It seems for some people to get promoted to made man and above that a minimum post count has become a prerequisite and i was wondering what people's opinions on this were. Surely this is designed to increase forum activity and encourage people, who probably would not usually post on the streets and interact with other users, to do so and ultimately end people endlessly clicking buttons and never doing anything else to get promoted.

I think that yes, this is a good thing, providing people make genuine posts, after all this is a role play game. However, i think this tends to lead to some people simply spamming the streets with "good read love to see more" etc and not offering any real point. This is not intended as a criticism of such posts as i have undoubtedly been guilty of this from time to time. I was thinking surely posting something else somewhere else would simply be more beneficial, like the HQ bar or the drugs thread.

Getting made has always been a prestigious rank. You were always made because you were loyal, hardworking and trustworthy and usually your street presence was not as important as these other qualities. I think posting requirements adds to this rank as it shows that not only are you a hard worker but demonstrates that you are willing to put in the extra effort and work to progress. Whilst some people will be unhappy with being made to post, i think that if you are willing to put the extra work  into your character you will be greatly rewarded. Requiring a certain level of posting activity shows a leader how this person conducts themselves in public, an important factor in weighing someone up for getting their button. This also shows someone's willingness and desire to follow rules which is all important for made men and above.

As i have said i am all for these prerequisites and I am just enquiring as to other people's thoughts. Does you city have posting requirements? If not, would you like to see them added, and why?

Cheers

I think it would take reputation also atain the rank. If Crew Leaders have implemented a requirment for ceratin ranks, then along the same train of thought, surely some form of refferance would be required as well. If someone was watching this person and what they post and reporting it back to the boss, then a good idea of the persons commitment and attitude can be built, thus leaving you with a decent enough reputation of which to judge if they deserve the rank or not.

A good point you raise though, either way.

I can see the logic behind adding a posting requirement for each rank, in particular the ones that grant you access to the highest echelons of our society.

Whilst aspects of the criterion to become Made Man were unwritten in the past, they are now commonly displayed in black and white; as much as performing your requisite number of petty crimes or jailbreaks to earn the button in the first place.

From a role-play perspective, the storytelling ability of a Wise Guy or him agreeing that something was entertaining, probably held little weight when they would have been considered to become a Made Man. From the perspective of our game, the higher the activity levels, the more interesting and entertaining the game usually is. Therefore I can see why insisting on a certain number of posts from everyone is a good way of achieving this.

Sadly, a vast number of these posts have become either mindless filler or, sad for me at least, repetitive stories. I find a real lethargy come over me when I click on The Streets now, which to me are incredibly dull. I used to make this the focal point of my attention when I was logged in, but I'm increasingly finding myself retreating to our HQ. This isn't only because our headquarters house some of the most entertaining people I've had the pleasure of being associated with, but because if I wanted to read a story, I'd buy a book.

Whilst this is my own negative view, I'm sure some of you feel the opposite and are delighted with how it has all panned out. I'll put it down to different tastes. Therefore, as I'm sure the posting requirement/original thread requirement to gain rank has significantly contributed to the increase of stories at the cost of more original things, I suppose I'm not an avid supporter of the current way the posting requirement is being translated.

From an OOC perspective I find more fault with the interpretation of the requirement than the requirement itself.

~T~

Any time a rule is put in place there will be ways to try to work around it or "minimum effort" it. That doesn't mean that people will always be able to pull it off. However, a mildly boring thread is better than no thread at all and being that there are so many things you can get a good post count in (bars, the origins of your character, a Sub Crew thread) I don't even think it's too much of a stretch to ask for some street or business district activity.

It often comes down to a case of quality over quantity. For example someone could make plenty of 'nice story' posts whilst another may make less but contribute substantially more to the knowledge of others.

As noted above there is a huge increase in rp stories which in between petty crimes can be an interesting read.

In all I think the requirement is useful in getting those involved who may not normally participate. However CLs should, as Im sure they do, make allowances for those who possibly spend more time on irc contributing to day to day life and helping run the family in one aspect or another.

good read love to see more

Carrots weren't involved so I lost all train of thought, sorry. :(

That was a well amusing retort, nice work Herbert.

~T~

It's all fine and dandy as long as it is not coded into the game as a requirement. You see how well that worked for .org.

As long as it is the CLs who are mandating post requirements, there is a an easy way around it if you don't like it. Kill the CLs. It would be no different than any other new idea that CLs have come up with throughout our history. It only stays around as long as those in power stay alive.