Guild of Greeters - Discussion

Ja'de · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:22 pm

Thank you Dad Guy for posting such a concise and clear cut list of the thoughts of most of the Greeter community.

OHB · **Joined:** Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:28 am **Posts:** 1247

Ja'de wrote:

Thank you Dad Guy for posting such a concise and clear cut list of the thoughts of most of the Greeter community.

As one of the Greeter community, I'm not sure how you say those are the thoughts of "most of the Greeter community". Especially when we've basically lost touch with 60%+ of them.

JWPlatt · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:37 pm

Whoa, bulldog. You're starting in on members who have been in the Guild of Greeters and have been positive forces in the community for at least seven and eight years. I would put some faith in their experience and thoughts. That said, no authority is beyond question, but these folks do deserve some credit.

OHB · **Joined:** Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:28 am **Posts:** 1247

JWPlatt wrote:

Whoa, bulldog. You're starting in on members who have been in the Guild of Greeters and have been positive forces in the community for at least seven and eight years. I would put some faith in their experience and thoughts. That said, no authority is beyond question, but these folks do deserve some credit.

Whoa, chihuahua. Please don't read into my post what was clearly not there. I am a Greeter. Have been for about 3 years. I would put some faith in the fact that there are some things you should not presume to lecture me about.

Main_Avvie · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:01 pm

Narameh wrote:

My point here being: I found my way, everybody helped me, and everyone was super nice. This leads me to the question if an official GoG is even necessary, since most explorers seem more than willing to take on that role when there is cause to do so.

the GoG served as a place where newcommers *knew* they could go to find assistance... the thing is, yes, a majority of explorers are willing to assist just about anyone be they Greeter or not; i've been asked if i was a Greeter before, and the answer was "no" of course... Greeters wear the shirt so newcommers know for sure they can ask that person for asistance, and that's handy... but you don't have to be an official Greeter to help people in Myst Online... by that assumption, this discussion about greeters being responsible for the decline of returning newcommers is bogus... for me, exploring together and helping others is how the game is played, no one has to be an official greeter to do that...

OHB · **Joined:** Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:28 am **Posts:** 1247

Main_Avvie wrote:

the GoG served as a place where newcommers *knew* they could go to find assistance...a majority of explorers are willing to assist just about anyone be they Greeter or not...you don't have to be an official Greeter to help people...this discussion about greeters being [solely] responsible for the decline of returning newcommers is bogus...

With the addition of the word solely I agree 100%.

Nyrphame · **Joined:** Wed May 10, 2006 3:13 am **Posts:** 724

Wow, splitting off this topic has had the really annoying effect of removing my post - that now begins this topic - from its trigger and antecedant - namely the CavCon meter. Instead it looks as though I have purposely instigated a discussion about the Greeters. The discussion I started was NOT about the Greeters (in fact specifically guided away from the Greeters) but toward the specific diffiuculties of player retention as revealed by looking at the raw CavCon meter numbers when juxtaposed with the statistics in OHBs link - can we PLEASE change the topic title of this thread to properly reflect my intention???? This is about Player Retention. It is my contention that by focussing on the Greeters we ignore what these numbers are telling us about how players are best likely to be retained in this game. Looking away from the Greeters for best solutions to these problems as some of you are doing is going to bear useful fruit. Continuing to focus on the Greeters is not. That I promise you.

nerfy

Alien · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:44 pm

OK, I take some of what I said back,
I have now met a Greeter. As I said, what they do should be encouraged.
But I would still have liked to have met one a bit quicker than eight days into the game.

Ja'de · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:13 pm

One thing that bothers me. If the Greeters are doing such a lousy job, why hasn't anyone started their own guild of helpers and stayed with it?

OHB · **Joined:** Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:28 am **Posts:** 1247

Ja'de wrote:

One thing that bothers me. If the Greeters are doing such a lousy job, why hasn't anyone started their own guild of helpers and stayed with it?

Excluding myself as to not rate myself...

1. The Greeters aren't doing a lousy job.
2. It's the Guild that's doing a lousy job. Or no job. You pick.
3. The GoG has a sanction from Cyan. It's official. No one likes the idea of stepping on toes.
4. A Guild of New Players has just started and is holding their first big event right now. From what I'm told, it's going rather well.

Nyrphame · **Joined:** Wed May 10, 2006 3:13 am **Posts:** 724

And that initiative was specifically encouraged, by me.

AlienND, your viewpoint is invaluable here as a new player and your insights will be most welcome.

My question, and it is a serious one, is not about who you didn't encounter but who you did. Could you tell us about that? Where did you go, who did you talk to, how did you find others, who helped you, how did they help you, how did they not help you?

nerfy

tanshin · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:08 pm

Nyrphame wrote:

And that initiative was specifically encouraged, by me.

Might I just ask which initiative you are referring to?

Mac_Fife · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:28 pm

I think Nyrphame is referring to The New Players' 'hood, and this post: http://mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic. ... 140#366140

I think two of the problems that MOULa has had in terms of engaging new players is that, unlike MOUL under Gametap, we don't have:
1) "Stickied" hoods that new players can easily find in the Nexus, e.g. the GoG 'hood and the old "A Beginner's Bevin"
2) No in-game live help that you can call up to get a pointer if you don't know where to go (or haven't gotten as far as finding your Ki).

Doobes2 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:31 pm

I have always wondered why most of the GoG business is done with such secrecy. You're the Guild of Greeters, not the Secret Service or the CIA. All the other Guilds have at least some level of transparency that seems to be lacking in the GoG. Unless you're holding the keys to a nuclear arsenal or foiling terrorist plots or something, there is honestly no reason for this.

And yes, as OHB stated, the reason people have been reluctant to start something else is because the GoG is supposed to be the Cyan-sponsored group for such things. However, if nothing is going to happen from that end, others will be needed to pick up the slack, because regardless of what you may believe, there ARE new explorers coming in and they ARE looking for help. If we want to keep some of them and have them spread good word-of-mouth about the game, we must make them feel welcome and bring them into the community.

JWPlatt · **Posted:** Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:37 pm

Doobes2 wrote:

...the reason people have been reluctant to start something else is because the GoG is supposed to be the Cyan-sponsored group for such things. However, if nothing is going to happen from that end, others will be needed to pick up the slack

I can't tell from your words whether you are suggesting a new organization be formed to replace the GoG. But there is an existing infrastructure to do that, just like any kind of governance: get involved at the Guild of Greeters and change things that need change. Maybe the only change needed is getting more active members, as you might wish. Otherwise, you may just be moving a problem from one place to another in the long run.

Guild of Greeters - Discussion

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