Future of the DOTM awards

[Xendarii]

Since angeldelayette announced his departure from the GDS forums - at least for the foreseeable future -, and stated that he doesn't know when or if he will return, the board is in need of someone who can take over his duties. The discussion so far can be read in this thread, starting at post 20: DOTM: August 2015 Nominations.

 

The only two users that signalled their willingness to take care of the DOTM awards are K-Nection, who already withdrew but made clear that he's ready to step in at any time, and myself. Therefore, as matters now stand, I'll take over for the next DOTM awards until angel might return. That said, if there's anyone around who'd also like to do that, I'm absolutely happy to either let the community decide or backtrack in favour of a more experienced and honourable member of the dynasty areas. Everyone who'd like to "apply" for this duty, please post it in this thread until the 15th of September (to make sure that we'll have a DOTM award for this month).

 

Apart from that, there are things that need to be discussed about. Angel's departure may be a very sad thing for the forum, but maybe we can take it as an opportunity to improve the DOTM awards where there's room for improvement left. Anderz made a suggestion about the switch so a ranking system instead of a single vote per category in this post. The general feedback in the August nomination topic has been good, although there are naturally some concerns. I request everyone who's interested in the future of the DOTM awards to read through the posts in regard of this suggestion and give their feedback so we can decide together whether or not we want to try out the new system for next month's awards.

 

If there's anybody else who has suggestions about what could be changed in the future, feel free to reply to this topic.

 

Also, some users requested some minor rule changes. However, I think those should be taken care off by whoever will take care of the next awards (that person should carefully read through everything that's been said about this topic, of course).

[Big Roguey]

I like Anderz suggestion but I feel like it still needs some sort of "block" to stop repeat winners every month. Even if it is something like we've got just now where they still get a link to their work but with the tag of ineligible for voting this month.

 

K-Nection also had a suggestion I liked where there were different ranks of DOTM. I'd shorten it to the top three winners, person with the highest points/votes is the Gold DOTM for the month, second is Silver DOTM and third is Bronze DOTM. Gives some recognition to the people who just miss first place.

 

As for people running it, to hell with experience I say. If someone wants to run it, the least they can be is considered for the role. We all start at being unknowns on the board.

[Anderz]

My only addition would be that I'd be more than happy to run DOTM under my proposed system if that is the system that gets 'voted' in.

 

That being said; I don't feel like there is anything wrong with the current way and if whoever steps in runs it in the same way as Angel did then DOTM will continue to be as good as ever. Sure there might be a few tweaks needed here or there but the system as a whole still works.

 

My proposal was definitely one of "let's use this opportunity to try something different". I think it has areas where it will be better than the current system but I'm sure there will be areas where it will be not as good.

 

 

TLDR: I'd like to run DOTM if my proposal is the one we go with.

[BHK1978]

That said, if there's anyone around who'd also like to do that, I'm absolutely happy to either let the community decide or backtrack in favour of a more experienced and honourable member of the dynasty areas.

 

As for people running it, to hell with experience I say. If someone wants to run it, the least they can be is considered for the role. We all start at being unknowns on the board.

 

Yeah I agree with MHero in that if someone wants to run it go for it. I never put much stock into that whole train of thought of other posters being "legends" or "honorable" members of the community (I tend to roll my eyes when I read someone say that about another poster on here). Everyone is of equal standing in my book, if you want to take the time to do then I say go for it. That was one of the main reasons why I hated going on the OOTP website, new posters were treated like crap and the older posters were treated like gods. If Anderz wants to do it then I say go for it. I think one could not go wrong with either of you running it.

 

I actually would not mind someone who is not well known on here to take over that way they will not have an agenda.

