Medals & Accolades?

[∬: Gero A. Fritz]

This should probably go in the suggestion areas... Anyway!!!

I know in the past this has been suggested, spoken about and even attempted at one stage, but I don't think it has ever been properly tried before? What do you guys think about having a variety of achievable forum medals? I'm not talking about character based medals, like the Iron Cross or Victoria Cross, but much like a set of member members.

For instance:

• Long serving medal - we could have a medal dedicated to long serving members that have been here longer than a year or two?
  
• Veteran Combatant - you could earn this medal for participating in several hostile threads.
  
• Winning Streak - title says it all, could earn this medal for having a winning streak of three consecutive hostile threads.
  
• Stay calm and carry on! - this medal could be dedicated to members who have participated in loads of neutral threads. Perhaps thirty or more?
  
• ETC...
  

As you can see, there is plenty of room for different variant of medals and I'm sure I could cook up some simple and attractive icons to suit them all. If you guys think it's worth the hassle? These medals don't have to go into the mini-profile either, I understand the space within the mini-profile is important for shop items, so these could be peer to peer distributional to their signatures. It saves the staff having to hand these out and being a close knit community, if we spot a liar with a medal he or she shouldn't have, they could get a slapped wrist.

Good concept and idea worth adding? I'm willing to do the legwork.

[∬: Gero A. Fritz]

-DOUBLE POST-

Here's some of the medals I've cooked up so far.

Activity Medal (1 YEAR)

[/b]
You've become a part of the furniture!


Activity Medal (2 YEARS)
You've become a rocking part of the furniture! You're so awesome!

--- More activity medals to be added ---


Best Newcomer![/b]
You've proven to be the best new asset to the forum for a while!


Member Kill![/b]
Gained a member kill! *Add a knife icon for each member kill*


OOC Medal![/b]
You've spent numerous hours talking OOC on IO.


Sadist![/b]
You've killed an NPC/Member during a hostile thread sadistically. You horrible bastard!


100CP![/b]
You've had 100CP in your account at one time!


300CP![/B]
You've had 300CP in your account at one time!


One Man Army!
You've won a hostile thread against all odds!!! You was outnumbered by at least three to one and had no member allies during the battle.


He Lives! Sort-Off...[/b]
You've either taken tremendous punishment during a hostile thread (incredible serve wounds) and lived to tell the tale or you have died and been resuscitated during a hostile thread!!!


Taken a Member POW! [/b]
You've been soft hearted and taken an enemy member prisoner during a hostile thread. You big softy you!


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TO BE CONTINUED!!!

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[☭ Joseph Petrov]

I'm liking this idea.

[Tristan Herman]

The fuzzy cuffs tickled me.

[∬: Gero A. Fritz]

CONTINUATION OF MEDALS!

RAMBO!

[/B]
You fought in a hostile battle only using booby-traps (mines and specialist trap skills through the demolition skill tree), melee skills and used the environment to your advantage!


Avid Poster![/b]
You have a post count of 1000+ and still growing!


Ganster![/b]
You've been in a hostile thread that's had more than six people in it in total! You truly are a home-boy to your dawgs.


You're APE-SH*T Crazy![/b]
You've somehow pulled off a three melee streak!


--- To be continued ---[/center]

I'll probably just keep chucking these out when I get a few minutes here and there. Once there's a fair amount of them, I'll compile them into one thread (like an information guide to the medals) and members can choose whether to wear them in their signature area or not.

If you have any suggestions for other types of medals, just let me know here and I'll try cooking one up! I'm trying to be imaginative with them and slightly funny too.

[Dirk Riedel]

I am not against awarding medals when they are deserved but please, let us not degrade the site's assumed merit with distinctions of the "ape-shit crazy" kind; I personally would not consent to sporting such in my profile, it is a bit unintelligent, although otherwise quite a flattering tribute, assuredly.

Nor do I think most of these medal categories are necessary, as they would most likely trivialize the entire role-playing experience and reduce it to a social networking lolsite; and imagine if all these random icons suddenly appear on people's profiles, what a clutter and distraction that would be. I don't think we need to seek recourse to ineffectual mechanisms or aesthetically vandalize our profiles in order to boost activity, when other more straightforward and strategic measures could as well do the trick. My character, Nevena, has suffered from sudden overeating greed and in one thread downed entire dishes of various foodstuffs in one go; perhaps she can have an "Awmagad has same cheeks as Farouk of Egypt!" medal. Send a belly burner, stat!

I appreciate your initiative, Gero, it is funny, but sadly that is where its functionality ends; perhaps if any medals were to be given, it could be on persistent activity or long-term membership or at least something else that is somehow suitable. Yo dawg.

... although I admit those pink handcuffs gave me the tingles. ;D Perhaps we could have a medal for gagging other members? OH WAIT.

[∬: Gero A. Fritz]

Criticism duly noted. May I also spit out a previous quote:

-BARF-

members can choose whether to wear them in their signature area or not.

-Wipes mouth-

I'm not making these medals and accolades to degrade the forum, but I think this place needs a little fun and having some harmless icons in your signature (again, if you wanted them or not) just shows we're not all stuck-up and over-the-top serious here. OH WAIT, I could make a medal for that too.

I understand your concern, opinion even, but it's up to the members what they boast in their signatures. If they like the idea of some fun accolades and medals, then that's cool with me. If not, well it's not going to break my heart either. I'm just trying to do something more entertaining for the forum, I'd appreciate not being dragged through the dirt over it. I've had my fair share of suggesting some serious things in the past, don't shoot me down over something a little more - dandy.

THANKSMUCHLOVE.

[Heiko Alkema]

I think a nice compromise would be to put these little mile-markers in the journal or skill threads for the individuals in question. That way they're visable, but not the first thing new people see, so we maintain the seriousness of the role-play.

