[GM] Seizure of the Red Crystal Den by order of the Octarch

[iridia]

Seizure of the Red Crystal Den by order of the Octarch




On Dwanden 28th [January 10th] the building known as the Red Crystal Den located in Hydlaa and all assets within were seized by the Octarchal Guard due to breach of the conditions underwhich possession of the building was granted by The Octarchal Society for Progress.

As of now the property and all assets within the buliding known as the Red Crystal Den are off limits to the public and any access or permission granted to current management by the Octarchy has now been revoked.

The Octarchy has reached the decision to seize the Red Crystal Den due to following reasons:
~ As the building was awarded by The Octarchal Society for Progress use of the building was expected to be maintain under the origional agreement. For example as performing a consistant benefit to Octarchal Citizens.
~ The enrollment of current management into the Red Crystal Den was handled erroneously by several involved parties. The takeover of Octarchal property should not have been allowed without fully establishing the ability of the interested parties in maintaining or improving the impact the Red Crystal Den was having on the community. However, at the time the social function of the Red Crystal Den for the local community outweighed the consequences of this mishap.
~ There has been a lack of clear management or organisational structure, nor has there been any indication of regular opening hours or regular activities taking place within the Red Crystal Den.
~ The value of the Red Crystal Den as a public space for social gatherings has been deminished due to this lack of activity. The result is that the establishment does not meet the requirements set by the Octarchy for public properties, especially such prominent ones as the Red Crystal Den.

Octarchal plans for the property.
The property currently known as the Red Crystal Den will undergo renovations after which it will be reinstated as a public space freely available for social gatherings and events. The building will then be permentanly open for use by citizens of the Octarchy.

For special occasions (specifics to be determined at a later date) the building known as the Red Crystal Den will be made availble for rent. These special occasions will include a specific layout of furnature to be supplied by the Octarch and removed by the Octarch after the event. Possible uses include a stage for performances, dinning hall for dinners and or celebrations, dance floor for parties.

[OOC STATEMENT GM TEAM]
A few months back a discussion was started about the RCD and the possibility for players to organize things there. As GM's we had noticed that there are no regular activities under current staff, yet there appeared to be plenty of others interested to take a more active role.
At this point we contacted Damola as she was the only player involved in the RCD at that time that was actually active in game. We discussed about our concerns about the RCD and she communicated those to the community.

Originally the RCD was given to a group of players by means of an 'OSP contest', in this contest they layed out a plan for the RCD within the rules and guidelines in what we call 'public guildhouses' as they are intended for the whole community and not a select group of players (like a guild).

It may be clear that the idea of 'Fine Dining' is not working out for the RCD. So one of the main points that we had brought up is that the GM team wanted a clear plan about the future of the RCD and what the IC function and identity of the RCD is.

Conditions Public Guildhouses
The rules are very simple, the house is to be used for RP only and regular activities are organized. Everyone who is respectful and doesn't cause trouble is welcome and allowed to join into the activities.

More info:
Guildhouses as RP rewards http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=41147.0
OSP Event Rules http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=35378.0

For the last 12 months (and time before that) there has hardly been any activity at the RCD. Opening nights were irregular and only one event was organized by the staff. When there were things organized it often proved to be very difficult for the staff internally to work together, or even show up for the event itself.

Needless to say that over time the personal relations between the members of the RCD staff haven't gotten much better. The attitude of some of the staff also hasn't given us the impression that there will be any change in this, meaning that we also don't expect any increase in activity at the RCD.

Over time the GM team has provided the RCD with quite some support and resources. At the time we gave that support hoping it would motivate the staff and see an increase of activities.
We also told the staff that to get support we would need to see activity at the RCD to justify the support we are giving.
After all, there are more initiatives who often get much less support from the GM team, while each initiative taken by players is equally valuable to the game.

As mentioned before; we asked the staff of the RCD for a plan for the future of the RCD and what the den will mean IC'ly.
As far as the GM team is aware there is no plan made for the RCD and even some of the staff has decided no longer to be a part of the RCD.
After that we have gotten several more requests for support but have yet to see a plan or any activity at the RCD.

Due to all of the above the GM team has decided that it is necessary to close the RCD so the space is put to a better and fairer communal use.
This means that; per [date] access to the RCD will be revoked for all current key owners, IG their will be RP by the Octarchal Guards to evict and announce the eviction to the public (see IC text) and the GM team will put the space to use as a public event hall (more info soon).


