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EDITORIAL: Agencies to Blame?
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Jojo
Jojo
Old Shoe

Jun-20-2007 12:56

***This is my opinion. Strictly my opinion.***


I've looked at the community, and anyone who's been here longer than 100 days is able to see that Sleuth activity has gone down the tubes. Dead. And what is to blame? The agencies.

Now, agencies aren't the root cause. Let's get that straight. But the way they have been operating is. The problems with agencies are (1) the quantity, (2) the purpose, (3) and the role they play.

Okay, first, the quantity of agencies. Not too long ago, there were about 20-30 agencies. All full at 12 persons each, coming to a total of roughly 240-360 people. That was a good amount. But now, we have almost 120 agencies. That's right. 600% of the amount we had about a year ago. Sure, some may argue that the community has grown, and it certainly has. But 600% growth? I don't think so.

Replies

Carrie Mehome
Carrie Mehome
Huntsman

Jun-20-2007 13:53

Well here goes my two cents worth. I had to read this post three times to try and figure out the problem you seem to have with whats happening in the game. I have been around quite awhile( yes over 100 days..hehehe) and have seen many come and go. I have to say I love this game and the dynamics of it as it lets you play what you want. Yes we at Eye Spy have so called "sister agencies". They are made up of detectives we had with us who wanted to expand their wings and fly. Many of our agents have went on to other agencies, be it new or existing ones and I think it is great for the game. They came to Eye Spy, learned all they could and then went out into the great big world! That to me is what the game is about and yes from our agency we have increased by 4 or 5, I lost count. We only have room for 12 agents at a time and we have our die hards like woody who never leave and also my other guy(Lolli) for the treasure hunts. The game is so diverse I don't understand what the problem is with what is happening. As for the growth rate it might be high but we train them and set them free. At times we have a waiting list of people who have asked to join and when this happens we try to place them with an agency to suit them. We have our VH agency so we dont take up space for the treasure hunters and newbies. Oh and the start up money and equipment has been around for over two years or more if I remember and can check out from old posts. So if you want to blame the agencies for doing what we thought was good for Sleuth so be it, we are guilty of helping to create new agencies and helping existing ones!

Jojo
Jojo
Old Shoe

Jun-20-2007 13:59

Well, it is just an opinion/idea, Carrie.


I do see the point that creating agencies is good and all. I'm just saying that what we want may be putting the treasure hunting, competitiveness, and overall activity of the game down.

And yes, start-up money and gear has been around a long time, but does that make it right?


I agree, VH agencies can exist so that treasure hunting is made more efficient. I see where I failed to clarify that. VH agencies are not the devil. They are far from it. I'm just saying it seems that too many people rush right to them and never consider hunting now, that hunts are becoming obsolete.


And I would agree with Stooby. I think raising the rates of agencies (downpayment/rent) could be a way to maybe fix this.

