no really this is a modpost, disregard the character account needed to add a poll...

[slingshots]

Today concludes the last day of App Week, and our trial run with an app team, rather than just Brette and me making intense faces at our computers. The good news is that we're now guaranteed to get through all apps in 7 days! The specific wait time for each app depends on when it was turned in, and in what order it's in in the queue. And... there isn't actually any bad news, so, hooray! The system has a little bit more fine-tuning to go, but overall I'm confident that it works really well.

However, I did underestimate the number of people to have on the team! Which means that I'm opening/begging for app team people again. If you applied last time and we didn't take you up on it, please feel free to do it again! I would outright ask the people whose applications got passed over last time, but since it does tend to be a pretty big slice of time given to the task, I'm hesitant to assume that the people who applied last time are still up for it, and don't want to put anyone on the spot. So if you would like to apply again and already did once, no need to fill out the form again, just send an email saying that you're still up for it.

As an app mod, you will need to read and consider about 20-25 apps in a week, at about 3 a day. This can take anywhere from 2 to 7 hours a day, depending on reading speed and app length, but it is just one week out of the month. If you're interested, please fill out this form and send it to exsilium.mods@gmail.com!

NAME: CHARACTERS PLAYED: LENGTH OF TIME IN EXSILIUM: HOURS A DAY THAT CAN BE DEVOTED TO APPS: (remember that this will only be necessary for about a week out of a month!) TIMEZONE: Why are you interested in being on the app team? What skills can you contribute to it?

And finally, a poll! Exsilium is a pretty plot-intensive game, and while putting a cap on apps has helped to keep new character waves and plots balanced out, it's still a little tricky planning things around app week. Would you like to see Exsilium switch to apps every other month? We could also raise the cap, to account for the greater time apps are closed. Vote and tell us what you think, and of course you're more than welcome to give an opinion in the comments!

Poll #12793

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 105

View Respondents

Should Exsilium change our app cycle?

View Answers

Leave it the way it is. (Monthly, cap of 65 characters)
52 (49.5%)

Every other month, keeping the 65 cap.
42 (40.0%)

Every other month, raising the cap to 85.
6 (5.7%)

Every other month, raising the cap to 100.
5 (4.8%)

Something else, specified in the comments!
0 (0.0%)

Thanks for reading, guys!
- Liz

Real quick edit: The app-cycle poll and app team applications will both be open for 2 weeks, until the 21st of February!

Comments

[accidentalrebellion]

So here's my something else! My two cents is that I'm not sure we've had enough of a pattern with the app cap yet to really know what to do with it. January was sort of an experimental round where apps trickled in until the last day, while this past round in February, all the slots filled up super fast. I might like to see what happens in March to know it there's some kind of consistent pattern to how the cycles are going to go before making a decision regarding monthly versus every other month, etc.

Although I'm not really sure if the rate at which apps come in really makes that much of a difference, if apps are being capped at a certain number regardless, but.....

[slingshots]

True, that's a good point! We could definitely give it another month before deciding anything, even if the poll shows interest swinging one way or another.

[accidentalrebellion]

Sounds great to me! ♥

[velveteened]

iiiiiiii'm going to agree that what we have to judge by right now are kind of two opposite ends of the possibilities spectrum, which makes guessing how things are going to go tricky.

[arcanepower]

Thirding this.

With the app cycle it helps 'balance' it more, but we're also losing people at around the same pace as we're getting them. It's tough for me to decide if we should keep it the way it is or change it up a bit. The interest in the game is still pretty high at this point, though, so it's still necessary...

Man, I just have no clue.

[gamblinman]

What about keeping it every month and lowering the cap a little, like to 50? That could control the mass influx a little, but still give people the ability to app in every month.

[falsehoods]

If we're talking about a more immediate change (as in, for the next round and not down the road) consider me in the "as is" category. I agree with the above that we'll probably need more time with the current system to see how it trends. If we need to change it, however, I am fond of the every other month system, since it could encourage people to really think about whether or not they want to app a character here and the month without apps could be used to forward game plot or grant enough breathing space for the mod team to tend to things and just play. New characters would also be able to settle in during this time which might reduce the turnover rate.

[strategic_guile]

I agree with this. We haven't had enough time with the cap to see how things will play out, but once we do, every other month will allow people time to settle and new people to start making inroads with CR and finding their niche.