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Staffing Confessions

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Staffing Confessions written Oct 31, 2021 18:03:10 GMT
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Oct 31, 2021 17:24:58 GMT said:
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Oct 31, 2021 16:25:25 GMT said:
zugzwang did a lot of site to site when they started. Used to see their ads everywhere.They posted ads 18 times on Animangads alone during what I assume were site to site sprees because they were everywhere I would advertise for various placed for many months.
uh. 100000% no offense but. zugzwang is really. not so much the case study i'm wanting to look at. largely because they're going on what, two years now? and i'm more trying to get at a phenomenon that's going on right now in the current panfandom climate with brand new sites.

which is that the past.... idk 6+ months, when i've clicked ads for any brand new panfandoms (as in they just started advertising within the past few days or weeks), it's always been to like. 2+ pages of member directory and 70+ accounts right off the bat. and i'm always. so baffled. because i have the eyes to see they're not really advertising site-to-site or on directories or on tumblr (or doing a site buzz on tumblr). and it feels like it's too big to be purely word of mouth. so i'm just. burningly curious for if there's some other method they're using to advertise themselves that's causing that massive pre-opening bump (like if that crazy bird app is actually working for them) or if i'm just vastly underestimating the power of panfandom cliques.

Ah, apologize for misunderstanding.

One thing I did to swing 50+ in the first month was getting a hold of admins of sites in my niche that shut down to email their former communities an ad. In my case it was kinda a train wreck because a lot of them joined for a reunion with each other without really liking my stuff. I would bet it is some sort of networking in that lane. Just speculation of course. I can’t panfan because I don’t consume enough media to be in the know.
last edit on Oct 31, 2021 18:04:29 GMT by Sharp
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Staffing Confessions written Oct 31, 2021 18:38:02 GMT
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Oct 31, 2021 13:40:47 GMT said:
this is less a confession and more a burning rp question i am yeeting into the world.

aka i don't see a whole lot of ads for panfandoms on resource sites + site-to-site advertising, but it feels like so many of them are absolutely massive by the time they open even when i don't see a tumblr buzz and i'm just. burning to know where it is they're advertising that's making such a difference-

I don't know anything about anything, but if I had to make an assumption the genre of panfandom lends itself to wide appeal. Naruto sites or Pokemon sites are only going to appeal to Naruto or Pokemon people, but since you can play (almost) any character on a panfandom you drop a much wider net for players.

Solar Waltz, an 18+ panfandom set in NYC
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 1, 2021 14:48:43 GMT
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Oct 31, 2021 17:24:58 GMT said:

which is that the past.... idk 6+ months, when i've clicked ads for any brand new panfandoms (as in they just started advertising within the past few days or weeks), it's always been to like. 2+ pages of member directory and 70+ accounts right off the bat. and i'm always. so baffled. because i have the eyes to see they're not really advertising site-to-site or on directories or on tumblr (or doing a site buzz on tumblr). and it feels like it's too big to be purely word of mouth. so i'm just. burningly curious for if there's some other method they're using to advertise themselves that's causing that massive pre-opening bump (like if that crazy bird app is actually working for them) or if i'm just vastly underestimating the power of panfandom cliques.

this is something i've noticed a ton of as well, especially over recent years.  i'm somebody who takes a peek at every panfandom that pops up because i'm constantly on the lookout for one i may feel comfortable on.  while i wouldn't call the panfandom community necessarily small, it's always felt deceptively so to me just because i tend to see the same names circulating every site, so i do agree, i think it's largely word of mouth and blobs of writers just migrating together from site to site to site.

or just ... being on ... all of them at once, which is very impressive.  teach me your time management ways.
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 1, 2021 20:45:28 GMT
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Oct 31, 2021 16:00:55 GMT said:
What kind of members are your favorite kind of members? That's kind of an open freaking question that might cause trouble... oh well.

I don't mean specific people or call outs or nothing like that.

For me, my favorite members are the ones that actively love the site. They talk about it outside of rp. Talk about it to their friends. They are always actively around and throwing out ideas for plots and actively taking parts in the community. The ones that are super helpful and take time to gobble up all the lore and help out new members when they come because they are filled with the knowledge of the site. Those kinds of members are cool.

