one fed?

[guest]

Foregoing any old grudges, which I think are all cleared up by this day and age, and mixing together each set of participation rules etc. Would anyone be up for a merger of places into one huge simmed efed? I'd probably never happen, but it'd mean classic caws interacted with newer ones, any problems with having enough simmers etc would be remedied and all that kinda stuff. What do others think?

[Mistah Showtime]

That's an interesting proposal I think. Being a former fed admin myself, I know it's easy to get burnt out with the constant updating, creating, simming, managing, etc. of an efed and the board. Even with a large number of staff members it can happen, especially if your roleplaying multiple characters in that efed as well as others all at the same time. Keeping up with all your own storylines and then others as well can consume quite a lot of time. It makes things a lot less fun when your having to deal with all of the OOC things going on. You just have less time to RP and to deal with real life because of your commitment to running the fed. We all know real life trumps all, but you can get wrapped up in running a fed because you don't want to disappoint anybody. That can lead to difficult times. I am interested to see what others think, especially the fed admins, on this particular subject. Comments anyone?

[j]

My opinion on this is I doubt it would work because you need the right staff members, and they need to have the same goals which is rare in these days for example IWL I know not RP'd, not simmed and people who are involved I asked to join so I suppose that means I pre vetted them. I suppose IWL is really not an EFED nor a CAW league but a CAW showcase into a TV style format. I have my goals for it and yeah it all falls on me really if it succeeds or if it fails. With the proposed setting that a huge fed would fit into I feel that some admins cannot co-exist as admins. I was a former staff member at GCW and there were a lot of personality clashes which you expect to have some but not as many as I had, so I took the decision to leave and remain friends.

Also fed atmosphere is very important and for me often smaller feds provide a more tight knit group of friends and often larger feds like XWA and I suppose GCW it's a lot more strangers and then you get clique RPing which can be a blessing and a curse. I personally like to try and RP with most but you are drawn toward friends for feuds and stories. I must admit that my first stint in XWA negated the reason I went to RP there because I went there to RP with new people but I seemed to be only able to get matches with my friends that I had made in GCW. I am in XWA once again and I posted an O2A and got lucky I think. But my point is in a bigger fed it is easy to get lost and also daunting to some.

A big fed could work but if I am honest I doubt that it would last long because different Fed admins have different goals and in the end tension would happen and it effects the members also. I am sure that most people here can think of examples for themselves. Just think that having one big fed instead of smaller ones is down to personal preference. I personally like having options but that is just me.

[spyder78]

I tried this on a few now defunct boards.. and offered members a spot to either link to or use the board as a show posting forum too.. Like your setup here as a matter of fact, but had a few issues and it never got off the ground

But if done right it is possible to pull it off, just gonna be tons of work involved

[J-PyRo]

*Would be the worst person to work with on this one...* thank god I'm retiring

[The Super Villains]

Gave this much thought myself.

2008 was supposed to be my transition to fedhead/staff year. I'm dying to drop off the face of the RP earth, and stick to 1 character, as an involved staff member who helps push angles/matches only. The fact there isn't a fed who has actually stepped up and asked me to join their staff, is the reason I have

4 characters in GCW
1 in XWA
2 in OCW (Where I got my actual efed beginnings back on SYM)

You can say I'm spreading myself thin, but I'm making the most of what could very well be my swan song forever. I'd much prefer to do the 1 fed, 1 character thing, but as I said, no takers. So, my path is a weak one until that day comes.

IF by chance, an offer arises, then I'll gladly step down, and out, from my obligations with the right way out, and continue my efed career as strictly Staff/Fedhead, never to worry about getting matches, clique rp'n, or ppl who can't let the past, be the past.

[*†*Oz70NYC*†*]

As far as XWA goes, I speak on behalf of my brother as well in saying that it's evolved maybe a little TO big then what we intended. When we started XWA, the goal was to make something new. New characters, new handlers, new attitude. The LXW wounds were still fresh, but 3X still wanted to do the E-Fed thing. I had actually been out of fedding for a few months (seeing as I had no PC at the time, and I was working pretty ridiculous hours at the time), but I had just gotten my PC, and he came to me with the idea of starting something with no direct tie in to LXW. So the board was created, and with the help of Karl (Lionheart, who's been on our staff since the beginning) we went and scouted for talent. The original plan was a 30 man, 20 woman roster. But of course, word spread that we had started a new fed, and many of the old people who weren't involved in "The LXW Incident" came knocking, as did a bulk of TNB's roster as Karl had came to the decision that he was going to shelve TNB to focus more on XWA. Hence, the 1st expansion of XWA began...and it never stopped.

I spent a lot of time scouting feds around the net for talent, because I wanted XWA to be more then just an E-Fed. I wanted it to be it's own web community. Of course, it ended up becoming a monster all it's own. It was never our intention for the place to get as large as it has (310 total accounts made, over 120 handlers characters as of 2008 with some controlling multiple characters, with the remaining accounts being Staff accounts, inactive users or people who people who are on hiatus but have expressed interest in returning when time permits), and we've been doing it with a "1 Show" type format for ages. Only now, in our 3rd year have we decided to split into brands because the place is just to damn big nowadays. But the Achilles Heel of XWA has always been it's "Difficulty Level". Revolution's statement is only partially true. Clique Rping does happen, but what those who don't see the whole picture is that the people who do it in XWA AREN'T the ones they call "The Originals" the people who have been members since January 2007. To throw out names, guys the likes of Kayn, Scott O'Dell, Keith Wyle & Adam Devlin (AKA the original 4) have worked with damn near everyone who's walked into the door. It happens more with the new people who come in from other places who tend to think that they "Can't break in" against the more established characters.

