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Jenna waits just a couple of minutes to see if we have everyone.
;)
Carianna sits quietly listening.
Leah enters from the Weyrwoman's weyr.
Leah has arrived.
You say "Heya, Leah. We're awful informal here. Pull up
a seat, grab some punch and pie and sing out when you have a comment.
;)"
Redus enters from the Weyrwoman's weyr.
Redus has arrived.
Leah okie dokies.
Jenna waves to Redus as well. Points to the punch and pie and
again: we're majorly informal. ;)
phoenix wakes up to wave real quick :)
You say "We're talking today about running a threadfall
on camera, and going over tips and strategies. It's a big event,
and it can be pretty intimidating, paricularly if you're not the
one in the air. ;) There are a few basics first of all, that have
to be worked out. Ground rules, if you will."
You say "The ground rules for any threadfall:
1. Area leaders MUST be involved. If you want to host a fall
over Boll, you need to ask the lady holder and the weyrleaders.
;)
2. Injuries MUST be cleared with the area leaders. This goes
for riders as well as non-riders.
3. No Power posing! This can be particularly key for injuries
to NPCs when there are other wingriders there in the same wing.
This is something we'll talk a bit further about under the rider
emits section.
4. ADVERTISE! Try to find a time that's good for most folks involved
and let people know what's going on through bboards, +mail and
reminding them on the knots.
5. Check with the weyrleaders of the weyr and see if they have
any other things that they need covered. Not all areas are the
same, and your milage on all this will vary. ;)"
You say "Anyone know any others that should be covered here?
The do-or-die kinds of rules?"
Jenna hears crickets? ;)
Leah thinks.
Leah )
Leah says "Make sure it's okay with the area leaders that
the dragons land after Fall for checks?"
Carianna continues to listen as she takes notes :)
Jenna nods. Good one. Didn't think of that. And another way to
get the area involved. ;)
You say "Anybody else?"
Leah says "Make sure the other area leaders are willing
to have the ground crew RP'd out even if they cannot be online
for whatever reason? We shouldn't have to cancel an entire event
because one person does not appear."
Jenna nods. And that definately ties in with the next sort of
section here: how to plan this kind of event. What are the hoops
to go through. There's no 'right' way to run a threadfall. It's
an event like any other, and one that frequently happens off camera.
So, what's involved in running it, other than the major ground
rules? There are a few stages you can go through when planning
a fall, and really for any event. We'll take each in turn:
Planning/Organizing
OOC toys - objects, emit writing, etc
Finishing Touches
Leah notes that, despite his protests to the contrary, P'ter
is a toy. Yes. :)
Jenna laughs.
You say "So let's take planning first. Here's a few tips
to get us started:
* Area leaders must be involved. If you can get the wingleaders
involved as well, that's even better. Talk out the general idea
of what you'd like to happen, and get them involved in approving
it or not. ;)
* Putting a notice up asking for volunteers, emits and giving
a range of dates is also helpful. Naturally, there are hoops to
jump through with the area admin first, to make sure they have
a set of dates in mind that will work.
* +mail is your friend. You may want to refer folks to email
for emits, in case you end up with a lot of volunteers.
You say "What else? I know there's a bunch more here, so
sing out. ;)"
Leah says "Make sure your weyr representatives are solid.
You want them there for sure. Always have a backup just in case."
Leah says this after eating 20 little cookies. Le sigh.
Jenna nods. "Another thing I've seen done before is if someone
can't be there, you can always make the offer for them to send
in emits that you weave into the general fall emits. I've had
to do that myself on occasion." ;)
Leah nodnods.
You say "What about other ideas and tips for planning?"
Leah says "CYA at all times."
Jenna grins. How?
Leah says "Cover Your Ass. Make sure you have backup. Make
sure two people have access to the emits. Etc. Etc. Etc."
You say "Aha! Good idea. Net outages, migraines, unexpected
company... you never know what life may throw at you. ;)"
You say "Any other planning advice and tips?"
Redus unidles for a sec and grins. "But planning a 'Fall
is usually up to folks such as the WL, WW, Seconds, Area leaders
if it involves them, etc... right? If there's to be GC RP that's
a given if there'll be folks about to play it. It's simply a matter
of knowing *who* the GC will be and who's in charge of it...IMHO.
