How is everyone?

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Hi! My name is Thurion, but enough about me.

I just wanted to hear from you all how you're doing, if you're up to anything exciting, etc. ^_^

I would also like to know what you think about our current status as a faction:

• Do you like it here?
• Is there anything you would like to see being done differently?
• Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts?
• Do you have any complaints or critiques you would like to share?

You know, stuff like that. If all you have to share is negative, that's completely fine! You're not going to be hurting anyone's feelings, and you've every right to express how you feel. Of course, constructive criticism is always encouraged.

 

[Undin Jaii Kryze]

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

• Do you like it here? (Insert McDonald's logo)
• Is there anything you would like to see being done differently? It's all fine from my point of view.
• Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts? Meh , they're ok I guess They're quite amazing , trying to get ideas from the community and asking for feedback.
• Do you have any complaints or critiques you would like to share? Yes, I'd love some Chicken Nuggets right about now , and I have none.

 

[Matsu Ike]

Do you like it here?

• It is one of the best places and very fun

Is there anything you would like to see being done differently?

• Jedi dance party

Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts?

• Yes most of the time.... those timezones that are not murica

Do you have any complaints or critiques you would like to share?

• Eh we could have less downtime between things, dominions, faction threads. Have people working to come with something that isn't timed so don't have to rush it but have something going on of interest that all can participate in over just small groups.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Well.

I say this as a regular member of this faction, not in any official sense. This is just my opinion, and you're allowed to disagree with it!

• Do you like it here?

SSC is one of the least drama filled factions. It's a nice place to hang around. It's handy as a place where a variety of different groups can mix.

• Is there anything you would like to see being done differently?

Greater involvement of people from the faction in decision making processes and more opportunities to do so.

• Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts?

Staff are very pleasant for sure, but they seem to lack initiative. I've seen very little efforts to motivate and drive the faction, preferring rather to drift along. When I left the faction staff there's been no replacement, and I think there needs to be someone with more dynamism to push things.

• Do you have any complaints or critiques you would like to share?

The faction is frankly inert. It's not at recall territory, but it's close. SSC can't rest on its laurels, it needs to do something. Plopping a few posts into a skirmish is not proper activity. What's needed is for the faction to actually have a plan going forward. Even if you don't want to do invasions you need to have something you want to do, or else there's no point having a major faction.

Anyway, that's my view. Take with as many pinches of sodium chloride as you wish.

 

[Moira Skaldi]

I used to be extremely active in this faction. At the height of my activity, most of my chars were members. However, that's changed. Siobhan, Elpsis, Kaida etc. left for a combination of IC and OOC reasons. One of the reasons was that I got the impression that critical discussion was stifled. Did not really make much sense for say Siobhan to be a member when her reasons were reduced to the fact that she happens to live on a planet in SSC space. Never mind the fact that none of my characters are Jedi, and a number were quite disillusioned after Ruusan.


I found my thoughts confirmed when I received a pm with a complaint about how I was being passive-aggressive because my characters were expressing purely IC thoughts that were critical of the SSC or rather certain characters in it because that's what their opinion was.


For one, it's my impression that the faction tip-toes around actual IC consequences in various cases. It seems to me that the governing consensus is not to rock the boat at all costs because acceptance and tolerance must reign. Lack of drama is good, but it's not an end in itself.


Moreover, I've had issues with the leadership. Is it the job of faction leaders to, as I was once asked in a pm, 'hold the members' hands'? No, obviously not, but faction leadership has to lead and direct to a degree, instead of just telling members 'you do it'. Things seem to have changed a bit, but I cannot help but get the impression that the leadership is more involved in private plotlines than in guiding the faction. What I saw was a lack of leadership.


I think it's worth considering cleaning the forums up a bit. The Information and Resources section in particular seems fairly cluttered to me (seriously, one thread containing all the tech suffices). Likewise, the information in the faction's front page description is rather dated.


At this point, I have difficulty seeing what the SSC stands for, beyond slogans such as 'acceptance'. The faction game is inherently competitive. It needs to be able to stand out in comparison to other groups, such as the Galactic Alliance, Kathol Outback and so on. ICly SSC has a council, but it's an inert body and thus membership is only a sinecure position. There's also the question of engaging other factions. Presently I have no clue what SSC's foreign relations are, beyond it being hostile to the Sith Triumvirate.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

Do you like it here?
To be honest, I haven't been putting much activity in here. From what I see on the fringes, it feels like a good faction. People are kind, they get along, there's usually stuff going on (the tournament this spring was a lot of fun, for example), etc. Considering this is geared towards force users, it's nice to see a faction that isn't so conflicted about its purpose like the GR was when I was there.

Is there anything you would like to see being done differently?
More faction events, provided they get enough activity, is always a good time. More than just dominions and invasions, that is. The aforementioned tournament was one such example, which was enjoyable and well done. Others need not be competitions, but more story events like that would be fun.

Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts?
Can't complain.

