New Supply Officer: Strings!

For many months now, Strings has been helping us out with maintaining the harvest spreadsheet and updating the information in game to tell everyone what we need to harvest.  This is an indepth process that does take some time to update, and it was a huge weight off of our shoulders.

After some recent discussion we determined that Strings has been stepping up to the plate to handle a lot of guild administration, even if just to tell an officer that something is going on. This has been instrumental in keeping things running smoothly.

To recognize all of her hard work, we've promoted Lutestrings (and Hamstrings) to the rank of Technical Director.  She'll still be in charge of the same things she always was: maintaining the harvest depots and letting us know if things are going wrong there.  As time goes by she may wish to expand her portfolio, but for now that's it.  This does not mean she deserves any less respect than other officers; just that she does not choose to handle some of the more stressful bits of guild management.

Please continue to direct questions regarding the running of the guild itself (questions about the hall, or about points, etc) to Rosaphina in Jazabelle's absence. If I'm not on Rosaphina, I'm usually in the /hat channel on any of my alts. Strings and Meeba are also able to contact me through FB.

While the guild may be in a lull right now, this happens and is common.  As the mood and certain in game holidays strike, attendance will sweep back up and things will seem to progress faster. For now, enjoy the easy pace and laid-back atmosphere that makes Homes and Tomes such a great place to play.

Guild Updates

Hello friendlies. It's been a while.

GUILD POINTS UPDATE

Many moons ago, there were requests by some members to be able to see their points histories or have access to the spreadsheet we used to track points.  For many reasons, we were unable to allow that sort of access.  At the time we were using a spreadsheet on Google Drive, and while we thought we'd finally achieved a method that would allow privacy for members while showing the necessary information to officers - it just wouldn't work.

According to our guild window, we have 229 accounts in the guild.  Imagine how big the spreadsheet has grown to be with a tab for every main character.  It was starting to take ten minutes just to load the thing.

Jazabelle and Rosaphina talked, Rosaphina pulled some strings, and Rosaphina's husband Xakane created a database on his personal website for points tracking.  It took some time to transfer all of the information over - and historical data has not been pulled in.  That said, the page is now ready for people to take a look at it.

Please note: This is nothing important to most people, nor was it designed with aesthetics in mind.  This is simply the way to answer some people's concerns that they need to see the points they've been assigned in the past, as well as allowing the entire points process to be much more streamlined.

You can get there by going to the top of the Homes and Tomes webpage, choosing Links, and clicking on Character Points. Or, you can just click here. If you have any questions, please see Rosaphina (not Xakane!) and she'll do her best to help you.

MEMBER OF THE MONTH

Now through February 2, we're accepting nominations for the Homes and Tomes Member of the Month. Please send a mail to Rosaphina with any nominations you have and a brief explanation of why you feel the member deserves that honor.  The winning member will receive a spotlight on the front page and a personalized book.

GUILD HALL

The guild hall is still being updated, slowly.  This particular hall is a beast in both its size and its propensity to eat tiles.  With Jazabelle on break, and Rosaphina involved in other things that are taking her time, it'll be a while before it's finished.  If anyone has any requests or suggestions, please talk to Rosaphina and we'll do our best to see what we can do.

Important News Regarding Jazabelle and Guild Points

It is my unpleasant duty to inform you all that Jazabelle's player is currently undergoing a bout of Shingles. She will, as a result, be out of game for a week or two while she deals with the unpleasant illness as well as the side effects of being on prednisone.  Please keep her in mind, but never fear! Our awesome leader will be back as soon as she can.

In officer notes, Iosabella's player (that's me) is pulling Iosabella out of Homes and Tomes shortly for roleplay reasons. Her main character will be replaced with Rosaphina, who has long been Jazabelle's harried secretary.  I apologize for any confusion this may create, but I am still an officer and still in charge of points, just under a different name to you all.

Speaking of points, Xakane has created a database system for us officers to use in handling point management.  The first good news is that this will take hours off each week of the time it takes me to update points. The second good news is that each and every one of you will be able to view your (and others') current points in real time, simply by going to a webpage and searching for the name of a main character.

There is, of course, always bad news. In this case, it means that points will not be updated for a week or two while I work on transferring all of the old data into the new system.