Articles' feedback for the end of 2014

[Brad]

Hello everyone!
Half of you are wondering why I have created a feedback thread for Articles, while the other half are picking up their guns and ammo ready to shoot. (Please do not shoot yet...)

There are three major places where I would love feedback from you all going into 2015. I was rereading the old feedback thread that had been created and I saw some positive feedback that I'd like to reiterate with this new feedback thread.

The main feedback topics boiled down to; Quantity, Quality, and Staffing dedication to the department.

This is where I'd like to get your feedback:
What are some things you have seen improve in the Articles department?
Is there an area where you would like to see the department improve?
Do you have any questions for the department?

I'd like to thank you in advanced for all feedback (positive, and negative). Now play nice. :)

[Empired]

So glad to see a manager asking for feedback for once. I know Feedback is a scary place but one of the reasons members get so pissed off is because managers/general management seem to avoid this place like the plague. Anyway..

What are some things you have seen improve in the Articles department?
This isn't so much an improvement as a feature, but I've really liked this Advent Calendar the Articles department is doing. The threads made for it seem to be quite popular but I think you're wasting a valuable moment for advertising here. I think you should be encouraging writers to write similar articles, and then having a little section at the bottom of each of your Advent Calendar threads saying "Liked this? Click here / here / here for more threads!"
I've also seen a vast improvement in the quality of articles. Well, perhaps not with everyone but I have noticed you have some particularly good writers atm (for example that nice Ripieno, I particularly enjoyed yesterday's article about how to get a promotion x)

Is there an area where you would like to see the department improve?
Still up to raising awareness I think. I rarely see articles posted on the forum anymore and I really think this should be mandatory. I do not visit habbox.com EVER. If I want to listen to HxL I use habboxlive.com because hx.com is so laggy for me (also the whole layout is disgusting whilst hxl.com is pretty) so I won't read articles unless they're on the forum. Please continue to encourage all writers to post on the forum x And if they won't maybe post them yourself but say Written by: Bikini or whatever brad?

Do you have any questions for the department?
Do you have any improvement you are already planning? Have you got any ideas about how to raise awareness for your department yourself?

oops it centred by accident

[Brad]

So glad to see a manager asking for feedback for once. I know Feedback is a scary place but one of the reasons members get so pissed off is because managers/general management seem to avoid this place like the plague. Anyway..

Haha, Yes. I've been anticipating this thread for a while, and I thought towards the middle of the month would be an ideal time as it allows me to compile feedback for planning in 2015. I will be trying to compose a feedback thread at least in a three month span so that it keeps me in check that I have been able to fulfill things, or at least tempted to work at the suggestions.


What are some things you have seen improve in the Articles department?
This isn't so much an improvement as a feature, but I've really liked this Advent Calendar the Articles department is doing. The threads made for it seem to be quite popular but I think you're wasting a valuable moment for advertising here. I think you should be encouraging writers to write similar articles, and then having a little section at the bottom of each of your Advent Calendar threads saying "Liked this? Click here / here / here for more threads!"
I've also seen a vast improvement in the quality of articles. Well, perhaps not with everyone but I have noticed you have some particularly good writers atm (for example that nice Ripieno, I particularly enjoyed yesterday's article about how to get a promotion x)
I have never really thought of connecting different threads forum based to connect threads together like that. I do appreciate that comment, and it is definitely feasible to implement. I do take pride in all my writers. They have grown so much and they definitely know what they're doing.

Is there an area where you would like to see the department improve?
Still up to raising awareness I think. I rarely see articles posted on the forum anymore and I really think this should be mandatory. I do not visit habbox.com EVER. If I want to listen to HxL I use habboxlive.com because hx.com is so laggy for me (also the whole layout is disgusting whilst hxl.com is pretty) so I won't read articles unless they're on the forum. Please continue to encourage all writers to post on the forum x And if they won't maybe post them yourself but say Written by: Bikini or whatever brad?
Again, another fantastic idea.. something that is doable, and I will attempt to work at making sure that all articles are posted on the forum.
What are your thoughts on trying to connect articles to habboxlive? Would it be something in your case since you go onto habboxlive.com that would be beneficial for you to have access to articles there? Maybe it is something for management/site coders to look into.

Do you have any questions for the department?
Do you have any improvement you are already planning? Have you got any ideas about how to raise awareness for your department yourself?

oops it centred by accident

Currently one of our writers are compiling an article to bring awareness. I wish to try and go more habbo based as well since we are lacking in that department. Which I know it is a stretch to try to bring a content department in the community, but I think with time and effort it should be capable for the department to do so (talkshows, etc.)

Another thing I was thinking of (and is still up in the air) is to connect and bring forth a revolution of articles via social media... In a sense where instead of a huge article being written about a feature, or a new furni or even a round-up. Writers would be able to have access to post a tweet that's 140 characters that would bring a conciseness of what needs to be conveyed. Again this is still up in the air and may or may not even be feasible. :)

[Inseriousity.]

