Share Your Opinion! -- Merge the Newsletters?

[samuelc812]

Hey guys,

This is not for an article of the Conquer Club Newsletter, however i would like to know the community's opinion about merging the 3 newsletters into 1.

Please vote in the poll and if you feel led to, explain your choice by posting in this thread.

We will only consider the merge if there is a considerable vote in favour of it. We do value the community's opinion, contrary to what some people have said.

Your vote is much appreciated

Regards,
~Newsletter Editors

[jpcloet]

Currently, I feel like a lot of information is repeated, not only across the newsletters, but also week to week. I'd rather see CC News go weekly, with a rotating content format.

[Robinette]

Combining them would make the press deadlines harder to flex, but getting a weekly or bi weekly (or whatever it would be) newsletter with whatever was ready to share from each would feel more like reading a newspaper... or a magazine...

Like with a newspaper, not everybody reads everything... but it's all there in case they wander away from the sports page


I say yes, unless it's just too much work...

[PLAYER57832]

Honestly, I only rarely read the newspaper because there just is not much in them. Once in a while, we will see something about tournaments, but otherwise... anything important is sent out in an announcement.

Things I might like to see:

A heads up on upcoming maps -- dates, perhaps occasionally issues (if its really something up for community debate).

I would also like to see an objective synopsis of some serious issues, perhaps with polls (though, of course we all know they are terribly inaccurate). For example, rating is always a hot topic. Maybe keeping people up to date could shorten a few threads or keep them from being repeated too often.

Highlights of various parts of the site, though that would be mostly for newer people.

Some information of general interest, such as how many users we have had in a particular month, etc. (not sure exactly what all would be of general interest).


I would also like to see things like the "top 10" lists perhaps formulated into more of an official format, perhaps as a newpaper or perhaps as official threads.

[Tupence]

First, to answer the question, yes I think the three newsletters should be merged into one. I think weekly or biweekly would be the right frequency, as long as the team are able to work to that kind of deadline.

Second, over the past few months, I have got into the habit of opening the newsletter as soon as it is posted, but skimming through the majority of it, and I would guess that many other members do the same thing. I feel that there are many features that could be added to the newsletter to make it a more interesting and informative read. Here's my evaluation of the newsletter(s):

The Editor's Note and Contents

This seems fine to me - a brief introduction from the editor with a summary of the newsletter's highlights is great.

Tournaments

Tournament Sign-Ups and Updates:
As a frequent Tournament Organiser, I think this is a good part of the newsletter, but it isn't used as effectively as it could be. I would definitely post updates of my tournaments here if I felt that people would actually read them. I get the impression that people only care about a tournament if they are in it themselves, and they can easily get an update on the tournaments they are in by checking the appropriate threads.

Coming Soon:
Another nice idea, but again, I don't think this section will reach a very big audience. Tournament names alone don't always give much away about the tournament - maybe ask TOs to provide a short description of the tournament, even with basic information such as number of players and maps used? I know that in the General Newsletter there is some information automatically provided, but surely TOs could add to this if they wanted to? If more people read this then it would be a good way to drum up interest before the sign-up thread is created.

Roll of Honour:
I think that this would also have more significance if there was more general hype about the tournaments.

Foundry

The "Maps in Development" section of the Foundry Newsletter is great, and I assume it would still be included if the newsletters were merged. Obviously the list could be rather long if it was to be included in every issue, so an alternative could be to only include maps that have made progress since the previous issue?

For example, there could be a section to show which maps have gained a stamp since the last issue, and which ones have moved forums. It would also be nice to see which maps are just "being born".

Unfortunately it seems like the popular opinion of the Foundry is that it is quite elitist, with only those "in the know" having any real input. To me, this is reinforced by only including a "Recently Quenched & Beta Maps" heading in the Newsletter. The message I get from this is "we've finished with our work now, so go and play". It's great that the newly finished maps are advertised, but it can make the Foundry seem a little exclusive.

