It’s been a while since I wrote anything about 200wad, but prompted by @craigpetterson and @basilesamel in this post, it got me thinking about my experience using the streak mechanism after almost a year:

About getting too attached to the streak, and feeling bad breaking it

Feeling bad about breaking the streak is kinda the whole point of the game. If we didn’t have a disincentive, it wouldn’t have the necessary push to get us to write on ‘off’ days when we feel lazy or demotivated. So I would keep the streak, for that personal push. Though, if making it less visible overall makes it less like a status game of one-upmanship among 200wad writer, I would think it’s a good move. After all, the streak is a game with yourself. Not with others. We all write for different reasons, so comparing streaks is just apples to oranges. 

Getting back up after a streak break

If the issue is to increase retention, get people to not feel discouraged after breaking a streak and to continue to write, there’s many ways to do so without changing the streak system. Social support and encouragement for those who thrive on social. Or an automated word of encouragement from the system. Or a one day streak freeze, a grace day with a reminder - “Oooops look like you missed writing yesterday. Did you forget? Hurry, write today to not break the streak.” Or even better and longer term, help them find their “why” - why are they writing? How does it serve them? Is there a way to help writers see patterns in their posts (using data analytics) and get them to reflect? There’s many writers on 200wad who don’t keep streaks but keep coming back to write anyway, because they have a strong “why”. So why not help people get there instead? 

It’s a delicate balance of pull and push

Honestly, if I didn’t have my “why” as a positive incentive pulling me forwards, coupled with a disincentive of breaking the streak pushing me from behind, I would have not lasted this long. I might not have gotten to my “why” without a long enough runway of writing assisted by the disincentive of breaking the streak. I might have broken my streak on many days if I didn’t have my “why” after I found it. So I do feel I need both. 

So TL;DR -

• keep the streak for individual reference, 
• tune down its salience to remove any sense of unhealthy status one-upmanship among the community, and 
• add on new social/emotive mechanisms to encourage folks to keep writing even after breaking a streak.