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My only thing was, with your own artist, you can potentially set it up so that the problem with Anya disappearing would never happen again. You see it everywhere, where the high-end artists find new venues to pump out their talent, and then those of us that have already secured art from them, are left out to pasture.

So unless we shuffled around between several 'approved' artists, we could potentially be screwing ourselves all over again. And there are still about 20+ active Fa'e that need growings, so we would need at least six artists, and that's still 3-4 Fa'e per artist. I think that's a fairly large load, for fullbody pieces.

Would we be paying those artists out of pocket, or would the shop pay for it? I mean, some people HAVE already paid a whole lot of money, and then to pay on top of that...idk. I liked finding your own artists because then people with friends could potentially get it for free.

But I'm not against having staff artists. I just don't know how it would work.

Does that makes sense? I tried, lol.

Agreed. And I think we've all had the experience of being a dedicated lurker/pet-owner at some shop just to see one of the staff artists put in 200% on their own pet, and only 50% (or less) on the other pets they do...

Seconding DO WANT of the message board post for first page of thread. But that's likely going to mean a second shop mule, one that all of the Guardians have access to, and starting a brand new thread for Fa'e... Do we want brand new thread? I have mixed feelings, but would like to know what others think.

Tentative Survey Results!

What I have so far...! (Courtesy of my g/f to help me organize it and type it up!)

To begin with...

36 Guardians,
7 Questers, and
7 Lurkers

have filled out the survey so far!


And now, the data.

1. If you are a Guardian, what stage is your Fa'e?
   Teen - 15
   Youth - 11
   Toddler - 3
   Baby - 2
   Kid - 2
   Adult - 2
   
   Result: The majority of Guardians answering either had a Teen or Youth stage Fa'e.
   
   
   
2. What's the number one area that has kept you from participating in Fa'e?
   Limitations of obtaining a Fa'e - 11
   Hiatus from Gaia - 10
   Lack of main thread activity - 7
   Waiting on someone else to RP - 6
   RP specifics - 6
   Questions about artwork - 3
   Questions about major plotline(s) - 2
   Lack of guild activity - 2
   Questions about growths - 2
   Lack of major events - 1
   
   Result: The majority of individuals are not participating because they don't have a Fa'e. Many Guardians are on hiatus from Gaia. Beyond these things, lack of activity in the main thread and in RP is negatively affecting participation. Several Guardians have questions about RP specifics.
   
   
   
3. When it comes to artwork, which would you prefer?
   I would prefer a combination of staff artists and privately commissioned artists. - 27
   I would prefer no official artists; instead, let Guardians seek out and commission their own artists privately (see: Iarla). - 11
   I would prefer full-time artists working in the shop. - 7
   I would prefer part-time and/or guest artists in the shop. - 5
   
   Result: The majority of participants would prefer a combination of staff artists and commissioned artists.
   
   
   
4. How should obtaining a Fa'e be changed, if at all?
   New Fa'e should be allowed to choose to be Lost Children or first gen if they want. - 25
   Only Lost Children or children of current Fa'e should be permitted. - 9
   A completely new class of Fa'e should be instituted. - 8
   The current rules should stay the same. - 8
   
   Result: The majority of participants think new Fa'e should be able to be either Lost Children or First Gen!
   
   
   
5. How should management at Fa'e be overhauled?
   There should be specific task forces for each area that needs to be worked on. - 19
   One person should take up the reins and have a task force beneath them. - 14
   There should be individuals who manage the areas in question. - 10
   There should be one task force that covers everything. - 6
   It shouldn't be; it should stay the same. - 1
   I have a different idea that I'll post in the discussion thread about. - 0
   
   Result: The majority of participants think that management should be changed by creating specific teams which work on different areas in Fa'e.
   
   
   
6. If an event were to be held in Fa'e tomorrow, what would you like to see? (Fa'e has high RP standards, so keep in mind that any event will probably involve some of it!)
   A metaplot event. - 17
   An event where the current Fa'e/Guardians vote a quester into the shop. - 13
   A contest similar to the Lost Children contest. - 10
   A flaffle-based event, with the finalists RPing off to prove their skills. - 5
   A standard RP flatsale type event. - 5
   I have a different idea that I'll post in the discussion thread about. - 0
   
   Result: The majority of participants are interested in a metaplot event!, followed by an event (see: IoDM) where current Guardians and their Fa'e vote in (a) quester(s).

So I was thinking of the specific task forces...here's what I thought of so far...

Art/Growths - Team in charge of managing staff artists, approving commissioned artwork, and managing growth forms for individual Fa'e.

