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The City ([personal profile] citycenter) wrote2023-04-15 01:21 pm

ACTIVITY CHECK.





ACTIVITY CHECK.

GUIDELINES.
The activity check page is always open. Mods will check activity from the 1st to the 3rd of every month, with cuts being posted no later than the 4th at 11:59PM PST. Submissions must be in by 11:59PM PST on the last day of the month. There will be no warning list and no reminders. There also will be no edits to activity check comments after the deadline, so please make sure to double-check your links and math before the last day of the month!

Upon acceptance into the game, please comment on this entry with your player handle in the subject line. For every character you play, please respond to the thread with the character's name in the subject line. For each month the character is in the game, please reply with the month and year as the subject line and your activity in the comment field.

Excluding the first month that a character is in the game, base AC is 30 points per character. Characters are also able to gain a maximum of 15 overflow points per month. Please see the below table for the breakdown of points and this comment for an example AC submission.

Points Type of Activity Definition
2 Network comments/replies Any tags that are not in-person interactions, such as texting and calling (video included). These can be posted in any community or inbox.
5 Log comments/replies
(including TDM1)
Tags for in-person interactions, regardless of format (brackets or prose). These can be posted in any community and can be after a transition from network comments to action.
10 Starters
(network, logs, events, catch-alls)
These are prompts, open or closed, that can be replied to by others. In the case of "empty" starters where players reply to themselves with prompts in individual comments, the empty entry or top-level counts as 1 starter. Your replies to your own starter (ie. the prompts themselves) count for 0 AC. 2 The classic style of a starter containing all prompts, open or closed, also counts as 1 starter.3
  1 TDM threads are treated the same as community threads, i.e. 2 points for network-style comments, 5 points for log-style comments 2 Replies after another character has tagged in count as normal log/network comments, players simply cannot collect AC for prompt comments along with the blank starter
3 This allows for players to organize their threads as they wish without unfairly awarding points in either direction nor basing AC on number of prompts written


You can link to as many examples as necessary in order to meet AC. You do not need to have a certain number of replies per thread or post. For example, if you have 15 different network replies in 15 different threads or posts, you can link to all 15 to meet AC.

If you post an event starter, and then tag that event thread 7 times, you can claim 10 points from the starter as well as 5 points per comment, for a total of 45 points.

Players can gain AC points from comments to threads that began in the previous month, as long as the comments themselves are dated within the current month. However, if a thread began earlier than the previous month, comments to that thread are no longer eligible for AC. For example, if a thread begins in August and continues into September, players may use comments posted in September for September's activity check. However, even if that thread continues into October, those October comments will not be eligible for October's activity check.

Threads from previous months are also ineligible for AC if they have already been used in the previous month. For example, if you claim 15 comments with Character A in October and then continue the same thread into November, you may not claim the same thread for AC even though the comments are newly made in November.

Any points past the required 30 points for AC may be used as overflow points. You can acquire up to a maximum of 15 overflow points per month. Please see the rewards page for more information.

After the activity period has ended, mods will freeze the comments of characters who have passed; no approval comments will be posted. For any activity check that has math issues, mods will comment with a warning for revisions that must be posted within 24hrs. If no revisions are posted to correct the errors, the character will be cut. Any characters who do not post activity check comments at all will be cut without warning.

CHARACTER'S FIRST MONTH IN GAME.
In a character's first month in the city—meaning the same month that they are accepted to the game—the only thing a player must do to pass AC is to post the player top-level and character top-level to this page. (This is part of the acceptance instructions, so everyone should be doing so by default!) It is not required that players post a check-in comment for a character's first month in-game.

However, if a player is feeling ambitious and would like to hit the ground running in terms of activity and overflow points, there are two options available.
Option 1: Players can claim their new character's TDM top-level for 10 easy overflow points, even without completing any other activity. The TDM top-level can only be claimed in the same month the character joins the game, so don't miss out if you want the points!

Option 2: If you want all 15 overflow points, players can optionally complete a full month's worth of AC. That's 30 base points + 15 overflow points for a total of 45 points. The TDM top-level can comprise 10 of those overflow points.
For further questions regarding activity, please see the relevant section of the FAQ. Further queries can be directed to the mod contact.

ACTIVITY CHECK FREQUENCY.
Most months will have AC, even months where there are significant holidays. If the mods decide to cancel AC, this will be announced to the player base in advance.

