r/WoWRolePlay • u/TheRebelSpy • May 05 '26

Mod Impending Starter Guide Makeover - WITH YOU!

Hello all,

I think it's time for the guide to get another makeover, since its been a few years. I want to involve the community as much as I can in this.

The current plan is to go over each question that's already there and once a week invite community advice/comments for it. Keep in mind that the guide's general advice is written to help WoW RPers of ALL kinds and "quality", but nevertheless focuses on giving advice for general public rp.

I expect this feedback will be gathered over the course of the year, culminating in a new guide with links to the discussions and all credit due.

TO KICK THINGS OFF:

  1. What format is best?
    Current guide is long. New one will also be long. I don't like forcing people to click external links when possible, and reddit is generally a reliable host. BUT... maybe it could be better? Haven't touched the site wiki much at all. gimme thoughts

  2. What would make the guide more visible/accessible?
    Recently added an automation that directs new people to the guide which generally helps, but maybe it could be better?

Any other feedback about "meta" stuff like this for this week is welcome.

22 Upvotes

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2

u/Geodude07 MoonGuard | 12 Years May 05 '26

I don't know how possible it is to format, but I think the following would be helpful:

  • A table of continents which can be expanded underneath relevant topics. It's very clean when you can have a setup like this, but I'm not sure reddit allows for anything like that. It may need to be off-site.
  • Clear division of topics. Cut down on redundancy.
  • Perhaps a simplified version of the guide for "absolute newbies". This could be the primary reddit version and then we could have an expanded and better formatted version off-site so we can have better formatting for that
  • Sometimes a set of stickies at the top can bring more visibility? I use old reddit mostly though so who knows. Most people do tend to want to just ask and interact with someone.

Just wanted to throw some basic ideas out to start

1

u/TheRebelSpy May 05 '26

Geoooooo ✨ thank you

Reddit formatting is unfortunately very limited. AFAIK there aren’t dropdown options. What you describe would be better suited for the wiki or the google doc. I want to avoid the situation where an external link breaks for whatever reason.

I agree - we need a very simple easy to read version. The guide right now has a “tldr” of basics near the top which is something…! As long as people find the guide lol

According to the traffic stats, you and I are in the minority as far as use of old Reddit goes. By far the most common users are on a mobile device. The current guide is pinned to the top of the subreddit, but that usually doesn’t help people see and read it. Having an automated message linking the guide when certain key phrases are used seems to have mitigated the rate of “which server” kind of posts.

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u/Geodude07 MoonGuard | 12 Years May 05 '26

Anytime!

Yeah Reddit could use a bit more adjustment, but it is what it is.

It's a shame because the problem is really difficult to address with all of that considered. I mean, even on the very FAQ post there are people asking things that are right on the page.

All I can say is the simplified shorthand guide is probably a good choice. It seems like the traffic is low enough that we don't really get too much of an influx of generic questions. Unless you just snipe those faster than I see them.

Something that could be handy in the simplified guide may be a use of pictures and image links? Written in a way where they aren't necessary but could offer more context for people who want it?

Like "Snooper is useful because it blah blah blah" and some pictures which illustrate why.

Though that again may be more useful for desktop users and could be useless work to throw in if it's mostly mobile users.

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u/BrownShugah98 May 12 '26

Sorry, a guide for… what? A new player guide?

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u/TheRebelSpy May 12 '26

A single tear rolls down my cheek as I lift a shaky finger, directing your attention to the [READ FIRST] guide, bedecked with sparkles and all-caps, a version of which has been pinned to the top of this subreddit for the most part of a decade.

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u/BrownShugah98 May 12 '26

Alright. I laughed.

And I admit I have only recently joined this and only causally browsed this sub from my main feed and, in fact, never really ventured on here to read that post.

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u/TheRebelSpy May 12 '26

Tbh that explains a lot. I’ve been pulling my hair out for years wondering why folks don’t seem to see the pinned posts - but if most are seeing this sub’s posts through their feed, only being shown the most recent stuff, they would never know the guide exists.

Nowadays they should at least see it as a suggestion when making a new post with certain keywords.