This post will definitely be made better with community involvement, and is an open discussion. Important information therein!
First, the brain is muddled after a long day's work, so forgive my word meandering. Also, Toddles tends to keep in-character here on the ERN, but this thread is officially a srsface, non-bear post.
The Harbor Market is approaching its second anniversary soon. As of January, it still averages between 25 - 35 individual roleplayers during its peak hour - which is phenomenal, considering its age and its bi-weekly status. Few events have such longterm consistency, and I'll admit that I feel a bit of affection and pride when I see the bustling in-character market. Sure, it's not the 50 - 60+ of last summer and fall, but I for one am grateful for the smaller crowds, it allows Toddles and other market managers to be more personal.
That said, the Harbor Market will be changing come March. It's a very intense event that requires a significant amount of time on my part to invest in IC/OOC connections and coordination. I am blessed with several individuals who assist me regularly, plus an entire guild that will not hesitate dive in to support. But the fact remains that my new job requires a lot of travel, I'm soon to be an aunt and I'm planning another family member's wedding. Add that to other large commitments to Warcraft, and it's difficult for me to invest in all the time the market needs. Simply put - the player behind the gnome is busy!
While I can continue to delegate more and more responsibilities for the market to the point that Toddles is a mere shadow, I'm concerned that the market won't thrive without consistent leadership. Perhaps I'm looking for reassurance from the community in this regard, to see the interest in the strong continuation of the market, what players are interested in doing to support it, and the collective ideas that we can inject into the market as it reaches its second year.
Events are best when they adapt - so what would you like to see for the market in the future?
What would you (as in, you!) like to do to support it?
By no means is the market dying - it's the player behind it who is attempting to reshuffle her energy to commit it to all the places it needs to be. That, and I'm a firm believer in keeping roleplay events current, and able to fill in needed community niches. A single location to sell your professions ICly, trade intricate GHI items and advertise personal or guild services is a fantastic RP venue, and it was the reason the Harbor Market was founded in the first place. I'm thankful for all those who have participated and kept it as strong as it's been since 2010.
The main solution I've been considering is making the Harbor Market monthly instead of bi-weekly. In some ways, this is patterning off its Hordeside sister, the Kosh'harg. This will allow more time for myself and others who run the market to plan, as well as rest between markets. It will also open the door for bigger events, since we will have more time to work out scheduling between various parties.
However, I wanted to take in community input and see what other brains were thinking. I'm very close to the market and therefore cannot view it from the outside. What are things that could change? What are things you would like to see?
This is essentially a review of the Harbor Market as it currently stands, and to see whether there are issues with a monthly schedule instead of bi-weekly. These kinds of discussions don't get anywhere without airing the dirty laundry, so I'm going to prode the coals here and see the flames that leap out.
Non-bear srsface post complete!
Okay pardon me if I ramble a bit. I may, I may not. We'll know by the end of the post.
My concern is the time between Markets. Okay sure. Most people are selling GHI items so its just something to go do to build up their story or rep or what have you, but personally I use it to sell real items. RP robes and armor etc. Things I pick up on various characters as I level or farm and would rather not see them bought up in the AH and re-priced for amounts that are way way way out of the price range of any casual players.
First off this stuff builds up. Market is one of the places I unload the most stuff and get it into the hands of the role players.
Second if it goes to a once a month schedule then if something comes up and someone misses it then it's a whole month more before they can hope to make it. Honestly I think this may start to breed apathy too. When a regular event is closer together you have momentum to build attendance. So spread apart and people forget or plan other things before they even remember it is going on.
I realize RL must come first and it sounds like you have a super busy one but what if you conscripted hired an assisitant to run it on off nights. So once a month Toddles would run it and be there for planning etc and once a month the Toddles Hand-Picked Assistant would be there to run it? I'm sure finding someone willing to be the manager once a month opposite Toddles wouldn't be terribly difficult.
just my fast thoughts on this since I am on vacation and not thinking very srsly anyway.
Thanks, Flixle!
Currently debating the options. I agree that monthly is too long a wait, and it'll negatively impact the market in the long run. But keeping up a twice-a-month commitment is tough.
Upon reflection, I'm really looking to the community to get involved and show their investment in the market. Just by starting this conversation, it's opened up that dialog a bit more. What I'm seeking is helping hands and ideas to keep up the market's momentum as my game commitment will start to lack.
For example: are there roleplayers who wish to get involved by being a market manager? I'll post that open question now, and see if there's a bite.
While all these things are being discussed, I thought it better to postpone the market this weekend and push it to next week.
Thanks for the interest, Flixle! Here is a list of manager duties before and during the market. To a degree, this is a list of things that have been practiced, but also things that I'd theoretically like to practice to help ensure market organization and consistency.
Before the Market
- Advertise. The market must be advertised on the ERN within 4-6 days of market date. Bump the Market Catalog post, and check PMs for vendor reservations or requests.
- Contact Vendors. Maintain contact with previous or frequent vendors, and know whether they're returning for this market. Contact them 4-6 days of market date. Take in accomodations or other requests, communicate clearly about what can be met, and not met. Always attempt to reach five vendors or higher. 5-8 vendors is the ideal.
