Dedicate more room to things that've been shot down multiple times by zanzarino.I definitely don't appreciate sarcasm.
Spoilering the entire card idea section. Good thoughts, balance is important, but I can't spoiler all big things.
No need to say to suggest a PVP Event idea.
Agree with vrt about mark stuff.
Keep the card faction thing out of the group of ideas that come from not the CIA. Give this general area its own title, like the deck idea/card idea parts do. I'm honestly not sure how much that'll be annouced/part of other News Letters, we'll see.
Community vote for deck to review. Done last week of each month for the deck to be reviewed for the month after next (Ex: At end of feb, deck thread goes up and most voted for option will be the deck idea for april). Neat idea, we'll see what we can do with this.
No gifs in newsletter. We weren't going to not include n00b's pic. But I know gifs give some people trouble.
I know it's not exactly related to the newsletter, but I'd like to see a vote on who to interview for Featured Community Member...We did it this month only because the Council didn't. They choose who interviews and who is interviewed. But thanks
Dedicate more room to things that've been shot down multiple times by zanzarino.I definitely don't appreciate sarcasm.
The Hybrid mark's debut in the NewsLetter celebrated the completion of all the marks. It's neat artistically and thematically.
Dedicate more room to things that've been shot down multiple times by zanzarino.I definitely don't appreciate sarcasm.
The Hybrid mark's debut in the NewsLetter celebrated the completion of all the marks. It's neat artistically and thematically.
So projects that are 'neat' but really won't do much for the game get half the newsletter, art that gets in-game gets a single mention in an earlier newspost. You see how this makes no sense right?
And if you can't handle sarcasm, probably best to just address the issue while it's being discussed before, right? :)
Very well handled right there. Okay, since you really want suggestions and I am having a 5:00AM Brain Burst:
1) Do some News Letter-Exclusive Interviews. Not really sure how well that will work out, but we will consider it.
2) Post Highlights? Highlight a quote of a really good post seen this month. I was thinking something like, name who has that signature! Or something.
3) Have some stuff from the Off Topic section. Maybe there was a really good story posted, or perhaps someone did a really good joke in chat. That and Forum Games =p
4) Have an opportunity for other members to help work on the News Letter. For example, you could have an Editor and a "Letter From The Editor" That would make it seem more like a newsletter now wouldn't it?
5) Awesome/Close/Best/ etc. PvP Duels. I think we have a thread for that, but I would have to find it, and people would have to use it.
6) "Picture says 1,000 words" Pick a hilarious picture to put in the newsletter for humor :) Considering.
How about letting the community members tell you by PM some important things they think there should be added? oops too late.
Random ideas: Let a member of this community have something like a "monthly rant". Could be humorous, wouldn't have to be. Topic could be anything related to this community or Elements in general.Interesting. Would have to be appropriate of course.
While I haven't talked this over with wiidgc, and I do appreciate feedback, I don't think that is a path to go down.Random ideas: Let a member of this community have something like a "monthly rant". Could be humorous, wouldn't have to be. Topic could be anything related to this community or Elements in general.Interesting. Would have to be appropriate of course.
@Opsinis: I disagree, but I can understand you not really wanting to take risks. You could also do the exact opposite, a "monthly eulogy" (that probably sounds idiotic) where someone (always the same one? or maybe let anyone send it in, and decide which one to include?) says what great thing he experienced in this community and, if that's not too cheesy, what everyone can learn from it. Could be anything, perhaps an especially fair opponent in PvP, a TO really making an effort to improve tournament rules (Hello Vineroz), a user hosting a fun PvP challenge (*cough*), or whatver.
*huggles Cheesy*@Opsinis: I disagree, but I can understand you not really wanting to take risks. You could also do the exact opposite, a "monthly eulogy" (that probably sounds idiotic) where someone (always the same one? or maybe let anyone send it in, and decide which one to include?) says what great thing he experienced in this community and, if that's not too cheesy, what everyone can learn from it. Could be anything, perhaps an especially fair opponent in PvP, a TO really making an effort to improve tournament rules (Hello Vineroz), a user hosting a fun PvP challenge (*cough*), or whatver.
That's cool, but I don't understand why you feel the need to specifically exclude me :(
An individual board for newsletter, probably under Forum News and Announcements. I honestly don't like how newsletter-related threads are occupying General Discussion board now.Good thought, asked and denied.
Not even a sub-forum?An individual board for newsletter, probably under Forum News and Announcements. I honestly don't like how newsletter-related threads are occupying General Discussion board now.Good thought, asked and denied.
^This. A sub-forum wouldn't clutter up the front page but would make it easier to organize/post newsletters and nomination threads. (Reminds me of 12Realms, when ScaredGirl put a subforum in the literary board because the story was becoming very large.)Not even a sub-forum?An individual board for newsletter, probably under Forum News and Announcements. I honestly don't like how newsletter-related threads are occupying General Discussion board now.Good thought, asked and denied.