That is if the issue is GC."
You say "Actually, I've never seen it all on the area leaders.
Usually they're too busy to plan it themselves. So they delegate
out. I've seen it done with one person doing something every month
(whether they delegate or not), and I've seen it done with a threadfall
committee kind of thing. The area leaders are usually involved,
but may not be involved any more than: Cool - go for it. ;)"
Leah says "Right, we delegate. Which is basically why Jenna's
doing all this."
You say "The important thing is to communicate with the
area leaders to get an idea of what is and is not kosher. ;)"
Kate enters from the Weyrwoman's weyr.
Kate has arrived.
P'ter enters from the Weyrwoman's weyr.
P'ter has arrived.
P'ter waves, "Made it!"
You say "So, other tips or questions on planning? And there's
going to be differences for every area. Some area leaders may
want to run the whole thing. Some may delegate to one person,
or to a group. Your milage will vary. ;)"
Jenna snugs a P'ter and a Kate! We're informal again as usual.
;)
P'ter ohs, "Were informal? Aisheth wants to know if he can
come in that case."
Kate hee's :)
phoenix wants to sit on Aisheth so bring it on ;)
P'ter looks to Jenna, "Can you give me just a brief recap
on what has been said about planning?
Kate noddles with P'ter...I missed quite a bit and apologize
for that :/
Aisheth enters from the Weyrwoman's weyr.
Aisheth has arrived.
Jenna nods. Brief recap: Involve your area leaders. Ask for volunteers.
+mail is your friend. Make sure the event can go on if key folks
don't show. CYA: give more than one person the emits and the like.
Leah eyes P'ter. Dragon in the records room?
Jenna laughs. Good thing we're OOC. ;)
P'ter says "Just cause I can Leah, just cause I can. ;)"
Leah points, "See? Toy." :)
Aisheth says, << He only let me in because we are OOC,
he doesn't let me in otherwise. >>
Jenna forgot: advertise. ;) Any other ideas on planning?
P'ter says "Can I add something to that list? Though it
might already of been mentioned and I'll be making a fool of myself."
You say "Go for it. :)"
Kate wonders about possible rotation schedules maybe? Unless
I'm getting ahead... Like this week Harper hosts a rp'd Fall,
beginning to end. Next week Fort Weyr does after Fall rp. Week
following Healers post...
Norri enters from the Weyrwoman's weyr.
Norri has arrived.
Kate sorries and hit enter too fast... didn't mean to jump ahead
of you, P'ter...
P'ter says "Though its more for preparation than planning
... I'll leave it till we discuss RPing the fall event, if we
go on to discuss that."
Jenna grins. Let's head on then. Heya, Norri. We're OOC and terribly
informal here, so just sing out.
Norri grins and waves and apologizes for being late.
P'ter nods to Kate, "That is a good idea, if people actually
bother to stick to the roster and come up with a fall when it
is there turn to do so."
Aisheth reaches out large arms to snug Norri.
Norri has run a few threadfalls at Igen, so if I can contribute
anything, I will.
Kate nods, very true P'ter...
Norri skritches Aisheth ;)
phoenix sits on Aisheth's tail.
Carianna continues to quietly listen and learn.
Jenna nods. And that would fall under having a set general plan.
Let's get more specific with the OOC aspects of emits and code
and the like...
You say "OOC Toys - Objects and Emits Starting Tips:
* First, no powerposing. It's fine to pose injuries but keep
them non specific as to what wing it's in. Likewise, particularly
if any wingleaders/riders are present, check with them before
you do any sorts of poses that effect the whole wing, like sending
them off on sweeps after fall kind of thing.
* Ask for volunteers! A fall usually lasts an hour ish RL-time
wise. That can be a lot of emits to do!
* You can do emits a bunch of ways: leave out rider/groundcrew
names and fill them in at the last minute, pose half of the pose
(like a male in a green flight posing an attempt) and leave the
other half to the rider.
* Have weather/setting emits! This can really add to the RP for
the folks involved.
* If you have a groundcrew, please do try to include them however
you can. May check with the healers beforehand about contributing
some emergency healing emits in case none of them are able to
show up.
