HOW TO MAKE A BOOTY GRAB THREAD
This thread is a work in progress.
If you are here you are welcome to read it and post any constructive feedback.
See something I missed? Have a question? Dissenting opinion? Constructive feedback is encouraged and appreciated.
As I post this I haven't even read it through yet for typos or continuity. It's late, I'm tired. I'll be polishing this some and perhaps adding to it as time permits.
Over time I’ve had quite a few users ask me for advice about creating a booty grab thread. I decided to write a tutorial so I could just point people to that. It’s pretty wordy but I tried not to assume the reader already knows this or that. Below is a list of the subjects covered in case you want to text search and jump down.
ADVANCE PLANNING PAYS OFF
PAGE LENGTH
THREAD LENGTH
MULTIPLE POSTS – NO
NAMING YOUR THREAD
PAGE 1
INTRODUCTION
RULES
POSTING QUALIFICATIONS
POST FORMAT
INVITES
THREAD PARTITIONING
ADVERTISING
CONTESTS
PAST WINNERS
BUMPS
SIG BANNERS
AFFILIATE THREADS / GUILDS
DONATIONS
DOCUMENTATION
ADVANCE PLANNING PAYS OFF
Before you actually create your thread you should have decided what you want and how you want it structured. Many users are anxious to create their thread and end up with false starts and either not getting what they want or having to start over.
PAGE LENGTH
Decide how long you want each page to be. Default from Gaia is 15 posts per page. I like long threads so that's what I used.
Some people prefer shorter threads - 5 to 10 posts per page - to reduce lag.
Depending on what you want instruct posters to -
15 posts per page - Post ONCE
7 to 8 posts per page - Post TWICE and delete one.
5 posts per page - Post THREE TIMES and delete TWO (IMO these pages are too short)
Some people also choose to control the length manually by inviting a few users at a time and keeping a close eye on the thread. They then create / delete their own posts to make the thread go to the next page and send out some more invites. This method gives them more control over page length but IMO makes the process way too tedious.
Note: If you create the thread in the Test forum or in a guild you control then you can tell posters to leave all posts and delete them yourself. That way it is easier for the posters and you can more easily see who is following the rules. If you create I the Test forum just PM a moderator to move it to the Aquarium forum when you are ready to go ‘live’. That is what I did after first making the mistake of starting in the Aquarium forum.
THREAD LENGTH
In addition to page length you should also give consideration to overall thread length. Not the bump part, the ‘meat’ of the thread with the good tanks. Your thread should be long enough that if a user plays a tank on page 1 or 2, by the time they go through all the pages any glows the find on page 1 or 2 will be NEW glows, not a repeat find of the same glow. It is frustrating to click on a booty grab only to get the message ‘You already played this game’.
When I created my thread I kept inviting until I had over 400 HT tanks. Statistically this guaranteed anyone going through all the pages would find something glowing (usually a number of tanks) and be finding new glows when they started over at page 1. After you send out hundreds of invites it will be tempting to call it ‘done’ and launch early. Avoid the temptation and make the thread longer. If players can easily loop through your thread in a short amount of time they will become bored and move on to another thread. Panagrammic recently stated one of the adjustments to booty grab will probably be reducing the number of glows. If that is the case players may have to go through more pages of your thread to find glowing tanks.
MULTIPLE POSTS – NO
Avoid the temptation to allow friends or great tanks to ‘post again’ later in your thread. As mentioned above it is annoying to find a glowing great tank of HT fish only to find out it is the same glow you played 10 pages ago. Take the effort to make every tank posted in your play section unique. IMO the only exception to this rule should be reposting your tank(s) on page 2 of the thread after all the rules and info on page 1.
NAMING YOUR THREAD
Give some thought to what you want to call your thread. It’s nice to have a name that stands out but avoid names that unnecessarily alienate people. You may not ‘sparkle’ but calling your thread something like ‘The Twilight Sucks Booty Grab Thread’ is probably not a good idea. People may remember the name but you can count on a lot of folks not liking it. I chose ‘Dancing Dolphins Raining Gold’ for my first thread because dolphins were climbing in popularity and a lot of users wanted to play dolphin tanks. In hindsight I might have chosen a shorter name.
PAGE 1
Be sure to leave yourself enough space on page one of the thread.
Create the posts you think you need, then create a couple more reserved posts. In my opinion you should create all 15 posts yourself then post yourself at the top of page 2. Delete any posts on page 1 you are sure you don’t need.
Page 1 is what people see the first time they visit your thread. Having only your own posts on page 1 gives you control over what it looks like. If you let other people post on page 1 and later they put something offensive or laggy in their sigs you don’t have much say about it.
My opinion is the actual booty grabbing should start on page 2 of the thread. Most threads have a lot of ‘blah blah’ on page one. It’s important stuff but makes players scroll down a lot to find the actual tanks on page 1. Having your own tank on page 2 still gets you play if folks skip page 1.
