(no subject)

[camwyn]

Accomplished so far today:

- Canceled last night's Gothic Cabinet Craft order. This was for a futon couch with drawers under it. I have done so because a) it would take 1-2 weeks to ship an unfinished frame, b) it would take 2-3 weeks to ship a finished frame, and c) I can go to Ikea and say 'that one, right there' and have another couch- somewhat nicer and definitely more comfortable, albeit without extra storage- put in my car for assembly at home in less time than it takes to ride my bicycle from Williamsburg to Fort Tilden.

- Got a nice chunk of my current MCSE course out of the way. I think I may be able to accomplish a lot more with GPOs than I had previously thought; the company-wide standardization will make my life a lot easier than trying to write scripts and give everyone the same configurations one desk at a time.

- Gritted my teeth through two songs that I cannot stand, but that were playing on the radio in the accounting office. "Jamie Got A Gun" and "Runaway Train". I don't like the first because I know damn well what it's about and I really don't need to hear a song about revenge for years of sexual / physical abuse during my workday. I dislike the second, because that song was wildly popular when I was at college and dealing (rather badly) with being on my own for the first time. I wasn't taking care of my academic interests nearly as well as I should've done, and I had some other problems, and I wound up dealing with what I"m pretty sure would've been diagnosed as clinical depression if I'd ever gone for a diagnosis. Hearing a song from the point of view of a lost and bewildered and despairing runaway teenager, over and over and over again, is not a good way to build one's mental health. There were a couple of songs like that while I was at college, and I still flinch every time I hear them. I didn't bother asking to have the song changed because I knew it'd end soon enough here, and I'd be okay at the end of it.

- Got a big damn iced mocha thingum and a chocolate croissant that bore very little resemblance to pain au chocolat, but that was pretty good anyway.

I'm still feeling a bit down in the dumps for a number of reasons- some of which have to do with feeling over my head at work, some of which have to do with inevitable swings of body chemistry (and by 'inevitable' I mean 'twenty-eight-day cycle') or a few other things, but I think I'm doing better. Now if I could just convince myself to write something even moderately decent, that would be nice.

Also, I hate to sound like a whiny little brat, but-

< whine mode > Am I doing something wrong at Milliways? Seriously. I know we're in the middle of the summer doldrums, but I like to think that I could get a tag once in a while from people I haven't pre-arranged plot material with. At least, that's what I used to be able to do. These days it seems like unless I poke someone and specifically ask them, I get about as many tags on my entry posts as... well, I could get more tags if I was actually a semi-sentient Speak 'n' Spell rattling off automated lines. Am I doing something wrong? Have my posts gotten that boring, or is it just that nobody else wants to tag because it's summer and work has hold of them? I can't get in daytime tags the way I used to- I've got a co-worker in my office and there are three auditors sharing our office space on top of that- but even at night...

Anyway, seriously, if I've gone boring or stale or something, TELL ME so I can fix it. < /whine >

Okay, off to see what I can do with GPOs. And maybe some RP stuff. We'll see.

Comments

[windsailor117.livejournal.com]

rp is ALWAYS slow in the summer...

[camwyn]

Even so, multiple days in a row where multiple posts go completely untagged is kind of unnerving no matter what time of year it is. In that whole 'Nobody wants to tell you this, but we're tired of you' kind of way.

[blackswanevent.livejournal.com]

Doldrums are a pain in the butt.

Damnit. I'm gonna grit my teeth and tag somebody. Even If I'm having an ow moment.

...And completely off topic...


-Didya get my package yet? ;)

[camwyn]

Yeah, it arrived yesterday. I was looking for you last night to let you know. Thank you!

[blackswanevent.livejournal.com]

...I've a new screenname (it's temporary) But I spent mosta last night at the movies watching various and assorted pictures for the price of 10.00 even. 8D. Was it fabulous? Isn't Zuko cool?

