New direction...

[djmadscribbler]

Well said Renegade.

[Sami]

I think we need a IRC chat.

[Toad]

I think we need a IRC chat.

Why?
What does IRC provide that a standard chat such as the LG15 chat does not?

I agree that puzzles need to be worked on interactively and that forum posts would take to long to develop the mutual thinking required but I see no reason a standard chat can't be used to share ideas and develop the "common mind" needed to solve puzzles.

Change sucks but sometimes it is required to move forward.
Ask the commenter board people about that.

In order to get past the ability of a few to steer the many we need a place where mods are appointed and responsible to the creators.

[bethy]

I would like to see that PM be not a single person but a team of people.

I would love to see the ARG characters interact on the site here rather via youtube messages.

I would also like to see that IRC is off-limits. There's no need for it to be used for game play, for any reason. Also, too many people can't use IRC, so it's exclusionary. I would prefer that there be no chat whatsoever...that all game play be done on the forums or not at all.

[chixor1]

I would like to see that PM be not a single person but a team of people.

I would love to see the ARG characters interact on the site here rather via youtube messages.

I would also like to see that IRC is off-limits. There's no need for it to be used for game play, for any reason. Also, too many people can't use IRC, so it's exclusionary. I would prefer that there be no chat whatsoever...that all game play be done on the forums or not at all.

This is a great idea but only if the forums are moderated appropriately and a lot of the chatter be either moved or removed.
A lot of solves can be lost in idle chit chat, but as long as there is a persistant moderator presence who ensures that the "story so far" thread is updated with all the information, the snr is kept low, it might work.

[bethy]

So basically, we now have a situation were all people involved in making the ARG suck are either gone or under surveillance - leaving room for the "uncool" players and lurkers to actively take part in a new version of the game, which hopefully will itself become active again under new lead.

And that's fine by me, personally. My apologies to some o fthe more cool cats, but I probably won't miss them all. One or two? Yes...but not the majority.

[bethy]

This is a great idea but only if the forums are moderated appropriately and a lot of the chatter be either moved or removed.

We'd need a whole new set of moderators, then...because the current ARG mods (well all but maybe one), to me, simply aren't capable of moderating with responsibility or without showing favoritism.

A lot of solves can be lost in idle chit chat, but as long as there is a persistant moderator presence who ensures that the "story so far" thread is updated with all the information, the snr is kept low, it might work.

Thign is, I've been in chat when some of those things were being done...and information I felt to be highly important to the process of solving was never included in the summary. I'd often suggest, and I'd be ignored...or insulted....but usually ignored. And sure enough....questions would follow because information is left out....and if a mod responded, it usually was something unhelpful like, "We just know it." or "Because it is...see the summary." --- they simply don't listen.

[chixor1]

This is a great idea but only if the forums are moderated appropriately and a lot of the chatter be either moved or removed.

We'd need a whole new set of moderators, then...because the current ARG mods (well all but maybe one), to me, simply aren't capable of moderating with responsibility or without showing favoritism.

Exactly....

[bethy]

I know that sounds harsh...but it's how I feel, and have felt for months now. Even just yesterday I had some PM interaction with one of the mods that proved just how irresponsible and abusive they can be. It was un unprovoked attack that was in direct contradiction to something said mod had posted publicly just minutes before.

I've always known it about them, so I wasn't surprised....just....disgusted with the duplicity of it all. They are one of the big reasons this ARG has fallen apart...but they just didn't care to ever listen to anybody. Pride does that. Now, some of them have run away in anger, some in shame...most of them in denial of something many of us have seen coming (and discussed many times) for the last 3 months.


And for that, I say.... See ya! Maybe the game really can become a game instead of a popularity contest.

[chixor1]

Not harsh at all, your emotions are shared by many of us, and these issues are things that we as a group* have been ridiculed for sharing since day one of OpAphid.



*the collective we which includes a lot of previous CiW players who were shunned for participating in OpAphid.

