[MillietheWarrior]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
I literally do not remember. I think I saw one of the pets on another site, and one click led to another. I remember being very unsure when I joined. Now I'm glad I did; this has been like a whole other home away from home.

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
2008...I think? So like 8 years ago? it's been so long, omg. I graduated high school after I joined, then college, and now I'm an adult with a career. it's so crazy.

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
The people. I love my evelon fam, each and every one. My plots, especially, keep me here! I love plotting with people! And all the fun times with Flame and Ere, the three amigos, has kept me going! They've become some of the best friends I've ever had! <3

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?
New events, new and fun things going on. Maybe auctions, giveaways, tournaments (I love tournaments!) and more stuff with the war.

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?
New events, updating old events, more with the war and inclusive things that involve roleplaying, prizes, etc.

[KS sent!]

[FrostWynd]

-- 1.) How did you find Evelon?

Hmmm... I can't seem to recall how I managed to discover Evelon. It was so long ago! But I do remember that it was during the time when I was completely obsessing over virtual pet sites, and just had to collect all kinds of pets that those sites had to offer... 'xD PokePlushies, Chicken Smoothie, Valenth, DragonCave, DNAdopts, etc... If I could find it, I would get my hands on all the pets I could get from them. (Which was... pretty apparent when I finally looked back at the massive clutter of my first Zoo Pen... 'xD ) So I don't know for sure if it was through a google search when I felt like I needed even MORE pets, stumbled upon it in someone's signature on one of the forums of those sites, or somebody had mentioned it somewhere. But somehow I magically made my way here! There was so much that I adored when I first found Evelon, and I feel like I was pretty lucky to have discovered you guys!

-- 2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?

It's been like eight and a half years already, hasn't it? Jeez, time sure does fly by!

-- 3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?

Well I do know that I wasn't entirely consistent with sticking around in my earlier days as a member. There was like... Two, or maybe three different occasions where I fell into inactivity? Something like that... Part of it had a lot to do with life, and other things getting in the way, that I ended up drifting away. Then there was also the fact that I was incredibly shy, and had been for a long time. (Hasn't gotten 100% better since then, but I like to think that I've improved quite a bit.) So that did play a pretty big role in me not being able to really get involved with the community much.

After the last time that I fell inactive, I did kind of forget about this place... ^^; So it wasn't until nearly three years ago that I was able to rediscover Evelon once again. Through a random email in my inbox when someone accidentally sent a PM to everyone on the forum... 'xD Which was pretty funny, and the best little accident to have happened, because it brought me back! Since then, I've been able to stick around!

What really draws me in the most is that you guys are just plain amazing, and I enjoy visiting each day to see what's new with everyone. Like the little lurker I am. Even if I don't roleplay or interact with the community nearly as often as I would like, I still have lots of fun anyway with just reading the posts made on the forum. You even made Christmas a really fun holiday for me again. You guys are so generous and wonderful, that you included me into the festivities, which seriously surprised me, and I loved that. <3

I also love the fact that there's so much freedom here. To roleplay however you see fit (within the rules of course), and not have to worry about any limitations with the setting, lore, or even world of Evelon. Nearly anything goes and you're limited only by your imagination.

-- 4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?

For you guys to keep on being awesome, of course!

I would love to see Evelon continue to grow more too. Which... I know is kind of vague of an answer, since the growth of the site could mean almost anything. But honestly, I've been pretty content with the current direction you guys have been going with it. Between the breeding room updates, Kuhna revamp, lineart updates, the update done to the main site, and all that other good stuff, you guys have been doing a great job so far~ Keep it up! c:

Taking a look at what others have posted here, the farm is getting mentioned a lot already in this thread. I never got the chance to use it myself, and only remember the few things I've read about it. (I did take a quick peek to see what exactly was suggested for it before, so I could understand it better.) If it had ever been brought back, then the farms are definitely something I would want to use to immerse myself in some good old Harvest Moon memories once again. :'D With the number of KS sinks currently available, having more methods available to even things out more nicely would certainly be a plus. I wouldn't even mind if there was another sink involved with the farms, since it would make more sense to put money into it first before you got any back out in return.

Also, seriously. If those PSD files were ever actually made GIMP-friendly for even just basic coloring and addon doodling, that would be amazing. My poor computer would thank you too! It hasn't really been a fan of Photoshop for a while...

-- 5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?