My suggestion to combat this is, as I said, to advertise the maps that are only just beginning, with the original map creator also being named. One of the youngest maps that I really like is Greenland, so if I saw that the.killing.44 had come up with a new map idea, I'd be very inclined to check it out and maybe have some input.

Clans

I think this section could be expanded quite a bit. With the 2nd Season of the Clan League about to be underway, how about a brief update of the big climbers and fallers each edition?

I've only just got into the Clan "world", joining my first competitive clan and entering my first Clan Challenge. It took me almost a year to get involved as I didn't really know much about how things worked, and I think a little more publicity would encourage more people to this part of the site.

I'd like to see some bare facts and figures - it would give victorious clans some extra glory to have the results of each Clan Challenge posted in the Newsletter, and possibly updates of the scores for longer challenges, or challenges between high-profile clans such as THOTA and LoW.

Ask a Mod and Fortnightly Interview

These are both great parts of the Newsletter and I think they should definitely continue running as they are.

Suggs and Bugs

This is a nice way of catching up on the latest opinions, without having to sift through the many duplicate threads started by those who don't know how to use the search function.

One thing that could help things be a bit more organised would be if the Newsletter could provide links to perhaps two or three threads of the main issues - ratings, missing turns, we all know what they are. If debates were presented like this in a more organised fashion, maybe the mods and admins would be more likely to give things a bit more thought?

Top 10 Lists

As PLAYER57832 suggested, these would be a great addition to the Newsletter; some easy-to-digest facts about some of the top players on the site.

Plug-Ins and Add-Ons

When a new plug-in is made, it would be nice if it could be advertised and briefly explained in the newsletter, to keep players up-to-date. Also maybe write when there has been an update for the most popular plug-ins such as BOB and Clickable Maps?

Publicity

Yes, the newsletter is posted on the homepage, but with everyone going straight to the top left of the page to log in, the links to the newsletters may as well be at the bottom of the page. After a little while most players will have decided whether they want to read the Newsletter or not, but newer players may not be very aware of it. I don't know if there is a way of doing this, but I would suggest sending a copy via PM to all players who have completed a few games, and are therefore not just going to leave the site (maybe 10 or 20+ games), but are still relatively new to the site (been a member for 2 months or less).

Quirky Bits

Just to liven things up a bit, and generate more traffic to the Newsletter - a thread where people can nominate other players for things such as:

Quote of the Week
Thread of the Week
Epic Win of the Week
Epic Fail of the Week
Best New Avatar

You get the idea.

Okay, I rambled a bit there...Sorry about that!

[colton24]

have my two cents....

i voted no for a couple reasons. one is all those sections would be insane together i mean insane and yes like JPC said a lot of info is repeated and it would be mostly the same thing (news wise)from each editor maybe excluding the foundry. another is the foundry newsletter is dead and well if you merge them all there wont be a foundry newsletter till someone takes over. another reason is that is a HUGE post i mean jeez it'll end up being spoilers for each area and that takes some of the greatness out of it. lastly theres the problem of what happens to the other two sub-forums? do they just sit there wasting space?

[jpcloet]

Colton, I think you missed the concept of rotating content. Clans would be even issues, Tournaments could go each issue, Foundry could be in odd issues etc.

[Robinette]

Wow... you really put you Two Pence in there...

Some great input though...

First, to answer the question, yes I think the three newsletters should be merged into one. I think weekly or biweekly would be the right frequency, as long as the team are able to work to that kind of deadline.

Second, over the past few months, I have got into the habit of opening the newsletter as soon as it is posted, but skimming through the majority of it, and I would guess that many other members do the same thing. I feel that there are many features that could be added to the newsletter to make it a more interesting and informative read. Here's my evaluation of the newsletter(s):

The Editor's Note and Contents

This seems fine to me - a brief introduction from the editor with a summary of the newsletter's highlights is great.

Tournaments

Tournament Sign-Ups and Updates:
As a frequent Tournament Organiser, I think this is a good part of the newsletter, but it isn't used as effectively as it could be. I would definitely post updates of my tournaments here if I felt that people would actually read them. I get the impression that people only care about a tournament if they are in it themselves, and they can easily get an update on the tournaments they are in by checking the appropriate threads.

