Heya. I've been wondering what the interest level for some kind of school or otherwise learning place might be for Antares. A place where your character can attend for some time and pick up new skills and knowledge IC. I'd understand if people wouldn't be able to align schedules or have professors online at all times, and was also thinking about having a sort of online class where once a day a different subject is taught by posting a link to reading material or something. depending on the level of interest, there might could be tests and exams and degrees and such. It's easy to /say/ your character has a degree, but it'd also be cool if you could back it up.
if i had a dollar everytime one of these popup, id have a lot of dollars. if you can pull if off; then by all means go ahead.
My only nit-pick (which I have about a lot of things, honestly) is that Antares is a Frontier. The literal middle of nowhere, outside the line of sight of and under the radar of the major in-game factions. Basically, develop a good reason why characters X, Y, and Z chose to come out HERE of all places to start a school. If you can pull that and an actual functioning system for running the school off, go for it. Could be neat.
I remember back around New Chicago times when there was a woman walking around promoting her college. It didn't work out because, like said, Antares is a frontier with large large demographic of 20-30 human years of age. It'd definitely encourage new characters or ambitious characters to attend. Problem is a matter of OOC scheduling, and its reason for existing in a system struck with violence. Though since crime covered cities still have schools, that isn't very questionable. I like it, but there needs to be a good reason for it to exist and be formed, and a good structure for organization OOCly.
A professor who traveled from place to place offering his teachings would be more likely and practical for a setting like a frontier I think.
Something like this has kind of happened to me twice already, basically two characters have approached Reed, who is a doctor, and asked for training. It's worked alright for the most part. Basically what I'm saying is, is that it might be easier to just do something more closely resembling an apprentice type system. Where a character follows and works with someone in the profession that they want to learn about, and then eventually the apprentice char begins to slowly gain experience as time goes on. I think a system like this has more potential than a school one only because with this system, there only needs to be 2 players on at the same time rather than enough to fill up a class. I would definitely be interested in seeing if a school in Antares could work though
What about NPC teachers and forum lectures and attendance? I'd like to have a physical school for characters to go and /not BaRP/ for once. Classes whenever, since NPCs don't have to go anywhere.
But for actuals. It wouldn't be a conventional classroom kinda school. It'd be more of a master-apprentice sort've deal. You wouldn't go to a school to learn arithmatic, in a frontier; where the main age group is mid20-30. If anything; it's an unorthodox collage of trade; skill masters, offering their teachings to pupils. aka. Man is good at making impervium underwear. Boy wants to learn, because he can better himself in the frontier, because of it. Man puts out "willing to teach." OR boy finds man himself. you figure the rest.
Hm a "Willing to Teach" and "Willing to Learn" option on Starnet marketplace sounds interesting. Like, not selling a service, but using a trade a character knows to teach others out of good will. That, and having a free hand to help them. A trade school that offers workspace for masters to hold apprenticeships? A thing where instead of putting out a "willing to hire" one puts out a "willing to teach".
I would think apprenticeships would be more the style for frontier living. If they want to learn a skill then become an apprentice under that person. Say after a couple month RL, they graduate to a journeymen status and no longer under the masters wing and are on their own. Pretty much what Smokestack said.
:^) I like this idea though. It'd give actual IC background and you could actually learn valuable things. Like with the USAF, we actually had to watch a 30 minute video of saving a life under combat scenarios. After watching the video, we then had to act IC to treat a pretend patient. Doing an idea like this would give a background actual merit.
