Stamp queuing problem

[August]

It seems that stamp recruiting telegrams are taking an exceptionally long time to send. My nation The Great Lion has been sending out recruiting telegrams in blocks of 1500, and by the time each one runs out, there are hundreds in the queue, some of them targeting nations created days before. That means a huge percentage of stamps are being wasted, as nations are much less likely to follow recruitment days after their creation as they are when starting out. The fact that manual runs have resulted in over 2% return (with over 25% read) while the stamps bring in .3% or less (closer to 16% read), using the same telegram, is fairly telling.

As I see it, there are four likely options here.
1. The queuing algorithm has been adjusted in favor of manual and/or API.
2. The stamp channel has been unusually packed lately, diminishing returns for each one. This seems unlikely, as my recent tests have shown the vast majority of active recruiters using stamp campaigns.
3. There is a glitch causing a significant slowdown in delivery times. I recall this having happened a couple times before.
4. I am being oblivious and returns were always this bad. (Never having used stamps extensively, this could be the case, but I doubt it.)

Is it one of the above? Is there a fix? Am I missing something?

[Frisbeeteria]

It's math. There are a certain number of new nations created daily, and each nation has limits on the number of recruitment telegrams they can receive. Nations also have the ability to block recruitment. At the same time, there are hundreds or thousands of campaigns running at any given time using the standard methods (manual, stamps, API).

There's just an enormous surplus of supply over demand, particularly since demand is probably close to zero. The majority of new nations are puppets, and they already know where they want to go. That means that there are thousands of regions trying to convince tens or (at most) hundreds of daily new players to join therm. The queues are jammed for everyone. It's just math.

[Raionitu]

2. The stamp channel has been unusually packed lately, diminishing returns for each one. This seems unlikely, as my recent tests have shown the vast majority of active recruiters using stamp campaigns.

And this is why manual does better. The way the system is set up, or so it was explained to me, is that when the system gets a new recruitment TG being sent, it puts it in the queue of all recruitment TGs. Then when sending it cycles through to do one manual, one stamp, one api, then repeats that cycle. Since most people do stamps, this means that manual TGs end up with a much shorter wait list than anything else, since manual recruitment is done so much less.

For best results, best thing to do is to do a combination of the 3 techniques, trying to balance it out best as you can. Sending stamps in shorter bursts also helps, as you can keep yourself from ending up with TGs sitting in the queue for several days

[Cresenthia]

2. The stamp channel has been unusually packed lately, diminishing returns for each one. This seems unlikely, as my recent tests have shown the vast majority of active recruiters using stamp campaigns.

And this is why manual does better. The way the system is set up, or so it was explained to me, is that when the system gets a new recruitment TG being sent, it puts it in the queue of all recruitment TGs. Then when sending it cycles through to do one manual, one stamp, one api, then repeats that cycle. Since most people do stamps, this means that manual TGs end up with a much shorter wait list than anything else, since manual recruitment is done so much less.

For best results, best thing to do is to do a combination of the 3 techniques, trying to balance it out best as you can. Sending stamps in shorter bursts also helps, as you can keep yourself from ending up with TGs sitting in the queue for several days

As I can say from personal experience (but this is in no way authoritative) manual recruitment seems to do about two to three times better than stamps.

[[violet]]

I'll take another look at queue lengths. At first glance, it does seem that, as stated above, there's simply more TGs than nations who can receive them. This is particularly the case for API and stamp-based recruitment, which are 10-20X more popular than manual.

The channels do each get their own delivery chute, so TGs sent manually will arrive faster, as there are fewer other manual recruiters to compete with for queue space.

This doesn't slow down stamp- or API-based campaigns very much, though, because there aren't many manually-sent TGs pushing them out. Their fight is mainly with each other.

In terms of a fix, we're basically limited to these options:

- Hope more new nations are created

- Increase the price of stamps, in order to decrease the number of stamp-based recruitment TGs

- Decrease the API TG ratelimit, in order to decrease the number of API-based recruitment TGs

- Increase speed of recruitment TG delivery--bearing in mind that this makes things more spammy for new nations & may not improve the success rate, as each TG would arrive faster but so would its competition.

[August]

I probably could have been clearer in my original post. I was aware of the rotating three-channel queuing system, and that the stamp and API queues are the most clogged. It just seemed to me that the queue time was substantially longer than it was in the past. Perhaps it is just my imagination, and if so, that is all. Thank you all for the help.

In terms of a fix, we're basically limited to these options:

- Hope more new nations are created

- Increase the price of stamps, in order to decrease the number of stamp-based recruitment TGs

- Decrease the API TG ratelimit, in order to decrease the number of API-based recruitment TGs

- Increase speed of recruitment TG delivery--bearing in mind that this makes things more spammy for new nations & may not improve the success rate, as each TG would arrive faster but so would its competition.

The first one would be great!

More seriously, despite the ineffectiveness of this stamp campaign (even with a good message), I think I would rather see things biased more toward manual recruiters--say, by dropping the manual ratelimit slightly. The real tedium, for me, is not sitting for hours pressing buttons, but the long wait times between each sent telegram.

[Eluvatar]

I probably could have been clearer in my original post. I was aware of the rotating three-channel queuing system, and that the stamp and API queues are the most clogged. It just seemed to me that the queue time was substantially longer than it was in the past. Perhaps it is just my imagination, and if so, that is all. Thank you all for the help.

In terms of a fix, we're basically limited to these options:

- Hope more new nations are created

- Increase the price of stamps, in order to decrease the number of stamp-based recruitment TGs

- Decrease the API TG ratelimit, in order to decrease the number of API-based recruitment TGs

- Increase speed of recruitment TG delivery--bearing in mind that this makes things more spammy for new nations & may not improve the success rate, as each TG would arrive faster but so would its competition.

