Suggestions to Make VSN Actually Good

[Gustav 6,137]

So we've seen quite a bit of "VSN SUCKS" around the forum lately, but not a whole lot of proposed solutions apart from "start hiring people who will write consistently." That will help, it's true--but earlier today I spent some time putting a bit of thought into the matter, because simply bringing in new people under the current system, while it should have been done many, many more times than it's been in recent memory, subsequent collapses of VSN after minor improvements have made it clear that something about the structure of VSN needs to be changed, in addition to hires which should absolutely be happening. 

 

 

To start, we'll take a look at the best friend of everyone who likes to complain about the system: VSN JOB PAY. 

 

Now, VSN pay is 100% fair if the VSN member does their job. This isn't always the case, as we know: we've seen multiple times that VSN writers have gotten away with claiming job pay despite not doing anything that week or even in weeks previous, and it's gotten by whatever updater is there to make it rain t h i c c  t e e p  on the people. And that's understandable, despite the fact that it makes both VSN and the updaters look bad. I'm here to put an end to that.

 

Recently it came to my attention that there exists a rule that a VSN writer may not claim job pay if they have not written an article that week. Here's why that rule is absolute bullshit and hurts VSN a lot more than it helps it:

-I understand the intended objective, which is to keep writers active. Sure, I get that. Makes sense in this right.

-But now, you have to write an article every week. And no matter the quality of the article, you need an article. You can write 500 words of a brainless B-level media spot, or 5000 words for your VHL doctoral thesis, and it's 8 TPE either way. What's less work?

-Exactly, writing brainless drivel that satisfies the bare minimum will get you by every time (I'm not saying every VSN writer does this, but I am saying that this is the reason why VSN articles are often seen as glorified media spots). This rule encourages bad writing. Why keep it?

 

So, how does one implement a rule which, at the same time, encourages consistent writing AND encourages good writing? Here's what I'd like to see:

 

 

PROPOSED VSN JOB PAY RULE:

-VSN job pay is 8; a regular old media spot plus a .com article is also 8. The bare minimum from these two combined is 650 words, and to round that up to a nice number, we'll make that 750.

-Instead of "you must write an article every week for pay," we'll make VSN articles claimable for pay in the same way as media spots, with the possibility of multi-week claims as follows:

 

750 words = 1 week

1500 words = 2 weeks

2250 words = 3 weeks

3000 words = 4 weeks

 

-A writer must ALWAYS have a week covered by article claims in order to claim job pay.

-A podcaster's pay would look similar to this--8 TPE for slightly more time than is needed to earn 6.

-To make it difficult to sneak pay claims past updaters, VSN writers will be REQUIRED to link their articles in comments with their updates, along with information about which week of claiming they're in with that article. A sample claim would look like this:

This would accomplish both tasks, ensuring decent article quality and rewarding those who prefer to go super in-depth with only having to do it once in a while.

 

As a personal side note, I'd be much more inclined to join VSN if this were the case--I love my big articles, but would never want to put one out every week, and under the current system there's simply no incentive to do anything beyond a run-of-the-mill media spot.

 

 

On to the next job pay topic: that of the VSN MANAGER.

 

The VSN Manager's job pay is 10 TPE per week, and 2 TPE per week if VSN does not produce an article during that week. In my opinion, the manager should also be a VSN writer, rather than just a manager. A proposed change to VSN Manager pay actually fits in quite nicely with the current job pay system with other jobs:

 

-2 TPE if any VSN writer (not including the manager) produces an article during a week. This matches the pay of a GM, so it's fitting that it is the "management" aspect of the job--if no article is written, the manager is not managing. Exceptions can be made by the commissioners if VSN as a whole has a legitimate reason for not producing an article.

-8 TPE if the manager writes a VSN article (the same rules apply to the manager as they would to any other VSN writer).

 

All in all, the same 10 TPE, but the job must be done actively and well.

 

 

SO WHO TO HIRE, AND HOW MANY?

 

The question of who to hire is entirely up to the manager, of course, but those hired should at the very least demonstrate that they are able to produce high-quality content on a consistent basis. As far as the numbers, I'd suggest bringing in:

 

-At least three new writers

-One more podcaster

-An editor (maybe. I don't know how well editors have worked in the past so I can't say for sure, but if it helps then get one in)

-If possible, it would be nice to hire at least two (more if the demand for it is there) graphics guys, who should be expected to provide one sig-quality graphic and one player-card-quality graphic per week for VSN, with graphics that relate to the content. Credit should be given within the article by the writer.

 

 

I'll probably be back in half an hour with something I forgot, but for now, read this and consider it.

Edited October 21, 2019 by GustavMattias

[Berocka 2,202]

8 minutes ago, GustavMattias said:

VSN writer may not complain job pay if they have not written an article that week

I doubt they would complain

[Matt_O 896]

7 minutes ago, GustavMattias said:

-An editor (maybe. I don't know how well editors have worked in the past so I can't say for sure, but if it helps then get one in)

Editors weren't good in the past since it often times just delayed articles, and no one on VSN has major grammar issues (hopefully)

[Gustav 6,137]

2 minutes ago, Berocka said:

I doubt they would complain

Goddammit I just noticed this a minute ago. Was hoping I could edit it before anyone else did.

