Brian;1105450 wrote:Hi All,
As many of you know, we have begun a new campaign to increase the population of Utherverse. We have been laying the foundation for this campaign with upgrades to our front pages, emails, network and informational systems (such as our tutorial videos and join processes).
We still have many additional components that are forthcoming, including increased outreach and advertising to a variety of communities, and the long-awaited new social center.
Already we have seen the size of the community begin to grow, and we have received feedback from new users - particularly as we have observed new users in focus-group-type environments.
One major observation that has been revealed is that new users are often ignored or even actively treated in a hostile manner by a handful of longstanding and/or VIP members. This treatment has even occurred in the Welcome Center, which is specifically designated as the region for all new users to begin their discovery of the Utherverse.
We are planning to return the Welcome Center to an atmosphere that is warm and welcoming for our newest users. Therefore, I put forward the following proposed plan, upon which I welcome your feedback and suggestions:
- We will be opening a "Learning Center" which will be a clone of the Welcome Center, and in which all users are invited to hang out and enjoy.
- The Welcome Center will become a region that is restricted to only new users, as well as volunteers (in both their Vol and primary accounts), and applicants to the volunteer program (so that we can assess how these applicants interact with new users).
- Any other user who wishes to gain access to the Welcome Center will be invited to send an email to World Ops. These users will have to agree to a set of Guidelines outlining how they should be acting in the WC and how they should behave toward our new users. Permission will be given manually to those users who do agree to these guidelines, and they will continue to have access to the Welcome Center as long as they are essentially kind and treat new users well.
- Access will be revoked for the WC region if a member is found to be abusive towards a new user in the WC.
- All prior restrictions on WC are going to be lifted (meaning, no restrictions for furry/neko...)
I'm hopeful that with this new system in place, we will see more community spirit and friendliness brought into Utherverse as we steadily grow with new users who will turn into upstanding members of our community.
Please feel free to comment in this thread.
Cheers,
--Brian
Hey there Brian, I was just thinking about you actually.
Well really I have been thinking about you and this post a lot. I had composed a rather long response tossing in congratulations and suggestions throughout your OP, but the forums timed out on my post, so please forgive me if this one seems a bit rushed.
1) I'm sure this is nothing new to you, but the reason your WC is as full of people as it is, is because it is full of people.
- Most of U3D is filled with underutilized clubs VWW's to be more specific, an ongoing issue that began with the introduction of Zabys. As a member I find it rather pointless to stand in a mostly empty dim so I find myself going to where the people are. Most of the time that would be the WC.
- I go in both my main account (Kris_157) and in various alts, to chat, play, laugh and even help out when needed. I do this because I love your product and find your new members to be the most compelling asset you will ever have. I am sure that I am not alone in these thoughts.
- By having a socially active region in a vast sea of emptiness you will by laws of statistics find people who "greenie hunt" or simply take the random invites overly seriously. I understand that this is an attempt to minimize the lure, but even the method you've outlined has backdoors around it. Send my SC profile an email and I can address them if you really want to know.
2) Your Transport Centers, (TC) are also a mess. This would be the second place new members find, and they are filled with people who may my normal caustic posts look like grandma's kisses on a regular basis.
- A way to minimize this would be a time limit in the TC, but that would be almost impossible to implement in a truly functional manner.
- Additionally you could make it so that VIP members are required (not just able) to log into their Zaby, or a pre-generated Zaby made by U3D. While this would have the effect of emptying out even more of the already vastly empty regions, you would remove vast amounts of drama for new members.
3) If you wish to open up the Learning Centers, please have a cadre of Staff/Volunteers to man them. If, for instance, a basic member outside of what is deemed to be "New" were to need help, and didn't know how to find a Vol using search, wanted to go to the WC for help, who would help them? Hopefully they wouldn't receive the "You do not have permission to enter this region" script and instead would be sent to your LC, but as a VIP my word on how to assist on problems would only carry so much weight, far less than anyone with a badge (and to a new member a WG badge holds just as much weight as your Volunteers do).
4) Lets talk about the design of the WC for just a moment. Back in 2008 when I joined it was warm and welcoming just in the color tone. Warm yellows, grass, sky, even a old jukebox. Now it is cold, brushed steel and florescent lighting. When I think Welcome Center I'm far more apt to think of the old bar I go to every week than I am the waiting station of the underground.
Lastly, and this is just an aside. If you wanted to draw old members away from the WC instead of pushing them out (carrot over the stick approach) bring back Uthervese sanction events on the streets. Get them to want to leave the WC, and they will, force them to leave and they will find ways of getting back in.
I on the other hand look forward to sending an email to WO, and hope to get a quick response one way or the other.
Congratulations again on your growing membership. I won't lie and say that I am often confused at the direction you are steering, but then I won't lie and say I don't often find myself enjoying the ride even if I don't know where the Captain is leading us.
EDITED BY MODERATOR wrote:Finally, thank you ALL for all of your support. I mean that. *hands the torch to Kris*
We never believed in the same endpoint, but I think our vision of the forums is similar enough.
