I think it's also fair to say that the introduction subforum sees a lot of activity still.
True. Everything was really happy-go-lucky because Guild was back, but in hindsight things were bad 3 years ago too. Just not as severe as they are now.
In fact, I might just start one in my own discord server. Just posting names and such of people that are notoriously bad for RP's.<Snipped quote by Buddha>
The issue isn't whether or not people realize the problem, the issue is the amount. I think almost everyone who frequents the bitch thread knows about the issues, recognizes the issues and combats them, but the simple fact is that the majority of the site doesn't regular the bitch thread- much less the discussion threads like this.
Ye, we're months, if not a year or more behind on solving this problem from a decent starting point.
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Agreed. This site's greatest draw for me has been that the mods aren't power-hungry. Other RP sites, other forums, a certain anime streaming site, have all been ruined by mods who care more about becoming god in their little internet-societies than about actually making the sites better for everyone. I'd sooner have no mods at all than a force of them who, given Mahz's inactivity, can run rampant without any checks and balances to limit their damage potential. Personally I know there are at least three people on this site who would want me banned just for existing with a different opinion near them. I think I'd be a fair mod but there are people who'd fear for their safety on the site, because they and I have had our spats before, and it's much too easy for players to hold a grudge, especially when the opportunity to retaliate on those grudges presents itself.
But then, @BrokenPromise brings up a good point: if the mods control the rules of the site, then the players control its culture. If we want a certain type of roleplayer (e.g. people who go AWOL on the RPs they've joined) eradicated from this site then it's up to our GMs to enforce these folkways. And if the guilty parties don't like that, well, they're free to make their own RPs here, or to go somewhere else. The absence of the mods only punctuates the idea that we the players are responsible for creating the site which we want to play on: if we want more diverse plotlines then we must be the ones to write them. If we want problematic players to leave then we must be willing to publicly acknowledge them as problematic. And so on.
Waiting for other people to effect the changes we want to see on this site isn't working. As players, and especially as GMs, we must be willing to be the changes we want for the Guild, especially if the mod team make it clear that they're not looking out for us anymore.
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What should we do then? Sit on our hands and hope that the staff members are more active in the near future? We are running out of options. Do we demand that the staff members be more active or just give up on saving this site?
I am fucked if this site goes under and my roleplaying hobby might just end. The only other site that I could go to is Iwakuroleplay. But, I have been banned there for a long time (it was over something stupid that I deserved the ban). So, I am screwed when it comes to my roleplaying hobby and I love to do it too.
We need a new face of staff members since most of the time barely do anything. Check with the current staff members to see if they still care about the site. If not, then they will be stripped of the title and privileges. If they still are, then they should be expected to be active on the site by dealing with every issue. Since there is going to be room, the staff members (still interested) set up applications for mods. Maybe have two mods per subforum (casual, advanced, 1x1, nation, etc.). Then, there will be four mods that keep running the entire forum smoothly.