Should I use a form to accept my members? examples is below:












|Or is it to insensitive to do that. Maybe give a more happy feel then robot? Please voice your opinions below.

Well I use Multi-Mod, because of the simplicity of it all. It takes two clicks for me to accept/decline and then move an application to wherever it needs to go, because I'm a big lazy pineapple. [=

But I know that some people do like to have admins write something themselves, I can't really be bothered with it. xD

Although what you've written does seem a little. "Blah! Here I am! Look at me!" Mainly because it's all in caps. xD So maybe try.. without caps? I mean.. not without them entirely - unless you want that - but just not completely in capital letters. [=

On the site I'm on, the admin actually made a graphic that says you know... 'welcome and all that' and it looks really good- it fits the site very well. I didn't think of it as robot. However, I do like when admins write something they like or that they don't like about my application because then I know they actually read it. I agree with Seanu about the all caps thing, as well. Maybe the 'accepted' etc part can be all caps, but the rest of it normal and if something about the character has pleased/displeased you, you can add that after the blurb thing.

I sometimes make graphics too; that's always a nice way of putting things, provided they're not hideous with a red background and lime text that blinds me when I try to read it. xD But si, you could keep the "ACCEPTED", etc. in caps, whilst the rest of it.. doesn't look so intimidating. [=

Wow I'm surprised I got someone to reply in the first hour of posting it. :lol: Erm I was thinking of just using that until I could get someone to make me a graphic of accepting people. Then advising the administrators to write something about them after. Alright thanks for telling me. Also I love having my finger on the shift button please don't make me take it off. -pouts- But also it kind of matches the skin because everything seems better in caps then in regular post.

I guess that in some cases, things do look good in capitals. [= Not in this font though. xD In fonts like Georgia and Times New Roman, however, caps can look nice, should they be used tasetefully.

On a side-note; I hate having my finger on the shift key! XD At one point I completely ignored it and thought "forget this" and typed in lower-case all the live long day. Sometimes if I feel lazy, I still will. But I use caps lock rather than anything else. [=

The caps hurt. I don't think I'd read them.

Otherwise, they look fine, although I think it would be cool if you could add things on and sort of personalize the forms for each individual player -- why they were denied, or why you thought their applications were good. Stuff like that.

I would say NO to the form idea on principle. I think it gives the impression of distance and leaves members feeling as though you didn't appreciate their work. You can check out some of my accepted applications to get a feel for how I reply to them, if you like.

I do like the idea of a form rejection, though. I don't think you need linger over rejections, since, well--you don't necessarily WANT the person to come back.

I like to accept people straight away once I've read through everything via the form version of acceptance. But for denying, I like to go into detail, because an application I deny is often terrible, so I want to just rip it apart. XD And that always requires a personal touch, rather than a pre-recorded message. x3

I like multi-mods + a small accepted/denied blurb. Multi-mods are good because everyone gets a pretty "O HAI THERE!" with info to get them started. I like multi-mods with links to model claim threads/a "introduce yourself" topic/the plotting forum, to give people direction and such. A little blurb about what you liked in the accepted application, and it doesn't have to be anything big, helps make it personal, and un-intimidating.

You know what I do, I usually have a separate place under a specific category for applications. When they're accepted, I just move the applications to a male or female sub-board under a board called Character Profiles or lack thereof. But I make a note that admin may not get to their applications right away as they need to review them. It works out pretty well actually, and doesn't waste posts or get confusing. =)

That just strikes me as cruel.

I agree. Tearing a profile apart, although it sometimes feels SO good really isn't good at all. Members and guests of your website still see that and a lot of them will go ":-/ Do I want this happening to me?" And see the person as a bad admin and that's not really good. Just saying. I've done things like this before and had admin that did it too, and let me tell you, the site died really fast. D:

Ripping apart applications is so juvenile it makes me want to heave my lunch. I best keep a bucket by my desk so I don't splatter my stomach contents onto the carpet every time I see someone's horrible attempt to be an almighty RP ruler. Fail, man.

As for the real topic of this thread, I say that either way works, though personally I think the deny message is kind of harsh. In a way, it's like you don't really give a crap about their application so you just paste an indifferent message on it. If you want to use multi-mods, I'd suggest you use it for the accepted message only.