The first one would be great!

More seriously, despite the ineffectiveness of this stamp campaign (even with a good message), I think I would rather see things biased more toward manual recruiters--say, by dropping the manual ratelimit slightly. The real tedium, for me, is not sitting for hours pressing buttons, but the long wait times between each sent telegram.

As a manual recruiter, how would you react to "prove you're human" checkboxes?

[Shizensky]

I probably could have been clearer in my original post. I was aware of the rotating three-channel queuing system, and that the stamp and API queues are the most clogged. It just seemed to me that the queue time was substantially longer than it was in the past. Perhaps it is just my imagination, and if so, that is all. Thank you all for the help.The first one would be great!

More seriously, despite the ineffectiveness of this stamp campaign (even with a good message), I think I would rather see things biased more toward manual recruiters--say, by dropping the manual ratelimit slightly. The real tedium, for me, is not sitting for hours pressing buttons, but the long wait times between each sent telegram.

As a manual recruiter, how would you react to "prove you're human" checkboxes?

Maybe if they only fired when we would normally trigger the spam error.

[Abraxim]

I'd have to request no changes to the system.
As someone who spent a decade manually recruiting, and a couple years stamp recruiting, the current system works well enough.

Ive found its best to combine manual with stamps and API for a decent mix, August. Use API for regions the RR and Osiris, Manual for your main pacifics, and stamps for various bouts of campaigns or around your election times, whenever its most advantageous for you to have high numbers quick.

[Cormactopia Prime]

- Increase the price of stamps, in order to decrease the number of stamp-based recruitment TGs

If you could not do this one, that would be great. Considering how nearly useless script recruitment is, you would basically be limiting anyone who can't pay the higher price to manual recruitment if they want any recruits at all.

[Queen Yuno]

I'll take another look at queue lengths. At first glance, it does seem that, as stated above, there's simply more TGs than nations who can receive them. This is particularly the case for API and stamp-based recruitment, which are 10-20X more popular than manual.

The channels do each get their own delivery chute, so TGs sent manually will arrive faster, as there are fewer other manual recruiters to compete with for queue space.

This doesn't slow down stamp- or API-based campaigns very much, though, because there aren't many manually-sent TGs pushing them out. Their fight is mainly with each other.

In terms of a fix, we're basically limited to these options:

- Hope more new nations are created

- Increase the price of stamps, in order to decrease the number of stamp-based recruitment TGs

- Decrease the API TG ratelimit, in order to decrease the number of API-based recruitment TGs

- Increase speed of recruitment TG delivery--bearing in mind that this makes things more spammy for new nations & may not improve the success rate, as each TG would arrive faster but so would its competition.

Why don't you just increase the inbox limit for Recruitment Telegrams? I know that newly founded nations would do well if they get to read more than 20 Recruitment TGs, since that gives them more than 20 regions to choose from.

For recruitment TGs only. So for example if you increase it to 30 or 45, a nation can potentially get 30 or 45 recruitment telegrams. However, they can't get more than 20 personal non-paid telegrams (as is the current inbox limit.)


When I made a new nation (for native purposes), sometimes I click on my Notices and see nations have sent me recruitment telegrams. I click to view them and get the message that the telegram has been deleted die to my full inbox, for a lot of them. (My nation was only 1-3 days old.) This is obviously bad, I think. People pay real money for stamps, and new nations like the option of having more spam mail/regions to choose from.

I think we should have more inbox space to hold recruitment TGs-only.

[[violet]]

Why don't you just increase the inbox limit for Recruitment Telegrams?

The described problem is that it takes too long for later recruitment TGs to arrive. Increasing the recipient's inbox limit doesn't do anything to address that; it would only mean they'd receive more delayed TGs even later.

This is obviously bad, I think. People pay real money for stamps, and new nations like the option of having more spam mail/regions to choose from.

I think it's too many when new players get 20 or more recruitment TGs -- that's why they're spaced out. It's too much choice!

I will tweak the delivery rate, though, to push through recruitment TGs a little faster.

[Flanderlion]

Options 2 and 3 sound good. Option 4 I'd prefer personally for when I create new nations and I'm searching for a certain TG, but for a new nation they get swamped and they complain about the amount atm. so increasing it won't exactly help them.

Increasing the cost of stamps will balance out because part of the reason there is more stamps out there is the stamp refunds. $1 US for 1000 is simple for US.

Decreasing API ratelimit is also a good option, because it's more leaving a computer on rather than technical skill to create a new tool to send the TGs.

[August]

Apologies for the gravedig here. I forgot to respond earlier, then found this thread while looking for something.

As a manual recruiter, how would you react to "prove you're human" checkboxes?

That would be fine with me. When I manually recruit, I spend the vast majority of the time waiting for the ten-second ratelimit. Even if I had to click a checkbox for every single telegram, it would almost certainly be faster, so long as the ratelimit was decreased or removed.

I'd have to request no changes to the system.
As someone who spent a decade manually recruiting, and a couple years stamp recruiting, the current system works well enough.

Ive found its best to combine manual with stamps and API for a decent mix, August. Use API for regions the RR and Osiris, Manual for your main pacifics, and stamps for various bouts of campaigns or around your election times, whenever its most advantageous for you to have high numbers quick.

I have been using a mix of API and manual for the last year and a half, and I skip TRR and the sinkers altogether. The only channel I have less experience with is stamps, but still, a telegram with a 2% manual return dropping to .3% with stamps was an unpleasant surprise to me.