† Emotional Outlet Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 If you want to discuss the contents of the newsletter and not the newsletter itself (that is, you want to talk about Gundam Wing and not about file naming conventions) please direct all conversation to the newsletter thread itself! Again, this is primarily for the crew to talk about the process, not for discussing the actual content of the issue. === Okay, so a couple of things I noticed while putting together the newsletter over the past two days. One -- It is time consuming as balls. Luckily, I have the time and patience to do this kind of thing. However, there will come a time or fifteen where I need others to pick up my slack and get the newsletter out on time. (I really wish we had our own subforum, I lie awake at night thinking about this.) Formatting the newsletter on the forum itself was absurd. The WYSIWYG editor is possessed. I think I spent most of my time in the editor mode instead of WYSIWYG because it was making me mad. I haven't formatted a Word document with bells and whistles since high school, so that was another headache. The whole process took me about seven hours to do both. The big issue with the forum version--unrelated to formatting--was waiting for the time limit to expire so I could double post. Future issues should take less time since I don't have to relearn everything I ever knew about Word, so I'll keep you guys posted on that. Two -- I'm going to be opening positions for designers, people who can put the newsletter together into a Word document, make it look pretty, and convert to PDF. Due to the nature of this undertaking, I'm going to be far stricter about who we allow to do this. It's fine if writers flake out because pumping out an article to fill the void takes me roughly 30 minutes. If a designer goes missing, someone's going to have to scramble to put it together. And if it's me having to stay up until two in the morning doing this, there's going to be hell to pay. Three -- While late entries (submitting on the 13th-14th, for example) won't count against you, these articles will NOT be in that issue, but rather the following. With the amount of work needed to put everything together, I just did not have the time or energy to edit another article on top of that. I did some copy edits, but other than that, I did not delve too deeply into the content again. Four -- Cover designs. On this issue, you can see that what Java did was piece together disparate parts on the Word document. This caused him great distress and I don't recommend it for the faint of heart. If anyone wants to design any covers, just drop them in the Drive and I'll take a look at them. I'll probably love all of them because I'm easy to please like that. Five -- Design. I don't know if you guys know this, but my tastes are pretty awful. I had Java help me with the visual elements, but I need you guys to weigh in on what you want to see. Otherwise the newsletter is just going to be blue forever and fit to Java's tastes because if I had things my way, everything would be pink and have fancy fonts. Six -- Header graphics. I love the ones we have now and will probably use them forever on the forum. However, since I know people like to do things, we could probably afford to have another set or two to alternate between on the DL versions. They should be a similar style--easy to read and not too busy. Having them in different colours would also save us from having a permanently blue newsletter. Seven -- File naming conventions for the issues. 20130315 -- what this translates to is 2013 March 15th. This won't apply to you guys as much, but in case anyone was wondering about the mess of numbers I had going on there. Eight -- Content layout. As I mentioned in the previous thread, I went ahead with alphabetical because that was the order I pulled it from the Drive. However, I'm not averse to changing the order for future issues. Let me know what you think. Nine -- I can't think of anything else right now and I need to get ready for work, so let me know if you have any other comments. We'll be touching base after each publication, but comments throughout the process are always welcome.Again, thanks for all your hard work! You guys are great. === ETA: Okay, I spoke with Java on some stuff, and he brought up a few things, mostly related to the graphical aspect. The important thing he stressed was having the actual work files (PSD and XCF files) available on the drive. That way any quick changes like colour changes or layout shifts can be done without ruining the integrity of the graphic. When you do upload that, make sure that it's set to read-only, so people can't save over your work. He also offered hosting space for the issues, which should make the downloading problem a moot point. Another thing I randomly remembered--I need to put the date and issue number on the cover. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 ONE MORE THING!!!! Important enough to warrant its own post. I've been playing with Publisher because I hate using Word as a graphic designer. What I'm looking for now is for one of our brilliant members to design a template for the newsletter. I already have Java taking a crack at it, but if it's something you guys want to do, please go ahead and make something! If you're not familiar with Publisher, it's like a layout magic maker. I don't really know, you could look it up yourself. Basically what it'll do for us is make it easier for people putting together the DL version. I only ask that you leave a blank page at the start so we can have a cover page. Otherwise, you can build your template like all the others are kind of--a main page for announcements and table of contents, and then the content pages, and then a back page for closing remarks and whatever. There's no timeline on this right now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 ONE MORE THING!!!! Important enough to warrant its own post. I've been playing with Publisher because I hate using