Thoughts on switching from hermit to Lawspeaker...

[Ogrim]

I'm an operations manager irl. Well, an unemployed one. That said, Charisma is something you either have or don't. Thus discussing it's merits is a waste. Delegation is critical, I agree. However, trust goes hand in hand with delegation. With a new relationship, the balance is completely on the side of control and orders as opposed to delegation and trust. That said, if a person can do a job well... that builds trust. If a person continues to make good choices and benefits others more than they benefit themselves then that person will rise in authority and responsibility.

Not all Leaders delegate at the same rate that their villagers desire. This is a cause of conflict. This is also an indication that the villagers are not acting in the best interest of their village. Conflict is not good for a village and neither is a villager who puts their own progress above the good of the village proper. On the otherside of the coin, some leaders fail to delegate because they are more concerned with their own interest than that of the village. This is also a source of conflict as the leader's personal interests work against the good of the village proper.

The answer to such problem comes in two areas, trust and communication. Villagers need to be kept in the loop as to the direction the village is heading. They also need to be allowed to give input into that direction. Leaders are responsible for such things. Leaders in turn need to count on the villagers to do as instructed without deviation. In roles where much authority has been delegated, villagers need to be trusted to work efficiently in the best interests of the village. Villagers are responsible for making sure the Leader can trust them in these things.

The reality is that most leaders do most of the work. A person who does a majority of the work in a village but is unhappy with the direction the village is taking won't stay in the village long and will likely head out on their own. The goal then, is to create a safe environment where hearthlings can toil to their heart's desire without being frustrated with the leadership of their village. The leader who can create such an environment will reap benefits of hard working villagers without a huge pile of maintenance.

Since these techniques work in real life, there must be some application that can be applicable to this game.

[Ignus]

Things

All sounds very sensible, but an important difference to your prior experience is that instead of a manager of a paid workforce here you are the unpaid coordinator of a volunteer organization that operates online. Similar in many ways, but different in just as many.

Your members will be recluses and kids fleeing their real life responsibilities more often than not. They will be more grateful to you than they know if you remove onerous responsibility from their shoulders. The nagging little details. Planning. Strategy. Thinking. In fact every single detail of living but those that relate directly to playing their characters will be something they are eager to turn over to you. Very much the same way we surrender our autonomy in real life in return for services rendered.

Players tend towards selfishness, at least when they're playing H&H. Few are interested in their village aside from the details necessary to play their own character, even fewer are interested in their village's allies or greater goals. It is very important to the leaders that they not lose sight of this.

It is your task to create reasons for them to care. Reasons for them to actually have an opinion, to lift a finger on your behalf, are something that you must provide and you'd better like doing it or you are going to fail early and hard.

These people, these villagers, are here to be entertained. They are here to follow the path of least resistance. They are here to live out their fantasies. If you can provide them with an environment in which to do these things you will have what loyalty they have to offer a voice in a headphone. How much you and the scene you offer become more than that to these people is entirely up to you. Maybe one day they will even care enough to step into your shoes.

[EyeOfRa]

As cocky as he sounds, he's pretty much right. More or less, this is also how to lead teams in real life. The main difference (and important one) is being able to trust someone on an online game.

Did you just call Glorious Leader cocky?

[Eemerald]

Here's my question: Since I'm not used to sharing (I'm a generous giver but don't like being forced to share, mostly because people are loafs and mooches) what kind of structure could I set up for allowing folks to benefit from the safety of my land and the quality of my stuff without them walking all over my work and ruining it without any benefit on my part?

I would honestly suggest for you, and the environment you want to lead, or at least set up, because i dont think you want to dictate or take leadership over people(correct me if im wrong), so I think having an idol in your own plot (or walled seperately), splitting off other plots seperately to yours, and maybe jsut have a few things which are communal, not so much to share the end product, but to improve quality. SO for instance, you can have a communal farm, whoever farms it keeps excess produce to make curios or bake with for themselves. but at the same time, as theyre doing that theyre increasing the quality of the farm seeds, because theyre harvesting and sorting the seeds and replanting the best ones. so when u do have time to farm u'll find that theyve icnreased in quality and u can benefit from it, and when they do, its the same. Do you get what I mean?