* Emitter object - personally, I don't use one. I've seen falls
where they have been used before, and I think it's really a matter
of preference."
You say "What else - there's tons more to be said here.
;)"
P'ter raises his hand
You say "Bah with the raising hand thing. ;) Go for it.
;)"
P'ter says "When I run a fall I have prepared poses, sort
of /fill in the blanks/ stuff. I jot down on a piece of paper
all the names of those present, and tick them off as I insert
them into the poses. By the time I've finished I know I've aimed
a pose at every rider at least once during the fall. That way
noone feels like they have missed out on action."
P'ter says "I will also page the rider I'm aiming the pose
for, saying, "Heads up, next threadfall pose has your name
on it." That way they don't need to worry overmuch about
spam."
Norri nods. Those pages really help in all the spam. I always
find out who wants to be injured, ahead of the fall, so that they
can ask for permission from whoever their supervisor is. Do we
need to run the planned emits by anyone for approval before using
them? At least one Weyr I know of does that.
Norri says "Personally, I don't think it's necessary though."
You say "Great idea, P'ter. And that'd definately be something
to think about, Norri, and something to ask the area leaders during
the planning stage. I think your milage will vary on that one
pretty widely too. ;)"
Kate has started an emit file, both air and ground. Tho I leave
a lot of blanks - WING, RIDER, DRAGON, CRAFT/WEYR for the ground...
Maybe we can start some kind of shared database? If people want
to use it rather than try to come up with umpteen emits themselves
or try to get that many...?
P'ter says "Re: Pose vetting. I think if someone is known
as a good roleplayer, such an action would not be necessary. I
know some of the more experienced players can find it a little
offensive, after all, there are not very many activities on this
game where your poses are pre vetted. What do you folks think?"
You say "Define 'vetted' for me P'ter? ;)"
Jenna is vocabulary challenged today. ;)
phoenix hasn't ever heard it used, either :)
P'ter says "Pre read and approved for use by some leader
type .. errr, is probably English Colloquial. Sorry"
Leah doesn't think a leader need be involved, but the Threadfall
coordinator for that particular Fall should do that.
Leah says "Only for the Fall emits."
Kate thinks if someone is up to the challenge of getting together
the emits and is known as a good contributor in other things,
perhaps it would be safe to assume the emits need not be stamped
with OK! :)
Norri nods, "It can ber offensive, I agree P'ter. However,
if we want even the inexperienced players to contribute...well,
the rule should be the same across the board if we decide they
poses need to be looked at. I think it can be done in an inoffensive
way. It's when there's no clear policy and some people are checked
up on and others aren't that I think it's not so nice.
Jenna was thinking some flashy corvette. ;) -- Ah. Well, some
area leaders may prefer it. You said you've seen it that way,
right Norri? I'm personally on the 'no need for rubber stamping'
side myself as well. So it'd be important for someone running
fall to ask. And a good point. I wouldn't have thought about asking.
Carianna doesn't understand. "Are you asking for poses to
be pretyed and sent ahead for approval?"
Leah says "Hm. Alright, why don't we just have the coordinator
gather all of the emits. That coordinator will be trusted to do
*slight* editing if the poses require it, for simple spelling,
typos, or grammar."
You say "Generally, emits for Fall are pretyped. It's just
easier that way and makes things go faster. And it's far less
stress on the person(s) running the event. ;) We're talking here
about getting those approved by area leaders before the event
(right?)"
Norri nods. It
Kate ohs and likes that idea, Leah.
Norri nods. It's not that I'm recommending it. Just that I saw
it done. I always used to do my emits off the cuff, and I was
asked not to.
Carianna ahs as she gets the idea now.
Leah says "If some pose it totally non-canon, the coordinator
needs to contact the person who did the pose and have them rewrite
it. No one is rewriting the work of others."
Norri nods, "That makes sense to me,Leah."
Jenna nods. Makes an excellent amount of sense. So what other
tips do folks have about emits, what should go in them, how to
work them in, etc?
Leah says "Thread should go into them."
Jenna circles back to Kate's point as well. I love the idea of
a weyr/area wide emit bank kind of thing that people can go to
for inspiration or ideas or just to fill in in case they're short.
;)
Leah ducks.
