Community Announcement: Member of the Month

[Meph]

All I can say is that I'm glad for the interest that MotM had during its run. We knew it couldn't last forever anyway. So thanks for all your hard work with it, Tap!

Too bad, I found Tap's hosting the MotM the best time.

I couldn't agree more.

[Gumpei]

Personally, I think a revival this close to the original would be a mistake. It was retired due, as Tap puts it, lack of views... so I think we should just let it go. After all, it's been running for about 3 years! It needs a good long hiatus IMO, so when/if it does come back, it'll be revived in popularity. The specials are good for this as people will be interested still.

Hm, I remember an eyeball once said something to me...

I never really expected the MotM threads to have so many posts, anyway. It was meant to be more about the interview, so I thought people would just say "Congrats!" It was great when everyone took it one step further; I never expected they'd be so popular.

...The MotM is something that should be done to honor the individual members of the community.

I don't know why popularity should matter.

[LunchPolice]

Look at it this way, even if Dave's revival of the MotM doesn't go anywhere, what harm could it possibly do?

Completely stamp out any remaining interest in the interviews, I reckon. I'm with SE. Give it a break so we can be pleasantly surprised when it returns.

[ShadowEdgeworth]

Look at it this way, even if Dave's revival of the MotM doesn't go anywhere, what harm could it possibly do?

Completely stamp out any remaining interest in the interviews, I reckon. I'm with SE. Give it a break so we can be pleasantly surprised when it returns.

Definitely... if anything, it's just a little overexposure. It's natural. I mean it's been running since 2010 - that's about 3 and a half YEARS!

I've worked out the average replies and views for each year. I wouldn't count 2010 since it's only half so not really fair.

Spoiler : 2010 :

2010 (half) - 294 replies, 7111 views
(Special mention goes to Mimi Mika who achieved the highest MOTM stats of ALL TIME, with 661 replies and 11860 views, albeit half of which were caused by next MOTM guessing!)

2011 - 185 replies, 3536 views.

2012 - 67 replies, 2019 views.

2013 - 35 replies, 810 views
(Note: 2013 was the only time a member was MOTM for 2 months. And that member was a fancase character.)

This is purely understandable, nothing can maintain the same level of popularity forever. But the thing is, I personally don't want to get to the point where only a select few are caring about MOTM, and judging by the current statistics, it definitely could. MOTM is something that should be seen as something that brings with it a sense of anticipation and tension as well as being entertaining. I believe a nice long break will do it good.

[kwando1313]

Again, you guys are looking at it from the wrong point of view. Popularity isn't the reason to do this. The reason to do the MoTM interview is to get to know people better. View/replies don't matter at all.

Also, not to be rude, but many of the choices in 2013 just... Weren't very good choices. Like, two of the choices were members who have practically faded to obscurity, and another two are members who just aren't very active in the community any more. So, of course you're going to see lower view/replies to those interviews.

[Wackyman]

If the whole purpose of MotM wasn't for popularity and just to get to know people better, how exactly can there be "bad choices"? I loved seeing an interview for both LunchPolice and Narokh, since both of them do great work. They've made great contributions to AAO and deserved to be commended.

So long as MotM, official or otherwise, keeps interviewing prominent members of AAO I'll be there to read it. Take popularity out of the equation because it isn't relevant.

[lazyplague]

I'm gonna agree with kwando, Gumpei, and Wacky on the "Popularity of the thread shouldn't matter", I personally did like Narokh and LP being interviewed, and I enjoyed reading said interviews.

I'm doing this because I LOVE the purpose of the threads, which was getting to know prominent members of the community, and could spark potential sharing of interests, which in itself could lead to a much more involved and friendly community. Basing the choice to discontinue the MotM because of lack of replies is a GIANT mistake. People have obviously read the interviews, and that's all you should have wanted.

MotM is a great part of AAO's activities, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it since I came to AAO, I love reading about the lives of other people, and many AAOers have stated that it shouldn't be based around popularity, and almost as soon as it started, a few members were even willing to continue it, which shows that there is still A LOT of interest.

So no, I'm not going to stop what i'm planning, and I'm going to make this interview. I don't care if I don't get official status, I'm doing this because I know myself and others will enjoy this.

Again, basing the decision off of popularity was a mistake in my eyes, and the fact that a select few keep bringing it up will not change my view on this topic. My MotM will be posted, and I already have an interview date set up.

I hope you all have a nice day, and please look forward to the interview being posted.

[SwagmaWampyr]

I think the fact that David has support on the matter (and I completely agree with his position and the movement to do his own MotM thing) is more than enough to prove the point he's trying to make, honestly.

[Remilia Scarlet]

With everyone who says popularity doesn't matter. I was pretty unpleasantly surprised to see this thread. As long as there are members to interview, I see no reason to discontinue it.

[Stealthfire]

I think it's not so much popularity but rather, interest in the MotM.
I'd say that views are a relatively useful gauge to see how much interest there is in the MotM. If people are interested, they'd click the thread and view it. Replies don't matter. If we could see unique views, it'd probably be an even better gauge.

So the result of the decision is basically that organisers of the MotM, which would be Meph and Tap, don't see much point in continuing the MotM because there isn't enough interest to justify carrying on.

[ShadowEdgeworth]

This whole thing can be likened to the lifespan of an average TV show.

TV show airs 1st season on a mainstream channel (BBC/Fox/ABC), is quite well-recieved.
2nd season reaches its peak in interest and ratings.
3rd season suffers ratings decline, but is still at a respectable amount. New showrunner takes over.
4th season suffers further decline in interest and ratings. Also has a very fan-devisive moment early on. (Luna)
Show cancelled by the creators before 5th season is commissioned due to lack of interest and ratings.

SUDDENLY (in irregular cases!)