[Dragonmack]

As someone who had a crapload of second and third place finishes and also who ran the DOTM for a few months in the early days while I support the recognition of those who came in second ( and even third) each month, honestly from what I have seen the past few months, there is nowhere near the number of active diaries being nominated each month to really make that meaningful. I won a couple months ago and there were only two nominees total for the category. It's not like in the past where 8 to 10 diaries were regularly nominated each month. 3rd in a field of 10 is an accomplishment, 3rd in a field of 3 or 4, not so much. While modifications can and should be made as both the game and the community evolve, overall the present format has worked well for a long time and I don't see why it shouldn't continue to work.

 

 

As for how long someone has been here determining who runs DOTM, frankly it shouldn't matter. Naturally you want someone with strong active participation in the board, but whether that participation started 3 months ago or 5 years ago is irrelevant as long as they are active now, and willing to take on the task.

[KnowYourEnemy]

I'd be happy to run it under Anderz' system.

 

Even under the new system, would we still recognized the same categories? I'm guessing the Monthly Spotlight is out, but as we do have a records page up and running again, would we still "officially" have both CVerse/RW winners?

[Mootinie]

I'd like to see one award for all diaries. I don't really see the purpose of seperating them since it's just led to one field becoming increasingly short changed. I know if I wrote C-Verse, I'd want my diary to be going against all diaries, not just other C-Verse ones.

 

Monthly Spotlight needs to be talked about too, what exactly is this award for? Because, most diaries are being nominated for DOTM based on one show or one small aspect of their diary now. If you can be nominated for the main award because of your WrestleMania, why do we have this award too? Pardon me for my flippancy, but Monthly Spotlight just feels like a completely useless category to me.

 

With regards who runs it in Angel's absence, Xendarii showed an interest in the last thread and he made this thread, that already shows me that he's more willing than anybody else to run it. I might be wrong here but it does it not seem like DOTM is just a thing that happens now? It goes and passes with no real effect on the board. No big announcement of the winner, no change to the thread titles, just very little fanfare. That should change IMO. Maybe the diary threads themselves can have the number of awards its won in the thread title? We could bat some ideas around on this but it's my opinion that DOTM should be more important than it is right now.

 

Now, the system. I'm not sure what I think of the current one, I think it works but maybe a points one would make the voting more interesting. I don't care either way, but I support one with multiple votes just so I can show my support to numerous diaries instead of just one.

[Big Roguey]

With regards who runs it in Angel's absence, Xendarii showed an interest in the last thread and he made this thread, that already shows me that he's more willing than anybody else to run it. I might be wrong here but it does it not seem like DOTM is just a thing that happens now? It goes and passes with no real effect on the board. No big announcement of the winner, no change to the thread titles, just very little fanfare. That should change IMO. Maybe the diary threads themselves can have the number of awards its won in the thread title? We could bat some ideas around on this but it's my opinion that DOTM should be more important than it is right now.

 

Back in the day it used to be both one category (I think, this is the part I'm hazy on) and the winner got stickied. Maybe a return to that could work as long as one of the moderators is willing to do that process once a month. Being at the top of the diary board for the whole month would be a pretty neat reward.

[Anderz]

Under my proposal; there would be a ranking for all diaries - everyone would nominate 5 diaries no matter whether they were C-Verse, T-Verse, RW, anything. So you'd have an overall winner. There could then be secondary awards for best in any other category. This is how I'd envisage the results to look (with a bit of jazzing up and better formatting of course).

 

 

 

<hr noshade size=3>

 

September 2015 Diary of the Month

 

#1 - WWF Diary by Author - September Diary of the Month / Top Real World Diary

49 voting points

Real World - started Feb-14

 

#2 - TCW Diary by Author - Top C-Verse Diary

46 voting points

C-Verse - started Dec-14

 

#3 - TNA Diary by Author

41 voting points

Real World - started Mar-15

 

#3 -DIASPORA Diary by Author - Top T-Verse Diary

41 voting points

T-Verse - started Jan-15

 

#5 - SWF Diary by Author - Top New Diary

40 voting points

C-Verse - started Sep-15

 

<hr noshade size=3>

 

 

This is a very rough mock-up but I think it, at the very least, conveys some of my thoughts. Any opinions?

