gathered here, there and elsewhere it seems there is disatisfaction with a lot of how things are done.
As the actual staff is lessthen active currently, I am going to be opening up this conversation on what changes would make Healer Hall playable and active to healer rankers mailer.
Hopefully a lively discussion may ensue and we can make the Hall again a place to be proud to belong to, a craft worth wearing the knot of. (Okay.. cue sappy music.)
That being said.. I'll be @sending to rankers in a little bit, just have to do some few things and see if there are any /major/ objections to opening up discussions.
Let's face it, we have to do something!
Danna
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[Healer] Alain: We replying to the mailer, Danna?
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Date: Tue Feb 17 18:49:08 2004 CST
From: Sudanna (#17031)
Subject: Attention Folks, Healer Hall needs your help!
As we all know, the Hall is, for lack of a better term.. quietly dying.
From conversations gathered here, there and elsewhere it seems there is disatisfaction with a lot of how things are done.
The hope is, to open up this conversation to what changes would make Healer Hall playable and active, remembering that there /are/ certain constraints that we need to keep in mind.
Healers do need to have accurate information .. How do we gain that? How do we disseminate that to the apprentices, how do we make sure all the healers have it, have access to it?
Hopefully a lively discussion may ensue and we can make the Hall again a place to be proud to belong to, a craft worth wearing the knot of. (Okay.. cue sappy music.)
Okay, let's see some discussion, ideas, thoughts, arguments.. conversation. Let's get the Hall back on track. even if it means revamping how things are done.
Let's face it, we have to do something!
Sudanna, a worried Healer.
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[staff] Nerak: with this many people on... we can talk about the idlish hall?
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Date: Tue Feb 17 18:58:41 2004 CST
From: Kiriya (#21704)
Subject: Reviving The Healer Hall
Classes. We've had very few of those lately, to my knowledge. Now I know people's lives have probably been extremely hectic lately, but perhaps occasionally each active journeyman and up could try to set aside at least one Saturday or Sunday per month - spaced around, of course, to make sure all the weekends are covered - to teach a basic or advanced class. The rankers, especially the newer journeymen, get classtime in, and the apprentices get amusement from the classes.
Personally, I wouldn't worry so much about accuracy as making sure RP actually happens around the Hall. Numbweed gathering trips? The occasional healer meeting/conclave/powwow? Random Natural Disasters? There's lots of good event opportunities - and it's been a good bit, I think, since Healer Hall's seen a TP. Definitely could use one or two of those.
If I get any more ideas, I'll be sure to post more.
~Kiriya, Shayla's Asst. Weyrhealer Lackey @ Ista.
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[rankers] Kiriya: We've got pretty accurate info already s'far as I know.
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Date: Tue Feb 17 18:59:11 2004 CST
From: Alain (#21441)
Subject: Re: Attention Folks
Hey, just a thought for you here. Maybe we're at the point where we should focus a little more on marketing and less on content. Not that I'm saying classes aren't important. That -certainly- isn't the case. But the problem at the moment seems to be that we don't have anyone to teach classes to.
So the question we'd ask in my line of work (aka marketing) is what is it the consumer needs that he or she isn't getting from us? How can we drag people back into the craft?
We're dealing with two problems, I think: one is that the MOO is in a recession. The other is that, because of the recession, new players are harder to hook and get to join.
So, what do we have that the other craft doesn't have? I think that answer is quite easy:
Me.
We'll market me to all the people out there. No other craft has Alain. I'm charming and witty and everyone wants me...
What? No good. Ahem.
In all seriousness, I'd like to see a little less emphasis on class RP and on injury RP. Maybe we should start encouraging people to specialize in interracial...er...intercraft specialties. Just about every craft has a need for a particular kind of healer. It also seems that it would be interesting to have classes nobody has done before, when the time for classes comes around.
Maybe we could even try lureing other crafts in a little and encourage some minor cross-crafting. Perhaps come up with a new title for people who specialize in only one kind of healing.
As a side note, there was a point where Beka was going to have all of her apprentices take first aid, and that sort of fizzled out. There's another possibility for more RP: offering classes to non-healerfolk who only want basic training in things like first aid.
So there is my bundle of answers. Sorry for the spam.
Feedback welcome.
*smoochies*
~Al
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[rankers] Alain: I think it's pretty accurate. The big problem I see is no apprentices, and/or disinterested apprentices.
[rankers] Kiriya: Seriously. >.> I think sometimes we worry a little too much about accuracy.
[rankers] Morallen nods. I've tried offering classes myself, but no-one's taken up the offer.
[rankers] Kiriya: If it pops up in a scene, sure, the info's nice to draw on, but... otherwise, mph.
[rankers] Morallen doesn't think accuracy's the problem, Kiri. All that'd take is just referring to a webpage to get it.
[rankers] Kiriya: Yeah.
[rankers] Kylianna: There's just inactivity on every level. Trying to snap back into status quo is difficult, and it's a matter of finding something that makes people want to come back who have been gone, and sparks interest for new people to want to join the craft.
[rankers] Morallen personally thinks the problem is that during my last bout of activity, the apprentices didn't want to RP, they wanted the rankers to hold their hands and spoon-feed them information, and above all, they didn't want to have to, oh dear Bob, be *gasp* creative.
[rankers] Nerak: has had a few people ask for classes - and have taught them, but it was to one person... also have done a few interviews lately. But... have also taken some healers off the roles... they wanted out of healers. We definately need something...
[rankers] Kiriya: Yeah.
[rankers] Alain: And injuries, mass destruction and more classes don't seem to be the way to get people interested...if they were, we'd have people interested now.
[rankers] Kiriya: And political intrigue just doesn't work, sometimes.
[rankers] Morallen nods. The problem is getting people to have those injuries for us to treat. ;) I'd -love- more medical RP.
[rankers] Kylianna: It's hard, because in a lot of ways, that's what the craft system is geared towards. You jump through the hoops, you get the shiny knot, there's no really motivation to do much else in the meantime.
[rankers] Alain lols, "Political intrigue is -way- overdone. We need to come up with something completely new--or so old everyone's forgotten about it."
[rankers] Alain: And like Kyli said, there's no motivation to do anything -after- you make Jman, either.
[rankers] Nerak: Hmmm. True... I do think RP and hall activity is what is going to bring people... my 2 cents worth..
[rankers] Kylianna: Political intrigue isn't necessarily overdone. It's how you do it that counts!
[rankers] Kiriya: The fake MH tp was pretty amusing. :D In my opinion.
[rankers] Alain: The trouble is, you have to come up with something that -everyone- can participate in, not just gossip about.
[rankers] Morallen nods at Kyli. Indeed. I'd personally love to see the hoops just clean gone, but I admit to getting heretical since I started exploring other genres of game. ;)
[rankers] Kylianna: Yeah. Being an active spot definitely will attract people. Especially given how many crafts are facing inactivity. But then you get the question of how to get activity consistant and up in the craft. You need people of all ranks being active, RPing... and that, at this point, requires fresh blood.
[rankers] Kylianna hoops Morallen. Mrowl!