The thought that comes to mind from the question of finding new members, is advertising. Can't really attract new people here if they don't even know that we exist!

Since I've spent enough time before working with ProBoards stuff for a certain forum. I have learned that many RP forums hosted on ProBoards, Invisionfree, Zetaboards, and other such places do like to toss around little advertisements about their own forums all the time on other forums to get more attention. It does come with a small catch, consisting of a "you post an ad on my forum, I post one on yours" type of deal. (They have individual boards on their forums made specifically for this purpose.)  But since those particular forums are centered around roleplaying, the people who come by looking for a site to join would already have an interest in writing.

Affiliates are another form of advertising that they do, where they share these little buttons of a specific size, that get put somewhere easy to see on their pages. (Usually on the bottom of the forum.) Which basically makes it even easier for them to get noticed by anyone that's looking around for new forums to join. Oftentimes those do have a few specific requirements to even get your button added, but usually they aren't too bad.

I'm not sure if I'm just spewing info that's already known, or if that's something you'd even want to do... 'xD But I thought I might as well mention it here, just in case it brings something new or helpful to the table. (Advertising is just pretty much the main keyword here, if we want to see more people come by.) I do know on those forums it does take some time and effort to find places to advertise, and go through the steps to put an ad up. So it might not sound very appealing. And because those forums would want to return the gesture, a separate board would kind of be required to hold all those ads... ^^; (Most likely with guest posting capabilities, unless a different method could be figured out.)

I don't really know what the current registration process is like, aside from what I've learned through observation when it gets talked about. But there definitely are some people out there who don't always like going through extra hoops to sign up for something. I can understand that the current system is most likely there for a very good reason, but from the perspective of the person joining, it could be seen as a little off-putting. Especially depending on how often new accounts get checked up on to be approved. Playing the waiting game is not very fun when you're already eager to get started ASAP. (Do any notifications even get sent around? Does the new member ever get told that their account was activated? Do the staff know right away when new accounts are made? Or do those accounts only get noticed when someone goes to check?) So it might be worth looking into seeing if this process in particular could be made a little more efficient somehow. Toxic's suggestion sounds pretty good already, and reminds me a lot of FelisFire. I remember that they had one step in their registration process that involved you explaining why you wanted to join their website, which seemed to work for them.

For the retaining part of the question... I needed to think more about that to come up with a decent answer.

I'm thinking that there are a few spots that could probably do with a bit of simplifying, or made easier to access so that getting started isn't as difficult. One of my own biggest challenges when I first started, and came back after being absent, was aaaallll the information I had to go through to get my bearings. (This included catching up with updates, since I was pretty out of the loop with what was new and what had been changed while I was gone.) When it came to reading that stuff, it was pretty intimidating for me to do. But I was also stubborn, and managed to stick through it. Once I was done, I was pretty much able to read everything I possibly could until it felt like my brain was on fire. But for someone who doesn't have the same amount of patience to endure such a task? I wouldn't blame them for just noping out of here right on the spot... 'xD It is quite a lot to take in after all!

The site already offers so much as it is, which I think is great. But mainly the accessibility should be taken into account here. While some of us more established players pretty much already know what we're doing, it would be best to also think about how a newbie will feel with so much that needs to be learned from the start. Finding stuff can also be a bit of a hassle too sometimes. (I do manage to get by when I go looking for something I need, but again, I have the patience for that.)

Toxic's suggestion on giving out free custom pets to newbies is something I feel should be thought about very carefully, if it ever does get considered. I know that if I was the newbie getting the free custom, then I'd be pretty dang excited about making something that was customized to my own taste. But I'm more worried about the potential workload that free customs could bring. Right now it might not seem like an issue, since we rarely get new members as it is. But if you think about it, what if that changed? What if suddenly there were lots more members joining? That's where I see the problem with it, if the staff become unable to keep up with the new workload that it would bring in.

And if those customs were free, I do wonder if it would hurt that specialness to them a little bit. Compared to right now where a newbie only has to make 10 posts in the RP areas to earn enough KS for the token. (Or 30 posts if they decided to spend that other free 100 KS elsewhere.) Even quests could be done to earn some KS. The resulting custom from getting the extra needed KS would be just a little more special, because they earned it! I know that for a custom itself, it will wind up being pretty special anyway all on on its own, because yes, it is a custom. But being able to earn it just seems like it would make the custom even more special than before. And then there is one other thing. What if the free customs didn't offer enough encouragement for the new members to actually stay? If that happened and they left, then a lot of those newly made customs could go unused.