In order to allow players some freedom, each character gets one single-use "coupon" per year for free AC. Players cannot claim overflow points during your free AC month, but you also will not receive a strike for failure to meet AC.

To use your free AC month, simply reply to your character's thread as you would normally with "FREE AC MONTH" in the body of the comment and the month/year in the subject line.

OVERFLOW POINTS.
Characters are able to gain a maximum of 15 overflow points per month by posting activity that is above and beyond the required 30 base points. For example, a character who posts 40 points of activity will pass base AC as well as receiving 10 overflow points that can be banked for future redemption at the overflow rewards page.

Along with the ways that characters can achieve base AC, the below table gives examples of some types of activity that do not count for monthly activity, but can be counted towards a character's overflow points.

Overflow points cannot be claimed during free AC months. This includes both game-wide free AC months and free AC months obtained by spending a get-out-of-jail-free card or using the free AC coupon.

More information about overflow rewards points and how they can be spent can be found here.

Points Type of Activity
10 TDM post1
2 / 5 Interacting with potential new characters on TDM2
5 Response to end-of-event survey
15 Asking the
secret kiosk question
.
   
  1 Can be claimed only by new characters in the same month as their acceptance to the game
  2 Can be claimed only by established characters; can be claimed only once per month (meaning multiple TDM responses will not yield additional points)

WARNINGS, STRIKES & HIATUSES. WARNINGS & STRIKES
There is a warning & strike system in place to address cases where a player does not fulfill the game's AC requirements. In a majority of cases, the mod team will first issue a warning; subsequent issues with AC will result in strikes, and three strikes will result in removal from the game.

Circumstances that may result in a warning or strike include:

  • Posting AC that does not meet the base requirement of 30 points;

  • Submitting AC with broken HTML that makes it difficult or impossible for the mod team to verify the activity;

  • Posting AC using comments that are dated in the previous month or using comments to a thread that was already used for AC in the previous month; or

  • Posting AC using threads that began longer ago than the previous month.

  • Players who know that they will not be able to meet AC for a given month may also choose to take a strike on their own by using the code provided below. If something comes up that prevents you from posting an AC comment or making AC, please reach out to the mod team using the mod contact page to let us know. We can only work with you if we know something is up!

    Alongside issues with AC calculation or dates, the mods may also issue warnings to players who are perceived to be engaging in patterns of behavior that do not contribute to a collaborative game environment. Some examples of these are:

  • Using identical CR to pass AC for three months in a row. For example, if you use Mickey, Donald, and Goofy for AC in June, then the same three characters for AC in July, then the same three characters for AC in August, we may issue a warning.

  • Using last-minute proofs to pass AC for three months in a row. For example, if your character seems to randomly hit up the most recent posts at the very end of the month, we may issue a warning as this seems to be tagging out for the sake of making AC only.

  • Posting multiple top levels but ignoring replies for three months in a row. We understand that everyone is busy and that sometimes life happens, but if it becomes a pattern of posting without replying, we may issue a warning.

  • Once a player receives a warning, that player has one month to show improvement. If the mods are unable to see any improvement, the character will be issued a strike. If the issues continue for another month, that is an instant second strike.

    Should a player receive three strikes for their character, that character will be removed from the game. Depending on the nature of the strikes, we may consult with the player regarding their other characters as well.

    Strikes can be cleared with two months of meeting AC (if the player took the strike) or with two months of improved AC (if the mods issued a strike).
    HIATUSES
    Hiatuses can be taken for a maximum of four consecutive weeks, except in extenuating circumstances that have been discussed with the moderators. They must be submitted before the 15th of the month to avoid a strike (except in those extenuating circumstances).

    In order to take a hiatus, a player must do two things:
  • Post to the hiatus page to inform the mod team of their hiatus.
  • Post the hiatus code below under their activity check toplevel with the correct month's header, the same way one would to post regular activity.

  • Players can only take a hiatus once every three months. In order to take back-to-back hiatuses, players must use a “get-out-of-jail-free card,” which can be received via overflow rewards, or their once-yearly free AC coupon.

    A hiatus cannot be taken if the player has an uncleared strike unless there are extenuating circumstances. Please contact the mods if you find yourself in this situation. For information regarding hiatuses, please see here.

    CODES.
    Activity
    Hiatus


    Strike
    Free AC
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