discussion [Site News] Temporary Members+ / Coin System Experiment

[CaBing]

I think this will just lead to a bunch of lurkers saying that it is a great idea then never posting again if it ever goes permanent. Even if Mem+ was public, I don't see how pausing the coin system would do anything but make people post even less.

I've been posting and participating daily while working towards P5, all for it to be changed again. Removing the coin system just removes the incentives for people who are the most active. I don't think the art threads would be nearly as active if it wasn't for the coin system. Tweaking the coin system is one thing, but completely pausing it, just feels like more change for the sake of change.

 

[Jack Of Blades]

I think this will just lead to a bunch of lurkers saying that it is a great idea then never posting again if it ever goes permanent. Even if Mem+ was public, I don't see how pausing the coin system would do anything but make people post even less.

I've been posting and participating daily while working towards P5, all for it to be changed again. Removing the coin system just removes the incentives for people who are the most active. I don't think the art threads would be nearly as active if it wasn't for the coin system. Tweaking the coin system is one thing, but completely pausing it, just feels like more change for the sake of change.

i paused it because i had to do some backend work on it, but thats finished, so i am going to probably lift the pause on it, but need to figure out a plan on incentives

 

[V&M]

Well, I'm only on this site for the games+, and since they are scarce and hardly updated, I don't comment, and I'm also not one to chat on websites. If my access to these games+ isn't denied or removed, I don't mind if you do tests and experiments. But if my access to these games+ is removed due to lack of activity, I see no reason to continue here.

No offense to the site owners, but I'm not going to force myself to comment and interact about the games when I don't feel like it; I prefer to stay quiet than to post irrelevant crap just to fulfill some requirement.

 

[Jack Of Blades]

Well, I'm only on this site for the games+, and since they are scarce and hardly updated, I don't comment, and I'm also not one to chat on websites. If my access to these games+ isn't denied or removed, I don't mind if you do tests and experiments. But if my access to these games+ is removed due to lack of activity, I see no reason to continue here.

No offense to the site owners, but I'm not going to force myself to comment and interact about the games when I don't feel like it; I prefer to stay quiet than to post irrelevant crap just to fulfill some requirement.

not removing anyones members+ even if i resume restriction

 

[RodriguezQueso]

Unfortunately, I can't log in as much as I'd like anymore,
so at least it won't affect me too much,
although I don't think I can be of much help with your test either.

 

[pcgaming2023]

Man, I get busy for a couple of days, and I come back to some big changes...

In all seriousness, I'm still too new to feel like I have a lot of context to provide. I get that Jack is trying to find the right balance on everything, and that obviously takes some experimentation. I got the LC I needed for M+ pretty quickly, but I kept posting because I enjoy the interactions. I take it as a personal challenge to see if I can catch Mime's eye on the art forums each day. Even if I don't win a prize, just getting some reaction (preferably beyond a like) is a win for me.

Do what ya gotta do, Jack. I'm sure it'll be a bumpy road, but I know you're trying to get the site to a stable spot. I can follow the Philly mindset and trust the process.

 

[Sharpened]

Anecdotally, I literally never post on F95 unless its a question about a game, in that games forum.

Here, I focused to get M+ in a couple days, and then coasted. But I actually pop into the Hideout to meme with people for a bit any time I check the site for new stuff and updates, and I open and check non-game threads that come up in recent activity [which I basically never do on F95]. I certainly can't say the same for everyone, but I do think that being obligated to comment for a while is likely to foster the interest in further commenting even when it isn't necessary. I also am of the opinion that having a simple barrier of entry is better overall for the health of the site, even if it is inconvenient for new users. But it doesn't require any form of payment, it doesn't block all content, and at only 350 coins it really does not take long to get even if you go about it casually.

I think 1k for M+ was too high, and that 350 is good. If it had to be higher tho, maybe just 500?