Do you have any complaints or critiques you would like to share?
Take this with a grain of salt, I already mentioned I live on the fringes for now (working to change that). But getting into non-dom/invasion threads feels like a challenge for someone like me. Until now, Jerek didn't have a master character (I left him behind with the Republic) and I'm not a big fan of training threads. I jumped into the Silver Watch's latest mission, but that's been slow going. So either it's a lack of activity on my part that makes it difficult to see the opportunities, or there exists a lack of real opportunities for less-established characters. Making threads more accessible might bear some consideration.

No serious complaints of mine, though.

 

[Nima Tann]

-It has a good variety of members, I can say that they're all talented people.

-One of the things that I see mostly here is that there are a lot of ideas around, but no one around to put them into good use so most of the ideas float around. Which is why the faction is mostly inactive in sense of factionwise events and interaction. For example, Ruusan skirmish is a good start, and there can be more events similar to that fashion.

-I am not that happy with leadership's involvement with the faction that much. I think that the leadership is more involved in their private stories than actual faction events so mostly the members do stuff uncoordinated when it comes to threads where coordination is very important. Thus, it leads to failure. One example would be Jabiim thread, some people were so out of the general story. The dominion was pushed by people who weren't even members to the faction. It was a complete chaos and most of the stories didn't connect to each other that much. If the dominion was judged by story but not the post count, I think that Jabiim dominion wouldn't be a success.

-When it comes to leading, it seems to me that OOC is more important than IC for the leadership so IC consequences are often non-existant, or sugar-coated. IC and OOC seems to mix up sometimes.

-I agree with the fact that time between dominions, invasions etc. is very long.

-I like that it's a drama free faction, but of course the reason why it has no drama is that SSC is known for being the "faction which does its own business and don't involve themselves with anything.". If SSC throws itself out there more, and show that it's indeed a formidable force I, and several other members of the faction I am sure, would appreciate it.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Do you like it here?
This is definitely the most laid back group of writers on the board, so probably not surprisingly I consider this faction my "foundation" for pretty much all of my characters. Even though my more active accounts tend to cross multiple faction borders (Boo's active in the First Order, Sor-Jan is active in the Kathol Outback, 3X744 is active in the Mandalorian Clans), this is always the group that I know I can come back to when I need to re-charge my muse or just develop my characters in a different setting.

Is there anything you would like to see being done differently?
On the one hand no, but I think we've more or less gone back to being the Order of Silver Jedi, even if we don't call ourselves that. A lot of the NFU/Frontier World flavor of the Levantine Sanctum seems to have faded away, which is honestly what drove me to join the Kathol Outback when it opened, as I missed those kinds of stories and NFU-focused interactions.

Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts?
I can't say enough good things about the faction staff. [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] and [member="Coci Heavenshield"] are both amazing.

Do you have any complaints or critiques you would like to share?
I'd echo some of what [member="Valiens Nantaris"] said. We should look at what the theme or story is that we won't to tell. We don't necessarily need to do dominions all the time, but perhaps some skirmishes or faction events to promote activity and collaborative team work. I think the last Invasion demonstrated we could work more on that aspect of how we mesh as a group.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I will say that while Faction leaders do their best to be involved in as many Faction threads as possible, it's not always going to happen unfortunately. Part of it could be OOC reasons (not being able to commit much, as I had a few weeks ago, backing off a little) or IC reasons where you just can't put your character in that story for whatever reasons.

I always like to see Faction events pushing forward by non-leaders, as it's nice to see what ideas come from those who take initiative and newbies get involved. All Faction events I've seen have been varied, and entertaining in their own right.

The feedback has been noted and I know for one the Leadership will keep on being as active as possible in as many threads as we can handle, but for the sake of the character, not for the sake of simply being a Faction Leader.

I look forward to ruffling a few feathers and dusting off some cobwebs and pushing the Faction onward and upwards so everyone can enjoy the writing, enjoy the company of others and just enjoy being part of a drama-free Faction which is something I pride myself on us being.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

I just got back... the only thing I can critique is the facfion doesn't seem active.

I've always loved the leadership here and would hate to see this facfion fold!

 

[Joza Perl]

Obligatory take this with a grain of salt as this is my first Star Wars forum and the only faction I’ve ever been really active in…

I’m going to echo pretty much everyone’s sentiment when it comes to the lack of drama and how easily players seem to work together even when faced with something they disagree with. But I feel like there’s a lack of structure within the faction as leadership doesn’t seem too involved. The Ruusan Invasion was fun, but a lot of our battles were being fought by members who weren’t apart of the faction. Again, agreeing with a lot of the other posts in this thread. I feel like SSC has a lot of potential to become a force to be reckoned with if we get more organized.

I’m curious, what do y’all think the focus of the faction should be? Reading some of the responses above, I notice that others have asked the same question. We’re currently harassing the Triumvirate, but they’ve gone minor and OS is going the same way too. With no major Sith factions to fight against, are we going to craft some sort of npc villainy to go against?

This might be straying from the topic a bit, but insofar as organizing events, maybe we could do something focused solely on Padawans/Apprentices of the faction? It might be a good way to make newer members feel like they’re apart of the game as I know pvp/invasions and the like aren’t for everyone. I wouldn't mind leading some sort of adventure or class if you trust me with the kids. Let me know if I’m crossing some sort of line as I’m still trying to find my footing with how the faction operates.