But that's just my own take on it. And if free customs for newbies does become a reality? Then hey, that would be some pretty great news for the newbies!

Having more ways to let a newbie get more KS is an interesting thought... If not through them putting effort in through roleplaying or completing the monthly quests, then an alternative way of earning that KS would be pretty good, rather than letting them have it all for free. I think a possible mentor program that got mentioned earlier with some little rewards sounds pretty good! Especially if it could help encourage more interaction between everyone~

Or how about some new quests that were made specifically for newbies? Unlike the regular quests, these ones wouldn't have to be cycled out every month. They could be available at all times to newbies, to be completed one time each, and would give them time to learn things at their own preferred pace. Each newbie quest could have tasks that specifically help teach them how things work, and they can get a small reward for doing them. Some of them could involve tasks like "introduce yourself in the Hellos and Goodbyes board", "create your very first Zoo Pen", or "start a new roleplay thread in one of the roleplay areas"!

Being more inclusive does seem like another important thing. So coming up with more ways to get the community together and help get the newbies more involved somehow should help encourage them to stay. Just try not to burn them out too much. Again, when you're just starting out, there is a ton of new things to learn. So that's gonna play a factor in how much a newbie will be able to get involved when their energy is being spent elsewhere already. As long as things stay fun for them, then I think there shouldn't be a problem.

[KS sent!]

[Skeetzybug]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
Ages ago, in the days of angelfire websites, I was glancing through someone's vast, vast page of adoptables. It was actually an MML pet that drew me in, I beleive? This was back during the ORIGINAL Hidden Crossroads days, I'm talking probably... 2007? Maybe even 2006. Preluhna hadn't even been released, or were newly released, I forget - either way, loooooong time ago!

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
Again, probably around... 2007 or 2006? I was a member of HxRv1, and then when Lands of Evelon FIRST moved to their own forum, I was there as Argetlam for several months before fading out. (Disagreement over leadership) I rejoined this Evelon around two and a half years ago!

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
Honestly, the people. I left HxR because the community became toxic and elitist, but the energy here has always remained so positive. I was so enthused to still be able to find a place to do what I love with a community that is so much better. I hope it continues to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Hopefully forever. <3

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?
Well an overarching story revival would be lots of fun!! I love that we can RP our own characters and worlds, but I'd love the ability to also be involved in a canonical world and storyline. The entire war thing seems to have gone so still that I haven't even bothered to pick up my own badge since I got back - something to drive a main story would be AWESOME. Also of course, more new species and stuff would be awesome. (Give me new Albie PLEEEEAASSSEEEE don't even need redone art just. Moar Albie. <3)

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?
I think some advertising on more suitable avenues might help for recruiting - as much as people love the cute critter art and people from chickensmoothie or even furvilla might be drawn in, I doubt they'd stay long, since they're probably more art drawn and less writing drawn. Advertising in some writing communities would definitely help, or even forming a guild in RP servers of some MMOs like Guild Wars 2 or even WoW might help. (I see SOOOO much RPing in GW2, tbh.)

As for KEEPING them, I think again, to look at my answer to #4. There's a lot of How To's and etc for the site, but having a story avenue, something people could jump in to EASILY get their feet wet, might really help. Most people who come in seem to get discouraged by how confusing this type of site is. It's very much "here's some guides, now go try" which is fine but doesn't work for those who haven't been on this type of site y'know, ever. I think it could really help.

[KS sent!]

[Silver]

1.) How did you find Evelon?

May many years ago by clicking a Tali on someone's Subeta profile. At least, I'm pretty sure it was a Tali!

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?

A little over 10 years ago now, back on the old Crossroads, of course!

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?

This is a difficult question for me. As most of you probably know, I haven't actually been around for most of the life of my account here. When this forum first split off from the Crossroads, I was excited, but ultimately didn't take the change of atmosphere very well. (Also I was a huge butt about it, I know.) I still loved Evelon, my old characters, and of course my friends, but I didn't end up staying.

That all changed a few years later when a little birdy convinced me to give it another chance. A lot had changed since back then, and I was in just the right place to give it another chance. Needless to say, I stuck around this time! I'm so glad I did, too. The community here is amazing, and the pets are too. We've all grown over the years: the players, the characters, and especially the art.  It's so crazy to think that everything started over 10 years ago! It still blows my mind.

