A Concern

[Garron]

There's a concern of mine I'd like to voice here, and I'm hoping that maybe one of our powers-that-be with the ability to help may be open to listen.


I'm going to start by saying that I've heard that the assigned judging moderator for the Vignettes has been busy with personal things and hasn't had the ability to judge closed Vignettes by the two week deadline after the closing date. It's completely understandable. Trust me, I know how it is to be busy with personal things, but what I don't understand, as I may not be the only one, is why there isn't a assigned secondary judging moderator to ease the duties of the primary when things come up or even a third to relieve the primary and secondary just in case. It shouldn't have to be up to one of our 4 Overlords to pick up the slack, as I'm sure they're busy with important day-to-days. If one of our Overlords could pursue this idea of an assigned judge relief line-up, I think it would help the Vignettes run smoothly like the other sections are, for the Vignettes are just as important. It's an awesome monthly activity designed to challenge our creativity by stepping outside of our comfort zones, they're fun and participants learn from them.


It's a shame to see this section fall to what's going on when there's a simple solution to fix, and it's a shame to see the participants become discouraged (both past and future) from joining in on this great monthly activity. Believe me... people are getting discouraged. I don't care if I gain awards from my participation, but it would be nice to see everyone that has participated be awarded for their efforts. It's only fair they be recognized.


Please rectify this growing concern for a great activity, for the Vignettes are an amazing learning tool and fun for all the residents of Althanas.


Thank you,
-Drake

[Lye]

As I am the one in charge of judging them, your concern has been noted.

[Garron]

Thank you, Lye. I suppose the blunt honesty part of my personality is both a strength and a curse.
Seems I've been on a roll the past couple days. Lol

[Lightfoot]

Nothing stops the vignettes from being made, only judged and winnings given out. I agree that secondaries should be named to help ease congestion, but you're making it sound like since they can't be judged as swiftly as normal, that it's going to hurt the entire concept of the Vignettes section as a whole, which is simply not the case. When the section was created, it was created as a fun monthly contest of creativity and experimentation.

Winning and being given rewards aren't the marks of said creativity. If someone gets discouraged because they don't earn gold or exp by participating, then they missed the point of the vignettes to begin with.

And as an aside, the site is about to have TWO tournaments running concurrently by the end of the month. Not to mention the judgings that still need to be made for the Adventurer's Crown tournament, and any backlog there may be of normal quests/battles elsewhere. Letting the Vignettes wait until activity dies down is a necessary evil when things get hectic. I enjoy the Vignettes as much as anyone else, but as I said, the judgings don't make the Vignettes special.

[Garron]

I value your input and thank you for it, Lightfoot.

The whole point I'm trying to get across is Productive Efficiency.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Althanas staff are not paid; if things come up, they have to be free to deal with that first. If they aren't motivated to deal with the crap that they get, then sometimes that's just the way it is. Perhaps in the future, when something concerns you, you should send a private message to a staff member or a person who's been here a while first, rather than make a thread to rant about it.

[Garron]

I did try to voice my concern privately a few days ago, Alydia. On the 6th to an Admin, in fact.

[Tshael]

http://40.media.tumblr.com/c34833f3318a986dd734f7c989131a7f/tumblr_nn4ljk09Tr1rv8bvco1_1280.jpg

[Garron]

Nice one. xD

[Garron]

Before anybody else wishes to blast me for using this section as I did.

"Post messages to the staff with any Althanas-related questions, comments, or suggestions. Give us feedback, and don't be afraid to fire away!"<---- Are we little people not to use this section for things like this? What good is it if the staff doesn't really want feedback no matter how raw it may be? Should the little people be afraid to voice their thoughts in fear of stepping on toes and the backlash it may cause? If so, that doesn't put a positive message across.

[Lye]

Garron, we encourage feedback and you are more than welcome to voice them. I believe what the community is trying to say, is that your feedback comes off as abrasive and confrontational. The same encouragement and concern can be voiced in a similar manner without using passive aggressive language.

While I didn't care for your tone, I will have vignettes judged by end of day.

Please keep in mind that the drive and focus of this site is on writing, generating stories with others, and improvemnet. Reading through writing and providing useful feedback requires dedicated time out of our days. Since our staff is purely volunteer, I ask for your patience as we offer our services when we can. While I see your point about long waits and being off put by them, I want you to bare with us as we offer our time to you on our schedules.

A friendly heads up is really all our staff needs to get moving. Sometimes we forget.

[Garron]

Thank you, Lye. I wasn't trying to come off that way, but I see your point. Sometimes it's hard for people to understand my certain personality when I get fired up about what I believe is a good cause. I really wasn't trying to come across as abrasive and confrontational, but this isn't the first time I've heard it. I believe Althanas is a good cause, and I'm passionate about it. I'll try to choose my words a little more carefully in the future.

[Lye]

Thank you for your understanding. I will consider this thread resolved and closed.