Oh, and mandatory dance classes!

 

[NightSister]

• Do you like it here: To be honest, I don't have much to compare to as Aria is my only character who is actively part of a faction, but personally I love it here.

I agree with other users' comments about lack of structure. I'm aware that the short supply of admins has a lot to do with that, but I would agree that our invasions/dominions/etc seem to have no particular goal. Setting short-term and/or long-term goals could do a lot for the Sanctum. Also, as much fun as said dominions and invasions are, I would suggest that we try and coordinate more events that offer a chance at character development, forming relationships with other characters and progressing towards new ranks. Lastly, I second the notion of having events focusing on we humble Apprentices, simply because you Masters with your shiny rank titles can be a little intimidating . And this

Jedi dance party

Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts: absolutely. You guys keep being you, you shining wonderful people.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

• Do you like it here?

Well, its one of the more reduced drama factions on the board, so I really can't complain in that regard. I enjoy this sector of the 'verse for various reasons, so maybe that helps.

• Is there anything you would like to see being done differently?

Yes. However, I am going to admit something first : I've been debating a leave from the SSC faction. I was here in the Levantine Days and much like [member="Boo Chiyo"] I miss the feel of being out in vast nothing, struggling in the wild unknowns of the black. I liked building my company up on the "frontier" and having that feeling. I continue to do it on my own, as I know I am in the small minority of RPers who feel this way.

• Are you happy with the faction staff's efforts?

More could be done to drive IC activity, either by adding more staff or giving key members a more active role to drive story aspects for the faction.

• Do you have any complaints or critiques you would like to share?

If the Republic dies/goes minor it will be important for the SSC to be prepared for an influx of writers looking to RP. Right now I do not feel the faction is in the best position for this. Personally I would advise a brainstorming thread and then put the best ideas into action in order to keep/put ones faction on top.

 

[Rasu Gan]

Do we perhaps have to bring in some more moderators so to ease the load off of our admins?

Also means more staff to accommodate members ideas faster and get some more motivation and activity flowing?

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

That'd be a good idea. If we're looking for Faction Leadership to be more active, having some not-Faction-Leader leadership might take a little of the heat off. Alternatively, IC leadership should be put into play: can't rely on the OOC leadership to do everything. Plenty of Masters around here to help run scenarios, missions and even skirmishes.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

[member="Rasu Gan"]

Why do you need to be a "moderator" to generate motivation and activity? Is there something wrong with just being a member?

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Do we perhaps have to bring in some more moderators so to ease the load off of our admins?

We're currently looking to hire more faction staff: http://starwarsrp.net/topic/94522-now-hiring-faction-admins

 

[Moira Skaldi]

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"], [member="Tirdarius"]


I highly doubt simply appointing new admins or mods will solve the issue, no matter whether it's one new admin or two. Loading everything on them is rather unfair.


If the present faction leadership cannot find the time to lead the faction (it does not seem to me like they're streching themselves thin as far as faction leadership is concerned), they should consider whether it might be best for the faction to step down.


As for IC leadership, the SSC's Assembly never met once. It's always been an inert body. It's member list is also out of date. Saying someone else should shoulder the work load just means skirting the issue.'

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Moira Skaldi"] Perhaps that would be the problem, Moira: if the IC leadership is inert or non-existent, perhaps that's the change required. The OOC administrative aspects of the Faction don't have to be dealt with by the same people who push the faction forward on an IC level.

You're very much correct about the idea of hiring new staff. It would be unfair of them to take on the additional workload of the Faction in that way.

On a personal note, I'm glad to see that this character is still around. Yay for Moira!

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

I would like to thank everyone for all the feed back and it is under consideration by the faction leadership. As you have seen so far we are taking this into account and moving to put in place some things immediately.

Our purpose for inviting members to join the administration teams is not to burden them entirely with faction leadership and the running of the place, but to help those currently in place with the work and bring in fresh and new ideas for the future of the faction.

As for the feed back on organisation of faction threads, whether they be invasion or dominions and the like, this section:

http://starwarsrp.net/forum/2511-dominions-invasions/

Is dedicated to such organisation of the dominions and has been used a lot when discussion them. It is the place in which we all can voice our ideas for them and bring together objectives to give all members to choice from which they can RP their characters.

This thread:

http://starwarsrp.net/topic/93207-next-event-for-ssc/

Has been open for discussion of the next events and/or mission for SSC outside of the dominions and there is plenty for any member of the faction to take up the suggestions provided by all those that participated in that thread.

The Silver Watch:

http://starwarsrp.net/groups/703-the-silver-watch/

Is also another avenue for which members can RP their characters outside of the normal area of the SSC.

From reading the feed back, it is my understanding that most are looking for organisation or discussion of the direction of the SSC as a faction, and this should be open for discussion by the entire faction and if a new thread is required for that topic alone and separate from this one .. it will be provided.

Once again, thanks for all your thoughts.