In the end, I guess I don't have a very definitive answer to this question. I am, however, very glad I did stick around!

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?

I think Evelon is headed in a really great direction already! In just the short time since I've returned, I've seen a revamp of the breeding system (such a huge awesome change!), a rebirth of Random Event, fixes to the old rules, and the start of new shops like the Huntsman's Hall! It seems like everything I was frustrated by all those years ago has grown and improved since then.

I'm really just hoping to see more of the same! I want to participate in events, and hunt down wild monsters, and keep making awesome babies. The revival/repurpose of old systems/areas is pretty good, too. I especially love getting a second chance at rare old pets, haha!

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?

This is a tough one! Something I've definitely struggled with a lot over the years myself. Other people have already mentioned some great points, so I won't touch on advertising or community building again. I strongly agree that advertising is a big one!

I have two main things I thing would help a lot with getting and retaining new members. First of all, I think a fully polished main site would help a ton! It's the first place people go, and it leaves a huge impression on people looking to join. The revamp for the site is already really good! It just needs a little more work before it's perfect.

Another thing I think is really important is accessibility/ease of understanding how the site works. Now, I will say that this is something that has improved greatly since I first came back, even. At the time, I was constantly asking people how things worked and what I could and couldn't do, because I simply couldn't find that information! It seems like there's still a bit of 'unwritten rules' floating around, where the answer is known by most people, but not actually concretely written anywhere. It's gotten a lot better, but I think that this is something that can always be improved upon.

[KS sent!]

[GrayGriffin]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
I clicked a Treasure Taigra in someone's signature, looked at all the pretty pictures, noticed there was a forum, and got sucked in.

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
Ten years ago

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
It's at least partially the investment in my various rare pets, but also the various characters I've made for this place and the few people I feel like I can really connect with.

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?
I'd like it to keep its current pace with events and such. I feel right now things are progressing pretty well, although the war seems to be stagnating a little.

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?
Advertise on both RP sites and graphics sites, since I know the visuals are part of what attracts people. Also, see if it's possible to hold joint events with other pet sites so that both sites can get an influx of users from each other? I feel that an actual collaborative event would do a lot to boost visibility and possibly get people to stick around.

[KS sent!]

[Jaykobell]

1.) How did you find Evelon?

I used to RP over MSN with another member here, Hannah Kerela. It kinda just happened; she came to me one day saying she'd found this small RPing forum and how they had really great art. I was hesitant to join at first, but I took the leap of faith and here we are.

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?

Sometime in June 2007! I remember Baal was on her yearly cruise at the time. And it was way back on our old eAmped forums.

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?

I think being part of staff definitely helped in keeping me here for so long; the fact I had some kind of responsibility. I'm no longer staff, but it still helped in keeping my grounds here.

Other than that... Well, during my time on a semi hiatus of sorts, I did try to look into new RPing sites/forums. And what I found is that... Evelon seems to be pretty unique?

Every other site I joined, the rules were restricting. Don't swear, don't do this, don't do that. It wasn't just simple rules like "Don't be mean to others" sort of deal. You couldn't RP anything you wanted, such as more mature themes. Even mild violence or gore was forbidden for some of them. But they would specify that you could "RP those things in private messages", but then it's like...? What's the point if no one will see it?

So not only was that restricting, but I also found that the majority of those sites don't allow you to RP anything else but the "subject material". That can definitely be fun, but what I love about Evelon is that I can literally RP anything. Even if it's completely unrelated to the Evelon lore, that doesn't matter. Even if it's Evelon pets with your own twist to them, that doesn't matter. You're not restricted to RPing by Baal's rules, or the staff's rules, or by the species' given descriptions. The pets have descriptions if you want to use them, but you don't have to stick to those descriptions.

Evelon is just... so malleable and free. I love it. It's great. That's what's been keeping me here.

And I know it's weird to say, but the relaxed RPing pace is actually something I like a lot. I tried joining RPing sites on dA and they... basically asked for me to RP every single day? But in obsessive ways, like sending me messages about where I'd been, and how it's in their rules that you have to RP basically every day, and etc. I love that Evelon lets you RP how YOU want to RP. It's so freeing. I love it.

And I know it might sound weird, considering my past shenanigans here, but I do have a soft spot for the community too. There's just something there when you kind of... know everyone, you know? Like it's a weird... huge condo building where you know everybody, lmao. Stability I guess? Even though we have just a few tens of members, it's often the same core people, which I feel is reassuring. To me, anyway.

