You want the Tattered Weave staff to program something so that people are encouraged to not play directly on the Tattered Weave site?

[quote="Archivist"] You want the Tattered Weave staff to program something so that people are encouraged to not play directly on the Tattered Weave site? [/quote] [url=/users/profile/Archivist][@Archivist][/url] No?? Your browser isn't limited to a single tab... And who doesn't multitask when waiting for shops to restock?? You're post comes across as intentionally being short sighted just for the sake of cynicism and negativity, which is really unfortunate. 😥 I'm just suggesting another way to earn for those who love to play minigames, you know? And also learn bits of a new language during the process? Because it's fun? and even more engaging for those that want that option? And greater engagement actually [i]drives[/i] further activity? Earning shards takes a lot of time and shards are an impediment to being able to finish quests by collecting all the materials needed, let alone ANY materials or equipment for yourself and your own leveling aspirations. And for those of us with limited time or who just want something a little more engaging despite its repetitiveness, it's a great opportunity to take advantage of-- TW Staff wouldn't even have to come up with entire new games, let alone code and bug test them, AND it encourages a great habit that let's you walk away with a real skill in real life that expands your ability to communicate across barriers. Also? The Duolingo forums are always jumping with activity. Tattered Weave could essentially get themselves a piece of that activity pie because players would suddenly want to discuss another big subject: the languages they're choosing to learn, and would have more in common with TW duolingo users which makes them more likely to forge friendships and practice their skills. Another positive, people who may not have heard of Tattered Weave yet do play Duolingo could be motivated to check out the site and join, which gives a nice boost to the community and widens the pool of engagement when said new users come here to the forums with their own ideas, art, and stories!

To sync the points from the Duolingo site, the TW staff would need to code something to grab that information. Are there other pet or game sites that utilize Duolingo in this way? Currently TW staff can track points and adjust Shard payouts because everything is on their site. Using a third party site means they lose that control. There could be ways to easily cheat the Duolingo system that the TW staff would not know or have control over. Using other sites for play encourages less activity on TW and also less spending on TW, people could instead pay Duolingo to get benefits there which translate to benefits here. TW would lose revenue.

[url=/users/profile/Archivist][@Archivist][/url] [quote="Archivist"] To sync the points from the Duolingo site, the TW staff would need to code something to grab that information. Are there other pet or game sites that utilize Duolingo in this way? [/quote] There are not, in fact! But honestly I think that's [i]why[/i] it's such a great opportunity-- [b]there's something to be said about getting on the ground floor of a new expansion!![/b] Really, it's good you even mention other pet sites, because as it stands they're all relatively larger and have long since left their roots, often in ugly ways. (Hello, Viacom..) And this has driven away many players, myself included. I actually never wanted to play any other pet sites ever again. But when the wife of my favorite sapphic artist and comic creator, Maya Kern, posted about the site and I saw for myself how heartfelt it was in it's goal to be as LGBTQIA+ and disability inclusive, I cried and jumped at the chance to join/support such a site! ♥ [b]Representation is a subject of deep significance[/b] to me, and has had an incalculable impact on the lives of me and my loved ones, [i]so the fact a site like this has gone so far to do so AND visibly demonstrates SO much community involvement[/i] like openly providing options for submitting and even implementing user designs of Kith iterations, clothing, items and more-- [b]this place is genuinely inspiring[/b] ♥ Furthermore, considering the way that Duolingo was first established alongside the indie beginnings of Tattered Weave itself, I believe their mutual good faith endeavors [b]would work very much in TW Staff favor[/b] should they approach Duolingo with the suggestion. Who knows? [i]They may even get some help with the coding. [/i] You never know until you ask! [quote="Archivist"] Currently TW staff can track points and adjust Shard payouts because everything is on their site. Using a third party site means they lose that control. There could be ways to easily cheat the Duolingo system that the TW staff would not know or have control over. [/quote] Quite right, [b]which is why we have moderators and [url=https://thetatteredworld.com/forum_subcategories/13/forum_topics]bug report/tech support forums[/url] in the first place,[/b] yes? [quote="Archivist"] Using other sites for play encourages less activity on TW and also less spending on TW, people could instead pay Duolingo to get benefits there which translate to benefits here. TW would lose revenue. [/quote] [b]I kindly but fervently disagree! [/b] Are you even aware of [url=https://ai.duolingo.com/]the benefits of [i]any[/i] services on Duolingo?[/url] Or[url=https://www.duolingo.com/] the site itself [/url]at all? From your phrasing and questions, very apparently not, so please welcome these as sincere efforts to help clear your concerns. There are genuinely so few pay actions on Duolingo and they pertain nearly exclusively to maintaining one's streak and gaining access to downloadable lessons for times when you're offline or when your data plan is running low. [b]The site was established [url=https://youtu.be/cQl6jUjFjp4]with a charmingly wholesome intent [i]and clearly strives to maintain that integrity[/url].[/i][/b] ( [i]link provided is to the TED Talk wherein this project was first revealed to the general public, even then still in beta[/i] ) There's not even any options I can find to purchase more of [i]their own[/i] in-game currency (Lingots) in order to buy more streak-freezing items or earning multipliers. [b]They simply don't allow you to cheat indefinitely--[/b] Even on a purely mechanical level! [u]You either study to maintain or lose your streak and ranking[/u] ( [i]and the reward for placing higher on the scoreboards is paltry anyway, a modest pile of Lingots.[/i] ) [b]Their primary objective[/b] of their [url=https://www.duolingo.com/plus][i]arguably[/i] sole paid option,[/url] a subscription, is only to continue to support their overall mission of educational research and [url=https://ai.duolingo.com/]offering free language education across the globe[/url]. So TW would easily still keep the lion's share of profits with no real trouble at all. [b]All the incentive to spend still frankly remains on TW's side.[/b] So really, I fail to see how this wouldn't be a lovely win/win.