Norri says "Well, there are beginning, middle and end type
emits, you know? They cue the rp'ers to how they should be reacting."
Carianna laughs
Jenna pokes Leah.
Leah owies.
Jenna nods to Norri. And how to handle those. This would also
fall a bit under planning: you need to know if your WL/W2s can't
be there, and maybe ask them to submit their own poses about directing
the flight. ;)
Kate chuckles. I try to write them to include weather, which
side the Thread might be coming from, what type of Thread, ie
- big tangle, wisps from above... As much info I can give without
totally forcing the person/wing/crew it's coming at in one direction,
if that makes sense? Just enough to get them to work off of. Personally?
I love the idea of a bank. S'why I save the ones I do. I don't
get inspired often, and even less so when under pressure to do
so ;)
Leah says "They should involve action. Thread is not a stationary
entity. It has life. The wind will make it move. Fire will make
it change. It will be thick sometimes or sparse. It will be clumps
or single strands. Variety. It should fall towards someone, not
aim for someone. It needs to be written so people can respond
to it."
Aisheth says, << Its obvious, but I'm going to state it
for the record. Never hit a PC dragon with thread in your emit.
You can have the thread dangerously close, but never hit a dragon.
Unless of course, they have specifically requested it. Other then
that, if they want to be hit, they can do it themselves in their
following pose. >>
Norri nods. Sometimes it's fun to give the thread "personality"
or suppose thoughts on its behalf.
Kate nodnodnodnodnods to Aisheth.
Aisheth waves a claw expressively, << Of course, you can
always hit an NPC dragon if you feel the need. It adds atmosphere,
but one most always find a balance and not create an angst fest
by killing off an entire NPC wing. >>
Jenna nods. "Hitting a PC dragon is a power pose. If someone
comes to you as the coordinator/host of the event and wants to
be injured, you should always (1) double check with the area leader
and (2) encourage them to write their own post and if they don't
want to (3) Work out with them how they want to be hit. ;)
You say "Here's a question to discuss: I've seen folks who
had injuries or other actions powerposed on NPCs in their wing
get really upset. How would you guys handle that in Fall?"
You say "In other words, the wingleader/second/rider was
there and wanted his/her wing to come out unscathed. You didn't
know when writing the emits, and one got injured. Could be extended
for ground crew as well. So how do you deal with this kind of
an issue?"
Norri hms. Well, maybe only injure NPC's in an NPC wing, unless
you have gotten permission ahead of time from the PC wingleaders?
phoenix says "Is Reaches the only Weyr that does the posts
that say how many were injured from each wing, etc? I always assumed
that was determined by the WiLs with WL approval."
Kate thinks that NPC Wingrider injuries should be approved by
that Wingleader. Sort of the same as a powerpose, in my opinion,
as it's happening to their Wing.
P'ter says "If you are going to hit an NPC, make sure its
an NPC in an NPC wing"
P'ter oopsees, Sorry Norri, you had already said that
Leah notes that, though we have 3 PC Wings/Wingleaders, we also
have another 17 wings or so of NPCs that can be targest. Make
up a random wing name and you're fine?
Norri grins at P'ter. Great minds...
Norri says "Dustfree Wing!"
P'ter listens to Kate, "I mean a true NPC wing, with an
NPC wingleader. I'm sure we can make one or two up here at Fort
if we don't already have some.
Jenna nods. Another way is, if you haven't heard from folks by
fall time, and you have injuries to NPCs ready to go, you can
change them to near misses and 'perhaps' injuries as well.
Leah says "That's Norri's Wing!"
Norri says "B'ucket and Mopth ;)"
Jenna laughs.
Kate giggles! Oh, hrm... I've seen places where they don't like
you attacking "taken" NPCs...like ones ppl have made
up. A NPC in a NPC Wing that no one can "claim"? I don't
think I'd find that offensive. Injuries do happen. Whether ppl
want to rp the possible angst of it is up to them.
Aisheth looks guiltily at his huge feet. Does Norri know he may
not of wiped his claws on the way in?
phoenix is convinced she's misunderstanding a lot in trying to
play catch-up in reading all this :/
You say "Fall should be chaotic. The riders in it won't
see every little stip and tail scored, and might think there was
an injury where there's not, that sort of thing."
