Approvals.

Started by AKunoichi, December 16, 2012, 12:27:47 AM

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AKunoichi

I have several friends from outside of E that I would like to bring into the community. But last time that happened she got denied for unclear reasons. Now she decided it wasn't worth it and I'm kind of nervous to bring people here. She thinks it's because her posts were too short, but looking back at mine, they weren't much longer. To this day I have no idea what could have caused it.

Is there any advice I could give to people to help them get approved?

Beguile's Mistress

#1
The best advice you can give them is to read the rules carefully including the Approval Policy sticky in the Introduction Forum and let that guide them.  Writing style and quality are only a part of what we look at.


Vekseid

Quote from: AK47 on December 16, 2012, 12:27:47 AM
I have several friends from outside of E that I would like to bring into the community. But last time that happened she got denied for unclear reasons. Now she decided it wasn't worth it and I'm kind of nervous to bring people here. She thinks it's because her posts were too short, but looking back at mine, they weren't much longer. To this day I have no idea what could have caused it.

Is there any advice I could give to people to help them get approved?

- There is a possibility the approval team thought she was a duplicate. This is usually made explicit, though it can sometimes be missed. Most likely case of staff making the wrong judgment call is when connecting over mobile networks (your cell phone, etc.)
- Was she denied or put on hold? Unless they got flagged as a duplicate, getting denied is supposed to mean doing something worthy of privilege removal before approval.

AKunoichi

Put on hold until last January, She just didn't feel like she was wanted and decided not to resubmit.

Vekseid

Quote from: AK47 on December 16, 2012, 01:57:55 AM
Put on hold until last January, She just didn't feel like she was wanted and decided not to resubmit.

Ahh. I've been fighting against the vagueness of some 'On Hold' rulings for some years now. : /

On hold is very much not a denial though. If someone is on hold the best they can do is to participate off and on through the six-month period. It generally either reflects well enough on them that it guarantees their approval or they show true colors eventually. The big question is "Can you be civil? Can you relate to others here as if they are actual human beings?"

Writing quality rarely factors. When it is a factor, we usually do let the applicant know. The rules can be summed up as:
- "Can you respond to people?" I.e. participate in a community. This is what the crazy questions are for, in large part.
- "Can you make a paragraph?" I.e. the ability to express complex concepts. Most humans can do this. People with Down's Syndrome can do this. There is a wordcount at which your approval gets considered, largely to reflect this.
- "Can you be comprehended?" While we're more forgiving of ESL applicants in this regard, you do need to be versed enough in English that people can read what you write in it. Odd grammar is fine. Spell checking is a good idea.

And that sums up the approval process in a nutshell:
- Can you respond to someone,
- with a paragraph,
- that can be easily read and understood,
- in a respectful tone?

Being placed 'On hold', and not given an explicit reason, usually means there was an issue with the last. The reason other staff members have been fighting me over being explicit about it is because there are usually multiple issues involved, and they're leery about possible "If I just pretend to do x for awhile I will be fine!" types.

AKunoichi

Yeah I understand that. But if somebody gets put on hold for no apparent reason. I'd say it's perfectly reasonable for them to say "Fuck it, they're probably elitists or something, I'm not gonna bother trying to fit in somewhere I'm not wanted." It's absolutely NOT the truth here, but it's easy to get that impression and I wouldn't think any less of somebody for reaching that conclusion.

Trieste

It depends on the person, too.

Sometimes, when I give a summary of what the application team has pointed out, people take it with good grace. These people are awesome.

Sometimes, when I give a summary of what the application team has pointed out, people take it as an opportunity to debate, argue, or tell us how mistaken we are. These people are likely to have a harder time when they reapply.

And often they will rant elsewhere about how the judgement was unfair, the explanation was too vague, or the process is stacked against them. I'm not saying that your friend did this but when they tell you it was "for no good reason", they may very well have been provided with an explanation and simply disagreed with that. So... there is that, too.

Vekseid

Well, it is in part why I also run Blue Moon Roleplaying.

People do like what the approval process does here, and I find the resulting rift between the two communities unfortunate, but probably not avoidable. : /

AKunoichi

What's Blue Moon's approval process like?

Vekseid

There isn't, although if you -never- make a post, you might get caught in automated filters.

AKunoichi

Ahh I see. I think I'll make an account, I like to spread myself wide on ERP communities. Try everything out, and find out which ones are worth sticking around.

I must say, although I have seen trouble with E's approvals. I do find the community vastly superior to RPH which has no moderation whatsoever.