[rankers] Morallen: Or, Alain, just coming up with our own plots. A TP that includes EVERYONE often ends up pleasing no-one. But if we can get the apprentices to play amongst themselves without having to go through labrynthine circles of getting permission, that might help.
[rankers] Kylianna is not smart enough to figure out how to be rid of hoops. But some people have been thinking about it and coming up with ideas.
[rankers] Alain smooches and has to head out. Ta.
[rankers] Aerrin: Actually thinks that's a misconception, Alain, that causes half the problems - the assumption that TPs have to include everyone make them more heavy and unweildy and make some people less likely to want to run them.
[rankers] Kylianna: Yeah. Having apprentices that play and want to play amongst themselves always seemed important to basic craft activity. Though gettin' something for us old fogies to focus on and play with would be nice. :)
[rankers] Nerak: agrees that our decline in activity seems to correspond to making promotions harder... but I dont know if it's coincidence, inactivity on the whole game, or if that is actually the problem.
[rankers] Aerrin would rather see several small TPs, character or group specific, than one big one that attempts to include everyone.
[rankers] Aerrin obviously does not read before I type.
[rankers] Kiriya: Advertising is a good idea. Usually cooking up a TP is a good reason to advertise, as well - it provides a motivation for people to get sucked in.
[rankers] Morallen rowrs at Kyli. Why, if I wasn't taken... >:) And indeed, Kyli. I'm not saying we isolate them completely, just that I'd like to see more encouragement that they -can- do things without us hand-holding, and that we love and apprenciate them when they do it. :)
[rankers] Kylianna: The whole game is definitely getting more inactive. But there's always going to be an interest, so there's no reason for the craft to be and stay dead.
[rankers] Morallen nods. I remember when I was a Harper appy elsealt, the Craft was small, and promotions/getting permission were simple. And it -worked-.
[rankers] Sudanna: I don't see TPs as the answer. I see an ongoing attempt to keep things moving forward as the solution. TPs get bogged down in details and who's on when. I want to know what we can do to keep things flowing forward.
[rankers] Morallen thinks we need a complete paradigm shift in our approach to how the Craft's run OOCly.
[rankers] Nerak agrees... there is no reason for the healer craft to die... we know CPR for goodness sake! :) Honestly though... I know that when we had a lot of activity, people were joining just to be in one of hte more active crafts. I do try to RP with appies as much as possible.
[rankers] Kylianna: TPs can be part of a way to keep things flowing forward, though, depending how they're handled. There's so many different things that really fall under the heading of 'TP' that I don't think it's something to rule out.
[rankers] Sudanna: Tps help, but I think theya re more of a gimmick then the way we shouold run the Hall.
[rankers] Kylianna nods. Being one the most active crafts back in the day really attracted people.
[rankers] Sudanna: I was thinking about reviewing ways we handle the actual way the Hall is run.
[rankers] Kylianna: Not necessarily a way to run the Hall, but a way to do something activity-wise. I mean, it's a way to get something to RP /about/, something to do that generates interest other than the day-to-day.
[rankers] Nerak we can keep in mind though... Giving the Appies ideas to RP about... have them cleaning floors, or having infirmary shifts - they could NPC a Jman if one isn't available. Also, there hasn't been an appy sleepover in ages! Not that there are many appies on at once anymore...
[rankers] Sudanna: Right Kyli..:>
[rankers] Kylianna grins. Appy sleepovers rocked.
[rankers] Kiriya: Ahhh, the old days of appy sleepovers. I'd NPC an apprentice if I could.
[rankers] Kiriya: Remember the one where Kiriya scared the bejeezus out of Ner?
[rankers] Kiriya: And then Jathen scared the bejeezus out of Kir with the trundlebug cans? Good times, man.
[rankers] Morallen would like to see a back-to-basics approach. If you want RP, go get RP, and don't be afraid to do more than klah-sip. There's sort've a general impression in Pern gaming that you can't have conflict of any sort, or you might offend someone. And conflict doesn't have to mean angst. It can be a pair of apprentices competing to be head of their class, a pair of journeymen competing to catch the eye of the masters, etc.
[rankers] Kylianna: Also, giving things for Jmen to do other than teach classes and Jmanly. I mean, there were times where I couldn't get apprentices to RP with me other than classes.
[rankers] Nerak still thinks that if we offer more classes, and advertise them beforehand, then more people would get on more! Maybe we need to schedule things for awhile instead of relying on spur of the moment RP...
[rankers] Sudanna: So, how can we make this a good time again? ANd still make the craft a craft?
[rankers] Nerak: and yeah... I loved those sleepovers! hehe... they were so much fun!!!
[rankers] Kylianna: To have people show up at classes, though, would require more active apprentices. I don't think just offering classes really could work at this point in time.
[rankers] Morallen nods at Kylianna. I don't think more formality is the answer. I think the formality is what's killing the Craft, partially. TOo much red tape, too much confusion for those who haven't been immersed in things as long as we have.
[rankers] Sudanna: What we need is to have things in the mailer, so we have this written and in discussion so we can round-robin it all. Do we want RP-promotion? Quizzes? Projects? It's not a concesus, but everyone should have some say, ya know?
[rankers] Nerak: also, a point was made... when the Jmen walked around and kept fear in the hearts of the appies (ESpecially Jathen - the butcher) it made for great RP! Kyli, I 'm not sure about that... When I'm online, I have gotten requests for classes.
[rankers] Nerak: maybe have another healer meeting? I know those are hard to set up and do... but I think it would help things...
[rankers] Kylianna: Yeah. But even still, classes aren't going to be the thing to fix this.
[rankers] Kylianna: I mean, apprentices risk getting stuck at that journeyman project impasse.
[rankers] Kiriya: Oh, yeah.
[rankers] Morallen: In any case, the idea of a journeyman's project is a game-created concept, not a canon one.
[rankers] Nerak: true, they definately do get stuck on the project. I realize that. Maybe we can tone down the requirements for the project. I do know several people who left, or almost left the hall due to how difficult the projects were.
[rankers] Kylianna spent RL years working on hers. It's definitely a problem.
[rankers] Kiriya: Definitely tone down the jmen projects. From personal experience I can say they can get a... little horrific. To say the least.
[rankers] Kylianna: It's what kills some people that should otherwise be promoted.
[rankers] Kiriya: I know this is a large game and it's rather impersonal, but for the sake of keeping our playerbase I'd do it.
[rankers] Nerak agrees. One person who left the hall has asked me to return, but wants to know if the project guidelines have changed...
[rankers] Morallen can honestly say he put more effort into his project than he ever has on a school one... and I'm in my third year at university. ;)
[rankers] Sudanna: We all spent too much time on our projects, I think. it is an issue. Heck, when was the last time there were any masters promoted? Elehu is certainly due if you ask me, as is Jathen.
[rankers] Kylianna: And there's just so many other options that make better sense to create RP than a project. The project is an idea that works well, but has really gone out of control in a lot of ways.
[rankers] Nerak agrees. I honestly think that part of this inactivity started when people were complaining about the projects... then they stopped being active. We need to promote activity, not research. ;)
[rankers] Kiriya: I'm sure some of you staffers remember all my issues with mine. :D
[rankers] Nerak: dont get me wrong... I think something should be done, but the huge projects have to go...
