Devokan: places for story-telling (OOC)

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Dot
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Devokan: places for story-telling (OOC)

Post by Dot »

With the recent re-emphasis of forum rules on the MOUL forum, using the thread 'Developments in Devokan' for story telling is no longer possible in its current format. Ireenquench's post in the thread 'IC/Roleplaying vs. OOC' is a clear explanation of what can and cannot take place on the MOUL forum.

This thread is to help us (OK, me!) think through how best to develop and disseminate the story of Devokan without leaving stranded those who are obviously following it on the MOUL forum -- i.e. I'm not sure they would hop over to the blog, which would be a shame.

If I understand the 'IC/Roleplaying vs. OOC thread' correctly, it means that any roleplaying dialogue through forum posts (e.g. between myself and/or Nalates and/or Quinquifid) should not take place on the MOUL forum. Such a dialogue CAN take place, however, either on the DRC forum in the 'Share your journey' section or on a fan-run forum such as GoMa or OpenUru.org.

I find such IC/RP forum dialogue helpful and stimulating. I would like to retain it -- but where?

I don't think the DRC forum would be appropriate for Devokan story-telling for the following reasons: First, Devokan does not involve the DRC -- it is outside that story strand, and is not aiming to restore the cavern in any way. Second, the story is wider than than just Uru -- it can include elements from other RP games (as Nalates showed with her NoR storyline). Third, because it has explicit links with areas in Second Life and the OSgrid -- worlds that have attracted hostile comment from particular quarters -- I doubt it would be welcome there.

So that leaves using a fan-run forum. Now, I know we would be very welcome on OpenUru.org to work in this way (thank you!). However, I would feel a little inhibited about doing so because this is a businesslike site, focused on developing an infrastructure for the future open-source Uru. Having said that, this place is great for discussing behind-the-scenes issues such as the practicalities of hosting sims from home, or broadbrush OOC storyline discussions, or puzzle development, or ...

On the other hand, on the GoMa forum I already have an established (U-r-u) character, and have included that as part of the storyline of Devokan. One or two other members of that forum have recently expressed an interest in what is happening among the Uru communities in SL and on the OSgrid. Nal regularly posts there, and Quinquifid has on occasion too. So GoMa would probably be the best place for this asynchronous type of forum roleplay.

Roleplay can also take place in world -- this is enjoyable and often fruitful, particularly when it happens spontaneously. However, given the different time zones involved, it is not always possible to use this to carry the story forward.

The other avenues for story-telling are journal and blog entries, which are used by Paislee, Mat, and others. These are necessarily monologues, so while they move the story forward (and the blog, with dated entries, is essential for this), they might not have the dynamism of a discussion involving several individuals. They are good, however, for summarising discussions or dialogues after the event.

So, to sum it all up, what do you think about the following?
  • Develop broadbrush story outlines in OOC threads here on OpenUru.org, in the Myst/Uru-Style Story subforum.
  • Use threads in the Devokan subforum on GoMa for short, everyday-gossip-style posts, focusing on stories that involve GoMa inspections of Uru:CC ages, cavern events like the guilds/groups fair, events from SL (Winterfell and/or D'ni Refugees), other RP games, etc.
  • For OSgrid events and story, and deeper personal reflections, develop it within journal entries inworld and/or as blog entries.
  • Attempt to weave all the above into a coherent narrative reported on the blog AND as a labelled fan-fiction thread in the Creativity section of the MOUL forum, perhaps once a week.
Please note the last point in particular. Would that meet the OOC/IC requirements for MOUL, do you think?
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Re: Devokan: places for story-telling (OOC)

Post by JWPlatt »

Blogs are available here if that is of any use. The blogs are cleanly separate from the forums. The challenge is letting people know your blog is there and having them use it. I think Whilyam, for example, just puts his own IC material on his personal site. I'm not sure of his setup, but it's maybe something to learn from. Or look at what Tweek does.
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Re: Devokan: places for story-telling (OOC)

Post by Nalates »

Well... I suppose MOUL forum ran into the problem we discussed a bit... confusing new people with IC/OOC.

The IC story obviously has to move off MOUL forum. I'm not sure how compatible the DRC and SR groups will be with Devokan. So, I'm not all excited about moving over to the DRC forum. OpenUru.org offers a level of freedom we probably won't see in there. Being able to mix IC/OOC (try to keep em clear as to which is which) as needed helps. While I think to some extent that could be done on MOUL forum we have several ...intolerant... folks that will chaff if we do.

The GoMa forum has existing threads related to mixed IC/OOC posting. It was the original home of the thread. So, having the IC stories there should not be a problem. I'm not sure what the future of GoMa holds. People are again interested in organizing and controlling. I expect elections some day.

The forum allows for good back and forth. Blog comments can work much like a forum and in some ways keep information more organized. The newer comment threads let replies to proceeding comments be related. It breaks down at a nest level of 4 or 5. The new SL blogs show it in action. I like the new WordPress stuff, which I'm using for my blog and working with for 2 clients. It would be nice if the if host would upgrade the existing Devokan blog. But the free WordPress blogs by WordPress are pretty nice. So, that might be a possibility. And of course the blog software here which is near current. (don't understand what the mu part is...)

Then there comes the problem of letting people know about Devokan. As long as we are experimenting with the SIM, scripts, building and story ideas we have things to discuss about Devokan on the MOUL forum. Also, with a FCAL we can use more of the Myst-Uru related keywords to bring the blog up in the search results.

I guess mostly a matter of deciding and making the move. Then add links to the last post at MOUL. Other than some resistance to the DRC forum I have no strong feelings.
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Re: Devokan: places for story-telling (OOC)

Post by JWPlatt »

Nalates wrote:the blog software here which is near current. (don't understand what the mu part is...)
MU = MultiUser. Instead of one WordPress installation per user that would be necessary with regular WordPress, WordPressMU is a single installation to handle multiple users.
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Dot
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Re: Devokan: places for story-telling (OOC)

Post by Dot »

Some good news about the MOUL thread for Devokan:

The Devokan thread has not been locked, but has been moved to the Creativity section of the MOUL forum and a ‘Fan Fiction’ tag added to the title: http://mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17633

This means that it will be possible to post summaries of journal entries, events and conversations on the MOUL thread, though any role-playing posts (e.g. between Quin, Nal and myself) will need to be elsewhere; at the moment I'm thinking this would probably work better on the GoMa forum. If the newer members of GoMa decide that this is not acceptable, we'll have to move elsewhere (and probably include it as a storyline too ;-) ).

The MOUL moderators have been very helpful and supportive in all of this.
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Re: Devokan: places for story-telling (OOC)

Post by Dot »

Looking back over the last year, I've personally found the story planning and telling by forum thread the more fruitful way of working. A blog was started, but I've found that hard to keep up to date. Forum threads were easier, and kept a sense of a story developing over time (I found the blog posts reading in reverse chronological counter-intuitive).

Planning threads tended to be in GoMa for most of that time, then summaries posted in the MOUL Creativity forum thread.

Since the beginning of 2011, the Devokan project has had its own forum for planning and story-telling: The Devokan Trust. This is not just for projects directly connected with Devokan, but also for others who wish to develop plans and story-telling where IC/OOC talk might intermingle. The forum has a small membership, but that can be helpful.

By using the forum format, more people seem to have started adding their stories (including intertwining them). This has taken off better than using the blog -- perhaps it is easier to use.

Over the year another avenue for story-telling became available -- journals in Uru fan ages. But that will be the subject of a separate thread.
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