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?

I like a whole lot of the suggestions given here. Specifically, I enjoy the mention of wanting more events.

Millie's are great, and I think we need more user-organized/-managed events. In terms of prizes, I would even offer to help, since I'm some sort of in-between between members and staff; where I'm not staff, but I also have more privileges than a regular member. I could make special pets for people's events and think of prizes with those managing users; I would run everything by staff, of course, but at least that could take some work off your plate.

Maybe we should have a user-managed... event... organizing group?? Where those members are not staff, but it's like the things Millie and Freezair do. IDK. :'0

Hmm, what else... I can't really think of anything. :'| I think we're doing pretty good, and like I said, I agree with a lot of the cool stuff people have already suggested!

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?

This has always been a huge question for Evelon.

It's a funny one because, on the one hand, you often hear "quality and not quantity". But then there's not necessarily much quality if there's no minimum of quantity to provide it, right?

I think there's little we can do besides advertising on places like Tumblr and other popular social media sites. Affiliates are a good option too, which I know someone mentioned before.

In terms of keeping new members here — which I think miiiight be the primary problem? —

I remember typing up in the staff area like a million years ago, a topic that was specifically geared towards welcoming new members. It's probably super outdated now olol but I remember something like that.

I think Evelon has a double-edged sword; there's a lot of unique features to it, but learning those features is very difficult. And some of those features, such as keeping track of stats, are not mandatory to enjoying Evelon.

I think the All-in-One FAQ is a good thing to have, but how about... sending a PM to new members? A PM specifically addressed to them about the bare basics; here is what Evelon is about, here are the basic rules, here are some free pets to start with; and then listing some extra features they can partake in, such as breeding, customs, stats, battling, etc.?

And in addition, I agree about having some kind of tutor system! Members who are active and who would be happy to help out new members into jumping in. It's always nice to have someone explaining you the ropes and showing you how to do things; and it's comforting too, in a way.

I think a social chat platform is also something Evelon needs; unfortunately the IRC has been a subject of fickle availability and performance. I know there's a few people who would like to join the IRC and talk, but the program itself is not stable or friendly with everyone.

I think what a lot of sites seem to be doing now, maybe, is using Skype? And creating a specific chatroom? I'm not sure how it works, but maybe that could be more usable than the IRC? Kinda like MSN way back in the day; who didn't use that thing?

I think Steam is another platform that's used a lot, although that's primarily for gamers.

Having a place where new members can come and meet members and intermingle would be great. I agree with that! I think we just need a more stable and user-friendly platform to make it work. :o

[KS sent!]

[Indigo]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
I saw some Biolune pets on someone's profile on a frankly terrible virtual horse site, and followed the link.

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
A little over 8 years.

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
A couple things. This was the first place I ever did any roleplaying, so the way things work here is what I'm used to, and I kind of...can't hack it anywhere else. I tried on CS [when I was active there a thousand years ago] and the FR forums and they move way too fast and their rules don't make a lot of sense to me. And the thing I like about Evelon—well, one of the things—is the relatively fixed setting. By which I mean, I know at least some people don't exactly use the Evelon setting as given, and even I don't use everything, but that's the main framework in which we're all working, and there's context for the pets we're using which everyone is familiar with, you know? I guess that's also true on FR but there's too many people there. I am getting sidetracked.

I do like, also, how freeform it is here—I have more freedom than in my normal writing in re: magic, and it's sometimes let me play around with character ideas and whatnot. And I can use and discard whatever elements of the setting I want, as suits what I'm trying to write. It's helped me improve a lot just because it gives me a lot of space to experiment.

Also the pets. And I do sort of feel like part of the community at this point, if more by virtue of having been around a lot than by actually...being part of it. Maybe someday.

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?
I agree with the people who said more events. I, personally, am not doing too great with the war because I'm not sure how to interact with it, not having much in the way of war-oriented characters, and maybe it's because of the pace but it doesn't feel like it's having much in the way of widespread effects? The story we've been given mostly focuses on a small area. Also I don't have a lot of context for what's happening because I missed the last war. Maybe a primer on that would be good, haha. I do like the monster thing though! Even if I haven't been able to participate in the actual fighting part of that story.