 

[Redyscom]

First week is prob not a good sample for a long term goal. If the focus will be the community/artists and make their stay here be more welcoming instead of finding more ways to make people pay to unlock parts of the site or constant forced threads asking for donations, the site will inevitably be more active and have more members/artists that will also indirectly bring you more content/donations.

I’m all for any idea that makes content creators (artists, developers, modders, etc.) feel more welcome. Even more so if that means they gain more exposure and followers. Anything that helps promote the work they do is, in my view, a total win. Even more so when it comes to smol content creators—not because of personal preference, but because they’re the ones who have to be more careful and, as a result, are the ones with the least visibility.

 

[Peter]

if all goes good, ill extend it to 2 weeks.

Extend the time to at least one month.
Many people only come on the weekend because they have to work during the week and don’t have the time or desire to deal with family matters on the side.
You shouldn’t just focus on those who don’t have a real life and view this and other sites as their sole sphere of activity and existence, far from the reality in which normal people live.

I think this will just lead to a bunch of lurkers saying that it is a great idea then never posting again if it ever goes permanent. Even if Mem+ was public, I don't see how pausing the coin system would do anything but make people post even less.

Genuine passivity is still better than feigned activity. Forcing interactions or pretending to be engaged ultimately leads to nothing but spam and worthless comments, and does not have the value attributed to it by rewarding it with a fake currency.
The value of a community lies in its essence as a group of like-minded people, in the cohesion based on shared values, or in the pursuit of a common goal.
However, if this goal consists merely of chasing after meaningless trifles - and is further spoiled by the distribution of a worthless currency - what remains of this site’s original purpose?

Apart from a group of people who do not champion the group’s true values and cohesion, but are concerned only with their own gain.
Namely their coins and their trinkets, which they can ultimately use only to show that they are worth more or better than those who have less than they do, even though the latter have honestly earned their poverty by not exploiting the system to their advantage and refusing to be corrupted.

I've been posting and participating daily while working towards P5, all for it to be changed again. Removing the coin system just removes the incentives for people who are the most active. I don't think the art threads would be nearly as active if it wasn't for the coin system. Tweaking the coin system is one thing, but completely pausing it, just feels like more change for the sake of change.

Of course, the art section would be less successful.
But is it really that successful because it’s as good as it seems to be?
I don’t think so.

People are promised money for liking posts there, so it’s a bought success rather than a deserved one based on skill and the visitors’ appreciation.
These constant competitions are another reason why it’s used more than it would be without them, and they have nothing to do with real competition.
The lack of variety in the game area is another reason for this - what else are people supposed to look at if they can’t find what they’re actually looking for?

 

[edrtftgh]

why now m+ is 500 and only monthly? is this the temporary test or bug?

 

[cbarnes1551]

I'm gonna throw my opinion out here. I grinded for mem+ when it was like 3000 or something which was crazy. I liked the system when Lewd Coins were introduced. Mem+ wasn't too hard a grind at 350, I think. Rank is my goal which should be a grind since there's more content, I think. Donation coins are great for those who have the money to skip the grind so I didn't mind that system.

 

[TeenX]

I'm gonna throw my opinion out here. I grinded for mem+ when it was like 3000 or something which was crazy. I liked the system when Lewd Coins were introduced. Mem+ wasn't too hard a grind at 350, I think. Rank is my goal which should be a grind since there's more content, I think. Donation coins are great for those who have the money to skip the grind so I didn't mind that system.

But the issue is people that leave the site because of this walls, just because you think is fine, doesn't mean the majority agrees with you. This site lost a lot of members because of this and I know because that's what I hear everyone say about this site when they mention it externally or on my platforms.

I’m all for any idea that makes content creators (artists, developers, modders, etc.) feel more welcome. Even more so if that means they gain more exposure and followers. Anything that helps promote the work they do is, in my view, a total win. Even more so when it comes to smol content creators—not because of personal preference, but because they’re the ones who have to be more careful and, as a result, are the ones with the least visibility.

