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Tuesday, June 6th, 2006
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4:38 pm - How Hangeth Thy Hammer, My Fine Friends?
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Welcome to MBP Friendlink!
In light of the recent discussions that have been going on in the community, I decided this might be a perfect time to remind people of the Friendlink service and what it can do.
When Friendlink first started, the idea was to set up some sort of buddy system program that could match new players with players who have been here for a while in order to make integration into such a huge community go more smoothly. Friendlink still does that, but there has been discussion of the past about branching out to also make it a cross-cultural sort of venue, if you will. Basically, this means that not only would we match newbies with oldies, but we can match people from one group with people of another group, regardless of how long they’ve been here, in order to help people meet new people they wouldn’t have otherwise met.
Since there seems to be an interest in it, I think it might be a good idea to finally open Friendlink up to that kind of service as well, and hopefully it will help the MBP community, as a whole, become more inclusive and less cliquey.
There is a good explanation of how Friendlink functions here, as documented by Friendlink’s founding father, the illustrious (and terribly wise and good-looking) Craven Moorehead. I thought it might be a good idea to expand a little on that and offer some suggestions as to how to get the most out of the Friendlink experience as well. So with that, I offer you the following tips.
(1)If you’re matched with someone, don’t be afraid to IM or contact your match, please. That’s the whole point - to get conversations and interaction going, and the person you’ve been matched with wouldn’t have signed up if they didn’t want to talk. So IM! Email! Comment! This person is supposed to be the one person you can go to with comments, questions, or suggestions.
(2)There are lots of things you can do, as an oldie, to help your adoptive newbie learn the ropes of MBP. These things include but are not limited to:
-Suggesting people that your match may want to add.
-Inviting your match into chats to meet new people.
-Explaining good MBP etiquette (good commenting habits, polite IM conversations, not stealing icons, etc.)
-Answering questions about MBP policy (how to get admitted into the community, how to keep OOC and IC separate, how to set up email and AIM, how to set up the required disclaimers, etc.)
-Explaining unwritten but widely-known community trends (traditional awards ceremonies, the OMGWTFBBQ, the difference between asterisking and storybooking, maybe even different attitudes toward certain habits like the ones mentioned in the above-linked community post, although I would caution oldies to try to do so in an un-biased manner. I.E. Don’t tell your newbie, “Never post cryptic entries, it’s annoying!” Instead, you could say something like, “Some people like cryptic entries, but sometimes they also get annoyed by them, so that’s something to keep in mind.” The idea isn’t to form a newbie in your image, it’s to be a tool they can use in developing their own style.)
In addition to these things, oldies can choose to offer the following services but are not required to do so:
-Help finding pictures, making icons and friends-only banners, and layouts.
-Giving your adoptee a shout-out in your posts.
-Engaging your match in a storyline.
These things are going above and beyond the call of duty. It’s not required, but it’s also not forbidden.
(3)You can volunteer more than once. If you’re an oldie and your newbie dies out or has finally flown the nest to function independently, sign up again. If you’re a newbie who feels comfortable that you’ve learned the ropes, come back and give back to the community by adopting a newbie of your own. Interest in the community tends to wax and wane depending on when people remember it exists, but it’s better for all involved when there is a constant influx of people.
(4)Feedback is helpful for me, as the facilitator of Friendlink, in helping me know what I can do to make the process more successful. If you have suggestions or concerns, feel free to and please do contact me on AIM at MarthaWainwrithe or via email at misswainwright[at]gmail[dot]com. Edit: My prayers for help have been answered in the form of the messiah, otherwise known as ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) dan_kessler, who is way smarter than me and way more responsible than me, so you can all breathe easily knowing that he's on the Friendlink staff. You can contact the wholly lovely Dan via AIM at not even dan or via email at dan_kessler[at]livejournal[dot]com. He's fully qualified to handle all your MBP Friendlink needs. Edit upon the edit: Now that Dan has been friendlinked with the great RP gods, a helping hand will come in the form of gary_lightbody. You can contact him on AIM at patroller gary or via email at gary_lightbody[at]livejournal[dot]com. Ask him about Guinness.
Also, remember it might take a little while for you to be matched if I don't have anyone to match you with. I try to do these as expediently as possible, but it's hard to make a pair if you've only got one journal left.
So, with that in mind, here’s hoping that we can keep Friendlink going to help grease the wheels of interaction in MBP. Thanks, guys.
-MW
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PLEASE COMMENT TO THIS POST TO VOLUNTEER FOR MBPFRIENDLINK.
Comments to previous registration entries are likely to get lost in the shuffle.
You will notice the application has changed slightly in light of the new cross-group matching service, which will be called the Exchange Student Program for lack of a better term.
