Suggestion SWRP: What If....Major Factions had a expiration dates?

[Amara Zambrano]

There's nothing stopping a faction from going minor of their own free will. If a faction isn't willing to do that and can't maintain activity in a way that benefits the forum (as in actively posting threads which are directly attributed to the group as a presence on the forum in a way that interacts with itself and/or other factions/groups on the forum) then they get recalled. Making an arbitrary automatic expiration trades the status quo for factions manned by people who have a specific story in mind for a faction from start-to-finish, which is a fantastic method of running a faction but it isn't the only way to run a faction nor should it be.

A lot of people (as in most of the factions on the forum) have both historically and currently operated factions as a vehicle for people and groups to interactively write a story, not in the reverse manner. A few groups come to mind that have gone against the grain and done things differently, sure, but not everyone wants to engage in factions with the idea that their faction has to have a beginning-middle-end planned out and executed within a finite (known) timeline - a lot of people also tie their characters to their factions, not necessarily as tools for the faction to use but because it helps come up with a sense of identity for their character and, again, it is useful to use the faction as a vehicle to carry them along in their own personal stories that they otherwise wouldn't be able to come up with on their own.

Factions that have a finite timeline, with an arbitrary expiry period, runs the risk of pushing people who might otherwise be interested in a faction towards somewhere else (either private threads or a newer faction) so that they don't run the risk of investing into something that isn't going to last as long as their interest in their character(s), as Srina said.

This fosters an environment where factions, after a certain point, will be full of just the people who are most invested in a faction's success - which might sound like a good thing, but that's going to be a very small fraction of the amount of people who actively write in them right now. You'd see factions that aren't extremely popular or innovative enough knee-capped because the people who aren't willing to base a character around a faction nearing the end of their lifespan will pull activity somewhere else and interest in a faction that doesn't attract new faces is quickly lost which'll lead to an increase in recalls rather than whatever cycle this suggestion might intend for it to bring about.

 

[Boggo Flib]

IMO this suggestion feels like a reaction to the first major faction recalls since the poofening and it is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.

What is the poofening a reference to? I can only assume it happened when I was on break. I hear about it every now and then tho.

 

[Kaila Irons]

I don't see how taking writer agency away and further blurring the lines between IC stories and OOC game mechanics could lead to anything good, regardless of the intent.

im sure others have said it but factions aren't just colors on a map, they're social spaces much as devices for the stories of individuals writing in them, not unlike chaos itself. Putting an artificial timer on them is bad for the community as a whole, not just the individual groups.

Personally I'd be pissed if the SO for example vanished over night because someone decided it had a due date. Natural causes, no activity, is one thing, but this does nothing except punish people who actually put in the work, not solve problems. It'd slowly kill the board imo.

For those reasons and because I don't see any pros in between the cons, I have to say No.

 

[Jonyna Si]

What is the poofening a reference to? I can only assume it happened when I was on break. I hear about it every now and then tho.

The poofening was the last huge major faction recall, about 3 years ago, where 6 outta 8 majors got wiped due to inactivity.

 

[Tefka]

Bear arms with me, ya'll are on your suggestion thread meta and while I've had a love/hate relationship with suggestion threads over the years, I've adopted a new mentality of "I'm not reading all that" so I cherry picked. Sorry if I missed you but some of you are writing like 8 paragraphs and I'm not about that life, not in a suggestion thread.

Be concise, you're not going to win anything in here, you're just like... what is it called... "word vomit" is the best term i think.

(TLDR) WHAT IF: Major factions only lasted 1-2years OOC

What if members posted in the default font in OOC threads instead of manually changing to times new romans everytime, like why

I think it could have potential, might mitigate writers from getting too overly-attached to their blobs on the map

Based and agreed. Never gonna happen though.

that a rule that eliminates a faction inorganically would make the RP not fun,

Triple dog based to the 9th degree we hate inorganic decisions.

It would certainly help burnout.

No it wouldn't lmao

YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF THE BURNOUT

THE WRITER, THE HOOMAN

I CANNOT FIX YOU, I CAN HELP MITIGATE BUT I CANNOT FIX

Like many others, I have heard tales of the Salt Wars from the past and have noticed a recurring pattern of narrative stagnation masked by terms such as "Faction Intent" or "doesn't align with our faction aesthetic,"

Don't invoke "Salt Wars" of the past to support your point, I was there for all of them, started some, ended most, and they have no bearing on this suggestion in the slightest. Nobody has more merit or street cred than me on this point.

