New Search Option
 

Ewwww... a poll.

As the debate in "What does free mean?" appears to be going round in circles and trawling through all the posts to garner information is time-consuming, I figured I'd put up a poll about it.

So, which of the proposed new systems do you think would most benefit people searching for MUDs on TMS? <-- This is the question you should ask yourself, ignore the "Which system do you prefer?" one at the top of the poll.

4/5 Option System
[ ] Payment and/or donations required to play.
[ ] Payment and/or donations accepted, has results in-game.
[ ] Payment and/or donations accepted, no results in-game.
[ ] Neither payment nor donations accepted.

Possible 5th option: [ ] Payment and/or donations required to access some content.

2 Option System
[ ] This mud has some donation, registration, and/or payment features.
[ ] This mud does not accept money (donations/registrations/credits) in any form.

BOTH SYSTEMS INCLUDE A TEXT BOX AREA UNDERNEATH FOR A MUD OWNER TO FURTHER CLARIFY THEIR GAMES SYSTEM

READ BEFORE POSTING
Vote for your preferred option, and feel free to post here detailing why you think it's the best choice. If you chose "Other" please post your suggestion in a separate thread or as part of the "What does free mean?" debate and leave a post here with a link to it.

DON'T start arguing about the motivations behind peoples choices.

DON'T start debating what free means, that goes in the other topic.

DON'T post a reply to anyone.

If you are unfamiliar with the arguments, please read the thread entitled "What does free mean?" which is located here in the Tavern of the Blue Hand.

Again, if you pick "Other" please specify what you'd prefer by posting a new thread about it or placing your suggestion in the "What does free mean?" thread.

Re: New Search Option
 

<Snip: Removed paragraph as requested - Xerihae>

Personally I'm strongly in favour of either the 4 or 5 option system. I feel the 5 option system would be more useful to players, but the extra option could be "gamed" (for example, some content which can be bought for $5 or earned through 50 years of play, so that while it's theoretically accessable without money, it'll never happen in practice). On the other hand the 4 option system is a little less useful for players, but is completely unambigious, and nobody has yet managed to provide an example of a mud which it doesn't very clearly catagorise.

I also think it's important that the 4 or 5 option system include a text box, so that the mud owner can clarify further details about their payment model.

The 2 option system is of very limited benefit. It's also a subset of the 4/5 option system, as its second option is identical to the last option of the 4/5 option system, while all the other choices of the 4/5 option system are clumped together in the first button of the 2 option system. Thus the 4/5 option system already includes any and every benefit of the 2 option system, but also extends those choices to include other factors - factors that several players have already expressed an interest in.

Originally I suggested having many more options, but I've come to realise that too many options can sometimes be almost as bad as too few. Thus it is my opinion that 4 or 5 is the best compromise, allowing players to check for the primary payment models without overloading them with too many search options.

Re: New Search Option
 

I think the 5th option (access to content) is simply a variant of the 2nd option (in-game results).

Stick with just the 4 options and I think you've got it covered well. You may want to change "results" to "benefits" in the 2nd and 3rd option.

-Gromble

Re: New Search Option
 

It's really not. They answer different questions; on the one hand, whether there is any in-game content that can be accessed by payment, and on the other, whether (given the first) all of the in-game content can also be accessed without payment. They're different considerations.

Re: New Search Option
 

I still have major problems with the wording of this system. Perhaps a discussion on changes in the wording. I certainly hope this search option isn't implemented as is, based on this poll. Yuck!

4/5 Option System
[ ] Payment and/or donations required to play.
[ ] Payment and/or donations accepted, has results in-game.
[ ] Payment and/or donations accepted, no results in-game.
[ ] Neither payment nor donations accepted.

2 Option System
[ ] This mud has some donation, registration, and/or payment features.
[ ] This mud does not accept money (donations/registrations/credits) in any form.

Re: New Search Option
 

Personally I'd recommend that the word 'results' gets changed to 'rewards' or 'benefits'. Since - (although it's hard to believe anyone would misinterpret it) - 'results' could also mean negative impact.

Also, for the record, and because of the recent turn of the discussion in the 'Free' Thread, it should be made clear whether the 4 box option still contains a drop-down text box to further clarify the system. I hope it does.

Re: New Search Option
 

Ok, so I think I just have some minor wording suggestions then (feel free to ignore)...

5 Option System:

[ ] Payment and/or donations required.
[ ] Payment and/or donations required to access exclusive content.
[ ] Payment and/or donations optional, but provide in-game benefits.
[ ] Payment and/or donations optional, and provide no in-game benefits.
[ ] No payment and/or donations accepted.

I also agree that a box of descriptive text should be provided to allow an admin to qualify their selected option if necessary.

Re: New Search Option
 

We originally switched from language about "benefits" to language about "results" to reduce issues with wiggle room on what constitutes a "benefit".

Re: New Search Option
 

As far as I'm aware both the 4 and 2-box system both initially included a text box to clarify matters, so both are counted as having one in the poll. The wording is subject to debate and that's what the "What does free mean?" thread is for. I will correct the initial oversight about the text boxes in the main post now :)

Re: New Search Option
 

I voted for an alternate system that wasn't listed here. I find this much more robust and exact for a player to find what they are truly looking for in pay to play or free game. The sub options listed are only examples and could be modified or contain many more than those listed.
---------------------------------------------------


[ ] This mud has some donation, registration, and/or payment features.

(Sub options, click as many as apply)

{ } Paying registration is required to play.

{ } Paying registration is required at certain levels.

{ } Donations are required at certain levels.

{ } Donations are encouraged but not required.

{ } Rewards are part of donations/registrations/payments.

{ } Rewards are not part of donations/registrations/payments.

{ } All rewards in this game can be received without paying registration.

{ } All rewards in this game can be received without donations.

(There could be several more option boxes but I think you get the picture)

[ ] This mud does not accept money (donations/registrations/credits) in any form.

---------------------------------------------------

Re: New Search Option
 

I would caution against too many search options.

If you really feel it's needed, then I'd suggest creating a "basic" and "advanced" search where one has fewer general options and the other has several specific options.

-Gromble