That is another question, of why Duolingo would allow TW to use its data? It is still a business, it needs an incentive on its end to extend use of its site to other businesses. If you want to encourage people to support your suggestion, you should include information you have in your original post. The logistics of getting two sites to partner up is not something to be considered lightly. Duolingo has in the past partnered with large groups such as Twitch and Buzzfeed - it would be no benefit to them or their mission to partner with a small site like this, with little additional exposure from them to help grow their own user base. Moderation and bug reports of a third party site's function would be difficult to deal with as the staff of TW would need to communicate with the staff of Duolingo, not being able to check the back-end themselves. It's not as simple as saying "report here" when the problem may stem from the other website. Duolingo has on iOS replaced Lingots with Gems and have stated that "Over time we will introduce additional and optional ways to earn and spend Gems" which may bode for Duolingo Gem purchases, further incentivized by the iOS Duolingo Hearts system. It remains to be seen what will happen with Gems and Hearts on other systems and the Duolingo website, but it may be a gamble that TW does not want to risk. Even disregarding logistics of coordinating the sites, it's bad optics to have people earn things on TW for playing a non-TW game. It has the implications that TW is not interesting enough by itself to play its games. It breaks immersion. TW ceases to become a site of its own, and becomes a secondary site where people play games on other websites and come here once in a while. It's fine to make a suggestion, but you have to keep in mind how it would be implemented, how it would impact the game, and what effect it'd have on the website, userbase, and staff. It's important to have other people point out potential problems and flaws, and foster discussion in order to improve a suggestion to its best end. Saying things like "intentionally being short sighted just for the sake of cynicism and negativity" and the general condescending tone of your responses leaves me believing that you have no interest in discussion here, so I won't respond any further. Please don't tag me, as I have no interest in being condescended to further. Good luck with your suggestion.

I love DuoLingo, but, uh...... I really do not want to cross the streams here. Very real considerations about implementation aside (and [i]yowza, [/i]do I ever think it would be an ongoing pain for staff!), earning shards for non-TW things would, like, break the immersion for me? I know not everyone is here for the narrative and character aspects of TW, but that's what drew me here and keeps me coming back. I love the feeling of this being its own little universe. I don't want it linked it to the real world and DuoLingo, no matter how cool I think DuoLingo is.

[url=/users/profile/Archivist][@Archivist][/url] Why are you picking on me?! You're such a negative nancy why can't you just appreciate a good ideaAA-UH. --'kay but seriously, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I came across as that condescending. I was seriously trying to be as nice as possible (forcibly sacchrine, I'm sure, considering how tweaked I was) and instead angrily inferring to myself "WELL GOSH maybe he just doesn't get it??!" but behind the screen I was ripping my hair out because it really did feel like everything you had to say was exclusively and overwhelmingly negative… and, unfortunately, instinctively, I got too attached to my idea. The subject matter is close to my heart and it's a stupid reaction but when an idea based on a beloved subject is criticized, it's fucking hard not to take it personally, no matter who you are. So, yeah, no, I DO wanna break the tension here before it gets worse because I saw where it was going too and I was getting increasingly pissed and frankly?? really, [i]really[/i] sad and hurt. I just.. like to see things from a more optimistic perspective, because, personally, I've wrestled with my own negativity my whole life.. Always taken to extremes and incredibly cruel because of my intense emotions.. And all of it directed most prominantly at myself. Especially as I always struggled to fit in. The more the latter, the crueler and more negatively harsh on myself I was. So.. me and negativity got a beef. So when I'm bouncing all high and excited on the 'Always look on the briiight siiide of liiife~!' and then holes get popped in my latest airy idea, it gets to me, fast. And I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to condescend you. Part of me really did just want to believe you just didn't understand, so I tried to be as sweet and carefully worded as possible. (I rewrote that last post over and over, over the course of hours.. sad and stupid, I know.) But yeah, I didn't mean for that to all come across as condescending. But some of it was, I see that and you're right, so I want to apologize for that. I'm sorry. Moving on to the actual OP subject, I didn't really consider it at all the way you put it, that a site like Duo would have no benefit from partnering with a small site. I honestly didn't see it that way because from the outset of how DL was established, it was a strange but oddly pure way it came about, so I don't really see them as just another for-profit company and erego not having **that** intensely critical of a viewpoint if approached by this specific site. (cuz I also see this site as refreshingly unique among its own genre) Honestly neither of us can determine that. As for iOS, didn't know that either, actually. Hadn't heard of that through the pipeline and I'd long since foregone my old iPhone for Android customization options. So THAT was truly news to me.. And kind of sad, but I can understand why. As for logistics, it didn't strike me as particularly technically difficult to code in a cross-reference system of points to shards when linking a Duolingo profile to your TW account. It's such a common thing across partnered sites that it didn't seem like a big issue. But maybe it is??

