Close applications for now

[ObnoxiousZombi]

I'm not too concerned with getting in too soon honestly, but from what I hear, everyone is complaining now that application approval times are getting bumped up constantly by the day. I personally have my application in waiting status since around the beginning of april, and back then the waiting time was "14 days at most" or something close to that. Now I'm hearing its two months waiting. If you guys are having a case of "finish 1 application, 2 more will rise in its place," then why not just close it altogether til you're caught up? There's clearly not enough staff/free-time with all the staff to handle this many applications. I hope no one gets mad at me, or sees me as impatient and bumps me to the back of the list for this, but I just feel like this is something that should've been done a long time ago.

Edited May 26, 2019 by ObnoxiousZombi

[Loafism]

And what problem would this solve? All closing applications off would do is drive more people away, closing them doesn't fix the problem of a lot of people wanting to get in.

[ObnoxiousZombi]

it would stop admins from getting overwhelmed, and hopefully would stop the people that already applied from complaining too much. That's all the community discussions part of this forum is filled with. It's hard to see progress, and feel like you're chipping away at something when all it does is increase. Not to mention, it would just force people to try other servers. Not to say they'd be losing anything either, this is a popular server after all. I'm sure they'd still be getting plenty of applications after reopening it anyways.

[Loafism]

6 minutes ago, ObnoxiousZombi said:

it would stop admins from getting overwhelmed

Considering the amount of time it's taking for applications to go through, I'd say we're already past the point where there is enough to overwhelm them. If anything it shows a fault with the current system and I don't think that a bandaid fix of shutting off new applications is going to be beneficial for the server.

 

9 minutes ago, ObnoxiousZombi said:

and hopefully would stop the people that already applied from complaining too much

Why would it stop people who have already applied from complaining? It's not like the people applying after them are somehow jumping ahead of them in the queue.

 

20 minutes ago, ObnoxiousZombi said:

'm sure they'd still be getting plenty of applications after reopening it anyways.

Yes, but in doing so they'll also loose potential players as well, so it wouldn't really benefit the server.

[HaminLord]

I don't see exactly how closing the applications will help, if you do so. You'll still have the same wait times for everyone. And maybe even slower ones.

The Staff Team and Quiz Team are both doing their best, and with these positions being completely voluntary, I don't see a reason to why people should complain that much. We are doing what we can, and at the end of the day. This is a game.

Closing applications can result in more players simply getting upset and complaining on Discord or on the Forums to why applications are closed, it will also demotivate some people from even applying if applications would be open, due to how it'll be closed on first sight.

We're reducing the amount of applications as much as we can, we don't want them to stay this high as they already are. Closing the applications won't help the backlog, as at the end of the day. It'll take us the same amount of time to view the already existing applications, and closing applications as a whole might even slow down the process of applying and joining ECRP due to how some people will have to wait for their application to be ready and sent, creating an even bigger backlog than we have now in the near future when applications re-open (If they will be closed).

[Bala]

I look at the application system and I think to myself, it got overloaded when we had the influx of new people a couple months back and it's never actually recovered.
They can give incentives to staff to do reports all they want but it's a numbers game. The lower the number, the lower the wait time. The lower the wait time, the better.

I don't think the application system is foolproof. You can be the poorest role-player for example but if you know someone that knows the rules or can roleplay then you can just ask them for the answers. The application system means you have to be connected to the server but you can't actually play as you aren't approved yet.

Which would you find more frustrating?

• Going to register on Eclipse but being told you cannot apply right now as there is a high volume of pending applications.
• Registering on Eclipse, taking the time to do the application process and then having to wait 2-3 weeks just for an answer?

For me, it's the second one, because if I log on and i'm told i can't apply right now, I've wasted two minutes. If I apply and Idon't get accepted, i've wasted two weeks.
I wonder how many people submit good applications, wait 2-3 weeks to be approved, lose interest and then get accepted.

If i've took the time to apply, I'm tenatively committed to playing here.

Think it would be in the server's best interests long term to close applications for a week or so, get that number of applications right down to in the hundreds and then set a hard limit. If there is x amount of pending applications, no more can be submitted until the number is back down to y.

So say, the limit for pending apps is 1500 and the quiz team has to get the number of apps down to say 800 of those before the apps re-open again. That gives you a window to stay on top of the apps AND also, it's a while before the cap is in effect.

