Lately it seems Lusternia has been shedding gods like they're going out of fashion. Lacostian just went away, and Isune's been AWOL for four weeks. We seem to be incapable to keep a Divine for more than six months. (Auseklis, old Terentia and Fain...)

Maybe we could be informed on what's going on OOCly? At least about Isune? She vanished without explanation, and that bugs me as she was the only Divine I cared about whom I hadn't screwed up with (Two out of three ain't bad, I guess. ).

My point is, can we have some information? Please?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that Shikari quit, too, and according to rumour went back to his mortal character.

I'm sure if they have left possibly for a long time we will be informed in an IC manner.
Also Elcyrion seems to be around often, Lisaera and Fain to. Well often in that I've seen their shouts more than a few times and Lisaera's comments on aetherwaves.

Volunteers come and go, Divines come and go.
Being a divine must be an exhausting job

Viravain's still around

Shikari quit too

Wow, really? I do wish Isune would come back.

Shikari was one of my favorites, where'd he go???

As a rule of thumb, I don't feel it is productive to discuss gods OOCly. I will note your perception that we are unable to keep gods "for more than six months" is way off.

Anyway, generally speaking, gods in all realms come and go, perhaps more often than people realize. We try to make sure that they are a "match" with what it is like to be an admin during the long ephemeral process. Our first volunteer admin gods were chosen from being alpha builders and weren't able to go through the process of really understanding what it is like to be the men and women behind the curtain.

Everyone who has come up as a volunteer, in Lusternia or any IRE game that I know of, find it is not what they expect. It is really tough to cut your ties with friendships with players and, most especially, with your own character. We do not generally roleplay being gods, i.e., we aren't like the gods in Olympus who sit up from on high, quaffing ambrosia, and moving mortals around like chess pieces. There is a lot of work and a fair bit of boredom that goes with being a divine. Some people (probably most people) simply don't enjoy the experience, and it takes a very special person to really thrive as a divine.

Also, the gods in Lusternia have to deal with me! I can be very critical as I have high standards regarding Lusternia, especially as it is my creative love-child (so to speak). However, this is probably not a good thing, and I am have been trying to loosen up in that regard.

And there's also the matter of time. Gods, same as players, have projects and a life to keep. If Lusternia loses players, it's normal it loses admin figures due to RL now and then.

Shikari too?

Still, seeing them go with no explanation at all (Sometimes not even being told they're going) is unpleasant and quite annoying. Maybe it would be nice at least getting some official information on wether we know how long Isune will be gone, and wether she'll be returning?

Alright, one year. Of the gods that were around early on, only Lisaera remains. Isune vanished three times, counting the last one. Fain went progressively inactive until he had to be thrown into the Void and back out again. I'm not even going to talk about Hajamin and Terentia. So, yes, we do seem to be letting go of gods more rapidly than most IRE games or in fact most MUDs. This is kind of alright since we're a new game and haven't had the time to find the truly obsessive personalities needed in this kind of work, but it's still frustrating for a lot of the playerbase.

In all honesty, I don't think the game can really support more than 4 active gods at a time.

I assume the fact that the gods are fairly static in thier communities means the "large string pulling" that active gods tend to engage in is highly restrictrive.

I'm not sure what we would do if all the gods -were- active...

Soll would really want to know where Isune's gone. And I would too, of course.

I believe things can be like this in all the IRE games. Look at all the gods who have passed on in Achaea, for instance.

Most gods are like players. They are likely college-aged people and being a god is a big volunteer effort. I believe someone has told me Isune is in college and thus has to focus on her studies for now, so she might be more active in the summer.

Remember, a lot of god activity is building the MUD, coding the Rapture engine, dealing with Issues, Envoys, and Bugs, maybe even subbing as Guides when there are too few of them. Gods are likely more restricted in the game than players. Perhaps a god goes "inactive" only because he or she is too busy devoting the spare time the god has to bug fixing.

Also, as people grow older, it's hard to keep up the commitment, unless one is compensated for it and on the payroll (and who knows how well it pays, so it could end up being their second job). I know my work and life keep me from having the type of commitment some players have.

Plus, I hate to say it, but it can be pretty thankless when players are complaining a lot about various things. Imagine having to take that complaining constantly. It does get to you after a while.

Don't be embarassed. These ignorant, idiotic forum-goers need someone to chide them occasionally.

Well, constantly.

I'd be supremely embarassed if I attended this forum and/or if I was a whiny little bitch.

Yep, supremely embarassed.

And that's all that matters! Huzzah XD

There's an image for you. I wonder who the father is? I'm very easily amused.

..Roark?

(Sorry, too obvious.)

Actually the perception that we lose Gods quicker than other IRE games isn't correct, we lose them at about the same rate when looked at long-term. Our only problem is that we have the smallest team anyway, so every loss looks a little more frightening.

Generally we won't announce it in an OOC way when Gods leave for their sake, and it's entirely up to the God in question whether they leave an IC post or not. There are only exceptions to this when the manner of leaving has been unusual, or if it's an employee.

What you have to realise is that admins aren't expected to stay in the team, God turnover is totally natural and the times when it's surprising are only when the time is very short (one of the reasons for Ephemeral periods) or when it is very long.

In my opinion, being a God sucks. It's lots of hard work with very little recognition. Unfortunately for me Estarra tempted me into her house with gingerbread men and chocolate biscuits, and now I'm locked in the basement and given one meal a day if I code well.

There's no real cause for concern though, because in terms of the fraction of Ephemerals that actually make it to Godhood we're actually above average, so the turnover will continue, and Lusternia will roll on into the future with Estarra bellowing for more power and Roark screaming that he cannae get any more.

WHAT HAPPENED TO FAIN?!? DID I MISS SOMETHING?!?

Remember, we had Auseklis for more than six months. We weren't here for alpha, and many weren't here for beta. He was there for those times, and then left a bit into the play year.