Word as a graphic designer. What I'm looking for now is for one of our brilliant members to design a template for the newsletter. I already have Java taking a crack at it, but if it's something you guys want to do, please go ahead and make something! If you're not familiar with Publisher, it's like a layout magic maker. I don't really know, you could look it up yourself. Basically what it'll do for us is make it easier for people putting together the DL version. I only ask that you leave a blank page at the start so we can have a cover page. Otherwise, you can build your template like all the others are kind of--a main page for announcements and table of contents, and then the content pages, and then a back page for closing remarks and whatever. There's no timeline on this right now. I use Publisher a lot so I'll take a crack at it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† L4ugh Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 You can skip the pdf version if I'm the only one who's interested in it. I just thought it'd be nice to have for anyone who hates the restrictions associated with bbcode, or anyone with an e-reader/tablet. Going through the hassles of creating a pdf for one or two people doesn't really make sense. Maybe there could be a poll to see how many people are really interested in the different versions you're thinking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I don't mind if we're publishing to a small group, since having an offline version is still useful for archival purposes, haha. And good experience for all involved. My life is an experiment. Plus I know people have talked about making graphics that aren't signatures or banners, so making covers and splash pages for the DL version would be something to consider. [HINT HINT] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I don't mind if we're publishing to a small group, since having an offline version is still useful for archival purposes, haha. And good experience for all involved. My life is an experiment. Plus I know people have talked about making graphics that aren't signatures or banners, so making covers and splash pages for the DL version would be something to consider. [HINT HINT] That perfect for me then. I love doing graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolrawr Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Yeah it looks great for the first issue. One thing I noticed though. When I would go and print it off on Word, some of the header images would disappear. The following disappeared: "Announcements", "Art & Literature", "Entertainment", "Gaming", "Graphics", and "Tech". Ooooh now that I think about it, it's because when I print it out the pages are white. The header images are white too. Hm, well maybe have the white header images have a black border or something. Also I'm all for a cool Publisher design. The text and the way everything flows kind of is bland, but again this is the early stages and I'm just happy you guys were able to make this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† poetictragedy Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 One thing I noticed though. When I would go and print it off on Word, some of the header images would disappear. The following disappeared: "Announcements", "Art & Literature", "Entertainment", "Gaming", "Graphics", and "Tech". Ooooh now that I think about it, it's because when I print it out the pages are white. The header images are white too. Hm, well maybe have the white header images have a black border or something. When I designed those, there wasn't any talk of a downloadable version, so I made them with only the forum in mind. So that's my bad, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Ooooh now that I think about it, it's because when I print it out the pages are white. The header images are white too. I realised this as I was creating a draft version. At that point it would have been pretty silly to try to scramble and make new ones (meaning I would have forced Java to do it, he is my go-to when I need last minute graphics like the cover), and that is why the newsletter is blue, haha. I'm sorry you have invisible headers, though. You can write them in! It's like a DIY newsletter. Of pain and misery. Oh, the misery. It's a learning process, haha. I wasn't entirely sure how much time I'd need to devote to doing this. I have extra time and patience, so I don't mind being the guinea pig who has to spend seven hours punching my computer. As long as the process is eventually streamlined and made easier for other editors/designers. The only problem I can see with the Publisher template is that our word count is pretty generous as far as newsletters go. I was playing around with one of the default templates and pasting in articles to see what it would look like. For ones with a lot of small paragraphs, it's a bit of a PITA to get situated. It wasn't too bad, but I can see it being frustrating for folks, so I'm definitely going to encourage people to stay within the 400-600 word count range at all costs. Whenever a Publisher template gets made, I'll remaster earlier issues so people can collect them all as a matching set. The originals will still be available for posterity so when I'm thirty-five and looking back at what I did in my early twenties, I can cry deeply at my poor taste. I'm going to drop a request thread down in the Graphics area, but if you already have access to the drive, there's no need to respond to that thread, just see what I'm requesting. I'll make a folder for graphics on Drive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jobonline20 Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 You can skip the pdf version if I'm the only one who's interested in it. I just thought it'd be nice to have for anyone who hates the restrictions associated with bbcode, or anyone with an e-reader/tablet. Going through the hassles of creating a pdf for one or two people doesn't really make sense. Maybe there could be a poll to