[Dirk Riedel]

I thought, what with handcuffs being involved, some forcing was about to take place for sure!

No, but really, I'm fairly aware it was only your suggestion and not a regulation, in the same manner that unmistakably my contribution was only my conviction and not a directive. Sadly, I have not been hailed a Führerin yet. By all means, decorate your profile with a three-legged orangutan if you feel like it and I will certainly laugh (I have a sense of humour!), and of course shall not mind since it does not affect me in the least.

The point I tried to make was that we are five or six people online in the site at this moment and nobody is truly directing their thought towards fertile and straightforward practices in actually solving the inactivity problem but rather going around it by inventing various fancy gamelols between ourselves. I don't think that flashing up our profiles will in reality attract new members and boost activity, and I hardly think that deformalizing what ought to be a site of a certain level of seriousness (if we wish to maintain quality) will prove fruitful, seeing as how wonderfully functional the site used to be beforehand despite such formal quality.

I did not say I have a problem against your suggestion; as Heiko remarked, it could be recommended for journal use. What I said is that entertainment is not our problem at the moment; the problem is that applications need to be accepted, that members need to be attracted and old members maintained, that threads need to be closed and CP handed out. For this reason, this is more of a structural malfunction that needs to be addressed, that I sincerely doubt any profile decorations will at all make a difference. I did say I appreciate your initiative, as I appreciate all initiatives for it shows that members still care, but further observed how such is simply off the mark here. Making the site "fun" and entertaining is not our problem, the site is fun and entertaining when it functions, and at this moment, it does not.

Of course, then there is the issue about the relevance that Rambo and gorillas sport in a site assumedly tackling the WW2 era but, like I said, each to their own.

But yes, let us have complete rejection of fertile argumentation! Let us be above criticism and simply simper! And let us become superbly defensive and mention work implemented in the past to get cool points and be loved on an individualistic pursuit of personal self-image healing while at the same time ignore the principle of collectivist approach!

You can make a medal on that.

[PuNk! ™]

*Waves white flag!* Don't shoot!

On my phone typing this, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Heiko is completely right, in fairness these accolades and medals can be added to the "journal" area, members don't get much signature space anyway, I'm not entirely sure if they'll even be able to host them all in their signatures anyhow.

They are a good concept though and in conjunction with Maria, I think some more serious medals wouldn't go amiss. Perhaps if you pulled together some "presentable" activity medals to start with and then as a forum, we could form ideas for the next set of honourable medals that members could achieve. I understand the fun aspect you're trying to create, but it does simmer the edge of maturity we keep here.

Again... Some nice activity medals would be cool to start with.
~Danny

[Christopher J. D'Dario]

Cool, bringing something back from the old site.

PS. For the very few of you (probably no one) who follow State of Origen. NSW Lost to QLD 18/10 I'm a blues supporter.

[PuNk! ™]

Bringing something back from the old site? What you mean - Obeying Orders? I don't think we ever had any medals on OO, it was only around for a little while, not really long enough to develop much on it from what I recall. As soon as developments were being made, I started IO to house them all (seemed logical at the time), but I probably just made more work for myself.

~Danny

[Heiko Alkema]

May 23, 2012 0:29:01 GMT Dirk Riedel said:

What I said is that entertainment is not our problem at the moment; the problem is that applications need to be accepted, that members need to be attracted and old members maintained, that threads need to be closed and CP handed out. For this reason, this is more of a structural malfunction that needs to be addressed, that I sincerely doubt any profile decorations will at all make a difference. I did say I appreciate your initiative, as I appreciate all initiatives for it shows that members still care, but further observed how such is simply off the mark here. Making the site "fun" and entertaining is not our problem, the site is fun and entertaining when it functions, and at this moment, it does not.

Sorry, just wanted to point this bit out real quick. Hadn't really struck me, but this is so very much true. We've gotten bogged down in making "improvements" to the site and expanding it and doing everything possibly imaginable that isn't actually what this site was made for which is role-playing. I mean, I honestly can't tell you the last time I actually wrote an RP post without looking back in my own history.

Of course everyone has different reasons for why they aren't role-playing, mine happen to be limited access to the internet and whatnot. But that is a crucial bit 99% of us keep forgetting. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm going to put all my "ideas" on hold for the time being and just get back into what this site is all about. Time to buckle down and do some staffy-type things and some role-play-type things.

Thanks for the reality check, that was definitely needed.

[PuNk! ™]

I guess we've all got caught up with DIY on IO, making loads of improvements and upgrades that we probably don't really need, but at the same time we all want to see this forum be far more than what it could be. I think that makes this place special, that we have the ability to stretch our imaginations into something more. However, in our conquest I think most of us turned our aspirations and desires for this place into quick-sand; we fast became unstuck and fought harder to get ourselves free from our own doing than simply relaxing and paying more scope to what this place is really about.

I think anymore updates will be abolished for a while, unless they're minor alterations at best. We have one hell of a thing going here that's already awesome, spoiling it anymore will just toil with our very foundations. I'm on side Heiko, let's get some well written mods out there and actually feel like we're putting pen to paper once more. I miss the simple life of IO.
~Danny

Amen - Heiko

Agreed -=[SeeJay]=-

And yes, I remember medals being on OO/IO before.

[∬: Gero A. Fritz]

Ja all very heart warming, I'm still not done in my quest for medals though. So are these modest enough? I've done some activity ribbons, heer.

Completed one year IO service.

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Completed two years IO service.[/b]


Completed three years IO service.[/b]


Completed four years IO service.[/b]
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Ach ja, before I forget. I will also make staff variant ribbons for staff service, presuming I haven't walked into another brick wall with these suggested medals.

Note The amount of stars on the ribbons don't represent the years of active service, the lines do.