Palhoncho Party House

Hi Palhonchos!
We're running a little behind, but this is your very first attendance check-in!
We'd like you to contact all of your team members in whatever way you think will work best--email, comm post, skype, etc.--and ask them to get in touch with you somehow before the end of sign-ups. Then we need you to email us with 'FIRST TEAM CHECK-IN' in the title. Your team name (characters and quadrant, not the literal comm name!) and any absences should be listed in the body of the email. Those absences will be listed as MIA, and the sign-ups marked invalid.
Please contact us before June 1, 11:59PM EDT. If you do not, we will consider you MIA and your sign-up will be marked as invalid; palhonchosity will be awarded to the current Vice-Palhoncho, if there is one. If your team does not have a Vice-Palhoncho, we will ask the rest of your team to appoint a Palhoncho from among themselves.
If you think you have received this message in error, please contact us ASAP.
Sincerely,
mimicre and inkstrangle

So! Everyone please let us know ASAP:
1. who is missing from your team and
2. who you instate as your vice-palhoncho.

If you are a member of an Alchemiter team I also ask for your team communities.

Thank you!

Hello, palhonchos!

A lot of you have been having trouble with teammates who have put in little to no evidence of their presence. I am, admittedly, a bit of a pessimist about these things! There are so many people who signed up for the HSO this year, that there are bound to be a lot of people who just drop off the radar. They sign up, then lose interest and disappear. This is unfortunate and as palhoncho it is most likely not your fault. The HSO takes a surprising amount of dedication! And it's on the internet where people can silently flake out on whatever they please. So don't blame yourself if you lose teammates along the way! Odds are it had nothing to do with how you run things.

Although it won't save everyone, a good strategy in keeping your teammates interested is keeping them engaged. It's been a long boring couple of weeks since people even signed up for the HSO. Your teammates may reappear when the main rounds begin! But here are some tips that will hopefully keep them around.

Acknowledge everybody!
Intro posts are great, but make sure that each teammate who has come forward has been spoken to. Take a peek at their art, and say something nice. Or strike up a discussion on things you have in common - old fandoms, headcanons, etc. In talking about themselves you might get them more interested in starting a friendship with you.

Teambuilding Exercises!
This can come in many different forms! Every Sunday my team gets together and I livestream some of Jake's terrible movies, and sometimes also Parks & Recreation. Last weekend we watched Avatar. It was terrible. Next week I'm hoping to watch Tomb Raider. I've seen many other teams also interested in hosting movie nights! Another thing I've seen teams doing is hosting specific times where everyone meets on Skype to discuss things. Hang out, and get to know each other! Maybe you'll see your teammates make friends on their own!

Discussion Posts!
Luckily you and your teammates all already have something in common: Homestuck shipping! Hopefully they're all there because they love your ship! Open some discussion posts on headcanons, relevant music, favourite fan works on your ship, potential ideas for the main rounds and bonus rounds and so on. This is material that they're sure to get excited about, so talk about it! On a DW post or in chats, whichever. There's a lot to talk about.

Hopefully this will help to keep your teammates engaged. I think it's best if you keep them talking - but obviously you all have other things to do as well so don't overdo it. Being a palhoncho is hard work! Don't feel obligated to put more energy in than you're capable of.

Hello everyone!

If you have not yet made your team community, I ask you to please do so as soon as possible! When you do, please e-mail me the URL at homestuck.shipping@gmail.com!

If you have a comm and you don't see it on this post (or if there are any other problems you spot on that post) please e-mail me at homestuck.shipping@gmail.com!

The mods are composing a little write-up on what it means to be a palhoncho, and we'll be releasing that shortly!

Now pretend this is a fun post, and we're all having fun, instead of me being all business-y like.
Woohoo!