see how many people are really interested in the different versions you're thinking about. i don't have internet at home so i want the pdf download so that i can downoad it at some net cafe, take it home and read it at my leisure. so that makes it three people who need downladable issue, i think Also it will be helpful for people like me( who lack internet but are still interested in the forum) if the informer had News about any new updates regarding the forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted March 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Usually when updates happen on the forum, it's announced in a thread of its own. Since it's not a weekly periodical, the information will likely be fairly outdated by the time it comes out, but I'll try to remember to reflect that information. If nothing else, I suppose it'll be good for archival purposes, haha. Anyway, sorry I've been out for so long, I've been deathly ill the past few days. Any of you on my Facebook have probably seen my numerous mobile posts regarding my dire straits (blessed be the fortunate souls who don't have to live with me when I'm sick). I spent the past 72 hours living on the couch and I'm still not quite top notch, but well enough to sit at the computer for a bit. Anyway, articles are still due on the 29th. By then I should be well enough to get everything together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† RazorDan Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 quick query, don't know if this is the right place but instead of a review, I was thinking of doing a preview article on the upcoming Spring Anime Season. This ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted March 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Absolutely, as long as you don't repeat a lot of information that was in Breathless's article. haha. Expanding or correcting is fine, though, since I know 400-600 words isn't a whole lot of space and it was written a bit earlier in the year. Again, anyone can write whatever they want as long as it follows forum rules and it's not a rehash of what other people have done! Sharing and revisiting topics is encouraged and permissible as long as the information is new. === Anyway, one of the suggestions I've received is having a "fun section" of the newsletter. My primary issue that the newsletter is already pretty big and I don't want to increase our workload without having the manpower to back it up (because while I'm sure the newsletter can be done by the hands of two people alone, I'd rather not have to do that, haha). So, what I'm thinking we could do is expand article format choice. We can still do the 400-600 word articles, but also have shorter 100-300 word flash pieces. What this should do is give people enough space to tell humourous short stories or observations without worrying about having to fill out an entire 500 word article. I'd still like for these to fit within one of the six major categories, since I'm not comfortable with needing to shoulder the burden of another category I may have to fill in for (I am not a very funny person). Having it within one of the six categories means that we could have an entire issue of 100-300 word articles, or have another full issue of 400-600 word pieces as this first issue was. We'll still aim for two articles a category either way. These shorter pieces do not have to be funny, so if you want to do a mini tutorial or small review, or you have a news piece you can't quite get up to size, we can still run it as a flash piece. Do this sound amenable? I'm still a little foggy in the brain, but I ran it by Java first to make sure it made sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 All right, I've updated the Article Guidelines, FAQ, and full piece sample article, as well as written a sample flash piece. The paragraphs in the sample articles are coloured differently to show visually 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 words. If anyone notices any mistakes or has any questions, let me know. 100 words is a remarkably small amount of space (it's barely two paragraphs), and will be the absolute minimum for article submission for the time being (it may be raised if we receive a lot of garbage articles of 100-200 words). Since I know our upper limit of 600 words has been bent several times already, if you literally cannot come up with something spanning at least 100 words, it may be worth taking another look at what you're trying to accomplish. I hope I don't need to be flexible on this lower limit. As an aside, it is noted on the Article Guidelines that announcements do not have any word count limitations. I know making word count hasn't been a major issue yet (most people, including myself, tend to break it), but in case anyone thought the article sizes were too big or intimidating, this should make it a bit more approachable. We're allowing for personal stories and observations, and those kinds of things don't have to go on at length. If you just want to talk about that one funny bug you ran into on Skyrim, you don't need to write a full dissertation on it. 100-200 words should be enough for that sort of thing. Since I've been sick, it's really put a damper on my productivity and I've fallen behind in what I personally wanted to accomplish, but I do know you guys have been working and uploading to the drive in my absence, and for that I'm grateful. I'm riding out the last of it today (god, I hope so anyway), so hopefully I'll be tackling more tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I just want to remind folk that articles are still due on the 29th (that's this Friday)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† RazorDan Posted March 30, 2013 Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 Think I just about managed to make the deadline, at least by my time haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Angel13 Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Think I've missed the deadline so when are articles next due? