IMPORTANT

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Fresh start on ISS: discuss.

Obviously a lot of people are having difficulty with posting lately. After the loss of three major players, (Kelsey, Skar and Kiara,) and with the addition of school into everyone's schedules, it's no secret that ISS has gone down hill. It's been noticeable for a while now. We're just not writing like we used to. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I miss the days when there would be more than two rows of people signed in that day. I miss when c-box discussions were going so fast you could barely keep up. I miss hitting the view 10 most recent posts thread and seeing all sorts of new stuff, even if it had only been fifteen minutes since I last checked. Hell, I miss those pesky c-logs, even. Pain in the ass, but damn, were they pretty.

I know I'm not alone when I say that I've thought about deleting all of my characters. More than once. I've also thought about quitting more than once, but I love this site too much to do that; I love writing too much. Some days, though, I really wish, like, really, really wish that ISS could have a fresh start. There's a lot of gray area that comes along with that, though.

A, of course, maybe not everyone wants this. It wouldn't be fair to a lot of the people if one day the others just decided it was a good idea to wipe their characters and former plots out. A lot of people are attached. It's completely understandable.

B, how would anyone know where to start? We'd have to discuss it at length, obviously. There are some people who might not want anything to do with their old plots, old characters - this is kind of like a get out of jail free card. But I can't speak for everyone, and it'd be hard to keep up with what's actually going on when you want to do some old plots, but not the others, and which characters would you keep, if any? And what about your RP partners, who would they keep, which plots would they be interested in keeping? This would need to become a group discussion so we would know where to start, if it happens.

C, would the time line be adjusted, fixed, altered? ISS was founded back before we knew quite a lot of information - technically speaking, there are quite a few "canon" characters who aren't even supposed to be anywhere near Hogwarts aged. Of course, this isn't exactly fair to a few of our writers who have created said characters and become attached to them, but maybe for the sake of continuity, they'd be willing to give them up? And then the Marauders could come in to play - if we were to wipe everything else clean, would we restart with the Marauders, too? Bring them back to school - say, start them in their sixth year? The prospect of that is overwhelming, I'm sure, for a few of the writers here, especially with some big things coming up, but there are a lot of opportunities for great plots there as well. But would bringing the Marauders back push all the other students back in age as well?

If you're a writer here on ISS, please respond. I don't care how long you've been here, whether you're brand new or if you've been here for a few years now. Every single opinion here counts. I feel like ISS is dying, and obviously something needs to be changed. This may seem drastic but... who knows. Maybe it could be fun.

[Gabriella Rivera]

After thinking about this a little longer, I'm starting to think that maybe "restarting" ISS isn't such a good idea, because it'll just be more confusing - what do we keep, what do we take away, etc. etc. Not to mention, a lot can happen during three years - the canon characters that you have now wouldn't be the same as a few years ago. And, like you said, now we know the proper ages of the characters, so Lucius, for example, would have graduated three years ago, since he's supposed to be five years older than Marauders and co, and Andromeda would probably have to be around that age, too, if not older, ditto Bellatrix. It'll just be a whole new dynamic and I think it's just...weird if we restart ISS. Which is why I think maybe we shouldn't restart ISS. I'd want another site, with no real affiliation to ISS (except maybe the name? IDK). That way, there's less confusion because everyone knows this is a whole new site and what-not. And, if people want, they can bring in their original characters, at the same age that they're at. Personally, I like the idea of a new site myself - it'll definitely be a lot less work than to archive everything and delete all the accounts, y'know? But yeah IDK. I'm equally frustrated by the lack of activity and, more importantly, the seeming lack of motivation to do anything, going on. I miss the days when, if I didn't log on for a day or two, I have a lot to catch up on. Now, some days, there are no new posts at all! And maybe even this new site could be more fast-paced and we wouldn't have to take three OOC years to get through one IC year.

BUT THEN on the flipside, I love how much we've evolved as a site, and how far we've gotten, and I love everything I've done of the site and everything I plan to do. And then! I think about how much I want to RP Lily during her school years and see the marauders having a great time and pranking and what-not (I probably wouldn't pick up Remus, though, someone else deserves a shot at him for sure). I'm really disappointed I never got the chance to do that, so, yeah. I guess if I really had my way I'd have ISS going on, and then a new site next to it, but since there's no way I'd be able to keep up with both...but then we'd have ISS to fall back on if the new site doesn't work out...IDK. *shrugs* That's my two cents.

