Difference between revisions of "Events"

Event Type

There are six different categories of events:

• Clutchings
• Hatchings
• Mating Flights
• Threadfall
• Gathers (includes Market Days)
• Plots (this covers all other types of important event)

Mating Flights and Threadfall can be generated automatically

Control Posts

These are posts which are sent to the list by one of the members responsible for the event, which kick off the storyline and give all the necessary information for members to write about it.

The control post select box may not appear when an event is first being entered into the database. This is because there might be thousands of stories for the control posts to be chosen from, and it would take a long time to scroll through them! If it doesn't appear, just enter the event into the database and then edit it to add the posts. Once the event has been entered, the list of posts will have been narrowed down to all the posts that occur on the selected day at the selected locations, which is likely to be a much shorter list.

Generating Mating Flight Dates

New mating flights for dragons and firelizards can be generated by clicking on the Calendar tab and choosing the location you would like to add flights to. You should then see a calendar for the current month at that location, and at the top right of the screen will be some red tabs. Click on the one that says "Flights".

A list of flights for all the dragons and firelizards at that location will be automatically generated. It spaces the flights roughly three months after the last one, and takes into account that dragons and flits under 6 months, and personas under 15 years of age, will not be needing flights. Their flights will be generated for when they're old enough, and the fact that it's the first flight will be noted so the flight tracker can make sure everything's okay.

However, these generated flights have not yet been entered into the database at this stage. What the flight tracker needs to do is go down the list, checking the checkboxes for the flights they would like to add to the database. They can change the flight date using the drop-down boxes (for example, if someone wants a particular date for their flight).

To store the flights in the database, click on the "Add to Database" button at the bottom of the screen. All of the checked flights will then be entered into the database, and will appear on the Calendar. You can then edit them and add further descriptions and control posts just like ordinary events. The member responsible will automatically be selected as the writer of the persona with the female dragon involved.

All flights are by default displayed, so if you want to keep the date of a gold flight secret, either don't add it to the database (by not clicking the checkbox) or edit it afterwards to set the display option to no.

Clutchings/Hatchings

For certain types of event - mating flights, clutchings and hatchings - you will need to enter the name of the FEMALE dragon involved. For the clutchings and hatchings, this would be the queen who has laid the eggs.

Threadfall

Threadfall dates are generated by clicking on the Calendar tab, then choosing a Weyr. A red "Threadfall" admin tab should appear - click on that to get to the Threadfall generator. This will automatically generate random Threadfall dates for that Weyr in that month. Falls will be spaced 5-8 days apart, and start times for Threadfall are between 06:00 and 17:00.

As with Flight dates, these Threadfall dates will not be entered into the database until you click on the Update Database button at the bottom of the page. If you don't like the Threadfall dates, you can refresh the page as many times as you like, or edit the dates using the drop-down boxes. When you are happy with the Threadfalls, click "Update Database" and they will be added. Little "Red Star" icons will then appear on the dates where there is Threadfall.

The Threadfall event icons will also appear for all the Holds in that Weyr's territory.

If you click on the Threadfall tab and Thread has already been generated for that month, you will get a form to edit the existing Threadfall.

Filling Out the Form

Event Name

Each event must be given a name - for example "Fire at the Harper Hall".

Event Description

The event description can be used to give any necessary information about the event for members wishing to post at it. For example, the description of a Gather event might include the kinds of stalls and entertainment available, the start and finish times, or any marriages that will be occurring at the Gather.

Event Locations

Choose all of the locations at which the event occurs. More than one location can be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on names. Remember to select any Halls that are located near a particular Hold if you'd like them to be involved!

Members Responsible

Select the names of members who are responsible for managing an event. You can select more than one by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on names.

For example, with a Hatching event, the writers of the queen dragon's rider and the bronzerider whose dragon sired the eggs would be a likely choice.

"Display" Option

If the display option is set to "yes", all the members can see it listed on the website, but if it's set to "no", only administrators can. This could be useful for events which are being kept secret, like Hatching dates.