Improvements

- Number of articles seems to have grown.
- Number of interesting articles seem to have developed and when posted on the forum, they've generated a discussion.
- Brad's SPAG (lmao it was so terrible when you started and now it's so good, wth happened).
- An attempt to get involved with the community with the advent calendar. Most content managers say 'I'm content' to get out of doing anything = usually means "I haven't got an idea and don't want/unable to think of any."

Further improvement

- Missing an opportunity with Ripieno as active articles staff as well as a DJ to connect with HxL and do a news show similar to what previous DJs/news staff have done.
- I like charlie's idea of a link-chain to other articles.
- More Habbo presence. A weekly event perhaps, more Habbo-related articles etc.

I agree with Charlie that it's nice to see managers not avoid this forum.

[Brad]

Improvements

- Number of articles seems to have grown.
- Number of interesting articles seem to have developed and when posted on the forum, they've generated a discussion.
- Brad's SPAG (lmao it was so terrible when you started and now it's so good, wth happened).
- An attempt to get involved with the community with the advent calendar. Most content managers say 'I'm content' to get out of doing anything = usually means "I haven't got an idea and don't want/unable to think of any."
Thanks for the list of encouraging feedback. I have definitely seen the increase of interaction myself (which I have stated multiple times when I write my weekly feedback, and monthly feedback to my writers and proofreaders. It's good to know that it's mutual across the board. I feel articles is more than just content... if there is an attempt the community side of articles could be very successful I think.

- Brad's SPAG (lmao it was so terrible when you started and now it's so good, wth happened).
Oh, tell me about it. That's what I was thinking myself! I guess it just takes time and multiple PMs from Alex saying, "Seriously! Your SPAG is ridiculous." *Does 10 edits* It's good to know someone else is seeing my improvement! ;)


Further improvement

- Missing an opportunity with Ripieno as active articles staff as well as a DJ to connect with HxL and do a news show similar to what previous DJs/news staff have done.
- I like charlie's idea of a link-chain to other articles.
- More Habbo presence. A weekly event perhaps, more Habbo-related articles etc.

I agree with Charlie that it's nice to see managers not avoid this forum.

Thank you for those ideas... Maybe talking with Drewar and Izzy about reaching out to the HxL crew to build a bridge there. I also agree with the habbo presence. Now when you say weekly events; Do you mean something that can be connected with events solely, or what do you mean by this? I love the idea, I just would like to know how to implement that more.

[Inseriousity.]

for instance I hosted weakest link type event where all the questions were about the previous week's news.
you don't have to do that again (it had its flaws, mainly only limited number of places) but y'know something similar can boost the dept as well as helping events out

[scottish]

SNQ but based on current affairs for the past week.

[Kyle]

I don't read articles on habbox for current affairs that I can read about elsewhere. I like the personalised articles that have been posted on the forum, particularly by ripieoono or w.e, because they actually encourage thinking and promote discussion. More engaging articles that we can't read just anywhere pls

[Empired]

What are your thoughts on trying to connect articles to habboxlive? Would it be something in your case since you go onto habboxlive.com that would be beneficial for you to have access to articles there? Maybe it is something for management/site coders to look into.
I just meant I only use habboxlive.com and habboxforum.com, never habbox.com so if the articles aren't on the forum I don't see them.

I don't know if it would be beneficial to have articles linked with the hxl site or not. I s'pose you could have a little box a bit like the latest posts box on hx.com showing users the latest articles, but I don't know how beneficial that would be.

Agree with Kyle. If writers want to talk about current affairs, they need to put a personal spin on the story. It's not good enough to just copy and paste (not literally obviously) an article from the BBC website and pop it on habbox, writers need to add their opinions, give it a funny twist or something to make it different from every other site posting that same piece of news.
I'd also like to see more non-news related articles such as the one Ripieno did ages ago about adption, perhaps some on charities (particularly at this time of year), reactions to TV shows (last night's Question Time being a prime example), etc.

And I'd like to see Mike's idea of a weekly event on Habbo linked to news/the articles department in some way.

[Brad]

Hey Everyone! I want to revive this feedback thread I created at the beginning of December. Since we are now into 2015 I'd like to ask;
What are some things you would like to see done from the Articles Department?

All feedback is welcomed. I'd love to know how the last six months have gone (since I've been manager since August).
What are some strengths that the Articles Department has?
What are some areas of improvement?
What are some things that would make Articles more appealing?

Thanks everyone in advanced for your feedback. If there is any miss-worded stuff.. Forgive me, I am on my iPad and sometimes you just can't catch everything.

Thanks. :)

[Empired]

What are some things you would like to see done from the Articles Department?
All writers to work more closely with The Box. Perhaps this should be mandatory seeing as The Box is basically the Habbox newspaper and you're the articles department. If this were the case, articles writers should be online snooping about in the Help Desk, in events, etc. looking for interesting stories (much like the one about Pyroka getting around in December's issue of the box) that would involve and interest Habbox members.