We hope that, although this announcement may come as a shock to some, that our decision will improve the game and make space for new ideas and initiatives.

[Damola]

Damola approaches at a rapid pace and jumps of her rivnak, just leaving it standing there.

Damola reads, with more and more surprise appearing on her face.

Damola says silently "They didn´t even talk with me."

I had it open yesterday.

Its true I didn´t open in a while before, and also I didn´t see Weased and Sulaika around for quite some time, but still, the Octarchy could have at least talked to me.

Damola looks pale "Just crammed closed. With all our beverages, dishes and other inventory."

Damola concludes "So thats how they say thanks for at doing our best to keep it alive."

Damola shrugs "I don´t care about all the values inside, but well, if the Octarchy doesn´t want our engagement then so be it." Damola says stiffly "I have enough other things to do."

Damola looks to Arane "I am done here. I never go where I am not invited anymore."


[I haven´t even been informed OOCly. If thats the thank for all the time I invested into the Den, then I am pretty thankful to free up this time completely. And I intend to very carefully check before I ever want to consider time into something like this for PS again. Its not that I would not have let go of it, after I found myself alone with the Den again, yet, just doing this without even talking to Waesed, Sulaika or me OOCly is not what I receive as respectful treatment]

[Damola]

I add that during the time I placed the "Rent the Den" flyer on the billboard and now not a single player approached me to actually take on the offer. Damola had a key to give away all the time.

[Ascomanni]

This looks like a wonderful idea full of limitless potential. I am exceptionally excited for this new direction. I imagine this was a tough decision for the GM team and appreciate the team as a whole for their work and dedication.

[Candy]

Now that we have two OSP members and each has been granted administrative rights over Octarchal property, there are some rules we should make clear for everyone:
...
3. All players must have free access to all OSP venues and events as long as they respect the rules set for them. Likewise, they must respect the authority of the sanctioned administrators both IC and OOC. You, as a player, can bring any character to those places. No fees, no quests, and no acquaintances are required. And if your asked to fulfill any of those criteria you must report it so we can set it right.

[The RCD was not freely available all the time. Keeping OSP-granted locations open 24/7 is a much better way to enforce this rule, and I applaud the team for doing this. It proved extremely difficult to get online at the same time as the players in charge and acquire a key - now we can roleplay bartenders in the Den at any time if we want to. I look forward to having the character I had in mind to help revive the Den behind the counter more often.]

[Damola]

It is not the decision to open the Den 24/7 that is the issue here. Damola and I as a player would probably have agreed with that after the recent attempts of Waesed, Sulaika and me to invite player engagement did not create the desired outcome yet, but… the way the GM team did this. The "how" is the issue, not the "what".

Dear Iridia, dear GM team.

A day ago Damola opened the place again after a longer break, I took during my OOC holidays to actually have holidays from any obligation to open the Den as well for a while, and after looking at how many players are online at quite some evenings and deciding that there is no point in opening it with less than 20 players around. A day ago Damola opened the Den and invited player participation as I decided to end my PS wise vacation and continue working towards inviting more player participation regarding the Den. She actually invited events. Response: 1, in words, one guest, before she decided to close again.

I am online a lot of evenings both in IRC and in PS. It would have been very easy for you Iridia and any other GM to approach me about your planned change as well as it would have been very easy for the Octarchy to approach Damola ICly. In addition I see quite some ways to create a smooth transition that makes some sense ICly as well and actually creates an IC way that makes sense for Damola and other members of the existing Den team to be involved with a 24/7 open Den.

But what you did, Iridia, after all the time we spent together on building and creating for the Den, was this: Instead of talking to me you beforehand you just decided to let the Octarchy close down the Den to implement the change you desire for the Den. You didn´t talk to me OOCly nor Damola ICly about this change.

Back then when we talked in IRC about the future of the Den, I felt quite some pressure after the talk. As if I have been given an ultimatum. You told me we need to change things and come up with a plan. We accepted the challenge despite the demotivating pressure and started doing that. Sulaika, Waesed and me spent hours over hours into doing so. Dannae created the two beautiful flyers about hiring and renting the Den for us, based on our textual input.

As a GM you are given more power than a player and as long as those who gave you that in game power let you, you can do basically anything what you want. At the same time I am free to provide feedback to you about an immediate effect you created with your action.

