Site Staff Revamp/ Restructuring

In line with what has been discussed in the Site Direction thread, the following at the very least is going to happen:

1. Creation of the Community Manager role, which Flintlock will fulfill unless there are any objections (to be voiced here). The focus of this role is to do things like organise future community playthroughs, announce such things on the front end site and promote our forums on the front page, the knock-on effect of this is further synergy between the forum and the front page.

2. Renaming of all current site staff usergroups on the forum to accurately reflect the work they do on the site. i.e. Site Editor, Site Author/ Writer, Site Designer, Site Programmer.

3. All site usergroups will be the same colour (it's going to stand out and may clash with your other stuff, be wary), since we're all site staff mine will change also.

4. A quarterly review to be carried out by me. The general rules are yet to be decided, but so far most agree that this is a good idea.

If I were to decide this without discussion, I would set general rules that for a title to be kept, certain criteria must be met within a given period. So lets call these "Site Contributions" - originally I suggested 3 per quarter. So that would be 3 pieces of writing for a site author in that period, and at the end I'd have a PM discussion with said person if the criteria wasn't met, discuss why etc. This keeps our staff roster clean, because at the moment there are people on there who haven't written anything in a very long time. Participation in a podcast for example also counts as a site contribution. Editors who proofread articles will have a higher quota of one or two, because proofreading articles and editing them to resolve errors (as is an Editor's job) will also count as a site contribution.

Flint has suggested that 3 contributions per 6 months is more reasonable, with a quarterly review still in place.

I know this sounds like I'm turning this place into a horrible target-driven employer kind of thing, but the idea is to motivate ourselves to do better re: site content and keeping the front page updated. I take our recent slump squarely on my own shoulders and I believe that better organisation and recognition for our efforts is the absolute best way for us all to get motivated again. We all care very deeply about this site so lets do our best to keep it going.

Don't be afraid to be creative, don't be afraid to put forward a crazy idea, don't be afraid to contribute, because anything at all is welcome. If you're thinking about writing something for the front page, you are free to discuss it with me or Flint or Tres or any other Site Editor. Writing for the front page requires learning how to use Wordpress, but it's not hard at all and you can fiddle with it until you know what you're doing.

Which brings me to:

5. A stickied tutorial and checklist for writing an article in wordpress in the staff forum. This will be useful to me aswell, because I always forget at least one thing (usually the Excerpt) when I'm writing an article.

Please discuss the above points, particularly point 4.

And I need to hear from as many of the following people as possible before going ahead with all of this:

X
Mako (lol fat chance, no snark intended where is he)
Avec
Dark and Divine
Ryu
Tets (who also deserves a shoutout for writing a few articles this year)
Force
Jiro (still around?)
Tennyo
MOG

I'm not naming and shaming (I swear) it's just that you all have WordPress access privileges, so I particularly want to hear what you think about the staff review thing because you're all going to be affected by it. I wouldn't be comfortable moving forward with any of that unless I heard from at least a majority of you. And ideally I don't want to have to run around sending you all PM's

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This is one of the areas of our revamp that concerns me the most. I believe that the more specific roles we can assign people, the more interesting and unique content they will create for us.

Just like a newspaper has one editor in overall charge and then a politics editor, an entertainment editor, a sports editor and so on, we could have:

• Final Fantasy VII Editor - Responsible for posting about VII (I think we all know who would take that role)
• Compilation Editor - Responsible for posting about the rest of the compilation
• General Final Fantasy Editor - Responsible for posting about other games in the series (it looks like that's the consensus at the moment)
• Fan Works Editor - Responsible for highlighting everything from fan art to gaming achievements
• Audiovisual Editor - Responsible for producing podcasts and videos
• Community Manager - Responsible for community activities and social media
• Translation Manager - Responsible for organising and posting translations

Obviously there could be a lot of overlap - the Translation Manager wouldn't be prohibited from posting about VII, for example - but by assigning those roles, we could a) guarantee we get a diverse range of content, and b) know who to turn to when a new article idea comes up. Each member of the team would know what is expected of them, so they'd be able to look out for any new developments in their area and think up some original articles.

Having a team of editors/managers like that would not stop other people from contributing, either. They'd just need to run their ideas by the person responsible for whatever they want to contribute. For example, Gabe (I seem to mention him in every other post at the moment) offered to help out with social media. If I became the Community Manager then it would be my job to talk to him about it, ask what ideas he has, and (probably) give him permission to get to work on our behalf. Although I've been posting on Facebook, I'm not on Twitter, G+ or Tumblr, so I'm sure I could use a hand. Or we could create a separate Social Media Manager - I know we're going to discuss it later. I don't really mind either way.

