In which Gaea sums up.

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In which Gaea talks about stuffed toys. Again.

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In which Gaea turns the tables!

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In which Gaea waxes poetic about light fixtures and doors.

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In which Gaea giggles about nomenclature.

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In which Gaea reveals some of the secrets behind the magic.

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/me taps the microphone. Is this thing on?

GAH!

Wow, that's loud. A little lower on the reverb, please. Ah, that's better. Whoohoo, the blog is back, and now I've got my own little corner. It's got a red sheet around it marked "Quarantine" and everything.

Normal Question of the Week activity will resume on Tuesday. My thanks to the folks over in San Francisco for the niftiness of having my own home - I'm going to put the archelon-shaped beanbag chair over there.

In which Gaea still plays with stuffed toys.

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In which Karpoi the Octopus is cool, but not as cool as yours.

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Hello again, bloggos and blogettes. Has it been a week already?
It appears so!

When I decided to do this, I planned on doing a mix of light-hearted items (as the first two Questions of the Week were) and questions which popped up frequently in petitions, which is what I had planned for this week and will do. The issue I have with the latter type is that currently, the blog is read by people who are familiar with the forums and with YPPedia, and the questions which I get asked most via petitions tend to have answers that more seasoned pirates have generally already found out the answers to. The ones which aren't questions about game mechanics with answers in the wiki tend to be so specific to various situations that I don't feel comfortable posting about them here, as you'd be able to go, "oh, that's Soandso from Suchandsuchaflag. So THAT's what she's planning", and all sorts of woe would ensue. I'm generally in favor of avoiding woe.

I've had a couple of PMs on the forum regarding possible topics, and one pirate posted in A Cask of Blog indicating he'd like some more serious posts. I thought I'd open it up to discussion here, as one of the cool things about blogs in general is the way comments and such can lead to conversation strings which flow in a different way from forums, where everything's chronological and it's harder to reply to something someone posted five pages back. There are topics I'm not your best bet for as far as coherent answers go - Hypnos is best suited for office-y things, and Apollo for general events, for instance. I can discuss what it's like to be learning the ropes. I can discuss how I, personally, do the job. What sort of focus would you be looking for? I welcome input. I enjoy writing these, but it strikes me that having them be enjoyable and interesting to read would be a good thing, too.

So! Today's question is taken from roughly fifty different petitions, and they usually go: "I noticed that remarkably empty island over there. It's shiny! Why aren't there any buildings on it? Can I be the governor?" This is an entirely understandable question, and one I myself asked as a young cabin person (sort of; I never wanted to be a governor). I'd read the brochure which mentioned exploring the ocean, discovering new islands, and making a name for myself. As far as I had concerned, I'd just discovered this brand-new, empty island, and (uninhabitable tag notwithstanding) it looked very inviting - lots of plants, flowers, a couple of trees, and part of discovery was the right to colonize!

The answer, of course, is that yes, it is shiny! There aren't any buildings on it because nobody lives there yet, and nobody lives there yet because all colonies must be governed. Here is the YPPedia page on blockades to explain how to win an island, and here is the forum thread in which island openings will be announced. Not all islands are open for colonization at all times because there needs to be a balance between the number of pirates, and the number of things to compete for - fresh, unbroken ground is a lovely prize, and worth the time spent in anticipation. The next island openings haven't been announced yet, but I know I'm looking forward to seeing the skilled piracy which will no doubt be required to break that ground.

Next week on QOTW: Suction Cups.

Ahoy, ladies and blogglemen! I'd never have imagined mere soup to be such a hotly contested topic. (Or, in the case of gazpacho, a coldly contested topic). I've got something planned for this week's question, but first, the forums. There were quite a few questions asked about the forums in the comments to my last post. Most of the answers to them have already been posted in the forums, and the ones which haven't been, I'm not in a good position to answer as I'm not based in the office. (I am a sad Gaea. I want a tentacle couch too.) I would, however, like to re-reassure you that your passwords and credit card information are safe.

Onwards! As a new OM, I'm spending quite a lot of time hanging around on the docks. A lot of newer pirates have never seen an OM before, and once they get past "why is your name blue?" (because I'm a game employee), and "do you get paid?" (yes), and when they've moved on to "can I be an OM?" (if you apply when they're hiring, maybe), they want to know if I used to be a player (no, I'm very loyal. Oh. Oh, I see.) Joking aside, newer and experienced players have been asking me who my "civilian" pirate is, and who the other OMs' pirates are. Now, I checked, and while I can't tell you explicitly, what I can do is offer you some clues. If you're in possession of a fine deductive mind and a bit of patience, this should narrow it down a bit.

• More than three OMs have first names in real life which do not begin with the letter "Q". (Whodathunkit?)
• None of the OMs are nuns. Currently.
• Surprisingly few OMs live in Tuvalu.
• Similarly, there are no OMs living in the Vatican. Currently. (SEE: Nuns.)
• Several ex-members of Monty Python are not OMs. Or even ex-OMs. This includes anyone who has joined the Choir Invisible, is pushing up daisies, or is otherwise pining for the fjords.
• On a related note, while none of us pine for the fjords, some of us pine for Fords. (Mustangs in particular. 1968 is the preferred year, blue, with the white stripes. If you have one which is cramping your style and would like to offload it, please send a petition marked "Attn: Gaea".)
• None of us have a solid gold rocket car, because the mass of gold would make rocketry highly impractical considering the cost of and current state of rocket fuel technology.  This is why we use gold leaf over a frame of balsa wood, held together with chewing gum and sheer charisma.
• Every single person working for Three Rings is over eighteen years of age, and under ninety-eight years of age.
• More than half of the OMs play pirates of the same or opposite gender as the real-life person.

There you have it: tantalizing clues about the real-life identities of the Oceanmasters. For the record, I am only lying about one item. None of us have enough chewing gum to hold together that much balsa wood. Yet.

Next week on QOTW: Veni, vidi... vinci?

Hello, blog readers!

Here I'd been wondering what to post on the blog, because I wanted to post SOMETHING. I had been planning to go with "Hi. I like soup. Do you like soup?" However, that seemed a bit dull, so I perused the Cask of Blog forum, and lo! A Question of the Day was suggested, and I saw that it was good.

That said, daily seems like I'd get a bit strained after a few weeks, and so I plan to make this a weekly thing.

So far, the question I've been asked the most is "Hi! How's the new job?", and the answer is, briefly, "awesome".

Less briefly, I really am loving it. I've enjoyed hanging around on docks with people I probably would never have met otherwise, hanging out on That Ocean I Used To Play On. You're all very friendly! The other OMs have been very helpful when I come across something and run screaming. ("Arteeeemiiiiis! What do I doooooooo?"). So far I think I'm doing pretty well. This is not to say that I haven't booched, because I have, in one case rather spectacularly, but fortunately I got called on it very quickly and shown how to fix it.

The oddest thing is that things I used to be absolutely certain of as a player, I'm now not certain about, because suddenly I have to be absolutely correct, and make sure I only give out public information. People are relying on me to give them the right answer, and it's like an exam from when I was in school - I could be completely certain that, for instance, Cleopatra was one of the Ptolemies, and then I'd see it on the exam and *poof*. Doubt. So forgive me if I'm taking a little while longer to answer questions - I'm checking my answer. I'm confident in my ability to do the job. I just want to spend that little bit of extra time to make sure I get it right.

Next time on QOTW: Tantalizing Personal Information.