Newbies; Not Accepted Yet?

[Klath]

Before you complain that you have not been accepted yet (or just plain wasn't accepted) please read below.

I'm sure many of you heard about Illarion from different sources; friends, family, somebody you just talked to, or you just happened to find it while using a search engine (at least, that's how I found it). So, here you are, trying to enter a German/English free online graphical RPG because you're tired of the cruddy games where the only point of playing was to gain skill. Or not. Whatever the reason, take some facts into consideration.

This game was created by German students of computer science (from my understanding) who share the common interest of roleplaying. Roleplaying, meaning creating and making your character have his or her own personality, and interact in the world around him or her in a suitable way that corresponds with the personality.

With this information about Illarion, what else is there? The graphics are far above average, they're one of the rare games that promote roleplaying, they have a wide assortment of skills to progress in, and, probably the best part; it's free. Created by roleplayers for roleplayers.

Remember, this game isn't even fully developed, and may continue to grow.

Okay. So what are we as players then? Alpha testers of the game, nothing more, nothing less. After all, there's a reason for the Proposal Boards. There's a reason why the GMs and other moderators monitor the actions and conversations of the player; they want to make it better.

With this in mind, it is a PRIVILEGE to test/play Illarion, NOT a right.

So for the new people that are trying to come in, and insist to post such subjects as "Why haven't I been accepted yet?" Or "No reason for unacceptance?" or whatever...

Stop. I'm sure the GMs are tired of wasting their time viewing bad stories, ridiculous names, and other obvious rule-breakers in their e-mails (I'm not a GM, so they can speak for themselves). Not only that, but now they have to deal with whining and spamming on the boards repeating the same old thing? I'm sure the players who are already accepted are tired of it as well, I being one of them. In other words, it's not a good idea to post here unless you have at least a medium-quality question, please.

So here are a few reminders to consider, in my own opinion:

-If you applied recently, be patient, and wait. Remember, not a machine, but real people are deciding who's accepted and who isn't.

-If you have not been accepted, don't expect them to give you a reason if they don't have to; they have a high amount of mail, and don't have the time to give a reason to every single person that applies.

-If you don't have a clue as to why you were not accepted, a few things could've been wrong. Maybe your name was bad. Maybe your grammer, spelling, etc. was bad. Or, simply, your story just wasn't good enough. So instead of asking how you can get accepted, hone your roleplaying skills up a bit more and try again.

-DO NOT complain about the account system on the boards. If you haven't looked already, the Newbie board is already bombarded with enough topics regarding the same idea.

-The best rule; just read the guidelines on the site. They're not very difficult to understand, after all.

Anyway, just had to add my two cents. Anybody want to share an opinion?

[Val De Gausse]

I would just like to say nice post, and I also hate when people say "How can they judge me? Just because me story isn't good enough for them, I should be able to play" NO YOU SHOULDN't there is a reason they have a test, don't pass try again or quit at it, but don't complain. That's liking a going to a school football team and not making the cut and saying "HEY! I tried my hardest I should have the right ot join.

[Keryn]

Greetings to you! What you say is very wise but also a bit heartless. because football and writing is diffrent.
Cant compare the two, football is fysical and well writing is exposing your soul in a way you write your thought, for instance lets say you keep a diary/journal and someone reads it and says that is not good you dont make the cut.
then agian the two things are not the same


A humble peasent

-Keryn

[Val De Gausse]

Keryn you make a nice point, I didn't men to sound heartless. But as far as you SKILL in writing that is somethign that can be judge, If you are not good at writing or roleplaying that is how they judge not by the soul you poured into it.

[Gro'bul]

Accually it was a good similie. Sure they both use different attributes of a person, but in that way comparable. Football is to Physical Ability : Writing is to Mental Ability

[William Rommel]

I think what he was trying to get at is that not being accepted to this game is like an attack on ones mental and emotional feelings. To be cut is to not be a good role-player and there for not be a good writer, thinker, ect. ect. Peoples frustration with not being accepted either automatically, or otherwise just not accepted is understandable because they feel as if their not good enough. Being defensive is just natural human reaction to being assaulted (although they are not truly being assaulted it just merely takes time) Both parities (players and applicants) must come to an understanding that patience with each other and the gm's is hard. When applying for this game and waiting over a week in anticipation to play it, and then either not being accepted or not getting a response back it can be frustrating. Remember everyone to have patience, its a virtue.

[Vania Cloris]

ok, Hey William Rommel, your font is a bit too tiny for me to see.

