#the insurance company expects that. they're familiar with our work

[calyroco]

I just suddenly unlocked an old vague memory of a tv show I saw as a child(trading spaces: boys vs girls) and it is really a wonder I didn't get into home remodeling shows more growing up because I have no memory of hating it so I must have found it at least pretty decent

[reluctantvnnerd]

Hi everyone. I know there have been a lot of opinions about the RSS Patreon, and I'm not going to go into that because I think people's opinions are valid on both sides, except for the butt walruses who harassed people.

That being said, I think I have some information that other people might get some value from. Back in the before times I spent 6 years working in recruiting and UX research for a AAA gaming company. My partner has also worked in the game industry as both a programmer and a product manager. I am very familiar with the salaries people get paid around the country for making video games. I also own a small business where I manufacture my own fandom merch. I think these make me qualified to talk about the subject of cost when it comes to this project, at least in a very small sense.

The one criticism I really thought was unfair, was the accusation that RSS was being fiscally irrisponsible because they were starting a Patreon. That isn't a sign of money mismanagement, that is the sign of a company looking for a way to sustainably continue to do their work.

Work is the piece of the equation that I think a lot of people aren't remembering. By which I mean that a lot of people aren't keeping in mind the is cost of labor. NO ONE on the TS team is making a living wage from that Kickstarter money, I promise you.

Now I'm not even talking living wage in a place like San Francisco or Seattle ($41 an hour is a living wage in Seattle, for reference.) I did a little digging in the part of Florida where I used to work for said large company. They severely underpay in that area, and yet the living wage for people in entertainment, not even tech, is about $65k a year, and that's usually just based on fair market value for a studio apartment and no recreation at all.

There are 12 people on the RSS team. If they all made a living wage of $65k a year, that would be $780,000 to have them work full time for one year.

Now keep in mind that is a super low ball estimate of cost. Let's talk about how much you have to pay to hire a programmer in Seattle, which has many large game companies. On the low end salaries probably start around 100k and go up to $250k for a really senior programmer. If you had 4 Sr. programmers on your team you could easily spend a million dollars in salary alone, and that's not even considering things like insurance.

RSS has already been working on the game for over a year, and a significant portion of the cost of the Kickstarter is likely going to merch, not labor. There is no way anyone working on this game is being paid what they deserve, and they're likely working on top of fairly intensive 9 to 5 jobs, or freelance work. They're doing a massive lift on an amazing game and probably making pennies from it. If you backed the Kickstarter you may have read the update about the team creating a tool from scratch to help improve the game. That's a BIG DEAL and I think speaks to the talent and dedication of the team.

Which brings me to my next important note that I share as a business owner, specifically about merch. Imagine how much time and money you think it will take to put out a product. Now multiply it by 3, bare minimum. That's what it's like manufacturing a product. What I make isn't even on the scale of this game's merch, and it's still a battle every time.

So many costs and delays are completely out of your hands. We do our manufacturing in house (literally in my house) and even then we had one of our 3d printers die three days before our first show. Suddenly I'm out $350 for a damn printer that I never expected to buy. And if manufacturing for merch is anything like manufacturing for makeup (another special interest) factories will even bump your order for bigger customers. It's brutal.

Sure, you budget for some wiggle room, but there are simply things you can't predict, like ships getting stuck in the Suez canal, or the a global pandemic. You can't predict them and you can't always easily absorb the cost, even though you did nothing wrong. You find yourself making frustrating decisions where you have to do things like balance quality with speed, and being slowed down like that is bloody soul crushing if I'm being honest.

All that is to say I don't think most people are being malicious when they question the way RSS is using the KS funds (some people definitely are and they can walk on flaming Legos) but I also think they may simply be operating without all the information.

And I want to cut some folks off at the pass - before you start talking about transparency, please remember that backing a Kickstarter isn't an investment, it's a gamble. There is no guarantee you'll get what you pay for, and once they've taken your money the devs could buy $900k of silly string and we'd all be out of luck because that's how gambling works.

I think we're going to get a great game from RSS, but they aren't a publicly traded company, we aren't shareholders (I include myself as a day 1 backer) and we don't have any right to ask them for things like financial information. Also why do we want them trying to justify spending instead of perfecting Leander's massive tiddies and Vere's 200 belts?

