Requests
(redirected from Souls.Requests)
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- 1. Basics
- 1.1 Character Slots
- 1.2 Puppies
- 2. Requests
- 3. Reasons for Auxiliary Rejection
- 4. Additional Notes
- 5. History
- 5.1 Post Counting
- 5.2 Auxiliary Slots
- 5.3 Character Order/Priority
- 5.4 Puppy Requests
- 6. More & Resources
See our Procedures topic for basic information.
We strongly recommend reading this document before asking a question about your auxiliary character slot or puppy request: your question is probably answered herein.
The Request Post Counter Tool is linked from, and its password is given in, the header of the Requests forum, which is accessible when logged into an active IC or Roleplayer account.
1. Basics
1.1 Character Slots
- Players may play one character initially.
- A second character slot is automatically granted after meeting these requirements:
- Four weeks of membership
- and 35 IC posts.
- Slots for additional (tertiary, quaternary, and so forth) characters must be requested from and approved by the administration prior to joining with those characters.
- For slot requests, all of the Player's current active characters' posts are tallied. Players are expected to meet certain activity levels to attain auxiliary requests.
- Slots are kept “forever,” and are lost only when a Player…
- …loses a character in an Activity Sweep due to failure to post after a 4-week period
- …has no active characters
1.2 Puppies
- Puppies are evaluated similarly to character slot requests. However, only the character(s) using puppy points are evaluated, and the 'SA does not take into account the number of characters the player has or the activity of any other characters when evaluating puppy requests.
- Please see our procedures page for further information on, as well as, current requirements and allocations regarding Puppy Points.
2. Requests
- Posts are separated into two week brackets, and activity is evaluated according to those brackets.
- For character slot requests, the administration will tally IC posts from the past eight weeks at the time of the request.
- For puppy requests, only the past six weeks are counted.
2.2 Numerical Guideline
This is a guideline, not intended to be taken as an absolute or precisely rigid guide. The staff discusses all requests before voting, with the majority vote being staff's decision to approve or deny a request.
Players consistently achieving this level of activity...
Inactive: 0–2 posts per two week bracket Dismal: 2–4 posts per two week bracket Poor: 4–6 posts per two week bracket Average: 7–9 posts per two week bracket |
Good: 10–12 posts per two week bracket Great: 13–15 posts per two week bracket Stellar: 16+ posts per two week bracket Super-Stellar: 20+ posts per two week bracket |
2.3 Example Auxiliary Requests
Example One
Jackal has made 56 total posts in the last eight weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 20 |
Coyote has made 55 total posts in the last six weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 16 |
Wolf has made 51 total posts in the last six weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 18 |
Example Two
Azazel has made 20 total posts in the last eight weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 0 |
Baphomet has made 16 total posts in the last eight weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 2 |
Example Three
Oriax has made 33 total posts in the last six weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 7 |
Muriel has made 17 total posts in the last six weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 4 |
Bill has made 23 total posts in the last six weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 3 |
Jimmy has made 13 total posts in the last six weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 3 |
Zytha has made 12 total posts in the last six weeks. 2 weeks ago - today: 7 |
3. Reasons for Auxiliary Rejection
Our standard Auxiliary character rejection template includes several reasons a player may have been rejected for the request, as well as their evaluated post counts.
- Low post counts and low activity.
This reason, when given, indicates total numerical activity is the issue. If you receive such a reason, you should work on boosting your character's posts in general. Try for more threads, spree threads, faster threads, and anything else you can think of to increase your total number of posts. - Lack of consistency between characters, e.g., one character has 50 posts while the other has 5 posts.
Players given this reason most typically have neglected a character or character(s) (e.g., one character has 30 posts per bracket, while another only has 5 posts per bracket). Look at your numbers and see which of your characters needs more posts, and try to consistently post with that character. - General lack of consistency: very long delays between replies, frequent posting for a few days between long absences, etc.
Players given this reason most typically should focus on posting at least every other day. Try to find a schedule that works for you -- get on every few days and make a post or two; don't stockpile your replies up.
4. Additional Notes
4.1 General
- 'Souls does not have a limit to the number of character slots a player can have.
- Your slots must be "filled" before requesting a new slot (e.g. you cannot play two characters and request a fourth slot).
- Slots do not expire except in two circumstances:
- If you fall inactive (i.e. have no currently active characters), all your slots are removed; you must re-earn each slot upon rejoining.
- If a character is removed for inactivity (as opposed to being voluntarily dropped or NPCed), you lose a character slot.
- Remember: posts made after your request topic is posted do not count toward the request. We have no way of evaluating these posts. Make all the posts you can first, and then request.
- Time Between Requests — Before making a new character slot request, please ensure that it has been:
- At least six weeks since your approved slot request (and you have filled all of your available slots).
- At least two weeks since your denied slot request.
4.2 Increasing Your Post Count
Try to boost up all of your characters as much as you can -- this can sometimes be achieved by:
- Check the Open Threads, or post some of your own!
