Return of the Kametsu Newsletter!

[† Emotional Outlet]

Update: Please read the newsletter FAQ here to see if I've addressed your question already!

 

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Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope you're all having a great weekend.

 

As you can tell by the title, we are working to bring back the newsletter! The staff has been talking about ways we can reach out and interact with our users, and this is one of the ways we hope to be able to do that--by bringing in content created by and created for you guys!

 

So, let's get down to business. This is the outline of major sections we hope to have in the newsletter.

• General
  
• Tech
  
• Anime & Manga
  
• Gaming
  
• Entertainment
  
• Art & Lit
  
• Graphics
  

As you can probably tell, this is based on our current forum set up! Tech, Anime & Manga, Gaming, and Entertainment will all have a news and review/feature piece. The General section will be reserved for announcements by the newsletter team and other members of the forum, as well as to announce any upcoming forum events. Art & Lit will see the return of serial stories, as well as approved reviews/features of member works and advice articles. Both Graphics and Tech will have tutorial and tips & tricks articles, little bits of useful knowledge our members would like to share with the others.

 

This is all broken down into list form in the spoiler below.

 

• General
  
  • Announcements by newsletter and members
    
  • Upcoming forum events
    
  
  
• Tech
  
  • News
    
  • Review/Feature
    
  • Advice/Tips & Tricks
    
  • Tutorials
    
  
  
• Anime & Manga
  
  • News
    
  • Review/Feature
    
  
  
• Gaming
  
  • News
    
  • Review/Feature
    
  
  
• Entertainment
  
  • News
    
  • Review/Feature
    
  
  
• Art & Lit
  
  • Serials
    
  • Advice/Tips & Tricks
    
  • Review/Feature
    
  
  
• Graphics
  
  • Advice/Tips & Tricks
    
  • Tutorials
    
    
  
  

 

Some of the people I've approached have asked, "Well, what should I write about?" The answer is usually the same: Write about what you want to write about. As long as it has to do with anime or manga and you follow the guidelines, it doesn't matter how you approach your news piece. As long as it's about the entertainment world, whether it's television, movies, books, music, or comics, it doesn't matter how you choose to review or feature something!

 

Now we need to discuss the nitty gritty, the rules and guidelines, the details and fine print. I've noticed that in past attempts to rally volunteers, there was a lack of communication between the people organising the material and those providing the material. We hope to avoid that by making sure everyone is on the same page.

 

The Newsletter Itself

We intend to publish the newsletter twice a month on the 1st and 15th. The newsletter will be contained within its own thread, with each section featured in its own post. It will be headed with a table of contents so users can jump to specific sections with ease.

 

The Articles

As you've noticed, each section has at least two bullet points, which means you can expect a minimum of two articles per section!

 

All articles must follow forum rules. This means using reliable news sources and not plagiarizing other people's work.

 

Each article should be about 500 words, +/- 100. This is so users can easily and quickly consume the material, but still be provided with enough information to make it worthwhile.

 

The articles will be due three days before publication date to allow time for editing and prep. Because we understand life gets in the way for everyone, we encourage building a backlog of articles for things that aren't time sensitive--tips & tricks, advice, reviews/features. The staff will store your articles for you, that way if anything happens, we're covered for future issues.

 

News articles will not be verbatim quotes of other news sources.

 

If you choose to review or feature material created by a fellow forum member, you must obtain permission to do so! Not everyone is comfortable with being put on the spotlight without notice, so we must take care to respect each other's wishes.

 

The Crew

Our primary editors will be poetictragedy and me, Emotional Outlet. All members of staff will be able to post the newsletter in case of our absence.

 

Even if you aren't interested in being part of the crew, we still strongly encourage members to submit articles if they are interested! This also means that volunteering to be a crew member is always open, but we will still post recruitment threads in case our numbers get low.

 

Because communication is important, we're looking to getting a private subforum set up for crew so we can discuss any issues. Until that's ironed out, we can conduct business over PM/IM.

 

Members volunteering as writers must indicate which sections they are interested in writing for. This means telling us explicitly, "I want to write news pieces for anime," "I want to review video games". We also ask that you tell us exactly how long you intend to sign on for. Tell us, "I want to write for three issues," "I only want to do this for three months". This is important because it puts us on the same page--we know what to expect of you and you know what your expectations are.

 

Now, should you break deadline twice without informing either editor of your circumstances, you will lose your position and be put in a detention period of one month. During that detention period, you will not be considered for rehiring for later editions of the newsletter.

 

The Rewards

Well, you get to partake in a large scale forum project with your fellow members!

 

Recognition of effort is important, so one of things we are discussing is creating a member group for regular crew members. This means your name will be a different colour, you'll have a neat little title image under your avatar, and maybe some other little goodies! None of this is set in stone yet, so there's still room for renegotiation and change.