What does everyone think? Lex, could you work with that kind of structure? You'd be the one cracking the whip, so to speak, and you could also post "Meta" articles (about the direction of TLS, for example) and anything that falls through the cracks.

Yeah I'd be happy with that, and to be honest I think it's that kind of shakeup that we need. All that remains is to have people volunteer for whichever possible roles and adjust accordingly.

Bump. Who wants to be part of the team?

Don't take my list as final, by the way. If you want to create a new role for yourself, or if you want to help but aren't sure how, let us know!

I want to help, but I am only qualified to be a milk monitor

Anyway, re: social media....isn't there like a...program...type...thingy... that would automatically poast on multiple platforms? To minimise faff? That sounds like a thing that should be, and if it doesn't exist it shall be invented and named after me! FGJ!

It probably does, but the rest of this convo belongs in this thread pls.

I need wordpress access for posting our Podcasts at the least, unless someone else wants to write those articles.

I do want to get around to a bit ole look at the Job System at some point, as well, so I can try and work on that.

I also understand the desire to have content on the front page, I just still got real world shit I need to take care of.

^And that's totally understandable. This quarterly review thing isn't iron clad, it's going to be more of a discussion of where people stand with RL stuff and whether or not people can commit to writing on the front page.

I know you do the podcast posts, but as we've discussed it's maybe best to have a designated person to do these things with a proper title. So if you want to be the podcast post person, we can come up with a title and you can go ahead and do that, meaning that by doing those (and anything else you want to write) you'd be fulfilling your quota in the given period, since we do tend to produce at least 3 podcasts within a 6 month period

You've written for the site since its inception and so has Tres, but it's time to set a point where we're all on an even keel and know who is in what role and who is responsible for what. This way we avoid previous situations where we go "someone should write an article for this" and no one does it, or I end up doing it. If we have clearly assigned roles we know who is supposed to write it and can delegate to them or know who has to step in (me or whoever) when something isn't getting done. As it stands we all just kind of leave it and/or forget about it.

It's happening right now actually. We need an article for that 100% speedrun thing and no one is up for writing it because we all think someone else is going to do it. I asked if anyone wanted to write it and the thread has died. We need to be doing better at this kind of thing

So imma do it on Sunday. For an unemployed person I'm surprisingly busy.

Lex said:

It's happening right now actually. We need an article for that 100% speedrun thing and no one is up for writing it because we all think someone else is going to do it.

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Actually I just assumed nobody would be doing it.

If I was a speedrun expert I would write a newspost, but as it stands I'm not confident enough to report on this aspect of FFVII gaming. I think you (Lex) and Flint know more about speedrunning FFVII than most other people on this forum. It's too bad we don't have the likes of GarlandTheGreat and BrutalAl on this forum.

I am honestly afraid to sign up for any "Newspost of Category X" role. On one hand, I don't want all this visionary energy from Flint and Lex to go to waste. On the other hand, if I take on a role simply to please others, I will mostly suffer from it.

Flintlock said:

Final Fantasy VII Editor - Responsible for posting about VII (I think we all know who would take that role)
Compilation Editor - Responsible for posting about the rest of the compilation

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When I first read this list, I think of "FFVII Editor" as encompassing the Compilation. I often end up thinking "The Compilation = Final Fantasy VII". Btw I'm not sure if you mean that I would take the role of FFVII Editor.

With the G-Bike news and possible future minigame ports, the Compilation Editor should probably double as "Compilation & FFVII Spin-Off Editor". That would make this editor responsible for updates about G-Bike.

So... Where does that leave the FFVII Editor? If the Fan Works editor is responsible for posting about FFVII gaming achievement, what type of FFVII news would the FFVII Editor post?

Then again if there really isn't *that* much for me to post, I should quit being a sissy and sign up anyway? I AM more ready for the role if I don't have to post news about speedrun X or low-level playthrough Y.

Not sure where I might best slot here. I wouldn't mind taking on a kind of dual Fan Works / Visual Editor role. Posting articles and reviews on fan works, then videos for art compilations and fan work highlights.

Or even just a Sub Visual Editor role and helping to get more content and editorials up on YouTube.

Would it help any potential contributors if we start the thread for article/content ideas, so you can get a feel for what you could do this coming year?

Shademp, you make a good point. We can merge those two roles if you want to take them on. I was just concerned it might be too much work for one person; that your focus was on the original game rather than keeping up with the latest things like G-Bike etc. It would be great to have you on board

Octo said:

I want to help, but I am only qualified to be a milk monitor

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This, I kinda feel like I should do some more here but IDK what would be of use.