[Jayden Flynn]

While I agree with everything in the first paragraph, I think that one of ISS's many charms is that it isn't strictly canon. I think it allows us to expand our horizons a lot more, and to come up with plots and ideas and character backgrounds that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

I am sad that sometimes it feels like ISS isn't very active, but, to be very honest, I think the past three days have marked a huge difference. People are posting now. Seraph is doing notes with Didi, I'm posting in the Yule Ball with Jooj, Ry's posting with Evan, and there's Fief, too, and I think we're slowly getting back up, aren't we? I think ISS has too much potential and people that love it too much to let it die.

And though the idea of starting fresh is appealing, I don't think I'd be able to bring myself to do it. To just erase all of the character development--for me, two years of character development--to start over? Would Stefan be back in the closet, never having met Lyle? What would become of him, if Lyle's not here anymore? I can't imagine Stefan's life without having Lyle in it. What about Emmeline? If the whole Paris thing (another character that's not around anymore) hadn't happened, maybe she would've stayed a self-absorbed princess forever. She could still be with Gideon, maybe? Then, what about Luke? And if we did decide to go back and follow stricly canon, Emmeline would be almost thirty by now, and I wouldn't be able to have her anymore. She's probably, I hate to be biased but, my favorite character. To just let her go like that for the sake of canon continuity, when this is a perfectly working roleplay as it is, would be horrible for me.

I don't think I could go back to zero with any of them. I just couldn't. These are my two cents. :3

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[Imogen Sauveterre]

Okay.

I'm going to just jump right in and say that I don't think that I, personally, could start over completely. I couldn't. Not with a new site, not here... I couldn't do it. I know that one day I'll have to leave ISS and move on, but when that time comes I know that I won't feel like my time on this site was wasted. Starting over completely, I think, would change that. To be honest, I don't know if I would even have the motivation to come back. I think I love what ISS has evolved into, with and without me here, too much to simply "let it go". It's not just my threads, but the threads of others as well, of members who were a huge part of ISS but left in their own time. I guess I can't really imagine going to a new site and having their threads not be in the archives. Call me sentimental, I guess, but... I couldn't do it. Especially for the sake of canon. Lucius would be long graduated, and so would Gideon. He and Fabian might even be twins in canon which is so bizarre. The brotherly dynamic between Gideon and Fabian has been one of my favourites to RP, ever, and I can't imagine losing that, you know?

That being said...

What I can see is us wiping the slate clean for the future plottage on this site. I know that sometimes, I feel completely tied down by things that were planned almost two years ago. I feel like there have been missed opportunities for exploring different sides of my characters because all I can think about is how it will affect previously-plotted events with another RPer. I know that there's some plots that I'm attached to and that I love, but really aren't possible anymore. Whether it's because I haven't got to thread enough backstory or a character majorly involved isn't on the site anymore, sometimes I just can't do certain plots, even if I want to. We can keep everything up to the Yule Ball, but over the Christmas break press the Reset button on plottage and start over completely fresh. I don't mean everyone breaks up over the holidays or something, I just mean that whatever was planned for them... maybe it should be let go. Honestly, I feel like because I've been hanging onto old plots, my characters are becoming more and more one-dimensional, or more and more boring, and when they're boring I don't want to play them. I'm tired of having to go through months and pages of archives in my MSN log to find something that won't even be the same today because of other developments. I think a fresh start could bring a new life to the site. I think it can open so many doors and be just a real breath of fresh air. And I'm not saying everyone has to delete eeeeeverything they plotted. If there's still stuff they want to do that was plotted before, it's their choice. But on the whole, I feel like we could all use a fresh, new perspective. Even if it means archiving or speed-finishing current threads so we could all have a fresh go of it.

And, honestly, I feel like ISS needs... some lighter plots, you know? Everything has been so dramatic recently, so dark, and I think that's part of the problem too. I think we need more threads with friends being friends and goofing off and having silly jokes and messing about. IDK. Haha.

tl; dr: I'd love a fresh new start with plottage, but I agree with Arti: I couldn't go back to zero. I just... couldn't.