The Application
Name:
Journal Name:
AIM Name:
E-mail:**
New Guy/Old Guy/Exchange Student:
What time are you usually online? (please provide the time zone):
How often do you sign on? (daily, every other day, weekly, etc.):
Is there anyone in particular you're interested in getting to know?:
Anything else? (what you're looking for out of this, what you don't want, favorite bands, star sign, food allergies, whatever):
**We are now requiring you to provide an email address. This isn't to make your lives more miserable, we promise. We just notify you of your new friend via email, and even though some people have email addresses listed in their userinfo, we really hate stalking you in order to spread the love. Please, please do us a favour and let us know how we can get in touch. **Note: If you do NOT have an IC email address (keeping in mind that if you have a paid account, you can give yourjournalname@livejournal.com), feel free to email me at misswainwright[at]gmail[dot]com in order to not reveal an OOC email address.
If you've already been matched with someone, don't worry about recommenting. We're slightly more organized than that. If you've been matched before and would like to be matched again, you can either fill out the application again or just remind us that you've been through the system before.
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I do a little bit of record-keeping here at Friendlink, and I thought it might be nice to share some stats. Since I started here at Friendlink, 53 matches have been made, which means we've matched up 106 different people (less a few due to repeats). This is a pretty amazing number, I think, and I'd like to see it even higher. Thanks to everyone who has helped out in the past.
current mood: friendlinky glowish
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Disclaimer
(302 comments |comment on this)
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| Thursday, September 8th, 2005
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6:29 pm - See Most Recent Entry to Apply
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| Sunday, May 22nd, 2005
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9:15 am - Hallelujah, It's a Revival. All we need is a delta for baptisms and some white gowns...
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Hello, you lovely MBPers!
This is a public service announcement. mbpfriendlink has been hibernating for a while, but it is under new management and is about to whir back into action. (Our lovely cravenmoorehead has handed over the reigns.)
This means we need YOUR help! This can be a great resource for new and old players alike, as everyone can benefit from making connections within the community. New members can have a guardian angel of sorts to help them get acclimated, and older members can get that nice, warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you help someone out. I know that I'm preaching to the choir since all of you who are reading this already have friendlink added, but with any luck at all, there will be loads of new people (both of the new-new and new-old varieties) showing up shortly to revive the service.
"Yes, but what does this mean for me?" I hear you thinking. Well, basically, it means we're going to gear up again. For those of you interested in getting involved, newbies or veterans, please comment to the entry provided with your information in the following format:
Name:
Journal name:
AIM name:
Are you a new guy or an old guy?:
What time are you usually online? (please provide the time zone):
How often do you sign on? (daily, every other day, weekly, etc.):
Is there anyone in particular you're interested in getting to know?:
Anything else? (what you're looking for out of this, what you don't want, favorite bands, star sign, food allergies, whatever):
Even if you've done it before, please fill it out again, as information changes quickly in the great technological universe. Keep in mind that some of you who were new guys way back when may be able to be an old guy now - spread the love you were shown. We need all the help we can get.
There may be an enterprising few wondering, "Yes, but what else can I do to help?" I know some of you might have burning desire and mad skills to donate to the cause, or at least I hope so. Since friendlink was inactive for a while, we want to try to drum up business and build it into a really effective and active presence in the MBP Universe that new members can rely on. So, do you have particularly fantastic talent for making graphics or banners? Do you have a head full of brilliant ideas for promotion or in general about how we can make mbpfriendlink bigger and better? Email Carl or me at zumpanogod[at]yahoo[dot]ca or misswainwright[at]gmail[dot]com if you'd like to help.
Thanks to all of you!
Yours in friendlinky goodness,
Martha & Carl
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9:12 am - See More Recent Post to Get Involved
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| Thursday, October 14th, 2004
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2:39 pm
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| Wednesday, August 4th, 2004
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6:06 pm
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I have taken on a co-conspirator, elijah_wood, and the two of us are now discussing and matching people up. Despite devious rumours to the contrary, Elijah is very approachable and questions can also be directed at him. Who would not want an e-mail from such a militant Richard Marx fan? No one, I tell you.
As per usual:
Name:
Journal name:
AIM name:
E-mail (if not listed on your journal):
Are you a new guy or an old guy?:
What time are you usually online? (please provide the time zone):
How often do you sign on? (daily, every other day, weekly, etc.):
Is there anyone in particular you're interested in getting to know?:
Anything else? (what you're looking for out of this, what you don't want, favorite bands, star sign, food allergies, whatever):
There is also a handy form. See here for further explanation of what this is.
If you have been hooked up and your match is really not working, let me or him know and we will see about re-pairing you. And if you are an old guy who does not have a new guy yet, do not despair. We have a surplus of old guys and a deficit of new guys and it's not possible yet to pair up everyone. It'll happen. Thank you for your patience. And any (fictional) person can participate in this. Do not be shy. We will not put you with someone who is going to yell at you.
