Which islands do you want to keep?

[Foundation]

I think the reasons people have for which island should be kept are more important than the sheer number choosing a particular option.

The pool of players contributing to the poll is likely not a sufficient representation of the player base as a whole, but their sentiments may certainly be widely shared among their peers.

[LilWolf]

I chose just Atamara. It's honestly the only island(well, Darka's the only realm) that has kept my interest in the game. I've played there for close to 10 years so there's a lot of attachment to it. Closing it would make me seriously think about quitting the entire game. I've been to pretty much all the other islands and none of them have managed to draw me in as much.

[pcw27]

I honestly never thought I'd hear someone say that about Atamara...

[Jaden]

Well i would say that Atamara is the island of constants and it appeals to some people. When there's a betrayal, it's a big deal.

[vonGenf]

I definitely think Dwilight should stay, for all the reasons stated above.

I picked FEI, EC and Dwilight because I think they form a good geographical mix: a small island, a medium island and a huge island. I hope that kind of diversity can remain in the game. The worst result would be to close FEI, Colonies and Dwilight and stay with all the other islands at roughly the same size.

[Jaden]

Should this thread or the thread on closing island be posted on the front page in the News ticker? More people should be made aware of the decisions that will be made.

[Indirik]

I honestly never thought I'd hear someone say that about Atamara...

There are a lot of people that love Atamara. They just don't participate in the forums. That's why the forums are a very poor choice for gauging the opinions of the players, especially in a matter such as this.

Atamara has its good points. It has large realms, active wars, constant warfare, mostly straightforward politics. And lots of characters. That fact alone should tell you how much people love to play on Atamara. They just don't come here. Probably because when they do, they get barraged by "Atamara sucks!"

[Foundation]

Should this thread or the thread on closing island be posted on the front page in the News ticker? More people should be made aware of the decisions that will be made.

Good idea, but not necessary at this time, as this poll will not be used as a numerical indicator, just to grasp a general idea of the sentiment out there. e.g. if just one person expresses a vocal opinion of AT is good, it won't mean AT will not be kept.

[Ender]

I choose FEI, Atamara, and Dwilight.

FEI because I think there is a fantastic diversity of cultures and realms paired with players that genuinely make the game interesting.

Atamara because, while I don't care to play there anymore, I think there is potential for something interesting there.

Dwilight because, while it hasnt always worked for me, the sheer diversity and opportunities that could be had there seem to be worth holding onto. Plus it works nicely for a testing island.

[Sarwell]

I thought the proposal was to eliminate one island, not to only leave three. Just saying.

[Tom]

Good idea, but not necessary at this time, as this poll will not be used as a numerical indicator, just to grasp a general idea of the sentiment out there. e.g. if just one person expresses a vocal opinion of AT is good, it won't mean AT will not be kept.

Quite frankly, the results of the poll will be entirely ignored, at least by me.

I'm interested in the reasons mostly to check if there's anything I didn't think about myself already. But again, neither quality nor quantity makes a difference, because the majority of players do not participate in the forum discussions anyways.

[Tiridia]

Tom,

You could make a game-wide GM post that links to some survey if you want representation. I would make it a simple one, such as simply asking for one island to keep and why, with one open question that has a limit to how much text you can type in. That is, if you are at all interested in the results of such a survey.

[egamma]

I thought the proposal was to eliminate one island, not to only leave three. Just saying.

Like Tom says, this is entirely unofficial.

If I asked for only one island, I think we would get a lot of "Dwilight" responses, which wouldn't be as useful as knowing which two, or which three, islands are the most loved. 64% of players voted for Dwilight as one of their three islands. Now, I don't know if Dwilight was #1, #2, or #3 on their list, but knowing that 2/3rds of the players (who voted) want to keep it is a pretty strong indicator. 55% voted for FEI, and only 12% voted for the Colonies. AT, BE, and EC are basically tied, which I find interesting.

In a couple of weeks I can start another poll where keeping Dwilight and FEI as taken for granted as being safe, and people have to choose to keep 1 of the four remaining islands, assuming we don't have any major changes in the numbers.

And Tom wants to keep EC, so maybe I can drop that from the running, leaving AT,BE, and the Colonies. Then the numbers may get especially interesting.

But, I wanted to have an open poll for now.

[Revan]

only 12% voted for the Colonies

And Tom wants to keep EC, so maybe I can drop that from the running, leaving AT,BE, and the Colonies. Then the numbers may get especially interesting.

By its very nature as a small continent, Colonies has very few players in comparison to any of the other islands. I expect all these polls will reveal is where people are playing in the largest numbers already rather than any new insights.

[egamma]

By its very nature as a small continent, Colonies has very few players in comparison to any of the other islands.

I know, I play there--and I think you do too. The Colonies are special, due to the one turn a day, so I doubt they are going away.

I expect all these polls will reveal is where people are playing in the largest numbers already rather than any new insights.

Quite possibly. I probably should have made the poll a "choose two" poll, or possibly a "choose 1" with Dwilight excluded.