[quote="MagpieM"] I love DuoLingo, but, uh...... I really do not want to cross the streams here. Very real considerations about implementation aside (and [i]yowza, [/i]do I ever think it would be an ongoing pain for staff!), earning shards for non-TW things would, like, break the immersion for me? I know not everyone is here for the narrative and character aspects of TW, but that's what drew me here and keeps me coming back. I love the feeling of this being its own little universe. I don't want it linked it to the real world and DuoLingo, no matter how cool I think DuoLingo is. [/quote] [url=/users/profile/MagpieM][@MagpieM][/url] I hadn't considered it like that, honestly... I thought of it more as just like a cool bonus and really a means to earn shards if you [i]didn't[/i] want to keep grinding games.. or just got tired of them, but still needed currency to continue furthering the objectives. Like I don't really want to break the immersion, so I didn't mean for the two to get like drastically interwoven together, just an alternative to the games currently played. Cuz I mean, aside from posting on the forums and sometimes shard-yielding quests, how else do you manage to earn enough to afford everything you need to advance here??

[color=mediumorchid]Hey everyone, a friendly reminder from the staff to keep discussion civil and refrain from insults, please. The Suggestions Forum is here for any and all ideas, as well as constructive criticism of those ideas. If someone asks not to be tagged in a thread anymore, please respect their wishes. You can also use the Block feature if you need space away from another user. Let's keep debate polite and productive![/color]

TW's attention to lore and world-building means it would feel really weird to me to have a side-hustle where I would go off and learn a whole other language on a whole other site for shards and have it not tie into TW at all. (And I will reiterate, this is not a tie-in I would enjoy even as I person who likes languages and DuoLingo.) For earning shards on site: - Kith Activities: (go up to where it says Kith >> select Kith Allies >> then you can set your Kith to grab shards.) You can net about 3000 shards every day that you set that, iirc. You can set more than one Kith to grab shards, but subsequent kith bring back less. They didn't have this option when I started, but added it sometime after I came back to the site and was trying to relearn everything. Big help in the early days!! - Games: You already know about these and have the excellent taste to enjoy Stumped. But this is also an early game way to earn shards. I did a lot of this starting out and I'm so thankful that staff have added new games over the years. Stumped was my go to when I came back. But I really like Potion Panic and Counting Cards now. - Quests: There's a guide or two out there on what quests or quest chains in Hope are good for shards (though they probably need to be updated now.... Still, should be okay.) Ngl, it takes a couple of months of regular play to get to a point where you have enough stuff in your inventory/shards for things to kinda mellow out and be easier. Feel free to put quest items on your WL if you're feeling stuck! I know a few folks who enjoy lending a helping hand that way. - Posting: Kind of a trickle, but a nice supplement. - Marketplace: Harder for a newbie since you have less stuff in general and lack access to higher tier items and you'll want to keep stuff for questing, but if you don't mind hanging out in the shops to build inventory to sell in the marketplace. I know a few people who make a lot of shards that way. Crafting materials seem to be a big seller. Dye is a low level item that sells reliably on the Marketplace. If you happen to be an artist, you can also make some shards doing commissions. I know folks have done writing and poetry as well. Check out the artist area and the commissions subforums for more ideas there. I will freely admit artists have another advantage in shard-earning, in that they earn a little bit of shards (or gems) for any custom clothing they sell. But you really don't need to be an artist to make shards, I promise. I definitely got to a point where I had a comfortable amount of shards well before I started doing art here. And I still grind games or do quests when I'm feeling low on shards. (Both games and quests also help with leveling my Kith, so bonus!)