Play style

It happens. Though Amon ma was not the player of Stump. Amon is just busy irl, his playtimes are very minor. People are adults these days and they have busy lives. But the mode of 'not logging on, until shit cooled off' definitely exists. It's disappointing, but a fact of life.

The whole concept of emoting and roleplaying well to earn karma is a little complicated. Basically, to earn Karma the biggest thing you need to be is enjoyable to watch. This can be achieved by different ways. You can run very indepth characters. A lot of emoting, a lot of thinks, feels, character development. So in depth that monitoring you is akin to reading a good book. Where you bring the world to life and wow an observer with your well written character. This in itself may earn you low karma, but wont earn you higher karma. What it will do though, is cause staff to watch you more, because it is 'fun' to watch you more. And as they watch you more, they recognize your worth and karma follows.

At the same time, you can have a character who emotes every single thing. But all they do is hunt/rest/spar/hunt/rest/spar. And they'll be observed for awhile, but eventually a staffer will have a choice to watch that person, or another person who's a lot more interesting and they'll choose the interesting one. And if they're not watching the former, then they wont recognize his/her worth.

Being a good emoter and having in depth characters is not the only way to be interesting. You can be very plotty as well. Have all kinds of plots revolving around you and you being an integral part of them. There are people who do not emote anything beyond a 'grunt', but they're part of so many different plots, all kinds of treachery, deceit, manipulation, scheme, plan, twist, organization, creation. That watching them is like being on a rollercaster. They might be sitting at a bar, giving off the most basic of emotes, while the timespan of them not being in contact with someone psionically wheeling and dealing is less then 60 seconds. You spent ten minutes sipping ale. They spent ten minutes organizing an assassination, thwarting an assassination, manipulating someone into joining a house, manipulating someone into failing to join a house, deceiving a noble to suspect an innocent, honing a potentially useful person into gratitude by saving their skin. All that within the 10 minutes of sitting at a bar. Those people are interesting to watch and once again, they tend to be recognized for what they are worth more easier then someone who is very well emoted, but basically an npc grinder.

Usually, it's a combination of things. A good dose of character development and some basic, or intermediate plot participation. Those are fun to watch and are not cringe worthy when they're hunting toks in a dark cave.

This is also where having separation by clan for staffers works out. I personally dislike 80% of most of human tribal roleplay. There is a lot of character development, but difficult to be plotty. But some people enjoy character development a lot more then wheeling/dealing. So in perfect world, they'll have a staffer watching out for them who enjoys that as well, will participate and animate the world for their type of playstyle, will watch them more, and recognize their worth easier.

In perfect world. Staff are all just veteran players in 98% of the time. Players are human and we are imperfect beings.