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Staffing Confessions

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Staffing Confessions written Jan 23, 2022 14:34:29 GMT
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I really appreciate my community. They are so quick to assist anybody new and accept them that it is just pure bliss. I have had someone consistently beat me to answer questions and I sit here like "I'm completely okay with this." XD
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 27, 2022 0:53:06 GMT
Stardust in me
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We're motivated by the stars that we're made of
I'm angsting over our list of characters to be dropped at the end of the month and hoping for some last-minute posts ...
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 27, 2022 11:04:59 GMT
Tidal Wave
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I've got a hurricane in my head, I can't feel a thing, but it's better than dead
I feel like a bad staff when I have to be gone for lengths of time. I know it is normal to feel that way. Watching the community continue on by regularly checking in through discord. But the past week has been such a blur and I feel a bit out of touch. Everyone, of course, is rather patient with me, but I still can't help but feel like I just ghosted my whole community for a week, even though that isn't the case. I am glad to be back, I just gotta feel weird about it for a hot minute I guess.

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Staffing Confessions written Jan 27, 2022 11:57:41 GMT
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Has anybody else noticed that on a lot of sites when the staff slows down, everybody else slows down too? It's rather terrifying and I love places that are secure enough not to do it, But this phenomenom effect makes me nervous about taking me time as a staffer.
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 27, 2022 16:10:47 GMT
Tidal Wave
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I've got a hurricane in my head, I can't feel a thing, but it's better than dead
To be fair, my community is no different most times, but despite being the admin, I am also the most active poster, so if I'm gone, most everyone has to wait for me. I am not sure if this is the case for other places, but it is especially for mine. Of course, people do still post and get things done, I'm not saying that they don't, but I was gone a week and came back to 20 replies. Threads that aren't mine, between the other members, is probably half that? I'm in a good 40 some threads right now. Again, not sure if it is the same with staff of other sites, because while I have mods, I still solo most of the admin work, and personally involve pretty much everyone. If we had more people, I could see it running like that. But most of us are adults either in college or with full time jobs and external responsibilities, so when I'm gone most of them take a break from my consistent crap lol.

However, as a secondary note, this is the first time I've been gone like this and things haven't slowed down, so it's really nice that we're getting to that point.

Yet another ramble because apparently I have words today... Another thing that I am quite interested to know. Is it really a security thing? Like, sure, my site slows down when I'm not around, it's to be expected when I'm so heavily involved, but like... I think it's more interesting that it just... Picks right back up? Like even if people are like "no, I need a break" we let them? And then they come back and it's like they never left? I know people don't like waiting more than a few days for posts, but like. Idk, I'm not super big on activity. One post a month is active status for us. Most people have a weekly or bi-weekly quota, and that's perfectly fine. It's the sites that lull in activity and don't come back that worry me, but at the same time, I am obnoxious and it took a lot of time to build our community. I won't just let it die like that. Even if it did, I doubt it would be because of the lack of activity.

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Staffing Confessions written Jan 28, 2022 8:41:39 GMT
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With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
How often do you guys activity check/what's ideal? I know activity checks can be a strain, especially with a smaller staff, and it's always a pain in the butt to clean up, but I also know that I get very turned off when a site doesn't look very clean and has a lot of dead accounts. We're probably going to go for less often, but what's standard practice?
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 28, 2022 12:17:27 GMT
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Jan 28, 2022 8:41:39 GMT said:
How often do you guys activity check/what's ideal? I know activity checks can be a strain, especially with a smaller staff, and it's always a pain in the butt to clean up, but I also know that I get very turned off when a site doesn't look very clean and has a lot of dead accounts. We're probably going to go for less often, but what's standard practice?
We do activity sweeps (which are completely behind the scenes, faster, just check to see if everyone's made an IC post in the last month) once a month.
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 28, 2022 15:48:20 GMT
Tidal Wave
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I've got a hurricane in my head, I can't feel a thing, but it's better than dead
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Jan 28, 2022 8:41:39 GMT said:
How often do you guys activity check/what's ideal? I know activity checks can be a strain, especially with a smaller staff, and it's always a pain in the butt to clean up, but I also know that I get very turned off when a site doesn't look very clean and has a lot of dead accounts. We're probably going to go for less often, but what's standard practice?



