Cleaning up bases on the server

[Zed26]

*This is not a call to remove all bases

A while back, I posted this suggestion in response to Kazinsal's concerns on the high volume of bases:

Even without waiting to agree on rules, develop SRP protocol, and read through applications, there's an easy first step that can be taken right now which should at least purge a few bases:

Post a prominent announcement giving all base owners a certain number of days/weeks from now to report their base with proof of ownership and at least a basic purpose, after which unclaimed bases will be removed. A base that is not reported within a week likely means it is being silently supplied by individuals who couldn't be bothered to check the forums, in a ridiculously remote location, and contributing little to the RP environment.

While I feel the new RP requirements for core upgrades have been a step in the right direction (and whether the base plugin truly contributes to server issues or not), this also means that old bases at core 2-4 were grandfathered in and thus do not need to declare their affiliation, system (not specific location), purpose, and progress. Over 20 don't have even a one sentence description or a link to their own information page.

If players being tied up with real life issues are a concern, extend the grace period for checking in, but many of these bases have not been heard from since their creation months ago. This is not to say that all old base owners suddenly have to draft a 1000+ word RP description with flashy graphics or lose their hard work (and I know how much goes into it), but could we see some justification in line with the new requirements?

[Lythrilux]

They should just add monthly activity checks, like they do for player SRPs.
The owner can report back what the PoB in question brings to the server, the various things it has done or been a part of that month etc...
If the admits deem the base to either be hazardous to server game play or feel it doesn't contribute to server game play enough, they can just blow it up.

The way I see it, to fix our base problem we generally need to put more power in the hands of the admins; a mostly neutral entity. This way, everyone (or 90%) are satisfied.

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[Binski]

So, they already set a bare minimum for activity, in the form of the consumption of RA and food/water/oxygen....but keeping your base operational is still not enough for some people? People that have nothing to do with those bases btw. Does anyone have any conclusive proof of the horrible lag caused by 'needless' pobs (that probably don't seem so needless to their owners, who are obviously supplying them if they even still exist). Because without them being such a drag on bandwith (which I haven't noticed, since the server came back, its been great for me), this is just RP policing. If you want to do that, advocate to PW protect the server. I just don't believe they are that negative. Let people have their fun, RP or not. I feel like all I see on the forum lately are players trying to take away other player's advantages they have over them. If you can't prove they're dragging YOU down, and only for lag reasons, then what people are doing with their bases is their business. Who cares if they don't fill in their infocards, they don't want to drag attention to themselves maybe? Cuz they know people will waste all of their work without a second thought if they could.

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[St.Denis]

The way I see it, to fix our base problem we generally need to put more power in the hands of the admins; a mostly neutral entity. This way, everyone (or 90%) are satisfied.

Pray do tell what this supposed 'Base Problem' is. At the moment there are appropriately 87 Bases in operation.

Up to now they have been slated for causing Server Lag. Just recently the Server was experiencing big issues where the stability of the Server was intolerable for Game Play. It got to the point that the Server was 'down' for a few days.

Since the restoration of the Server, a few day ago, it seems, in my opinion, very stable and I don't 'see' lag issues that we have experienced over the last 6 months or so. And strangely enough we still have the Base in operation.

So, at the minute, I can't see what the problem with Bases is other than some people just want to blame Bases for the problems that the Server has experienced. I know people have problems with certain Bases but most of them don't as such cause any issues to most people's Game Play.

If your idea of fun, on the Server, doesn't include building Bases why try and spoil it for others that do get enjoyment of building things. Different people want different things from this Game and one Group shouldn't try and dictate how others should Play. As long as everybody abide by the Rules then let people enjoy the Game as they want.

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'I would like to be half as clever as some people like to believe they are'
Life is full of disappointments, it is how we handle them that helps to define us, as a person

[Zed26]

Perhaps I should have started out by noting that I assist in the management of three bases and have personally worked on the construction of more than I can remember. Some have worked, some haven't, some have been blown up - I know that feel. We regularly produce cloaks, jump drives, surveyors, and docking modules, and it's something myself and friends use for fun.

This is not a call to remove all bases, it is not a request to advertise the exact location and defenses of a base, nor is it a call for a particular base to be blown up because it annoys me. On infocards, many just give a basic purpose or a secondary title - at least they demonstrate that the individuals have enough RP in mind to take the time and type "/base info 1 a <text>" and give it a simple description. Furthermore, if the base isn't trying to "drag attention" to itself or interact with anyone else, what are they doing?

For now, I'm just suggesting a simple gesture to check in and demonstrate you're at least aware of the forums and that it's an RP server. I think the new POB rules were implemented with that in mind, and now I'm pointing out that bases existing beforehand should be held to a similar standard. Frankly, with this system, even if you are the last player if your group left to maintain the base, you have the chance to justify it. If secrecy concerns are such a big issue, have all requests in the core upgrade request subforum made invisible like sanction reports (if they aren't already).

While I'll have to defer to the admins and devs on whether or not bases contribute to performance issues (yes, the majority is from the host itself), I would think that 80+ entities have some impact, especially considering the old issues they used to have with players lagging out when on a base with a massive number of items to buy/sell.

I will gladly hear out a case for why bases shouldn't be involved in RP or have their owners interact with the rest of the community in some way, though if one has the time for that, you'd automatically get a pass under this system if the same amount of effort were put toward a brief check-in to the admins. If anything, this should boost the case for bases in general, as it demonstrates that they're actually making some contribution. Having private, secret clubhouses with no desire to interact with the rest of the community are some of the reasons why people think they're pointless and should be removed altogether.

[Lythrilux]

The way I see it, to fix our base problem we generally need to put more power in the hands of the admins; a mostly neutral entity. This way, everyone (or 90%) are satisfied.

Pray do tell what this supposed 'Base Problem' is. At the moment there are appropriately 87 Bases in operation.

Jump hole blockers, lag inducers, serving as hugging platforms etc.
This server needs less bases that cut off player interactions and more bases that promote interactions, and have a noticeable presence on the server.

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[SnakThree]

Just cleaned Itasca Station off the Sirius. Less one corporate weenie installation to worry about.

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[Keioff Xanjer]

This server needs less bases that cut off player interactions and more bases that promote interactions, and have a noticeable presence on the server.

We are slowly trying ourselves. I think the fear of attracting too much unwanted attention plays into this. Just the fact that it takes no RP before you attack a level1 base keeps many from interacting the community I think. I know we were very apprehensive.

Though I'd be very sad to see our station go, I would support the decision IF it really is the cause for the majority of the lag.
But I actually think the server has been running extremely smooth after its recent nap.

[dirmaster0]

I believe some PoBs are already cleaning up themselves. I've already seen a fair amount of the inactive ones slowly dying off (probably because the suppliers have not noticed that the server is back up). I dunno, I just feel like the problem will eventually solve it's self.

[Haste]

lag inducers

pls

can we stop saying this every time bases are brought up

the server's host is complete crap. that's the main cause of lag.

let's fix that and, afterwards, see if bases are a significant factor at all.

Oh, and yeah, RIP [CBL], I'm letting it die.

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