[rankers] Kiriya: Precisely, Ner.
[rankers] Sudanna: I have two BA's and I re-wrote that da*m paper I don't know how many times..LOL
[rankers] Kylianna went inactive due to her project. I couldn't stand to log in for about six months.
[rankers] Nerak: heh... See, we need mindhealers after projects! heh.
[rankers] Kiriya: So, I suppose we're in general consensus that Big Projects Are A No-No.
[rankers] Sudanna: I think we can take each player at a more personal level and dertermine each as the time comes. but again.. this needs to be written down and sent to the mailer.
[rankers] Kylianna doesn't like them as a requirement. I mean, if a person wants to come up with a new specialty, or run a TP? More power to 'em, that's awesome. And there are people that enjoy that, definitely. But not as a requirement.
[rankers] Nerak: what about something like a health fair? Bring people in, teach first aid, show them the hall - kind of like hte open house, but make it more fun, if possible and less 'informative'.
[rankers] Sudanna: And staff will still discuss it and toss things around and tweak and al that good stuff.
[rankers] Kiriya: Possibly an optional jman project could count for brownie points towards promotion, so to speak, but not be completely required.
[rankers] Kiriya: Could be a positive reinforcement though.
[rankers] Nerak: agrees... Things do need to change. The question is how. Should we have a ranker meeting, then a whole healer meeting to get people's ideas in?
[rankers] Kiriya thinks you guys should have a staff meeting. You guys run the craft after all.
[rankers] Morallen would go for that. :)
[rankers] Kiriya: I wouldn't have an intermediate rankers-in-general step - staff -> all healers.
[rankers] Nerak: hehe, then again, we have quite a few rankers on now! hehe... More than I've seen on in a long time! :)
[rankers] Kiriya: Eyup.
[rankers] Sudanna: We need staff in there at some point before we take it to healers in general nerak.
[rankers] Nerak: I do agree that we need to meet as a staff first to get an idea of what we want done and where we want to go with this... but Even though we may 'run' the craft as staff... we need good ideas! We get good ideas from you all... from all the healers. If we bat the ideas around, we get ideas from teh few of us... if we do it in a larger forum, we get more ideas. More ideas = better Healers! :) My thoughts anyways.
[rankers] Sudanna: That's why I sent the @send Nerak. That's why I keep saying @send these ideas..:>
[rankers] Jathen: Alright guys. What do you think if, like a weyr we had cycles. We brought the apprentices in in a group so that they have a group of people their age and such. Create group unity, some good RP, and they wouldn't count on us as much to entertain them. Anyone else feel like a trained monkey?
[rankers] Kiriya: Like... appy classes?
[rankers] Jathen: Correct.
[rankers] Nerak: that's a good idea... instead of having them trickle in?
[rankers] Kiriya: Organized kind of like a high school?
[rankers] Jathen: More like college, but yes. I was thinking of organizing it so it's a tad more flexible.
[rankers] Morallen mmms. I like that idea. And it makes a lot of sense organizationally IC, too.
[rankers] Nerak: likes that idea. I remember it was a lot of fun having the same people in all my classes! I think that's why we got along so well and actually had the sleepovers! :)
[rankers] Morallen: I mean, the current way it works, everyone's getting plonked in at random times, and are stuck either playing catch-up madly, or are so far ahead they're bored.
[rankers] Aerrin has postulated this very thing.
[rankers] Kylianna likes the idea.
[rankers] Kiriya: Sounds great, Jath.
[rankers] Aerrin: In other words, I think it's an excellent idea.
[rankers] Jathen: Alright then. Lemme write some stuff up and send it to all of you. Gimme a day or two.
[rankers] Kiriya: Woot.
[rankers] Aerrin offers for perusal, if anyone cares - www.livejournal.com/users/aerrin
[rankers] Nerak: cheers, good idea. :)
[rankers] Jathen: Also, I think to get us more out in the open, we should declare sickness seasons to holds, halls, and weyrs. Like, 'It's flu season! Play sick! See your /Healer/!'
[rankers] Sudanna: I like that idea, Jathen. it makes sense.
[rankers] Nerak: Ohhh... another great idea! :)
[rankers] Sudanna: Okay.. everyone who suggested something /here/.. @send it as well.
[rankers] Kiriya: Yay. Sickness seasons. :D
[rankers] Jathen: Anyone else like the sickness season idea?
[rankers] Kylianna likes it!
[rankers] Morallen raises a hand. :)
[rankers] Aerrin does. It's a good concept to work in.
[rankers] Nerak: yeps again!
[rankers] Kiriya likes it.
[rankers] Aerrin also mentions, the last two entries. Not just the random LJ.
[rankers] Kylianna gives Aerrin a thumbs up. Dude, interesting thoughts. I like the idea of quizzes, and bonding activiities. And the idea of insta-rankers as a possibility. I mean, it's a way to add color and give us oldies more people to interact with, to ensure that /everyone/ has peers to play with.
[rankers] Nerak: so... Sickness seasons, classes that start together, make promotions easier and/or based on RP not solely on projects... what else am I missing?
[rankers] Jathen: Oh, here's something. We actually appoint a creative individual who's been through the projects and all that jazz to help people with their projects. I'm not sure how crazy I am about insta-anythings, but I'm willing to listen. I just strikes a bad chord with me.
[rankers] Aerrin has always been a huge fan of InstaRiders. They add a dynamic that you can't get anywhere else. I think the same would apply to rankers
[rankers] Nerak: so a project manager so to speak? One person who works with it?
[rankers] Aerrin also plays revolutionary and thinks we should nix projects completely. Buh bye.
[rankers] Sudanna: I'm not sure about the Insta's as well. There's more to know as a healer then there is asa rider... I'm on the fence there .. I'd need to know and be convinced. An NPC for a purpose is one thing, as a regular? I need convincing still.
[rankers] Jathen: Yeah. You can @send this person, meet with them.
[rankers] Kylianna likes Instas for the idea of just getting more among the rankers. I mean, part of it is for ourselves. Once you get up there in age a little, 30-40 turns, you know everyone your age in the craft. There's no new peers for you really. And I think that it's something to think about, also for the apprentices, adding more color to the hall. I don't think Insta-Masters would be a good idea, but having some sort of older characters... Even along the lines of trying to get older characters around in the form of infirmary assistants or characters otherwise involved with the hall would be interesting for the dynamic.
[rankers] Kiriya: Insta-rankers are okay on me. I have two.
[rankers] Kiriya: Not insta-masters of course. Insta-jmen, though.
[rankers] Sudanna: I have no issue with nixing projects.
[rankers] Aerrin doesn't think so, Sudanna. I think that sort of thinking has led us into more and more nitpickyness that have led people to idle out. So long as you know where to find information, I don't see the fuss.
[rankers] Nerak: so like Hall staff, not necessarily appies? That was actually asked of me the other day! Someone wanted to know if we just had people that staffed our hall - cleaning and soforth. I was going to write the staff about that. Might be fun.