[tigerlilylynn]

"We'd need a whole new set of moderators, then...because the current ARG mods (well all but maybe one), to me, simply aren't capable of moderating with responsibility or without showing favoritism."

Umm...we've all quit. Romy quit months ago and Panda, Tilt and my own resignations are in the locked thread. I'm just here to split and merge as needed while the dust settles.

[windsong]

Chixor, you have done a wonderful job staying reasonable and respecting everyone's opinions in this thread.

Having said that, all the arguments against the IRC are arguments that i have heard before and decided then were groundless. Back before this puzzle drought, the IRC was used as a great place to brainstorm and to work during complicated puzzles and drops. The forum was always updated any time a new idea woudl come up. Yes, we couldnt say every detail of how an idea would come up because sometimes through brainstorming it is impossible to say exactly how you got to where you did, but once you are there you find it works.

The chat has had its own share of drama, especially with the people from the forum not always being able to get in, but it had its purpose. The LG15 site chat would not work the same because of the glitchyness and problems. Also, many people cannot get into that chat either.

And when people argued about people being rude or elite, I used to say that they never were. I never encountered any situation like that, and most situations that were argued about were blown way out of proportion.

Of course, I did not know about the alternate chat room, and I can say that I feel a little more than left out, considering the emptiness of the operationaphid chat lately, but I understand why they were separate. There had been drama and they just wanted to talk to their friends, which I had never really spoke up enough to become.

Even with all of the problems, I really think it would be impossible to outlaw the IRC from the opaphid ARG. Some of my favorite moments were from that chat room trying to all talk together and figure it out, especially during the intense drops or some of the puzzles that required team work.

I just feel like this whole situation is being used to air old arguments. Instead, do like Chixor, and try to figure out how to make the IRC work better with the forums rather than try to block it completely, which will only serve to drive more people away.
[end rant]

[Skunkwaffle]

I know I'm making a mistake posting this, but here goes all the same

You can argue all day and all night to the ends of the universe and back. It's not going to change the fact that IRC channels are going to exist. They're just going to, you can't stop it. Anyone can create them and anyone can access them. What you can, and imho should, do if you want the discussions to move back to the board or the LG15 chat room, is start using them for that purpose instead of cluttering them up with yet another thread dedicated to this stupid drama.

This is the 2nd time I've posted on this issue. It will probably be the last. I'm just going to go and watch the LG vids, and since there's nothing I can do to affect the direction of OpA at this point, I'm going to just wait and see what happens. If you don't want to see this community destroyed, I suggest you do the same.

[bethy]

Of course IRC channels will exist, my suggestion is that official game play NOT be recognized on IRC, or in any chat room for that matter. If people insist on the chats, then it should be done where a full and complete log can be done and posted for everyone to see.

[janesalteredstates]

In the spirit of "Moving On"...

When the creators get a new person to run the/an ARG for LG15... What kinds of things would you like to see stay and what kind of improvements would you like to see???

- For me I would like to see the IRC chat go away comlpetely... a True ARG should be played out in a place EVERYONE can share and enjoy it... UNNOFICIAL IRC chats are fine but I hate the ID of NEEDING to chat in IRC to even participate...

- I would LOVE to see more tangent videos... Videos used solely as clues and not directly related to the story line or intended to cary it on further... (Ala the TLE ARG)

- I would love to have more group participation with puzzles that go from Clue---->Clue---->Clue---->answer as oppose to Clue--->Answer

- I really like having the forum here so I would love that to stay!

- I REALLY like the characters so far so Op and Bro and Tachy would need to stay I think!


So what else... Throw your 2 cents out here.. Maybe the person the creators get to run the (new) ARG will read all our thoughts before moving forward...

I agree with a lot of this and I doubt it would be hard to find people to "play" Bree, Jonas, Daniel etc on the boards. People with more free time, I mean. I don't expect the actors to hang out on the boards all day.
It would be fun to solve a puzzle with Beast hehe