Post by Roberto Verona on Nov 20, 2024 19:08:53 GMT
Hi all.
In an effort to be completely transparent – as I always try to be – it is has become increasingly difficult to ensure that the fed has met the high standards we all expect of it. Shows are not going up on time, matches are being rushed – or very quickly summarised, cards are going up later and just generally, things are not running as smoothly as they ought to be.
I am sure this isn’t something that has gone unnoticed – even if the early signs were probably much more apparent to staff before they become apparent to members.
IWF has successfully run week after week for over eleven years with the number of truly delayed shows in the single digits – that is something that is incredibly rare in fedding, most either barely last or make multiple runs with gaps in between.
But something that has been (and will be in any game that is voluntary) persistent throughout those years is the prevalence of staff burnout as workloads become gradually untenable and people feel the need to take breaks and step away. This isn’t new – far from it – but life is fundamentally different for many of us as we’ve all grown older, commitments change and availability along with it.
The truth is if the staff keep becoming burned out the fed will simply not be sustainable or plausible, because I will not allow it to exist at the expense of people’s wellbeing. It is fundamentally a game which we all play for enjoyment and if it is no longer enjoyable then it isn’t fulfilling its purpose.
This is not a declaration that I am shutting the fed – it is a open and frank discussion with you all to make it clear that changes are required and we really do need the help of a wider pool of people to keep making the fed viable for everybody.
So, in an effort to address this, I will be implementing the following two changes.
Thursday Night Sacrifice/Odyssey
Going forward shows will be now posted on a Thursday (this includes larger shows). These changes are designed to implement a degree of parity between role players and writers, providing each with a reasonable window of time to invest into their work on a weekly basis. For some time, shows have had to be consistently turned around in a 36-hour window which is fundamentally impractical as it consistently relies on the permanent availability of a writers which has all too frequently overburdened the same individuals who inevitably burn out.
Just as an example, within these 36 hours I need to read every roleplay more than once, dedicate time to fairly judge them, provide results and request adjustments to matches. Realistically due to the time zone differences I will lose around 16 hours purely due to sleeping and another 8 hours due to my job. This leaves me roughly 12 hours, during which time I have my usual day-to-day tasks and time to simply unwind etc, as you can imagine this is incredibly tight and frequently leaves me providing results much later than is ideal.
The knock-on effect of all this is that I get to work finalising the next card (with changes due to match results etc) much later, the match writers are often required to revise matches to fit with the required finishes or events during the match etc. All within a very tight window that is simply not plausible – leading to summarised results, staff burn out etc. Not only is this no sustainable, it isn’t really fair give that fedding is ultimately a hobby that we all play for fun – it isn’t a job. I can’t continue to feel under pressure to provide information to staff across varying time zones and during my working hours, nor is it healthy for me to stay up to 2-3am either.
I’d like to stress none of this is an “attack” on the roster, more an explanation for why there has always been periods of teething issues with shows and staff turnover – they are simple expected to produce a lot of additional work (as many do roleplay too) within a much smaller window than role players have to produce their work (and usually during the traditional days most of us work).
So, from this week (meaning the PPV too) onwards, shows will now be posted on Thursdays along with a finalised card with the deadline for roleplays shifting to 11:59AM GMT on a Monday (Midday). This will allow both role players and staff at least three and a half days to produce their work.
If it is plausible to produce cards without spoiling shows to allow role players a little longer to work on their roleplays then we will of course look into ways of doing this – but the main purpose is to allow staff and volunteers longer to work on producing high quality shows to reward role players efforts within a more reasonable timeframe to prevent staff feeling overworked and burned out.
Match Writing
Which brings me onto match writing in general – we absolutely need your help. Every week we’ve had a dedicated core of roughly 3-4 staff members who have consistently taken matches for cards which are strictly limited to 4-5 matches maximum. As you can tell – the maths doesn’t add up, individuals are often needing to take more than match or important matches with large consequences story wise are being summarised. More importantly, staff need to be able to take weeks off as well – we all have busy lives and this is a game, we all should be able to take breaks when we need to.
The long and short of it is simple – we need you.
Whilst staff members are expected to take a match on a fairly regular basis it would be extremely helpful if we could also rely on members to step up and take matches occasionally without obligation to a weekly commitment. This means better shows for everybody and the opportunity for staff members to take breaks when they need them too.
Each week the match writing list will be released publicly for staff and the wider membership to claim – rather than listed in the staff discord. This means everybody will be able to claim matches and see which are currently unclaimed on a weekly basis.
It would be incredibly helpful if we could have some help with match writing on an ad hoc basis.
I am hopeful that these changes will reduce the pressure on staff (which has significantly reduced their enjoyment) and make the game much healthier for everybody involved.
After all – it is just a game and we should all be enjoying ourselves
I’d like to ensure that everybody is able to enjoy themselves so it is something we all look forward to playing.
