Greetings all,
It’s been a year and a half since I began my time working for Mav as Deputy Grand Master, and even though I’d been part of the Dark Council for some time in many different discussions prior I’ve still learned a lot during this time. What didn’t change though has been my dedication to the best possible member experience for our community, so I want to get into that a little in this report as we wrap up a crazy 2020.
I hope you find the information presented to be useful, I spend a lot of time thinking about these things and how the quality of life can be improved for members. How we can improve the tools available so we spend more time having fun and less time struggling with the tools themselves. This isn't an exhaustive discussion on everything going on and there a range of policies and documentation-related endeavors going on.
I’m personally excited to start working on the projects below and engage with the team on our story going forward after the last vendetta and see what fun we can all have together next year.
As leaders within the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, we strive to create enjoyable and memorable experiences for all our members. I won’t get into all the different tools and necessary programs we interact with as part of that experience but we’re all familiar with what they are. I’ll focus the conversation instead of four different parts of the member experience where I’ve focused my attention upon completing possessions and where I hope to find others to join me in improving them.
This part focuses entirely on awareness. Driving additional traffic into the site, to getting people to sign up and join to become part of our community. Once they’ve signed up, we move past this. Once a new member is Novitiate 1 rank, they move out of part 1.
Some different topics we’ve discussed on this:
Some various open conversations/projects:
We are all aware of positions created that specifically tackle this, and resources created to help with recruitment. Medals and incentives to bring in new members to the community. I and a few others actively monitor our Google Analytics account and I share reports with various Dark Council members to see how we are doing.
This part of the experience focuses on engagement. It starts at Novitiate 1 after they decide to join, and ends after Novitiate 4. First emails are sent out after joining, and any new member must validate their email address, complete the Trial of Identity, and do a few basic tasks to get to the end.
Some different topics we’ve discussed on this:
Some various open conversations/projects:
The biggest effort I’ve put into this is helping to review the hundreds of emails sent by our site triggered by various events and working to clean them up. The emails are almost an extension of our presence and is critical to retention from join into engagement through early Novitiate ranks. Many members join and never get past the Trial of Identity.
This part of the experience really gets into the learning curve of the tools and how the community works. It’s when people really get to know the community and its members and what it’s all about. It starts when a member hits Novitiate 4 and lasts until Journeyman 4. The Shadow Academy and the societies become important as pillars of activity and progression while still working through a relatively linear Promotheus path.
Some different topics we’ve discussed on this:
Some various open conversations/projects:
Currently, the biggest adjustments here are probably around all the Rollmaster discussions. It’s obvious that there is a need for centralized mentorship and accountability but there isn’t a one size fits all solution. From my perspective, the Dark Council can do more to help with tools and communication by the site, allowing the Clans to do what they each do best to mentor new members. Where part 1 and 2 have the biggest opportunity, this overall works well and hasn’t been my major focus though it is discussed.
This part of the experience gets into really engaging with the community and participating alongside other members and having fun. Everyone is aware at this point of how to interact, how to participate, and what progression lay ahead. It starts when a member hits Journeyman 4 and will last until they reach Equite 4. The societies, possessions, and the rank and medals systems, as well as vendettas, are important parts of this.
Some different topics we’ve discussed on this:
Some various open conversations/projects:
Probably the largest ongoing effort here is with the experience based progression system that’s been on the books for years. It predates me on the Dark Council and was some sort of thing in some form as prestige or any other name. However, since taking over as Regent Atra has done a great job at keeping upgrades in possessions moving and we’ve constantly refreshed societies as needed. The Dark Council has a lot of focus here but not myself personally in more than a supporting role to other projects.
This part of the experience is reached by members of the community who put in a lot of time and effort and gets into what there is to do after progression to the highest of the Equite ranks. It starts when a member reaches Equite 4, and lasts indefinitely for everyone who does as they continue to enjoy their time and interact with the community with less frequent incremental accomplishment in the current experience. The Elder ranks, the Legendary possessions, the highest Sacramental medals like the Golden Lightsaber and Diamond Sword are all part of this.