(Sorry-I like giving gifts to people XD)

[avariel-wings.livejournal.com]

I'm not allowed to play from work, or I so would. And I was a little burned-out, but judging by the sudden urge I got last night - and acted on - to tag ten different posts, that's well and truly over.

So, I'll play with you!

[eyesofachild.livejournal.com]

Can't speak for others, but I have no problems with you re: Milliways. I'd actually love to tag you, because I think you'd be a blast to write with. I'm just horrible about tagging out as a rule, since I'm one of those people who thinks that they're importuning everyone. That, and I can only manage so many threads at a time, and I usually hit my limit quickly. ;P

Right now, I'm over my head with classes and finals, and I'm not doing anything RP-related. Once I'm clear of this week, though, there will be taggage. Scout's honor.

[aberrantangels]

I wanted to have Michael tag Ray last night, but he was like "My last few threads with him sort of petered out. Also, I'm not ready to tell him my troubles as you propose, however much I need to talk to somebody, because I'm pretty sure that my having 'boyfriend troubles' would cause him to blow a headgasket." He seems to've come around, though; expect a tag in the most recent Raypost soon.

[batyatoon]

I'm not tired of you! I just keep getting eaten by plot and OOMs.

Andrew-Ray tonight, maybe?

[the_croupier]

It's a number thing, Cam. Not your fault at all.

Just compare the archives for June-August of this year with those from last year. Overall posts at Milliways are down by 1/2 to 2/3, a huge drop-off. And a *lot* of those posts are going untagged.

I don't think it can be written off as just a summer thing.

[silveraspen]

Dropping in here to second this. I've a few ideas as to the reason, as well, and I think it's a game syndrome generated by a closed-circuit environment.

But aside from the general evident malaise, insofar as my own personal tagging habits go -- with me it's a combination of being et by OOM plotwriting thanks to new canon, plus trying to get set for the advent of the new school year along with Extra Bonus Prepwork.

Not at all bored with you, and I don't see that you're doing anything wrong.

[camwyn]

*sigh* Yeah. While I appreciate the original concept of closing down apps to make people pursue RP instead of just bringing in new characters when they got bored, I think it's come back to bite us now. Familiarity breeding contempt and all that.

I guess I was just afraid that my RP, or at least my entrance posts, were developing the internet equivalent of deodorant failure. And I keep wanting to write OOMs for stuff happening with Ray and Wells and Quinn, but then I look at the main Bar and a third of any given screen's worth of posts are OOMs. I feel like writing OOMs instead of entry posts would be me contributing to the problem- and then when I put the OOMs in my entry posts so that there's at least an RP opportunity there, I don't get tagged. So I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.

[camwyn]

New people- or at least new characters- would probably help with that, but our mods are currently down to what, one person who can actually access the net, two people who're moving, and one person who's been devoured by school? Something like that?

[camwyn]

No offense, but the petering out seems to be a time zone incompatibility thing. Or at least a scheduling thing. Tagging from work isn't as much of an option for me as it used to be (I'm currently working on some server stuff and doing this in between), and by the time I get home, I can get in one or two tags on threads with Donighal before a notice arrives that you've got to leave off RP and go to bed. It's difficult to work a thread across the course of an entire week.

[camwyn]

As long as the person who's tagging me isn't excruciatingly boring or playing a character whose primary defining characteristic is angst, I'm good. Honest, I am.

[camwyn]

Sure, that'd be good. I don't have my tabletop Traveller game tonight, so that's cool.

[camwyn]

As long as the five hour time difference isn't a problem. Like I said, sharing my space with auditors is not conducive to RP.

[avariel-wings.livejournal.com]

You're usually getting home when I still have two or three hours before bed, so 's all good. :)

[the_croupier]

Well--and I want to put this delicately, because I have no wish to critique Mways in *any* way negatively, only constructively--I would cautiously suggest that a game that depends on the constant introduction of new blood (pups and muns alike) may be in need of some rethinking.

