Faction Forum Idea

[Sabamonster]

    So, this is more of an idea as opposed to a suggestion but I figured I would post it in an effort to get a conversation started about it, or to have the idea at least considered.  Essentially, the last server I played on the entiriety of the forums (Faction and otherwise) were IC.  There were places to post things OOC but for the most part it was all characters and npcs interacting.  I was actually very surprised when I joined a faction and the forums weren't setup this way.  I'm not saying that it's necessarily a bad thing, or that CD should attempt to emulate another server, I just thought it might be a good way for people to ineteract with things and get access to things they may not be able to in the event they have timezone constraints and don't get to interact in game with certain characters. 

     I noticed on the faction forum (Cormyrian Military; as that's the one I'm currently in) there is an officer lounge, however it's unclear if anyone aside from officers are even allowed to post there, and there is otherwise no other section to post anything related IC unless you want to place it amongst a ton of OOC posts.  Even if there were an IG 'channel' or 'topic' where people could correspond with other members of the faction while remaining IC I feel like it would allow for a lot of interactivity that is otherwise can't be done unless it's done IG or as previously state.  This also allows for a lot of really cool immersive things that might currently be missed out on.  For instance, on the last server in the noble houses we had insignias (That a player made and looked fantastic) that members of leadership could add to the bottom of our Missives, Requests, Orders, Contracts, etc.  In addition, we would often put out requests to hire pc's or to discuss issues with other members in areas of their expertise.   


I already wrote this post once and deleted it mainly because I wasn't sure what is and what isn't out there because I've only been around two months or so but I do miss the forum format and the things it provided so I thought at the very least I could bring it up for discussion.  Again, I'm not suggesting things 'should' be this way so much as trying to stimulate a conversation around to see if it's something that would work, or fit that could be beneficial for people.  I can say from personal experience that I would find myself on the forums a lot just to see what else I could get involved in as well as using it for my characters own ends.  


With all that said, this was just something I really enjoyed and thought others might also.  I'm also not 100% sure of what is and what isn't out there, especially with other factions, so I was reluctant to even put this here.  Anyway, thanks guys and I appreciate any feedback this might get!

[The Red Mage]

Generally, it's up to the roleplayers to make or translate any faction RP under the Roleplaying section. Otherwise, instances of powergaming could occur. And, really, it only takes one or two instances of powergaming to cripple a faction or cause distrust in players.

It is something to consider, however. Simply making them more visible and listed for newer players(less clicks, more front page info) would pique interest, most likely.

[Sabamonster]

Oh, I'm talking about specifically in factions.  We don't have a RP section, at least in the Cormyrian Military faction.  There'd be no power/meta gaming because the only people privvy to the correspondence would be people inside the faction.  As far as that goes, anything sensative would be better suited for IG interaction, if you put something on the forums (RP or otherwise) you should assume that everyone able to see that forum is going to, and you should assume that the information may be (even if inadvertantly) used.  This is just a way for people to interact.


We had zero issues with it on the last server.  People know what they don't want other people to see and more often than not even if they 'can' post something they might not want out there, they aren't going to, they'll save it for an in game interaction.   That being said, it provided a lot of really interesting interactions and even quests that got spiced up by the DM's and stuff.

[The Red Mage]

Ah, alright. I misunderstood. I thought you were talking about making all factions visible.

[Sabamonster]

oooh no.  lmao.  That would be devastating.  roflmao