[Big Roguey]

Under my proposal; there would be a ranking for all diaries - everyone would nominate 5 diaries no matter whether they were C-Verse, T-Verse, RW, anything. So you'd have an overall winner. There could then be secondary awards for best in any other category. This is how I'd envisage the results to look (with a bit of jazzing up and better formatting of course).

 

 

 

---

 

September 2015 Diary of the Month

 

#1 - WWF Diary by Author - September Diary of the Month / Top Real World Diary

49 voting points

Real World - started Feb-14

 

#2 - TCW Diary by Author - Top C-Verse Diary

46 voting points

C-Verse - started Dec-14

 

#3 - TNA Diary by Author

41 voting points

Real World - started Mar-15

 

#3 -DIASPORA Diary by Author - Top T-Verse Diary

41 voting points

T-Verse - started Jan-15

 

#5 - SWF Diary by Author - Top New Diary

40 voting points

C-Verse - started Sep-15

 

---

 

 

This is a very rough mock-up but I think it, at the very least, conveys some of my thoughts. Any opinions?

 

I dig it. I think this would work better than the existing DOTM structure of doing a poll and then just announcing the winner. This looks a bit more ceremonial/results like.

[Eisen-verse]

Under my proposal; there would be a ranking for all diaries - everyone would nominate 5 diaries no matter whether they were C-Verse, T-Verse, RW, anything. So you'd have an overall winner. There could then be secondary awards for best in any other category. This is how I'd envisage the results to look (with a bit of jazzing up and better formatting of course).

 

 

 

<hr noshade size=3>

 

September 2015 Diary of the Month

 

#1 - WWF Diary by Author - September Diary of the Month / Top Real World Diary

49 voting points

Real World - started Feb-14

 

#2 - TCW Diary by Author - Top C-Verse Diary

46 voting points

C-Verse - started Dec-14

 

#3 - TNA Diary by Author

41 voting points

Real World - started Mar-15

 

#3 -DIASPORA Diary by Author - Top T-Verse Diary

41 voting points

T-Verse - started Jan-15

 

#5 - SWF Diary by Author - Top New Diary

40 voting points

C-Verse - started Sep-15

 

<hr noshade size=3>

 

 

This is a very rough mock-up but I think it, at the very least, conveys some of my thoughts. Any opinions?

 

It's a breath of fresh air. I like it. The GDS community has a lot of new faces here and it would be great to usher in a new era of how things are celebrated.

 

If we can A) support our current crop of writers, B) celebrate their work, C) invite/inspire new writers to hit the boards, and D) bring this all together in a cohesive community, then we could build this forum stronger than ever before. That's something that I'd love to see.

[Xendarii]

Currently on my mobile phone so I'll just make short comments to what has been said.

 

- Thanks to everyone for saying that experience or time spent on the board don't matter for them and to Mootinie for honouring my (albeit small) effort.

- I don't like the idea of a "block" because I think a great diary should always be eligible to win the award.

- Honouring runner-up diaries is a crucial idea and something we definitely should do. Top 3 are enough in terms of giving them a named prize like Gold, Silver and Bronze, but more can be mentioned. I also think that we have enough diaries at the moment, especially because they would be merged into one category.

- I don't think we necessarily need the Monthly Spotlight.

- Anderz' suggestion on what the results may look like seems very legit.

- I'd love to see the DOTM getting more importance. Sticking the winner for one month is an awesome idea, would be great to find a mod doing that. Something I'd really like as well is a small graphic that writers can add to the first post of their diary and that shows the rank and month on it (e.g. 3rd place September in a fancy style), if someone is able to do that.

- Should we make a poll about who's going to take over angel's duties now that we have more than two "applications"?

[James Casey]

Back in the day it used to be both one category (I think, this is the part I'm hazy on) and the winner got stickied. Maybe a return to that could work as long as one of the moderators is willing to do that process once a month. Being at the top of the diary board for the whole month would be a pretty neat reward.

