Correct.

We actually don't. Or, more accurately, having more people is nice, but it's not our primary concern. We want good RPers committed to Glomdoring's story. If that's a small amount of people, that's fine. If it's a large amount of people, that's great, too. But our structures will primarily be built around the quality of the RP environment.

Although, reading over Xavius' posts, I guess the Blacktalon are just after numbers right now, so maybe your friend would have an easier time going that route.

Without diving too deeply into another passive-aggressive match for the ages, I think Xavius abbreviated:

to:


While taking a jab at Narsrim, his favorite target, on the way.

Play nice, boys!

---

As to others - Glomdoring's entrance depends on the people involved. Sometimes they'll want a deeply held reason for your conversion, sometimes they just don't want anything glaringly wrong. There's good and bad for both directions. I tend towards the second. Tajalli tends towards the first.

I thought Estarra's main complaint about Glomdoring was its low numbers.

That's not what the OP was asking about, if I read it right.

The OP was wondering why IC reqs were so complicated (in his view) if Glomdoring wanted a higher population. You said Glomdoring didn't want a higher population, just good roleplayers. But I'm fairly sure that Estarra had asked for higher population, and most everyone agreed?

I think there's a difference between "not wanting a higher population" and "not wanting a higher population at the expense of the RP environment," but maybe I'm not seeing what you're getting at.

I believe the trouble was (and I think Shayle is intimately aware of this, since she was the one who unfairly took most of the blame) that our roleplaying standards were too high to maintain a suitable population. And since no one is advocating completely doing away with them (in fact, the people you seem to be upset with are the ones who huddle around and indulge in atmospheric nostalgia at least once every other day), I'm not sure why it's necessary to turn yet another thread into a melodramatic argument about this or that faction of Glomdoring.

I certainly do not believe anyone meant to offend, and I really do apologize if my private joking with a friend resulted in hurt feelings when he then brought it to the forums (being greatly more sociable than I). I'm more tired than you know of arguments like this.

Regarding the actual topic of this discussion, I have to agree with Veyda.

Glomdoring's entrance requirements aren't difficult by any means, if someone asks me to sponsor them then I'll usually do it unless they have some shady past. It's not hard to find people willing to sponsor you provided you haven't made a pest of yourself in the recent past. Even people who have had a dodgy history with Glomdoring have found it easy enough to get in, Caedryn as an example has already mentioned this.

That is kind of icky. Course it's just one side of the story... but since no one's denied it, the grain of truth must be fairly significant.

Really, though it is a lot of hoops and red tape to go through (mostly cause of having to find four different people and hope they have the time/inclination to speak with and/or interview you when you can be around for it), it isn't hard to give the right or at least the not wrong answers to any question as open ended as "Why do you want to join the (insert your org here)."

No one says you've got to be 100% honest, even IC. Your character's fallen in love with a Glomdoring guy and you want to move to the forest to be close to him - maybe that wouldn't pass the interview and your character would know that as much as you do OOCly. I mean, the Basin of Life ain't THAT big. General knowledge of the attitudes and mores of the Glomdoring would be known and so coming up with something a bit more appealing to those viewpoints would just make sense.

At least you don't have to pass a quiz. I hate quizzes. Open ended interview questions are wonderful. Actual tests of knowledge get me so flustered I forget things I've read a dozen times and look like an idiot. I get so nervous during Guild Advancement type things that I get the shakes sometimes!

My entrance interviews have never, ever been extrenuous or over-elaborate. I ask the person who their sponors are, double check with the Ambassador, and then ask the person why they want to join. Then I explain what we do, who we are and how we live with a follow-up question that is, shockingly every time, "Does that suit your own lifestyle?" If the Doe agrees, and has not been a ridiculously annoying prat in the past, badda-boom. They're in after the oath.

I'm really annoyed with all of these topics that harass Glomdoring's entrance policies. We are not the only organization that guards itself, as Everiine's already alluded to. We're remarkably more gentle than we have been, as per the Decree, and our numbers are up.

Now that I'm thinking about it, absolutely NO ONE has asked Druken to sponsor them. He's in the Court and is a Minister, so HELP GLOMDORING shows his name, but no one has approached him about it. Anyone else noticing that trend? That we're here, they need sponsors, but don't bother asking?

You scare them. They look at Help Glomdoring and see Druken and tremble and decide to wait until someone else is around.