So, I don't know, I personally am biased against combat-oriented events because that's not really my thing, and I like stuff like Millie's winter event which is something other people have said. You know how people used to do plots, like, someone would make a post in the advertising section looking for characters to fill particular roles or for a certain number of people or whatever, and then they'd run this big adventure with a posting order and whatever? I'd like to see those again. I'd do one myself but I'm not sure anyone else misses them

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?
It's the retaining that's the problem, isn't it. I don't really know. I got into Evelon pretty young, I was like 12, so maybe we should be targeting younger people on more...heavy-duty roleplaying sites? I have no idea what the current state of rp forums is like because I don't use any others, but if there are others like this that could be a good starting point, I guess. I'm not much for marketing.

I think it can be sort of intimidating. Most of the people we get and keep these days are people who already know someone on here, and that might be because the community is kind of closed-off. Everyone is pretty welcoming when someone shows up but, I mean, it's hard for me to find rp partners and I've been here for eight years, because it seems like most people just have a few set people they rp with. For a newbie who doesn't have any existing ties, that's pretty hard to work with. I don't know how to fix that really. I don't have any solutions.

[KS sent!]

[Mousen]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
Through an old cat breeding sim called Mweor. People had Evelon pets on their profile.

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
Six years ago, seven in February.

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
Stubbornness! I kid. Evelon is the only community I stuck with, I think because it's small and I've liked the people here and liked writing here. Generally personal reasons, but I can't deny that the Christmas stuff, the Halloween events, etc, have helped keep my interest.

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?
Same old, same old, I think. I'm not necessarily active for a lot of the events as I tend to do my own thing, but I do think that they're awesome and that they definitely make things more interesting. So, definitely keeping up with those, and possibly adding some more year-to-year.

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?
Hm... To some extent I feel like there's always going to be new members joining that then don't stay. I think advertising on some RP sites, and maybe some places where serious RPers are starting to feel alienated (like I started RPing on Mweor and left because things died and then were buried almost instantly)... If people are feeling serious about advertising there's always Project Wonderful? As for retaining new members, I think some incentive to log in everyday in the first couple of weeks might help? Because by the time they've logged in everyday for the first week or so, it might have become part of their routine.

[KS sent!]

[amapup]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
I believe I first saw an Evelon pet in someone's signature on a proboards roleplaying forum - it was either there or Chicken Smoothie, I really can't remember well - and clicked through to the adoptable site. Eventually I made it over to the forums and decided to join.

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
September of 2009, apparently. I was absent for a long stretch of time, and only returned about a year ago.

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
I've enjoyed Evelon not just for the beautiful pets and wide variety of lore available, but also for the wonderful roleplaying community. I have never met a person here who hasn't been extremely friendly and welcoming, and it has always been personally inspiring to see all the diverse characters and lore that people come up with and have the opportunity to interact with them. Despite the structure imposed by pet species and roleplay locations, Lands of Evelon harbors a very open roleplay space where players can imagine almost any sort of character they can think of, to an extent I have yet to encounter on other websites.

My departure in 2011 (discounting a couple brief pop-ins in 2012) was largely personal - my declining investment in roleplay combined with an increasingly demanding school schedule - though it may have also been in small part due to the collective interest in breeding/breedables that I did not fully share (despite my time here I still have yet to attempt a breeding) and the departure of one of my friends here. My return has been due to my rekindled desire to continue writing (even if I'm still slow at rping), the freedoms and community mentioned above, and the fact that this was the only remaining site from before where I could use my old characters. (Congrats again on 10 years! Not an easy feat.)

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?

While the continued release of new pets/colors/markings is lots of fun, I also really enjoy the monthly Quest Master activities and the roleplay-based events. Unfortunately I managed to miss both wars (although the war area is still active?? Maybe?) but those always seemed interesting. I would also like to see the battle system brought back/revamped or have the pet stats repurposed towards something else - without battles there's not much purpose in leveling up pets, but there's been so much work already put into the stats that it would be a shame to throw them all away. (I am not including passive traits here - those have actually been very helpful in helping me flesh out certain characters.)

Most importantly I would like to see Evelon continue to grow and develop as a roleplay community. When I came back I noticed that most of the faces here were the same ones I remembered from when I left - which is great that people have stayed invested for so long! But it would also be nice to continue seeing new members joining the site.

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?

