Working out some Showcase Kinks

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Troll and LC, I would like you to keep in mind that, though you may have had your settings showcased in the original Showcase, that was a very long time ago, it was a different method of doing Showcase, and there are hundreds of new members (and at least three or four of them are active!) that never saw the old Showcase.

:)

[Jharviss]

What Ishmayl says is true.  I've been here for almost a year and a half, and I arrived with the last month of the showcase.  I was mighty disappointed and would love to see y'all showcased!

[Matt Larkin (author)]

I was going to say select them by some kind of electoral college vote (you appointed two showcase reviewers, right? then there's yourself, and you might convince one or two others). But I'm thinking maybe your weighted randomness idea is better.

[Lmns Crn]

Without giving away information that would reveal the identities of the people involved, is there any way to get more specific about the nature of these complaints? I feel like it would be easier to address these concerns if we had a little more detail.

Does the whole selection issue boil down to a desire to give preference to settings whose authors are more active and helpful site participants than others (without actually making that a requirement?)

[Poseptune]

Disclaimer: I did not complain about the chosen setting, and I am only guessing at what the issue was...


I think the complaint came from the fact that the author of the chosen setting hasn't been on since January 18th. How is being the selected setting beneficial if you are no longer active to receive the reviews?

Now I do not blame Spirit Hawkfellow for not coming back. He provided constant updates for 4 months on his setting before he left and didn't receive one review during that time (I'm as guilty of not reviewing as everyone else).



Perhaps someone should shoot him an e-mail telling him that is setting is in the Showcase.

[Jharviss]

Well, that's not true.  He received multiple reviews, my favorite of which being LC's.  (I cracked up laughing hardcore when LC made an example of somebody talking about Earth.  Everyone should read it.)  

LC, you've basically nailed the complaint.  The complaint was along the lines that the settings picked should belong to members who are active and will respond, facilitating the showcase.  But I believe that when your setting is being showcased, you have an obligation to then turn around and read the setting of the people who are reviewing yours.  If the person doesn't do that, people will be less inclined to review their setting.

Spirit Hawkfellow, if you're reading this, this isn't a let's bash you thread, it's just what we've seen so far.  Come back and prove us all wrong, mkay?  ^_^

[Epic Meepo]

If the problem is that people who've been gone for ages are getting Showcased, what about this: an author receives an invitation to be Showcased in an "upcoming Showcases" thread. If the author doesn't accept the invitation (for example, if they aren't here to read it), the Showcase moves on to the next selected author.

[Poseptune]

Well, that's not true.  He received multiple reviews, my favorite of which being LC's.  (I cracked up laughing hardcore when LC made an example of somebody talking about Earth.  Everyone should read it.)

I was referring to the months of information that came after the initial reviews...

[Seraph]

If the problem is that people who've been gone for ages are getting Showcased, what about this: an author receives an invitation to be Showcased in an "upcoming Showcases" thread. If the author doesn't accept the invitation (for example, if they aren't here to read it), the Showcase moves on to the next selected author.

I like this.  What if the setting were picked a month before they were meant to be showcased, and the creator of the one to be showcased the following month would have to accept the Showcase nomination within a certain amount of time, or another would be chosen?

[Jharviss]

This does seem plausible.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

I think this idea of giving them a month to "accept" is a great idea, and I will be sending out information to next month's nominee this evening.

And I did send two emails to Spirit Hawkfellow, one 2 days before I posted the Showcase, and one the day of, and he has still not been to the site since then.

LC, the details are basically what I have already mentioned  (and I at least somewhat agree with the complaints):  there are people who have submitted their setting to Showcase who are actually active contributors to the site, and perhaps those should have at least a little bit of an edge.  If the those who wrote me PMs will give me permission by another PM (you know who you are ;)), I will post their messages here verbatim so that there can be no confusion, but I think that I have presented things as accurately as I can.

[LordVreeg]

Well, that's not true.  He received multiple reviews, my favorite of which being LC's.  (I cracked up laughing hardcore when LC made an example of somebody talking about Earth.  Everyone should read it.)

I was referring to the months of information that came after the initial reviews...

I can't find it now, but in one of my typically shy and retiring emails, I tweaked on someone when they notated on their thread that no one had been reviewing it, when they had not contributed anywhere else.  I went on that this site is a collaborative enterprise, based on social utility and reciprocation, and that the best way to get reviews is to review.  
I don't expect everyone to have as much 'social utility' as everyone else, but I think I wrote something to the effect of, "I review someone's site twice, and if they don't respond with a review back, or at least contributing to other threads,I write them off as socially inept, and stop reviewing them."

Circuitous and oblique, that's me.

[Seraph]

I have sent in my application.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Thanks Seraphine, I received it.

[Spirit Hawkfellow]

Hey Guys how are you.  I've been reading things that have been going on the Site since I was able to get situated in my new Apartment, as well finding out I was going to be a father.  It wasn't my intention to just vanish.  In the four months since I left, life had take a hold and before i could focuis on anything I needed to focus on me.  During those four months I've been working on new material, as well getting my toy company together in the hopes I could make actions figures from the art work I've been workin on.

I am proud to have been showcased, and it deeply make me happy that there are people here that see something in my work.  I appreciate all the comments I have gotten good or bad, and it continues to spur me on to create.  So I thank you all who have chosen me for the showcase for March.  Sorry Ishy that I couldn't get in contact with you.  Everyone know this there is still more of the Grand Realm to be revealed.

My thoughts on this whole thing about the campaign  showcases is if a person does or doesn't give enough contribution Let his or her  the campaign speak for itself.  Let the creativity that was fashioned be seen even if the person is or isn't around.  If I had passed away would people enjoy the setting any less.  

Let the merits of the showcase be about how good our worlds are, and how much time we take to craft them.  

I don't feel like any one is bashing my thread, but I will say this when life intervenes we need to take care of that business first, so we can get to doing what we need to do on other things.

I would love to see all of our campaigns at one point published, and I believe the campaign builder can be a place to do this, were we all help each other to build our worlds, and bring new eyes to the work we do.