[rankers] Kylianna: Heck, even give the instas an OOC quiz if we must to be sure they know to access the information. But I think it's an interesting idea. You get different aspects into the hall.
[rankers] Kylianna: Getting in hall staff would be interesting, definitely.
[rankers] Aerrin nods. I'd give them the same quizzes I want to see apprentices take for promotion, and then let them loose.
[rankers] Kylianna just likes seeing /all/ kinds of characters, all ages and ranks in the craft. And part of the problem on games like this is you end up with a very distinct 14-24 range for the majority characters, which can be a bit limiting.
[rankers] Sudanna: Still not convinced about Instas. I'm not ready to let that one go...
[rankers] Nerak: could we have another dorm room for 'the hall staff' and one for the appies?
[rankers] Aerrin really thinks forcing everyone to start on the level is a huge problem for us.
[rankers] Aerrin: That, projects, and classes.
[rankers] Kiriya: Insta-ranker for healer's not too hard. There's a wealth of info on the net.
[rankers] Jathen: I think that my group idea would really give the hall more population in the long term and people would feel the weight of accomplishment that they moved up and didn't just get there, if you know what I mean, Aerrin.
[rankers] Kiriya: In the event that we end up needing to actually ACCESS it.
[rankers] Nerak: thinks we can offer 'instas' to people coming in who were possibly rankers previously?
[rankers] Aerrin nods at Jathen. Go read my manifesto. ;) great minds and all.
[rankers] Kiriya hearts your manifesto, Aer.
[rankers] Aerrin nods at Kiriya. And thanks to Narali, we have a fabulous webpage.
[rankers] Aerrin: Also, randomly, I discovered that my lost-forever class and TP and Healer logs are on archive.org! *hearts Kyli*
[rankers] Kiriya: Eyup.
[rankers] Sudanna: Projects I can kiss goodbye, I'm willing to see RP for knowledge and 'clep' testing, as it were.. but not sure/convinced yet about Instas.
[rankers] Kylianna really likes the group idea. Just so much room for plot between characters, and really helping appies. Though I'm still a little unclear about implimentation, given the sort of 'join whenever' policy we have now. But I think it's fabulous, it's just a issue of figuring out how long an appy should be an appy before promotion, and how to determine that.
[rankers] Kiriya: At the very least, can we PLEASE drop projects.
[rankers] Kiriya: Don't need to make appies miserable. :D
[rankers] Jathen (to Aerrin): In other words, instas are a bad idea and we should try my cycle project for a while before we jump the metaphorical gun.
[rankers] Kylianna nods. Projects should be dropped. I mean, you'll always have people who want to run TPs, or do little OOC things or come up with new class ideas. But forcing it on those who just wanna get out and RP really can be detrimental.
[rankers] Aerrin: At the risk of making Kyli insane.. I think we can actually take a lot of lessons from HP, as far as classes go. As far as an academic intensive environments, with layers, go.
[rankers] Kylianna runs away sobbing. Not HP! Nooooo!
[rankers] Nerak doens't like the idea of dropping classes! I had a LOT of fun in the classes. I did take the time to get online when they were pre-advertised... I thought it was a great way for the appies to get to know one another.
[rankers] Kylianna likes classes.
[rankers] Aerrin thinks that Instas are more key than cycles, myself. Personally, I think jumping the gun is exactly what we need. Big. Because we have some major problems, and I think taking little tiny steps is going to hinder, not help us.
[rankers] Aerrin isn't proposing we don't ever do classes, Nerak - I'm proposing that we only do them for RP.
[rankers] Kylianna: But they need to be tweaked, so that there's more interaction in them, and less of a lecture. And that there's far less stress about them being the Be All End All. I think they're great, just needing to be altered a bit.
[rankers] Jathen: I disagree. You're asking for a mountain to a moved when all your need to do is make a bridge over it.
[rankers] Kiriya: But how do we build the bridge, Jath?
[rankers] Aerrin really doesn't think so. I've seen us try bridges before. They tend to be a stop-gap fix. I think our problems are at a fundemental level, and I think that by stepping up and making some fundemental changes, we will not only help focus on RP rather than OOC nitpicks, but that we will also stir up interest in folks who would not otherwise have it.
[rankers] Jathen: The classes. We bring in a wave, let them RP for a time. Then bring in another class. This will pressure them on their own to move up. Go to class. Be active. Get out and RP. And eventually we have good rankers.
[rankers] Aerrin: And where do we get the classes? how many applicants have we had in the last 6 months?
[rankers] Nerak nods. Yeah... I felt that in order to get in all the info, the classes had to be /really/ long to have interaction... I say we have all the class info on a webpage, have the people look at the webpage while in the classes adn be able to use it as a resource when RP'ing. I know that many of the classes are online now... but I also know that they are /very/ detailed. I think that the classes are a big help. Definately agree to have them less of a lecture.
[rankers] Jathen: Admittedly we'll havet to start small, Aerrin. It's a work in progress.
[rankers] Kylianna thinks that if not instas, /something/ needs to be done to get a bit more diversity in the hall. The idea for hall staff really, realyl intrigues me. But I do think the idea of doing a couple instas should be considered, it could be done somehow to correspond with whatever we impliment to change the system. I don't know. I mean, I think it's worth continuing to look at as an idea.
[rankers] Kiriya: For the classes themselves - is there any way we can tweak 'em to make them more interactive?
[rankers] Aerrin thinks starting small is the problem, myself.
[rankers] Kiriya: Besides the Physicals one, which is way interactive.
[rankers] Aerrin nods at Nerak. If you make classes not required, that allows you to go interesting RP places instead of having to get all the info out there. You get that info in other ways.
[rankers] Kylianna: Yeah, I mean, the info itself in classes can really be cut down if the webpages are good and accessible, which leaves much more room for RP to be goin' on.
[rankers] Kiriya likes the idea of having a set number of years as an apprentice before graduating into jman-hood. Works sort of like weyrlinghood, riderwise. But longer.
[rankers] Aerrin: Yes.
[rankers] Kiriya: And you can play an apprentice in a certain year, I suppose.
[rankers] Kiriya: Right from the outset.
[rankers] Jathen: And eventually over time you graduate to master? Where does it stop?
[rankers] Nerak agrees! That was my thought! Make that healer webpage work for everyone! Have all the info there, and RP the classes interactively. I love the idea of hall staff too. I could send the person who asked me about it a message and see if she's still interested.
[rankers] Kiriya: Probably at journeymen. Think of it like med school - so many years before you become a doctor. Of course, only so many people make it to, say, the board of some big association, and only one gets to be Surgeon General.
[rankers] Aerrin talked about that in the lengthy diatribe. Jmen is where it stops.
[rankers] Kiriya: To put it in an RL context.
[rankers] Aerrin nods at Kiriya. Yes.
[Staff] Aerrin: Nerak, did you swing by my entries?
[rankers] Kiriya: Journeymen being the backbone of the craft, there'll probably be a lot.
[rankers] Jathen: Alright, so at Journeymen, then you have to do a project. Like for a masters???