Anyway sorry, I know that was incredibly long, but I hope it soothes some fears for people who haven't really been sure what's going on, or are simply curious about video game salaries and manufacturing. Please keep in mind the cost of labor, and how many things can be outside of a company's hands. Please don't assume people are greedy or doing a bad job when we haven't even come close to the launch date of the product. How about we all chill and go play the demo again?

Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback regarding our upcoming Patreon! We sincerely apologize for any confusion the announcement caused. The Patreon will be put on pause for now while we reevaluate some things! In the meantime, we ask that you please refrain from posting hostile or threatening messages or sending them to our team members. We greatly appreciate your kindness.

[mariarivera27]

Can I trust you with my life?

by Maria Rivera

There are many people in need of insurance in America. The hard part is finding the right one. Reaching families or individuals is essential. Then, there come the non-profit organizations to help and have the ability to reach them through social media, where the majority are located. The best communication factor is social media. This organization and many others can gain followers and keep people up-to-date with what is happening and what can affect their health. There is so much information that people worldwide don't know about that can be causing them health issues.

The purpose and vision of Blue Cross Blue Sheil are to provide healthcare allowing members to join and live a life of worry-free and free of fear. Most of all, this organization strives for affordable healthcare. Each social media they obtain demonstrates the care they provide, the benefits provided, and the help they include. Sometimes they contact communities in person to let them know more about their services. This non-profit provides health insurance and other services that help maintain a person's health. An article focuses on letting people know there are solutions for affordability in American health. One main topic many people are worried about. "Real affordability solutions must address the root causes of rising prices, including anti-competitive practices and misaligned incentives across the system." Some crucial factors exist that a non-profit like Blue Cross Blue Shield has its platforms. Social media is first about communication and how that communication is driven and shown to people. It is critical to how BCBSRI communicates to future new members the services they provide to keep them in a healthy state. About half of the world's population uses social media, according to "Leea Sarvela" explaining "Why Healthcare Organizations Should Be on Social Media." A simple reel relatable to our health can be shared like a chain reaction and reach millions in seconds.

Regarding Blue Cross Blue Shield Rhode Island's social media, it fluctuates on how many people follow and like their page. As a result, their platforms vary, and they need more traction like other non-profit organizations.

I chose to analyze BCBSRI Facebook first because I follow them and am familiar with the platform. I can see the Facebook content they provide. For example, they have posted about "Supporting Children And Mental Health." The video shows employees through Zoom talking about ways to build emotional literacy. From how many followers it should expect, more likes, shares, and comments. Even though each post is engaging and has a clear message, the media created shows a shortfall because there are few showing action and support on the page.

To fix the problem, some ideas that can be helpful to increase the basic metrics are posting real people, actual members, talking about their experience as a member, and then mentioning or tagging people that can relate to the post. Hashtags can also help reach more people; the post will be visible everywhere. For advanced metrics, they follow important organizations already but do not follow influencers that increase that can also help get the visibility they need. The more I see their content, it is all about stating facts or reminding the audience of their mission as a non-profit organization and how they're helping many. Yes, that is important, but we need more than information. We need to see real people to trust and know we can afford it too. How can we trust a company if we can't see everyday people to relate with?

This non-profit organization hosts many events and does volunteer work for the community. It is a positive way to show a behavior metric involving and engaging shows that they care for people. In addition, it brings them to have a deeper level with the customer. An article states, " it is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of user behavior and needs" because it's not only about the product you are selling to the customer but how they act upon it; it can mean you're doing a good job. It looks like on Facebook the recent event was posted in 2021, but there are many more shown on the other platforms more recent. It shows in this social media that they still need to stay on top and update things. BCBSRI has lost the possibility because they must keep posting up-to-date on events. Making these vents and posting them to the people helps them people realize that what they do is for them and that it is worth applying for their services.