I find often with some jobs, i dont really need the produce from it, i jsut want the quality to keep increasing, and thats an issue for me, so having people farming it, is more important in many ways than the actual extra seeds i get from it. but that could jsut be me:D

I would just allow everyone to do things in their own plot, maybe see what interests them to focus on, that way you can trade with each other for essentials. if someone is good at silk, and another is a miner, they can trade goods that way instead of trying to find sellers outside. and that way when u are trading you will have people who can do all the jobs, a miner, a silkier, a farmer, a cook, leather worker etc etc, all in one area, working seperately, but benefitting each other and others outside that group.

At the moment I'm considering building the village idol (still haven't made one on my land yet to keep things low key) underground and limiting folks from even accessing the surface where my animals and crops are. Maybe just allowing one villager to access this area if they had responsibilities for tending it.

I would build an idol, it makes trading so much easier, even if you dont intend on adding people, i know you like to trade and an idol is essential for it

Thoughts? What has worked for you?

You kinda saw how we worked as a village, although the brief time you were with us, no one was really active or playing much. And to me the communal aspect of village life, and having things open for all, and working to create for each other, and building up everyones charachters as equally as possible, isnt easy to do, but it's how i like it working, and it kinda just worked that way alst world and we just expanded it this world.

It does mean that I have to be incredibly fussy about who gets into the town, and end up even then kicking a lot of people out for inactivity, rule breaking, immaturity and various other issues. BUT I do think it's helped keep the village ticking as it does, much of it is based on respect and trust, and ensuring those joining aren't just there for their own benefit, but for the others too, because they provide for them also.

That works for us, but entails a lot of work in managing people who come and go, and those who stay and dealing with everyones issues and ensuring everyone is happy and have incentive to keep playing, and ensuring everyone pulls their weight within reason if theyre benefitting from what others are doing for them.

anyway good luck:)

[Shadow7168]

While I like the "Communal/Commie" villages, where you share everything, and no one really "owns" plots or houses, if you want to make a village, but don't want to let people into your walled place, I'd say give people a area near yours, help them with the wall, and then make community areas that all of you share.

I have founded a village in W5, in the NE outer ring. Most of our trade partners were Russian, but we had quite a few speakers. We traded with a small outpost of theirs that smelts ore from their mine, built a BW, and decided to keep the entire village public, asides from small log cabins on one side of the wall for housing. Our system was that if you didn't work, you didn't get food. It worked good, people would help the village alot because what we made benefited everyone.

Then again, the best bit of advice I'll give is PICK CAREFULLY. Or, don't accept everyone "hi cn i jon vilage pls send ur hs" because that can be the quickest downfall of a village.

[Trepach]

I'd like to join a neat and active village. I hope I can find it here. In my previous village: "The Dark Brotherhood" I've spent most of my time on general housekeeping and farming. Meaning, regardless of the 8+ hours spent a day, I had to offer nothing but permanent quality boost. I dont want to trade, I like to share. If someone is interested, heres my presentation:

Age - 24
Location/timezone: +2GMT
How much you can play on a daily basis: 6+hours
Experience in the game: more than 500 hours
Past villages/people youve played with: "The Dark Brotherhood", interacting with DIS
Reasons for leaving any towns/settlements: village is dead.
Reason for wanting to join us: stated above
Jobs which interest you: farmer, cook, planer, crafter, carpenter, miner, housekeeper
Any other relevant information you feel needs mentioning: I like to pull my own weight. I hate to waste any resource. I like the things to be organized and actions logical. I am a reasonable and helping person. Expecting suchlike.

In general, I am looking for a village. My Skype is Trepa488. Anyone can call

[NaoWhut]

With Ainran it's simple, and as it's leader i can
speak freely for the people of our society.

We eat what we kill, wear the gear of the fallen
foes, and divide all loot equally or according
to who needs something. The village was built
on hard labor and threats from our top players
that they would quit. The society, built on an
endless struggle for glory, bound only by the
loyalty engraved in each our hearts in order to
maintain stability among the pack. We watch
each other's backs and don't think of ourselves
as single fighters, but as a whole, as Ainran.

[jordancoles]

Glorious Leader is always right. Listen to Glorious Leader.