Coming Soon:
Another nice idea, but again, I don't think this section will reach a very big audience. Tournament names alone don't always give much away about the tournament - maybe ask TOs to provide a short description of the tournament, even with basic information such as number of players and maps used? I know that in the General Newsletter there is some information automatically provided, but surely TOs could add to this if they wanted to? If more people read this then it would be a good way to drum up interest before the sign-up thread is created.

Roll of Honour:
I think that this would also have more significance if there was more general hype about the tournaments.

Foundry

The "Maps in Development" section of the Foundry Newsletter is great, and I assume it would still be included if the newsletters were merged. Obviously the list could be rather long if it was to be included in every issue, so an alternative could be to only include maps that have made progress since the previous issue?

For example, there could be a section to show which maps have gained a stamp since the last issue, and which ones have moved forums. It would also be nice to see which maps are just "being born".

Unfortunately it seems like the popular opinion of the Foundry is that it is quite elitist, with only those "in the know" having any real input. To me, this is reinforced by only including a "Recently Quenched & Beta Maps" heading in the Newsletter. The message I get from this is "we've finished with our work now, so go and play". It's great that the newly finished maps are advertised, but it can make the Foundry seem a little exclusive.

My suggestion to combat this is, as I said, to advertise the maps that are only just beginning, with the original map creator also being named. One of the youngest maps that I really like is Greenland, so if I saw that the.killing.44 had come up with a new map idea, I'd be very inclined to check it out and maybe have some input.

Clans

I think this section could be expanded quite a bit. With the 2nd Season of the Clan League about to be underway, how about a brief update of the big climbers and fallers each edition?

I've only just got into the Clan "world", joining my first competitive clan and entering my first Clan Challenge. It took me almost a year to get involved as I didn't really know much about how things worked, and I think a little more publicity would encourage more people to this part of the site.

I'd like to see some bare facts and figures - it would give victorious clans some extra glory to have the results of each Clan Challenge posted in the Newsletter, and possibly updates of the scores for longer challenges, or challenges between high-profile clans such as THOTA and LoW.

Ask a Mod and Fortnightly Interview

These are both great parts of the Newsletter and I think they should definitely continue running as they are.

Suggs and Bugs

This is a nice way of catching up on the latest opinions, without having to sift through the many duplicate threads started by those who don't know how to use the search function.

One thing that could help things be a bit more organised would be if the Newsletter could provide links to perhaps two or three threads of the main issues - ratings, missing turns, we all know what they are. If debates were presented like this in a more organised fashion, maybe the mods and admins would be more likely to give things a bit more thought?

Top 10 Lists

As PLAYER57832 suggested, these would be a great addition to the Newsletter; some easy-to-digest facts about some of the top players on the site.

Plug-Ins and Add-Ons

When a new plug-in is made, it would be nice if it could be advertised and briefly explained in the newsletter, to keep players up-to-date. Also maybe write when there has been an update for the most popular plug-ins such as BOB and Clickable Maps?

Publicity

Yes, the newsletter is posted on the homepage, but with everyone going straight to the top left of the page to log in, the links to the newsletters may as well be at the bottom of the page. After a little while most players will have decided whether they want to read the Newsletter or not, but newer players may not be very aware of it. I don't know if there is a way of doing this, but I would suggest sending a copy via PM to all players who have completed a few games, and are therefore not just going to leave the site (maybe 10 or 20+ games), but are still relatively new to the site (been a member for 2 months or less).

Quirky Bits

Just to liven things up a bit, and generate more traffic to the Newsletter - a thread where people can nominate other players for things such as:

Quote of the Week
Thread of the Week
Epic Win of the Week
Epic Fail of the Week
Best New Avatar

You get the idea.

Okay, I rambled a bit there...Sorry about that!

[samuelc812]

Thanks for the people who suggested improvements in this thread, i'll be looking at those in more detail.

Not a big enough vote to warrant a merge at this time, perhaps in the future

~Closed