Some different topics we’ve discussed on this:
Some various open conversations/projects:
Frankly speaking this gets the least attention of the various experiences though where applicable we want to find ways for members to continue to find purpose and goal in progressing. Yet like any game it’s all a careful balance. I thought about this a lot more as Regent than as Deputy Grand Master but it’s something I am aware of and always want to find ways to improve where it makes sense.
So now that I’ve done my best to outline all the various approaches to the member experience, certainly not in an exhaustive way because we have so much to offer, I want to briefly discuss what some next steps are.
We currently have active projects going on some of the items above. There are ongoing projects I didn’t even list that impact the experience in some way but I didn’t get into details. One specific project I started over a year ago and have framed and need to execute on are our emails.
I am looking for any members who are interested in helping to update the emails sent by our site, working with a template I’ve been working on, and possibly help work on several other projects I have above. It’s something I’m on the cusp of working on myself but I’m at a point where I can be far more effective with help and I’m hoping someone who has the time, energy and willingness to help out. I really hope if you’re considering it you take the time to apply and see what great member experiences we can bring.
You can find a link here to a Google form to submit your application. I’m told this is effective by other Dark Council members in finding out who is interested.
Beyond that, you’re always welcome to send ideas to Mav and I for projects that we can review.
A while back, or a long time ago depending on your frame of reference, I started a project with the Consuls to replace the Clan title holder rings with unique items. This was always my original intent with possessions and it was a chance to do it properly. There were delays but with most the work done I’ve talked to Atra and decided to finish this project myself two years in the making. As of right now the following items are available in possessions to members who hole a Clan Title in the respective Clan.
Note, as part of this agreement with the Consuls that open this project. All the rings that had formerly been restricted to Clan title holders, are now available to anyone to purchase who wants to wear rings representing any of the Clans. When Clan Vizsla eventually names their first Clan title holder, their already pending item can be released as well.
Around a year ago I published a tentative schedule with events. It’s always tricky to release a schedule because there are so many Clans and things that change, but in the end I understand it is an important planning tool for Consuls and leaders. Though I won’t publish anything to the whole Dark Jedi Brotherhood I will work with Consuls to put together a 2021 plan we can work around and use for planning purposes.
As with before, this will include celebration level events run by the Dark Council intended to be low effort, as well as Dark Council story driven events that are made up of crescent awarding competitions to progress our overall story arc and plot as well as vendettas where we block out anything else from happening.
I bring it up here so everyone knows we have this schedule and you can discuss concerns with your Consul. We all try to be present to show up when vendetta time comes, and while there is no perfect time we try to pick the time to accommodate members the best. The last one I released ran through December of 2020 so it’s about time to look to the future. We’ve all probably had enough of 2020 anyways.
The holiday season is upon us, and there’s still a pandemic going on. I hope everyone out there stays safe and finds time to enjoy themselves.
Evant Taelyan
Deputy Grand Master
You need to be logged in to post comments
Lots of projects on the go and a great way to make your mark if you get your name in there!
Ooh. Great report, Evant!
Fantastic report.
Nice work, Bossy McBosserson!
Awesome report there Evant. A great opportunity for anyone who wants to help with the DJB stuffs.
Awesome report!
The plans/projects definitely look promising. I like the new Clan Holder title items as well. Thanks for the report.
Nice report, Evant!
Very much looking forward to us having a "yearly plan" for the DJB! This will greatly help in planning events, competition loading, and other such things down to unit level. ^^
Greatly welcomed!
I just read this and I love the idea of an experience/prestige system that ties into society rank ups for promotions in the EQ ranks. As someone who can't always been free to participate as heavily in vendettas depending on on going real life circumstances I feel that would reward members who engage more consistently over time, even if it is in smaller increments. Thanks for this great report.
Seems like a solid opportunity for people that want to help make the club even better than it is.
Great initiatives Evant!