There may already be a way to do this but is there a way to make the newsletter fit on the screen without the side scrolling bar?
Heyho Shrinkie. I wanted to post this since almost half a year and always forgot. So it is basically a critique that has nothing to do with minor changes you made, but with the original newsletter:
Basically, 80% of the newsletter are just "facts". Events: x is going on, y has begun. Tournaments: x won, then y won, then z won. And so on and so on. Now, I really think it's good to have this kind of stuff in the newsletter, but I also think that can't be all, because noone takes joy out of reading that. My favourite part is probably the interview, I always read everything there. Card and deck idea of the month are cool too, but that's it. So I'd kind of wish for a bit more of actual content. Of course, I can imagine just how much work it is for you already, so what I'm suggesting is the following:
Subjectivity could get me into troubles, but I like where this is headed.
a) Hire someone (unoffically, not as a staff title of course) who writes a monthly column. This could be a "Rage thread of the month" (This was my first idea and I still find it to be the funniest one, however people might get offended :p), where said person writes about what really pissed him off in this community last month. Alternatively and less risky, the exact opposite: A monthly column where said person writes random stuff about what good things happened to him in this community. (For example, "event x is really fun because of y, thanks so much z for coming up with it", or "player x is such a fair sportsman, he let me replay a match where y happened, we should all learn something from him blabla")
So yeah, stuff like that. Just so we'd have a bit more to actually read. Probably unsurprisingly, I'd be willing to do it btw. :p (I still prefer the rage version though, we could call it "Ze monthly German rage")
Okay, this exact column may not happen, but I have an idea that I think you would settle for.
b) This might be the case anyway, but if it is, few people know it: Please state that everyone can basically send in anything Elements-related, and if it's cool it will appear in the newsletter. For example a self-drawn Elements related picture - both painted or RL - elements lore, crazy elements screenshots, even some statistical calculations relevant for pvp, and so on. Because the problem is, if you create, for example, a "monthly screenshot" section, sooner or later people will stop sending something in. So in my opinion, you should give the readers these options and if something cool is sent in you post it and if not, there simply won't be a screenshot/art/... section in that respective newsletter.
I welcome all things that get sent to me regarding each of the sections right now. But, it's usually not the case that I receive things.
'kay, just my ideas. Let me know what you think! Sorry for the bad English, wrote this in a hurry. ^^
If this is bad, I'd like to see your good English. Thanks for the suggestions!
Get a humor section. ;D We all like humor, yes.
any fix for them cluttering GE board though? They are like getting out of control.
There may already be a way to do this but is there a way to make the newsletter fit on the screen without the side scrolling bar?This has been fixed. Can you guys tell me what do you think of this and the current look of newsletter?
Bumping it because I need:
1. Comic script asap(!) because I'm going on holiday soon, I should start drawing immediately!. Comic about incoming Trials #9 would be nice.
2. Someone for Deck Idea of the Month and Card Idea of the Month
3. A suggestion who should I interview (mind that I have changed "Tea Time with Giants" into just "Tea Time" because as Higurashi and some other people admitted we are running out of "giants" actually. This is what is written in Featured Community Member thread:The idea of this project is to interview active and well-known community members to learn more about them. Each member will be asked the ultimate questions on Life, the Elements, and everything. Answers will hopefully be entertaining, educational, or something you can use against these people in PvP.Thus, if you think someone is an interesting member, suggest him/her.
Interviews are not posted in any particular order. We will start with seasoned veterans and work our way down to newer members but post counts don't matter that much; what matters more is who we bump into in Chat or the forums. Council will also try to add some members who are in the spotlight during that particular moment, for example being assigned a new forum job or title, or winning a PvP event.
4. Any suggestions for Newsletter is welcome! Unfortunately, Puzzle of the Month is over so if you have an idea for an extra Newsletter section and want to write it, please let me know!
I'd love to help for Card Idea of the Month, but I feel like I would be biased towards my own cards.. :(
As for a new section, maybe a small tutorial on something (like QI or about a certain card and its synergies/uses) to help all the new people joining?
Also, what happened to the Forum Games section? I stopped writing it to see how Silver would do, and I saw improvement from July to August. Now this month it's as lackluster as the poor PvP Events section.
I think I'm going to have to disagree here, unfortunately. When there's factual inconsistencies (and things that haven't been announced are put in place of things that should absolutely be there) paired along with grammatical and spelling mistakes (congartulations) and generally unfufilling wording, (also not to mention formatting errors on the Featured Community Member Interview), on content that has a whole month to be completed, I simply cannot agree that it is great work. I mean no foul towards the NLWs themselves, but I believe there has been, and could be, better work done on the Newsletter.