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Disclaimer
(20 comments |comment on this)
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| Sunday, July 25th, 2004
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12:51 pm
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If you signed up for this and haven't gotten an e-mail yet matching you up with someone, do not despair. I'm matching people up like crazy, but I'm reading journals and thinking a lot about it at the same time, trying to make interesting matches that seem like they'd work, so it may take me a couple of days. Also, we have more old guys than new guys right now, so if there's no one to match you up with now, there will be soon. I have your name and you're not getting out of it that easily. mwahaha
Friendliest person of the week award: Halle "I can do more than one if you want!" Berry
Best e-mail: "I will bring The Fatone into my world."
As per usual:
Name:
Journal name:
AIM name:
E-mail (if not listed on your journal):
Are you a new guy or an old guy?:
What time are you usually online? (please provide the time zone):
How often do you sign on? (daily, every other day, weekly, etc.):
Is there anyone in particular you're interested in getting to know?:
Anything else? (what you're looking for out of this, what you don't want, favorite bands, star sign, food allergies, whatever):
See here for a full explanation of what this is.
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Disclaimer
(21 comments |comment on this)
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| Thursday, July 22nd, 2004
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7:17 pm
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Something just occurred to me. If I unknowingly match you up with yourself, if you know what I'm talking about, don't hesitate to find some subtle way of letting me know and I will remedy it.
Since it can be cumbersome to navigate through comments after there are 50 of them, I'm starting this again.
Name:
Journal name:
AIM name:
E-mail (if not listed on your journal):
Are you a new guy or an old guy?:
What time are you usually online? (please provide the time zone):
How often do you sign on? (daily, every other day, weekly, etc.):
Is there anyone in particular you're interested in getting to know?:
Anything else? (what you're looking for out of this, what you don't want, favorite bands, star sign, food allergies, whatever):
See previous post for further explanation on what this is.
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Disclaimer
(14 comments |comment on this)
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| Wednesday, July 21st, 2004
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2:06 pm - Spreading the warm fuzzies
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So what is this?
MBP Friend Link is meant to match up more experienced, well known players with new ones for friendship, conversation and, when applicable, maybe advice. It's the equivalent of a buddy system. The established player will help give the new character an initial contact in the game, someone to be on their side as they enter the big, bad and confusing world that is MBP.
As an experienced player ("old guy"), you are ideally someone who has been in the game long enough to understand its workings, its guidelines and its people. You are someone with a little bit of time to add a new person to your buddy list, who is willing to have conversations with people for the fun of it and not necessarily because they can add something to your social group or your storyline, someone with a genuine interest in getting to know new people. You are someone who is willing to bring a new person into your social circle, invite them to chats, message them when you see them online and answer occasional brackety questions like "how do I get a storyline going?" or "how do people roleplay?" or "what do I do if this person is annoying me?" You should be nice. That is, you won't sit there and make snide remarks with your friends as soon as they're not around, and you can tolerate someone who may have a completely different approach to this or who may not have the same roleplaying style, writing style or interests as you. Basically, think of yourself as their advocate.
As a new person ("new guy"), you are someone who wants to be more involved but doesn't necessarily know where to start, or who is tired of signing on and sitting silently because you don't know who to talk to or who to message. This gives you someone to message, someone who can open doors for you in messaging other people. Basically, you're someone who wants a leg up in a place filled with in jokes where it seems like everyone already knows each other. If you are a new character, or even if you just still feel new, I encourage you to get involved in this.
The relationship can be subtle, maybe even confidential if you want it to be. You don't even have to acknowledge it to each other if you don't want to, you can just start talking. The idea is that it starts with being matched up and develops into a friendship. Basically, just be friends. That's all it is.
Depending on availability and level of interest, we can match up people who have similar outlooks or interests and people are on around the same time. To get involved on either side, comment here or e-mail misswainwright[at]gmail[dot]com. E-mail submissions will be shared only with the person you're being matched up with.
Name:
Journal name:
AIM name:
Are you a new guy or an old guy?:
What time are you usually online? (please provide the time zone):
How often do you sign on? (daily, every other day, weekly, etc.):
Is there anyone in particular you're interested in getting to know?:
Anything else? (what you're looking for out of this, what you don't want, favorite bands, star sign, food allergies, whatever):
Addendum: If you don't have a paid account or an e-mail address listed in your user info, it might also help to give me one where I can reach you. If you don't have an IC e-mail address, you can mail me privately at misswainwright[at]gmail[dot]com with whichever one you use to get your mail. I just need some way of getting in touch with you.
( other possible questions )
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