Some things to consider including on page 1 are Introduction, rules, contests, past winners, donations, banner codes, links to cross advertised threads etc. (more on these below).
INTRODUCTION
This is pretty straight forward. Welcome folks, tell them how great your thread is, post some cute art, whatever. If you thread is sectioned this is a good place to put links for those who want to jump to a particular section.
RULES
Clearly and loudly state in post 1 DO NOT POST WITHOUT AN INVITE, You WILL BE reported etc.
How hardcore you want to be is up to you but my experience is what ever rules you want people to abide by you need to be VERY CLEAR. 95% of the users are great. The other 5% can ruin your thread.
POSTING QUALIFICATIONS
Decide what your criteria is for posting and state it clearly in post 1 (qualified invites) and in invites. If you want to don’t want people to post unless you manually invite them say so. More control but more work. If you are doing group invites to qualified tanks then state clearly what is required to post. If you just say ‘good tanks’ you may find some tank owners differ in opinion as to what is ‘good’.
You have to decide for yourself but here are some examples.
Full tanks of high trigger fish. (Consider naming what you consider HT fish)
15 or more high trigger fish (or 12 or whatever)
No starter fish. (Consider naming them)
Post ONCE only. (Ignore duplicate invites)
No graphics or advertising in posts
NOTE: Once you have decided on your posting requirements stick to them.
It will be tempting to let your friends or guild members or starter tanks you feel sorry for get honored spots at the beginning of the thread. That’s nice and all but if you have a lot of crappy tanks at the beginning of your thread that is exactly what people will see. It doesn’t help them or you if people don’t play your thread. The exception would be if you are specifically making a ‘beginner tank’ thread. Be warned those threads are not as popular for obvious reasons.
A compromise I found when I created my thread was to keep a list of users who wanted to post but didn’t have good enough tanks. Once I had my thread created I invited those tanks to post at the end of the ‘good’ tanks but before the thread went live with bumps and contests. This maintained the integrity of the thread while still allowing some up and coming tanks to gain additional exposure.
POST FORMAT
Some thread owners let tank owners post what ever they want.
Some strictly regulate the exact post format.
I prefer the middle approach. I encourage tank owners to post a direct link to their tank, a reply link to their glow thread and a link to an analyzer for their tank (if they use those).
If you choose to dictate the exact format posters use you should use the code command and give an example in post 1. Some thread owners do manual invites sending tank owners already filled out posting code for their tanks so all they have to do is copy / paste it into their post. It makes the thread look uniform but it is a lot of work. You may get better response this way though. I have a text file with posting text I have made up for each of my tanks and tested. I dislike having to recreate it because a thread owner wants a certain font or color or order of wording. I will often give those invites a pass. It’s not disrespect to the thread owner, just limitations on my own time. My time is the reason I have the saved text file in the first place.
INVITES
The obvious choices for personal invites are PMs and profile comments.
As a tank owner I prefer to receive invites via PMs because it is easier to reply if I have questions or want to ask about posting my mules. Some thread owners use profile comments because (I think) more tank owners have their PMs blocked than profile comments. Some thread owners use a combination of both due to the built in time delays for sending PMs.
Qualified group invites can make the job a LOT easier and go much faster.
A good source is the various booty grab guilds. For example one of the services my guild provides is passing on invites as guild announcements. This is a win-win because the thread owners want qualified tanks and my guild members want opportunities to post their tanks. I do this free of charge, other guilds might want you to cover the announcement fee. Either way it is well worth being able to reach hundreds of tank owners in one go. I also have a thread in my guild for BG thread owners to post invites and threads for HT tank owners to post their tanks to. Even if you prefer individual invites booty grab guilds can be a good place to ‘shop’ for tanks. Existing booty grab threads are of course also a good place to look for desirable tanks.
THREAD PARTITIONING
Some BG thread owners choose to create their thread in sections. Some players prefer to play ‘pure’ tanks of all one type of fish because it is usually easier to predict the way the gold will drop and the type of game you will get as well as hunt down types of fish you like. Others consider mixed tanks more fun.
When I created Dancing Dolphins Raining Gold dolphins and watermeats were the main booty grab fish. The first several pages were pure dolphin tanks, followed by sections with watermeats, dolphin / watermeat mix, other pure tanks, other good mixed tanks. Users could choose to play the whole thread or just the section(s) they liked. You can still do group invites with a sectioned thread; you just have to send out multiple qualified invites (pure dolphin invites, followed by pure watermeat invites – etc.)
There are at least a few concerns about a sectioned thread. The invites are more work and take longer because you have to wait for all the posts of one type before inviting for the next section. Thread sections can become ‘muddied’ over time as tank owners purchase different types of fish. My thread is a good example of that. Gaia stopped selling dolphins so many of those tanks have other fish.