Milliways ought to be a place that encourages long-term pups because that means muns can tell interesting stories that allow their pups to evolve over time. If closing the apps is the reason for the drop-off, then I'd say the real solution to the problem may lie somewhere other than just opening them up again.

Comments?

[the_croupier]

True, that definitely isn't helping. But with two of them getting settled in their new digs, maybe that will get better.

RL can be so annoying. =)

[camwyn]

I'm inclined to think that most Internet societies need a certain amount of new blood on an ongoing basis. People lose access or have changes in their circumstances all the time; granted, it's not that vast numbers of people are constantly having their DSL yanked or college coming after them, but still. A game that doesn't allow new entrants is going to run into trouble whenever the real world is so crass as to intrude. Consider it the .4 in the reproductive replacement rate. (I was taught in anthro class that the reproductive replacement rate needed to keep a stable population in a relatively peaceful society is something like 2.4 children per woman. One to replace the woman when she died of old age, one to replace the man when he died of old age, and the .4 to make up for the inevitable accidents that remove people from the population.)

As for encouraging long-term pups, I quite agree that that's an admirable goal. Unfortunately, if you don't have new interactions on a regular basis, you're going to wind up facing familiarity breeding contempt again. How many times can you deal with pups who either don't change or whose stories have little or nothing to do with your own?

And what are you going to do when pups' stories reach their logical ends and they leave- and there's no one new to replace them?

[mm_madb]

I'm just going to say I understand, and avoid ranting.

I understand.

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

You have a great deal of awesomeness. I just have not had much RP muse lately myself or I'd be all over you.

I know the feeling of being overwhelmed at work. Damn shark.

[parke-matru.livejournal.com]

*snugs you* I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the game since retiring Snow (and hitting a wall creatively, gah) but I've been keeping up with Ray's adventures . . . I'll send Agatha in once my brain snaps back into gear.

[not-croaker.livejournal.com]

Anyway, seriously, if I've gone boring or stale or something, TELL ME so I can fix it. < /whine >

You're not writing enough of 'Hellblazer: Hogwarts' and 'Who you gonna Owl?'.

Heya

[argonautilus.livejournal.com]

I wish I had known you were having those kinds of problems on college. I consider you one of my closest friends during that period and I know how much depression sucks because I went through a lot of it in high school. I would have been more than willing to listen. You've always been so self posessed about your feelings though (save anger/frustration), that I really hadn't a clue you were so unhappy.

Btw, if you could convince millways to open up to new people again, I can pretty much guarantee you someone to interact with. :) We always did build well off one another.

Re: Heya

[camwyn]

At the time I wasn't entirely clear on how stuff like depression was supposed to work. I knew people who had SERIOUS depressive issues, and I didn't want to seem like I was angling for sympathy or anything- I mean, I knew sexual abuse survivors and people who'd attempted suicide in the past. Compared to that, periodic inability to find anything good that I'd done lately, or inability to work up enthusiasm for classwork and the like, really didn't seem like very much. I'd put on an Eagles tape and listen to Don Henley sing "Get Over It" and kick myself because I couldn't. Sometimes it got better, sometimes it didn't- anyway, it seemed more like a personal weakness (or something biological) at the time than a real disorder, and I didn't much want to dump it on anybody. Hence the not saying.

And Milliways should be opening apps sometime this fall. Hopefully sooner rather than later. It's a no-OC game, though, so you'd have to apply with a character from some canon or other. Fair warning.

[aberrantangels]

None taken, and I'm pretty sure it's scheduling, not timezones (we're both on Eastern time, after all). Maybe if/when I get a Real Job™ and my schedule changes to fit it, I'll change my schedule to fit the relative-nocturnal tendencies of most other Millimuns.

Thanks for the current RP, of course, and I'm always glad of a chance for any've my pups to chat with old friends or make new ones.

[the_croupier]

Oh, I certainly agree with you there. I didn't mean to suggest that Milliways ought to be thriving even without any new apps at all.

