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[Larix]

Dear Overseer,

maybe you could just tell us to take rocks only from that stockpile if it matters to you? A simple 'g'ive command by the stockpile to the workshop would do the trick. We'd even oblige and ignore the incessant beeping of our stone radar that keeps telling us the gabbro boulder three levels up (and a hundred and twenty move away) is physically closer.

(Once my fortresses expand, i always set up workshops with linked stockpiles for stone jobs; dwarven pathing picks the 'closest' applicable job item to the dwarf at the time of taking the job - annoying in the case you outlined, downrigh desastrous when Urist Mc Forgemaster takes a 'smelt magnetite' job at the forges down by the magma sea while she herself is up at the surface and close to the single freshly mined magnetite boulder in the iron mine.)

[fricy]

They probably come from one or more floors up and the booze stockpiles in the prisons might be closer, if you just ignore those pesky floors.

Hmm, maybe you are right, but then that IS the single biggest bug in DF right now. And I know a lot of them...

In this particular case: the prison is 30-40 tiles away from the stairs, restricted movement, and there is NOTHING below it for 10-12 levels. Not even corridors, just undug stone. So: 10-12 levels below that prison I do have the main living area/panic room: 5z deep block with food stockpile at the bottom level so it can be sealed from the rest of the fort in case of emergency.
Next to the prison I have the barracks, and above it the pits, so traffic is pretty scarce there. Down 1 level and 20 tiles to the west is the entrance, and below that the food preparation area and the main food stockpiles. My military won't go tot the prison, but I always get 6-8 dwarfs drinking there, and only 1-2 in the main booze stockpile of this level - right next to the stairs...

So yeah, it's frustrating.

[Eric Blank]

Maybe dwarves are pathing to the most recently placed booze stockpiles for their booze? Have you tried designating a new one nearer the fortress which takes from your original?

[fricy]

Maybe dwarves are pathing to the most recently placed booze stockpiles for their booze? Have you tried designating a new one nearer the fortress which takes from your original?

Thx for the tip, I'll look into it to see if it solves this particular problem.
I have my doubts though, because the stockpile with the most traffic is the first one I built at the main food area which have prepared and raw food as well. The second most traffic goes to the prison (newest stockpile indeed). The forge stocks work mostly all right, but the rest of the stockpiles are rarely used regardless of civilian traffic nearby...

[Tehsapper]

Dear Guards

It is known that after that giant goblin siege (I mean, 150+ invaders. I filled ALL of the defensive cage traps) and unfortunate accident with a FB crab extract that rendered half of you blind and useless in battle, I've decided to merge you with one of standart military squads. Except our honorary captain of guard, Kivish, that single-handely turned the tide of the siege, slaughtering 3 squads worth of goblins, and being the only soldier capable of killing.

That doesn't mean that you should take off your steel armor, go for an armor bin, then put it in, then collect whatever armor is lying around and store that HEAVY bin back where it belongs, despite meeting requirements for uniform. Did I mention that you take off your armor ONE PIECE AT TIME? That means that it takes so much time to finish this, so I expect two sieges banging at our entrance in this time.

[Maklak]

Dear workers,

While I understand the importance of having organised stockpiles, I'd rather you prioritized your important jobs and do the hauling in your free time. Instead, most of you who aren't on guard duty, in the gym, sleeping, drinking or eating, run around with "store item in a bin" as your stated occupation. While explicitly telling some of you not to  carry bins around alleviated the problem somewhat, I'm perplexed that telling you not to work is actually improving things. My intuition was that the bigger the workforce assigned to a task, the more overall work will get done, but apparently I was wrong. In any case the people dying of thirst in the hospital hospital and jobs at the workshops are more important than having neat stockpiles.

Sincerely, Overseer.

I seem to always run into a problem of having 0 idlers and important work grinding to a halt.

[MrSparky]

Dear workers,

While I understand the importance of having organised stockpiles, I'd rather you prioritized your important jobs and do the hauling in your free time. Instead, most of you who aren't on guard duty, in the gym, sleeping, drinking or eating, run around with "store item in a bin" as your stated occupation. While explicitly telling some of you not to  carry bins around alleviated the problem somewhat, I'm perplexed that telling you not to work is actually improving things. My intuition was that the bigger the workforce assigned to a task, the more overall work will get done, but apparently I was wrong. In any case the people dying of thirst in the hospital hospital and jobs at the workshops are more important than having neat stockpiles.

Sincerely, Overseer.

I seem to always run into a problem of having 0 idlers and important work grinding to a halt.

It helps to turn off the hauling labor on dwarves you want doing other things. Or if you have a job underway that creates many hauling jobs of a certain type(eg woodcutting creates wood hauling and mining creates stone hauling) then you remove the relevant hauling from everyone but the ones you want hauling the relevant items.

[pisskop]

Dear workers,

While I understand the importance of having organised stockpiles, I'd rather you prioritized your important jobs and do the hauling in your free time. Instead, most of you who aren't on guard duty, in the gym, sleeping, drinking or eating, run around with "store item in a bin" as your stated occupation. While explicitly telling some of you not to  carry bins around alleviated the problem somewhat, I'm perplexed that telling you not to work is actually improving things. My intuition was that the bigger the workforce assigned to a task, the more overall work will get done, but apparently I was wrong. In any case the people dying of thirst in the hospital hospital and jobs at the workshops are more important than having neat stockpiles.