ADVERTISING
Once your thread is finished you want as many users as possible to know about it so it gets play. Some common ways of doing this are contests, bumps, sig banners, affiliate threads, guild announcements and advertising in booty grab guilds. A bit more on each of these below.
CONTESTS
When users post in your thread to play the contests it bumps your thread to help keep it on the first page in the Aquarium forum so more people will see your thread. The easiest contests to manage are dice roll and random number contests. They are hard to cheat because the player has no control over the outcome and can not edit the results and the dice and RN functions are built into the post options.
Other types of contests require more work from the thread owner and wins are more subjective. Examples are tek-tek contests, art or story contests, first person to post on page (x) and so on. I prefer dice and RN contests because everyone can see who won and they take the least amount of my time. I’m also not very good at art and tek-tek. I’ve seen some great contests in other threads so your mileage may vary. What ever type of contest you decide on I recommend keeping good records (see the section on spreadsheets).
PAST WINNERS
Consider reserving space on page one for listing past contest winners and what they won. I also post the approximate total value of prizes and gold given out. Over time this shows people what you are giving out, that there are actual winners and assuming your contests are great helps build excitement.
I also quote reply each winner stating what they won and that I just sent the prize. This helps people see I’m paying out and provides another bump.
BUMPS
If your BG thread is in the Aquarium forum (not in a guild) glow threads and other BG threads will quickly push it off the first page. Bumps help keep it on page one. In addition to self bumping and contest entries you can hire bumpers to bump for you. The cost is not bad. Currently 2-3 gold per bump is pretty common. That may change over time but I expect it to stay reasonable. I also get bumps from people playing the thread who reply to which ever tank is glowing.
SIG BANNERS
A signature banner (or art) can help advertise your thread. If your own tank is awesome and posted all over then many people will see it. If users like your thread a lot they may choose to include your banner. You can also post it where allowed such as in the advertising section of booty grab guilds, use it when sending your invites and so on. Post a sample of the banner and the code on page one for those who want to use it.
There are lots of users who will make banners or art for you. Banners usually cost less because they are easier to create (simple ones anyway) but I’ve seen some pretty awesome art advertising BG threads. Keep the image / file size small. Fewer people will use it if it is bloated. The images will typically be hosted on Photobucket or a similar site. Keep the file name short (e.g 1.jpg) so the resulting URL will be shorter. Avoid tinyurl if possible because some users will not click through on a redirect.
AFFILIATE THREADS / GUILDS
Many booty grab threads and guilds will cross advertise with you. You post a banner / link to their thread or guild and they post your banner link. If this interests you save space for it on page 1 of your thread.
Many BG guilds will be happy to help you announce the opening of your thread. Some have their own BG threads but many are happy to tell their members about another place to find good tanks.
DONATIONS
If you want to run contests but have a limited prize budget don’t be afraid to ask for donations. Some users may surprise you with their generosity (they did me). Just be sure to use the prizes for the purpose stated so you are not in violation of the TOS. I recommend reserving space on page 1 to acknowledge donors and what they donated. It gives donors recognition and a public thank you, it helps encourage more donors (like seeding a tip jar) and it shows you are publicly accountable for the prizes donated. In addition to outright gifts some donors have given me good prices on aquarium items knowing they were going to be giving to another user. If a user requests to remain anonymous I just list anon and the prize donated.
DOCUMENTATION
In my opinion it helps a lot to keep good documentation. I use Excel spreadsheets because that is convenient for me. Other programs are available of course. I don’t use fancy equations, just the basic columns and sort features.
During invites I kept a spreadsheet of everyone I invited, the type of tank, what page they posted on, date I invited them and (later) the link to their tank. This sounds a**l but it really helped me find duplicate invites, duplicate posts, track how many tanks I had of what type and so on. If nothing else it helps just to keep a list of who you invited. You can then alpha sort the list and check it against the next batch of users you are inviting. You’d be surprised how many similar user names there are and how they blur together after a while. Also, the reason for tracking tank links or IDs is over time many users change their user names but their tank number does not change.
I have another spreadsheet that lists all prizes donated (by me or others), date donated, donor name, whether they wish to remain anonymous, value of prize, winner, date prize won, date prize awarded, contest won in and what page on my BG thread the winning post is on as well as which account (main or mule) has the prize in inventory. For non gold prizes I use the MP value of the prize on the day it was won. By sorting the columns I can see who is winning a lot, total value of prizes awarded, what prizes I have available when I reset the contests and so on. This system also allows me to track every prize in / out since conception of the thread. No one has ever thought I was scamming them but if there was ever a question I have all the data to let Gaia verify the prizes.
(end – revision 4/28/2011)