The next platform is Instagram, which has many videos and posts more of an interactive atmosphere than Facebook. BCBSRI has 901 posts and 1,889 followers. It obtains a variety of videos and different posts about what is happening. All post have a variety of layout and design that catches attention. Although in reels, they don't have a lot of an engagement rate. The most reel has 71 likes. The reel is about "take5foryou," an important topic that many can relate to and is heard. This account looks more updated than Facebook. There needs to be more engagement rate on Instagram, even though the behavioral metric is excellent, where the posts are engaging, and many people participate in events. Instagram's layout they created is focused on families where it is relatable, showing ways to stay healthy and giving great advice and tips real life needs to hear.

I suggest getting better at tags and mentioning people in the advanced metrics. For example, BCBS of California has 7,063 followers. Not only do they have this many followers, but they also have yummy recipes and a variety of posts for families and pets. The real for giving advice and taking a 5-minute break is a good idea; it shows that the company cares for the wellness of the people. I see other women doing the same reel to support this non-profit organization. After analyzing the channel metric, it needed progress and more work. Regarding tags and revenue from followers and new followers, exploring different strategies to motivate the audience is crucial because it is about staying healthy and continuing to do it long-term.

To finish, non-profit organizations with social media have opened doors to grow and establish a foundation. People can get to know them through social media and what they have to provide all benefits and affordability. According to "Forbes" states many platforms and tools that benefit social media marketing for non-profit organizations. From the many tools this organization is empaired to use if they want more revenue and engagement rate. And maybe Rhode Islanders can start trusting and believing there is a company like Blue Cross Blue Shield that cares.

[greyias]

Please show us your theory cards and red string :D I LOVE YOUR THEORY'S (They're so much fun to read)

@captainofthefallen asked:

Okay! :D

Hey errbody! Let’s talk about–

MALGUS

Full credit on this really needs to go to @andveryginger who has been giving Malgus the epic side-eye while I’ve been trying to convince everyone the Gravestone is a nihilistic sentient warship trying to find a pair of opposable thumbs so it can set the galaxy on fire.

So, everybody’s favorite baddie since before the game’s launch, Darth Malgus. The Sith who razed the Jedi Temple and led the Sacking of Coruscant, who fought Satele and Jace on Alderaan (the fight which led them to get together and produce our favorite disaster spy princess), and then later tried to orchestrate a coup in the vanilla game’s epilogue by pitting the Republic and Empire against each other on Ilum so he could seize the throne and declare himself Emperor.

Only to meet his end at the hand of the PC, who, in the KotFE storyline, is presumably also the Outlander. He’s killed and his body is blown up along with the rest of his cloaking technology on Vitiate/Valky’s old fortress. Everybody wins! Except Malgus, because he dies.

OR DID HE?????

BUM BUM BUUUUUUHHHHHH

The above is a deleted scene from the KotFE trailer, because at the time the writers weren’t sure if they wanted to bring him back into game. I was on a livestream earlier this year where they dropped some major hints that maybe, just maybe that cut scene might somehow not just sit on the cutting floor forever.

Cool. Cool. So if Malgus for some reason in his death throes tripped and got frozen in carbonite (let’s not ask for specifics, DS!Zombie and LS!Ghost Revan in SoR already make my head hurt enough), ejected from the exploding Fortress of Cloaky Doom, and wound up in some dusty Sith archive on the fringes of Wild Space for Arcann and Thexan to scoop up and present to dear old Dad before they went off to raze Korriban. And as Zakuulan royals do, they hung him up on a wall to gloat their victory to their fallen/frozen enemy. Because Zakuulan art is interactive you see.

Maybe Malgus was one of our buddies in carbonite for five years, maybe Arcann tossed him into a dumpster because there was only room for one masked scar-faced bald guy in the Spire, I don’t know. Either way, assuming somehow that clip from above comes into play, let’s just say somehow he gets thawed out at some point, presumably on Zakuul. Maybe while the Outlander is distracting everyone by crashing state dinners and accidentally causing city wide blackouts.

Like Revan and Tenebrae/Vitiate/Valkorion/PICKANAMEDAMNIT as big bad before him, we think he’s dead, but really, it’s not a MMO we’re playing but Villain Whack-a-Mole. Just as soon as someone has cashed in the life insurance check, bam! They’re back again! (Maybe the true villainy is insurance fraud?) 

I digress. Anyway, against all odds and expectations, Malgus survives the False Emperor storyline to plot another day!