I'm not even talking people that post constantly or whatever, but just the kind of people that really enjoy being around. As a staff, those are the ones I like to see.

the ones that tell me honestly when they need or want something.

ok so i admin in Pern and there's a historical fear of telling the admins you want something because they'll immediately start punishing you for it. this is because this fear is truth in Pern, and I hate that it is. But I have tried so very hard to break this fear among my members and let them know that they're not going to be punished for simply wanting things or having needs or asking questions. I tell the new ones who are pern vets that if I fuck up in giving you a dragon, please tell me so I can fix it.

So when a member is honest enough to say they want something or prefer something, I take that as a good sign.

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Staffing Confessions written Nov 2, 2021 3:18:52 GMT
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Ohh yeah, honest members are good. It's nice to be an accepting staff member I think. My member base harasses me constantly lol. In a good way of course. The "hey its you." and its some stupid meme that 100% calls me out. I think having a member base that sees you just as much of a friend as an admin is good. Especially if they can still respect you as an admin. Not afraid to ask you for things, and don't get all bent out of shape if you say no.


Another random staffing consideration because apparently I'm full of those today.

What is your biggest weakness as a staff member? Mine 100% is the people pleasing. I have a hard time saying no most of the time. But disrespect my rules or blatantly ignore them and I turn into a salt monster.

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Staffing Confessions written Nov 2, 2021 4:06:08 GMT
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Nov 2, 2021 3:18:52 GMT said:
What is your biggest weakness as a staff member?


When I ran my own site, I felt like I spent too much time in Discord/talking to people. Not like when I was helping people or answering questions, but just fucking around posting memes and shit. IDK if I really buy into the whole "owner/staff have to be distant and curt dispensers of knowledge and nothing else" thing, but maybe it is different for owners/lead admins. At any rate, since it was basically just me as staff, I felt like it might've been better to just let the members talk amongst themselves while I just kinda worked from the background.

I was always pretty firm about rulings and stuff, to the point of banning shitstarters and everything, so I don't think it's necessarily true that if you're friendly people will try to walk over you or anything but idk.
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 2, 2021 4:29:12 GMT
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Nov 2, 2021 3:18:52 GMT said:
What is your biggest weakness as a staff member? Mine 100% is the people pleasing. I have a hard time saying no most of the time. But disrespect my rules or blatantly ignore them and I turn into a salt monster.

that there is only fucking one of me.

PERIODT1
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 2, 2021 15:53:30 GMT
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Nov 2, 2021 3:18:52 GMT said:

What is your biggest weakness as a staff member? Mine 100% is the people pleasing. I have a hard time saying no most of the time. But disrespect my rules or blatantly ignore them and I turn into a salt monster.
My adhd, and my members have pointed this out: i forget shit and sometimes get sidetracked. I sometimes don't answer questions because I thought I answered them.

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Staffing Confessions written Nov 2, 2021 16:02:55 GMT
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Nov 2, 2021 3:18:52 GMT said:
What is your biggest weakness as a staff member?

People pleasing as well.  I want to make everybody happy, which is absolutely impossible, especially if you're running a large community.  I know it's impossible, and yet!!!

Also just ... being too soft, second and triple guessing decisions, and in general being afraid to put my foot down as the head admin.  It led to problem members remaining in the community for much longer than they should have and I'll always regret that.
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 3, 2021 13:08:13 GMT
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Sweet simple and to the point today. What's your biggest strength as a staff member, or what is something you admire in other staff members that you have come across. No naming names, or call outs if you do.

For me, the best staffing strength is that same play to community. You build up a community of people that help each other out and support each other in trying times. It's really something. Of course that's just as much about the members themselves and staff can't take all the credit. But building a safe place and a welcoming place that encourages people to get to know each other and welcome each other and heal each other out is really nice to have.

Another staffing strength I can't get over is those people that seem to really have their shit together lol. Lookit all the lore they have posted! Lookit how organized and beautiful everything is! People can just join without having to ask a billion questions?? Yeah that's not me. I'm chaotically disorganized at best.

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Staffing Confessions written Nov 3, 2021 17:39:26 GMT
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I just want to give everyone who has ever staffed a site a big thank you and a pat on the back, cause God knows it isn't easy - from putting your heart out there into writing and creating a site from scratch, to watching things fall apart into shambles a few months later, to having to pick yourself up and keep going - there are so many emotions involved in this whole run, whether it is coming up with an original site, or running a panfandom. It doesn't really matter.

Thank you for giving creativity a chance, for putting time and effort into this hobby that we all find ourselves gravitating to and for putting up with so many different people - it's a difficult, thankless job. It's hard to get it right. I know I make a few errors of judgement, not just once or twice, but often enough. It's difficult to put in the time when you're busy in real life, stressed in real life and then come home to something that is equally stressful, to an extent where I know it has affected a person's mental health at times. 

