Ideas Moving Forward

Agree with the general consensus that any kind of forced matchup is a bad idea. Although in fairness, the way the current PPV model is curated means that those matches do get picked out for people by mods, to a certain extent, and mods do still dictate title belts etc. I'm not saying that's a bad thing... it's just that I am old enough to remember the pre-PPV days, so the system isn't fixed and immutable, and AFW has successfully evolved and improved itself in the past.

There is obviously going to have to be some kind of soft reboot anyway in the wake of Tat's departure, be it new mechanics, or just some new lore for the management to explain where Tat's characters went. I think that there are some things that can be done differently, to reduce the feeling that the same cliques are running in the same closed circles (even though a lot of that is inevitable and understandable, as people will have favoured RP partners and shouldn't be forced to change that).

I'd suggest that making it easier to read up on other people's matches would be a good start, if you want to encourage people to branch out across the community a little more. Coming back to AFW after a lengthy break, the site felt pretty impenetrable to me, and it was impossible to get a quick update of what had happened while I was away. Some general suggestions:

- marking completed matches as 'complete' in the title thread (this used to be a rule, I'm sure... seems to be ignored now). Very helpful if you're looking for something to read.
- general thread tidyup - there are a lot of obsolete info links and stickied threads that are no longer relevant.
- maybe make it acceptable to comment on other people's matches, in or out of character, to acknowledge other people's work. So this doesn't interrupt match flow, this would only be allowed after the *XXX wins by YYY* closing post.
- try and salvage Tat's old idea for an "AFW Showcase" where high-profile matches could be promoted outside of PPVs. This would be a great resource for seeing which characters are actively being pushed in storylines (and would stay up-to-date, unlike the rapidly ageing 'AFW Directory' (which I think is one of those stickies that really need retiring)). Hell, if the site allows it, we could try anonymous voting to award a "match of the month" or something. Anything that gets people interacting really.

I did have an old idea similar to the showcase, where you would essentially run concurrent showcases but frame them as RAW / Smackdown-style shows-within-shows. Each franchise would have a general manager with essentially demi-moderator powers... might be something to consider again, if you are looking for ways to devolve Tat's duties.

The competing franchises idea didn't gain a lot of traction at the time, though... which is fine, because any changes will obviously need community buy-in if they're to work. Though if we never tried anything new, we wouldn't have PPVs.

hamish1024 wrote:Agree with the general consensus that any kind of forced matchup is a bad idea. Although in fairness, the way the current PPV model is curated means that those matches do get picked out for people by mods, to a certain extent, and mods do still dictate title belts etc. I'm not saying that's a bad thing... it's just that I am old enough to remember the pre-PPV days, so the system isn't fixed and immutable, and AFW has successfully evolved and improved itself in the past.

There is obviously going to have to be some kind of soft reboot anyway in the wake of Tat's departure, be it new mechanics, or just some new lore for the management to explain where Tat's characters went. I think that there are some things that can be done differently, to reduce the feeling that the same cliques are running in the same closed circles (even though a lot of that is inevitable and understandable, as people will have favoured RP partners and shouldn't be forced to change that).

I'd suggest that making it easier to read up on other people's matches would be a good start, if you want to encourage people to branch out across the community a little more. Coming back to AFW after a lengthy break, the site felt pretty impenetrable to me, and it was impossible to get a quick update of what had happened while I was away. Some general suggestions:

- marking completed matches as 'complete' in the title thread (this used to be a rule, I'm sure... seems to be ignored now). Very helpful if you're looking for something to read.
- general thread tidyup - there are a lot of obsolete info links and stickied threads that are no longer relevant.
- maybe make it acceptable to comment on other people's matches, in or out of character, to acknowledge other people's work. So this doesn't interrupt match flow, this would only be allowed after the *XXX wins by YYY* closing post.
- try and salvage Tat's old idea for an "AFW Showcase" where high-profile matches could be promoted outside of PPVs. This would be a great resource for seeing which characters are actively being pushed in storylines (and would stay up-to-date, unlike the rapidly ageing 'AFW Directory' (which I think is one of those stickies that really need retiring)). Hell, if the site allows it, we could try anonymous voting to award a "match of the month" or something. Anything that gets people interacting really.

I did have an old idea similar to the showcase, where you would essentially run concurrent showcases but frame them as RAW / Smackdown-style shows-within-shows. Each franchise would have a general manager with essentially demi-moderator powers... might be something to consider again, if you are looking for ways to devolve Tat's duties.

The competing franchises idea didn't gain a lot of traction at the time, though... which is fine, because any changes will obviously need community buy-in if they're to work. Though if we never tried anything new, we wouldn't have PPVs.