crunchpatty
crunchpatty
Old Shoe

Jun-20-2007 14:07

Baaaah, Serges'll be back as soon as he runs out of money on SecondLife and can't afford virtual anime lap dances anymore :P
~~~

Seriously though, you've said quite a lot here, and personally I'm sort with you on some of it, not sure about other things. I think that my first reaction, though, is to ask you what you mean when you say activity has dropped off. What kind of activity? I need to know if you're talking about hunts, message board activity, general competitiveness, chat etc., so that I can understand your specific problem with agency practices, because I think your critique would apply differently to different areas of play.

I dunno. I also think that it might be worth saying that some things are more immediately sensible from a business-building perspective than a community-building one. I have no idea whatsoever about the extent to which the size of the community might have grown (might also be worth distinguishing subbed from unsubbed here), but I do think that when you cast a bigger net, you get more people and as a corollary, get more varied kinds of behaviour, some of which might sort of oppose one another.

I guess I'm asking for more information about the hole :)

What does it look like? What do you want to fill it with? I want to know, because I'm not sure whether the problem is caused by the stuff you've mentioned about agencies, or whether changes in agency play might itself not be rooted to an extent in community growth...which would mean we'd need to think about what kind of community remains sustainable at what size and things like that.

lol, brave man for throwing it out there though :) Curious to see what others have to say.

crunchpatty
crunchpatty
Old Shoe

Jun-20-2007 14:13

( *to self* oi crunchpatty, spend 20 minutes writing a post and you deserve to have people sneak in under you)

Lady Jas
Lady Jas
The Chosen One

Jun-20-2007 14:14

I like to think of my agency as a pure one. Ive had some bad agents, but they are all gone now. My agents respect me as a director and they respect what Blue stands for. I don't think Blue falls in any catoegory you have mentioned Jojo! We actively treasure hunt, however my agents know that if we don't win, it's not the end of the world...there will be others! We all communicate with one another and stay respectufl of eachother. That is why when I recruite I don't just jump and invie someone to join immediately after they say they are interested. I believe in doing questions and answers with them to find out what they really want out of the game.

I do agree that there are way too many newbs who claim that they love this game and insttead dont bother to get any xp and just go in chat...however I believe that agencies can do what they want as its up to the individuals who run it to see what happens to it and what direction they want to take it. We are all diverse with different beliefs and standards, and thats why we are allowed to do what we want within the sleuth rules! If someones opinion differs about how an agency should be run...too bad. Everyone has their opion and certainly has a right to their opinion. We shouldnt be pushing our beliefs and opinions on others. So, I like to say thanks to Blue while I'm at it for all their hard work and loyalty to this agency. We truly thrive on teamwork and communications and without it no agency can ever survive!!!!

I hope that each person that reads this will decided whats right for their agency and decide where they want to take it despite that others may disagree with your decision.

Not too long ago I thought about leaving because of posts like this and the drama that has gone on in the past and the people that bash others for their own opinions, then someone who doesnt even play anymore gave me a gift sub for quite a long time

Lady Jas
Lady Jas
The Chosen One

Jun-20-2007 14:16

I then realized that there are great people out there that are truly a friend and I couldnt bare the thought of leaving them or any of my agents at Blue because they have all helped make Blue what it is today, and I'm produd to be one of the coolest agencies eer heheh ;)

Seriously though, everyones entitled to do what they want and think what they want! No matter what, the diversity is what keeps this place going!

Jojo
Jojo
Old Shoe

Jun-20-2007 14:20

Well, I'm primarily relating this to the activity specifically regarded with hunts and competitiveness, although one could argue that these affect the others.

I will agree, unsubbed vs. subbed should be clarified, but both have grown significantly.

The hole? Well, the hole kinda looks like a HUGE drop in the number of agencies participating in hunts and ones with active members (NOT controlled by directors, but actual active people playing and participating), as well as a drop in general competitiveness. People are playing VHs, but why has the spirit of the AVL gone away?

Okay, you do have a really strong point on "what kind of community remains sustainable at what size." One can't really say, but I think it's definitely possible.


And as for "throwing it out there," I'm really scared (unlike your curiosity) to see what kind of flak I'm gonna catch for this, but it certainly is something to be discussed.

Jojo
Jojo
Old Shoe

Jun-20-2007 14:23

Okay, Jas, agreed on many levels, except for one.

Yes, you can do what you want within the Sleuth rules; I'm not saying you can't. But because everyone has been doing what they want (within the Sleuth rules), we have this enormous (I think) on our hands.

Sure, you can run your agency how you want (I'm not saying you're running it badly), but you have to remember that how you run it will affect the community as a whole.

That's all I have to say on the issue of being able to do what you want.

Jojo
Jojo
Old Shoe

Jun-20-2007 14:25

enormous (I think) problem on our hands*

Lady Jas
Lady Jas
The Chosen One

Jun-20-2007 14:31

I'd also like to add, that whilw Jojo is right about the majority of newbies who come on here and only chat...however I've seen a quite few that are hardworking and determined to make their agent the best. They really enjoy the game. In fact I've actually recruited some of them to qutie a few awesome agencies!

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