I hear a lot of places do once a month. But I do mine once a season, or once every 3-4 months. We do most of our activity checks in discord. But I have different activity practices than most people. Some accounts we hang on to for members that want to come back but don't have time. I hang on to inactive accounts from people that have ghosted for 6 months before deleting them, but inevitably they get moved to an inactive rank I have set up and most of their stuff is moved and cleaned up off the boards, so it is really easy to see who is active and who isn't. We don't have a terribly large community, there's like 10 of us, so it's pretty easy to just clean it up with the season change, since I do all my admin work at season change time.

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Staffing Confessions written Jan 28, 2022 17:23:05 GMT
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Jan 28, 2022 8:41:39 GMT said:
How often do you guys activity check/what's ideal? I know activity checks can be a strain, especially with a smaller staff, and it's always a pain in the butt to clean up, but I also know that I get very turned off when a site doesn't look very clean and has a lot of dead accounts. We're probably going to go for less often, but what's standard practice?


sites i was part of in the past (pre-2016) did activity checks once a month, which i like personally. im noticing the trend for communities to not have any checks at all has peaked and except for the occasional "you here?" thread, it's not a priority. my trouble with that is suddenly someone that holds a dozen or more characters, yet is rarely active ic, is running to save them all because it's a one-time deal. personally i think activity checks in the long run even if it's every few weeks/months is ideal.


last edit on Jan 28, 2022 17:25:51 GMT by oliana
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 28, 2022 17:28:40 GMT
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Jan 28, 2022 8:41:39 GMT said:
How often do you guys activity check/what's ideal? I know activity checks can be a strain, especially with a smaller staff, and it's always a pain in the butt to clean up, but I also know that I get very turned off when a site doesn't look very clean and has a lot of dead accounts. We're probably going to go for less often, but what's standard practice?


we built it into our rules, instead of going through stressful activity checks every x number of months. we have a rule that you get 30 days to make an IC post, or we immediately archive the account and its threads. we check every couple of weeks for accounts that fit this criteria, and don't have nearly as much to clean up in one go. it keeps everything neat and tidy for when visitors come to call

that said, we're also not heartless. shit happens, and we get that. if someone lets staff know that they've got stuff going on (and it doesn't need to be specific, because tbh it's not our business) then we'll give them a break. the bottom line for that is open communication tbh.

the most we've done recently is a roll call, just to see who's still around post holidays. just post the characters you wanna keep (or the ones you don't) and you're good. no proof of activity required, but once it's over we'll start our 30-day rule from that point. it's basically our new year clean up.
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 28, 2022 22:31:13 GMT
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what do you want to know? my height, hobbies, quirks, the color of my underwear?
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Jan 28, 2022 8:41:39 GMT said:
How often do you guys activity check/what's ideal? I know activity checks can be a strain, especially with a smaller staff, and it's always a pain in the butt to clean up, but I also know that I get very turned off when a site doesn't look very clean and has a lot of dead accounts. We're probably going to go for less often, but what's standard practice?


the system that i've found that i like is as follows:
-- activity check thread gets posted on the 20th of each month
-- players are expected to reply to it on their ooc account with a list of all of the characters they want to keep + a list of all the characters they want to drop (players on hiatus get this posted for them by a staffer)
-- dropped characters, they have to specify if they want the account deleted or just archived
-- kept characters, for each character, they need to provide either one (1) in-character non-communications post that was made that month by that character or two (2) posts that meet the same requirements except they were made by another character and they can't do it two months in a row or three months out of six (basically, the latter situation is a "you have a side character and your partner hasn't replied to you, you're otherwise active, as far as i'm concerned, you're square, i got bigger fish to fry" exception)
-- december (and sometimes february), i typically waive the posting requirement, but they still gotta check in + reply
-- i do an @ everyone for it in the discord when the thread is posted and a few days before it closes
-- on the last day of the month, i close the check
-- anyone who hasn't replied to the check at all, i just delete their accounts + remove them from the discord
-- anyone who's missing their ic posts, they have until the end of the day to dm me with a link to an ic post to square up; if they don't, i mark the character inactive, and they have ten days to resolve that status by making their missing ic post (which they can't use towards the next check) before i will allow someone to ask me to clear the claims (which are listed separately from the normal claims)

