My site isn't as welcoming as it could be. What now?

[Anonymous 234]

Right around now isn't a good time to be trying to do anything with this anyway, but for future reference. Something has been bothering me about my site and I tried to figure out what it is. Now, I think it's that despite its declarations of being welcoming and open a community, well... it isn't. And I think maybe the end of the year is a good time to start thinking about how to figure this out and fix this, so that come the new year we're stronger than ever.

 

I need to have a talk with my other members about it, because this isn't what I wanted. But I'm also not entirely sure how to broach this subject without raising hackles. It's not really one or two people, this is more of an everyone problem. So I was just curious what everyone else's thoughts and ideas, and how you'd handle it, were.

 

Help?

 

Quick note though; this community has been directly attacked first by an insider, then by an outsider, so of course, it's understandable that it became isolationist. The issue is that I need to basically assuage their fears of repeat attacks, and get them to branch out and try again. It's kind of a delicate situation I think.

[dusk 106]

Can you expand on how your site isn't welcoming?

 

What are the sort of problems you are seeing other than some fearfulness?

[Anonymous 234]

New players are perhaps token hello'd and welcomed and then never spoken to again. Heck, they barely talk to existing players that aren't part of the active-everyday-club. It seems like if you aren't around and talking constantly then you're not worth the effort. They're more receptive to a lurker that happens to be around and active every day than one of the main posters on the site simply because she's not actively talking every day.

 

Plot threads aren't posted in, opens sit there for months and months or until I decide to post in them myself. The only open threads that the other players seem willing to answer are mine. One of the less active players finally posted to someone besides the partner they've been writing with for months and answered an open, and it was mine, the newest one. There's an open in there that's been sitting since the middle of August. I'd forgive the open thing if they at least tried to engage them some other way, but that's not been happening either.

 

Granted, no one stays very long but with a reception like this I wonder why.

Anonymous poster hash: 44864...1b9

[Renya 55]

First of all, try not to panic!

 

The overall emotional quality of the above strongly suggests that you are feeling at least dismayed and at worst depressed. But you also obviously care or you wouldn't be here in the first place. It's not going to be as a straightforward as going; do this one thing and it's fixed. 

 

However, I think you're aware of that. It will mean hard work and some effort. 

 

Bearing that in mind, choose to be happy! Get excited, get engaged and find someone (at least one) who can help out and join in with promoting that positive and upbeat attitude. It might seem silly or obvious but it is very much a case of leading from the head. If your members see you're excited and engaged then they will start to follow along, if they see you chatting up the new members then they will as well. But it's not going to happen over time. 

 

Do challenges and rewards for starting threads with newcomers, do plotting games, give them badges, promote specific threads, not because they are good but to get them going. 

 

Think about a welcome team! Get your members to step up and take on that role, suggest silly games that make them pull together in the community and just generally work on building fun. These aren't too specific but they are ideas that should begin to give you some ideas about what you can see working and also remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

I would recommend speaking to the people who've joined and left. Ask them why?! Ask them if you could fix it or change this, then would it have changed their minds. Not all of them will answer but it will at least give you a more informed understanding as opposed to just your own perception of what is not working. 

 

Also... think about what is. Remember positives, happy vibes and fun! This is a good time of the year to concentrate on the fun, people will naturally be quiet but everyone enjoys coming in and grinning at something going on as a special event or a new game etc. 

 

I hope this helps in some small way. 

 

Good Luck!

[PixieMegs 107]

Before I start, I have a question or two. 

 

1. Are you the only staff member?
2. Do you have a discord channel to post open-threads or something like it?

 

Much of what I'm going to say is basically what @Renyasaid. Everything they said is right on the nose. You do need to be positive and upbeat and engage with members, even if no one else is. "Be the change you want to see" and all that. Adjusting your outlook on it and how you are seen is a huge part of pushing the site to follow your lead. I go through phases where I just can't chat on my site discord, because of personal reasons, but when I come back there is usually a boost of activity if I'm there being chatty and uplifting. 

 

I'm just going to offer some additional ideas. Sometimes offering rewards for threading with new people doesn't go over well. It can feel forced, so if you take that route, maybe reach out here or if you have additional staff talk to them, and go over how it is worded and what reward/badges/whatever is given.  Promoting threads, plotter challenges, and all that is a great idea (like Renya said XD). Also, starting on the new year is fine but you'll have to start putting in work now if you have already noticed the site is struggling. 

