trogers2 Posted August 15, 2018 Report Share Posted August 15, 2018 (edited) 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. Edited August 15, 2018 by trogers2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggressiveGrey Posted August 15, 2018 Report Share Posted August 15, 2018 Quote I passed the quiz after spending a solid 2 hours I have no idea how you got 2 hours, literally took me 10mins - you even said yourself you have a ton of RP experiance, how does it take you so long? As for your bottom line: Quote due to the sheer volume; but what happens when that volume (which it will) drops? What happens when regulars begin to go? This has not happened yet so I don't know, they staff will address it if it ever comes around. I still think this issue is related to you, not others. The entire application and quiz took me 25-30mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers2 Posted August 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2018 (edited) Hello Lurker, perhaps because I was too careful? I can't answer why it took me so long. I did go through the questions several times before I submitted them and refered to the document(s) a few times as well mainly because of the painful 4 hour 'cooldown'. But what do I know? You guys did it, why can't I? It is no big deal and it appears to work so what is the problem? I did not expect anyone to agree with me regarding this as 1) the population is healthy 2) it is keeping 'trolls' away (somewhat, or atleast making it harder for them). I am speaking into an echo chamber, I fully expect to be shot down with non-stop praise regarding the system, as I saw in the other threads. It is the people who don't complete the test we don't hear from; regardless if they are good people or bad. I think my point has been lost somewhat but you don't force people to go to a law school when going on hoilday to another country. Why? Bad people can still pass, and drilling the rules into our head is no guarantee they will follow them. Truthfully, it would be much healither to have people apply using character bios / info and judge that way; trolls who don't care about RP won't spend all week writing and fleshing out their characters but people with a passion for it will. A test on the rules though? It's a static test. If a troll has done it once and you ban him -- all he needs do is redo the test. He already has the answers from before. Looking through the forums, I can see you still get a few that still do slip through the net. Edited August 15, 2018 by trogers2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallinByNature Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Topic Archived - Inactivity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