i like it because it's extremely predictable (you can legit set a reminder for the 23rd of each month to post your reply and you'll be fine) and it gives me a chance to kind of realize "oh, shoot, that character i thought i posted on """a little while ago""" actually hasn't been posted with this month, let me go fix that" before i'm in trouble because i haven't posted for them (which is what i hate about checks that don't let you use posts from after the check has been posted + behind-the-scenes sweeps that are largely done at random whenever the staff feel like it), but that's just me taking what i like as a member and putting it into practice as an admin so. yeah.

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Staffing Confessions written Jan 28, 2022 23:16:20 GMT
the narrative
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Jan 28, 2022 8:41:39 GMT said:
How often do you guys activity check/what's ideal? I know activity checks can be a strain, especially with a smaller staff, and it's always a pain in the butt to clean up, but I also know that I get very turned off when a site doesn't look very clean and has a lot of dead accounts. We're probably going to go for less often, but what's standard practice?
probably a bit more unconventional/inconsistent, but we base it off how the community is currently looking. if there’s a notable disparity between active members : registered members for reasons outside the conventional (i.e. holiday season, general start of finals season when a good amnt of the memberbase are uni students, etc.), then it’s time to start discussing / planning an AC. there’s a sweet spot we hit with “bi-monthly” (see: after every two months), but again, it’s more based on pulse checking the community than a solid schedule. rl happens, rp’s a hobby, and all that.

the hardest condition we have is simply: leaving the discord server = automatic archiving, clearing of claims, whole deal. no ifs, no buts. if a staffer isn’t informed that it’s a temporary leave / something similar, then it’s safe to assume that it’s a legitimate leave. 

other than that? the standard drill. members post in a thread a link to an IC/non-comms post for characters they want to keep. canons require two posts to signify they are both (1) active and (2) are committed to the “canon” part of the character. non-canons need only one. posts can only be from the past ~2 months to keep it a bit more lax, but still a check. drop the link, get cleared from the archive/deletion hammer. don’t drop the link/state that a character is to be archived/deleted? done. claims cleared and everything. we also have a hiatus system where a person can inform staff if they can’t make the check due to xyz, and their need for the ac would either be (1) waived entirely or (2) lowered in requirements. the moment the person posts with any character whatsoever though, during that period of hiatus, they’re subject to the check.

honestly, it all ultimately sums up to: give allowance when allowance is needed, but know when to hold ground. 



coming soon.
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 29, 2022 1:21:01 GMT
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Jan 28, 2022 23:16:20 GMT said:
the hardest condition we have is simply: leaving the discord server = automatic archiving, clearing of claims, whole deal. no ifs, no buts. if a staffer isn’t informed that it’s a temporary leave / something similar, then it’s safe to assume that it’s a legitimate leave.


we do this too, and it keeps things clean. again, communication is the key.

additionally, to keep our discord server neat, we have roles that members need to choose in order to access server content (originally put into place to keep trolls at bay). about once a month we'll remove roles from accounts that haven't been active on site or on discord, and if they don't choose their roles again, we boot. luckily, most people seem to leave of their own volition, but just like seeing a bunch of dead accounts on site, it's also discouraging to see a long list of names in a server that never talk.
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Staffing Confessions written Jan 30, 2022 19:17:32 GMT
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VOLITION [Medium: Success]
the masses: we want to see a [newest media trend] site!

real talk, making a site is no joke especially if you want it to succeed for more than a month or two. by the time you've laid down the groundwork and trying to cobble together the rest of the checklist of things you need to do to make it palatable for people, the community's moved on to the next big trend.

tl;dr: don't let what others want from [sites you want to see] influence your decision, staffers.

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