Will

[Victor 11,021]

Builder Article: William Shaw - Class of S60

 

Joined: March 8, 2014

Position Held: VHL Commissioner, Simmer, VHL and VHLM General Manager, Grader, Portal Designer/Coder

 

I was roughly in the middle of my ten-season stint as commish when Will, then known as Draper, joined the league. It's a safe assumption to make that no one at the time would have expected him to replace me in the blue team and certainly do it so well. Thinking back it's remarkable what a bold move that was and it speaks volumes on a broader level that in truth there was not much opposition to a first-gen being promoted so early to commissioner. Even on what was, really, a gamble, the VHL showed quite an open and accepting face.

 

As for the gamble paying off, that goes without saying. One key feature we were looking to add to the commish team was activity and energy and perhaps that was the guiding factor in opting for quite a raw member in Will. At the time, he delivered that in abundance, but perhaps just as importantly, despite gradually becoming less active than before, Will has evolved his own role in the league to make some of the most unique contributions of anyone in the VHL ever. From dealing with the high volume of admin tasks which come with being a commissioner, Will then took on the role of back-up simmer and over time has become the league's main simmer as well. It is perhaps the single most important job in the league and has traditionally been both demanding and not particularly rewarding. However, that has now changed for the better with one of the biggest innovations in VHL history: the portal.

 

Although I am not entirely sure whose brainchild the portal actually was, it's probably fair to say that even if it wasn't Will's, it has long since become Will's project. I readily admit that I was sceptical about the portal at first, having seen failed and underused iterations on the VHL before, but have been quickly won over by the possibilities it affords. The portal is now a hub of stats, awards, updates and has much more to offer and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it single-handedly takes the VHL from its humble beginnings in 2007 to being a truly modern and interactive website. Without Will, I don't think that link to the portal at the top of the forum would be there today, if it ever appeared at all.

 

It would be impossible to write this article without mentioning the portal, but it has to be noted that even without it, Will has done more than enough to warrant induction as a Builder. As commish, he was the constant across a slower period in VHL's history, weathering the storm of contraction, second players, and other background noise as we hit the 60-season mark. A good measure of a commissioner's success in the VHL is the member base's trust that the league will still be around in a year's time and despite hitting some lows, it certainly never came to the point during Will's tenure that there was a feeling of the end being near.

 

There also doesn't appear to be a way to write this without anything other than the commish role feeling like a footnote – and that makes some sense, given Will has been one for all but 4-5 seasons of his time here – I can't ignore some other note-worthy roles. Helsinki Titans GM stands out for sure, with Will accelerating through a rebuild, landing three lottery picks, and quickly winning the first back-to-back cups in 20 seasons. There was also a stint as VHLM GM and, I am fairly certain, in the now defunct position as grader and although all pale in comparison to his role in the league since, it's fair to say Will has excelled in every position he's been in and deserves his induction as Builder even if he has much still to offer, if only for helping the VHL stay in a position where the future is ever bright.

[Victor 11,021]

@Will

[Beketov 9,101]

Reading this I can’t help but feel like my push for builder was far too early, now my article is woefully far behind in what’s actually been done. Oh well haha. Maybe one day when we’re caught up on HOF articles we’ll start updating some builder ones with recent stuff.

 

Also, for what it’s worth, the portal was a brainchild combo of @Devise, @Will, and I. Devise originally came up with the concept of having everything on the site be automated and done more in the sense of a game where you can add points and mess with your player and such on an easy level. I designed a basic concept to go along with this and added news and game stats and stuff of the sort; expecting them to just link back to the index mostly. Will took that concept and has run with it adding more than we initially thought up and then some. I stand by what I said prior to release: the player management update was the single largest change the VHL has seen in 11 years and we aren’t stopping.

[Devise 4,475]

1 hour ago, Beketov said:

Reading this I can’t help but feel like my push for builder was far too early, now my article is woefully far behind in what’s actually been done. Oh well haha. Maybe one day when we’re caught up on HOF articles we’ll start updating some builder ones with recent stuff.

 

Also, for what it’s worth, the portal was a brainchild combo of @Devise, @Will, and I. Devise originally came up with the concept of having everything on the site be automated and done more in the sense of a game where you can add points and mess with your player and such on an easy level. I designed a basic concept to go along with this and added news and game stats and stuff of the sort; expecting them to just link back to the index mostly. Will took that concept and has run with it adding more than we initially thought up and then some. I stand by what I said prior to release: the player management update was the single largest change the VHL has seen in 11 years and we aren’t stopping.