[Dil 1,744]

VSN Graphics: Have a few good graphics guys like motza or gorlab to create graphics for players who reach certain milestones or something else. Sort of like the recruitment team player cards, but have it for everyone, not just first gens

They would also create the graphics for the drafts, awards, etc

 

PODCASTS: This is a big one, I know ADV is making a podcast but there should be at least 1 or 2 more podcasts consistently, that cover certain topics. Ex. 1 Talk show, 1 VHL news, 1 VHLM news

 

Scouting: Have the VSN put out scouting reports at different points through the season, sports media outlets do this in real life and it would be cool to see

 

Press Conferences: Have some VSN members send press conference questions to players who do them actively, and have them use the answers in things such as podcasts and articles. Helps provide members with more questions, and good information for the crew to implement if they want.

 

 

 

[Mr_Hatter 1,603]

18 minutes ago, DilIsPickle said:

Press Conferences: Have some VSN members send press conference questions to players who do them actively, and have them use the answers in things such as podcasts and articles. Helps provide members with more questions, and good information for the crew to implement if they want.

 

 

 

 

I actually really like this idea. I feel like Press Conferences are so weirdly implemented right now, and I think it would be really cool if there was a weekly presser for all players to do that is somewhat generic.

[Gustav 6,137]

23 minutes ago, DilIsPickle said:

VSN Graphics: Have a few good graphics guys like motza or gorlab to create graphics for players who reach certain milestones or something else. Sort of like the recruitment team player cards, but have it for everyone, not just first gens

They would also create the graphics for the drafts, awards, etc

 

1 hour ago, GustavMattias said:

-If possible, it would be nice to hire at least two (more if the demand for it is there) graphics guys, who should be expected to provide one sig-quality graphic and one player-card-quality graphic per week for VSN, with graphics that relate to the content. Credit should be given within the article by the writer.

 

23 minutes ago, DilIsPickle said:

PODCASTS: This is a big one, I know ADV is making a podcast but there should be at least 1 or 2 more podcasts consistently, that cover certain topics. Ex. 1 Talk show, 1 VHL news, 1 VHLM news

 

1 hour ago, GustavMattias said:

-One more podcaster

 

23 minutes ago, DilIsPickle said:

Scouting: Have the VSN put out scouting reports at different points through the season, sports media outlets do this in real life and it would be cool to see

I like this, sounds like something for management to consider

24 minutes ago, DilIsPickle said:

Press Conferences: Have some VSN members send press conference questions to players who do them actively, and have them use the answers in things such as podcasts and articles. Helps provide members with more questions, and good information for the crew to implement if they want.

This was actually a suggestion of mine a while ago, except I proposed it as a new job altogether: 

In the BoG news thread, this was actually listed as a topic of discussion, though it's been a while and even I forgot about it by the time that thread went up.

6 minutes ago, Mr_Hatter said:

I actually really like this idea. I feel like Press Conferences are so weirdly implemented right now, and I think it would be really cool if there was a weekly presser for all players to do that is somewhat generic.

There is a VHLM Player Press Conference that Tagger used to do every week, the thread is still there and people still post in there every once in a while, but not all the time.

[Dil 1,744]

2 hours ago, GustavMattias said:

 

 

 

 

I like this, sounds like something for management to consider

This was actually a suggestion of mine a while ago, except I proposed it as a new job altogether: 

In the BoG news thread, this was actually listed as a topic of discussion, though it's been a while and even I forgot about it by the time that thread went up.

There is a VHLM Player Press Conference that Tagger used to do every week, the thread is still there and people still post in there every once in a while, but not all the time.

I didn’t really read your article tbh

[Gustav 6,137]

4 minutes ago, DilIsPickle said:

I didn’t really read your article tbh

I assumed so lol

[Dil 1,744]

46 minutes ago, GustavMattias said:

I assumed so lol

Maybe if you were cuter

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Put it in a magazine layout like VHL Magazine used to be. Those looked really cool.

[Cxsquared 455]

19 hours ago, DollarAndADream said:

Put it in a magazine layout like VHL Magazine used to be. Those looked really cool.

Since content creations seems to be the problem how about we just use Media Spots/VHL.com articles. The VSN staff could curate, edit, and format them into a magazine style. Give like a 1 or 2 uncapped tpe bonus for the writers of the articles and have the staff get normal pay for getting an issue out. This both provides a way for new users to quickly see what's happening around the VHL in a professional format. And potentially increases Media Spot quantity and quality because then anyone can get that TPE bonus.

[Gustav 6,137]

2 hours ago, Cxsquared said:

Give like a 1 or 2 uncapped tpe bonus for the writers

I feel like this could be somewhat unfair, as it gives bonuses to people who write/like writing/are good at it but doesn't necessarily reward those who get their TPE in other ways (graphics, podcasts, job pay, cheating the system, etc). 

 

Also, I doubt those in charge want yet another opportunity to get uncapped TPE with inflation being what it is.

[Baozi 1,635]

On 10/21/2019 at 7:22 PM, DollarAndADream said:

Put it in a magazine layout like VHL Magazine used to be. Those looked really cool.

 

This.

[McWolf 3,112]

hey i got a suggestion for VSN

 

what about writing articles once in a while?

[ColeMrtz 571]

I WILL BURN VSN TO THE GROUND AND BUILD IT BACK UP TO THE GLORY IT ONCE HAD