I feel like this is kind of hard to relate to unless you've staffed a site yourself - and I think until I went through it myself, I didn't truly appreciate what a lot of people have been doing to the extent that I do now.

Don't give up, just keep going and write about what you truly love.
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 3, 2021 20:58:18 GMT
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Nov 3, 2021 17:39:26 GMT said:
I just want to give everyone who has ever staffed a site a big thank you and a pat on the back, cause God knows it isn't easy - from putting your heart out there into writing and creating a site from scratch, to watching things fall apart into shambles a few months later, to having to pick yourself up and keep going - there are so many emotions involved in this whole run, whether it is coming up with an original site, or running a panfandom. It doesn't really matter.

Thank you for giving creativity a chance, for putting time and effort into this hobby that we all find ourselves gravitating to and for putting up with so many different people - it's a difficult, thankless job. It's hard to get it right. I know I make a few errors of judgement, not just once or twice, but often enough. It's difficult to put in the time when you're busy in real life, stressed in real life and then come home to something that is equally stressful, to an extent where I know it has affected a person's mental health at times. 

I feel like this is kind of hard to relate to unless you've staffed a site yourself - and I think until I went through it myself, I didn't truly appreciate what a lot of people have been doing to the extent that I do now.

Don't give up, just keep going and write about what you truly love.





last edit on Nov 3, 2021 21:00:34 GMT by SPIRELE
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 3, 2021 22:07:04 GMT
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Thinking about different stat systems and ways to earn points/xp/etc makes my brain hurt a llittle

Wc? Too much padding. Threads? Short threads. Posts? Short posts. "Progression"? Too vague and too much staff work.

Granted, all of those are only for people that would take advantage of it - but they still influence everything
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Staffing Confessions written Nov 3, 2021 22:44:24 GMT
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Nov 3, 2021 22:07:04 GMT said:
Thinking about different stat systems and ways to earn points/xp/etc makes my brain hurt a llittle

Wc? Too much padding. Threads? Short threads. Posts? Short posts. "Progression"? Too vague and too much staff work.

Granted, all of those are only for people that would take advantage of it - but they still influence everything

Word count; AGREEGE.

But threads / posting?

What is the issue with 'short' posts or threads? The fact that they have to happen repeatedly means that regardless of length, things are moving. Sure, they could be inconsequential, or even SoL by Shounen standards, but that still means these characters are moving things forward and developing.

If you're worried about speed and acclimation then you could always add a timed gate. Decided upon however you will designate EXP and then cap it by a time period. You can only gain X amount of EXP per week or month to double layer it. 

The easiest way is to gate EXP or rank ups is via site wide events / event cycles but those put more pressure on staff to have them occur routinely.


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Staffing Confessions written Nov 3, 2021 23:12:34 GMT
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Nov 3, 2021 22:44:24 GMT said:
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Nov 3, 2021 22:07:04 GMT said:
Thinking about different stat systems and ways to earn points/xp/etc makes my brain hurt a llittle

Wc? Too much padding. Threads? Short threads. Posts? Short posts. "Progression"? Too vague and too much staff work.

Granted, all of those are only for people that would take advantage of it - but they still influence everything
Word count; AGREEGE.

But threads / posting?

What is the issue with 'short' posts or threads? The fact that they have to happen repeatedly means that regardless of length, things are moving. Sure, they could be inconsequential, or even SoL by Shounen standards, but that still means these characters are moving things forward and developing.

If you're worried about speed and acclimation then you could always add a timed gate. Decided upon however you will designate EXP and then cap it by a time period. You can only gain X amount of EXP per week or month to double layer it. 

The easiest way is to gate EXP or rank ups is via site wide events / event cycles but those put more pressure on staff to have them occur routinely.


To riff off this a bit, when building a system you should think about what is ideal to you. My prefered writing style is to avoid post splicing, so I don't put a lot of value into the size of posts. I don't look at individual posts in isolation, perfering more back and fourth between actors in a thread. (Doesn't mean I can't enjoy long-form styles, it just isn't my preference).

If you really want mass appeal I think you'd get the most millage out of an XP based progression and allowing a high power level starting out, it's not my bag personally but it attracts people who are big on power fantasy the best because they like to do math to figure out what they need to do for this or that and attention span can be pretty short.
last edit on Nov 3, 2021 23:22:22 GMT by Sharp
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