[Staff] Nerak: yep, reading them now! though it's hard to keep up with this chat and read! hehe... I like it htough!
[rankers] Kylianna likes the idea of a sort of set time for apprenticeship, so you have a general idea. Though maybe have it be a little flexible. But. Hrm. I dunno, gotta be some sort of small thing to ensure that the people we're promoting do have a base amount of activity in the craft.
[Staff] Aerrin: not to be repetitive - it's just that I already typed it out, so it's easier. ;)
[rankers] Aerrin: Yes.
[rankers] Nerak shudders at the thought of projects though...
[rankers] Kiriya: Yeah. Master = speshul.
[rankers] Kiriya: But more of on the level of what we've got for journeymen right now.
[rankers] Kiriya: Appy->jman, that is.
[rankers] Aerrin: Yes.
[rankers] Jathen: Classes?
[rankers] Aerrin: What about them?
[rankers] Jathen: At Jman, what do you do to get to master? Wait? Do nothing?
[rankers] Kylianna thinks projects are good higher up, as long as it's flexible. Flexibility seems to be the key to not having activity suck.
[rankers] Jathen: I like projects personally.
[rankers] Aerrin: No, you do a project. And yes, a lot of waiting. But the /hope/ is that we will create a community of Jmen, and so it will not be insanely boring to be one.
[rankers] Kiriya already said - a project of some sort, except it'd be more on the level of the journeyman projects we've done before, I think.
[rankers] Kiriya: Nothing horribly extensive.
[rankers] Jathen: So a person signs up to be a healer, logs off, and in a year logs back in as a jman?
[rankers] Kiriya: Probably. There'll be disadvantages to everything.
[rankers] Kiriya: But frankly I think the good outweighs the bad here.
[rankers] Jathen blinks. And this doesn't strike a chord with anyone?
[rankers] Kylianna thinks that's the real sticking point. There /should/ be some sort of basic requirement for RPing or activity to become a jman.
[rankers] Kylianna: It strikes a chord with me.
[rankers] Aerrin: Well, they'd be reaped in that time. ;) But I don't have a problem with adding some loose activity requirements. And.. well. In my dream, we allow instas, so if you haven't RPed it, we simply require you to submit an Insta app, and accept or reject as neccessary.
[rankers] Kiriya: Activity and RP should factor in - but there shouldn't be a gauge of it like a project or required classes. Yeah. Loose requirements - not rigid stuff.
[rankers] Kylianna: I don't want to promote barely active people. There's gotta be a way to ensure that people have a base amount of activity. Maybe require a few logs or something. I don't really know, but it should definitely be considered.
[rankers] Kiriya: And a consensus among the majority of staff.
[rankers] Nerak still likes the @progress board... but can understand loosing it to gain good activity... I personally thoguht it gave me something to gauge my progress with. :)
[rankers] Kylianna liked the @progress board, too. :-) But if we're going to a more time based system, you get a good idea then, as well.
[rankers] Aerrin: think of those idlers as potential Insta's, Kyli, instead of idlers. If their application sucks, we simply tell them they need to come up with an IC reason they are behind in their studies or an IC reason to leave the craft. And if their application doesn't suck, we let them promote.
[rankers] Aerrin nods. We can keep a pared down @progress. Ticking off the years and the quizzes.
[rankers] Kylianna grins at A. I'm too mean! And too much of an idler myself nowadays. ;-)
[rankers] Jathen: So we reward people who don't appreciate being apprentices?
[rankers] Aerrin: Yes.
[rankers] Jathen: Oh really?
[rankers] Aerrin: Playing an apprentice isn't everyone's thing. Do we want to lose good players and interesting characters because of that?
[rankers] Jathen: Good players would want to go through the realism of being an apprentice.
[rankers] Nerak: also thought that being an appy was fun... but being an appy for too long is frustrating.
[rankers] Aerrin doesn't think that's true at all.
[rankers] Kylianna isn't sure about doing a large number of insta-rankers, though. I mean, to me, I'd just like to see a couple shortly after we impliment whatever changes we do, in order to sort of set things up. And that way, you've got some coming in at the same time, so you're not just throwing one new person into the Hall. And then occasionally do a set of them if it looks like it'd be a good time. I don't know about constantly having that.
[rankers] Jathen: If they don't appreciate being an apprentice, how would they get what it would be like. It leaves a gap in their education in my thinking.
[rankers] Aerrin: I'm not sure I'd ever go through an apprenticeship again. But if the craft were interesting, I'd be willing to do a ranker.
[rankers] Jathen: But Nerak just said it was fun for her. I'm sure we're smart enough to think up a way to make it more fun.
[rankers] Aerrin: That's assuming, Jathen, that they've /never/ played an apprentice. Most seasoned players have, at some point. And yeah, Kyli, I agree. I'm not saying to let people Insta willy nilly. Consider it more how we do Insta Riders - or we used to. We take applications, and if someone's interesting, we let them play.
[rankers] Nerak: but... if the person has never played an apprentice before - of any craft - then they wouldn't have teh idea of the respect and hard work that is put into it.
[rankers] Kylianna isn't sure how to handle idlers, except that if they come back and want to continue in the craft, come up with an excuse and drop them back a certain amount of time in their progress, and let them continue from there. I'd be a bit worried about them idling again -- though if we had insta rankers, those who didn't like being appies probably would have gone directly that route, in my mind.
[rankers] Aerrin: It's not neccessarily a matter of fun. For me, it's a matter of age. For others, it's a matter of what sort of character they want to play. And Nerak - do you /really/ think most people get that through RP? Really?
[rankers] Aerrin nods at Kyli. That's my thinking on the matter.
[rankers] Kylianna doesn't like the idea of rewarding those who idle out, which is the thing that gets me. But there's gotta be a way to avoid that.
[rankers] Jathen: I think you get through it. If you're dedicated to the craft.
[rankers] Aerrin: The fact is, though, that people /aren't/ getting through it. This isn't a test. It's not an initiation. It's a game.
[rankers] Kiriya: But what if you're not dedicated enough to persist? Players tend to like more rapid change in their character.
[rankers] Kiriya: It makes things /fun/.
[rankers] Aerrin: And frankly, I want more people of my own rank to play with.
[rankers] Aerrin: It's not like we've never done Instas before. We've been quite lenient on them, in the past.
[rankers] Kiriya: I know I agonized over Kiriya being an appy for ages. :P
[rankers] Nerak: agrees with Jathen. I feel that they all need to be appies. If the instas have played appies before, then that's ok... but being an appy is a good part of the training. Plus, if htey're not dedicated enough as an appy, then they'd probably not be dedicated as a Jman either.
[rankers] Aerrin: Up to a Senior appy with most of their project done - inches from Jman.
[rankers] Sudanna: Sorry.. Grrr computer.. what did I miss?
[rankers] Kiriya: Stick somewhere on an insta-ranker application a question if they've ever done the apprentice thing before?
[rankers] Kiriya: And if they haven't, weigh it against them.