After KOTET wraps up, a new storyline begins, visiting old and new places. Because I’m super observant like that, it takes almost the entire year, and a few friends pointing it out for me to actually see the name of the storyline in the quest log and to start to connect the dots. What is this storyline called? No, not The Stench of Betrayal, but Fractured Alliances. A throwback to the prelude storyline, Forged Alliances, where we first met Theron and Lana in-game, the events of which lead up to the Shadow of Revan expansion.

Now, now… granted, the devs haven’t formally announced that this storyline is doing anything but wrapping up in early 2018. There’s been no talk of an additional expansion that this storyline may or may not be factoring into. But, it’s interesting that it’s an inversion of the Shadow of Revan Prelude, and there’s been some other interesting parallels between this storyline and that, namely:

A conspiracy (Lana and Theron’s favorite!) featuring a traitor among the player’s faction

Theron and Lana task themselves with unravelling the truth

There’s a mysterious Order at the heart of the conspiracy pulling the strings

Said Order is full of religious zealots (since we now have confirmation it’s the Order of Zildrog)

They’re trying to collect/steal artifacts: 

Order of Revan (in Forged Alliances) was trying to steal Rakata tech in order to build an army

Order of Zildrog (in Fractured Alliances) is trying to steal technology/a super weapon presumably so “Zildrog” can eliminate all life and start things anew

Beach flashpoint! (Legacy of Rakata/Traitor Among the Chiss)

Theron (and company that time) has to go on the run at the end because the Order had implicated them as criminals (or he’s implicated himself in this case)

Mysterious Zealoty Order is playing the Republic and Imperials against each other as a distraction while they try to carry out their secret plot

Forged Alliances ended with the shock reveal that Guy-We-All-Thought-Obviously-Dead (Revan) was alive! And the true mastermind behind it all! Oh no! And he had nefarious plans that needed to be unraveled. Theron and Lana went into hiding to spy on them and try to figure out their true plan.

So… if the parallels continue, would it make sense for a Guy-We-All-Thought-Obviously-Dead to be the shock reveal at being alive? ZILDROG/GRAVESTONE I mean–Malgus!

“But… but what the hell? We thought it was going to be Zildrog? What does this reanimated Sith Lord have to do with it?”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

LOOK! IF REVAN CAN DIE AND BECOME A LIGHT SIDE GHOST AND A DARK SIDE ZOMBIE WHY CAN’T CARBONITE SITH EMPEROR WANNABE MAKE HIS OWN DEATH CULT? The Force works in mysterious ways and all that!

But what about Gravedrog?

Look, I’ve already got the conspiracy theory string out. That means no idea is too far-fetched right now! I’ll find a way to tie Gravedrog in, I promise! And come on, Gravedrog has no opposable thumbs, or legs for that matter. He needs someone to do his dirty work for him. He needs a face for the public (or at least half a face. Really, a mouthpiece will do)

So, against all odds and logic, Malgus is back in town. And maybe he’s the puppet master of every thing that’s been happening post-KOTET:

He somehow gets the Order of Zildrog to listen to him. Why does MurderDeathKill Cult listen to him? I dunno. Maybe they think he is Zildrog

Post-KOTET, the Galaxy is suffering from a resource shortage brought on by having to rebuild after the Eternal Fleet went cray and started bombing the crap out of everything. Tensions are high, kind of like they were after the Vanilla game, when the Vitiate/Valk/etc/Emperor was killed (for the first time)

It’s possible someone has been stirring the galactic pot leading to the Uprisings that happen between KOTET and Fractured Alliances. Am I the only one who finds these mini supervillians all deciding to strike right after KOTET just a bit strange? I mean, maybe, it’s unrelated (not everything has to be tied together in a neat little bow), but that’s a whole lot of traitors, mad scientists, and power-mad gangsters to come out of the woodwork at once. Even with the Zakuul power vacuum

Suddenly Adegan Crystals have entered the plot, which were last a plot macguffin back during the False Emperor storyline

The Order’s end goal seems to be trying to find a cache of super weapons that Valk/Vitiate/SithWithTooManyNames stowed away during his tenure as the Emperor of the Sith Empire (we already found his other vault)