Anyways, Writing for acceptance is a greta way to judge charcter and roleplaying, because this game is not about physical stamina and such, but of the reality in your mind. If you cant write a simple short story while being creative, and trying to roleplay your given situation, then its just too bad and you should try again.

[Trager]

The frustration comes from the 'mobeus strip' that the new hopeful encounters....

-You're told to only submit a character attempt once.

-You're told you may be waiting a week, minimum, for a response.

-You're told that you may not receive any contact... at all... especially if your name isn't good

-You're told that even if your name is good, it may still be quite some time before you're contacted...


Okay... those postulates being part of the theorum, frustration emerges. You want to be patient... you want to be a courteous person.. you don't want to annoy anyone, by peppering them with questions, that you fully know thousands of people have asked before you even got there... but...

Here's my suggestion... and... please note... it is only a suggestion.. it is not a demand.. it is not a complaint... it's an observation in proceedure, which I think may alleviate some headaches... Feedback appreciated, as to its advantages and drawbacks...

---------

Newbie World---

It can be a small area, where it's almost like a waiting area or lobby.

There are generic avatars, for male and female.

There is a 'status board', which shows the last action that happened with their account (things like:
-email opened (meaning, it was seen.. something like a 'return receipt
-email deleted (it was deemed silly, and therefore trashed.. so they know to delete their avatar, and apply again)
-email awaiting response (an email was sent to your address, awaiting your response to it)
-email banned (for whatever reason, you really irked someone)

(status board seems it would be easy to set up.. but, not knowing the programming environment, the method that's in my mind might not be compatible)

There is a small area outside the lobby, where people can look, and get a feel for the type of graphics the game will have.

There is a small library (with books that can't be kept, which auto reset back to where they came from, upon logoff)

Well.. you get the idea... there are any number of ways to placate new people, to at least give them a sense of acknowledgement, and to give them a definite place to check for account progress, and not be a burden or a bother to anyone.. and it may greatly reduce the chatter in the forums, because they'll have a place, in game, that they can do so.

Also, this may help the admins, because if they log into their 'god' accounts, and review a Who list, of who's in "Newbie World", they may notice a name they've been awaiting a response from, and send a Tell to that person.

Now.... alllllll of that being said.... if I didn't say it already, I'll say it now: Newbie World (or whatever the final name of it would be) is CUT OFF FROM THE REST OF THE GAME. This means that whoever is in it, cannot disturb the characters in the Real Side of the game, they cannot interract with the real players, and they cannot disturb any storylines, because they have not been accepted, and they are not allowed to be in the real game yet.... the area they are in, is a courtesy to them, and a potential relief to everyone else, because the newbies are stuck in one area, where they don't have to deal with them.

I think, doing an area like this, which has a status board, that they can check on their progress, would relieve a lot of people, and let steam out of various 'pressure cooker' people, who might be going nuts with all the messages that they deem spam, and the new players consider as 'honest curiosity'.


To sum up my whole rant, and the novel I just wrote... I'll just say this: Without a definite timeline, for a new person to know about, they'll have this feeling of limbo, and encounter the contradictions I mentioned at the top of this message, and they will likely not know any other way to resolve the confusion, in their minds, other than to make posts to the forums. Unless you give them a definite way to check *something*, then this type of thing will always occur. This is a computerized world, and people know that being able to 'check status' of something is something they like, and that calms them..... Okay.. am starting to go into psychology, so it's time to wrap up this post...

And, again, to re-emphasize: This is NOT a demand, this is NOT a complaint about what is missing, this is NOT a subtle way of coercing people into doing something.... this IS offering an idea, this IS offering a method to relieve some of the administrative headaches (as, once the area and system are in place, they don't need to be further developed, so will not take away from development time of the real game)...

Okay... done.. honest... no.. really.. I am..... so..... time to sit back... wait.... see how well this is received, or how many slings and arrows are loosed against it..... remember, this isn't intended as an insult to anyone, nor a downplaying of someone's complaint about 'us newbies', so please don't read this message with hostility... think it over, and understand why this idea would come to me, in the first place, given my position.

Trager.

[Gothik]

That post just made me MORE anxious to get onto illarion, its just so cool that you get to choose your story backround and depend on the world around you, i have been looking for a RPG game like this for months and now i found it. Hurray!

[Trager]

That above post was a SUGGESTION... it *DOES NOT EXIST* (that I know of...)

Please don't get ME in trouble, by misunderstanding what I was typing up there, as it's not fact, it's fiction... it's something I'd LIKE to see, sure.. but it was a suggestion to the game operators...

K.. done disclaimering...