The difference between the stories and having a set end date for the faction is that it sort of forces faction implosion of some sort.

Quadruple quadrapalegic wombat based

I think if factions go under its ultimately because the interest and activity isn't there. If they are lasting long its because they are attracting writers and telling active stories. Ultimately the map reflects what writers are willing to work for. If you don't like a faction existing then make a major faction and attack it until its gone.

This read like I literally wrote it myself, rare Kitter Bitters massive W.

factions designed to 'wipe the map' of older factions don't really work anymore, because all it does is encourage OOC toxicity.

Uh I disagree, slightly. I think some OOC toxicity should always be expected with PvP. It's human. Human's can't not human.

I think the older and wiser among us help curb it best. But factions employing IC strats like, "invade invade invade we're warmongerers" shouldn't be discouraged because people can't moderate themselves or their factions. For example, we had a faction named NIO that got "poofed" despite them passing a faction activity check. NIO didn't get poofed because they stream invaded. NIO got poofed because I got tired of them not moderating their bullshit, and the constant whining, and the constant OOC. And I'll do it again if people let it go too far.

Like, you have to understand, if you're going to attack a faction, their writers may get mad OOC. It's normal. If you're a leader, you have to expect it. You have to institute ways of dealing with it, and helping them deal with it. My way of dealing with it, almost every time, is to roll over and conduct the war "their way", so long as it is fair. Don't wage war OOC, because eventually, everyone loses to Staff and that's anti-RP and anti-fun.

This is something I also did not expect to read! It sounds like your character's growth has been deeply tied to the faction's journey. Do you see a distinction between your character's personal arc and the overarching faction story, or do you feel they're inseparable?

I quoted this because it reads exactly like a chatgpt answer and I chuckled when I read it

If the GA were to suddenly disappear in the middle of that, because 'they've been around too long', then

If SO and GA disappeared tomorrow, I'd be in Empyrean and Val's DMs letting them know to come talk to me about retirement as RPJs/Staff, because despite their longevity - which I too am against leaders lasting too long - I am immensely satisified with their leadership on the Major Faction scene and have been for some time.

Don't get it twisted, while I'm against MFO's lasting too long, it's only because I've seen what happens when MFOs go too long. We're in a rare situation where Empyrean and Valery are the exception to the rule - I have no inclination to slide in their DMs and convince them to step down, if I thought it'd even work.

I'd like to make a counter-suggestion based on what Sreeya and the team did on TSWRP:

After every timeline, they wipe EVERYTHING - including their "factory and codex". You need to start uber fresh. Granted, it's a smaller community than this one, so it works.

Rare Sreeya W, they do most things different on TSWRP which is good for both of our communities. Regardless, I'm a huge fan of Sreeya, she's extremely pleasant to deal with and from what I've seen, a great leader.

Regardless, what they do has no bearing on us, and vice versa.

Being part of a larger group is fun to me. Far more fun than just being a loner. In fact, I think it's harder to get involved on Chaos as a whole if you aren't involved in some faction, be it minor or major.

Fivetuple based.

I think canning a faction because of a time limit would be dumb

Sixduple'd based.

But with regards all the empty space, there is lots. But people definately want to write on the named planets from popular media rather than

Seventuple'd based?

Placing an artificial expiration date on them could result in killing muse and more importantly be "anti-rp" in the grand scheme of things.

Someone ban this person, too based.

It's a thought provoking suggestion with solid, salt-free answers and opinions. Good job you guys!

Chatgpt answer, ban them twice.

As long as a major faction is producing activity to keep them viable there is no reason to put a timeline on their existence.

Eightquad'ed based, I think you can call an airstrike with this one.

There's nothing stopping a faction from going minor of their own free will.

LMfao yeah sure buddy keep dreaming, people making smart choices without being forced bruh what is u smokin

Personally I'd be pissed if the SO for example vanished over night

hovers over delete button

 

[Tefka]

in summary, cool discussion, never gonna implement this suggestion, never even seriously considered it, other communities can go for the reset button, if we do a reset it'll be because every major faction leader simultaneously decided to press the "go minor" button.

I won't force them to go minor, I won't force them to stay major.

Chaos comes with a price, freedom comes with a price, and there are lines Staff won't cross and because of this, we are powerless to control the meta unless you start a porn channel in your faction discord.

 

[Tefka]

Boggo Flib i'll offset the rolling i gave u for ur OOC font

I really like your avatar, it's a huge W

Just stop posting in times new roman, it's undoing all the carrying ur avatar is doing

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Dang, I think thats the most I've ever been called based, lol.