User blog:Flamefang/Lilith's Letter Phase Two Update

Last phase, we had a series of update blogs, most of which addressed concerns I found myself to be having with Lilith's Letter, or concerns that others voiced to me. For the better or the worse, this is the first of such blogs for the second phase, but please don't let that delude you into thinking that things are necessarily better than they were earlier. To put things simply: they aren't. I've been trying to goad myself into writing this blog for about a week now, and after ranting for a short time in chat to Lott (Thanks for bearing with me Lott), I've decided to take to blog format and get the word out.

Basically what we're looking at is an incredibly slow, but not actually halted, progression of each mission. By this I mean to say that if the majority of missions were moving any slower, they wouldn't be moving at all. Only one mission has actually stopped so far, and I'm seriously hoping that this remains our only failure for this phase, but the others are experiencing a number of problems. Since most of the problems are fairly similar in nature I'm just going to list them below. Now, I would like to commend some users for standing out amid all this and providing a good example that others should follow. Perhaps if I were writing this blog in a similar manner to those I just discussed above, I wouldn't mention names, but since I'm eager to see things move forward, I will. Please note that the following are all within my personal experience, and users on missions not monitored by me are not noted below. If I have missed you out, just let me know and I'll add you as soon as possible. Yeah, this list is that short. There are a few others I'd consider adding, but those have only stood out once or twice instead of consistely like the above. I hope others can follow by example, and we can end this phase before Christmas without further failures. If you really want to be a hero, and get us all somewhere, feel free to check out my previous blogs for the first Phase. I'm sorry to be such an ass about this, but I don't think continued apology and oversight is going to get us anywhere.
 * 1) I've noticed that, unlike with most of the first phase, users are reluctant to post for fear of upsetting others on the quest. This can be for a variety of reasons, from fearing retaliation from a user that wasn't given a chance to speak up, to trying to push the difficult questions onto others. This has resulted in large blocks of text in which absolutely nothing happens.
 * 2) This is related to number one, but is slightly different. We've also had a number of occassions where the members on a mission will not make any kind of decision or action without consulting the ENTIRE group, and recieving consent from that same ENTIRE group. I can understand wanting these things in certain situations, like moving from one area to another, or attacking a poweful enemy, and in those cases I encourage getting everyone on the same exact page. However, if a flying baboon flips out of the jungle and slaps you hard in the face, I very much doubt you'd take to a nearby conference room and discuss the matter in a formal committee.
 * 3) This phase we have a number of combat quests, which were initially designed to be short and succinct. A battle was supposed to take place, and to keep things from being boring, the opponents might require a particular adaption or specific tactic to defeat. However it seems that most participating in such quests have elected to ignore the latter half of the prior sentence entirely, and would prefer to engage the enemy head-on without a second thought. Even where individual creativity pops up, it is only ever individual and does not serve the benefit of the group.
 * 4) Finally, and generally, I have noticed a large lack of autonomy and initiative on each of these missions. Not only in the ways I described above, but people seem to be expecting me to literally throw both questions AND answers at them. If this is what you are expecting, you are in the wrong place entirely. You should leave your mission right now, because there's no point in continuing in that manner. You will be wasting your time, and my time as well. Lilith's Letter is here to provide an interactive experience for those interested in taking Roleplay on the wiki a step further, and is not the equivalent of a rubberized Fisherprice product for toddlers.
 * Bach
 * Del
 * Lott
 * King
 * Obliv

Thanks for your patience,

Flamefang (talk) 05:51, October 3, 2012 (UTC)