Way to attack, lol.

I usually just use an "automated" message on applications or send it via PM. But when I'm denying an application, I also go into detail, because if I don't people will think it's being unfair... So I try to explain as much as possible so they'll understand and hopefully be deterred enough to not hang around. I wouldn't describe it as "ripping apart," though.

EDITS~ I think automated messages are okay. I'm not offended when people use them and I don't think "omg the admins don't care about me~" just because they don't include a personal message about what they liked. It hasn't seemed to hurt my sites before, so. =]

Honestly, I found the accepted message very confusing. Plus there are a few errors in your forms, which if you use them you might want to fix.

The all caps thing is a bit much too. Makes it a bit harder to string along / read coherently. I think caps are great for titles and such, but not whole messages. Plus, it's like your yelling, or very "in your face" which I know I don't much care for from admin when I'm new to a site.

i've done it three different ways on three different boards. on one board, i just posted a small welcoming message to the application that went something like 'congratulations! you're accepted. welcome. great bio.' it would vary from application to application.

on my vampire board, i don't post anything, i just move the applications.

then, on my newest board, we've got a template that we [the admins] use that has the same coding and words save for the member group. so it says 'accepted welcome to the blah blah' and it goes on like that.

i must admit, i don't like the first one much, anymore. the second one seems as if no one was really paying attention to it. the third one doesn't have graphics but the text is done up neatly. it's my favorite form thus far.

if you're going to post messages, i know it might sound shallow but you might want it to look a little nicer. like patho said, the caps is a bit much.

as for the denied post, if you're giving them the chance to revise it and all, why would you tell them that they're denied? to me, that's saying 'hey! your bio sucks and i won't accept you on this garbage. try again.' why would i want to try again when you flat out denied me?

instead, i just post what i think should be fixed and then worry about posting the acceptance form. if i deny the application, it's because the person has given up and didn't come back but i LOATHE denying an applicant so i try to help them through it to make it work but few ever want to put in the effort.

and then there's the pending... again, it goes with the denied. if you guys aren't sure, just say that you've got to talk it over, or just don't reply to the application until everyone has spoken about it.

-shrugs- but that's my opinion and it's only an opinion.

*doesn't have an application form*

But my personal experience is that I don't care. I just want to see that you've accepted me, and I've always thought those "Welcome to <insert name of board here>! Now go be part of our community!" messages were rather trite.

I use multi-moderation. One click and I've accepted an app, moved it, AND posted a little message that says it has been accepted, and they are free to start as soon as they so wish.

It's not insensitive, my message, I don't think. Its the same thing everytime, unless I add on at the bottom after, but because it gets moved when I do that, people just check for their name anyway. They don't seem to read the topic after its been accepted, I have found.

I personally like to leave messages. I know I could do it faster if I just used a form already used but I don't know. On the first site I joined when RPing I was greeted with a message telling me how much they liked it, and really encouraging, nice things that made me think they head really read it and found something to enjoy from it and then made a personal responce to it... I read how they denied people and it was in the same manner, just saying stuff like.
"Hey! Good try but unfortunatly... Blah blah" And saying what needs to be fixed.

I sort of picked up that sort of way because it really made me feel great about starting out and I found also more people were willing to try again if the message was personal and directly to them rather than the same thing said to others.

Though I do like the idea of just giving everyone the same, quick message.

I hate those default, copy&paste accepted/denied posts. So impersonal, and downright lazy.

I have to agree. I don't mind when I get them but I would never just copy and paste something to accept a member.

I have set up multi-mods, but haven't used them, as I usually have something to comment on my bios. Most often, if they do not have all the info i want, or something needs to be changed, i write it out for them. I haven't had to outright deny an ap yet, but then my app process is kind of intense, so about halfway through the soon to be members that quit are usually the ones that i don't want anyway. My acceptence is usually an ACCEPTED Welcome to blah blah blah, I can't wait to see you arround, and that is if the bio is accepted first go around. That is also the reason I created my multi-mod. However, my acceptance aftera pending notice usually says something like, "Thanks for fixing 'blah blah', I like the way you changed it (as usally on this site problems come in with trying to bring the canons into my particular plot), I am glad you are with us ACCEPTED, welcome to XMS"

For denials, I'd probably simply PM the member, after giving them a chance or two to change things around. I don't think ripping it apart, or even denying it in front of the rest of the members is polite. After the member goes along their merry way, i'll take down the bio, and will pretend like it never happened.

