Thorthoth wrote:If I did click on anything, it must have been an unlabelled concerning it's intention. Did somebody on chat put on a link that automatically enrolled me? I would think that could be checked out.
Guide game links look like this in Global Chat:
![Image](http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd141/Dukasaur/Guide20Games_zps2xd4dozf.jpg)
Nobody posts them, they are generated automatically. If you click on the "Join" link you are joined into the game. Perhaps you meant to click on the "View" link instead of the "Join" link? They are pretty close together.
Thorthoth wrote:Besides, that doesn't explain why none of the other three player (all new recruits) didn't play either. Looking on their wall suggests that they haven't played any games at all...
96% of new users start an account and don't stick around long enough to actually play a game. This is the essential problem with growing a site like this. Today's internet user expects instant gratification. Waiting around, even a couple minutes, for someone else to take a turn is something that the typical modern user is not willing to do.
It used to be worse. It used to be that 98% of new users left and only 2% of new users stuck around long enough to play a game. With Bot Games and Guide Games and other initiatives, the new owner has doubled the success rate from 2% to 4%. That still means that if you're in a game with a new user, the odds are 24-to-1 that he will take a maximum of one turn before vanishing.
Trying to bring along the new accounts to the point that they actually start getting into the groove and finish games is a tough row to hoe. You have to expect mostly disappointment. When you finally find one that will stick around, you get to collect some pride in helping to make that happen. A difference of 4% success vs. 2% success might seem trivial, but extrapolated over the long term it's HUGE.
Thorthoth wrote:Of course, this thread brings up another issue. Namely, that some long-established players (at least one) feel they are entitled to waste time and space trolling on the Forum. Maybe that's tolerable on a 'fun' topic but it's definitely unacceptable on the Cheating and Abuse Reports.
Free flow of information is a good thing. If you want valuable information, you have to be willing to filter out a certain amount of useless information along the way. The user who gives you useless information today might give you useful information tomorrow, so don't be too quick to tell him to shut up.