5) Honestly, why do you think so many players chose POP! in the beginning? What can POP offer to them at this point, and what can they provide to the team?
For the first 5 to 6 days, POP! was a purely mass recruitment family. It was a case of constantly sending out invitations from all who applied or inviting to the other branches when the first branch was full. Players at that time will have only joined because they saw their neighbors in a high ranking tribe. Believe it or not, plenty of good players and players with potential will accept those invitations. Of course, many spies will too.
Recruitment is a constant task for any tribe with ambitions to maintain an active member-base. We have started a process of switching from mass-recruitment to selective-recruitment, which has had some success over the past couple of days as we look to secure at-risk existing members and expand into the rest of the south-east.
POP! offers a supremely experienced, resilient council who are able to organise a mass of members. Our obvious strength will be support due to the density of our villages in K55, while our willingness to recruit inexperienced players to teach may be another plus point. We have already identified many players who can be an active part of a top tribe due to their communication, activity and willingness to learn. This is not all 180+ members, of course, but it is certainly a good amount of players who will help make w92 interesting.
6) As of this morning (Sunday 5/2), POP! counts 186 members, with less than 20% of them being in the top500 plunderers. Considering that farming is the main aspect (at least for the early stages) of the game, and the fact that one of your tribe's goal is to "teach" the game, do you think you are doing something wrong? How many of these 186 members do you reckon will be with you for a considerable amount of time?
I believe that the leadership team has offered adequate support, guides and advice to all members who have shown a desire to improve their game. Farming statistics are a key method of measuring a member or potential recruits' activity, and players who do not show effort cannot be kept in the family long term. Maybe we have not been strict enough. Maybe we should boot our lowest farming member every day to offer some motivation.
Based on yesterday's statistics, POP family had 29 members in the top 500 for Plunderers. This is not enough, and something we are constantly encouraging our members to improve on. For comparisons sake, 28 have 37 of their members in top 500 plunderers, while M E A have only 27.
While many members at this time have not shown great statistics for farming, they have shown their willingness to learn, activity and communication. At present, I am happy with the progress of 80+ players, with many others still with chances to prove themselves to the tribe.
7) Looking at the "Tribe ranking for the continent 55", one could easily see that 28 is your main antagonist in this region. What is your opinion about them (previous encounters, members, leadership)? Is there any other tribe on K55 that you have spotted?
POP! and 28 have had a couple of normal early world skirmishes, as is expected. They are clearly the strongest tribe in K55 at the moment (potentially even the world, though I haven't studied the statistics for all tribes). As mentioned, 37 of their 50 members are in the top 500 for looting, which is a much better showing than the second ranked tribe in K55: M E A.
I know little about 28, really. They do not have the superstar players that you would expect to see in the top ranked start-up tribe. Their members seem active, their leadership seems active and motivated. They are constantly monitoring and strategising locally, in contact with all tribes and attempting to manipulate situations to their advantage.
I saw little future for them at the start of the world. They are making me rethink, though. (High praise)
I am disappointed that they allowed their PP players to get away with rushing nobles and making little-to-no troops -- based on The Commander's statement regarding the subject. Ragingbudha was a huge embarrassment, and I'm sure it won't be forgotten any time soon.
Otherwise,
M E A are the other main tribe to look out for in the South East. They have an active member base -- however, expanding to a family tribe will give them much more to think about, demotivate players who thought they were in an 'elite' tribe and had earned their place, etc.
The third tribe to watch in the south east is
Vandal. Some top players there, though I'm not sure of their intentions on the whole for this world.
CROSS also seem an active tribe. Most of the others are proving themselves to be weak and easily manipulated by 28 and M E A, however.
8) Creating a 4-part family tribe from day 1 resulted to some remarkable "hate" on the externals. What are according to you the reasons behind that, and do you find them logical? Are you at all afraid that the attention your tribe attracted so early will be proven to be the beginning of POP!'s end?
I was amazed by the initial raft of hate on the externals. Family tribes have existed since the start of tribal wars, and the majority of players have been a part of one at some point.
It was totally irrational, and those posting negatively were made to look foolish. There are now many family tribes, with other high ranking tribes opening academies. They are not getting the same treatment.
I welcome challenges from tribes or individuals. We will take each as it comes, and endeavour to show our members that we doesn’t afraid of anything.
9) Finally, If you weren't ChrisIIHoppy the leader of POP!, would you apply to enter POP! and why?
Hypothetically, if I were an experienced player then I likely wouldn't begin to consider joining POP!. Although, most experienced players will recognise some players in POP!... so... hrmm....
Also, the high quality alternatives on this world aren't all that great right now. I'm sure tribes will emerge once nobling is common, with many top tribes falling apart. In these circumstances, I would likely join a random tribe nearby or the best of those in the vicinity, before seeing what the situation was a few weeks down the line. So, I suppose I am saying I likely would try to join POP! if I were in the area.
End of part 1 !