Too many captains and not enough crew

[Mirra|Robin]

There seems to be a problem with there being too many captains and not enough people wanting to be in a crew. Everyone wants to be the leader. As cool as it is to have so many leaders, we really should do something to encourage people to join up with crews rather than make their own.

I suggest offering bonus beri for roleplays done with active and fully accepted crew members. Maybe a beri per person involved, something small, but something that would get people interested in being part of a crew.

What do you guys think? Any better suggestions?

[BlacKitten]

I agree with your point, but one reason why I, personally, dislike joining other people's crews is that I don't trust that they will be "active". Even fast posters will soon slow down eventually.

You said to reward a little beri to active and fully accepted crew members, but what do you think is considered, "active?"

A single member of the crew being sluggish can slow down the entire crew, which may give the illusion that they are all inactive.

On the other hand, this may encourage more active posting, but such a thing will not stop the problem of people's life issues.

Not that my opinion matters, but do you have any idea/compromises around that activeness?

[Jade]

*coughs* As part of the problem, I apologize. As a member of the forum... I think what you are suggesting sounds like a pretty decent idea, even in the state it is currently in.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what else I can add to this conversation (especially since I'm confined to my iPod for the evening), other than I would absolutely join most crews on the site if such a thing wasn't both impossible and incredibly stupid. And my only excuse with trying to set up a crew with my character Piers is that that was my original intent with him; if that whole plan falls apart, I'd settle for looking for a crew for him to join... Not that I know of any crews who could utilize someone who just wants to document his travels and what he encounters on them.

[James Silverstein]

I feel like (barring extenuating circumstances of course) active would mean posting when it's your turn within 3-5 days. I feel like this is reasonable unless there is too much IRL going on.

[EriChar]

Why do people need to be rewarded to join crews? Isn't the point of the RP to do so? With the incentives for getting certain crew members on side for crews (Such as discounts for having shipwrights, or free cannonballs for those with inventors), I don't really see the point in paying people to join your crew.

I mean, would you rather have people in your crew cause they get paid to do so, and are in it only for the money? Or would you prefer to have people who appreciate your crew ideals and want to work toward high quality stories together?

It may sound harsh, but maybe if people aren't joining your crew, perhaps it's because you're not giving them a reason to?
Cause, it seems to me you're saying "Not enough people joining crews" and half the time the chat is filled with people complaining they have no crews to join.

[Konaa]

It seems to me like we need a better way to put captains in touch with people who want crews. I know that no one really expressed interest in mine, though I did have a fairly specific alignment set and that may have had something to do with it.

[EriChar]

I tend to 'network'; rather than throwing a sign up there and lazily waiting for people to fill it in, I look at peoples RP, see who has a quality/activity level that matches mine, then pester them until they join me.

[Deleted]

Yeah, what Char said is all you really need to do. I scope out people's activity and RP, and if I like both, I send them a message. Once, I even opened the floodgates at the same time, and I had more crew members than I actually wanted to start with.

It's not that no one wants to join a crew. Most captain characters are already equipped with a plan, and if you want anyone to join your story, you kind of have to sell your plot. If you just say, "Hey, I'm starting a crew, and I'm looking for these positions," then people are going to look around and be like, "Okay, well so is he and so is she." Without explanation, what's making them want to pick you over the next guy or gal? For all they know, they're tossing their character into a whirlwind that won't even be fun to take a ride in. =o

I'm pretty much saying the same thing as Char, but bonuses should be left as rewards, not made into incentives to do anything. The story should be the motive, not the money that's being made for participating.

[❰ Misha ❱]

Well for me, finding a crew that has a match of character profile was the hardest thing.

I haven't been active on the forum for a long time now... but I wanted to make or join a crew that basically wanted to be well... pirates. Plunder and pillage islands, raid governments, attack civilians who look at you the wrong way. Well, you get my point. A lot of profiles I read seem to be the loner type or something of the sort and that is hard to fit in with a crew's goals when you're dead set on doing your own thing. Also hard to find people who don't want to be like Luffy and walk the lackluster path of East Blue.

Also many people would rather have a sense of control over the RP instead of relying on another core person to be a key poster. Some people are natural captain figures and some characters would best be off following rather than captaining and those crews/organizations do slowly die off.

Well I've come up with reasons for why this is, and as Char has said I don't think there is an easy remedy to what you are pointing out. It is a viable thing, but nothing much can be done about it.

If you have a crew, try persuading a few people to join but I recommend not taking Char's route unless you're desperate.

[Kurosaki]

It's really up to the Captain to be charismatic enough to make people want to join their crew. I think too often people get pessimistic about joining because they're worried the thread will grind to a halt. Which has... Happened. A lot.

So, really, a way to make activity more frequent would be a better choice. I don't think throwing beri at everything works. It also makes beri as a thing worth less and less the way we hand it out. Essentially, will begin to make it meaningless if someone can just be rewarded for doing the every day things they're supposed to as part of a community of BV.

Things like advertising more, however, might be a viable option. Get more members and thus crews. But, bare in mind that we're seasonal. Most crews and activity pick up with the winter and summer seasons. Most likely they'll be an influx of crew members when school empties out, and a lot of crews that don't make it when school goes back in.