 

It used to be Adam picking a winner - I believe he did it for the 2005 and 2007 diaries. Of course, he would only pick CV diaries. Now it's something done by us, there's more scope for recognition of other mods, including RW ones.

 

From what I've seen of recent polls (and I don't always vote nowadays; I'm not current with enough diaries to have an informed opinion) there doesn't seem to have been a large number of repeat nominations from month to month. As someone who was a repetitive nominee some time ago, my general view is that it should be an open field. If someone caps a winning month by posting their best ever show on the 2nd of the following month, they should be eligible to win again. There's some risk of repeat victories, but looking through the hall of records, there doesn't seem to be a significant pattern of winner - break - winner - break - winner that would suggest a single dominant diary across a long span. Where diaries did win repeatedly, there were still generally months that they would have been eligible but didn't win (although Beejus seems to have dominated last year's Monthly Spotlight polls!)

[Big Roguey]

- I don't like the idea of a "block" because I think a great diary should always be eligible to win the award.

 

Whilst true, it could lead to the same great diaries always winning which is counterproductive. If the same people keep winning, where is the impetus to vote for anything else other than the same ones that get voted for? Saying that a diary has to sit a month out or so keeps the process a bit more fair. Just my two cents though.

 

EDIT: JamesCasey coming in with the maths to discredit my slightly paranoid thesis! If everyone else agrees to the no more month block, I'll be cool with it.

 

- Should we make a poll about who's going to take over angel's duties now that we have more than two "applications"?

 

A thought I had, instead of just one person running it couldn't a committee or some sort of organised group run it? That way if someone can't make it on or commit to running it for a couple of months, there is already a couple of people who can step up without the case for asking for people to run it.

 

I do think though if we go with Anderz' suggestion then he should be allowed to pilot it and making sure the new system works.

[KnowYourEnemy]

- Honouring runner-up diaries is a crucial idea and something we definitely should do. Top 3 are enough in terms of giving them a named prize like Gold, Silver and Bronze, but more can be mentioned. I also think that we have enough diaries at the moment, especially because they would be merged into one category.

don't think we necessarily need the Monthly Spotlight.

Agree about both of those points -- 1st, 2nd and 3rd will balance some of the inconsistencies with the process. I think the previous argument for separation was due to different fan bases.

- I'd love to see the DOTM getting more importance. Sticking the winner for one month is an awesome idea, would be great to find a mod doing that. Something I'd really like as well is a small graphic that writers can add to the first post of their diary and that shows the rank and month on it (e.g. 3rd place September in a fancy style), if someone is able to do that.

I'd be happy to volunteer my services for the graphics, should be easy to make. I'd probably alter a C_Verse Graphic (The Burning Junior Trophy) to make them.

- Should we make a poll about who's going to take over angel's duties now that we have more than two "applications"?

If Anderz is up to it, it is his idea, so my personal vote will be for him. I don't think a poll is necessary.

[Xendarii]

I'm perfectly fine with Anderz doing it, too. Also great to hear that you could do the graphics, KnowYourEnemy.

 

Some sort of comitee doesn't sound like the worst idea as well, but I don't know if that's needed or one or two substitutes would be enough?

[olympia]

I like seeing separate winners for Cverse vs Real World (some people only follow one or the other. For those who follow both, no problem casting a vote in both sections rather than having to just choose one). I've noticed some months that one will have 3 or nominees and the other 10 (which would split up the votes of that particular brand of the game)

 

Spotlight -- think it was originally a way to reward a great angle, match, card, etc. from a league that might not otherwise be nominated or have a chance of winning diary of the month. Sure, you could win both (not sure how many times that's happened) but a newer "less read" diary might have a better chance to win an award for a great match/card write-up or off the hook angle than they would from their diary as a whole. That "award" might get them a few new followers who inspire them to greater things and one day our new crop of legacy diary writers.