Thank you.
In an effort to be completely transparent – as I always try to be – it is has become increasingly difficult to ensure that the fed has met the high standards we all expect of it. Shows are not going up on time, matches are being rushed – or very quickly summarised, cards are going up later and just generally, things are not running as smoothly as they ought to be.
I am sure this isn’t something that has gone unnoticed – even if the early signs were probably much more apparent to staff before they become apparent to members.
IWF has successfully run week after week for over eleven years with the number of truly delayed shows in the single digits – that is something that is incredibly rare in fedding, most either barely last or make multiple runs with gaps in between.
But something that has been (and will be in any game that is voluntary) persistent throughout those years is the prevalence of staff burnout as workloads become gradually untenable and people feel the need to take breaks and step away. This isn’t new – far from it – but life is fundamentally different for many of us as we’ve all grown older, commitments change and availability along with it.
The truth is if the staff keep becoming burned out the fed will simply not be sustainable or plausible, because I will not allow it to exist at the expense of people’s wellbeing. It is fundamentally a game which we all play for enjoyment and if it is no longer enjoyable then it isn’t fulfilling its purpose.
This is not a declaration that I am shutting the fed – it is a open and frank discussion with you all to make it clear that changes are required and we really do need the help of a wider pool of people to keep making the fed viable for everybody.
So, in an effort to address this, I will be implementing the following two changes.
Thursday Night Sacrifice/Odyssey
Going forward shows will be now posted on a Thursday (this includes larger shows). These changes are designed to implement a degree of parity between role players and writers, providing each with a reasonable window of time to invest into their work on a weekly basis. For some time, shows have had to be consistently turned around in a 36-hour window which is fundamentally impractical as it consistently relies on the permanent availability of a writers which has all too frequently overburdened the same individuals who inevitably burn out.
Just as an example, within these 36 hours I need to read every roleplay more than once, dedicate time to fairly judge them, provide results and request adjustments to matches. Realistically due to the time zone differences I will lose around 16 hours purely due to sleeping and another 8 hours due to my job. This leaves me roughly 12 hours, during which time I have my usual day-to-day tasks and time to simply unwind etc, as you can imagine this is incredibly tight and frequently leaves me providing results much later than is ideal.
The knock-on effect of all this is that I get to work finalising the next card (with changes due to match results etc) much later, the match writers are often required to revise matches to fit with the required finishes or events during the match etc. All within a very tight window that is simply not plausible – leading to summarised results, staff burn out etc. Not only is this no sustainable, it isn’t really fair give that fedding is ultimately a hobby that we all play for fun – it isn’t a job. I can’t continue to feel under pressure to provide information to staff across varying time zones and during my working hours, nor is it healthy for me to stay up to 2-3am either.
I’d like to stress none of this is an “attack” on the roster, more an explanation for why there has always been periods of teething issues with shows and staff turnover – they are simple expected to produce a lot of additional work (as many do roleplay too) within a much smaller window than role players have to produce their work (and usually during the traditional days most of us work).
So, from this week (meaning the PPV too) onwards, shows will now be posted on Thursdays along with a finalised card with the deadline for roleplays shifting to 11:59AM GMT on a Monday (Midday). This will allow both role players and staff at least three and a half days to produce their work.
If it is plausible to produce cards without spoiling shows to allow role players a little longer to work on their roleplays then we will of course look into ways of doing this – but the main purpose is to allow staff and volunteers longer to work on producing high quality shows to reward role players efforts within a more reasonable timeframe to prevent staff feeling overworked and burned out.
Match Writing
Which brings me onto match writing in general – we absolutely need your help. Every week we’ve had a dedicated core of roughly 3-4 staff members who have consistently taken matches for cards which are strictly limited to 4-5 matches maximum. As you can tell – the maths doesn’t add up, individuals are often needing to take more than match or important matches with large consequences story wise are being summarised. More importantly, staff need to be able to take weeks off as well – we all have busy lives and this is a game, we all should be able to take breaks when we need to.
The long and short of it is simple – we need you.
Whilst staff members are expected to take a match on a fairly regular basis it would be extremely helpful if we could also rely on members to step up and take matches occasionally without obligation to a weekly commitment. This means better shows for everybody and the opportunity for staff members to take breaks when they need them too.
Each week the match writing list will be released publicly for staff and the wider membership to claim – rather than listed in the staff discord. This means everybody will be able to claim matches and see which are currently unclaimed on a weekly basis.
It would be incredibly helpful if we could have some help with match writing on an ad hoc basis.
I am hopeful that these changes will reduce the pressure on staff (which has significantly reduced their enjoyment) and make the game much healthier for everybody involved.
After all – it is just a game and we should all be enjoying ourselves
I’d like to ensure that everybody is able to enjoy themselves so it is something we all look forward to playing.
Thank you.
Well howdy there pardner.