We're #2 on mudconnect now.

[**Jake**]

I do want to thank everyone: your voting kept us at #1 for many months now!

Since I've stopped reminding everyone, our votes have dropped from about 40-50/day to around 10/day. (I'm just too busy at work )

Voting really is a big thing players can do to help the game they enjoy playing. It seems like everyone wants to help, but many just need to be reminded.

Here's an idea. When you cast your daily vote, take the opportunity to ask a few friends to vote too. Wheeee, chain voting!

Thanks,
Jake

[13]

I hate to say this, and I know it won't matter a hill of beans,
but I believe a lot of people stopped voting right around the same
time that the alignment was 'fixed' as well.

[12345]

Speaking of which, I'm probably going to have to start experimenting with the evil supplicants. I'm just reaching 40 cleric, and have 25 or so in my next class.

So I think I should be able to summon Xegs soon as a 40/25 critter, and cacodaemon at 40/36. 1x40 ones are manes, fiend and imp?

Any suggestions on which are good for what?

[kjartan]

[quote="13":1mo0ainh]I hate to say this, and I know it won't matter a hill of beans,
but I believe a lot of people stopped voting right around the same
time that the alignment was 'fixed' as well.[/quote:1mo0ainh]
Actually there was no correlation, at least in total number of votes. Maybe some people stopped voting and others started voting to make up for it.

Like Jake said, people stopped voting when he stopped reminding them.

[13]

Ok, by 'a lot of people' I really meant me

[Nothing]

You could add me to that list too. But I'm still a noob so I don't count for much.

[Jehru]

[quote="*kjartan*":3fyyurw0]
Actually there was no correlation, at least in total number of votes. Maybe some people stopped voting and others started voting to make up for it.

Like Jake said, people stopped voting when he stopped reminding them.[/quote:3fyyurw0]
Could you provide the data from your detailed correlational analysis? Was that a chi square test that you ran? Did you run that on SPSS? Seriously, Kjartan, it's pretty obvious that votes started dropping off when crappy change after crappy change was implemented. Jake not being on to remind people [i:3fyyurw0]ad nauseum[/i:3fyyurw0] to vote Vote VOte VOTe VOTE! only added to a situation that was already developing. And 13 and Nothing aren't the first to mention on the boards that they stopped voting then. While I don't advocate vote blackmail (yes, I understand the implications with TMC vote policies), I think it's obvious that the players are speaking to you with their votes. They're saying very clearly that they don't believe Sloth is the #1 mud out there anymore. Yes, it was at one time. But now? <shrug>

[Weasel]

ouch, at the current rate we're going to drop to 3rd soon..

[12345]

Voting... yeah.

Personally, the only reason I was voting to start was because of Jake. I happen to like the guy, he likes votes, and it's not too hard.

What is hard was the endless Barney-style voting spam. I'd type 'who' and see vote stuff. I'd die and see vote stuff. I'd see it spam across gossip, echoes and pretty much anywhere else you could think to put it. You could poke Jake in the stomache and he'd say 'Vote for Sloth!' I think Jake has better things to do with his time than be a Tickle-Me-Elmo.

I don't mind being reminded, but change the topic once in a while. I don't know how else you can get your point across, but you need to find one. Even if it's as silly as a little mail fairy that shows up after I've been on 30 minutes and asks me to vote and then doesn't show up again until tomorrow. Then at least I can kill it and get some minor enjoyment out of it.

[Grue]

Hmm, OK...

KJ says "Actually there was no correlation, at least in total number of votes. Maybe some people stopped voting and others started voting to make up for it.".

Well I may be being silly here, but if the total number of votes is the same then why is our ranking dropping? Unless you are saying the dropoff occurred at some other time and not when alligment was changed, in which case I'd be curious to see those numbers.

Here are some facts:
a) Changes were made to allignment that were pretty much universally disliked by the player base and still are.
b) Before the changes were made we were getting 70 to 75 players online, remember how excited we all were. There was talk about when Sloth had queues to get in?
c) Based on those changes a number of people have stated they will no longer vote.
d) Jake has not been online to prompt us to vote.
e) We lost our number one slot, which either means fewer people are voting or other MUDS are getting more to vote. Fact is the number of daily votes has dropped.
f) We are not getting the same number of people online, even though Sloth has only just dropped to #2. I have not seen more than 50 people on for weeks.

So 70 to 50 players online.
Loses #1 position
Fewer votes for Sloth

One could argue that is beacuse Jake has not been around, but it is just sticking your head ion the sand KJ, it would not explain the drop-off again in player base. Sorry, I really don't mind the changes becuause they don't affect me, but the truth is fewer people are online at one time, we are getting fewer votes, and a lot of folks have said they won't vote again. You makes your choices, you gets the results. I don't think the changes just resulted in fewer votes, I believe they have eroded the online player base.