-From the top of my head I would say legal action regarding the burning ring requires the attention of Lukretia and lets her resign from the GM positon. Akashi could just retire or start to manage one of her sumo brothers as a celebrity.
-Why mark the matches as completed? Not that I am against it, I just don´t get it why this is important to understand the site. I just look when there has been posted last and look if there is a winner or not.
It is not that people are monitored here. I personally read many matches and backstage stuff who I think are nice without being urged to do that.
-I like the idea of people commenting on other matches after it is over, but it absolutely has to stay in character and can be a good show of interest to make matches on your own with one or both of the involved RPers. I remember Siren geting tons of flack for that, which I never quite understood to be honest.
-The problem with PPVs is that they are either completely random like Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston in the kick off match or reequire tons of work and feature the same people all the time like Randy Orton vs John Cena, a match only the most diehard fans of either Orton or Cena would want to see ever again.

Alexandra wrote:

scorn53 wrote:Joining on the bandwagon of disliking #3, simply put; why would anyone feel the urge to put any passion or effort into writing for a match they were forced into. Or even replying at all.

You can't, really. I half-assed the shit out of the thread I was made to do and honestly didn't give a damn about it.

I actually kind of like it when I'm more or less forced using that term loosely, into into matches. Be it "We NEED this to happen so X can happen" or a ppv match up. I notice when everyone signs up for a PPV they go looking for a partner. I actually think it can be pretty awesome to be put in situations you weren't expecting and working with someone you had no prior involvement with.

It's traveling uncharted waters. But I understand that isn't for everyone.

---

I have Akashi covered.

I was hoping we could just silently write them out without too much (Don't know  a better word) Extravagance?  He's pretty much told me he doesn't really care what happens and nobody should bug him about it but I was just gonna say Lukretia decided to retire and return to Germany.  Tat isn't coming back (But who knows...). None of the chars are gonna be perma-dead. I'd HOPE we can just say that his entire roster just retired.

Word of god says Chesna Matu is staying behind and Mercy Wrenn is confirmed to return to new york.

EDIT: I'll address the Akashi situation at a later date as she will still be part of a storyline Tat had intended to do before his departure.

Im with Lobo on this. To say you were "forced into it" is outting it on loose terms cause it implies you went in kicking and screaming, we should want to brach out and work woth new people but that doesnt mean we force them. I was forced into something gave it a chance and liked it, its unfair to simply dismiss it. 

A more approaproate idea is we can make a list of people interested in that rather then make everyone join (so you can stay in hour little clique Alex ) and have them name memebers of there roster there all for being randomly put in matches.

Mystery Dragon wrote:A more approaproate idea is we can make a list of people interested in that rather then make everyone join (so you can stay in hour little clique Alex ) and have them name memebers of there roster there all for being randomly put in matches.

This sounds like a pretty good compromise to me. I'd be all for something like that.

I like that idea Mystery!!! Im all for that!

MD. My boy ;_;

During ppvs. When ppl asked to join but didn't go in with a story or rivalry, they were pared up with someone in a unique gimmick match.

Next ppv we could do the same

Mystery Dragon wrote:A more approaproate idea is we can make a list of people interested in that rather then make everyone join (so you can stay in hour little clique Alex ) and have them name memebers of there roster there all for being randomly put in matches.

Uh...I don't have a 'little clique', thank you. I've done threads with nearly everyone on the boards. Don't be so accusing. Thanks.

I was joking, sorry if that came off as accusing

hamish1024 wrote:
- marking completed matches as 'complete' in the title thread (this used to be a rule, I'm sure... seems to be ignored now). Very helpful if you're looking for something to read.
- general thread tidyup - there are a lot of obsolete info links and stickied threads that are no longer relevant.
- maybe make it acceptable to comment on other people's matches, in or out of character, to acknowledge other people's work. So this doesn't interrupt match flow, this would only be allowed after the *XXX wins by YYY* closing post.
- try and salvage Tat's old idea for an "AFW Showcase" where high-profile matches could be promoted outside of PPVs. This would be a great resource for seeing which characters are actively being pushed in storylines (and would stay up-to-date, unlike the rapidly ageing 'AFW Directory' (which I think is one of those stickies that really need retiring)). Hell, if the site allows it, we could try anonymous voting to award a "match of the month" or something. Anything that gets people interacting really.

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-Marking matches as complete is a fantastic idea.
-that is going to be a bitch to deal with. It might be doable, but like that is a lot of work.
-I am not sure I agree with this idea so much. There is a reason they don't have a twitch feed going for the Mona Lisa. I don't see what a bunch of people adding 'Good match!' would bring to the forums, and I think it is absurd that we have to inject other folks into the thread. I feel like to an extent it would diminish what people are doing. In essence, it is like having a third wheel for a date.
-I think the voting on match of the month is a solid concept. We could have a voting thread on the discussion board every month.