Idea(For the Admins/Mods/Users)

[Emoticon]

Now, I know were doing the name change, but as were changing the name, I thought we should focus on the forum and what it has, not changing everything while the old stuff still stands. Now, I know that the forum needs updating and a few changes, but since its such a wide range of characters to rp(wolf, fantasy, human, etc), many of the lands belonging to these guys are left to dust, along with the characters. Take the fantasy lands, for example. While the only recently active land already has a leader to it, other lands belong to characters in the archives or with people whose accounts got deleted. While with the new change of staff and sorts, we should kinda sweep up the dust of inactive characters and deserted lands. I know you can't force people to go to deserted lands, especially if there character doesn't exactly fit the place or they just don't want their topic in there. So to wrap it all up in case you guys think this is just going to drag on(and so that you don't skip lines ;P), here are my basic two ideas. This will be long, just sayin.

First is to have a cleaning up of inactive forum leaders and territories, to make room for new characters and active players. This would mean deleting the leaders and making sure the players know that it is okay to claim leadership there, and that if more then one player wants the lands the staff can moderate the fight, and decide the winner(based on the fight.). Now if it's just one person, the staff can award the land to them after no one tries to claim. And the fact is, the non territories have more activity then the ones with chance to ownership.

Next is my idea for a new type of staff. Not like moderators or Admins, or any rule checking person. This staff would just be created for the site itself, cleaning up, checking out, and making new things for the site. This group would not be able to do anything like a mod, except change things. While I'm still thinking of the name(Narrowing it down while I type this), this group would be able make changes or add artwork or pictures to the site(with the user's permissions.). While they can make changes, they must be voted by the mods and the admins first, then the users can vote on it. If the idea gets the thumbs up from both staff and users, the admin/user can put the change into the site. If it gets thumbs down by staff or users don't want it, it doesn't get implanted. Now why doesn't the admin and mods do it themselves? You'll have to ask the admin/mods that themselves for individual answers, the reason I've most seen is a busy schedule or they just can't get on.

Now I'll list the first idea's Q and As. This is the questions I can think of now, so if you have anything else, please post to this topic.
Q:Why should we clean up the lands with inactive characters?
A:Because for new player to the site or people that are looking at the site and want to know if they want to join up, if the land has ownership and the land hasn't been posted on in more then a year, then that would show that the mods haven't been paying attention to it(or anyone), or there is no one to change it or keep it active.

Q:How would cleaning up help the site in anyway?
A:It would(in my opinion) show new players or guests on the land is open if you want it, and that even if it hasn't been posted over a year(or less) and that there is(or was) someone to change it. This gives the site the look of an active staff. Anything more refer to the questions above.

Q:Who would clean up the lands?
A: Either the admins or mods if they can, or my Idea of a new staff from above. The changes can be moderated by the mods or the admins.

Q:What if an active character's leadership gets taken?
A:The people who would change it would first make sure that the character is not active, or has no one to rp it. They would do this by asking users if they own or would like to still play their character, or whatever else the admin would like to do.

Q:What if the player with the character would like to play it?
A:They would keep the character and the land, as long as they'll will still use it. The date at which a new leader will be offered up is up to the admin.

Q:What if the land is still active but the leader isn't?
A:Still be offered up, but the players who are rping there would be allowed to continue or they can try and claim ownership.

Q:What if the leader wants to enter the users topic that was already there?
A:My solution(if anyone else has another solution) is that the leader wouldn't be able to interfere with the topic, as long as it was there and active before they were given leadership. They couldn't interfere as long as the topic isn't building a herd(this can be changed, and the number can vary), and the topic isn't making things that the new herd leader would do/encounter/see(such as rules how a lead mare becomes lead mare and stuff like that). If the users don't want to have the herd leader in there topic, that is up to them, but if they don't mind then the leader can decide if he/she wants to post in the topic.

Q:What if the players above already have a the things above?
A:Still would be up to them, but the new herd leader wouldn't be affected by these changes.

Q:What if the players don't want the herd leader to go in their topic?
A:If all of them don't want it the herd leader, then they don't have to unless the staff decide otherwise.

Q:What if the herd leader is being aggressive to my character or tries to drive me out?
A:If you don't want to leave you don't have to, as long as you are not interfering in a bad way(this can be changed if you have another solution).

Q:What if I want to be herd leader while the herd leader has a topic?
A:You can fight for the ownership, and if you win/lose you can decide if you want to keep the topic(I don't really have a solution for this one.)

Q:What If I lose/win in the battle? What happens to my topic?
A:I don't have an answer for this, but you can keep your topic or merge them, or whatever you decide to do or the staff decides.

Q:What If my topic surrounding conflicts with the herds leaders surroundings?
A:You can still keep your topic and your topic can still run on the same cycle of the seasons.

Q:What if someone in the herd comes to my topic?
A:Same rules apply, unless you don't mind them coming to your topic.

Q:What If I don't like any of these ideas or I have a question?
A:Post if below and post your opinion in the topic, or use the poll.



The idea Q and As(really tired now because of that up there xD)
Q:Why should we add these kinds of staff?
A:So that the site can be changed and kept up to date, without adding more mods.

