Yet More Thoughts on Everything's Direction
I'd like the site to succeed. I'd like this place to recapture the fun it used to have. I can see the pros and cons of most every idea that's been presented, whether in public in daylogs or in private on the admin list.
So. Here's another idea.
If we want new people and new content on the site, why not run a "New Blood" quest?
The basic idea is that existing users of a certain level (and they'd get sufficient advance notice so as to be able to level themselves up in time to participate) would get a bodaciously fat XP bonus for every new user who makes it to Level 2 within the quest time period. The quest would run longer than the usual quest -- if Clampe's students were expected to be able to produce three writeups in a week, we'd have to do the math from there.
Quest participants would submit the usernames of new folks who join under their wing, and participants would be expected to mentor the people they bring onboard. That way, every new user would be guaranteed an interested person encouraging them to write and submit (despite inevitable stings from the downvote brigade) and helping them learn how to /msg and use hardlinks and all the other stuff that trips up almost every new user.
What do y'all think? Real way, or malarkey?
grundoon says I think there should be some silly rewards, like a tee shirt or something. I'd be a lot more likely to try to recruit newbies if there were some silly reward.
My reply A silly reward is a fine idea! I have a few silly books I could kick in for Quest winners. Anyone else want to contribute?