I'm planning on doing an Activity Check next month and I was wondering

1.) How long of a time should I run the Activity Check for?

- I was thinking of letting the Activity Check run for two weeks, is that too long or not long enough?

2.) For those characters who do not respond to the Activity Check, what should I do with their characters and Bios?

- I do have a "graveyard" forum for unfinished applications and I was thinking of making a similar forum for characters who do not respond in a timely manner to the Activity Check, that way they don't loose the character bio they worked on.
- Canon Characters would be put back up for adoption, but should I also put the bio up for adoption or allow them to write their own bio and/or rewrite the existing one?

3.) Should I delete the unactive characters on the final date of the Activity Check run, or should I allow them to remain a week in case of stragglers?

I think that's all the questions I have so far and I would appreciate any and all comments!

- Rae

for me, i run an activity check like this:

-email members about the upcoming activity check
-post the activity check
-go through my 'away forum' to see if any of the members posted that they were going to be gone during the time that the activity check is running
-add those members to the list
-give ABOUT one week to reply to the activity check.
-after the check is done, move the accounts that didn't get replies to 'VALIDATING'
-then, i send an email to the validating group, warning them that they have one week to get in contact with an admin to tell me why the didn't post in the activity check and where they are.
-after one week, i move their threads to the DEAD THREADS FORUM, their bios to the DEAD CHARACTERS FORUM, and their plots to the DEAD PLOTS FORUM.
-then, the accounts are deleted.

they're always welcomed to come back and their bios and plots are still there, should they want them but, it's to free up their faces and the like.

NOW!

if they're canons, they don't get that grace period of one week to get in touch with the admins because it states in the rules that canons MUST be active every week, at least three times a week.

-shrugs- but that's just me and some people might disagree but i hate misleading member counts and having faces claimed by people who are never there.

When I run activity checks on my board - which is done each month towards the end of it - I don't delete all who did not respond to it. I may delete a few, but that's because they also haven't posted in a long time already and so on. I simply also use them to make sure they don't forget our board, and also so everyone can see who is there and which characters are currently active :)

I always bulk e-mail the members, telling the activity check thread is up and they should go and sign it and so on...

I usually let it run about a week, that's enough time for all the active members on my board to reply to it. And then I also use the result list with all the names to create a new list for the "kissing game" in our games forum for the next month - so the characters in it are relevant to those who are currently playing :p

1.) I'd say two weeks was fine.

2.) I'd put all of their old things into a graveyard.. Because some people like to reuse their applications. I would not put the bios up for adoption though, because it might encourage new members to steal them.

3.) I'd leave time for stragglers.. Not long though, no more than a week, I'd say.

I believe that two weeks is fair. It seems like the normal time given for members to respond to activity checks. Just be sure to make any note for members who posted in the away board, if someone got in trouble or is on holiday for 3 weeks you want to make sure that you don’t delete their member account.

I agree with everyone else about keeping the bios, and just putting them into a graveyard. That way if members wish to come back, it isn’t difficult for them to do so.

Delete what is not yours. That's all I ask.

I agree on that part there.On one website I hate now, an active high school one, I used to be an active member and then was one of the members that quit due to lack of interest, and when I went back my profile was gone and I was so mad because I worked hard on it. :angry: And yet the other members who were inactive and came back still got their profiles moved to the dead threads, and yet mine got deleted. :angry: I wanted to use that profile and put it up on this RPG forum, but oh well. I made a new one. x.x

Contrary to what Dec just said, I disagree with deleting character sheets. I've been in situations where my only copy of my character sheet is up on the board. If that had been deleted, I woulda been in big trouble. I hate to throw useless stuff away, let alone a fully functioning character. You might have people who want their sheets back when they realise what has happened and you're both screwed if you've deleted it (you because they're angry at you).

THe easiest way to get around that, in my opinion, is have a staff-only forum where you put old character sheets. That way they're gone from public viewing but you still have them available if necessary.

