IC; CITY NEWSLETTER.
» DELIVERED TO MAILBOXES — DECEMBER 1ST
Delivered to all residents' homes on the morning of December 1 is the following newsletter, folded neatly into thirds and tucked into a mailbox, doorframe, or similar depending on where the character lives.
| CITY NEWSLETTER, VOL. 2 |
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WELCOME TO WINTER WONDERLAND!
It's gearing up to be a cold one, folks! The City is likely to have its first snow this month, so residents are encouraged to bundle up, keep warm, and get out there to toboggan some hills or go ice skating on the pond in District 3. If this is your first winter in a cold climate and you need some tips and tricks for how to stay warm throughout the winter season, check out the informational literature in the Tourist Center. Snowball fights are a time-honored tradition of the city, and we encourage residents to take part—just make sure your arsenal doesn't contain any rocks! And be sure to keep an eye out for the mistletoe that might be hanging around in doorways… or keep an eye out for the right person to catch under it! |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Feeling down by the shortening days and lengthening nights that come with the onset of winter? Why not add a little light to your life by attending the upcoming Sunlight at Midnight black-tie gala? The event will be taking place at 7:00 PM on December 2 at the City's very own Planetarium. This sunny soirée promises to be a full night of food, festivity, and fun, so put on your dancing shoes and prepare to get footloose and fancy free! We encourage all residents to come out and enjoy the artificial daylight until the genuine article returns the next morning!
You can also beat the chill of winter by taking part in the season of giving! Inspire some warmth in these cold times by participating in a Secret Santa event being held by one of your very own citygoers, known only as "theonewhogifts"! Sign-up by the 15th to receive your recipient and some hints about the type of person they are to help with your gift-giving, and then go all out on the 25th and beyond! A small gathering will take place in and around City Hall on Christmas for those who just want to drop off their gift or who want a very cheery backdrop for their own gift-giving. |
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THE HISTORY OF US
We are thrilled to announce the opening of the Science Discovery Center's newest exhibition, "The History of Us." While the Center will need a few more weeks to put the finishing touches on the exhibition, residents should expect to see its doors open on the 19th. The exhibit focuses on the history of our City through a scientific lens, so if you have an interest in learning about physics, biology, geology, or even seismology, come down to the Science Discovery Center to learn about all that and more! A student discount on tickets is available to those enrolled for study at the City University; check your dorm bulletin board for information on how to take advantage.
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The newsletter does not come in an envelope and has no return address, so it's difficult to know who it came from. Copies of the newsletter can also be found pinned to the bulletin boards near the city kiosks and in some of the entrances of apartment buildings or offices.
Additionally, residents who pay especially close attention to what apps and files are stored on their devices may notice that on December 1, there's a new file available. The file name is "MEMO 0112.txt," and its contents are as follows:
IN MEMORANDUM
ATTN: Director REDACTE
L,
The Committee is absolutely going to shit themselves when they hear about RED REDACTEDRE REDACTE . We downplayed it as much as we could in the REDACTEDREDA REDACTED for CE-47-949.38, but as soon as they read it, they're going to REDA RE REDACTEDREDA down here to make sure we've fixed the problem.
Tell REDACTEDR he needs to figure it out and FAST or we're all dead.
Comp tech is done in UAT and ready to roll out into REDACTEDRE with the next REDA push. We might be too late for CE-47, but if so, the REDACT is ready to incorporate it into CE-48 and onwards if we keep seeing the same REDACTEDRE trends in future REDACTE .
K
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OOC; A LOOK TO THE FUTURE.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Images of preserved animals, skeletons, human bodies/internal organs
» DISTRICT 4 — DECEMBER 2023
MUSEUM.
One of District 4's crowning jewels is the museum, which features paintings, statues, and other types of art by a variety of different artists. Or at least it would, if any of the canvases actually had images on them. In reality, the art museum is currently full of blank canvases and the empty bases where statues once stood. There are no docents, and it doesn't appear that the museum has had visitors in quite a while.
The left-hand wing of the museum also features an exhibition on you! That's right, you can pay the museum a visit to see a collection of artworks on the theme of your life, showcasing all the most important events that have made you who you are. (See the December 2023 TDM for more information.)
SCIENCE DISCOVERY CENTER.
The Science Discovery Center boasts a number of interactive displays meant to teach the city's residents all about science! Residents can visit to play games, do mind puzzles, experiment with aerodynamics, try a chemistry experiment, or even learn about the geology of the city itself. While the permanent exhibits are open for the residents of the city explore at their leisure, the feature exhibition, "The History of Us," is currently under construction until December 19 and is not accessible by any means at this time.
Characters are also able to explore the staff hallways and offices in the Science Discovery Center, where they will find textbooks and educational documents, some interesting animal and plant samples, and possibly some story clues as detailed below.
» WEATHER SUMMARY — DECEMBER 2023
The month of December will be cold, with highs in the mid-40s F (around 7°C) and lows in the mid-30s F (around 2°C). There will be plenty of wind and rain, but unfortunately not very much snow until the latter half of the month; snow will start on December 23 and continue until December 25 before tapering off and eventually melting. Characters can expect to wake up to frost in the mornings, and will find the air temperature especially cold on clear days. Toward the end of the month it's also likely to be cold enough that the pond in the District 3 park will freeze over enough to become an ice skating rink!
