Long term health of mafiascum

[saulres]

hmm, it's way better than the current MafBlack, but I don't think I'm the only one who dislikes reading loads of white text on a black background. I think you have a bigger chance to get your design to be the standard if you start with a black-on-white design.

I agree with the above.

But:

old people who no longer have the time to play

That's me. I'm old, having used forums for I believe longer than some scummers have been alive, and so I'm very comfortable with the default skin and it doesn't turn me off. So I don't know if my opinions match what the youngsters find attractive nowadays.

[saulres]

Reck the sites you link to sure seem to have a lot of wasted real estate on the sides. Is that to be mobile-friendly? Because on a computer, that's just a whole lot of blank space which could be used for more content. Is that what passes for "good" these days?

[saulres]

I find that sites that have a different layout when they're on a computer vs. when they're on mobile, but have the same functionality, are the ideal. I doubt there are enough programming resources here to go that route though.

I do work on computers, so I'm on them most of the time. And I find typing on computers much easier than any mobile keyboard

ever

will be (with no autocorrect to worry about!) but as I said before, there are kids on my lawn that I need to go yell at.

[saulres]

I find it fascinating that some people say chat mafia is the way to go, while others are saying things like "I like long deadlines". Those two are completely at odds, aren't they?

Seems to me that in order to grow, the site needs to be able to cater to both types of players: Ones who want quick fixes NOW and ones who want time to analyze.

[saulres]

Well I wasn't thinking specifically of chat mafia as a solution to the "shorter games" issue so much as a mindset desiring them.

[saulres]

Based on what I see in those numbers, our user retention rate looks like it's gone up not down. The primary problem in need of fixing is that new users has MASSIVELY dropped off.

That's different then. That's not us doing anything wrong, that's people not finding us.

I just opened a private browser and Googled "Mafia Game". We don't show up on the first three pages at all. "Mafia Roles" we're the first listing. "Mafia Online" we're number seven, with epicmafia as number one.

Bing: "Mafia Game", not in the first three pages. "Mafia Roles", third on the list. "Mafia Online", towards the bottom of page 3.

Google again: "Werewolf Game", not in first three pages. "Werewolf Roles", not until page 3.

Search engines aren't finding us well enough I think.

[saulres]

imo implementation should be "post the video on youtube with text pointing to ms.net that search engines will pick up", then just post a link to that somewhere here. No ms.net implementation necessary

[saulres]

It sounds like he's not talking about the tag, he's talking about adding a dropdown. So you can't VOTE: someone who isn't in the game, or an ambiguous abbreviation, etc.

[saulres]

Certainly sanctioning the idea of both faster and longer paced games there encourages that a variety of deadlines is acceptable in other queues.

Except a newbie's experience in the queue I think usually amounts to one game, so they wouldn't see the variety first-hand.

[saulres]

At least from personal experience, a poll after my first game ended would have been received significantly after I started my second and third games.

[saulres]

Posting it at the end of the game won't get any feedback from a newbie who's killed early on in the game and didn't enjoy the experience so left. They'll never see it.

It'd be interesting to see how the retention rates differ between newbies who make it to the end of the game vs. ones who are knocked out earlier on. (By end of game I mean real world date, not game day.)

[saulres]

Though theoretically you could have each game mod send a link to the survey each time someone dies.

Where's House to suggest that this be automated?

[saulres]

Just brainstorming here: What about giving each type of game its own subforum under the Queue forum, except for Newbie games which would stay in the main Queue forum? Very easy for newbies to find, clear indication of variety, isolation of game type threads so they're not comingled.

[saulres]

I definitely remember some multi-month days back when. I don't know how people get anything done in less than 2 weeks.

Were the town win rates higher back then?

[saulres]

It's quite hard to tell how it would actually fair.

Wasn't that the thought behind the Micro Queue before it was launched? And look how that's taken off.

Maybe it's worth setting up such a queue and seeing what happens.

[saulres]

One of the benefits of the longer games is that players who do newbie games are checking the site for longer. In that time, new players are more likely to venture outside of the newbie game, whereas providing a close and quick end goal may limit the newbie experience to just that game.

I haven't checked, but isn't there a large need for replacements in newbie games, and mightn't that need be due to the longer games?

In other words, your assumption that players in newbie games check out the rest of the forum while they're playing the game. I'm questioning whether they're just checking out.

[saulres]

On a different note: check out mafiascum.net. You know, that place a newbie might go before going to the forums?

Yeah. That needs some updating. Especially the scary text about the site maybe going down for a while many months ago

[saulres]

On a different note: check out mafiascum.net. You know, that place a newbie might go before going to the forums?

Yeah. That needs some updating. Especially the scary text about the site maybe going down for a while many months ago

No seriously. I'd put money on some people seeing this and then saying "Well that site isn't maintained, why should I bother to go to it?"

May 27, 2014 - We are currently in the process of moving the site to a new server. Most of the data has been moved, but it may be a bit longer before everything is totally functional. -mith

That needs to be removed ASAP.

And then at some point, that page should be updated with marketing information. "Built-in Tools to make scumhunting easier!" "Multiple game styles!" "Exciting setups if you're adventurous, standard setups if you want something more traditional, and even newbie games where we teach as we play!"

[saulres]

Yeah I'm not a marketing guy. It's the point I'm trying to drive, not the particular text.

[saulres]

any other odd voting mechanics would require you to disable it.

It's good that there'll be that option, because double-voting isn't the only voting mechanic I've seen. e.g. I've seen people lose their vote for an infraction more than I've seen double-voters.

[saulres]

Well whatever it is, I really do look forward to seeing it. It's exciting to see changes which enhance the site, no question about it.

[saulres]

Given the new board theme, someone may want to update http://mafiascum.net/howtojoin.svg

The queues and moderators aren't quite right on that either. Lots of changes since 2012.

[saulres]

things are going to change somewhat drastically

Oooh, how exciting!

Any hints?

[saulres]

'forum mafia' we're the first result. 'online mafia' we're the second result.

Other searches, not so much, as I said earlier in the thread.

Werewolf searches, as I believe most people who are looking for an online community to play the games that are currently out in stores, we come up much worse.