Maybe a better way to say it would have been: Milliways ought to a place where most active pups are long-term ones, with whatever additional replacement rate would be healthy in its particular case (as you say: "a certain amount of new blood").

The first version of my question was provoked by my wondering whether the balance had been tipping too heavily toward apping new pups because the game was not doing everything it could (or at least should) to make long-term pups interesting.

(I don't have any hard facts to back that up--it's just a gut reaction provoked by the increasing flood of new apps last winter/spring, followed by the sharp decline in posts over the summer.)

Some would probably respond to my question by saying it's largely up to the muns themselves to make their pups interesting, and of course, I agree with that, at least up to a point.

But a game also has responsibilities to its players if it hopes to survive, including: a) it must ensure the setting still keeps things at least potentially interesting, and, b) it must provide events, game mechanics and rules that encourage and reward continued participation.

(And these things don't all have to come from the mods themselves.)

Sorry to have hijacked your thread here, btw.

=)?

[buriedmybrother.livejournal.com]

Heeeey.

[mercuriazs.livejournal.com]

(Um. In all seriousness. So far as I'm concerned? It's not you, it's me. And I've been that way with eeeeveryone. Mea culpa.)

[genarti]

I'm thirding this, because Aspen's said everything I would, I think.

Except that she has better excuses for having been lazy than I do. For myself, I think it's a sort of not-exactly-burnout that's probably caused in part by the general malaise, and perhaps part by RL distraction, and part by the cycles of plot.

But I don't think you're doing anything wrong at all, and I'm still interested in your chracters and what you're doing with them.

[camwyn]

Psssht, you've never been excruciatingly boring.

[camwyn]

... oh, right, the angst thing. You know, I didn't even think of that until I'd already clicked on 'post comment'. My bad. Nah, Antigone has other defining characteristics. I mean characters who basically seem to exist so that they can be miserable and people can rescue them.

[vivien]

I felt much the same last week - totally disconnected and lonesome, even though I have actual entrance posts... well, hardly ever.

I'd play with you more, but damn my hands and schedule, I just can't as much as I want to. Maybe I will make that a goal this week, because you and your characters are of the awesome, and it's a joy to play with you.

PS - it's slow. Scary slow. However, we also had a plot of fantabulousness with the Gentlemen last weekend. I think we need more stuff like that, but there's the rub of finding the time and energy.

[ahmeemee.livejournal.com]

I hate to break it to you, but you've gotten really boring.

This is probably because we don't RP together anymore.

[(Anonymous)]

I would love for my very-rarely-seen pup to talk to one of yours, likely Ray, and I feel bad at seeing all his untagged posts go by because on the rare occasions when my pup's been in, Ray's been really busy; but I haven't had time to get in these days, or indeed for the last however many months, which makes me wonder if I should retire the character.

But as a reader, I always enjoy your characters' posts.

--pat_rin mun

[camwyn]

Well, if you ever do manage to get in, please, feel free to interrupt. Unless it says a post is plotlocked- which it almost never is, for Ray- I'm always open to interruptions. Remember, Ray is from a fundamentally comedic canon and is not exactly known for having the longest attention span in the world.

[camwyn]

I quail in terror every time I hear jingle bells, you know.

[ahmeemee.livejournal.com]

Wait, what?

[camwyn]

Weren't you the one with the character with all the bells on? Or am I thinking of one of my other lunatic friends who played World of Darkness games with me?

[ahmeemee.livejournal.com]

Nope, wasn't me. I was the creepy girl with the sketchpad that liked to wander cemeteries at night.

[camwyn]

Oh, right. *smacks self in head* You're the one in Vancouver. The one I'm thinking of is in Ontario. Couple thousand miles and several dozen degrees of sanity's difference. My bad.

[ahmeemee.livejournal.com]

If they're the ones with the bells, I'm not sure who's higher up on the sanity scale ;)