RP - Team in charge of roleplay; will require several knowledgeable members with past plot experience. I.e., oldbies who know the Fa'e plot and shop setting well, as well as newbies, to bring fresh ideas and insight.

Main thread - Main thread posse!

Questers - Maybe sort of like a subgroup of RP, the questers group manages the quest guild/subforms, approves Fa'e quest threads, and proposes quester-centric events. Should be composed of dedicated Guardians and perhaps a small circle of questers who have really proven themselves as an example in the community. These questers would be elected by the active quester base as representatives on the team.

Events - Team which organizing new shop events, working closely with the other groups to gauge what the public as well as the current Guardians would like to see.


These are based on the survey results & those areas which need a jumpstart in Fa'e. We need ways to not only provide for the current Guardians, but to shape a new incoming set of Guardians. We need to entice back oldbies who have gone on hiatus, who are maybe just waiting for the phoenix to rise here. I do think that the idea, once used in IoDM, where current Guardians/Fa'e would vote on a quester (or more) is an awesome one with a lot of potential. It'd bring the questers and Guardians even closer and allow for Guardians to take a good look at the quest threads to not only ensure toes aren't being stepped on, but that fresh myths are coming in.

i guess i missed the survey, hopping into this a bit late.

i wholeheartedly vote that we be responsible for our own artwork. fa'e moved well beyond an art-based shop a long time ago, i think we can safely say most of us are in it primarily for the story and the characters and procuring artwork is secondary. having the gold/money handy to procure a decent drawing is going to be a factor no matter what, and really it always was. i don't really see how this arrangement changes much, or furthermore how it could be proposed much differently and leave us space for when the inevitable happens and another artist is overworked and underrewarded and discovers they have better things to do.

i'll also throw in my support for more first gens and lost children, the latter especially.

I really like Stae's idea of how to vote in staff artists by having them do a growth and then having us all vote (without their names attached to anything) on who we dig.

Cerena's idea for the mini-plot advertisement thing is something I like as well. One reason I have a lot of respect for Arrien is because she is really good about creating mini-plots and things with a variety of Fa'e. At one point, she even started a little something with Dustin and Caoimhe that made me want to be around more because it actually gave me something to DO with my Fa'e. So, while I don't necessarily think it needs to be on the front page, I am down with the Shoutbox idea or revamping the thread in the guild or something.

I don't mean to burn a lot of questors by being against just voting them in once a quest thread is approved, but let me explain more. I think that having a few events (maybe every three months?) where we have some kind of major RP event that includes a contest for a Fa'e would be better. I also think that Lost Children Fa'e from here on out is a good idea. If someone is getting a second generation Fa'e, then I think it's cool to start them as babies, but overall, I like the idea of moving in the direction of LC Fa'e.

Also, when decisions for contests are made, I would like for all guardians to be able to cast a ballot. I know that this might make some people cry "popularity contest" at it, but I think that every Guardian's opinion matters. Of course, not ALL guardians would vote since many are inactive, but if there was just a call for votes and a cut-off date for receiving them, then those active Guardians would be able to be a part of the decision.

Well said Aki (T). I really like your idea of the contests that happen every few months. There's a lot of variety that can be used for that, switching the contest types around, etc.

I myself was actually surprised that so many people are for either first gen or LC Fa'e. (I thought for sure it wouldn't be that way, but the majority of people in the survey have voted for it so far.) - I encourage anyone who hasn't filled out the survey to do so, as well! It gives us a 'big picture' idea for some of the issues.

I know what you mean. Arri is really great about engaging others in her roleplaying. That's why I love RP'ing with her so damn much! heart Agreed, there.

I myself don't mind either way over the voting. A few judges or all of us I am pretty okay with, as long as the judges are chosen from amongst everyone instead of as 'friends' (because that's certainly not fair).

I ditto what Arrien said. No exceptions; you either have your vote in by the time and date specified -- or you just don't get your vote counted. That way the active guardians who feel most invested in the new blood potentially entering our little pool can just make sure they pay attention to the deadline, and those that aren't as worried about it/active don't have to feel some responsibility to read everything and vote if they don't want to.

(P.S. Arrien -- Yes, yes, and yes. I dig the Dusty storyline, and it's an easy one to fudge on. "Oh, they've been keeping up the business, seeing each other every now and then, blahblahblaaah." I'm looking to move Caoimhe more in the direction of figuring out a bit more of where she came from, who she used to be, but I'm dragging my feet on it. We shall discuss whenever you wrap up the current happenings. ))