As always, a day-by-day breakdown of the city's weather can be found indicated on the game calendar
Additionally, throughout the month, characters may find themselves stopping under a sprig of mistletoe hanging from doorframes around the city. The mistletoe will cause characters to at least pause underneath it, and will give them a mild compulsion to kiss whoever they're with, but the compulsion will not be unavoidable and characters can easily break free of the "hold" the mistletoe has on them.
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OOC; EVENT PROSPECTIVE — THE MOUTH WAITING, PATIENTLY WAITING.
» HINTS & CLUES — CHARACTER OBSERVATIONS.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Images of preserved animals, human brains, medical tools, mold grown in petri dishes, skeletons
Although the Science Discovery Center's main exhibit, "The History of Us," will not open until December 19, which means the upper level of the science center is closed to the public, the other parts of the building are open for exploration.
There are several areas of the science center's ground floor that characters are welcome to explore. Along with the Planetarium, which is being used for the Prom taking place on December 2, there is an area dedicated to mechanical engineering and urban science, such as the construction of houses, planning of cities, and building of roads; an area dedicated to chemistry, where characters can take part in very basic experiments such as reagents that activate invisible ink or vinegar-and-baking-soda volcanos; and an area dedicated to biology, where characters can see preserved animal specimens as well as tools used in human and non-human biological experiments.
Also on the ground floor of the Science Discovery Center are the offices belonging to the center's employees. Much like the offices at the university, these offices are in various states of disarray, with scientific textbooks on the shelves, papers on the desks, and lab coats hanging on hooks or on the backs of chairs. Characters are welcome to look through any of the textbooks or papers, but in most of the offices, they won't find anyting especially useful; the textbooks are just textbooks, and the papers are files about funding for the center, or upcoming programming, or different types of hands-on exhibits the center might put on.
In the director's office, however, things are a little bit different. The office is extremely tidy, with every single textbook in its rightful place on the shelf (organized, an especially perceptive character may notice, by the Dewey decimal system), and every paper is neatly filed away in a set of filing cabinets against the right-hand wall of the office. There is also a computer sitting in the middle of the desk, and unlike the computers in the other offices, this computer is not password-protected.
There are two potentially interesting pieces of information that a character might find in the office of the director. The first is a file attached to an unsent email in the director's email client. The text of that file is as follows:
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REDACTED University
Department of Social Sciences
Jan. 11, REDA
CE-47-949.38: REDAC RED REDA RE REDA
Instrumental Analysis
| Title:
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REDA as a Factor Predicting REDACTEDR REDA -REDACTEDREDA Behavior among Residents
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REDACTED REDACT
REDACTEDR REDACTEDRE on REDACTEDR Stability |
| Abstract: |
Although the changes made to REDACTEDRE CE-47-361.74 resulted in a 41.3% REDACTED in REDACTEDR -REDACTED behaviors among Residents, the post-REDACTEDRE survey still garnered an unprecedented number of REDACTEDREDACTEDRED -REDACTED responses. As the REDACTEDR is well aware, this study has REDACT 47 REDACTEDRE of Residents since its inception nearly RED years ago. In that time, the REDACTEDREDA REDACTEDRE have focused entirely on creating strong REDACTEDREDAC bonds between Residents by REDACTEDREDA their REDA of the immediate surroundings. However, beginning with REDACTEDR CE-45, we have seen a consistent increase in REDACTEDR -REDACTED behaviors when Residents are REDACTED of the REDACTEDR consequences should the REDAC fail. |
| Hypothesis: |
Well-understood consequences for REDACTE to REDACTE the goals of this REDAC will moderately REDACTED Resident morale, but will have an REDACTE REDACTED effect on communal orientation, with an REDACTED of no less than 21.9% above the results measured following REDACTEDRE CE-47-361.74. |
| Experimental: |
The Science Discovery Center located in District 4 of the City enclosure was made available to Residents on November 1; however, its keystone exhibition on the historical and scientific basis for the City REDACTE was not revealed to Residents until December 19.
The purpose of the Science Discovery Center is twofold: one, to provide Residents with a form of educational entertainment, allowing them the opportunity to perform hands-on experiments that will enable a better understanding of the world they now inhabit; and two, to demonstrate for the Residents the variety of REDACTEDR REDACTED should the REDAC REDACTED not be met. The former is achieved through a number of "permanent" exhibits on areas of scientific knowledge, while the latter is achieved through the keystone exhibition that demonstrates the history of all 46 previous REDACTEDRE of this REDAC , as well as the ways in which they each RED REDAC REDA .
An exhibition hallway depicting each REDAC of Residents and an image of the REDACTEDRED of that REDAC was set up on the upper level of the Science Discovery Center. Each image was accompanied by a REDACT which was intended to inform Residents about the REDAC , the duration, and the REDACTEDREDA of their failure. These REDACTE were formally designated "preview REDACTE ," but received the colloquial internal designation of "apocalypse REDACTE ."