If advertising isn't something that's already being done, then I agree that that's a good place to start. When I first came back it took a while for me to become involved again - because this is such an old tight-knit community (not a bad thing!) there were a lot of private and self roleplays and very few open threads, and I didn't get much traffic on my first RP advertisement. I think initiatives like the Quest Master quests and Random Event's Haunted House event are very helpful in this area and should be continued. This site has a lot of information that's spread out in a lot of different places - updating and refining link masterposts could also be helpful for new players (especially now that there are so many new player incentives in place).

I also noticed someone above mention a site chat platform. One of the other sites I'm on (Flight Rising, specifically Arcane) has a Slack server on the side that has enabled many of the members to hang out and get to know each other better, with channels topics ranging from site-specific to personal and other topics. I've also heard of Discord being used in a similar fashion.

[KS sent!]

[Remedy]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
My cousin introduced me to the site when I was visiting her one year. She lives in a completely different state, so if she hadn't encouraged me to join I probably never would have heard of it!

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
Seven years ago, November 2009. I was... 11 years old. ;__; A million apologies to anyone who interacted with me at that time. XD

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
Evelon was my first introduction into role play, and I attribute my time spent on here to my success academically. The ability to write well has really carried me a long way! The pets and the community were definitely driving factors to keeping my interest here. The art is phenomenal, and the staff is so talented and dedicated to the work they do here. The breedables are definitely a huge draw, and although I don't take advantage of it to the full extent that I could, the updated breeding system is excellent.

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?
New pets and colorations are awesome for keeping interest up, though I'd love to see an influx of new members. I'd love to see more user involvement with RE2, as I think the wild pets are some of the coolest. Maybe also more widespread, get-to-know-you roleplaying; it's been a while since I've seen an "open" thread pop up. I think in the past those have been great ways of getting to know members I otherwise hadn't spoken to very often.

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?
I think new members are more likely to become 'hooked' and stay on the site for a long period of time if they start off at a younger age. (Not too young, but maybe early high schoolers.) Older folks (college age, working age, etc) will probably either have too many IRL responsibilities to focus on, or they will be already dedicated to a different site they joined when they were 15/16. Evelon has evolved to cater adult audiences since the beginning users  have grown up, so it would be tricky to cater to those younger audiences now. It would certainly be a topic for debate. I know it can be exhausting and testing of one's patience to interact with a younger generation, so that might not be the right answer since it could conflict with the existing userbase.

Also, it's helped me out a lot to have someone IRL that I could talk to about Evelon, or at least someone who knew what I was talking about and wanted to brainstorm stories/ideas with me. Ultimately, I think new members might be more likely to stick around as long as they find quick friends here.

[KS sent!]

[DJBrightside]

1.) How did you find Evelon?

Well, it may be embarrassing   ....BUT I happened to be eavesdropping on people that happened to be in the classroom with me. Pickles was sliding through some images of these GORGEOUS animals on her laptop. Later, I caught up with her and asked what the HECK that was, she explained and I signed up a few days later!

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?

I joined on 02/24/2016.  Almost a year ago! Wow! Truthfully, when I joined, I was unsure what I was doing but on occasion me and Pickles hung out together. I was able to interrogate her about anything I didn't know! XD

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?

I found Evelon really interesting! I know I took a short break away but I wanted so desperately to be here with everyone! (Okay, maybe I was gone few months. I'm sorry!) The community is so nice and welcoming along with the interesting pets I can collect! Plus it seems to be always something to do to keep someone's mind busy and their fingers typing!

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?

Hmmm.... Maybe a better system to let people know what goes on in this place as far as special events or a notification system for when the monthly quests are posted? I always seem to have a hard time knowing what is going on. What if people got a weekly or monthly newsletter? It would be awesome to find something like that show up in my message inbox of just the important activities that are going on during a set month.

Maybe its just because I'm new I have trouble keeping up?  

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?

Finding new members could be a challenge unless members are willing to talk to others about joining. (Which can be scary.) So I'm not sure what to do about that? Also what if Evelon maybe help events on facebook where people would be able to send in questions about Evelon and moderators answered? I'm really not sure and I'm just grasping as straws here.  

[KS sent!]

[SkyWolf11]

1.) How did you find Evelon?

I remember I was so super obsessed with an anime called Wolf's Rain (still love it today but not as much as back then) and I was looking up images of the character Tsume.  And for some reason, way down on some of the last images, there was a picture of the Gyrraptor pet's image.  Now, I'm a sucker for art and I fell in love with the style and design so I decided to look into it and got directed to Evelon.  And even though I'm not nearly as active as I'd like to be, I'm so glad I found Evelon <3

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?