[ObnoxiousZombi]

14 hours ago, HaminLord said:

I don't see exactly how closing the applications will help, if you do so. You'll still have the same wait times for everyone. And maybe even slower ones.

The Staff Team and Quiz Team are both doing their best, and with these positions being completely voluntary, I don't see a reason to why people should complain that much. We are doing what we can, and at the end of the day. This is a game.

Closing applications can result in more players simply getting upset and complaining on Discord or on the Forums to why applications are closed, it will also demotivate some people from even applying if applications would be open, due to how it'll be closed on first sight.

We're reducing the amount of applications as much as we can, we don't want them to stay this high as they already are. Closing the applications won't help the backlog, as at the end of the day. It'll take us the same amount of time to view the already existing applications, and closing applications as a whole might even slow down the process of applying and joining ECRP due to how some people will have to wait for their application to be ready and sent, creating an even bigger backlog than we have now in the near future when applications re-open (If they will be closed).

I see your point, but I do believe in the long run there would actually be less of a backlog on the applications. I'd also bet that less than a quarter of the amount of people to complain about the wait times would complain about the applications closed, as people tend to care more when they've spent time on something, rather when they get a definitive "no."

and sure it'd take the same amount of time to get through them, but from what I'm hearing they don't stop coming, and they're in fact going up. While it is entirely voluntary, any type of worker thrives on motivation, and you can't get motivated by hacking away at something that just keeps increasing. Progress creates motivation. But in the end it was just a suggestion, and to be fair, I don't know what goes on on the other side.

[ObnoxiousZombi]

12 hours ago, GOAT said:

I look at the application system and I think to myself, it got overloaded when we had the influx of new people a couple months back and it's never actually recovered.
They can give incentives to staff to do reports all they want but it's a numbers game. The lower the number, the lower the wait time. The lower the wait time, the better.

I don't think the application system is foolproof. You can be the poorest role-player for example but if you know someone that knows the rules or can roleplay then you can just ask them for the answers. The application system means you have to be connected to the server but you can't actually play as you aren't approved yet.

Which would you find more frustrating?

• Going to register on Eclipse but being told you cannot apply right now as there is a high volume of pending applications.
• Registering on Eclipse, taking the time to do the application process and then having to wait 2-3 weeks just for an answer?

For me, it's the second one, because if I log on and i'm told i can't apply right now, I've wasted two minutes. If I apply and Idon't get accepted, i've wasted two weeks.
I wonder how many people submit good applications, wait 2-3 weeks to be approved, lose interest and then get accepted.

If i've took the time to apply, I'm tenatively committed to playing here.

Think it would be in the server's best interests long term to close applications for a week or so, get that number of applications right down to in the hundreds and then set a hard limit. If there is x amount of pending applications, no more can be submitted until the number is back down to y.

So say, the limit for pending apps is 1500 and the quiz team has to get the number of apps down to say 800 of those before the apps re-open again. That gives you a window to stay on top of the apps AND also, it's a while before the cap is in effect.

You've said it far better than I did, and even put in a better idea than I have. I fully agree, the second one would be far more frustrating to me, especially if you wait that time and just end up getting denied anyways.

[Astrox]

-1

[DGanja]

I have like 5 or so more friends that want to play but once I say it's a 2 month wait they laugh , then we laugh together. I hardly ever see new players anymore, not like when I came to town only a few months ago. I wanna have some fun experiences with friends who I know will enjoy the server, but unfortunately will ultimately end up leaving as waiting for 2 months to be able to play with friends is far too much to be asking of us.

 

Tldr +1 application process is a joke

Edited May 27, 2019 by DGanja

[iAchieve]

-1. As the ECRP Quiz Team and Support Steam are expanded, there will be more people to handle applications and speed up the process. A new approval system has also been created, meaning that applications will be able to closed much quicker. There is absolutely no need to close applications at this time.

[jowebb7]

-1

 

I do however believe there should be transparency at the beginning of the application process about what the current wait time is. I am not a developer by any means and am highly ignorant here but I do not believe it would be hard to place something at the beginning of the application that can reference the date of the oldest application in the system so that people know how far back it is. This doesn't help the problem with the time it takes, but it does set the expectation for a long wait at the beginning of the application and not after it. This would also weed out any people who aren't really committed. Anyone will take 15 minutes to fake an application if they think they can get in to play in the next three days. People aren't going to fake an application for something that is two months out.

[Kris]

Not relevant anymore.