If your intention was to destroy any motivation of both a character ICly and a player OOCly to ever engage with anything substantial regarding Yliakum or PlaneShift again, Iridia: Congratulations, you have been successful. My motivation to ever invest time into creating something lasting and substantial within PS is down to less than zero at the moment. And for Damola ICly it doesn´t make sense either right now to ever engage with the Den again, given it was another char who informed her the Den was locked down by the Octarchy and she stood before a barricaded door then not understanding anything at all anymore.

If your intention instead was to invite more player participation then the immediate outcome in my eyes is: You didn´t create that outcome. Instead you got rid of existing player participation. Inviting more player participation does not work by p*ssing players off.

The situation around the Den is a symptom, not a cause. The cause I see is: Lack of players who actively and consistently engage with creating RP atmosphere within PS and commit to do so over a longer time. The cause for this lack is deeper. In my oppinion and the oppinions of quite some other players I talked to it is mostly caused by how this project is lead and developed in the recent time. Many players I came to know closely within the last years quitted the game silently, not seeing any sense to provide feedback on why they chose to do that. It was challenging for both me and Damola to loose friends that way.

Considering the tells I received yesterday, I am quite confident that I am not the only player who actually feels disrespected and surprised by your recent decision. But neither I as a player, nor Damola would lobby anyone to voice their feedback to you or here in the forum. Even back then I received quite some feedback for people not in favor of opening the Den 24/7. But these players apparently aren´t the most vocal here. In respect for that I never urged anyone to speak up here. Neither I nor Damola will ever lobby anyone into something.

The most vocal players here appear to be those who demand. Let´s see whether they will now also create and give. Its not that the now past Den team did make it very difficult to engage with the Den. Damola had a spare key of the Den since quite some time and bet what, if someone ever attempted to get it: She would likely just have given it. But: There was no *single* attempt to even ask Damola for the key, despite the flyer about hiring and the flyer about renting the Den have been up for weeks at the new billboard that you placed there after my request. So its not that I, Damola, Sulaika or Waesed actually created a tough barrier to cross in order to engage with the Den. Yet as far as I know: No one even attempted to do so. Certainly not with me or Damola. Despite, well one attempt for a lottery event that was cancelled. Granted I did not yet post about the new flyers in forum, but for any player in game they were really not difficult to spot.

Neither for me OOCly, nor for Damola ICly it would make even remote sense to engage with the Den ever again at the moment. If the Octarchy would have treated Damola with respect, this might be different. But if the Octarchy appears to be socially incompetent enough to her not even attempt to talk to her before doing this harsh action, there is no surprise that Damola right now has no motivation to engage with the Den again. In fact Damola doesn´t know anything about the 24/7 demands as the Octarchy nor anyone else never ever contacted her about it ICly. So the immediate outcome of your action is: You lost one of the last chars and players who actively engaged with the Den on a not always  regular, but at least consistent base as you can review in the bar log that you also seized now. Luckily I have a local copy. I recorded most, but not all of the openings in it.

I close with: In the best intentions for PlaneShift and its in game world: Good luck with opening the Den 24/7. Without Damola for now, cause how the Octarchy did this, actually does not invite her participation. And those who know Damola, know that Damola never goes anywhere where she does not feel invited.

Inviting player participation works by: Inviting player participation. It is actually that easy. Yet, it does *not* work by pressuring players into any obligation and basically threatening them "If you don´t do enough, we take it away from you". And then out of a sudden deciding to pull them out of the business without even talking to them and finding a way to create your intended change in a collaborative way. I am not sure about Sulaika and Waesed, but Damola and I very likely would have agreed to accomodate for the lack of players who engage by opening the Den 24/7 and cooperated with it. But you didn´t even attempt to choose that route.

[cdmoreland]

Well, one more headache gone. It's just as well, I guess, as I need to have surgery next week. I stand with Damola on the fact that we just got it stuck to us by the GM team.

[Wocib]

Who can we contact ICly for taking over the RCD ?
POC have some Bloody good ideas for having fun in there ... can we make RCD a PvP area ?