According to my account, it says I joined March 15th, 2008.  It's so odd to think it's really been that long ago; 8 years, closing in on 9 in a few months, wowza time flies. o_o

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?

Well the first few years was the concept of the site - roleplaying and story telling.  I haven't been around actively in a while unfortunately.  Not any fault of Evelon though.  I've been in a creative drought for so long now and trying to get myself into a better lifestyle irl that I want to be in at this stage in my life.  

Nowadays it's the people and community we've become over the years here, which sounds strange from someone who hasn't been active in a while but it's true.  I have horrible social anxiety, even in online communities, but even I've managed to strike up wonderful conversations here and there with people.  And from what I see out of other interactions on the site, we are more or less pretty friendly folks and overall nice people here.  :3  There's so much toxicity everywhere on the internet that Evelon is just a really pleasant atmosphere to be in.  xD  Even when I never logged on I'd still love reading around the site to see what everyone was up to.

Not to mention, the lovely creatures that Evelon has.  Such beautiful pixels. q uq

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?

I think it's the same as what all of us would wish for Evelon - for it to be able to stick around for many more years and to obtain a larger, fairly active member base!  I really hope it does.

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?

Ah the big problem we seem to have. xD  From what I can tell from wandering around the interwebs in my many years is that people are drawn in to sites like this with visuals.  That's probably where most come from - seeing the pets and thinking 'ooh smexy' but then we seem to lose most after that lel.  I think more people are drawn to the games like Overwatch, Minecraft, *insert other games here that ellude me atm* because of the fact that it's easier to play rather than having to write everything out to enjoy yourself.  Not to say that text based roleplaying is bad, heck lots of people love it, but like I saw someone state above before, it's reaching out to those people that we need to do.  Find the ones who love to write and roleplay without needing visual stimulation to accompany it.  As Evelon is the only site I roleplay on like this, I can't begin to suggest where we could possibly advertise but yeah. xD

After skimming through the thread, I more or less agree with most other suggestions to this problem.  The one I listed though is the one I fear is the main problem however.  xD  And I haven't been active enough lately to catch up on the site myself but I did see something about Quests?  Like little roleplay quests to earn some ks when you can't think of what to write about on your own.  I absolutely love that idea.  More little tidbits like that I think are wonderful things for Evelon to have for it's members.  <3

[Atoli01]

1.) How did you find Evelon?
I actually found Evelon via someone's page on Neopets, back when I played in late elementary school. I think it was a Treasure Rollaby that was on the page, and it looked so cute! Saw that it led to the main website, clicked it, and then found out Evelon actually had a forum. I was just getting into writing at the time, plus cute adoptable pets (which I was very much into)... I was instantly hooked.

2.) How long ago did you join Evelon?
Back in 2008! I was still a tiny elementary schooler. ;;

3.) What has kept you on Evelon for however long you've been around?
Definitely the community. It's so close-knit. I love reading people's journals and seeing the growth and development in everyone's lives. Also the roleplaying, of course. I think that especially keeps dragging me back. I'll come back from a six month absence just because I got the urge to write about this one REALLY COOL character, and my fingers won't let me pull away.

4.) What would you like to see for the future of Evelon?
I'd love to see new, active members coming here. It would be awesome for the same crew to be here for years to come, but it's inevitable that life will get in the way of things and people will eventually drop out, I figure. Above all, I'd just like to see Evelon continue. This place means a lot to me.

5.) What do you think we could do find and retain new members?
I know it's already being done, but advertisements on adoptable pet sites I feel are a good start. Possibly poke around into other large roleplaying forums and throw ourselves out there? I think it's mostly about appealing to those similar to the crowd of people we already have. It's just a matter of finding out where those people are.

As for retaining members, maybe add more newbie-centered events? Pet giveaways, KS/GT giveaways, roleplay contests? Maybe assign newbies and older member per se to walk them through things, perhaps as a mentor? I know even when I joined it was all a little overwhelming at first; I can't even imagine how it is now. I think it's about getting new members settled and comfortable here as soon as possible after they join. Leaving before that point would be a breeze.

[.:The Marketplace:.]

Well, I kinda forgot to draw raffle winners for this! To make up for it, we've decided to draw 6 winners instead of 4. The following 6 users will have 5 GT sent to them shortly!

Phoenix
Flame
MillietheWarrior
Aussie
Pickle
DJBrightside