Jenna grins. Ask away, Phoenix. :)
phoenix isn't sure if someone already answered and she just didn't
understand it to be directed at her, or not, so: "Is Reaches
the only Weyr that does the posts that say how many were injured
from each wing, etc? I always assumed that was determined by the
WiLs with WL approval."
phoenix says "I think I'm getting twisted around in whose
approval is being sought out for what."
phoenix says "It sounded like the discussion was about getting
approval for any RP at the fall?"
Kate apologizes and has to idle a smidge...
Jenna grins. I honestly don't know? I haven't been watching the
other weyr bboards. ;) Can anyone else chime in here? I think
it's a great idea for the WiLs to come up with that sort of a
post. -- Ah! No. We were talking about injuring NPCs specifically
at the moment. Do you risk harming an NPC in a PC wing and ticking
off a rider that may be at the fall? ;)
phoenix says "When they did fall at HRH I said yes, please
come, I'll be there...and they came and they did their thing,
no questions asked, I helped with the ground crew...that was it
:)"
Norri says "I've seen that kind of post-fall bboard announcement
at Telgar."
P'ter snugs Phoenix. RP is RP, and RP is hardly ever pre approved.
We were just talking about emits for the threadfall, that was
all. It was very limited scope.
phoenix says "I guess since HRW has the emitter it's never
come up and that's why I'm beyond lost :)"
Norri raises her hand. I think I'm going to excuse myself, if
that's okay...there's an applicant for residency in the lc, and
I'd like to talk to her.
Reyat enters from the Weyrwoman's weyr.
Reyat has arrived.
Jenna grins and snugs Norri. Thanks a bunch for sitting in!
Reyat smiles as he comes in. "Hey all."
Norri grins. It was fun.
Norri steps out of the room.
Norri has left.
You say "Heya, Reyat! We're talking spcifically at the moment
about: emits for NPC injuries in threadfall, and how do you deal
with that if you're the coordinator. ;) One thing to consider
too, is running the injures by the WLs. P'ter may not want the
wings looking so sloppy. ;)"
Reyat blinks. "Did I scare her?"
Aisheth pounces on Reyat. << A Reyat to play with! >>
phoenix says "So I'm gathering, then, that some Holders,
for instance, are saying they don't want any injuries on a fall
in their area, etc?"
Reyat flies and bumps into the nearest wall. "Err...Hello
Aisheth." He says, rubbing his head.
Jenna nods to Phoenix. Could be holders. Could be wingleaders
saying: No, I don't want any injuries in my wing this time. I've
had it happen before when I checked with wingleaders, gotten the
Okay, and then had wing riders get mad that their wingmates got
scored. ;)
phoenix ohhs.
Kate is back...sorry...work :)
Reyat takes some notes.
Reyat snugs. "I know the feeling Kate." :)
You say "So what other tips do folks have for doing emits
for big events like this? Leah mentioned some stuff back in planning
that's key here as well: make sure you're no the only one with
a copy. So if you get caught in Hurricane charley, the event can
still go on. ;)"
Kate, living in FL, hear hears! :)
P'ter says "Make sure there are no Electric Storms in the
vicinity of the RL game host machine during the time you plan
your fall. ;)"
Leah grins at Kate and is moving to Hurricaine country as well
:)
Reyat is safe where he is :)
P'ter says "not in 1987 you wern't"
phoenix says "But P'ter, every time you organize something,
we get to go to TOO and make new friends ;)"
P'ter chuckles.
Reyat says "1987 P'ter?"
Kate wonders about a buddy system? Like, if Leah and I both live
in FL, she being my "buddy" ie - having a copy - likely
wouldn't be a Good Thing ;)
Leah moves in with Kate! Woohoo!
Jenna nods. personally, I'm all at least 2 people running the
fall anyway. One coordinates the sky emits, one coordinates the
ground emits. And both have copies of the full thing. ;)
P'ter says "Unless the net in Florida were to go down due
to a regional router"
Reyat takes some more note and raises a hand.
Aisheth pokes Reyat, You know, the /big/ storm, thr first hurricane
in western europe for 50 years
You say "Go for it, Rey. ;)"
Reyat looks at Aish. "Ooooh /that/ thing..." He coughs.