 

It's continued growth continues to stun me to be honest. I totally get that for some people initially it may seem off putting, but as more and more features get added to you guys will start to see more of of the big picture plans the three of us had talked about. Will had wanted to start smaller, and focus on the technical aspects of the feature to make sure everything could work. But honestly he deserves so much prop for all the hard work/making it all run so smoothly. What initially was a test to see how far we could push the features, with just some concepts we had drawn out, has turned into a very huge ever evolving hub. 

 

Knowing what is down the pipeline as well, if you are a fan of the portal I can for certain say that more quality features are going to keep coming. 

[Will 4,662]

I've been awaiting this! 

 

It's hard to believe next season will mark 20 seasons being blue, about 3.75 real life years. I've certainly accumulated my fair share of regrets over my tenure, most of which are easier to reflect on now that my actual commish-ing has waned in favor of Beketov and the Portal. But, taking the job was never one of those regrets - even if, at first, I wasn't sure how I would be received as a newer member with ties to an existing Commissioner. Once I became blue, I was surprised to see that my being Commissioner was much more a product of @sterling, @Victor, and @JardyB10 than it was Higgins and although I'm still slightly confused about how I came to be the chosen one, after all I was measly head-grader at that point, I am grateful. 

 

I would also be remiss if I didn't bring up my cohorts in the admin forum that I leaned on heavily during my time. Even (perhaps especially) when I was effectively the sole commissioner with the freedom to do whatever I wanted, Victor, Jardy, Gow Sr., and Sterling provided much needed insight and help on everything big and small - even as they faded in and out of the league over time, they provided an important level of stability and past experience that made my life a lot easier. 

 

A low-point was my summer of relative inactivity, and I owe it to @Beketov, @Devise and @Smarch for coming in and taking the reigns. In the end, it actually worked out well - I got a much needed break and came back with a vengeance that was carried out through the Portal, and the league got two more very capable Commissioner's. In hindsight, I absolutely should have accepted the help sooner but at this point that's neither here nor there. 

 

It's been long and wild ride for sure, though strangely it doesn't feel that long. Nowadays my focus is much more on the Portal and simming, something I'm more than content with, but I still got some gas in the tank. 

 

 

 

P.S. Thanks for article! 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

24 minutes ago, Will said:

I've been awaiting this! 

 

It's hard to believe next season will mark 20 seasons being blue, about 3.75 real life years. I've certainly accumulated my fair share of regrets over my tenure, most of which are easier to reflect on now that my actual commish-ing has waned in favor of Beketov and the Portal. But, taking the job was never one of those regrets - even if, at first, I wasn't sure how I would be received as a newer member with ties to an existing Commissioner. Once I became blue, I was surprised to see that my being Commissioner was much more a product of @sterling, @Victor, and @JardyB10 than it was Higgins and although I'm still slightly confused about how I came to be the chosen one, after all I was measly head-grader at that point, I am grateful. 

 

I would also be remiss if I didn't bring up my cohorts in the admin forum that I leaned on heavily during my time. Even (perhaps especially) when I was effectively the sole commissioner with the freedom to do whatever I wanted, Victor, Jardy, Gow Sr., and Sterling provided much needed insight and help on everything big and small - even as they faded in and out of the league over time, they provided an important level of stability and past experience that made my life a lot easier. 

 

A low-point was my summer of relative inactivity, and I owe it to @Beketov, @Devise and @Smarch for coming in and taking the reigns. In the end, it actually worked out well - I got a much needed break and came back with a vengeance that was carried out through the Portal, and the league got two more very capable Commissioner's. In hindsight, I absolutely should have accepted the help sooner but at this point that's neither here nor there. 

 

It's been long and wild ride for sure, though strangely it doesn't feel that long. Nowadays my focus is much more on the Portal and simming, something I'm more than content with, but I still got some gas in the tank. 

 

 

 

P.S. Thanks for article! 

 

What the fuck, it's been 3.75 years?

[Will 4,662]

15 minutes ago, Fire Hakstol said:

 

What the fuck, it's been 3.75 years?

 

Yep, hard to believe. I was in first year university when I became blue. Now I'm about to start a real job  

 

A little less than 3.75 actually, I think it'll be 4 around January/Feb

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

52 minutes ago, Will said:

 

Yep, hard to believe. I was in first year university when I became blue. Now I'm about to start a real job  

 

A little less than 3.75 actually, I think it'll be 4 around January/Feb

 

That sounds more right, since I was home on break when we started.

 

That means it's only been 3ish years since I left you!  

[Will 4,662]

26 minutes ago, Fire Hakstol said:

That means it's only been 3ish years since I left you!  

 

So, when ya coming back??

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

3 hours ago, Will said:

 

So, when ya coming back??

 

When you pay me more than my job  

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

3 hours ago, Will said:

 

So, when ya coming back??

 

I'll always be with you in spirit