[rankers] Aerrin: See, I think that's not true, Nerak. Assuming that everyone wants to play an apprentice is problematic - and assuming that people who don't want to play an apprentice are somehow inferior is in ways a bit insulting. Especially if you're dealing with people who've been around for awhile, odds are, they've done it, tried, it, are over it, or didn't like it.
[rankers] Nerak: agrees with Kiriya.
[rankers] Sudanna: I am still against instas. I have yet to think why would doa permanent insta.
[rankers] Kiriya has TWO permanent insta-rankers.
[rankers] Kylianna: And it's a way to possibly get people who were healers once upon a time to consider coming back and playing again, since a second apprenticeship isn't required if they want to try a new character. I dunno. I mean, insta definitely has its problems. But I think it's got some definite upsides.
[rankers] Kiriya: Elsegame of course.
[rankers] Aerrin admits that I also look at what seems to be working for places that have activity. And Instas is one of them.
[rankers] Kylianna peeks at Kiriya. I'm curious. What kind of problems and benefits do you see from your experience?
[rankers] Kiriya: But i mean really, if you've got a great character concept and it just happens to require an insta-ranker application to go through, why wouldn't people be dedicated to it if it means bringing the concept to fruition?
[rankers] Aerrin nods. And not having them means really limiting character possibilities. You could never have a character trained at fort, say, or who's been posted at Igen for 18 turns.
[rankers] Kiriya noddles @ Kyli. - lemme think a moment, brain is not optimal tonight. Uhm. Personally, what I get from it is that you can vary the experiences of your character during the pre-creation time period to your liking and not have to hash 'em all out on camera.
[rankers] Sudanna: The only time I would consider an Insta is a transfer from another game or a former player returning to the game.
[rankers] Jathen: Elsegame's elsegame. We're supposed to be the Healercraft. The lifeblood of Pern. The oldest craft. I'd like to mirror that age and dignity with OOC stuff as well. Have people working for their promotion. Not sliding by just because they created a character and logged off for a year. Not because they slacked and we're to lazy to try one or two more things.
[rankers] Kiriya: ICly we're the lifeblood of pern, perhaps, but OOCly we're a group within a game just like everybody else on here.
[rankers] Sudanna: And it's a consider. I still don't really like Insta's in general.
[rankers] Aerrin: that's what we've been doing for the past several years. It obviously isn't working.
[Staff] Kylianna: And at least, the insta process gives us the opportunity to screen as much as we want to make sure we get someone that we can be happy with.
[rankers] Kiriya: RP is what keeps an area stimulated. Not rigid stratification and rules.
[Staff] Nerak: likes the screening process... :)
[rankers] Jathen: A group of one of the best RPers and characters I've ever seen. No one can argue that.
[Staff] Aerrin: In the places I love, there are people I avoid like the plague. But they RP, they bring in new players, they occasionally grow into cool people.
[Staff] Aerrin: In Healer, we've stagnated that.
[rankers] Aerrin: You're saying Healer is that?
[rankers] Sudanna: Okay, let's set aside instas for the moment.. we do hjave other issues we can look act that we can work with. Yes, we can make sweeping changes and no we don't ahve to make /all/ of them overnight and yes, we can disagree on some of them.
[Staff] Jathen: That's taking a real gamble by allowing people that rank.
[Staff] Sudanna: I don't disagree Aerrin.
[Staff] Aerrin doesn't think so. What are they going to do to the craft? How are they going to hurt it?
[Staff] Kylianna: If we are going to lower the requirements for promotion to jman in general, I don't see how we're taking any more of a gamble with Instas. I mean, insta master is just bad mojo. But Insta-jmen... I think done carefully, it could be beneficial.
[Staff] Aerrin: Rank is what we make it. Part of our problem is that we've made it a holy grail.
[rankers] Kiriya: We can disagree but we'll have to come to a consensus somewhere.
[Staff] Nerak: thinks that Jman is a good rank.. I'm not sure I'd allow instas any higher.. but strict regulations and questionaire or something to allow for it...
[rankers] Sudanna: But we don't ahve to bring in the Insta thing right now. We can make changes now.. and more later.. we don't have to decide everything /right/ now. And actually nothing is being decided tonight anyway.
[Staff] Aerrin nods. Again, I never suggested we hand it out to everyone. I suggested an application - and only to Jman.
[rankers] Nerak agrees to disagree! hehe... seriously though, there have been a lot of great ideas here. I hope we can get them all down. I'm logging this.
[rankers] Aerrin: Yes, but that's the issue. Some of us (or at least I) think that we /do/ have to do it at once.
[rankers] Aerrin: Or it's really rather pointless.
[rankers] Nerak: thinks that we need to do something quickly... or we'll loose what activity we have.
[rankers] Kylianna thinks everything will definitely take some time to hash out, but it's an issue that seems as valid as any other change that we'll be making to the craft.
[rankers] Aerrin: We don't have activity, Nerak. ;) I think we can take our time and do it right. But I think that when it's done, we need to do it totally.
[rankers] Sudanna: First, not everyone is here. I just sent the mailer today. Second, I'd really like people to @send and have it in writing.. third, I'd like it all in writing for rankers to see what we are agreeing on.. We can't say DONE in a night.
[rankers] Aerrin never said that. I've certainly been trying to throw out feelers before we move into anything big. What I /am/ saying is that I think that what /is/ done, eventually, needs to be big, it needs to be dramatic, and we need to completely rethink our priorities.
[rankers] Nerak: I disagree... I've been RPing. I've taught classes. We have some activity. Alain RP's, Mlia RPs, I RP... there are a few of us...
[Staff] Jathen: XXX's back as an apprentice. She wouldn't be back as an apprentice if she didn't like our craft or want to be there. She wants to go up the ranks. She didn't ask to be an insta-anything. But she could've and I bet none of us would have had a problem with it.
[rankers] Kylianna grins. Or even a few nights. I mean, while the situation is bad, we do have some leeway to think about this all and work it out so that we're confident and that it will be the best it can be. Because some of the ideas tossed around here really look like they could rejuvinate the craft. Time won't change the potentcy.
[Staff] Nerak AGREED!
[rankers] Sudanna: Nerak, we are dying.. there is barely any pulse, we do need a big shake-up. But I think we can let one issue go if we can't find a way to make it work Aerrin.
[rankers] Kiriya: Hoo boy am I down there.
[rankers] Aerrin isn't saying we can't. What I'm saying is that little baby steps aren't going to get us there. We need to have a plan, and move on it at once.
[rankers] Nerak: I agree that we're dying... I'm not saying we're not... but I am saying taht we're not completely dead. :)
[rankers] Kylianna doesn't see why /any/ issue should be let go of at this stage. I mean, in the end, we're gonna have a lot that won't work, but at this point, all things are really up for consideration, I think.
[rankers] Aerrin: I know, Ner. I'm just saying - taking time to figure things out is going to be beneficial, not problematic.
[rankers] Sudanna: I don't think we are asking for baby steps. I don't think I would have done the @send if I wanted that for this Hall.
[rankers] Aerrin has heard baby steps suggested. I'm just tossing my vote in for 'no baby steps'
[rankers] Sudanna: Ahh.. missed that comment.