 

As for ""blocking" previous winners -- it does help spread the wealth. Certain diary writers have quite the following and well deserved. But if they are the only ones who ever win, then newer players and diary writers may never get the attention they deserve which can help motivate them to stick with it. I'm not sure we need a different section for our legacy of great diary writers (who have stacks of Diary of the Month Awards) and one for the new breed who are just trying to find their way and often just happy to get nominated.

[KnowYourEnemy]

I think opinions have gone back-and-forth on the issue depending on the previous months result. In April 2015, the Hall-Of-Famers swept (Beejus winning Spotlight, The_Final_Countdown winning Mod and The_Lloyd taking CVerse). Also note these three are some of the longest-tenured and most popular writers on the board.

 

The following idea assumes Anderz system is used.

 

The resulting exposure seems to have reversed the bias. Since, the DOTM Winners are both less renowned and not part of the HOF. Rhetoric, instead of rules, led to a change in voting.

 

I'd like to propose the following "reward" process, with following compensation:

DOTM: One month sticky, [Diary of The Month] part of the Title

Fictional DOTM: Trophy, with Month

Real World DOTM: Trophy, with Month

 

I think this represents the ethos of the argument made by many in the thread, who want less categories and more competition. The "winner" receives two awards, and it would be part of the records thread. Other rewards could be added, but they would be "unofficial".

 

Another idea would be to have:

DOTM: One Month Sticky

Runner-Up: Trophy

Third Place: Trophy

Fictional DOTM: Trophy, [if Necessary]

Real DOTM: Trophy [if Necessary]

Rookie DOTM*: Trophy [if Necessary]

 

*"Rookie" defined as anyone who has yet to win another award.

 

The idea here is that many diaries will win multiple awards. By default, the Fictional or Real World DOTM is also the DOTM. It's likely that the Runner-Up or Third-Place would also be the Fictional, Real or Rookie DOTM. The trophies would be combined [there would be a Fictional, Real World or Rookie Patch].

 

Either way, getting the most points has a definite award for writers to strive for, and increases the audience of the winning work. To put the system in place, a few things need to be worked out. 1) whoever does DOTM needs access to MOD privileges 2) whoever does DOTM needs access to records.

[K-Nection]

Looks what happens when I don't log on for a day!

 

I'm going to throw my two cents in as well. I've been currently looking to expand the Hall of Records team. Mistaken had opened the door for me and I put my head down and tracked 3 years worth of winners to update the Hall of Records. That in turn put a lot of strain on me and it made me feel like I did 3 years worth of work in a week.

 

Another reason I withdrew my name in wanting to run DOTM is because I can't even bring myself to update the Hall of Records. I know if I had some help (hopefully somebody who knows how to do tables) we could do the thing some justice.

 

As far as a DOTM committee goes I would love to be apart of this but what would a committee do? Are they just members of a bull pen that run the threads every month...they obviously don't have any voting power as the power is given to the fans of the dynasties themselves.

 

Also I have no qualms about either Xendari or Anderz running the DOTM awards. I will support whomever wants to try their hand at it!

[Stennick]

This is Anderz system he seems to know what he's doing I say go for it. Just my 12 cents though.

[Big Roguey]

 

Either way, getting the most points has a definite award for writers to strive for, and increases the audience of the winning work. To put the system in place, a few things need to be worked out. 1) whoever does DOTM needs access to MOD privileges 2) whoever does DOTM needs access to records.

 

Disagree strongly with this. We've got three good mods already and I don't think we need one added just for once a month purposes. The easier solution is just to PM one of the mods who are in place already for sticking a thread to the top of the thread.

 

Also, doesn't the Hall of Records exist for the purpose of well....keeping records.

 

Edit: Also I think we should let Anderz run his system without any changes before seeing what could be added and whatnot. Got to learn to walk before you can run and all that jazz.

[smwilliams]

Like the ranking system idea as like others have mentioned, it'll be good to change up a stale formula. I know it's just a resource, but I'll try and update the 'Active Diary Index' right after the DOTM stuff comes out and include the monthly ranking for each as well.