Community Survey 007 Results
Many of us are letting out a big exhale after the whirlwind that was the Games Workshop Tacoma Open, and it feels like a good opportunity to digest the data from our most recent Community Survey (this blog post), as well as discuss the latest details behind our future move (keep an eye out for that one next week).
When we conducted this survey in the Spring, we wanted to zoom in on a few specific topics: First was making sure that we’re continuing to uphold our mission by fostering a sense of belonging for anyone interested in miniatures games. We also tried to get a good understanding of which games our community is most interested in, drilled down on a recent increase in demand for tables, and collected targeted feedback related to the Waystone Discord server, which has been due for a good overhaul.
Community Values and Guidelines
The quantitative data we get about this question is always overwhelmingly positive from survey to survey, which is validating but hard to learn from. That being said, even members who rank us very high on this question open up in comments about the opportunities we have for growth. A number of folks said they noticed us working carefully to make the club’s values more transparent without inviting distressing conversation or debate in the Discord. This was nice to see, since feedback in our previous survey showed that we had more work to do in this area.
“It is great seeing all the thought and transparency you show in person or on Discord. That care of thought is something that is very much leading the culture of the community you have fostered.”
“Waystone feels like an exceedingly safe space, which is something I’d say of VERY few places.”
Games We Play
This is always one of my favorite sets of data to sift through—what are people really playing (and why isn’t it Battletech)? Note the fancy charts below:
For the first time ever, over a third(!!) of current members are not playing Warhammer 40,000. I love 40k, and don’t think this is going to herald any great sea change, but I get excited because this means folks are seeing the value of a community like ours outside the bounds of one specific brand. Even if someone loses interest in 40k, or the game as a whole dips in popularity, they’ll have lots of compelling options to pivot to alongside their friends.
I also noticed that almost every game saw a decrease in the percentage of members who reported playing them. This suggests that as individuals, we’re tending to focus on a smaller number of games rather than trying to play everything at once (incredibly mature and financially responsible of us).
Table Booking Experience
Table capacity has been a big topic of conversation lately, and this was reflected in the high number of members who reported trouble booking tables this Spring (44%). That’s a huge jump from last Fall (when the number was 24%), so digging into the data and figuring out what’s going on felt important.
Here’s what we learned:
A number of members speculated that table capacity is strained when there are a number of leagues or campaigns all launching at the same time, and/or when more people are booking tables before finding an opponent, then canceling at the last minute.
The majority of members either supported (30%) or strongly supported (57%) the idea of implementing a last-minute cancellation fee for table reservations. Comments stipulated that the rules behind such a fee should be transparent, and that the policy should be responsive to equity issues around health and safety.
77% of members said they would like to be able to reserve tables later in the day on Saturdays.
Folks who prefer playing in the Speakeasy tend to have a harder time booking tables when they would like (this is something we learned in Survey 006).
How we address capacity issues needs to be multi-faceted, since factors such as overall lack of availability, last-minute cancellations, and preferences around the Speakeasy and Annex spaces all influence one another.
In order to address the general issue of of capacity, we’re going to be extending our hours on Saturdays. We’ve wanted to do this for a while, and this data has helped us feel go into that decision confidently. It will take time, however, so please be patient with us! We want to extend hours in thoughtful way that also meets the needs of our staff, rather than hastily changing things around and burning someone out.
Next, we’ll be implementing a fee to address the issue of tables going unused because of last minute cancellations. In keeping with your feedback, this will only impact those who repeatedly cancel tables within 24-hours of their reservation time, and there will be clear guidelines as well as instructions for having the fee waived for health and safety reasons. We’ll provide full details and implement the policy by the end of next week.
Finally, for folks who find they have a hard time booking tables specifically in the Spekaeasy, I wanted to note that all eight of our tables will be connected to one communal space with drink service when we move later this year. This should ease booking issues for folks who currently have a strong preference for the Speakeasy (the majority of our members).
Our current digital mockup for the floor plan of Waystone 2.0
I’m chuckling now, because a cursory glance at the schedule tells me that a lot of our table capacity concerns have already corrected themselves—probably because 40k players are no longer frantically preparing for the Tacoma Open. I like that we’re being proactive about this, though, and I’m super excited about the idea of Waystone being open later on Saturdays.
Improvements to the Waystone Discord
The Discord recently grew to over 1,000 participants, which is both amazing and a little odd, considering that our goal has always been to facilitate in-person connections over digital ones. The importance of a safe digital space to explore our friendships and organize games can’t be understated, though, and we collected some data to get a sense of how members are engaging with this unique aspect of our community.
94% of members said they access the Discord server in some way, though almost half refrain from actively participating in conversation. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it would be awesome to learn more about the “why” behind this.
When we asked members about their favorite aspects of the Discord, the most common sentiment was that it helps them stay connected with the friends they’ve made at the club. A number of folks also indicated that the Discord is essential to how they organize games, and appreciations were given for the supportive environment promoted in the hobby channel. A vast majority of members (80%) tended to agree that our community does a good job of self-moderating, and that staff are striking a good balance between giving people freedom vs. stepping in to enforce rules (88%).
“...people are almost always respectful, often playful, even in the face of serious disagreements. It feels like how people behave to one another in a shared physical space, not just online.”
When asked about their least favorite things about the Discord, members mentioned the overwhelming number of participants in some channels, and the speed with which conversation tended to move as a result. Other comments focused on fairly typical challenges with online behavior, such as people trying to enforce rules in a way that didn’t feel respectful or fair, groups of people piling on top of those they disagree with, or users raising inappropriate topics that wouldn’t normally come up in-person (especially in the #memes channel).
Where Stefan and I have landed is that the Waystone Discord serves two very different (but not mutually exclusive) purposes: It needs to be both a warm, accessible on-ramp for anyone who has a genuine interest in our in-person community, as well as a safe, intimate space for those who are already deeply invested.
Here are the broad changes we’ve implemented as a result:
Anyone entering the Discord must now agree to our Values & Guidelines before entering.
New channels and categories have been created so that discussions for multiple game systems aren’t all lumped together.
Access to channels unrelated to miniatures games, such as #muzak, #memes, and #pets is now limited to members.
Users must now provide a short introduction and have their in-person name included in their server nickname before being granted posting privileges.
Setting expectations early (and requiring people to do a little more than click a link they found on reddit) has already changed the tone and feel of conversation across the Discord, but this is something we’ll continue refining as time goes on.
I hope this has all been helpful context for what’s going on at Waystone, rather than total information overload! I’ll have some more big news for you next week, when I lay out the latest news regarding our upcoming move.
All the best,
Dustin
