A Way to Better Differentiate and Aid New Players on This Particular Server -- For our Community

Hi there!

I know that the GM's are actively encouraging us to spread the word of this nostalgic Old Maple server to encourage growth and expansion of the community and ML population. It makes sense as, in the long run, it keeps the server more economically feasible, active (e.g., more players to PQ and train with), healthy, social, and overall enjoyable.

I imagine that one of the reasons the blue job advancement notices were placed on this server were to actively encourage other players to reach out to them for (1) a congratulatory note or (2) for philanthropic motives (especially for first job advancements). However, please correct me if I am wrong.

[[[SIDE NOTE: By "philanthropic," I generally mean being kind, offering anytime help, advice, maybe a "starter pack" of mesos, potions, hand-me-down equips, a party with a higher level character to help complete quests etc. -- Don't get me wrong I'm not saying other established players should donate millions of mesos or completely bend over for them, but something that helps make the game start off a little easier and little more social and friendly. Something that basically says, "Hey, you're wanted here in this server, and we're glad that you're here!"
As a personal anecdote, I was given this kind of "philanthropism" (if this is even a word) by another established player, and this helped me immensely start off here on a more positive note and kept me going to this day. It also made me quit playing in a certain other rather toxic server (I'm sure many of you know which one I am referring to xD) and settle myself here.
Also, why be philanthropic? Well, the reasons stated above (keeps economy going, makes server more active (e.g., more players to PQ with), makes the server more social and enjoyable) are a good start. But there could be other subtle benefits as well.]]]

A potential barrier I see with respect to the "philanthropic motives" aspect is that it is hard to differentiate between a player who is truly new to this server or a well-established player who is making, say, a mule or secondary character. After all, people will never really know if the new character truly belongs to a newcomer to this server, so why risk being a philanthropist if the action will be in vain or will result in a scam?

I therefore propose if there is a way for the server to differentiate between the aforementioned two different types of players (the true new player vs. the longtime player making a secondary character). I don't exactly know how this could be implemented (maybe you guys can help me out with this), but perhaps the following could be implemented.
- Truly new players to this server would be identified by their IP address
- The blue job advancement notices (especially for first job advancement) would appear only for these players to basically announce to the server that a new player has arrived and we should offer them a warm welcome and ideally some form of "philanthropism".
- As an incentive to encourage such "philanthropism", the established players who perform these actions to the truly new players would receive some sort of reward (maybe vote cash? -- I know we're looking for ways to get more vote cash). In order for the reward to be granted, the new player would have to indicate somewhere who helped them.

This would also release some burden from the GM's part (if this even was a "burden" to begin with). The onus is taken off the GM's to help out truly new players, thereby freeing them to perform other GM-related duties.

A potential caveat to this issue which I foresee is that this assumes that most, if not some, players would actually be willing to offer the kinds of "philanthropism" stated above. I was personally lucky to receive it during my first days on here, but I don't really know if other established players have as well and if it really impacted them as it did for me.

Let me know what you guys think! Happy to keep the server and the conversations going!

 

Offering congratulations to both new and longtime players for job advancements/levels doesn't bother me in the least. In fact, I would personally encourage that.

What does bother me is some player who may want or try to commit acts of philanthropy to new characters who may pretend to act like they're new to the server -- its an easy way to scam (esp if it involves mesos or good equips). If there was a way to differentiate the two types of new characters mentioned above, we would not have to risk such a scam and perhaps people would be more likely to be more "philanthrophic".

I'm also not saying others shouldnt help established players get their secondary/mule characters through rough patches/areas. My point is just to make truly new players to this server standout or be more noticeable and therefore more prioritized in terms of helping them. It might make them feel more welcomed to this server and more likely to stay, thereby expanding our community and population.

Thanks for allowing me to clarify if it didn't make sense! I appreciate your feedback.

 

Lmao! I saw those "Shiv" IGNs today too and immediately thought: "All the more reason for this to be implemented!" Lol!