- Spree threads are when players post back and forth quickly over a short time period (usually a few hours). Ask for sprees in Thread Requests -- but try not to rely on sprees for requests, as we are looking for consistency, too.
- Cycle through posts with each character. This can be tough as it requires you to switch perspectives really quickly, but it can also help get your post count up and get you to think harder about characterization. Recommended especially if your issue is balancing multiple characters, but also good in general.
- Set aside a particular time per day to post and just post (like an hour or so). Don't do anything else, just post and write! During this time, remove all distractions (shut your phone off, turn the music up, and request not to be disturbed by housemates). It's amazing what you can get done with a little set time!
- Post a few Read Only threads. RO threads are an easy way to post without being obligated to continue posting to a thread or waiting on a thread partner and replies. Some find it tough to get partners, or they easily overwhelm themselves with threads. ROs are a good way to offset obligation. Always make sure you keep roleplaying with real players, though!
- Self-thread, if it makes sense for your characters to meet. You'll always have someone to reply to if you do this!
- Close old threads; sometimes it can help to have a "fresh start" to get your motivation back up.
- Participate in pack threads!
4.3 Extenuating Circumstances
The 'Souls Assemblage does not evaluate requests on any other factors -- OOC activity, membership longevity, recent absences, dropped plots, and other such extenuating circumstances are not evaluated for any requests. This is in the interest of fairness -- such reasons can be subjective, and we much prefer to evaluate on hard numerical data. It's objective and can be evaluated in the same way every time.
Similarly, the procedures and restrictions surrounding requests were established for a reason: many players (the 'SA included!) can be grabby-handed with characters. If we all could pick up every character we wanted on a whim, we'd wind up with tons more dead threads, dead-end plots, and other things that are detrimental to the roleplay. Similarly, it's not fair to make exceptions and allow someone to pick up a character before they've waited their six weeks or two weeks, unless we're willing to make that exception for every player who comes to us and asks.
We'd like to reiterate that the procedures are as they are and we don't make exceptions for anyone -- admins, mods, leaders, and all players, regardless of personal circumstance, are all required to adhere to the same procedures in the same way. We understand that it may be annoying as a player to have to wait, but we must insist on a fair, even enforcement of the rules and procedures each and every time. We certainly aren't saying you can't try and ask, but unfortunately, our answer will always be the same.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding! Thank you.
5. History
5.1 Post Counting
Historically, the autochecker was not made available to the public, as there was a possibility of overloading the database if used too frequently. However, this was changed in December 2017, when it was made available for player use with the warning to not abuse it. When the tool was not yet-made public, players were encouraged to use a manual counting method, that, while a bit more work, could still be done to an extent.
Click for more...
Prior to development of the autochecker, the administration manually counted IC posts based on the set bimonthly brackets — the autochecker did not exactly adhere to these brackets, but it was slightly easier to track your own posts using this method, and you can still get a general idea of your posts by using this method. Below is an example of how brackets would have been done:
- November 1-15: #
- November 16-30: #
- December 1-15: #
- December 16-30: #
5.2 Auxiliary Slots
Prior to fall 2010, secondary character permission was not automatic, and second characters needed to be requested like other auxiliary characters.
Before November 2016, there were no auxiliary slots. Each auxiliary character needed to be earned individually. So for example, if you drop a third character and want to bring in a new third character, your recent post history with your remaining two characters would be evaluated again to determine whether the new third character would be permitted. There were no slots to retain.
Due to this, there were other factors that were taken into account when processing auxiliary character requests, but activity was, always, the single most important factor when the administration evaluated a request.
Click for more...
Player activity was also evaluated by these factors:
- Ratio (Show)
- Reply Times (Show)
- Post Length (Show)
- Inconsistency (Show)
- Absences (Show)
5.3 Character Order/Priority
Before OOC accounts were introduced in August 2020, players had to stipulate a Primary character and then list Secondary, Tertiary, etc. characters. When the forum still operated this way, players could have their Character Slot requests rejected because of “improper balance between characters.”
Click for more...
- Improper balance between characters, e.g.: a tertiary character having the highest post counts.
Players given this reason for rejection most frequently have an improper balance between their primary and auxiliary characters. Sometimes, this can be remedied by swapping character order so the most active character is the primary.
5.4 Puppy Requests
Prior to 2014, the six-month membership requirement to qualify for puppies was on a per-character basis rather than per-player basis. This meant that the specific parent character(s) needed to have been on-board for a minimum of six months before being able to even request puppies.
6. More & Resources
- Check out this spreadsheet of our 2012 request data (January - July 2012) if you'd like to see how real requests pan out! We absolutely promise it's not that scary. c:
- Time and Date Calculator -- use this to help yourself figure out dates for requests!
- FAQ -- Puppies
- Puppy Bracket Calculator — created by Gen
- Character Slot Bracket Spreadsheet — created by Despi