[Regulus Black]

i don't know. i couldn't do it. i agree with didi about things being let go but i just. we can't start over. the past of the site is what makes ISS, well, ISS. and i don't know. on the one hand i feel a lot of guilt, because i think that a lot of the reason why it's gone downhill is because i, myself, haven't been offering as much as i can to the table. i've been busy and when i do have free time i spend it either doing homework or sleeping. but that doesn't excuse why i've been such a poor user, and a poor admin to boot. yes, i remember when ISS was sprawling with activity and i don't know, i think that will happen again. christmas break is coming up, and thanksgiving before that. i think that we can try and revive things. at least i know i'm going to try. we can't give up just yet. maybe i'm being unrealistic or whatever but honestly i think that ISS can exist without kelsey, skar, and kiara. hell, it even lasted after the fiasco with abbie and izzie, and if we weathered that we can weather anything. it was a very devastating blow to lose three of our most active players, yes, but that doesn't mean that we can't recover from it. we just have to try, to dedicate ourselves. i know i will be as soon as i get on break. ISS has been the place where i can go when i don't have a home, and i'm not going to let it go. i owe it too much to do that. we just need to recruit more, we need to get more people, advertise more and see what we can do. we lost three players, so let's advertise and go find more, and bring them back tenfold. it can happen, we just have to try. but no, i'm sorry, i can't just start over. deleting plots is something i definitely would want to do, and i think by all rights should happen, but starting over feels too much to me like giving up. and i'm not ready to do that just yet.

[ambrosia]

Okay, so I know I'm new here so my say isn't quite as important as everyone else, but I completely agree. I don't think I would be able to start over either. I mean, I've been working really, really hard to keep up with my plots even though I literally don't get home until aound 9 o'clock in the evening every night and at that time I still have to do homework and other stuff, but I still try to remain active. Hell- I just brought back one of my characters. The point I'm trying to make here (which I'm probably not doing very well with) is that we just need to be patient. Yeah, people on the site have gotten busier lately and it sucks, but wouldn't it suck more if all of a sudden you returned to continue your plots to find out that everything has been wiped? IDK... I just, I'm really attached to my characters even though they still have a lot of plottage to do and I just don't think I would be able to start over... I think the site is fine just the way it is, even if it is a little slow-moving at the moment.

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[Andromeda Black]

Wheeew. Okay. So, originally I was coming on here to make a post about my own shit activity and then I saw this, and well, bear with me as I kind of tie it all together, because honestly, I think it's very much related.

ISS has been around for almost four and a half years.

That's... to put it mildly, insane. Four and a half years of people writing and developing and growing and plotting and the whole shebang. Four and a half years of character arcs and threads that can be found in the archives. (As a disclaimer, I'm just going to add that like Didi, you can call me sentimental, but I adore the hell out of those archives. Okay.) ISS has been around since July of 2007, and I have been a part of it since then. And I know that I'm not the only member who's been around for a long time, and that the length of time doesn't mean anything overall, but in terms of how it affects me, personally, it does. I joined ISS when I was thirteen years old, and it has been a huge part of my life since I was thirteen years old. Which is kind of crazy on so many levels to contemplate. If I'd never found ISS, what would I have done with all that time in the past four and a half years? What would my writing be like at this point? Would I have the same confidence to say that being a writer is what I want to do with my life? I'd like to think so but I honestly don't know.

Despite all of that, though, I'm also aware that I've had some of the worst inactivity out of everyone these past two and half months, if not the worst. And some of that can be blamed on starting university and all the craziness that comes with that, but to be completely honest, part of it has to do with the fact that I just... needed a break. I've been an administrator at ISS since April 2009, so two and a half years, and while I realize I've gone through periods of being less active here and there throughout, as most of us do, I've also committed a ton of myself to this site. I've kept my phone with me, MSN turned on practically 24/7 just so I can be reached; I've dealt with site crises and conflicts from my sister's basketball games, at family dinners where I've ducked to the bathroom, at school while in class, at the grocery store, the list goes on and on. Because ISS has always been such a priority to me, above so many other things in my life to be honest, and I've always tried to handle any issues to the best of my abilities and I guess, just, do what an admin does. And the point of me saying this isn't to toot my own horn by any means, but I just, I feel like I need to explain just how much of myself I've put into this site over the years in order to justify saying that, yeah, I've needed a break.