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted March 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 The 12th! That's a Friday. Mid-month issues will always have a due date of the 12th. Unless reality shifts or there's a massive calendar overhaul. There's a deadline reminder in the DL version of the newsletter, but I don't think I mentioned it on the forum version, so I'll go check and add it if necessary. Anyway, until this thread gets big like the other one or people prefer it otherwise, post-publication notes for future issues will go here. I don't want to clutter up the Broadcast Station too much. I'll update the thread title when appropriate. The DL version of the second issue will come in a single format (PDF) and will be the layout we use until a better one comes along. More on that on Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Angel13 Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Okay got it, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted April 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2013 Two issues! Oh man, we are basically professionals at this point. Except for the part where nobody gets paid for their labour. First of all, thanks to the folk who are still on board with the project and submitting on time. I hope you all find twenty dollars. === As you probably noticed, there are six articles in this issue written by me--it was almost seven, but luckily an article was submitted at the last minute, haha. My intention with the newsletter was not to create a personal platform called the Emotional Outlet Times. I know people didn't think the newsletter needed to be split in half over the month, but it's starting to look a lot more attractive considering that for two issues in a row now, all the articles under Entertainment and Art & Lit were written by me. (The fact I had to fill in for the Gaming category was mostly a fluke, since our writers were busy with school.) According to the crew list and what people have told me when the project started, we do have writers interested in these categories (Entertainment, Art & Lit). So I have a couple of guesses as to what's happening. 1) They can't think of anything to write about.2) They feel negatively towards the fact that I have filled out these sections with my articles.3) They do have something to write about, but other responsibilities take precedence. (I know this is the case for some of our writers) There isn't much I can do about points 1 and 3, but I hope that, if point 2 is a reality, temporarily cutting the categories will remedy the situation. I don't think it's fair for me to dominate the newsletter by having half, or almost half, of it written by me. I'm really not that interesting of a person to warrant subjecting people to my tastes so much. It's also difficult to build up any sort of buffer in any of the categories when my pieces are being published at this pace. Life also happens to me, so it's a bit more stressful for me to catch up when things like being sick for a week happen. To be clear, though, this is not an admonition or an attempt to pressure people into writing. It's just a reflection of the state of the newsletter and the manpower that we have--since we don't have the manpower to back what I intend to put forth, we need to scale back until we do. It also would not be a permanent measure and only be in effect until we have the writers and content to back all of the categories. Life happens, and personal issues take precedence over the newsletter, so again, don't take this as me trying to deride people for not writing. === I would like to remind folk of the avenues available for feedback. We have a form here (results can only be seen by Poe and I, and you can submit anonymously), this thread obviously is open for discussion, my PM inbox is always open, and I can be reached via Skype and Pesterchum. If you don't like how something is done or you have a suggestion, please let us know. === The cover is the same because that's all we have to work with. It will probably look this way until we get something else to work with! Same thing for the layout--for the most part, anyway. You can see that some of the articles are laid out a bit differently from the others based on content and my capricious nature. === Designer positions are open. This primarily involves putting together the PDF version, since the only place we can build the forum version right now is the Staff Room, and that rather limits the volunteer pool. Do note that timeliness is more of a factor, since the timeline is shorter (three days vice roughly two weeks). === I'm hoping that one day this project will take root enough to warrant having its own subforum, haha. I actually envision it as two subfora under a single category--one that's a private workspace for us to talk shop and build the newsletter issues, and another that's public and where the final products will be posted. === When putting together the DL version, I had Java and one of my friends view it with their eyeballs, so it is being vetted by others who aren't me. If you'd like to preview the DL version, you'll have to let me know so I can send you links, because I won't upload to the Proxeninc server until it's complete. This is because people can technically download issues before they're officially released, due to the naming convention not being a secret. I could make Java prevent it from being accessed until the proper time has come, but it's not a big deal. I can post WIPs to the Drive if enough people are interested in previewing it, but for the most part it's easier for me to just put it in my Dropbox for previewing and then uploading to the Proxeninc server when I'm ready. It's less disruptive to my workflow this way. Tangentially, I don't know if anyone cares about previewing the forum version, so I didn't do it this time. I didn't get any remarks on it for the first issue, so I assume it's an unnecessary measure at this point. It will look pretty much the same