I personally haven't felt welcomed nor unwelcomed, besides like first week or so, felt very neutral which sadly for this kind of content is actually on a better side so yeah that's why I'm still here, wished that a lot of my requests weren't ignored in how I can share my content easier, better categorize it etc but is nothing I can do about it personally beside asking for it once.

Also first thing I would get rid of is all this category clusterfucks we have right now, with content being split for 0 benefits for the viewer and should get rid of it, especially the Member+ zone, I literally tried to find my Safer content thread for 5mins right now and I couldn't and only way I access it all the time is though my signature links. And my content threads is always on the least viewed and with the least exposure categories as possible so is weird how pirated content get's highlighted the most while creators that share their content here have their little corner.

I checked "Latest Update's Comic Plus category" and it's literally empty all the time while I literally released here 3 of my Comics that fit that category and I even tell you guys that it's empty and you can post my Comics if you want since is prob better than nothing? But I guess my content is not better than nothing, welp.

You must be registered to see attachments

 

[Jack Of Blades]

But the issue is people that leave the site because of this walls, just because you think is fine, doesn't mean the majority agrees with you. This site lost a lot of members because of this and I know because that's what I hear everyone say about this site when they mention it externally or on my platforms.

I personally haven't felt welcomed nor unwelcomed, besides like first week or so, felt very neutral which sadly for this kind of content is actually on a better side so yeah that's why I'm still here, wished that a lot of my requests weren't ignored in how I can share my content easier, better categorize it etc but is nothing I can do about it personally beside asking for it once.

Also first thing I would get rid of is all this category clusterfucks we have right now, with content being split for 0 benefits for the viewer and should get rid of it, especially the Member+ zone, I literally tried to find my Safer content thread for 5mins right now and I couldn't and only way I access it all the time is though my signature links. And my content threads is always on the least viewed and with the least exposure categories as possible so is weird how pirated content get's highlighted the most while creators that share their content here have their little corner.

I checked "Latest Update's Comic Plus category" and it's literally empty all the time while I literally released here 3 of my Comics that fit that category and I even tell you guys that it's empty and you can post my Comics if you want since is prob better than nothing? But I guess my content is not better than nothing, welp.

You must be registered to see attachments

the comics is because you have plus enabled, i dont have a way currently to split comics+ and comics up, but this would be something ill look into adding. will respond to everything else a bit later, kinda busy with something.

 

[BabbleOne]

My own personal story... I found LC looking for new games/VNs and worked to get my + and started working towards the other ranks. It was fun. I enjoyed the discussions, participating in Mime's daily art forums, and the access to the games/VNs. I liked it well enough that I've donated a few times to try to help keep the lights on.

But the changes get exhausting. The coins changed twice. The way the bank/vault works keep changing. The availability and price of the ranks keeps changing. I'll be working towards something just to have a new change come along that makes my previous efforts moot.

I get that the admins and mods are trying to make this a better place, but at this point it's like you're just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, and when something does stick, there's no guarantee that it will still be here next week. Because of the constant flux, I find myself coming here less and less, engaging less and less, and questioning whether I want to continue donating.

I think if you want to make LC a community that people want to engage with and support, the site needs to stabilize and have some feeling of continuity between logins.

This here sums up my own thoughts. I've been here for a bit over 3 years and barely posted anyway, but all of the constant changes and forced threads made me stop coming here as much because the whole site just feels like a giant chore and anti user-friendly. Come here and just want to look at new game updates? Nope, forced threads. Then you finish the forced thread and go back to the games forum only to find that the whole thing is all fucked up and sorting doesn't work anymore and you can't find shit unless you jump through several hoops to kinda sorta maybe get what you're looking for. So I would just X out of the site more than I end up browsing it.

I do understand the reasoning for some stuff such as needing to prevent trolls reporting the site and needing ways to help fund the site, but this doesn't change that the core user experience has been a frustrating drag for so long.

 

[Autolycus]

Interesting changes- I guess I'll just wait for the vault to unpause/unlock so I can get at my coins and see where I am? I think this will be simpler long term, if it sticks.