Alternative to Outlander Guild -> Hospitaller Social Tab

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by KuBaTRiZeS, Oct 17, 2016.

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  1. KuBaTRiZeS

    KuBaTRiZeS Avatar

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    When i heard about the Outlander guild i posted against it not only because of personal reasons, but also for what i consider a legitimate concerns:
    • To work properly it's a given it should be moderated. The moderation should be done by Portalarium. It means another daily task for Portalarium to be done.
    • Even considering the previous point, a guild that's only tied by the fact that people there are new can be a source of issues like scamming, trolling, badmouthing, deceiving and other nasty -ings.
    • A guild chat can be a source of confusion if lots of people talks at the same time and nobody actually reads the rolling text over.
    Still, i like the motto of Players helping Players and i also like the goal of the Outlander guild, being to give a way for new players to easily reach veteran players that are willing to help them in game.

    That being said, i've thinking an alternative that keeps the same goal, but not generating additional issues since it's not a guild related mechanic. The idea is to create an Hospitaller Social Tab.

    Everybody could have this additional tab displayed on their social menu. There they'll see all online players that are flagged as Hospitallers (by displaying the title in game). This differs from the rest of Social tabs being a one way list; Other players can check the hospitallers online, but being an hospitaller doesn't give you the names of every character created.

    Having this system in place, it can be noticed to new players at the end of the tutorial with a simple hover text (Check the Hospitaller social tab and ask your questions to any of the veteran players shown there! they're there to help). If a new player has any questions they can whisper an online hospitaller and ask for anything he wants.

    I think this system fulfills completely the goal of the Outlander guild, but without any of the drawbacks that it may bring with it. In fact it brings some other advantages:
    • It frees Portalarium for the responsibility of handling/moderating a guild.
    • It allow veteran players to handle requests directly and in the way they want; they can do it in an one on one basis, they can organize meetings with newbies and do tours, or whatever they want.
    • There's no requirement for specific moderation since bad hospitaller behavior can be reported through the report player option.
    • Veterans doesn't have access to newbies, only the other way around. That reduces the chances of them being exploited or bothered one way or another.
    The main drawback it may have is how hard it is to implement this one way friend list. Even so, and considering that the outlander guild may end up being an additional daily task for a member of the team i think it's worth considering developing this one way friend list.

    I'd like to hear what the community thinks about this in comparison to the devs proposal, so fire your thoughts at me folks!

    @Berek, @dallas, @DarkStarr

    Some ideas from comments:
    • Anonimity: consider the possibility of making participation anonymous through an additional character only meant to answer questions.
    • Availability: Should be available since the tutorial (Access through the help buttons in the top right icons?)
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2016
  2. Solazur

    Solazur Avatar

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    Optimally, I'd like to see them work this out like they originally did it (no clue what took place over time) with Counselors. As A counselor you used an extra char slot and made a dedicated char upon which was conferred the blue robes. We'd log on in shifts but really it was a "do as much as you can" thing. I always thought the anonymity was a good thing.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2016
  3. Quenton

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    What's the Outlander guild?
     
  4. KuBaTRiZeS

    KuBaTRiZeS Avatar

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    In the Q4 Schedule update it can be read
    This is the explanation dallas gave in Atogrim's thread.
     
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  5. Peabo

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    Give us world chat ;)
     
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  6. KuBaTRiZeS

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    I'm aware of the discussion behind the discussion, but I consider that shoulde be cast aside since it's a long time dead horse. The way it has been exposed, the Outlander Guild was to respond to Dallas plead.
    I'm proposing this alternative in the same lines the original proposal was presented, and i expect the discussion to stay along that lines. The only difference is that Hospitallers (AKA everybody) don't reach for new players, but the other way around, which advantages aside, makes much more sense to me.
     
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  7. Katrina Bekers

    Katrina Bekers Localization Team

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    I prefer this to the Outlanders Guild being shoved down the throats of noobs.

    I prefer this 10x to a global chat.
     
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  8. Selene

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    Interesting idea! Definitely could be a good thing if it's not really difficult to implement.
     
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  9. Sixclicks

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    I'd much rather just have a regional or global chat, but I guess this works better than the Outlander guild idea. Also, zone chat should default to ON unless in Single Player or Friends Only mode.
     
  10. Pikegirl

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    @KuBaTRiZeS

    I think this idea is great! Having the chat 1-way puts the ball firmly in the court of the players themselves to seek help, reducing unnecessary spam and rejected requests.

    But I hope that this chat can be one of the default tabs given on the UI when a player starts on the Isle of Storms. The tutorial can also touch on it a bit, saying that one can type in that particular "Help" chat for player assistance.
     
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  11. KuBaTRiZeS

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    Thanks! I agree it needs to be available for players right away. I'm confident the social tab is available from the tutorial so that wouldn't be an issue... Besides, to make sure something is found nothing is better than redundant access; it could be done in a way that the Help symbol in the top right side gives you access to the Hospitaller social tab, and in that tab put another button to the player instructions. I'd say the button to player instructions gets mostly TL;DR's reactions. Of course it should be properly noted that the help is being offered by players, not portalarium staff members, to avoid uncomfortable situations.

    Just noticed i didn't answer you bro! I'm not sure how counselors worked, but even when i can see the advantages in anonimity (separates the character identity from the helper, protects the character against abuse) there's also drawback on that; availability. Players are meant to flag themselves as hospitallers and to this voluntarily, and making them log with another character is definitely a turn off (at least for me). Also it makes the hospitaller something else than a flag; it requires an additional character, and that probably means more work (which is one of the main deterrents to pull things through at this stage of the game).

    Still a valid option that should be considered as well. I'm going to edit the OP with this kind of contributions, feel free to correct me if i don't get something right.
     
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