I can out myself forward as a 'part time proof reader depending on the state of my head at the time' (yes I'd like that to be my proper title )

I can check articles for tone and consistency as well as the obvious grammar, register, punctuation, etc checks. That way TLS can have a clear 'voice' (EG UK or US English? What spoken phrases are acceptable? What level of vocabulary? How is the audience addressed? etc)

From what I've read it's pretty consistent anyway, but it's about all I can think to offer. It'd be good with a few of us doing that kind of job so things don't get held up if RL strikes, but we'd all have to be on the same page.

My credentials are that I teach and correct this stuff regularly and while I'm too lazy to do show it on the forum, I'm shit hot when it comes to writing accuracy.

(I also have a posh English accent if needed for any voice work... but you'd have to tell me what to say, because I know nothing of anything.)

^This. I'd absolutely be willing to be one of those "few of us" you mentioned, Cab.

I'm also pretty damn good at English writing, and also able to adapt between US and UK English.

Credentials... Well, I have proofread for other people a lot before. And I read a lot. I can't claim to be as good as Cab , but I'm willing to help.

I also agree that if there's going to be more than one person doing it, we will need consensus regarding the "voice" of the site. And also the extent of the editing powers, as we don't want to change the content of anything, only the grammar/spelling sort of stuff.

Gotta agree with Cab (again) though, it doesn't seem all that needed, but an extra level of QC is always a good thing.

I'd really love to help too, I tried once but I'm too unpredictable in RL with work especially now coming up to Christmas, I guess my concern is I wouldn't be able to fill the quota on articles or would miss deadlines etc due to RL commitments.

...Also I don't like using wordpress, never did get the hang of it

I enjoy having the ability to post something to the front page should something in particular come to my attention. But as I don't have anything like the Endgame series on the docket and if this is a use-it-or-lose it kind of thing, I won't be offended.

I. LOVE. Editing. I would edit the shit out of people's posts/articles/what-have-you if they wanted me to.

A few things.

Airling said:

Would it help any potential contributors if we start the thread for article/content ideas, so you can get a feel for what you could do this coming year?

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I don't think this is something we need right now. We have active discussion in other threads about content ideas. "Our Site" and the site direction thread will do for now.

@Cab: UK/US spelling isn't something we're going to be able to reconcile. I'm not going to write the American spellings ever, so I can't really hold American writers to the opposite.

@Force: I get it, but the one foot in, one foot out thing isn't really working for the site anymore. I don't want to have to remove privileges if I don't have to but there's no point in Wordpress permissions being there if a person hasn't written something in a really long time. It's up to you if you want to write or not

@Avec: Good, we need editors if you want to do that (since you already have the permissions). But it's not a case of "if they want it" - the editor's job is to proofread, spellcheck and finalise the articles as they come out (I don't mean to sound like a dick here, what I'm saying is the editor is a step up in the hierarchy of Author - Editor so we should be treating it as such). As an editor you'd get the final say on how that article looks.

@Everyone else: help is always appreciated and ideas for articles/ potential writers are always welcome. I'm not sure we need more editors right now though? It might be helpful to take on another person in the near future when we've sorted out the staff positions.

Also Flint I'm not 100% sure I'm on board with the title names now that we're talking about it. I get that people having specific roles is helpful in the sense that you know where to designate something, but I don't think I see the need for the extreme marginalisation. I think it kind of opens us up to "well I'm not doing that, that's [name]'s job" rather than just having a smaller number of Authors and/or Editors (as titles). I think having slightly more generic titles makes positions clearer re: forum titles too.

That's maybe all a bit negative but that's my view of things at the moment.

Lex said:

@Force: I get it, but the one foot in, one foot out thing isn't really working for the site anymore. I don't want to have to remove privileges if I don't have to but there's no point in Wordpress permissions being there if a person hasn't written something in a really long time. It's up to you if you want to write or not

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Go for it, I have no plans to write in the near future.

I've been racking my brain since we started with this, and I just can't come up with something specific I could do. It annoys me, because I want to help, dammit! A lot of us seem to be having that problem.

Lex said:

Also Flint I'm not 100% sure I'm on board with the title names now that we're talking about it. I get that people having specific roles is helpful in the sense that you know where to designate something, but I don't think I see the need for the extreme marginalisation. I think it kind of opens us up to "well I'm not doing that, that's [name]'s job" rather than just having a smaller number of Authors and/or Editors (as titles). I think having slightly more generic titles makes positions clearer re: forum titles too.

