Let me start by stating that I am aware of the audience GTA attracts -- least on that list is professonal Role Players; thus I think the quiz is a good idea to weed out possible trouble. I am also aware a few other threads have touched up on this issue in the past as well, however non have addressed the core issue I have with this system.
"Commitment requires loyalty" - Does the quiz help weed out trolls and trouble? Yes. 100% -- but it also weeds out good, exceptional RPers as well. The quiz does not just test you on how worthy you are to RP on this server -- it also tests your patience.
Despite having no hyperlinks, or feedback -- you are thrown directly into question 1; forcing you to use Google to try and scramble a few things together. Hard? No, but annoying? Yes. As a new player with over 15 years of RP in 4 different games inc (neverwinter nights & Vampire - Redemption to name a few) with solid experience in pen and paper; WOD (New and old) DND (3.5 onwards) to name a few I found this extremely intimidating. Never-the-less I passed the quiz after spending a solid 2 hours researching the rules and answers (used a different account to bypass the 4hour timer however) Fair enough, brutal -- but I agree it is a needed feature; my issue, however was right after that we are hit with another quiz - the bio section, 100% agree -- but asking us to go through another quiz on the rules forced me to check out.
I love RP, speaking as a DM myself. Creating open gripping stories and complex characters, seeing them grow and develop is a very fulfilling experience. I am aware you get players come in on a daily basis who pass this test(s) -- but I also bet you get many who don't. Some toxic, some -- probably not so toxic. Do we need the quiz? Maybe. Is it the best way to tackle the issue at hand? No. You've lost me (who I consider myself to be a sensible RPer with exp to boot) which is a shame, becuase I would have liked to stay for a while; and maybe even one day DM / admin for this community. Instead of my trialing my integrity and worth with in-game restrictions; or simply one quiz and a bio -- you would rather have me study for an exam. GTA5 is still a popular platform, but I fear over the years this quiz is going to put a huge bottle neck on the servers new blood, long term -- this is not sustainable and I would know; coming from a community (like this one) over 10 years old and still kicking today. or Vampire - Redemption; strong community still going strong since 1992. Both had complex rules and settings -- non features such a bullfrog approch to newbs / trolls (which all communities I have been with have had to deal with) I doubt very much I'll get much support on this, but as a commited RPer myself I felt obligated to atleast try and show you how destructive and unnecessary this system is; the argument that this helps keeps trolls away does not fly. Yes, it does -- but it is the same logic as using a chaingun on a busy towncenter in order to take out a terrorist, it works -- but it is hardly efficent, you get the terrorist but you also accidently take out others as well. I barely know anything about this community, why should a new player (like me) comit to 30 - 120m of research + 2 days worth of 'approval' time (secound quiz) to simply join the server?
Bottom line is this: The test is more of a test of patience and comitment rather than RP skill and mindframes -- if you were forced to do a similar thing in order to buy something from a shop; I highly doubt many would go, some would, but many would not which is the current issue this server has. Rage has over 1000+ active players even at 10% a tough system like this works, due to the sheer volume; but what happens when that volume (which it will) drops? What happens when regulars begin to go?
Rules are important, vital even -- but this force feeding approch is not the way to go about it. I highly recommend you stick to only one quiz, and add some sort of trial where players are restricted on what they can do. I also recommend introducing hyperlinks (at the very least) to reading material; or put text on the screen for them to read through -- rather than forcing them to alt-tab out and Google. I had to pull open 3 different articles, inc -- the rules PDF, an older post by a forum user and the rules section of the forums. All this should be in one neat file, on the screen. If you are going to dismiss everything I have said above, then you should atleast try to make the experience as user friendly as possible.
The fear of the trolls / newbs ruining the experience will always be a threat, as I have seen in many games that use RP. But all the successful servers I have been apart of; or set up myself have one thing in common: good screening and/or staff. The trick is not to pile on more regulations and restrictions because all that does is makes things harder, for everyone -- the trick is to strike a balance and hammering the rules into our head, doesn't mean the players will follow them; nor is it an efficent way of keeping bad eggs out.