SOTG FEBRUARY 2025

[expiationmods]

AC RESULTS

The following characters have been removed from the game:
aonibi
valiantarms
coordinatroll
starringsecond
demonicbookworm
garbagecanned
westcoasts
cartridgerefill
hamachaya
invinciblemikey
spidermenaces
mechanically
arachnerina

WHAT'S NEW?

UPDATED CALENDAR IS HERE. (give me a minute because I'm having trouble with the spreadsheet this morning lmfao)

STATE OF MODS
Coming up, there will be another shift in the mod team. Kri will be stepping down from her position as co-mod of the game. We thank her for her tireless work on helping with the lore and game events for the past year and a half on the mod team! But for many of us, there comes a point where sometimes people need to step back and take some things off their plate.


What does this mean for Expiation? Jenni and Elise, who maintain lists and schedules, will be looking for help with running and maintaining the game for the future. This help will be heavily involved in the creative side of the game, as well. We have a rough timeline for our next plot arc, but we’ll need help bringing that to life and steering the direction of the game for the future. We will be looking for at least one mod–maybe two.


If you think you might be interested, mod applications will be open as of today. We’ll review them around mid-month, and hope to be welcoming new team members hopefully by March. Please submit mod applications HERE.

AC CHANGE
After some consideration and conversation, the mod team has decided to rework the activity system. The new rules are as follows:


- AC must be a total of 15 comments, from any number of threads.
- For a thread to be eligible for AC, it must contain at least 3 comments from you dated within the current month.
- You may link a full top-level as an activity proof, but individual threads within that top-level will not be eligible for bonus activity rewards. You may, as always, link individual threads from within your top-level instead if you wish.
- Backdated threads can be used for AC, so long as the tags counted are within the AC period. For example: a thread started in December may be used for January’s AC, so long as the tags linked are from January. Once a thread has been used for AC, it cannot be used for a later month's AC, nor is it eligible for bonus rewards.
- AC may be a combination of backdated and threads started in the current month. Only one proof must be from a thread started in the current month to pass AC.
- All threads submitted for AC must be from different characters. For example, you may submit threads with Bill, Jane, Steve, and Rebecca, but you may not submit two threads with Rebecca for the same month's AC.
- We are removing the restriction about using the same character for AC for more than two months in a row. If we see someone abusing this change (for example, submitting threads with Steve for every month's AC), we may PM that player and ask for additional proofs.
- Expiation has no formal strike system, but if we determine AC to be lacking in some way, we may ask for additional activity proofs in a future month.
Hiatuses can be posted for the month up until the 15th of each month. Any extenuating circumstances (emergencies, illnesses, etc) past that time will be handled on a case-by-case basis through the Mod Contact page, or through a PM to the mod account.


In addition to these new rules, there’s one new addition to bonus activity: an open post or top-level can now be used as its own proof for regains and rewards. Threads within that post (or top-level) will still be eligible for rewards as normal, but the top-level comment cannot be counted as part of the thread, in that case.


All of these things will be added onto the AC post in the coming days!

A NOTE ABOUT ACTIVITY
With regard to activity check, we've had several questions around the theme of writing quality. We have been asked if activity checks could be based on word count, or if log tags should carry more "weight" than network tags, things like that. The answer to both of these questions, and other similar questions based around writing quality, is no. When we look at activity, we're never questioning the quality of writing, nor are we looking at tag length. Everyone writes and tags in different ways; we will not penalize those who make use of our network community, or wish to write shorter tags.


What we do look at is engagement. Who's tagging out? Who's dropping threads after 2-3 comments? Who's reaching out to players and characters? We look specifically at patterns of tagging, rather than writing quality or OOC planning. We look at who's interacting with the plot, and who is ignoring it entirely. We look at whether players are consistently present, or whether they disappear for weeks and then rush through activity in the last few days of the month. We totally get that sometimes, it's unavoidable. But when it becomes a pattern of habits and leads to someone not engaging with the game overall, it becomes an issue we have to address.


In short: we love seeing the ways that people interact with our setting. We have a diverse range of players, tag styles, even native languages! We will never penalize or reward a player based on the length or perceived quality of a tag. All tags are good tags. We ask simply that you show your characters' presence in the game and enjoy the setting in the way that works best for you.

APPLICATIONS
As we haven’t crossed our 60 player and below threshold, apps for new players are going to be closed this time around. We will still have the TDM that current players can test new characters on, as well as an app round for players who would like to add another character to their roster.

SENTENCING
Our automatic pool is: Gilgamesh (public indecency), Akutagawa (dismembering another Chosen), Vi (assault), Caitlyn (accessory to violence).


We will have six extra slots open for those who may want to sign up. As usual, if we surpass that amount, we will RNG who gets Sentenced!

THIS MONTH IN ALDRIP

Seems like most people woke up in the end. Yay! But that doesn’t necessarily mean the dream effects are quite gone. Some may see their dreams cross into the waking world in their periphery – just for a moment, and then it’s gone. If a character tries to look at it head-on, it’s also gone.


Love is… in the air? To go along with the TDM this month, Valentine’s Day items might start popping up around Aldrip. But they all seem kind of… wrong. Some decorations may look creepy, while others just look like they were haphazardly thrown together. That’s not weird at all. Right?

A LOVE NOTE / FEEDBACK?

Thank you guys in advance for your patience. We know that there are a lot of changes being made right now, but we really hope that you bear with us through them. We’re going to try to make them as seamless as possible, because we want this game to keep running and we have some excited stuff planned! We love you all, and happy February!



idk Jenni voted for bats this month

code credit.