Presumably the Order thinks it’s to bring about their wonderful apocalypse

But a schemey Sith who was in the Upper Echelons of the Empire probably has an idea what those could be used for aside from “total annihilation”

The False Emperor storyline basically had a “mysterious informant” lure both the Empire and Republic to Ilum, a remote and distant world, and manipulated them to start fighting over the Adegan Crystals

My memory on the Imp side storyline is fuzzy. But I do know that there was attempted assassinations on the Republic side of their high-ranking military officers

He used the Empire and Republic to whittle each other down, grab resources for himself, before he made his final play for power

Is this sounding familiar? Because on Iokath...

A mysterious informant informed the Republic, the Empire, and the Alliance about a resource (or superweapon in this case) located on a remote and distant world

Empire and Republic are pitted against each other and a war is restarted

One of the factions leaders is taken out in a spectacularly grand fashion (getting fried on the throne). Dialogue indicates they did so on the word of their mysterious informant.

A mysterious third party* comes in while everyone is distracted and attempts to take out the leader of the most dangerous faction (the Alliance) -- aka, the one holding the Eternal Fleet’s leash

* Mysterious Third Party being someone in the Order of Zildrog, an individual me and few others have dubbed as “Nic the Cultist”, our Snaked Masked friend who you will meet over and over and over if you decide you really want a Pain Train™ of your very own.

Is that Malgus under the Snake Mask? I don’t know. I’m going to doubt it. I’m not as familiar with his character as some (I still need to read some of the TOR novels and comics that build out the backstory), but he seemed more of a puppet master archetype to me by the events of False Emperor, preferring to manipulate things behind the scenes. And what’s easier to manipulate than a bunch of fringe death cult lunatics who believe that they’re the “chosen ones” to survive an apocalypse that’s totally coming any day now?

I should also note, one last thing about Malgus, thematically, him and betrayal/deception do seem to go hand-in-hand. In the “Return” trailer he stabs his master in the back. He’s the featured character in the “Deceived” trailer (and is the main antagonist of the Old Republic: Deceived novel). He’s known as a traitor/deceiver because of his Bond Villainesque plans for galactic domination in the False Emperor storyline. Not really evidence of any sort, just... interesting food for thought.

Additional interesting things if Malgus were somehow tied into this storyline:

At this point, it’s obvious this is Theron’s storyline. If Malgus were the true baddie at the end, that would be... kind of cool

Because exactly how did Theron come about? Well, you see, his mommy and daddy really loved each other -- something they only really acted upon because Jace decided to blow up Malgus and himself with a grenade to save Satele

If Satele is also brought back into this storyline, her and Malgus facing off would also be interesting considering their fairly epic battle during the Hope cinematic trailer

Upcoming PVP Map is Yavin IV, and is about fighting over “Sith Artifacts”. Is this the planet we “never expected to return to” in this storyline that the roadmap teased at? Maybe, maybe not. (Maybe they’re just finally releasing the one they’ve been working on since SoR)

He’s got a spy somewhere on Odessen. 

It’s obviously not Theron, who had to audition to join the Order of Zildrog

Maybe it’s that red-headed lady from Koth’s crew who is a background character in like half the cutscenes from KotFE onward, who hands Theron some sort of data in the opening cutscene for War from Iokath.

Or maybe it’s the weird ass crystal in the weird ass room on the Gravestone. 

For the love of everything please explain that damn crystal!

Obligatory Gravedrog tie-in complete

And, uhhh, that’s all I got folks. Really, there’s nothing concrete that Malgus is definitely returning, just more thematic elements and things that make you go “Hmm”...

@anjastasia - Ooh, as a fan does any of the above make sense? Any obvious bits I missed or misremembered? I’m not nearly as steeped in his lore since I’m not as much of a fan of the Empire stuff, so it doesn’t tend to stick in my brain like Pub-side. 

(And yes, really hope Lana knows something about all this. She’s just too smart to not know something’s up, and doesn’t let herself get blinded by rage like most Sith. And what do you mean publicly outing and burning a spy to the galaxy at large is like, the biggest act of love right? Poor Theron, he’s never going to be able to go undercover again after this...)