[Staff] Aerrin: XXX isn't, however, every player.
[rankers] Sudanna: I just ask that we table the instas till all the rankers can be heard from.
[Staff] Aerrin is excited she's back. But not everyone's going to be willing to start over, just because she is.
[rankers] Nerak: thinks that alot of this could be brought up in an all healer meeting too... to get ideas from others that aren't a ranker. :)
[Staff] Jathen: But she represents a large playbase, I'm sure.
[Staff] Aerrin doesn't really think so. There are a lot of things about XXXX that are very unique.
[Staff] Nerak really enjoyed being an appy too... and would do it again.
[Staff] Jathen: We cannot pander to everyone who comes along and wants a promotion, Aerrin. I won't vote for that. Not on my watch. That's as good as pimping the craft out.
[Staff] Sudanna: And I think that each old player that returns can ask for consideration when they apply. Just like always.
[rankers] Aerrin has heard a lot of support for Instas. I'm not sure 'tabling' it is beneficial - I'd much rather hear what others hvae to say on the matter.
[rankers] Kylianna doesn't think instas is different from all the other issues. All rankers should get to speak on everything.
[Staff] Aerrin: Again, I never, ever suggested we hand out promotions to everyone. And Jathen.. you can't pimp a craft. It's a game.
[Staff] Kylianna enjoyed being an appy, but I don't know if I'd want to do it again as a healer.
[Staff] Jathen: You are! You just said we should give idlers promotions!!
[rankers] Aerrin: And randomly - There have been a few people who've expressed interest, if something like that happens, in coming to Healer. So obviously it's appealing to someone, somewhere. Personally, they're folks I'd love to hvae.
[rankers] Sudanna: But what about the rest of us? It's not just your Hall, Aerrin.
[Staff] Jathen: Did anyone else get that?
[Staff] Aerrin: No. I said we should make them apply, just like Instas do, and that if the application isn't sufficient, we should tell them to come up with an IC reason to be behind in their studies, or to leave
[rankers] Nerak: I know a few people taht have asked to come back.... if the promotions requirements change
[rankers] Aerrin isn't saying we'd accept them. And I don't believe I've ever suggested it was my hall. I was giving that information so that others could use it as they want.
[Staff] Jathen: So in no time we get millions of Jmen.
[Staff] Jathen: Or are flooded by apps.
[Staff] Nerak is staying out of that one. not sure where I stand on Instas...
[Staff] Kylianna: There's nothing saying we have to take all or even most of them. We could just take a few, to start things out even when we make changes.
[Staff] Aerrin: I doubt that'd happen, but even if it did.. why is that bad? To have the playerbase at Jman instead of appy? And.. we don't have to say yes. We can say NO. In big letters. We can give a number limit.
[rankers] Kiriya: So, Big Points to tackle as far as I know - promotions, instas, projects, apprentice organization, possibly getting word out to potential healers. To sum things up.
[rankers] Kiriya: Just keeping a running list here.
[Staff] Jathen: A number limit? What? One a year?
[rankers] Kylianna grins. And then some.
[rankers] Sudanna: So, they want Instas, but don't want to come in and do what the rest of us have done? That's a slap in my face, Aerrin, regardless of how good they are at RP.
[rankers] Aerrin: You're welcome to view it that way. I prefer to be happy that they want to RP with us.
[rankers] Sudanna: So, let them come in when we revamp the Hall and make it more casual and fun?
[rankers] Kiriya: Personally - I'm for providing multiple ways to enter the hall. Not necessarily just insta-rankers.
[rankers] Kylianna: If we want them to come in and do what the rest of us have done, we won't do any change at all.
[rankers] Aerrin has already said why I think we need them, so I'll just leave it.
[rankers] Sudanna: No, I'm willing to make changes, remember, I asked for suggestions, I just don't like Instas..:>
[rankers] Kylianna also plops 'other hall staff' on Kiriya's list. I still think that might be a neat idea to play with. :)
[rankers] Kiriya: We should perhaps promote the healer student thing too - you know, insta-jmen, apprentices, hall staff, students, all that good stuff.
[rankers] Kiriya: Healer Hall should have its own headwoman. :D
[rankers] Sudanna: Don't think so, we are part of Ista Hold..:P
[rankers] Nerak: and as far as 'other hall staff' we hve at least one person who has paged and asked for a support position with us! :)
[rankers] Kylianna doesn't know how much need for other staff we'd have given apprentices to do dirty work and being a part of Ista, but it'd be interesting to see if there's support positions.
[rankers] Kiriya: Well, something like that. But it's not like the IH headwoman would come into the Healer Hall and take care of stuff like she does the main hold.
[rankers] Kiriya: The apprentices are the grunt work, of course.
[rankers] Aerrin imagines we have something like a ... grr. Name. In Harper Hall, S.. Silvera?
[rankers] Nerak: of course. Sylvina
[rankers] Kiriya: Silvina. I think Harper Hall had its own headwoman in that book.
[rankers] Sudanna: But wasn't harper Hall free-standing?
[rankers] Nerak doesnt' remember...
[rankers] Aerrin: No, it's at Fort
[rankers] Jathen: It was. It was free standing.
[rankers] Sudanna: Right...
[rankers] Kylianna can't remember. I'm so senile. But even so, there must be some spot for support staff here. It'd give people other options who want to join us, which would be cool.
[rankers] Nerak: will go through this log when we're done and try to make up the list of everything we talked about... and also post it somewhere.
[rankers] Sudanna: And maybe we can again try the student thing as well?
[rankers] Nerak: yep, the student thing is good too...
[rankers] Kylianna likes that.
[rankers] Kylianna: And trying to get a bit more crosscrafting.
[rankers] Nerak: yep!
[rankers] Kiriya: Which is easy with healer.
[rankers] Sudanna: I would like to encourage more 'vet' sciences and such.
[rankers] Nerak: yep... and encourage more healers to cross craft as well... and even have more 'healer meetings' to bring the Jmen back to the hall every once in a while to check back into the hall..
[rankers] Nerak: Shayla, we're discussing how to revamp the hall to get more activity...
[rankers] Kylianna nods. More sorts of healer meetings... or down the line when we have activity, maybe have conferences or such here at the Hold to bring healer back from posts for a sevenday to discuss new methods or ideas, to saddle up supplies and such at the end. I dunno.
[rankers] Kiriya: Have some sort of reason once in a while for the outposted healers to come back.
[rankers] Nerak: definately! An open line so that the healers in other holds/weyrs can come back!
[rankers] Shayla: I just think we need new, fun stuff to do. I know that sounds obvious, but have more TP's or healer-related fun RP.
[rankers] Kylianna: I mean, there's gotta be more reasons for good healer gatherings other than open houses and such.
[rankers] Kiriya has this thing on her mind - kind of like a multi-day convention.
[rankers] Kylianna: Yeah. I mean, I think if we do alter classes and such and de-emphasize that part of the process, we can make it so that in the long term, other ways to have fun and RP will be much more emphasized and used.