 

That Was Long; How Do I Respond To This Thread?

Yes, it was. It's important that all volunteers know exactly what is going on.

 

If I have approached you in private, now is the time to finalise your agreement!

 

For everyone else, please volunteer! Let us know what you want to sign on for and for how long.

 

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, let us know in thread! This is for you guys, so your input is valuable.

 

Crew List

poetictragedy -- Editor, Graphics

Emotional Outlet -- Editor

 

Hawk -- Copy Editor

 

Dreamcastor -- Graphics

hagi -- Gaming

Dark_Angel13 -- Gaming, Entertainment, Art & Lit

Rune -- Gaming, Entertainment, Art & Lit

Mink -- Tech

Dae -- Tech

Loki -- Art & Lit

Breathless -- Anime & Manga

[† Anras Rune]

The revival of the Kametsu Khronicle? My god, that brings back memories...lol

 

Well, considering I wasn't approached privately (booo!) I suppose I'll put down that I'd love to help. Don't know what I'd do though, would have to think that over I suppose...

[† poetictragedy]

I'd like to stick to the Graphics section, seeing as that's my forte, haha. But I'd be willing to write for the Entertainment section sometime if needed. And put me down for helping for eternity, haha.

Edited February 17, 2013 by poetictragedy

[Alice]

You already know my answer, EO.    Anything that I can do to contribute, is fine with me, as long as it is within my power.   

 

The previous Newsletter must of went down before or right as I joined Kametsu, because I never saw it.

[† Emotional Outlet]

I would have approached everyone in private if I could, but it's not like there was any real advantage to being contacted about it early, haha.

 

I'll edit the first post with a crew roster. Let me know if I missed anyone or have someone down erroneously!

ETA: And just to note, just because you see someone else is working on the section you wish to work on, doesn't mean you can't also write articles for it too! We're encouraging redundancy within the ranks, to build a safety net in case any of our writers needs to go on hiatus or gets burnt out.

 

I'm more than happy to work out the specifics of what you're willing to contribute, so don't feel like you're being too demanding or lazy! I want everyone to be on the same page so there's no surprises or "I didn't know" moments.

[† Anras Rune]

You already know my answer, EO.    Anything that I can do to contribute, is fine with me, as long as it is within my power. 

 

The previous Newsletter must of went down before or right as I joined Kametsu, because I never saw it.

 

I think it was long before your time. Sometime back in 2011 I do believe. People stopped sending in their articles for inclusion so me and raz had to try and carry it or sort it out with half the content missing, for a while. The Khronicle is still in the broadcast centre somewhere. Twas awesome.

 

In fact I was wondering if you are planning on using the same name?

 

I would have approached everyone in private if I could, but it's not like there was any real advantage to being contacted about it early, haha.

 

I'll edit the first post with a crew roster. Let me know if I missed anyone or have someone down erroneously!

ETA: And just to note, just because you see someone else is working on the section you wish to work on, doesn't mean you can't also write articles for it too! We're encouraging redundancy within the ranks, to build a safety net in case any of our writers needs to go on hiatus or gets burnt out.

 

I'm more than happy to work out the specifics of what you're willing to contribute, so don't feel like you're being too demanding or lazy! I want everyone to be on the same page so there's no surprises or "I didn't know" moments.

 

Meh, there is only so much that can be written about the art and lit section so I suppose you could put me down for that and the gaming section. Depends on whats being done in the gaming section already? I can do reviews of some games, but I'm more in the loop about development stuffs and news. I could actually do a lot in the Entertainment section too, as I know very few people that watch as many movies as me...lol

[Alice]

You already know my answer, EO.    Anything that I can do to contribute, is fine with me, as long as it is within my power. 

 

The previous Newsletter must of went down before or right as I joined Kametsu, because I never saw it.

 

I think it was long before your time. Sometime back in 2011 I do believe. People stopped sending in their articles for inclusion so me and raz had to try and carry it or sort it out with half the content missing, for a while. The Khronicle is still in the broadcast centre somewhere. Twas awesome.

 

In fact I was wondering if you are planning on using the same name?

Our you talking about my username...then yes.  I do not plan on changing it anytime soon...if ever.

[† Anras Rune]

 

You already know my answer, EO.    Anything that I can do to contribute, is fine with me, as long as it is within my power. 

 

The previous Newsletter must of went down before or right as I joined Kametsu, because I never saw it.

 

I think it was long before your time. Sometime back in 2011 I do believe. People stopped sending in their articles for inclusion so me and raz had to try and carry it or sort it out with half the content missing, for a while. The Khronicle is still in the broadcast centre somewhere. Twas awesome.