And I don't blame anyone else that's felt the same, because I know that by no means am I the only one who's dedicated myself so crazily to the site, as I think the ridiculous activity you all speak of longingly can attest to. I know that things have indeed gone "downhill" and have been so for a while, and obviously this is something to be frustrated with, or worried about. But I truly don't think it's the end of the world. It may be the most drastic dry spell we've have but by no means is it the first. (Plus, like Fief mentioned, the holidays are coming up, and those are always good for getting the energy and activity back up again.) I can fully empathize with the desire for a fresh start, wanting to just start over with your characters, wanting to play graduated characters in their school years, you name it. But starting over at a new site... I don't see how that would be ISS.

Yes, it's the community of members that makes us who we are, and that would be what we hold onto, but I think that ISS's history is hugely important. The non-canon ages, the little quirks that are off, are such an integral part of this site, because so many of those characters, and the relationships they've formed, are integral parts of this site. Would it be fun to play the Marauders and Lily in school, or work up new relationships? Sure. Absolutely. But to a certain extent, those things aren't impossible here either, with the Time Turner or even Parallel Universe (seriously, Jooj and I can't be the only ones abusing that thing :p), and then you're not stripping away events that, as Arti pointed out, have shaped and defined characters. I guess, to me, the idea of this new site, while I can understand the appeal - that's not ISS. You'd be taking away all the history and development, and many of the relationships, as Arti and Didi pointed out respectively with Emmeline and the Prewett brothers as examples. There are other sites out there, other platforms for anyone to write about Harry Potter characters if they so wish, and while I wholeheartedly understand the desire to write about characters differently, I can't let that overpower what ISS is, in my mind at least. As long as any of the members still want to keep ISS going as the site we know, it will keep going.

Didi raises a good point about how it keeps going, however, and the idea of a fresh start with plots. The Winter holidays are approaching for characters, and I think it's great if people want to use that as their own fresh start. Obviously, this is the kind of thing to be worked out individually between members, and plots that they wish to keep should be kept, but I think for many, it could be a weight off their shoulders. I know that I, personally, have struggled with character plots and direction after the departures of certain members, and I fully realize that this has been an issue for many, but I think we can all understand that. And if maybe something has to be skipped over, or a character's history tweaked, etc etc, then hey, I say go ahead, if that's going to get you active with them again.

Activity is something personal to every member. Some people are more active than others, some people are more consistently active than others; it's always going to be that way. As Evan points out, some people are just busy at the moment, and that’s completely natural fluctuation. But I think there’s a deeper issue as well, an issue that is in part a cause of the inactivity for some and a result of it for others, and that’s the lack of motivation, which Jooj pointed out as well. And while I do believe that there are steps that can and should be taken by the site as a whole to encourage fresh activity during this dry spell, I think that what it really comes down to is everyone finding in themselves the motivation to keep on going. Because from the sounds of it, reading everyone's opinions, we all want ISS to be active, we all want to feel excited about our plots and characters again.

A new site is not going to make all of that happen.

But I honestly believe that we can do it all ourselves, both personally in terms of finding our own motivation, or giving characters a fresh start with future plots, and also as a whole, working together to come up with new ideas that will fuel our excitement and help with the motivational process. A new site is a hell of a lot of work, and a new site with everything wiped would not be ISS and would essentially take us back from all the development that we have worked so hard at. So no, I don't believe in a new site, and I think that working at this ourselves, personally and together, is the way to get through this. And as frustrating at the inactivity seems, as dire as it maybe even seems, I honestly think that we will get through this just fine.

ISS isn't going anywhere as long as we still clearly want it.

[Julien Cross]

okay so i couldnt read through EVERYTHING everyone has said because i am work -- obviously not working but i have to at least pretend -- but im just gonna make this short and sweet:

- i would not be down for starting over or making a new site.

- i definitely think we should have a wave of restarting plots for our chars that we're bored with/never really got off the ground (note: JARETH AND FEHLANDT.) i think this would be very beneficial

- i think a restart on some plots would bring back some inspiration and also for allow more diversity of who we roleplay with since a lot of people (im very guilty of this) tend to stick with certain players, so i think this would really help in widening our writing cohort with others on the site. and, again, i think it'll help spark inspiration

and i think thats all ive got for now... but so help me god if i had to restart Aiden i would literally cry.

okay not literally but i would at least have a stroke.