[rankers] Shayla: Or maybe encourage the rest of HT to come to the healers more often...broken legs, sore throats, little things that WE would go to the doctor for
[rankers] Sudanna: For the record, there have only been two Open Houses.. :>
[rankers] Kylianna: True.
[rankers] Nerak: yep... I also feel that oaths and promotions and such should be well attended... make it more 'formal'... will get people to know each other. Not 'required' but at least advertised.
[rankers] Kylianna: But I mean, stuff outside that, that's really internal-healer to try and get us to play together more.
[rankers] Aerrin nods. I think our main problem is a lack of community.
[rankers] Shayla: We could have "Meet your local Healer day!" hehe
[rankers] Nerak Shayla, Jathen suggested something like 'sick seasons' - Hey, it's Flu season, see your healer and RP being sick! something of that sort! :)
[rankers] Kylianna agrees. I mean, we really have to set up a system that when we get some apprentices in, we can make it easier for them to bond, give them more outlets and reasons to bond.
[rankers] Kiriya: And then we can find some reason for healers to commune and say What The Heck's Going On Over There, I guess.
[rankers] Shayla nodnods, I think that's a great idea, Nerak. I mean, with the fire lizard plague we had alot of rp
[rankers] Sudanna: Which brings us back to the idea of coming in as a class. I really do liike that idea. I think it does create a unity.
[rankers] Aerrin likes it as well.
[rankers] Sudanna: Oh and Jathen isn't really here anymore, his comp is logging, he is sleeping.
[rankers] Kylianna really likes it, too. Just a matter of figuring out the logistics of what to do to further that, and where it ends up.
[rankers] Nerak: and having people be apprentices! At least for a time... if not the full @progress list... though I really like that... then get to be appies for a time.
[rankers] Shayla: I think apprentices should do more....they just attend classes pretty much....we should rp herb collecting...or other things that they can do around the hall.
[rankers] Nerak: like in RL, There are conferences and such for doctors and nurses... why not for healers!
[rankers] Nerak yep!
[rankers] Shayla: But maybe they do do stuff like that. I haven't been an appy in forever.
[rankers] Aerrin thinks, Shay, that we ought to nix required classes all together
[rankers] Sudanna: If we do a 'class' thing, we can send out notices, let peole know when the next class is, tell them to get their interviews in and such..
[rankers] Nerak: doesn't like the idea of nixing classes all together. But I have said that many times now... I think it brought alot of us appies together and we RP'd alot together because of it! If we coulnd't think of anything to RP about, we actually RP'd cleaning the infirmary! It was a good time....
[rankers] Aerrin makes sure that word /required/ is underlined.
[rankers] Sudanna: Classes as RP are fine.. and if that's how the fun is to be had..:>
[rankers] Shayla: Well what classes are required? What ones would be?
[rankers] Kiriya: Classes are fun! It just irks me when I have to wait longer just because I miss one when RL sneaks up on me.
[rankers] Nerak: thinks we should still at least have the basics... so that people RP'ing have an idea of how to /play/ a healer...
[rankers] Kiriya: Instead of a hall basics class, spam every new apprentice with a mail detailing ICly what appies can and can't do. To be corny, it might be sort of like... a Hogwarts letter, from HP.
[rankers] Sudanna: That's what the webpages will be/should be for.. and the rankers and mentoring.
[rankers] Shayla nodnods. Maybe have classes be like college....take "gen ed" classes but then take classes on your "major"/speciality
[rankers] Aerrin grins at Kiriya. I really think we could learna lot of things from HP.
[rankers] Sudanna: And the quizzes
[rankers] Aerrin: thing is, we've tried that, and it hasn't worked.
[rankers] Kiriya plays on an HP moo. So many parallels. @_@
[rankers] Sudanna: But it's also our fault for not following through.
[rankers] Nerak: also thinks that the 'Hogwarts letter' idea could be online... so that we can just send them the link as well... :)
[rankers] Kylianna eyes A. You keep using that evil, evil word. :)
[rankers] Aerrin: Ask people what they don't like about classes. I'll bet you they'll tell you 1) Slow promotion 2) Classes.
[rankers] Kiriya: But how do we guarantee they'll... see it? (In practice we can't, but at least we know they'll have to glance at it, in some way.)
[rankers] Aerrin: Erm.. about /crafts/.
[rankers] Sudanna: We can actually see about a piece of code that won't go away on their screen until they do type the helpfile.
[rankers] Nerak thinks that everyone here kept a sharp eye on their @progress chart... that should definately not go... maybe change, but not go.
[rankers] Sudanna: It's been done elsemoo
[rankers] Kylianna: I think classes are a rockin' thing, but not when required. I think we should still offer classes, because people will come if we make them fun. We can par down the amount of information to give, and make it interactive. Then we can teach them for the /fun/, rather than as a requirement. Or at least, cut down the number of classes significantly. I wouldn't mind having like a basic couple classes, if the were altered to be more friendly to interaction and RP.
[rankers] Nerak: oh.. that's a great idea. didn't know it was possible
[rankers] Sudanna: I could ask Sekiji about it. See if we can attach it to each new apprentice?
[rankers] Aerrin: If we eventually decide on that, it's a good idea.
[rankers] Sudanna: It's an option, I /think/.
[rankers] Nerak: thinks that it would be great to tell every appy that it should be read... over and over! I look back at those quite a lot!
[rankers] Nerak: but also thinks that the healer webpages could be done so that the info is at the click of hte mouse, instead of spamming the Moo window! :)
[rankers] Aerrin: They're close to there already, Nerak
[rankers] Nerak: I know alot of it is already available, and it looks great! Aerrin your work is appreciated!
[rankers] Aerrin: All the helpfiles are on the webpage
[rankers] Nerak: ah.. cool!
[rankers] Aerrin: Well, to be fair, 90% of it is Narali's. ;)
[rankers] Nerak: hehe... that's ok though!
[rankers] Sudanna: At any rate.. there has been a lot said and done tonight. I'm glad I sent the note. I'm glad people responded. Let's do something, even if /I/ personally don't like it, to get Healer Hall back up and running, we have been stagnating for far too long.
[rankers] Kylianna grins. At least we know we're all still alive and kickin'.
[rankers] Kiriya: And with that I bid you lot adieu. Night.
[rankers] Sudanna: Ditto, I'm beat and there is work in the morning.. (with /my/ car!!!)
[rankers] Nerak: also likes the ideas of remider messages sent out in an regular interval to remind people of the website, to encourage RP and recruiting! :)
[rankers] Shayla: On a note other than this topic, which i don't mean to get off of....and i'm trying to create more rp....can i get any mentees? :) i haven't had any before!
[rankers] Nerak will edit this log and get it up soon... and will also work on getting the list of ideas off of it and @send to hlsta. I'll do it tomorrow after work. I'm finally goign back to work tomorrow - it's been 8 weeks since my surgery! :)
[rankers] Nerak: well, it's about 10 pm, and I've got to head to bed. I'll work on all this tomorrow evenign and get it up on my website tomorrow night-ish. I'll also work on making a list of the ideas that were suggested tonight. I think there were a LOT of good ideas.
[rankers] Nerak: ok.. see y'all on tomorrow then. :)
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