I can't help on the subject of how to run activity checks, because I can't do them. I can say that don't ever allow people's character sheets to be taken over by another person. Three reasons for that. First is that you're not allowing the person who wants the canon to have their own interpretation. Second is that you then don't have any way to judge that new person coming onto the board. What if they suck at writing and have a bad attitude? If you're just letting them come in and pick up this shiny, finished sheet, you're asking for trouble. The third and most important reason is that it's plagiarism. That is not your work, or anyone elses' except the person who wrote it.

1.) I only make my activity checks for a week. I can’t stand to wait too long. By two weeks it’s just… too long.

2.) Put them in an archive that only you can see called… Dead Profiles… or something. That’s what I do. It works well.

3.) Well they’re obviously inactive. I’d delete them unless they’re important to the plot. Isn’t that the point of an activity check?

1.) How long of a time should I run the Activity Check for?
It depends on how active your forum is normally. If you think anyone who wishes to stick around will see it within two week, then give them two weeks. If you think it may take a month for some active members to see it, then give it a month. Just look at how often each person posts.

2.) For those characters who do not respond to the Activity Check, what should I do with their characters and Bios?
I recently did a Roll Call on my forum and those who didn't reply gave me cannon fodder because one of my lead characters is about to go ape-shit and kill a bunch of people. So guess what's gonna happen to those who didn't reply?? -evil laugh-

The best thing to do is get them out of the way through some means during RP so it kind of flows and doesn't disrupt the game. If you think they may return, just do a time jump or something where they may be going away for a time. If you know they're gone for good, just have the other characters talk about the death or the character moving or something.

OR! You could have some sort of huge natural disaster that kills off the ones that didn't reply! lol

3.) Should I delete the unactive characters on the final date of the Activity Check run, or should I allow them to remain a week in case of stragglers?
I don't delete any account unless they didn't have much of an impact on the story. I have a Deceased group and an Inactive group. If I think the player may return, they go into the Inactive group. If I don't think they're coming back, they're gonna get killed and go into the Deceased group.



Hope this helped some!

I'd say that you wait two weeks between the checks, like other people seem to agree with. Keep the bios in the graveyard, check.

However, I wonder if activity checks are all that useful. I mean, this is supposed to be fun and I don't think making people check in is really keepin in with the spirit of writers getting together for a good time. Sometimes being a forum admin is like being a party host, you have to let the party play out as it may and not try to "make" people have fun.

Then again, my forum only has 4 active writers now- so I guess my mentality isn't working. lol

*peaks in*

I always thought activity checks were more to be able to weed out the inactive people, especially if they had canon characters or important plot involving characters so they could adjust without them. *shrugs*

And, agreed, two weeks is a good time period.

It would be a good idea to let the people see the bio as a base, and to help them in writing the character, but it should be mostly of their own. Plus, its always more fun to write a character thats yours, and writing an original application kind of helps with the owner ship.

google cache.

I was on a site that crashed. We "lost" everything. But most of us were able to find our old threads by using an advanced google search and choosing the cache option. Nothing's ever really lost on the internet.

And I'd rather have an admin delete my work if they think I've left a site.

1.) How long of a time should I run the Activity Check for?
7-11 days.

2.) For those characters who do not respond to the Activity Check, what should I do with their characters and Bios?
Graveyard. 1 Week. If it is unclaimed by then, then delete the app.

3.) Should I delete the unactive characters on the final date of the Activity Check run, or should I allow them to remain a week in case of stragglers?

Your idea above is EXACTLY what I would say. A topic should only remain in the graveyard for about a week or 2 before you delete it, IMO.

I agree with what everyone has said thus far but did want to make mention that the rules on activity should be posted clearly on your site. That way, when you do delete someone for being inactive they can't make a huge stink about it. Otherwise they might take it personally, being deleted and all ^_^ If you make them agree to remain such and such active, though, then all you have to say is "well you didn't follow rule number 2" and then it's settled, no questions asked.

I think it is a bad idea to have a bunch of inactive accounts. Gives a false idea of what your forum is.... for example if you have 10 really great members but your count says 110, people are going to think your forum is something it's not. And I think having 10 really great members is so much better than pretending to have 110 inactive ones ^_^