- White Smoke Flare Inventory. Take inventory of white smoke flare count, and begin farming mats or buying at bargain AH prices to make the required amount. Markets tend to use 200+ flares.
- Prepare Market Catalog. Make a list of vendors 1-3 days before the market. If vendor list appears low for the upcoming market, contact previous vendors to gauge interest. Prepare for extra time to code text in GHI in case there are mistakes, and trade a sample catalog with a volunteer player to ensure no coding errors.
During the Market
- Finalize Market Catalog. Log in 30 + minutes before the market, and make last minute changes to the Catalog based on last-minute vendor shows. Ensure accuracy. Cut off time for submissions is 8 p.m. server time, when market begins.
- Raid Group. Create a raid group with Market Managers and vendors. Keep managers in a separate group for communication purposes. Communicate with vendors that managers are there to ICly and OOCly accomodate needs, and pass out [White Smoke Flare]x10 to each vendor. Explain that each flare lasts 5 minutes, therefore 10 flares equals 50 minutes flare time. Note that vendors below level 10 cannot be invited to the raid group.
- Spam Mitigation. Note spacing of vendors and how much "chat spam" is in each location. Prepare to move vendors to mitigate the spam. Move vendors only on a volunteer basis, if a vendor does not want to move, do not force them. Explain advantages of being in a "less spammy" booth location.
- IC Guide. Elect a manager to act as the IC greeter and guide to market-goers. Greet them as they arrive, ask them if they've been to the Harbor Market before, help guide them to vendors that sell what they are looking for. If user has GHI, pass a Harbor Market Catalog copy to them. Spot vendors with flares when vendor becomes too busy/runs out of flares.
- OOC Guide. Elect a manager to act as the OOC guide to market-goers. Route all OOC whispers to them. This manager is less likely to roleplay ICly during the market, due to amount of OOC whispers they may receive. Whispers vary to a handful, to several dozen. This manager will also be tasked with conflict resolution should OOC drama arise.
- Raffle. During the last hour of the market, begin passing out raffle tickets. Raffle tickets are free with market participation, but a small buy-in price for more expensive raffle prizes is being considered (choppers & other expensive gifts have been considered, but are not feasible at this time). Two prizes are raffled between 9:45 - 10 p.m. The reasoning behind the raffle is not only to raffle off donated prizes to participating community members, but also provide a "less busy" second hour for the vendors and prevent burn out.
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That's a summary. There is more detail on running the raffle, but that would be a post unto itself.
In many ways, the Harbor Market is a complicated event that rivals RL events in organization and coordination. It involves a lot of networking and a bit of customer service - and a lot of patience. Having more than one manager on-duty really helps with delegation and letting the managers have fun.
Wonderful. (: I have no issues with the preparatory phase of the market (all the Before the Market duties). My main difficulty is keeping up with all the happenings of the market itself due to its size.
A few guards to help guide visits to booths would really take a large weight off managers' shoulders. It's difficult to roleplay your character and be personable when there are upwards of ten people gathered around, asking questions. Guards can easily guide market-goers where they wish to go, and be visible at the market as well.
I'll be ingame this week and we can discuss details. Ultimately, I'd love for others to get more involved in the production of the market, it really is fun to see it work. The difficulty I'm having at the moment is after nearly two years, my energy is beginning to wane.
This upcoming 11th is booked earlier in the day for me, so I'll be unavailable until the actual hour of the market (this is the outstanding RL busyness I mentioned in the OP!). But since I postponed the market this week, I intend to host it this upcoming Sunday. All the stops will need to be pulled, though!
Just adding a few updates:
Flixle and I spoke, and he had a wonderful idea of Harbor Market Sponsors - ie individuals or guilds who sponsor the market by advertising it the week prior, hosting a booth and acting as guides/helpers during the market. In exchange for promoting and helping the market, sponsors receive a booth location of their choosing.
Other benefits to follow, if/when I think of an equivalent exchange for assisiting Harbor Market promotion and operation.
Keep in mind that the Harbor Market is a bi-weekly and free outlet to advertise your guild and its services. It's a great place to make your guild visible, sell surplus items from the guild bank for gold, and recruit members.
Finally, one addition to the Harbor Market Raffle, to start this week on the 11th:
- Each participant in the Harbor Market will continue to receive one complimentary raffle ticket.
- Those who wish to have more than one raffle ticket can purchase as many as they wish for 5g each.
- Gold raised from the raffle will either be: raffled off in a 50/50, and/or go towards future market raffle prizes. This opens the possibility of raffling very large and sought-after raffle gifts in the future, without market managers going broke.
Finally, whipped up a Harbor Market Booth Layout picture:
Only one location on this map is reserved, which is Booth #8. This is where Toddles typically sets up shop for people to approach him and ask questions, obtain Harbor Market Catalog copies, and pick up raffle tickets. All other locations are first-come, first-serve, with exception of future sponsors.