Maybe I'm logging on at the wrong time, but I'm more worried by the loss in concurrent users than losing #1 on TMC. That HAS been noticeable to me. With luck we get back what we lost with new or returning playesr, but I actually think it was am unneccesary thing to do given the impact. It bought us almost nothing in playablity for a lot of unheppy folks.

[Avatar]

I think it's pretty clear that this is a more complex question than "eh, they changed something so people refuse to vote and left sloth". If you've been here any number of years I think there is a noticable swing in the mud "who" lists depending on time of year. In the middle of summer a lot of people are out doing stuff (and meeting chicks, yay!). Also, summer months mean the younger crowd is going to be on summer break - away from the dorms and computer labs.

So, that's my input.

Actually, for my input #2 I'd like to say that players trying to exercise their vote or lack of voting as some sort of method to influence the admin are quite silly. Are they going to whine and quit voting every time some minor change to the mud annoys them? Wait...I think I know the answer to that. That behaviour closely resembles a 4-year old getting angry and taking their ball and going home. That's not behaviour that should be reinforced, those kids need to learn how to live with other people.

[12345]

[quote="Avatar":vofwf6eu]Actually, for my input #2 I'd like to say that players trying to exercise their vote or lack of voting as some sort of method to influence the admin are quite silly.[/quote:vofwf6eu]
I think this falls into the category of the chicken and the egg. Players are in no way obliged to vote. In fact, there are several rules in place to make sure it stays that way. If the person doesn't feel the mud deserves a vote, that's entirely their perogative. Since every player is continually reminded to vote, it becomes a focal point that they're not voting.

Repeatedly asking someone to vote when they're not inclined to is just as childish as what you're suggesting. As they demonstrated before, they'll vote when they feel the mud deserves it. I think folks have forgotten that we actually had to earn the #1 slot on the mudconnector, it's not just handed out because you happen to want it.

And before you mention it, I still vote when I'm online at home, though my firewall at work now prevents me from voting.

[*Splork*]

I disagree with Grue about our playerbase shrinking-- I think it is far from the truth....

We were breaking 60 and 70 people at the very end of the school year(college and HS). SlothMUD and most likely the majority of muds lose players during the summers and their numbers fall. This was the first summer in a long time that we broke 50 players daily. I cant even think back at the last time this occured. The previous two summers we would be lucky to break 30-35 players a day.

The schools are back in session and this week we nearly broke 70 players again. I am pretty confident our numbers will get back where they were last year and hopefully continue to rise.

The fact is the majority of us enjoy our summers, We go surfing, partying, skating, work longer hours, etc. So while we may still log in, it definately isnt the long hours we put in when there are three feet of snow on the ground.

Enjoy,
Splork

[Leaf]

*Comes back from the dead*

Hi all!

I got the new job, so no more mudding at work.

Anyways ... I would say another reason why ppl don't vote anymore is
because of all the stupid ass newbies we got. When we were #1, we had
a BUNCH of newbies doing stupid stuff. So my main reason for not voting
was to make sure we stopped getting newbies. So what if we only had
like +35 player base. At least these are ppl u know, and can relate too.
Ppl u can have fun, and relax too. Not like now a days...

PS. PEACE TO MY DRAGONSWORN & DOW HOMIES!!!

Will

[Vixn]

Hello everyone.
There is my 10 bucks.

1. Sloth should evolve or die. So Sloth needs to put changes in. Changes could be nice or ugly, it could make life of players easier or harder – that is matter of discussion, but it isn’t matter of voting.
2. “Players come and players go and Sloth last forever” – that is something like Enea have said. Old players will stop to play due to usual reasons – new job, getting married, born of child, bored, retired etc, etc… (Is there a Game after life?). So Sloth needs more new players, not only alter chars of old players. That is the reason why we have to vote. One of the way to remind for voting is to put reminder in logging screen (before or just after the password )
3. When new players come to Sloth they need some time to learn how to play. Valk is good place to hit some exp for new players but they won’t learn there how to group and how to live in this world. And then - after they got 4x20 on Valk - they haughtily think “how could those ‘Shivals’ and ‘Dejus’ teach me what I have to do or not to do?”. There are some unwritten rules in Sloth but they couldn’t learn it just running Circus or Blaster’s Temple. And even those unwritten rules change from time to time (did u remember times when ppl donate old piece of eq to group after they popped something they have called in eq groups? – it is unusual nowadays, eh?). What we really can do is pay attention for new players (but don’t mort for them and/or donate eq, it’s way to teach them how to whine, nothing more ). I know, lot of players do it… so, please, do it more and more and again.
4. I think the reason of pwiping of Saraen and Co. was formal, but it was the only right and fair way for all (as for Saraen - now he/she could start again with new reputation in this world). But I don’t understand why to stop voting due to “stupid newbies joining Sloth”. This is really unconcerned things.

Well, enough.

Vixn.

+++ wah, are u still reading it?+++