Q:How would this change the site?
A:This would hopefully add to the sites appeal and draw active people to the site.

Q:What if these staff members do something against the rules?
A:Same treatment as a normal user if its something to do with rping. If anything else(like editing the site without permission or a vote), a suspension or action taken by staff.

Q:How do you become this kind of staff?
A:This is up to the admins and the staff, but my idea is that you must contribute something or have contributed something to the site to qualify. This can be changed depending on what the staff want to do.

Q:How would the group be handled?
A:Like any other group, it would be handled by admins and mods.

Q:What would the extent of their powers be?
A:If it can be changed, they can be able to create new lands(Including the separate things like Fantasy Lands and Extras.) and move threads.

Q:What difference would this be then just allowing the mods and admins to put in the ideas that the users think of?
A:If the players had a lot of ideas the staff(in my opinion) would have to focus on deciding ideas and putting them in, and that's even if they are on and don't need to respond to there topics.

Q:What would these members do exactly?
A:They would create lands for the site or add pictures to the site.

Q:Can the staff member put in an idea for consideration of another users?
A:No, since they could either be stealing another users idea and placing them as there own, or they would just use it so that one member who couldn't be in the group can abuse another users power.(this can be changed, idk)

Q:What If I, a normal user, wants to have an idea for the admin and staff to consider?
A:You can still put your ideas up, that doesn't change.

Q:Whats the purpose of the staff member then?
A: To contribute ideas to the site that could be used in the site, without the need of a mods time to put in the ideas from rping on the site.

Q:What if the staff member gets out of control and does something?
A:They don't have many powers, so they couldn't do too much damage, and the staff pick the members, so it should be well controlled.

Q:What if I don't like the idea/I like the idea?
A:It'a about the majority of the vote. If you don't like it, say you don't like it! If you love it, vote for it!

Q:Will the additions to the site be looked at before being added for the users vote, or reverse?
A:I have the first in mind, but this can be changed if the staff want it.

Q:What If I don't like this idea, or this topic, or you?
A:I would feel very derp.

Q:What If I despise you?
A:I would randomly be ashes, leaving nothing but my shoes.


If you have any feedback or anything to add or disagree to, your welcome to post. If you have anything to clarify from your poll vote, you can post it below too.

[Man O' War Lover]

I'm not incredibly active but my character Flame has had Arabian Meadow since the end of 2009. Lately he was challenged and it took me some time answer but no one has replied back. My point being people don't hold onto lands long enough or don't care. Some like me and the member who challenged me just doesn't always have the chance to answer right away. I think the rules should stay the same, because it's so damn confusing with a bunch of them and then you have to wait for a staff member and then there will be lots of arguments. Like I said the rules are just fine and easy to follow. That's what is so great about horse island, people don't have to take a hundred steps to do things, they just get to do it and they don't have to wait if they themselves are active. And it's probably easier for staff that way. I believe the moderator decides the outcome thing is not fair to members like me who have been on this site for years and I know this sounds a bit dramatic, but members do have their favorites. I think if another member risks challenging someone it's every horse for himself. I understand that the moderator would help by calling cheap shots and such, but that's as far as I think their power should go. My character Flame has won two out of three battles and the one he lost was to the horse he came back to beat for his second victory. But not all members are capable of "live to fight another day" so I can agree that a moderator would be nice to have near by. I also agree that the boards should be cleaned from time to time because my name was still on the board and I had been inactive for almost over two months. I don't mind having to win back territory that's what makes it fun. I'm just not active enough to keep up with all these new changes. It is easier following many of the old rules, but I am capable of following what you have in mind.

Ps; sorry for any typos, I texted my reply.

[themagus]

You can see the rules about claiming territories in the thread I made, I don't think it should be much more complicated?
Any land can be claimed at any moment, without limit on how long the land was under the ownership of someone else, as long as no one else claimed / won the land it remains under the rule of the most recent owner. All one has to do is to open a claiming thread, either winning the land be default within a week for not having an owner or the current owner does not respond to the challenge, or they fight for it in which case the outcome is pretty obvious I think?

About owners getting into other peoples' threads - I saw it right to say that an owner of a territory could go into any thread in his territory because it seemed natural that when someone else is making a herd in his territory the owner deserve a chance to suppress the rise of a force that could unsit him easily, especially if that owner does not have a herd and is a solo ruler. In other words it's his home, and if you don't want someone to be in your home you get him out, right? There's however a gap to the level of aggressive behavior the owner can apply, by good manner standards simply stepping into a topic, killing one character and threatening the other to leave or suffer the same result won't be acceptable. For me this seems reasonable and simple, but I'm open to hear people out, see where this goes.
Looking at Man O'War Lovers' post I didn't even know about the challenge and that's the #1 rule, in this case even if the challenger would have won this would be ineffective as there's no one to actually change the ownership, just saying.