The idea of having forms for acceptance and pending is a good one, if that's your flavour of pickle. I shy away from having a form for denial, however. That's like saying "You fail!" to someone over a tannoy. I prefer to handle application issues/rejections via PM, as it spares the applicant (and the staff) any embarrassment publicly.

The forms do look well-assembled, though. Perhaps all the caps is a bit much but overall it looks clean and presentable.

I don't like it. It strikes me as impersonal, as if the admins don't have the time to sit and give me a tailored response. If they don't have the time to do that, then how can I expect them to have the time to play with me?

Aside from not liking it, I don't use them because getting members is a slow process for me. I have the time to sit and give them a personalised response. I don't feel like this should be a rare thing, either.

I think that because this is usually the first port of call for player-admin communication, it requires the personal touch. This is their first impression, while you should do your job swiftly and do it well, you should also remember that it is the small things that matter the most.

A personalised reply over an automated one gives you more brownie points. It means they feel as though you're treating them as an individual, not just another applicant through the door. If you start treating members like cattle, you're getting off on completely the wrong foot.

I wouldn't be impressed by a bog-standard, cookie-cutter response to my application, whether it's being thrown straight into accepted or not. If they accept it, maybe even throw in something they enjoyed, or something they think has plot potential, then that's a bonus. I feel like they've actually read my application, rather than looked at it, realised it's 6 pages long, and accept it because if it's that long then surely it's good enough, or whatnot.

I have one for my new RP just because I was having so much fun playing with multi-mods. :o But no one ever gets outright "denied" on the site because it's just for fun. I would never lable someone with a big, fat "DENIED" sticker.

I don't deny people. I let them work it over until its ready to be accepted.

If I have something to commit to the application, then yeah, I will change the message up, but I have multi-mods on, so if its absolutely poifect, then I just accept it with a click. If they happen to be in the cbox, I give them a smile and a wink and a congrats. *shrug*

If not, its all in there for the takin'. I just don't sugarcoat it too much.

Graphics are good to use when accepting/denying characters, but you shouldn't use a pre-made graphic to explain why or why not a character was accepted. The admin/mods should write a brief but original paragraph explaining why they chose to accept/deny the character.

I agree with most everyone here. The caps seem annoying and maybe you should post them somewhere and see if it's in your face annoying (like it is here) or not.

My only other problem is that I wouldn't like it, really. I mean, when I was an admin on sites, I liked to add little blurbs after I either accepted or denied people. I rarely denied people, though. I liked to make them feel sort of personalized either, way, though... as if they knew I actually read it instead of just skimming it.

I can't really say whether or not I'd use forms for anything like this on my own site, but I'd prefer not to. I'm a really friendly person, so I try to always type something specific and original for each new person coming in. However, that's going to become increasingly difficult as more people join. On a really active site with tons of members people are very understanding about not getting a personal, lengthy welcome message, but I'll always encourage people to be as friendly and personal as possible. If you're going to use forms, just try to make them nice ones!

At Meliora I send every new member a PM to introduce myself and tell them a little bit about the game, the members, and how they can get started IC and OOC. I also review and respond to all of the applications with mandatory alterations and friendly suggestions to make their characters not only acceptable, but more developed than they would be without outside input by someone who knows the game well. When I decide to accept an application, I usually reply with another message that says "Welcome to Meliora. . . Officially" or something like that. I express my thoughts about the character (I love so and so's personality, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he has to offer Meliora), and suggest that the member contacts a specific person for plotting , checks out open threads and/or posts in the Plotting forum for brainstorming. This is all somewhat impossible on a more member-filled site, but I'm going to try to keep it up as long as possible.

I've never used an forms like that on my forums, but I've seen them used on places I've joined. Personally, I see nothing wrong with them, but I don't necessarily see a point to them.

Normally, I have boards for pending, accepted, denied, and I have the members post in pending to begin with, then one of the staff members moves it into the appropriate board. If its denied, we leave a simple message, no form or anything, and PM the same message to the member as well, that way we can be sure they saw it. If they were accepted, we change their display name, put them in their group, and they're free to go.