Sincerely, Overseer.

I seem to always run into a problem of having 0 idlers and important work grinding to a halt.

It helps to turn off the hauling labor on dwarves you want doing other things. Or if you have a job underway that creates many hauling jobs of a certain type(eg woodcutting creates wood hauling and mining creates stone hauling) then you remove the relevant hauling from everyone but the ones you want hauling the relevant items.

Or specialize pure haulers if your fortress is large enough.  If micromanagement is your thing then use burrows (although food, beds, etc are sometimes a concern).

You could also use multiple stockpiles.  I use 'sheds', walls and floors (as roofing) with a hatch that serve to protect intermediary stockpiles.  Take wood.  I put a wood stockpile by my gate, in my main hall, by the furnaces, etc.  Dwarves will bring each item one step of the way, and by assigning haulers specific burrows they keep their area tidy enough.  Of course I also micromanage more because of it.

[Eric Blank]

I haven't changed my hauling habits in many months; I still allow nearly all dwarves to haul items, except miners, doctors, and some important legendary dwarves.

In fact, my biggest suggestion for dealing with the threat of dwarves dying of thirst in the hospital is to have several (3-6) dedicated doctors, who have no other labors but the healthcare labors. This means no woodcarving, soap making, hauling, or cleaning. That way, there's always at least a couple dwarves idling and paying attention to the needs of hospital patients. I haven't lost anyone to dehydration in the hospital in a long, long time. However, I still lose dwarves who refuse to go to the hospital and nobody wants to carry them because they don't register as injured, so they sit on their arse and idle to death. That's an outstanding bug with the game as much as it is an issue of labor priorities.

[StLeibowitz]

Dear Orc McWarchief

I already gave you the position of Warchief. Yes, that means you were the highest-ranking orc in the tribe. Yes, that means you had to set an example to the children on what a proper orc should act like.

This by no means excuses your idiotic idea to wrestle a large snake underwater.

Honestly, what the hell was going through that thick-skinned uruk skull of yours? "I can't swim, I'm weaponless, and I have no skill at wrestling. I'm going to try to strangle a venomous serpent in that deep river over there!" is not the kind of example the children need. You were already warchief - you had the job! You didn't need to prove anything to anyone about your prowess or strength - you were the certified Big Orc of the village! Now your damn widow is having suicidal tendencies and nobody knows whether it was the repeated snakebites or the water in your lungs that killed you first, though I suppose it could have been neither and the dementia finally reached your brain stem. Our only solace is that you were too thick to grab your damn axe first, so we're only down some cotton underwear and a moron instead of something valuable.

Sincerely, your mystifiedly furious former clanleader (you've been disowned)

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Dear Minotaur,

Ripping a dog's head off is not socially appropriate. Neithere is beating the 10 year old owner of the dog with the dogs body. You've traumitized him. no wait, he saw a waterfall. never mind. Also, geting turned into a several roasts before my cooks can get to you is nice.

Dear family of Minotaur,

I am sorry about the death of your family member. for compensation, would you prefer minotaur bone crafts,a minotaur skull totems,  minotaur roasts, or minotaur horn crafts?

Overseer

[pisskop]

Dear Migrants.  Please ignore the Magnificent marble bridge and use the dilapidated wooden hatch cover tunnel to access the fort.  The south entrance is for trade caravans.

Also please ignore those undead dwarves.  I promise they have no affiliation with us.  Now keep using that under the river passage with supports lining it.  And don't let the undead in or the supports may give.


EDIT:  STOP.  BURYING.  THE.  DWARF. CORPSES.  Bury your own before you bury the necromancer's fodder.

[Deus Asmoth]

If you forbid the dwarf corpses as soon as they die, your dwarves should ignore them. Well, I say should, but one or ten will probably go out and only realise that the corpse is forbidden once they picked it up and brought it inside. On that note:

Dear Urist,

When I tell you to dump all those goblin corpses around the fortress into some magma, it means I really do want you to do it. If doesn't mean that I want you to tell me you have no job and then throw a party next to the Jumping Spider cage.

The Overseer.

[Tamber]

Congratulations, Lutins of GooArrow (Seriously, though; "GooArrow"?);
I am making a note here, great success; we have amassed a vast stockpile of supplies, and have armed ourselves well! Furthermore, we have, for the first time, made our own mead. In celebration of this, and the aforementioned successes, I have organised a (small) party.

On another note, I would just like to re-iterate that iced-over ponds are *not*, repeat *not*, a permissible shortcut to take; particularly in spring. We have just found a body in a small pond. Thankfully, it wasn't anyone important; but still...

-- Overseer Tamber

[MrSparky]

Dear Astesh mcNewTrainee
Look, you are scheduled to spend odd months with the tutor and be off duty on even months so Atis can train with her. Stop grumbling about long patrol duty, it wouldn't be so long if you would stop taking Atis's turns! You're on your fourth month of a one month call-up. It's your turn again next month but maybe you'll take some time off after that? Please?
Sincerely, Overseer