Or maybe they get told they've got to find four people and feel discouraged and come immediately to the forums to complain in lieu of trying. Which is silly. One should always try before becoming discouraged or you're just creating a self-fullfilling prophesy of doom.

Noola. <3

You calm me down and I you for it.

That is in short what Tajalli does. If someone doesn't seem sure or to understand Glom, she'll ask what they know and if they'd speak with some known groups about the different entities they've completely skewed wrong, otherwise, it's generally not a concern.

Glomdoring's entrance policy has been in place since before Taj was Ambassador - only thing she did was adjust and broaden who could be sponsors. Newbies get in without a problem, those who've rank and time in realms - yes, there's a hoop - though it's not a difficult one.

I don't think I have ever turned down sponsoring anyone..... I even had someone say they didnt have some grand reason, no miraculous calling they just felt like it and I said okay

Heh, this is like the opposite of converstaions i have with people.

Stranger: Hi, I'd like to learn more about Glomdoring?
Me: Why?
Stranger: Well, I might want to move there some day.
Me: Why wait? Do it now and you can learn anything you like first hand.
Stranger: umm umm umm, damit let me just ask you wierd IC questions... PAHLEEEASEA!!!!
Me: Fine fine... (banters away)

I really hope you are not saying this topic is harrasment already. I already said im not complaining about it.. what this is about in case anyone didnt pay attention is -- Im trying to understand you guys. Not only glom but serenwilde.. and why the divergent philosophies in accepting players..

I mean, cmmon.. at the start of the basin.. was it always this way? that the communes will ask for three sponsors while the city will say "get in quick". What was the reason for it? is there a problem that was being addressed so that was instituted? Hey, someone should give another history lesson (nudge whoever that someone is)

As for the "we need you to be completely dedicated" bit -- let me say again that sometimes.. you arent so dedicated at first and then overtime you grow to love the place and become dedicated.

And yes, i thought glom wanted a higher population. Or estarra did. There was even a big post about it a few years ago. Estarra will meet with people asking what was the problem and try to fix it.. So I was more than surprised when it was written here "we dont want players".. -- im of the opinion that rp alone does not enough weight to be used as basis for letting someone in (you know if someone new was going out of bounds rp-wise.. it would be really easy to just say "psst.. that is not our rp" and i bet that person will change.. so its no biggie for me -- but this is just me)

And people should not get so offended so easily.. the questions and the posts are not even the list acidic.. lets just have a nice mature informative conversation shall we?

I believe it's already been clarified that "new" people can join the communes without any problem. Newbies don't have to jump through hoops for membership in either the Serenwilde or the Glomdoring, and the new denizen-allowed entrances should streamline the process even further for those without any hurdles already in their paths (enemy status, for example).

I would also expect that an established character who sincerely wanted to join a commune (or city, for that matter) would already have some concept of why they wished to do so, and how their own ideals and beliefs meshed with those of the organization they'd be joining. It seems a bit silly to me to say that organizations should let everyone in who asked, and then boot out the undesirables later. It's much simpler, much more efficient, and much more appropriate (when you consider that these changes often include membership in a new guild and a credit investment) to determine whether or not someone would fit well within the existing org structure and ethos before allowing them membership. Otherwise, Jane Doe might join Glomdoring and spend a small fortune purchasing credits and becoming an active part of one of the guilds only to be told (after her "trial membership" period was up) that she wasn't suitable. Naturally, there are exceptions to every rule and extenuating circumstances for every situation, but I believe the current systems do allow for some flexibility on a case-by-case basis where it is needed.

Both of the communes are relatively insular, to varying degrees, while the cities seem to be actively expansionist. They proselytize more, in my experience, than Serenwilde and Glomdoring, and so might be more willing to accept converts en masse. Even those assumptions, however, don't take into account the RP standards of the organizations. Magnagora, for example, might readily accept new recruits for the glory of the Engine, knowing that they'll be beaten, whipped, brainwashed, berated, dominated, and seduced into submission.

I'm not certain when these policies were developed for the communes, but I don't believe they're overly restrictive or oppressive. It simply requires an understanding of the commune's ideology and a bit of interaction with its members. Since you'd be doing that anyway, once you joined, it doesn't seem like an especially onerous task.



Please correct me, someone, if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the crux of the issue was Glomdoring's atmosphere and its toxicity, with its smaller population being either a symptom or by-product thereof. Additionally, no one in Glomdoring has said, to my knowledge, "We don't want players."