Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

I like the idea of three ATRs and a MotM. It strikes a good balance between recognizing folx, giving them a chance to shine for and feeling like the ATRs are devalued. That being said, I also think a variable amount or completely freestyle are good ideas because I think it adds a little more excitement to the whole thing.

Honestly, just dish em out as many as you feel like. Obv don't give someone ATR 2 months in a row, but there's enough people around to toss 6 out for sure. I'd even just give one for each section of the plaza. And why not even pick an admin of the month? lol

I think varying between 2 and 3 plus MotM is good depending entirely on how many people are active and where per month. 3-4 atrs each month WITH a MOTM just diminishes them I think it's most notable this past month because the Plaza had a significant down turn in November for over all activity so it felt odd to see 5 atrs when there were at best 6 members in total that were exceptionally active (which tends to be the criteria over all) seemed odd (Though I understand a good portion of this was likely from previous activity not just November). It also limits very sharply who you can give ATRS to the next month if only 1 or 2 members are exceptionally active since you've literally given all of the exceptional players a reward the month before as we are still in general a very small forum with a very small core of regularly active members.

AND I say this as a ball of energy that posts and watches the on goings of basically everywhere except OOME.

I am confused?

1 MoM
1 ATR

What’s confusing you, @Drifa?

Hi @Tarawen ! Why so many - is what is confusing me. I have always felt that it was a singular honor to receive a MOM or ATR for contributing to the forum/Plaza. That is what made the rank special, a member having a special icon. But, if having more than one special member a day, a week, bi- weekly, monthly, is what the NuPlaza is about, I can adapt.
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@Drifa - Ahhh I gotcha. That is fair, and your vote for 1 + 1 will certainly be taken into account! Appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

I'm pretty happy with freestyle so it can be adjusted based on activity. It seems some months are busier than others. I do not see it as being less meaningful if more people are given an ATR in a given month but that's just me. All the same, I don't feel that strongly about this and mostly happy just to see shiny faces running around so whatever the people decide is fine!

ATRs for some; miniature American flags for others

my actual take has already been echoed somewhat by other admins but for me personally, on this site, which is a small site, ATRs seem less about identifying super wildly outstanding members than about putting some fun nostalgic icons out there and letting people have a good time with it. Of course we've had a lot of people do a lot of cool things so it's been easy to attach reasons to the 'award' so far but I agree with those of you saying that as time goes on that paradigm may get a bit strained. If we keep going at a high clip like we are and site stays rather small like it will, then I agree each individual ATR will probably feel a little less 'special'. But I feel very unqualified to bestow specialness on people anyway hence I'd rather it be more about the icons and less about the 'award' aspect. But again that's just my selfish take - I didn't vote on this one and will support whatever option wins the day.

Except every 2 weeks, if that wins I'm making everyone Bombur and callin it a day

Orcs Narv.. make them all orcs..

Orc, orc, orc, orc, orc, orc, orc, orc, orc!

I voted for ATR every 2 months, because it's the closest thing to what I would like to see.

I was thinking about the ATRs yesterday, before I saw the thread, and I'd prefer if we could have ATR + MoM every 2 months. So if the recipient(s) would like to RP the character or open a thread, like in Rohan when the Throne Room was (re)opened... It would give folks a bit more time to plan and coordinate something around their TR, if this is something that they wanted to do.

However, I'm fine with having ATRs + MoM monthly - I love seeing who will get a shiny new face! (I'm a 5-year-old child at heart ).

Good point Nessa re the having time to RP with your icon for longer (as threads often last longer than a month).

I do like seeing new faces every month though, so it’s possible we could mash up some ideas here, and have a couple of ATRs announced every month, but recipients wear for 2 months - so you’d have 4 or 5 ATRs being worn at any one time, on a rolling basis?

I voted for complete freestyle but upon reading Nessa's comment I like her and Sil's ideas of ATRs every two months or rolling ATRs where you keep them for two months. I think it fits the current pace of the Plaza (or at least my pace! )

Really, I'm very much with Narv. A few months ago I did think that we were burning through ATRs rather quickly considering how many members we have, but...why not? We've all been around this place for a long time in one iteration or another. I'm not too worried about who deserves what or how valuable anything is--I'm just happy that there are fun and nostalgic icons we get to play with, especially my kitty cat! *g*

I voted for complete freestyle as well, but I kind of like the idea of keeping the ATR for two months. Whether they're awarded every two months or you simply keep them two months, I don't mind. While I was thrilled to receive one in November, I wasn't able to enjoy it to the full extent as I was not around much that month due to NaNo. I will say it's a lot of fun to get to see all the shiny faces around the Plaza again. And I know all the recipients are well-deserved. I think it's safe to say, that eventually everyone who is an active member of NuPlaza will get a chance to have a fancy face for a month or two.

I'd probably go with one atr a month and it's kept for 2 months unless there are two gobsmackingly spectacular members in a month (there will be I'm sure) and try to keep it around 4 shiny faces with member of the month I'd it's two months. That said not everyone is going to have plans for their face so not everyone may want it for 2 months

You know my feelings about seeing shiny faces around (not that I am around at all, rn) and that I think it is A Good Thing. I like the idea of keeping them for longer and for it to be a rolling program as per Sil's idea.

I feel like if there were 2x admin-given and 1 motm handed out monthly, but kept for 2 months, it would keep that happy medium (lots of people having visible shiny faces - not quite so much turnover).

Just a general question: are we still sticking to the system 2 ATR and 1 Member's choice (since it's no longer a member per month ) every two months or are there going to be changes in the number of ATRs since they will be handed out bimonthly? Asking for those mathematically confused and curious (in essence, me )

We are kinda playing it by ear, but are open to any recommendations as to what people would like to see.

I don't have much to add other than:
- I originally voted complete freestyle but I found I actually like the 2+1
- I like that people are keeping them for 2 months now (if people want to give up their ATR after one month if they so choose for whatever reason, are they allowed to?)
- I think every other month seems like a good compromise and pace and it looks like quite a few people here thought that was a good idea back in December. If MotM/Member's choice (whatever you want to call it) becomes every other month (and seems like that's the plan maybe?) it's kind of nice if the other ATRs follow the same schedule in my opinion.

thanks for allowing/facilitating discussion.

Thanks for the feedback Lail! <3

And of course people can ask for their icons to be removed, all they have to do is ask :D