[Candy]

The most vocal players here appear to be those who demand. Let´s see whether they will now also create and give. Its not that the now past Den team did make it very difficult to engage with the Den. Damola had a spare key of the Den since quite some time and bet what, if someone ever attempted to get it: She would likely just have given it. But: There was no *single* attempt to even ask Damola for the key, despite the flyer about hiring and the flyer about renting the Den have been up for weeks at the new billboard that you placed there after my request. So its not that I, Damola, Sulaika or Waesed actually created a tough barrier to cross in order to engage with the Den. Yet as far as I know: No one even attempted to do so. Certainly not with me or Damola. Despite, well one attempt for a lottery event that was cancelled. Granted I did not yet post about the new flyers in forum, but for any player in game they were really not difficult to spot.

Bull. I asked for a key, made an effort to get online and had the chance to ICly bartend all of once before Timezone Tag became an issue. Just because I didn't want to run a whole event there, doesn't mean I didn't want the place to be revived. Also:

Back then when we talked in IRC about the future of the Den, I felt quite some pressure after the talk. As if I have been given an ultimatum. You told me we need to change things and come up with a plan. We accepted the challenge despite the demotivating pressure and started doing that. Sulaika, Waesed and me spent hours over hours into doing so. Dannae created the two beautiful flyers about hiring and renting the Den for us, based on our textual input.

[snip]

Inviting player participation works by: Inviting player participation. It is actually that easy. Yet, it does *not* work by pressuring players into any obligation and basically threatening them "If you don´t do enough, we take it away from you". And then out of a sudden deciding to pull them out of the business without even talking to them and finding a way to create your intended change in a collaborative way. I am not sure about Sulaika and Waesed, but Damola and I very likely would have agreed to accomodate for the lack of players who engage by opening the Den 24/7 and cooperated with it. But you didn´t even attempt to choose that route.

You're contradicting yourself in your own post.

[CheatCat]

Pressuring players into action might work but it is demotivating. I do not see how that would contradict anything. The result will become in general bad if you are forced into something.

There are better way to do things. The GMs could help the staff instead of blaming them for their game is running low on players. Is it really the RCDs fault?

[Yenida]

I have no strong opinion about the contents of this decision, I welcome everything that enhances RP on the server.

But I'm not happy though with how the decision was executed. I miss the 'sorry-that-this-didn't-work-but-thank-you-for-trying' aspect. All efforts of RPers should be cherished, we don't have too many of them.

Yen, of course, had her own IC approach...



RP hyperbole, I appreciate equally well all efforts of the GM team

[Rigwyn]

LoL.... this PS drama never get's old.

They could rip it out of your hands without asking, so they did as if there was
no other viable option. Congratulations on pissing off more players. Before long
there will be no community at all.

You have a great game, so no need to worry about trashing the community. Just
build the software and the community will magically show up and form, right?

Honestly, the game itself isn't what's bad. The graphics could use a little cosmetic
reworking and sugar coating, but it works rather nicely otherwise.

Gee... I wonder what drives people away?

[Wocib]

Gee... I wonder what drives people away?

Maybe You ? or it is not even a solution you can imagine...

[miadon]

The game will -never- reach it's peak again, which was around 2005/6 when you could get between 200-300 players online during weekends even without events.

Just have to watch this old video I made all those years ago to show how busy it was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuA5TlJPTXI

The forum is a ghost of itself too, Looking at the forum stats shows a sad decline (ignoring a few stats that got distored by spam bots).

In April 2006 you had 32 new topics and 247 posts in just 1 day.

In September 2015 you had 16 new topics and 183 posts for the entire month.

So as cliché as it sounds you have to treasure those who remain otherwise the game will be completely dead in 5 years time.

[BoevenF]

I remember in late 2009, when I first came in Hydlaa. I couldn't even type a word in english without crossing my fingers, so basically I was playing in shadows so to speak (I can't type a word fast enough even now, for what it's worth).
One night I remember there was this *huge* crowd just outside of RCD, at the stairs leading to Kada El's... I was staring at the people, trying to separate the chaos of text in my main, at least 30-40 characters I believe, and for what? A duel of some sort. I mean, it was simply *wow*...
back then the leaders were the ones owning the secrets of gold and platinum...
back then I could use an intel Atom with 2 gb ram to play decently.
then there has been some updates in CS engine and PS client, and balancing of economics and crafting, and petty player confrontations, and people started leaving.
I've been in RCD only once or twice, I think, so yeah don't blame this RCD move for the lack of players.