Protest arises to get the show recommissioned.
Show recommissioned with a new showrunner but is only avaliable on an online medium (iTunes/Netflix)

Personally, I find it incredible that there's so much support for a revival even though lack of interest is what killed the original era(s) in the first place.

Oh well. ^^'

The Meph Era: 2010 - 2012
The Tap Era: 2012-2013
The Dave Era: 2014-Present

[enigma]

Hm. Well, maybe this is exactly what it needed then? We have our show "cancelled" and, lo and behold, the fans return from the woodwork and interest returns. TV producers pull this kind of thing all the time, it's an actual legit business strategy.

But, you know what, have you ever considered that the reboots may be better than the original? Or the older series? And, hey, we're bringing a whole bunch of new things to the table. We're "giving our Klingons their head ridges", in a sense.

But, let's not forget. This isn't a TV show. TV Shows are more or less made as something to indulge the masses and make money. This isn't that. It's said over and over again. This isn't about popularity. It's about acknowledging the works of great people. A labor of love. As long as one person takes the time to read it, well then, mission accomplished.

But, hey, if you don't like the show no need to tune in. Just tune in to the "christmas specials" from the original team. But, we're still making our new set. Because we want to let members of the community who deserve it know that they actually matter, and nothing will stop us. We may not be mods, but I think we can put on a good show, and our performing an actual service here.

So, feel free not to read it. But we won't stop acknowledging the works of the great members of our community.

And that's all I have to say as someone helping with the MotM revival. Thanks for your time.

[ShadowEdgeworth]

I GET THAT ITS NOT ABOUT POPULARITY OKAY. ._.

But the saying, "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone." applies here, very much so...

That's all I will say on the subject for now, as if I continue I may be seen as more of a Scrooge-like villain of this piece than I already am. ^^'

[E.D.Revolution]

This whole thing can be likened to the lifespan of an average TV show.

TV show airs 1st season on a mainstream channel (BBC/Fox/ABC), is quite well-recieved.
2nd season reaches its peak in interest and ratings.
3rd season suffers ratings decline, but is still at a respectable amount. New showrunner takes over.
4th season suffers further decline in interest and ratings. Also has a very fan-devisive moment early on. (Luna)
Show cancelled by the creators before 5th season is commissioned due to lack of interest and ratings.

SUDDENLY (in irregular cases!)

Protest arises to get the show recommissioned.
Show recommissioned with a new showrunner but is only avaliable on an online medium (iTunes/Netflix)

Personally, I find it incredible that there's so much support for a revival even though lack of interest is what killed the original era(s) in the first place.

Oh well. ^^'

The Meph Era: 2010 - 2012
The Tap Era: 2012-2013
The Dave Era: 2014-Present

I was about to write that. Except, I would place "season 1" as a mid-season replacement (let's face it: it's not even a full season). And Season 4 suffered both Seasonal Rot AND Jumped the Shark which lead to Season 5's unceremonious cancelling after episode 1.

I would not call the Dave Era Season 5 or 6 but a Spin-off in the similar vein that Star Trek: The Next Generation is a spinoff of the Shatner-Nimoy era Star Trek. It's only practical to call if a spin-off when Meph and Tap are still doing specials.

Anyway, one complaint I have about the original era (especially after the second half of the era) is that, well, things got a bit less interesting. Like, how do I describe it... Lack of active communication during the duration of the month? The numbers don't lie. Like, there's initial interest then it wanes or stops dead near the middle of the month. And it repeats (fluctuates sometimes). And then we don't get to learn more about the people or the people don't have a chance to talk about what they want to talk about (outside the initial interview). I would like to see the threads go at least 7 pages consistently. If it's about celebrating the members and what they do, then there has to be active communication in that thread while it is going on during that month. Which means both the MOTM, the host (Dave) and the Audience all share responsibility to keep the activity going. Like if there's a lull in activity, maybe the MOTM or the host can pose questions or something to get the momentum going again. Take a look at the top 4 MOTMs in the original era. What do they all have in common? Active communication and the MOTM encouraging activity in the thread, by talking or offering something to talk about. Mimika, with her minion games... Me, having a new case come out in the middle of the month (perfect timing) which facilitated new discussion, Tap and Dan had a lot to talk about in general and kept the conversation going.

[Tap]

Here's my thoughts on it:

Member of the Month is no longer as well-received as it used to be in the past. This can be attributed to a number of factors. The major factor is declining interest in the interviews themselves from members, which has resulted in both less posts and the view counts. Interest can be measured very easily by the view count of each thread. As E.D. noted, interest starts off "strong" at the start, but any activity becomes non-existent after the first week until the end of the month when the next Member of the Month is announced. Part of the blame also has to be given to the member being interviewed, as they should be encouraging and facilitating new discussion in the community.

I also have the feeling that remaining members to be interviewed pretty much 'know' each other from Xat and Skype, so there isn't any real need to post. Of course, even after all of this has been said, I'm more than happy to let the community take over the system in a test trial. Member of the Month isn't about popularity, yes, but what does count is interest. These test trial interviews need to demonstrate the wider-community still has interest. If it doesn't, then there won't be a point in continuing with it. For the time being, though, the fan-run interviews will not be "official" Member of the Month interviews until we can measure how they're being received.

I have high hopes in the interest being revived as Dave and kwando are much better placed to interview members unlike Meph and I am. Member of the Month was built on community contributions, and we measured those contributions for a very long time through trial development in 'Your Trials', or art success in the 'Your Art' forums. I've said it before - I can count on one hand the amount of times I've talked to a number of active members -- DeeYo, Dave, kwando and so forth. Some members move in different circles on the forums. I rarely visit the Xat, and I haven't been in a Forum RP for a number of years, so a changeover is maybe what it needs...