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I feel that Flint will agree with me on this. As one of the few here who has worked on newspapers before, I can say with certainty that having a clearly delineated structure works wonders because 90% of the time it is clear who is doing what. The rest of the time, when overlap occurs, one of the two will want it, the editor-in-chief will assign someone to it (unlikely in this context) or someone else will see an opportunity to win some points by making a name for themselves and volunteer (I was that guy).

Don't try accounting for shit like "I'm not doing that, it's [whoever]'s job." You could postulate that scenario into damn near any workplace where division of labor applies. That's resolved through leadership or personal ambition, not by trying to prevent it from happening.

Flintlock said:

Shademp, you make a good point. We can merge those two roles if you want to take them on. I was just concerned it might be too much work for one person; that your focus was on the original game rather than keeping up with the latest things like G-Bike etc. It would be great to have you on board

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Brainstorming further, perhaps this division works.

"Compilation of FFVII Editor" <---All FFVII titles under the Compilation banner, including the original game. Nothing new is likely to happen here any time soon, aside from Square holding FFVII anniversaries, re-releasing the original game for a new platform or talking about FFVII sequels in interviews. Small work load and I'll still fill the role with my few TLS-exclusive contributions (within this category) per year.

"Miscellaneous FFVII Editor" For lack of a better name, this title includes everything from FFVII appearances in mobile games, Final Fantasy Theatrhythm, Kingdom Hearts, G-Bike etc. To some degree a superfluous editor title, as the "General Final Fantasy Editor" will be posting about Kingdom Hearts and FF Theatrhythm anyway? The red thread here being that none of these titles fall under the "Compilation of FFVII" moniker but are merely crossovers/homages/tributes/tangential/peripherals.


One thing I realized now is that we don't have an editor for posting about FFVII merchandise. As cool as the Play Arts can be, I have zero interest in owning them which is equal to my interest in making newsposts about them. Guide books like the Memorial Ultimanias are cool though and I wouldn't mind posting about them, although members who can read Japanese will be much better suited for this.

Given my own current definition of what the "Compilation of FFVII Editor" title would entail, I can sign up.

It is possible also that I'm obsessing over defining boundaries according to strict words by writing myself off from G-Bike newsposts. What does the crowd think?

Shademp said:

What does the crowd think?

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I think your contributions are the most important part of TLS and that we should be willing to accommodate you in whatever role you choose for yourself. I would hate to think that you might be put off doing some completely new research because you're too busy writing about G-Bike because you found a story on Kotaku, for example.

It's really Lex's decision, but I would be fine with the Compilation of FFVII Editor role you put forward. I might just call it "Compilation Editor" for brevity though. I think the responsibilities of the Miscellaneous FFVII Editor might as well be rolled into the [General] Final Fantasy Editor's job though.

I couldn't care less about merchandise either so I'm not sure what to do with that one. I suppose the Fan Works editor could take it up if we renamed it to something more arty.

Lex, you can rename and reorganise the roles however you want. The only things I'm concerned with are: 1) making sure we have a team of motivated people and 2) making sure those people know what their responsibilities are, even if there is room for crossover (which I specifically mentioned in my first post). I agree with what Tres said, but it's unlikely we're going to find people to take on exactly the roles I specified, as we have rather a small pool of people to choose from, so it's best to be flexible.

We're not going to shun contributions from people like Force altogether in the future, are we? My hope was that the Editors (or whatever we call them) will take charge of their respective areas but that other people can still submit articles once their ideas have been approved. If you take their WP account away, what will the process be?

Also, does removing a WP account also remove the page that lists all their posts, like this one? I hope it doesn't.

No, I'm not shunning contributions from anyone. The point of all this is that having staff who aren't writing anything is messy and pointless. If we want to talk about a structure where we keep every author on board even when they're not writing for prolonged periods then that's fine since that's what we already do, but I thought we were trying to move away from that. I have repeatedly said that anyone with article ideas or who wants to write is welcome to join, so if I've given off the opposite impression then I didn't mean to.

What am I supposed to think when I've mentioned this quarterly review thing about 20 times and no one has said anything for or against it? Are people for or against the idea? How does a situation like Force's stand with such a thing in place? Do you see my point?

I think I may have misunderstood your initial name proposal, because having specific editors is absolutely fine and make sense, what doesn't make sense to me is marginalising authors. It just feels a bit messy.

Also no, removing WP permissions does not edit your ability to do that. I've just done a search on a previous author and their page is appearing fine.