 

Another idea is have an event. This will take work as well, because planning an event that gets people excited and involved can be tough. I don't know what kind of site you have so my suggestion is going to be vague: do small group treads or thread roulettes with fun prompts. This will put people together who might not have threaded together and they might realize their characters have plot potential. 

Use plotters to your advantage. Post in people's plotters, use your character's connections to offer them more connections.

Such as: My character knows so and so and they might be a good way for these two to meet in the future. Or My character and Member's Character are planning -thing-, and I think your character would be a great addition to this thread.  

 

Or have a character throw a party. Invite their friends, even if those friends don't know each other. Something like that can bring people together. 

 

If you don't have additional staff, I would heavily suggest getting some. Or like Renya said, get a welcome team of members you trust and want what is best for the site. Have them do the following: Engage in the chat with new people, post in their plotters, and offer first threads. Have them post in existing plotters as well! Don't let members who have been around feel like they aren't important. That's a quick way to suck the fun out of things. 

 

FINAL idea: Use Nano to your advantage. We are all writers. Do a thread challenge. For the month of November, have members engage in x-number of threads or reach x-number of posts. Or set multiple goals for people to reach and the winners get a spotlight or something. "Engage in a thread with 20 or more posts." "Engage in four threads with 10 or more posts" "Engage in a group thread consisting of at least 3 characters"

 

Hope this helps!

 

[Anonymous 234]

1. Essentially.
2. Yes. Our site software even does it automatically if they tag it properly.

There's clearly an assumption here that I don't do any of those things. I *do* engage people. I am the only one that does, but I cannot be here all the time. I *do* post in plotters. I *do* thread with people. I do these things I want to see my players doing. I behave the way I expect them to, because that's the kind of person I am. The thing is *it does not work*. They see that I'm doing it and decide Oh, I don't have to then. I don't know if my personality is too dominant or what but it has never once worked the way it seems people think it should in my entire life and I've been running sites for over 20 years.

 

I'm in at least one thread with everyone on this site at once, often more than one per, trying to do NaNoWriMo, deal with school, the holidays, and get three returning players moving at once. One of those returning players literally no one but me will even talk to, there's no obvious reason why, and if she wasn't my friend we would've lost her a long time ago. I have a mod but she does PR and generally won't act outside of that so for most intents and purposes she's irrelevant. I'm losing my shit. I cannot keep doing everything on this site and no one new is joining it, at least, not longer than a few days. I've also been running a staff search for it for literally a year now and it's still just me and the PR department.

 

In any case, I said in my OP that I need ideas on how to talk to them about it. I know how to subtly encourage people to interact with each other. At a point though the subtle nudges just aren't enough anymore. I'm at that point. We need to have a talk, and I need to not be the frustrated jerk I am accidentally. How do I tell them I'm frustrated and tired and sick of doing everything myself and they need to either start giving a shit about the site now or I'm going to nuke it without saying that and upsetting people?

Anonymous poster hash: 44864...1b9

[PixieMegs 107]

I apologize for not addressing that. 

 

I would suggest not guilting them and ensuring you're in a calm place when you write up what you want to say to them. Everyone is having a hard time right now and saying you're frustrated and tired of being the only one to do anything is going to drive them away. Though, also consider if that's really a bad thing at this point. Are they worth keeping if they don't help create the atmosphere you're looking for? Also consider, maybe they're comfortable where they are: threading with a few people, chatting with only the people they know. Yes, this comes off as exclusive, but taking that away from them is also harmful. If they aren't excluding due to malice, then there's really no reason to be mad at them about it. Your site is supposed to be a welcoming space, perhaps that is what makes it welcoming to them. 

 

However, here is my advice on how to talk to them: 

 

Send out a mass pm to all accounts, something that reads along the lines of:

Hello everyone,

Over the past few weeks, I have been contemplating on how we can make -site name- a more inviting and inclusive space. Current times are tough for many of us, and having a safe place to write and chat is a luxury. I would like to help us further this atmosphere so those who have just joined us or have been here for a while, know that we are someplace safe and welcoming.

However, in order to do this, I need to hear from all of you. What are some things you think we can work on as a site? What things do you think we do well? What steps would you like to see taken in order to reach our full potential as a community. 

I look forward to hearing from all of you. Please message me privately at -where they can reach you-. 

 

 

Alternatively, send the pm and host a round table meeting. Where members can come and talk to you in a group setting to express themselves and what they feel. You can also post it as an announcement thread and allow replies. Some might feel most comfortable being able to reply anonymously. 

 

Good luck.