"Does Fort use some Threadfall emitter or something? I mean
an object that could be used not to mavv all the time?" *wink
for P'ter*
Leah says "We don't at this time, no. Emitters take up quota,
which I'd rather use for other things. Most of the time the coordinators
do the emitting."
Reyat nods to Leah. "Okay." :)
You say "Other tips and ideas?"
P'ter says "Keep your poses in a seperate window, ie, notepad
or even word. Then cut and paste them to the send window. Performat
all your poses in the notepad or word window with @emit or whatever,
that way, its very hard to mav"
Reyat nods to P'ter and writes it down. "Wise."
P'ter says "Plus word will check you spelling. ;)"
Jenna nods. One other tip is to check with the folks who are
RPing about the speed of the emits. Say on whatever channel or
mp/h - hey, if I go to fast/slow, lemme know! - And try to keep
the event moving if folks are a bit lack luster. I was in a fall
once that was soooooo slloooooooow it lasted longer than a hatching.
;)
Leah says "Do we have mp/h here?"
Reyat oooohs! "Really?"
Long distance to Carianna, Kate, Leah, P'ter, Redus, Reyat, and
phoenix: Jenna tests?
You say "Yup. ;)"
Leah says "Tells you how much I know! Rock on!"
P'ter uses it all the time. Wonderful thing is mp/h
You say "Okay, well, let's wrap this up with finishing touches.
We've been here a while. ;)"
You say "'Finishing Touches' tips:
* First, if the area leaders couldn't attend, send them +mail
with the highlights of the RP - if anyone was injured, if there
was a good crowd, etc.
* It's always nice to send thank you notes. Miss Manners says
so. ;) And the same is true for big events. Not needed, but definately
a nice thing to do.
* In the same vein as thank you notes, it's always helpful for
folks to have a bbpost and log, particularly if they couldn't
make the RP time. In it, be sure to thank the folks that helped
pull all this together, of course. ;)"
You say "What else? Folks have already mentioned injury
reports and the like, and here'd be a great place for them."
Reyat raises a hand again. :)
Leah tickles Reyat under his arm.
You say "Shout out, Reyat. We're way informal today. ;)"
Aisheth nips at Reyat's arm, but no teeth, he's only playing.
phoenix peers at Aisheth's giant dragon lips
Reyat giggles. "Sorry. I kept this manner from school :)
Ground crew members has to talk with crew leaders for any injury,
right?"
Leah says "Ground crew members, for the most part, will
not get injured. Things like twisting an ankle or getting a back
strain, perhaps. You wouldn't get injured during Threadfall as
you're looking for burrows, which are already on the ground."
Leah says "So, you wouldn't get Threadscore as a member
of the ground crew."
Aisheth lets go of Reyat and gives phoenix a dragon kiss. Seeing
as he's OOC.
You say "Not unless you were really incompetent. ;)"
Reyat nods to Leah. "Got it. Thanks, Leah." he sticks
his tongue out at Aish. :)
You say "So what other sorts of follow up tips do folks
have?"
phoenix pinches Reyat's tongue.
phoenix recommends being the person who says 'Yes, please come.'
and then has fun RPing with the imported ground crew ;)
Reyat screams. "Ousfff!"
Leah hugs all and has to run for a while. Be back later!
Leah goes home.
Leah has left.
Jenna grins. Always a good choice. Any other tips for wrapping
up?
P'ter draws a blank Jenna, sorry. Er, not that I mean I get paper
and draw .. well, you get the idea
Reyat o o O ( A giant bathe party in the hot springs after a
hard fall. All the girls...) "Aheum...." *grin*
Carianna thanks you all for the lesson and heads to her cot to
idle while she does the dinner thing.
Jenna laughs. Well, if there's no more ideas, we'll finish up.
Anyone have any final thoughts on running a threadfall?
P'ter says "Just Do It"
P'ter grins
Reyat snugs Carianna.
P'ter snugs a Carianna
A kitchen apprentice steps forward to take a bite outta P'ter.
"Well you said just do it!"
Carianna goes home.
Carianna has left.
Reyat giggles :)
Jenna laughs. Thanks for coming everyone!
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