 

In fact I was wondering if you are planning on using the same name?

Our you talking about my username...then yes.  I do not plan on changing it anytime soon...if ever.

 

No, it was actually a question for EO. I suppose I should've said something to illustrate the fact. What I was asking is whether it'll be call the Kametsu Khronicle again, or something different?

[† Emotional Outlet]

We have discussed changing the newsletter's name, but haven't made a whole lot of headway on it. I think the alliteration is a little goofy (to say nothing of any accidental connotations), but I have no strong feelings either way.

 

There is plenty to be written with regards to Art & Lit, not just about what is in the subforum itself currently. There are always things like writing opportunities, advice columns, the serials, daily inspiration, &c &c. Nothing is really limited. It is unlikely the newsletter will look the same between each publication since we're encouraging flexibility, but the major categories will probably stay the same throughout.

 

The categories are based on the forum's content, but articles do not have to be about the forum. In a similar vein, because it doesn't seem to be clear to everyone, just because the forum's primary focus is anime doesn't mean the entire newsletter will also be about anime. The only part of the newsletter that will be specifically about anime is the Anime & Manga section. Tech doesn't have to be about tech related to anime. Graphics doesn't have to be anime graphics. Entertainment is not a secret codeword for more anime.

 

Hagi has offered to do both news and reviews, but as mentioned, redundancy is acceptable and encouraged. It's unlikely that two people would end up doing the exact same thing, but we will continue to encourage transparency and communication with both the editors and other content writers for their category. Reviews/Features can easily be stored for later use, but since news requires some sense of timeliness, that's a bit trickier to handle.

 

If I am understanding you correctly, you are signing for Art & Lit, Gaming, and Entertainment. Please correct me if I'm mistaken!

 

===

 

As a little teaser, Poe has made some fantastic graphics for the newsletter. Here's one (the rest will be squirreled away until first publication). Subject to change.

 

 

===

 

Until we get things settled about the possibility of a secret subforum, we can congregate on Skype or I guess group PMs, except those are limited to seven recipients, haha. This thread will also remain available for discussion until something more regular is figured out.

 

Meanwhile, if you've already volunteered and have been acknowledged as such, please feel free to beginning putting together your articles. I would like to push for first publication by next month--a mid-month release, most likely.

[Minkseru]

I'm in!

[Alice]

Okay, I get what your talking about, EO.  I had already figured most of this but wasn't completely sure.  I have already got one article nearing completion and two or three others in the process of forming.  I'll definitely be ready when this starts up.

[† Emotional Outlet]

I added Mink to the crew list!

 

I was thinking for article storage, we can use something like Box or Google Drive, so all the articles can hang out together and crew can see what everyone else is doing. I'll look more into Box because that's the one I'm leaning towards, unless someone has something else in mind they'd like to use!

[† Anras Rune]

I'd personally prefer google drive. The tools it gives you for writing and such are brilliant and it is where I do all my writing as is. Plus, I'm sure most people have a gmail account or something linked to google already (ex, youtube accounts, android phones...etc etc.)

[Alice]

I just use publisher for writing. I've never heard of what you guys are speaking of.

[† Emotional Outlet]

We're talking about cloud storage so people can easily view what everyone else is working on. There are a lot of different ones that offer different levels of collaboration--things like Box and Google Drive offer higher levels of collaboration, while some other cloud storage services are more for back up.

 

I don't want to assume everyone has a Google account and I know a lot of people have their reservations about the company. I'm fine with whatever people want to use.

[Alice]

I've never used online for writing before. I've got google account thou

[† Emotional Outlet]

You don't have to write it online, although Google Drive does have a word processor. i'm just talking about storage. I'm not trying to mandate what program people use to write, only to have the documents stored in a collaborative environment.

[Alice]

Then I'll continue using my publisher then contact when ready to submit it.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Well, the point of having the collaborative environment is so people can upload their own work rather than having to send it to just one person, haha. That way waiting is brought to a minimum.

 

Everyone on crew would have access to the folder. So hagi can upload an article and everyone with access to the folder can see it's there and view it. He doesn't have to ask me or Poe to upload it, he can just do it himself. When it comes time for us to start editing, everything is there in one spot for us. There's also commenting systems so we can make notes--I can edit up hagi's article and make a note that it's ready for publication so Poe doesn't end up trying to edit the article twice. She can focus on things that aren't done yet.

 

This would also alleviate some stress in case either Poe or I are unable to publish the newsletter for some reason--the rest of the staff will have access to the folders and be able to put things together from there. We wouldn't have to worry about collecting articles twice or worry about losing links.

[Alice]

hmmm...that makes sense. Let me know when it has been figured out and how to accomplish it and I will put all my work there once finished.  If that is okay with you, EO.