each time anyway. === A final note: If it's not immediately clear, the way I function is I do everything until someone volunteers to help. To me, this is the logical course of action since I'm the one who decided to bring this project to life. It's not an attempt to jealously control the entire project; I just don't think it's fair for me to dump responsibility on others for something I started myself. If you ever want to help out, like put together the DL version, write an article for any of the categories, or anything at all involving this project, all you have to do is ask. My primary interest is keeping it organised and keeping it running as an asset for Kametsu, not putting my name all over this thing. === I can't think of anything else, so that'll be it for now! Once again, thanks for all your hard work! Here's hoping this project eventually takes off and we draw in some attention to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted April 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2013 As always, I'll open with expressing my gratitude for those who are still on board with the project. Live long and prosper, yo. Short of me literally dying, the project won't fall apart, so I hope the fact that some of our writers have been busy with life and other obligations isn't off-putting to potential writers. I'm still trying to get back into the swing things after being taken out of commission for a bit for being sick. === I'm hoping to build up a buffer somehow maybe by alternating the Entertainment and Lit categories. This doesn't mean I'm expecting people to make up difference, just that we'll have a slightly smaller newsletter for a while. This is just so this isn't the Emotional Outlet Times where EO talks about her extremely limited interests. === Anyway, as mentioned, there is a problem I wanted to address. I'm going to assume it's a failure of communication on my part, so forgive me if I'm saying anything you already know or understand as I try to rectify the situation. The newsletter is for Kametsu and is meant to be written by Kametsu users. It's meant to house original content and not a person's ability to use Google and the copy/paste functionality. I certainly don't want to read a verbatim quote from another site--I can very well go there myself. I'm interested in what you guys have to say and what your opinions are, and I'm sure the readers feel the same. Furthermore, I've been around long enough to be able to recognise almost everyone's writing and their style, so it's usually obvious when I'm reading something that isn't your work. It's fine to quote, reference, and link. In fact, that's highly encouraged! Use and show your sources!However, when your article is a verbatim quote of someone else's work, I can't publish that in good faith. Even publishing articles that make extensive use of quotes from another source make me uncomfortable. 500 words is a pretty cozy amount--when 200 of those words are dedicated to someone else's work, you're doing yourself no favours. It's not necessary to defend yourselves or speak up if you think or know this applies to you--we can talk about it in private, but it's not necessary. Again, I'm pretty sure this is because I failed to make it explicit, so for now, consider this a blanket warning and the slate is wiped. If I see it happen again, or I see excessive use of quotes, the article will be rejected or the content ripped out. Continuing in this manner may well result in a strike, so err on the side of caution and keep quotes light. === With regards to pictures in articles--I can usually tell when they're personal screenshots and when they're pulled from somewhere else. If you do pull them from another site, please try to have a proper source for these pictures. I try to credit sources in both the forum and PDF versions, and it can eat up quite a bit of time on my part when I have to go hunting down for a source. Also, due to the format differences, while the forum format can house quite a few pictures comfortably, the PDF version quickly becomes crowded. Since I'm not very bright when it comes to design, there will be times I cannot accommodate all of your pictures in the PDF. I don't know if this is a big deal for people, but I just wanted to make sure people were aware of the differences. It's not because I hate your picture choices, it's because I never went to school for design. === Fact-checking! I'm not a very smart person. Sometimes I put my face wash in my hair. One time I dumped a pile of salt into my soup. That said, I can usually tell when something doesn't sound right. As previously mentioned, I have other people read these articles as I do a final read-through while putting it all together, and the comments I receive in return with regards to incorrect or misleading information make me feel rather unhappy. Please, please use reliable sources and double check your work! Get another set of eyes on your article before submitting it if at all possible--find someone you trust, someone knowledgeable about the subject. If you can't find another eyes before submission, then please, research will save you a lot of hassle! That said, I don't think it's quite out of hand and I'm certain everyone here has the best of intentions. I just wanted people to be aware. If you're reading someone else's article and you think something sounds off, hit them up and let them about it respectfully. I know what's it's like to write something late at night or when you've been running on fumes for the past two weeks and for some reason the dishwasher is on fire, so please don't go running half-cocked at people about how they're totally wrong about the wingspan of the albatross. It's not a witch hunt--we're all in this together, so just keep an eye out for each other. === Anyway, that's all I have for this debrief. As always, thanks for all your hard work! Keep safe and have a good week. o3o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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