Currently, the process of writing an Issue is as follows: Get an idea, make a draft, post the draft and hopefully get some feedback from people, submit the draft and hope for the best.
It seems like this system is lacking on multiple fronts. There is no guarantee that you will get feedback for your draft, so working on improving it can be iffy, especially for new people writing issues that need a lot of work. Secondly, the fact that people are not notified if their issue is accepted seems silly to me. How do I know that it wasn't accepted? How do I know what was the matter with it? All this seems to do is leave the whole aspect of issues being accepted very lacking in transparency.
Yet issues are needed. Time and time again, I see people post about wanting new issues. Even Issue Editors comment about the need for people to write new issues. To me, I don't necessarily think the problem is that people are not writing issues. In fact, mods and issue editors have a huge backlog of issues that are submitted. The problem is in the process. It is not very clear cut and it is slow:
Luna Amore wrote:This is the slowest moving forum. Please don't bump your thread after a day. If it falls off the front page, you can bump it. Although the best bump here is an updated draft.
There has to a way to increase pace. I rarely see issue editors/mods provide feedback on a draft in the forum. If anyone provides feedback, you should be thankful. I think feedback of any kind should be almost a guarantee. This forum can be fast moving, while still producing a quality product.
Also:
Frisbeeteria wrote:You only get notified if it is accepted. We get too many spam issues to send telegrams for every denial. 99+% of all submissions are denied in any case.
Clearly, the system is not working as effectively as it can. I have a few thoughts:
1. Formalize a system for accepting issues where you must post a draft of the issue before submitting it. If you don't make a draft beforehand that has been put on the forum and given feedback, then it is denied. By making this an official part of the process, it ensures that issues that are spam and have no thread can be disposed of easily and quickly. It also doesn't guarantee, but give a way to ensure that the issues that are submitted and looked out are of some redeeming quality. It also decreases the pool of issues that need to be focused on by the issue editors/mods. A section on the submission page can be added that asks if the issue has been submitted for feedback and a link to the thread. I understand that not everyone may have access to the forum and this won't be the case for issue contests, but this will focus the submission process.
2. Designate Forum Issue Forum Volunteers. I am aware that issue editors and mods are volunteering also, but this is to create a non-official title for people who would be interested in helping to provide feedback to issue drafts on the forum. There doesn't need to be anything special other than a thread that lists the current forum volunteers. This will give some level of personal responsibility to the volunteers to increase the likelihood that a draft is looked at. This also gives a track towards possibly becoming an issue editor. Not saying that the track is a guarantee, but definitely something, similar to a deputy system, to get others involved on an informal level. Finally, this allows mods/issue editors to focus on other things like answering questions about current issues and reviewing the issue submissions, which it seems is what they are more concerned about anyways.
3. Notify nations when an issue is denied/accepted. If number 1 is implemented, hopefully there will be less issues that can be focused on for consideration, so there will be more of an opportunity to personally telegram a nation if their issue is denied. The fact that there is no timeline means that a nation can have all these great potential raw issue issues, but they keep getting denied and never know what the reason is. So many potential issues are lost that way. By notifying either way, not only is it professional and courteous, but gives closure of that issue. If one is notified that their issue is denied, then they can go back to the forum and work out with the volunteers why it was denied and maybe an issue editor can give some insight as well.
These are just some ideas I have. I want to lessen the load of issue editors and the mods and I want help see NS bring more issues to nations. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I know people are busy looking over all the submissions from the contest, so take your time. Perhaps these ideas don't have much merit to them, but at least I hope it sparks some conversation and an increase in transparency. Thank you for your time.
