As part of my role as Treasurer, it’s my job to provide a biannual report to the Board regarding the financial health of our community. In furtherance of our commitment to always be transparent with our members, we thought this was a good opportunity to share that report with you and to assess how we’re doing.
I am pleased to now share our second biannual State of the Site! You can see our first report here.
Introduction
As a team, our goal is to do more than just keep this community running. We also want to keep expanding and improving your experience. Over the past half-year or so, we’ve continued to roll-out new features, plan new events, and grow our membership.
By the Numbers
Since June 2019:
Over 265 new profiles registered on Rhydin.org
Nearly 300 new Discord members joined (nearly doubled our membership!)
122 new Discord accounts registered on Rhydin.org (see the below chart of our progress!)
12 new or revived story folders
131% increase in overall roleplay activity
Registrations = Discord accounts linked to new Rhydin.org registrations
Total Registrations = Ongoing count
Special Events and Site Improvements
Introduction of two new settings, including our first space setting: the Solarium & The Anchor
Formalization and expansion of our Host and Caller Program
Return of the Iron Fists League and the Iron Fist Garden setting
Celebration of Diamond Quest 100
Introduction of the Hunter’s Guild
2019 Governor’s Election
Celebration of 25 Years of the Duel of Magic
Introduction of new Duel of Swords barony, Cadentia
All Souls Masquerade
Return of Orktoberfest
Introduction of several new achievements
Establishment of the RhyDin Business Rolodex
Upgrade to our in-room tagging system, ?rp on
The Financials
As I reported last time, our server is secure until October 2021. In October 2019, we re-registered our site domains at a cost of approximately $50. The renewal expense was paid from a direct donation.
The community’s account balance is $55. We have received no new donations since our last report.
What’s New
Staff Updates
Since our last report, we have had some staff changes: Claire Farron has retired from her many years as Duel of Magic Coordinator. In her place, we congratulate Max Lager on her promotion to the DoM top spot, where she has been serving since June of 2019! We also welcomed Hope Naharis to the Duel of Swords staff as Assistant Coordinator, and Michelle Montoya to the new position of Roleplay Assistant Coordinator.
Advertising
Our advertising program is in full swing including listing with several Discord server aggregators, as well as regular postings to RP-related FB groups. Our FB presence has resulted in an observable uptick in new users finding us.
Since June 2019, unique users visiting our website, Rhydin.org have increased 16.6 percent. During that same time, 53% of new users found us using the search word “Rhydin,” and our site has moved up two positions and is now the second search result for that query!
Throughout 2020, we’re going to continue our advertising push, including adding new search-engine-optimization features to the site. As always, we’re open to any suggestions you might have about helping new friends find our community!
Technical Updates
Several key improvements have been made to our Nexus Guide Bot, including the upgraded new status system which allows our users to see the channels where characters are in active play. Additionally, the Guide Bot has been upgraded to support some of our current special events including the exciting Search for Opal Shards event with the Duel of Fists.
Last report we were having occasional challenges with the website slow-responding. Those problems should be resolved. But if you have any issues, please report them right away.
What’s Next
Sports Updates
The celebration of 25 Years of the Duel of Magic continues with its monthly special events. The next event, March to Mage, is coming up on March 3rd! Check out the full list of events here.
The deadline to register for the Duel of Swords Madness tournament is quickly approaching on March 2. If you’re interested in joining the tournament there are still spaces, and still time to learn how to duel! Find everything you need to know here. Feel free to contact the Duel or Swords Coordinator, Na-rae Takamine, if you’re interested in learning to duel.
Over in the Outback, the Duel of Fists continues its Search for Opal Shards event as the repercussions from Diamond Quest C continue to ripple across the devastated community. This storyline is open to everyone who wants to participate. Collect shards by getting in your Duel of Fists fights or writing story posts, and redeem them for prizes!
From Our Roleplay Team
On March 1st we will launch a new seasonal setting, the Cadentia Bazaar, with a setting description on the website and a channel in our Discord server. The primary features will include Cadentia’s Cultural Centre and Azif’s Tea Garden. We also expect to see Beltane return again this year along with seasonal updates to our existing channels such as the Streets of RhyDin and the Wilds.
In response to community interest, an OOC Green Room is under development with an expected launch in early March. We’ve also consolidated all staff and player run events in a Monthly Events post which can be found here.
We have trained eight hosts and callers since the last report, and currently have a host or caller scheduled in one of our live play rooms seven days a week. Our hosts and callers are a tremendous help in promoting play, and we’d like to thank them for everything they do!
As always, if anyone is interested in joining our hosting or calling team, please contact Mallory Maeda’s player.
Conclusion
Now that the initial challenges of setting up our community in a new place are over, we’re committed more than ever before to do our best to see this community thrive.
If you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns, please feel free to send them our way by posting in the Community Townhall. You can see all the best ways to reach us with your ideas in this handy post here.