That's the hardest part of not just XWA, but large feds in general. And it can't be helped. Some characters just outshine others. It's not a knock on the characters, some people are just naturally more creative then others. You have people who go for months with no real direction, unable to come up with decent angles, whereas someone like myself comes up with angles FOR people. Some characters, even if they have years of backstory and depth just end up not being that interesting because the handler is unable to "role with the punches" and do something different. It's a debate that continues to go on in XWA. And one I think will never truly be resolved, because it can't be. Yo can't force someone to change the way they RP. But at the same time, that person can't point fingers if their threads aren't getting reads. You character needs to stand out. In a big fed, that's a tall order to try and do. Especially when you might have some characters who are to regimented and won't fit against a more open ended character.

I'll use Jonny Punch for example. There might not be a more open ended character ever conceived then him. Just about anyone can approach him IC. Granted, the character's portrayed as being a drunk jackass, but if you're choosing to work with him, you know what you're getting yourself into. He's character that's interchangeable. Same goes for someone like Scott O'Dell, who in one month's time went from working a hard nosed, gritty feud against my character Ryan Fierhart, to working a comedic angle against Chet Dixon of all characters. It's those kind of characters that thrive in a "Big Fed" set up. Whereas someone with a more linear type character will struggle to find a way to break in properly. That's been what happened to damn near everyone who's past through XWA that's not a member anymore. And in the fact that some characters will overshadow others, that's the reason why a super massive fed I feel...while cool it would be...is a bad idea. Eventually, people will start getting upset that their character(s) aren't getting any reads. That will in turn trickle down into how they are IC, then how they are OOC, then they'll start getting more and more disgruntled until it all breaks down completely. I've been running E-feds for some time now, and I know it when I see it. I can tell just by the tone of an RP or and OOC post when someone's not happy. But in running a fed, the fed as a whole comes 1st. Catering to a single or a couple handlers because they're not happy is next to impossible when the operation is that big.

And to further on a point made by Revo, it does take the right kind of staff. Now I'll be the 1st person to say my track record hasn't been all that pristine, and the same goes for 3X. But we learned from what we did wrong, and also we've grown up as people. I'm in a business where knowing how people think is essential to business, and 3X is a department supervisor. So we're both pretty much admins 24/7, and that has translated to how we run XWA. We've both often times stated that XWA has more of a "business" type structure to how we run things. And in business, the best kind is the one that runs itself. And XWA is pretty much a machine of it's own design these days, but it wasn't always. Over the last 3 years, we've learned that the biggest asset to have is patience. To sit back, assess what needs to be done to make the machine better, and take action on it. What's also key is that fact that as staff, most notably as admins, our characters have to take a backseat to the rest of the roster. Since we started in 2007, Jon Payne's been in 9 matches in XWA. NINE. Simon Fierhart's been in even less, 7. And when we do break out our flagship guys, it's to help push someone else's character, like 3X did with Payne against Austin Harris last year, and I did with Dru to push MG and Sushi-X. Because the bettering of the fed means more then adding accolades to your character. That should be your only focus as being and E-fed staff member. Damn your own personal gain. When the fed as a whole looks good, you look good. Sadly, not everyone who opens a fed realizes that. As I've said numerous times to numerous people on IM, "Anyone can create and E-Fed, not everyone can run a successful one."

I'll close up this mega long post by saying that if it ever could be done, I'd support it full force. I'd even offer my services in running the place. But in running a fed that's already large by all manners of the term, and from the experience of running said large fed, it's more hard work then anything else. And I didn't even bring up the fact that it costs MONEY to run a fed as well. Server space and internet doesn't pay for itself. Plus there's the mods you need to make to your PC to be able to facilitate. My PC initially costed 400 dollars. But since then I've polled another 300 dollars into it for new parts (CD/DVD Drive, Graphics Card, Sound Card, Capture Device AND and 500GB External HD for storage and a 2GB Flash Drive for data transfer). It's rewarding for those of us who actually enjoy doing it, but that's the thing. You have to enjoy running a fed. Once you lose that, you're fed's pretty much doomed.

[!AdamantiumBallz!]

Some interesting and good points here for sure. But I think Revo said it best when he said that different admins have different goals. Taking into account what Kaoz said yea its all about the betterment of the fed but opinions are just sure to clash along the way. That can't be avoided at all. Whenever you get a group of people thats going to happen.

In theory it could happen but there are only a small group of people who are willing to take up the job of being an admin or staff member of a larger fed. The smaller ones like say CWE for example are the result of things like when people say its easy to get lost in a bigger fed and harder to get noticed. But they are good for the hobby of rping but sometimes it spreads handlers too thin and even though most wont say it it effects what they do in other places. Sometimes its a lot to keep up with multiple characters in different places.

That and a lot of other things will stop it from happening i believe. A good idea in theory and would make things a whole lot more fun for everyone everywhere but things in the past will always be there regardless of how much people say its not or whatever. Another big thing that'll stop it i think. When you think about it it all sounds good but do i think it will ever really happen i'd have to say i dont think. But its ok to dream once in a while. ;D