Great work NLWs.
Our NLWs are relatively new...
Constructive criticism is welcome, but that's not what I'm hearing. It sounds more like personal attacks and that's not okay on these forums.
Constructive criticism does more than point out problems-- it offers suggestions for improvement. Merely identifying the problem is a very important step, but it shouldn't be the only one. Rather than "X was bad," which is criticism, "X was bad, and could be improved by Y." The latter places less emphasis on the problem and more on how to address it. There are problems, and perhaps they do have obvious solutions-- but they could've been pointed out or addressed in a better way.
On a blunt side-note, it doesn't help that Solaris and Discord have had a history of petty squabbles, and in that context his post could be viewed in a passive-aggressive light/continuation of that.
There are definitely ways to give constructive criticism. Not sure if the previous was an example.I've offered criticisms in the past to the Newsletter Writers, via chat private messages, and criticisms were either met with resistance, ignored, or patched once and then continued to happen again in the future.
NLWs have the daunting formatting task of compiling all submissions together and considering now is a period of exams and assignments for many students, availability to work on this might decrease.
There's always room for improvement in any section, and when it comes to NLs, what needs to be corrected can be mentioned. It falls on no one to be the editor aside from NLWs. Our NLWs are relatively new, and a part time job always gets less practice than a full time job, so it's important to consider experience as well.
I will insist that overall the job was well done, but it's been made clear that there were errors and hopefully these are mitigated in 2017. If a refined product needs an extra staff member on the team, Council may consider it.
I think noting that there has been a consistent level of quality and errors in the Newsletter is important to note, but I don't think it's simply that NLWs are bad and they should feel bad. Let's try to collectively get to the root of the problem and work to propose some solutions.
Maybe I could recommend showing the finished NL to an active member the day before and having them check for the issues Solaris has, in addition to a general check for consistency, correctness, etc?
I would be more than content with lending my pen in an effort to better a community project.
I should also mention that I know little about the NLW writing process but when NLWs struggle to find contributors to write articles for the month's newsletter, there's a problem, and possibly one that hasn't been discussed before.I'm not extremely well versed in it either, but I've a general notion of what goes on behind the scenes, at least to the level where I feel comfortable to discuss it. If the present Newsletter Writers struggle to find contributors, I believe that all-the-more validates my offer to aide in the process of creating the Newsletter. (I'm also of the opinion that articles shouldn't be outsourced (with a special case to the Card Idea of the Month, with the current state of the Card Ideas and Art section I believe that this is okay.), but I'm always willing to discuss this.)
I in no way meant to discredit Solaris' points. But I do think that one of the best ways to understand the issues and quality of the products is to understand the process and the position staff is in. If Discord is alone responsible for all articles, that's a problem too.
Newsletters are great when experts in their fields come together to bring together a top-notch product, but when they don't, there's an implicit expectation for NLWs to do so.
I think noting that there has been a consistent level of quality and errors in the Newsletter is important to note, but I don't think it's simply that NLWs are bad and they should feel bad. Let's try to collectively get to the root of the problem and work to propose some solutions.
Would you be able to work with the existing Newsletter staff?
While that sounds like a good idea, dd, I don't feel like getting other people to do more of their job is the correct solution here.
I don't think outsourcing is a good idea because it spreads culpability and allows too much scope for 'passing the buck'. I don't think the parallel with PvPEM is accurate as the role is Newsletter Writer, Not Newsletter Overseer. Tbh i would like nothing outsourced ideally.
I actually think asside from errors this is a big improvement in terms of an entertaining read
As far as I, an active member of Council, have understood, there's been no communication as far as who's pulling what in terms of workload, and won't comment further on that fact other than that if more Writers are needed, I happen to know a sunny fellow.
Council definitely has access to the Newsletter board, which has always perplexed me a bit, but as I am not an NLW I've avoided posting in the section, and I think that the same reasoning was used by the rest of non-NLW Council and Admin staff.
NLWs have the daunting formatting task of compiling all submissions together and considering now is a period of exams and assignments for many students, availability to work on this might decrease.
Well, I don't want to interfere with planning, but I think procrastination is an important problem here. Not to dictate the schedule, but if you add in everything to be added as you receive it, instead of all at once at the end, you'll end up with less work (pressure) and higher quality in the end.
patched once and then continued to happen again in the future.
I'd have hoped for a NL i read and smile, think and laugh with, not simply a list of information that a regular member already knew.
Council will discuss the possibility of recruiting a third NLW.
The idea of guest writers and contributors is the best solution I think. The NLWs should be more editors and formaters then the sole content producers. Volunteers from the staff for sections related to their job are a great way to start
Just so people know, This month's NL is likely to be out on the 4th. We apologize for the delay!