Please answer the question in the title. I’d really like to know. I was recently in the hospital for a few days and was sad to see that although the subscriber numbers here kept increasing, nobody was posting any challenges. So Please tell me what is the point of a game if nobody wants to participate?

  • lemonmelon@lemmy.world
    18·
    5 months ago

    Assuming you want an honest answer, philo, I think there are three major obstacles to this community flourishing:

    1. Vague/misleading images - Many of the starting images are vague enough that they could apply, for instance, to over half of the thrash songs from the past two decades, whether obscure or well known. Others are almost adversarial with how far they stray from the source. A recent example is the prompt for “The Lady in Red,” which prominently featured a beautiful young woman… in a silver dress. People who are interested in guessing can easily become discouraged when it seems like the game is tilted strongly against them. Many won’t hang around to figure out how to create their own posts if the game seems unfair.

    Suggestion: Make an effort to weight prompts in a way that adds some degree of emphasis to bits of the lyrics thar make a song unique. In the event a particular song is more obscure or niche, provide some level of assistance either at the outset or after a set amount of time. This could take the form of the decade of release, an additional image that highlights other specificity in the lyrics, or even a witty hint about the artist/band.

    1. Unfamiliarity with prompting - I get the sense that there are many who are intrigued by the pictures and the concept but do not know how to create images that they feel accurately convey the song lyrics in a way that is guessable. It can be frustrating to feel like you’re stumbling in the dark without much guidance. Some thrive on discovering things for themselves, but I’d say the majority probably abandon their attempts once they feel like the price of engagement is sufficiently high.

    Suggestion: Increased availability of information about how to prompt successfully. Providing assistance and advice when asked for it.

    1. Your attitude - Without regard to any justification there might be, you often come across as prickly and unwelcoming. There have been times that the community has seemed to be less of a cooperative space and more of a power trip. People who pass the first two obstacles may be turned away by the overall atmosphere here. Very few will want to play against the actual challenge, the added difficulty of vague or outright misleading images, and the nagging sense that the community leader is an active antagonist.

    Suggestion: Less iron fist, more silk glove. In TTRPG terms, the DM shouldn’t be playing against the players if they want to create engagement.

    None of this is meant as an attack. This is my honest opinion of why this community is relatively inert, and some thoughts on how it could be invigorated.

    • InfiniteFlow@lemmy.world
      5·
      5 months ago

      This right here. In fact, the main reason for me stopping actively participating was point 3. Alas, sadly, this entire thread seems to prove the point over and over, as you keep flippantly replying to anything you don’t agree to, up to actually, apparently, blocking a user. You can’t nurture a community by making it your personal fiefdom. A community is made of all its members, diverse as they may be. I would like to come back, I love the game, but participating started feeling a bit toxic. So I lurk, and I suspect many do the same and that’s why subscription numbers increase, but not active participation. I do think people are capable of change, though, and look forward to becoming more active again.

      • PhiloOPM
        14·
        5 months ago

        That’s pretty funny, AmanDuh you would see wasn’t banned for a disagreement as you seem to think, they were banned because they thought they were entitled to membership in this community without any participation. And they made it clear that no future participation would be coming. While banned they can still freely read this forum and that is all they wanted to do anyway so what is your problem with that? I find it sad that you {and some others) find a need to blame your own “stoppage” on me. Accept responsibility for your own actions.

    • PhiloOPM
      111·
      5 months ago

      I get it, the participation trophy rather than the participation. Let me remind you it was the community that suggested the answers be revealed in spoilers which I at first didn’t want to do but eventually did. Also, it was the community that requested a thread like the Welcome sticky from Last which when I asked for not a single subscriber had the decency to help create for over two months until Last offered in a DM. I give subscribers plenty yet they can;t be bothered to participate? And you have the sheer nerve to blame my attitude?

      My attitude yet the subscriber numbers still went up yesterday…

        • PhiloOPM
          112·
          5 months ago

          To be honest, if they enjoy the community enough to subscribe they should participate. They can read the community without subscribing. So yes, is they subscribe they owe not me but the community an obligation to participate.

            • PhiloOPM
              110·
              5 months ago

              Why do you find it funny? Do you think you are entitled to a membership in a community via subscription if you refuse to participate? Why did you subscribe?

              • Amanduh@lemm.ee
                10·
                5 months ago

                It’s a free subscription m8, no one is obligated to do anything once they click subscribe and you acting like they owe it to you to post and interact in the community is very silly from where I am standing.

                • PhiloOPM
                  111·
                  5 months ago

                  Ok, feel free to read all you want but you are not allowed to post now because you are not welcome here.