I know I didn't answer everything nor my answers thorough, I need some time to let it sink.
About the new group idea -
No one but admins can change the lands, so that's a privilege the staff won't be able to give to another group of people, or half the people here will be admins. I can make a group titled 'Artists' though, and though no one but the staff can change the forum this could work PMing the staff to make what changes this group prepared, and the staff can vote and do it. This because I can't edit the specific privileges a group can have, it's either all or nothing pretty much. That's not a final say, I answer it from what I know, this could be developed.

[themagus]

You can see the rules about claiming territories in the thread I made, I don't think it should be much more complicated?
Any land can be claimed at any moment, without limit on how long the land was under the ownership of someone else, as long as no one else claimed / won the land it remains under the rule of the most recent owner. All one has to do is to open a claiming thread, either winning the land be default within a week for not having an owner or the current owner does not respond to the challenge, or they fight for it in which case the outcome is pretty obvious I think?

About owners getting into other peoples' threads - I saw it right to say that an owner of a territory could go into any thread in his territory because it seemed natural that when someone else is making a herd in his territory the owner deserve a chance to suppress the rise of a force that could unsit him easily, especially if that owner does not have a herd and is a solo ruler. In other words it's his home, and if you don't want someone to be in your home you get him out, right? There's however a gap to the level of aggressive behavior the owner can apply, by good manner standards simply stepping into a topic, killing one character and threatening the other to leave or suffer the same result won't be acceptable. For me this seems reasonable and simple, but I'm open to hear people out, see where this goes.
Looking at Man O'War Lovers' post I didn't even know about the challenge and that's the #1 rule, in this case even if the challenger would have won this would be ineffective as there's no one to actually change the ownership, just saying.

About the new group idea -
No one but admins can change the lands, so that's a privilege the staff won't be able to give to another group of people, or half the people here will be admins. I can make a group titled 'Artists' though, and though no one but the staff can change the forum this could work PMing the staff to make what changes this group prepared, and the staff can vote and do it. This because I can't edit the specific privileges a group can have, it's either all or nothing pretty much. That's not a final say, I answer it from what I know, this could be developed.

I know I didn't answer everything nor my answers thorough, I need some time to let it sink.

[Emoticon]

Well you can have the horses fight, which would probably end up in a fight between the horses and the users, but my idea would be have the mods observe the fight. They could choose the winner(which might cause a disagreement), see that no powerplaying or godmodding is involved, and make sure that the users don't fight. This would probably take a mods time, especially if there both one and there posting a lot.

Well my first thought about the herd leader going into someones topic that was before there rule was that the users in the topic may/may not want the herd leader to be in the topic, and this may cause conflict. Yes, I do sorta agree with the herd leader going into topics in his land, since there may be a lot of horses in one topic that would probably be seen as a threat, even more so with a lone leader. But I thought that if they were before the leader took effect, and were active, they could stay as long as they didn't plan to interfere with the herd leader. But the herd leader can still come in if there's a certain amount of herd members, and they can fight if they try to drive him out. However since some players might not take kindly to a person going in there topic and kinda messing up a bit what they have, especially if it have many pages to it. But I know that the people might be building a reasonably sized herd, so I put that number of horses exception(which can be 1 horse to any its up to you). If the topic has more then the horses, the herd leader can go in the topic.


I didn't know about how set the forum was, so If they would have the same privileges of the mods.admins then I can see why its a problem. That would work by pming the mods to change the forum, but if staff is inactive then it could slow it up, but I didn't think of that one.

@Man O' War Lover
Yes the territories are pretty inactive because they lost there shine, and that there isn't enough active users to actually make a land that is worthwhile to post in. But my point of cleaning up the forums is that new players or players thinking of signing up would know that it is open, instead of whoever takes care of the site hasn't noticed. I would agree too with the mods deciding the outcome, and I hope that the mods won't play favorites. The mods would decide the outcome based on the battle, and they would also check so the characters wouldn't just go 'fatal hit fatal hit dodge dodge dodge' to try to kill the character.

[themagus]

I can see your point about the staff looking over the fights, I'll bring it up but it may take some time as I'm kinda busy and will be busy the coming week or so =/
And you're right about the owner actions too, but I think that it could be left to a reasonable judging, in other words - it'll depend on the topic, but in case the owner annoys a new herd the herd can rebel, which is part of the point?
As I said before, there's more room to cover here, it'll take some time though.

[Man O' War Lover]

I still think we should stick with the old rules.

[Emoticon]

Yes, that would be the point, but the topic could vary as you said. There is a lot more to cover and discuss if this is serious consideration(Yay) that I can't think of that another member or staff would bring up.

@Man O' War Lover
What were the old rules? I don't think I tried claiming a land back then or remember how it was when I tried years ago.

[Man O' War Lover]

The rules were, post a challenge in a land and wait three days for the leader or any other stallion to answer your claim. You fight them and if you win you get to become the owner and leader of that land. If no one answers your challenge after three whole days you get to caim the land. It's been three days almost four since I challenged the stallion who claimed Arabian Meadow so I think I still own it. Anyway I remember reading a post shortly after I had joined the site and that was the rules it described. I will have to go looking for that post again, but I doubt its still there.

[Guest]

I like the new staff idea, honestly I think I'd fit better in it then mod.

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