Hello anon! This is unscreened so that you may see our answer.
RE: ORDER OF EVENTS We actually do switch the timing of our events around between middle of the month and end of the month. It usually just depends on the substance and whatever may be happening at the time. In fact, we do prefer having our events within the 3rd week of the month as opposed to the 4th for the very same concerns you mentioned. This past month was more of an exception, and this month's Helisium is just a festival with no plot relevance for people to worry about. That said, even though we have a temporary TBD date listed for it, it is much more likely that we'll be bumping it up a few days so it's hitting the tail end of the 3rd, which would still give an additional week and a half, maybe two, before the intros go up.
RE: TDM This is admittedly a very new, different, and interesting complaint that we've never heard before. The TDM is scheduled as it is so that prospective applicants have time to sample the game's setting before committing to reserve. We never envisioned TDM's to be holding a "big spot" in the game's schedule, either. From our perspective, the TDM is an avenue more for new applicants to focus on whereas for veterans it would be more secondary. It actually shouldn't be seen as something akin to an event or something to be scheduled around. From a game perspective, it should be seen more like a meme that could be randomly thrown up and be set in the background. This is especially so if there's an event going on. TDM shouldn't be having focus, and if players are doing that, then that's a different problem unrelated to scheduling. In addition, as mentioned before, we do have events that are sometimes held at the same time as the current TDM schedule, and we've never had a complaint regarding the timing of them together. It's a system that's been in place for the past three years, and again this is the first time we've heard of anyone thinking that the schedule of it is somehow conflicting with tagging priorities.
Also, just a side note about accepted TDM threads for AC—that won't be in play until August, and we will only accept them IF over half of their AC is from the game proper and the TDM thread is essentially for emergency only. It can't be used to remove strikes and it can't be used twice in a row. We'd also notice if a player is constantly relying on TDM threads for AC, so we wouldn't just let that slide, either.
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So in conclusion, for events we are already mindful of the scheduling and have them mostly closer to mid-month, but we will definitely make sure to try and time things to accommodate with the slowing pace of DWRP in general. As for the TDM, unless we hear complaints from more people or see it actually having a detrimental issue because of its timing, we see no need to change the current schedule. If we see in the upcoming months that what you claim really is true and there's a lot of support to change the TDM schedule, then we will definitely consider. But for now, it will remain as is.
no subject
RE: ORDER OF EVENTS
We actually do switch the timing of our events around between middle of the month and end of the month. It usually just depends on the substance and whatever may be happening at the time. In fact, we do prefer having our events within the 3rd week of the month as opposed to the 4th for the very same concerns you mentioned. This past month was more of an exception, and this month's Helisium is just a festival with no plot relevance for people to worry about. That said, even though we have a temporary TBD date listed for it, it is much more likely that we'll be bumping it up a few days so it's hitting the tail end of the 3rd, which would still give an additional week and a half, maybe two, before the intros go up.
RE: TDM
This is admittedly a very new, different, and interesting complaint that we've never heard before. The TDM is scheduled as it is so that prospective applicants have time to sample the game's setting before committing to reserve. We never envisioned TDM's to be holding a "big spot" in the game's schedule, either. From our perspective, the TDM is an avenue more for new applicants to focus on whereas for veterans it would be more secondary. It actually shouldn't be seen as something akin to an event or something to be scheduled around. From a game perspective, it should be seen more like a meme that could be randomly thrown up and be set in the background. This is especially so if there's an event going on. TDM shouldn't be having focus, and if players are doing that, then that's a different problem unrelated to scheduling. In addition, as mentioned before, we do have events that are sometimes held at the same time as the current TDM schedule, and we've never had a complaint regarding the timing of them together. It's a system that's been in place for the past three years, and again this is the first time we've heard of anyone thinking that the schedule of it is somehow conflicting with tagging priorities.
Also, just a side note about accepted TDM threads for AC—that won't be in play until August, and we will only accept them IF over half of their AC is from the game proper and the TDM thread is essentially for emergency only. It can't be used to remove strikes and it can't be used twice in a row. We'd also notice if a player is constantly relying on TDM threads for AC, so we wouldn't just let that slide, either.
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So in conclusion, for events we are already mindful of the scheduling and have them mostly closer to mid-month, but we will definitely make sure to try and time things to accommodate with the slowing pace of DWRP in general. As for the TDM, unless we hear complaints from more people or see it actually having a detrimental issue because of its timing, we see no need to change the current schedule. If we see in the upcoming months that what you claim really is true and there's a lot of support to change the TDM schedule, then we will definitely consider. But for now, it will remain as is.