For reasons unknown, instead of REDACTE a REDACTEDR that informed the Resident about the REDACTE of each REDACTEDR , the REDACTE of the apocalypse REDACTE resulted in a REDAC REDACTEDREDAC REDACTEDRE of the REDACTEDRED pictured. The potential cause of these unexpected results is being investigated by the REDACTEDRE team and will be reported on to the REDACTEDR as soon as more information is available. |
| Results and Discussion: |
The overall REDACTED in communalREDACTEDRED recorded was 20.7%, falling short of our estimation by 1.2 percentage points. It is our belief that this shortfall was a consequence of the REDACTEDRE REDACTE . However, the post-REDACTEDRE survey recorded a marked decrease in the number of REDACTEDREDACTEDRED -REDACTED responses from Residents. These results are within REDAC REDACTEDRE and do not yet meet the criteria for REDACTEDRED of CE-47, but corrective action must be taken immediately to avoid the REDACTEDRED of yet another REDAC of Residents.
Additionally, in keeping with the trends observed in previous REDACTE of Residents, the series of negative location-based REDACTEDRED has caused a decline in Resident willingness to REDACTE RED locales. Future REDACTEDREDA may need to make use of compulsion REDACTEDRE to REDAC Residents to attend; participation is REDACTEDR , whether REDACTEDR or otherwise. |
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In addition, the director's computer desktop contains a folder named "Structure - Fauna." Contained within this folder are a number of subfolders that appear to be divided by zoological family; contained within those folders are a number of STL files named after animals. Characters who are able to open and understand these files will notice that the files describe not only the skeletal structure of these animals, but also their body mass, fat distribution, nervous systems, vascular systems, and fur texture among countless other details.
It does not appear that the director's office has any kind of software that could render the STL files into anything other than images of animals.
The file attached to the email can be forwarded to characters' individual devices or computers; however, the STL files are locked for the time being and cannot be removed from the director's computer.
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MODERATOR COMMENTS.
» NOTES AND REMINDERS
Hello, residents! A couple of updates from your moderator team:
In our Satisfaction Survey last month, we mentioned that in December, we would post a poll allowing players to vote for their favorite memes, which would then become the framework for the memes posted on a rotating basis to ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png) citymemes starting in January 2024. However, over the last month we only got two meme suggestions, which doesn't make for a great poll.
We're definitely still open to suggestions for memes and would love to hear any ideas that players have! If we don't get any other suggestions in December, we'll just go ahead and come up with a posting schedule on our own, which we'll post up when the community is ready in January.
As noted in the newsletter above, there will be a player event taking place on December 2! Keep an eye on the citylogs community so you don't miss your opportunity to send your character to this black-tie gala. (And thanks to Ghost's player for writing up the blurb!)
There is also a Secret Santa event being organized by Kromer's player! Characters can sign up between December 1 and December 15, with the main event taking place between December 25 and December 31. Check out their post in the cityooc community for more information and to ask any questions you have.
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MODERATOR COMMENTS — PART 2.
» NOTES AND REMINDERS
Hello again, residents! Our apologies for not including this update in the original version of the newsletter.
We have made some minor clarity changes to our guidelines for activity check, which can be found in the "Warnings, Strikes & Hiatuses" sub-section of the Activity Check page. These changes are meant to elaborate on circumstances under which a player might get a mod warning or strike for activity check, and to make the system overall clearer.
In summary, we have a system of one warning and three strikes. The first time an issue comes up that prevents us from verifying activity—whether that's broken HTML, comments dated in the wrong month, or an incorrect calculation of points—the mods will issue a warning to the player letting them know that there was a problem with the comment. Subsequent issues with AC will result in strikes, and three strikes will result in that character being removed from the game. Both strikes and warnings can be cleared by submitting AC correctly for the two months that follow.
Characters who are in their first month at the game will not be issued warnings or strikes, but may be gently reminded if they submit AC incorrectly, just to make sure they're aware of the rules!
We are also aware that there have been some inconsistencies in the way we've handled issues with AC in the past, and we hope that laying this system out more clearly will help reduce confusion both for us as mods and for you as players. Please note that if you have been issued a mod strike in the past, your first strike (regardless of the reason) is now being considered a warning.
In addition, based on the size of the game and its growth so far, we have decided to enact cast caps for the game beginning with our app round in January 2024. (That means apps coming in December 2023 will not be subject to cast caps!) The cap will be 10 characters per canon, except for large franchise canons (MCU, DCEU, Star Wars, etc), which will have a cap of 15 characters per franchise, regardless of the canon within that franchise.
After our app round in December, we will be making edits to the Taken page that will reflect the caps, including which casts are at the cap and which casts are nearing it. If you have questions about where your canon falls in terms of cast caps, please feel free to reach out in the comments to this post or via the mod contact page!
» OOC EVENT FEEDBACK
Lastly, we also wish to take this opportunity to remind all players that comments on this post are screened, and if any players have OOC feedback to provide regarding this most recent event, you're welcome to do so on this post or via the mod contact page.
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