I'd love to know how the last six months have gone (since I've been manager since August).
The department has very slowly been improving but I still think it's not advertised enough. I love the introduction of articles on the forum, though.


What are some strengths that the Articles Department has?
Honestly? Potential. It could be a bustling department. Articles is one of the few departments not really affected by Habbo's dwindling popularity because real life news/stories/opinions never fade.


What are some areas of improvement?
I'll say it again and again: forum presence. Encourage all writers to have signatures related to the department, come up with activities that really get the community involved rather than just reading and then clicking away again (the Advent Calendar was an extremely good idea for this reason IMO) and don't be afraid to get rid of any dead weight. I'd rather see a small amount of good quality articles than a larger amount of mediocre (née boring) articles.


What are some things that would make Articles more appealing?
Recruit older members who are probably more confident when it comes to writing controversial articles or articles that promote discussion. Articles is normally full of young members who are enthusiastic but, well, boring when it comes down to writing... I'm not saying get rid of all newbies, but I'd like to see a mix rather than all "fresh" faces. I can see some people on this forum writing some truly hilarious pieces!
Leading on from that, cut out all articles that simply report news. If I wanted to find out about the attacks on Sony Pictures (http://habbox.com/#!/News/article/2331) I'd go to BBC news or somewhere similar. I think if an Articles Writer wants to write about a real "news" event, they should have to offer their own opinion. An interesting opinion is the only thing that separates Habbox.com from every other news site in the world. (I'm not saying no other site offers opinion, I'm saying opinions will vary whereas the facts will not.) So if a writer wants to do something on a current real life event, they should be made to post it in that Articles Staff Only section and wait for the go-ahead before they're allowed to post it on the main site. If you, Brad, or your head writers think it's just a reworded account of a news story, do not allow it.

That sounds harsh but I'm sick of seeing articles about something I read about two days ago on the BBC news site.

Hope this helps x I just started typing without stopping in that last paragraph so if it doesn't make sense, feel free to ask and I'll explain when it's not 11:17 at night!

[Brad]

All writers to work more closely with The Box. Perhaps this should be mandatory seeing as The Box is basically the Habbox newspaper and you're the articles department. If this were the case, articles writers should be online snooping about in the Help Desk, in events, etc. looking for interesting stories (much like the one about Pyroka getting around in December's issue of the box) that would involve and interest Habbox members.

I actually really like that idea, and I totally agree with you. I think that you have a valid reason there and maybe that could be implemented. I am going to be keeping this active, and maybe even keeping me accountable in this one because honestly (and I agree).. the Box is Habbox's Newspaper...and what better people to write in it are the Article Writers.



The department has very slowly been improving but I still think it's not advertised enough. I love the introduction of articles on the forum, though.

Honestly? Potential. It could be a bustling department. Articles is one of the few departments not really affected by Habbo's dwindling popularity because real life news/stories/opinions never fade.


I'll say it again and again: forum presence. Encourage all writers to have signatures related to the department, come up with activities that really get the community involved rather than just reading and then clicking away again (the Advent Calendar was an extremely good idea for this reason IMO) and don't be afraid to get rid of any dead weight. I'd rather see a small amount of good quality articles than a larger amount of mediocre (née boring) articles.

It's actually funny that you say this. I'll just spill the beans now since It's almost complete to bring forward but might as well say it. For the last couple weeks I have been working non-stop in making my version of "Conversation Starters"... It is a forum based article system that requires writers to make articles in different categories of the forum. Right now we have 21 different category conversation starter banners being made, and along side that I am creating redirections that will enable users to click on the icon to move from one article to the next.
Essentially this will open up a new side of Articles that will be focused solely on the forum (Which I think was something that was requested earlier in December that I took and ran with). Also with this, I will be trying to implement a 1:1 Ratio... because I don't want to loose the actual habbox.com part.. but I will be trying to bridge a gap backwards... (going from forum to habbox.com instead of the other way around... if that makes sense)


Recruit older members who are probably more confident when it comes to writing controversial articles or articles that promote discussion. Articles is normally full of young members who are enthusiastic but, well, boring when it comes down to writing... I'm not saying get rid of all newbies, but I'd like to see a mix rather than all "fresh" faces. I can see some people on this forum writing some truly hilarious pieces!
Leading on from that, cut out all articles that simply report news. If I wanted to find out about the attacks on Sony Pictures (http://habbox.com/#!/News/article/2331) I'd go to BBC news or somewhere similar. I think if an Articles Writer wants to write about a real "news" event, they should have to offer their own opinion. An interesting opinion is the only thing that separates Habbox.com from every other news site in the world. (I'm not saying no other site offers opinion, I'm saying opinions will vary whereas the facts will not.) So if a writer wants to do something on a current real life event, they should be made to post it in that Articles Staff Only section and wait for the go-ahead before they're allowed to post it on the main site. If you, Brad, or your head writers think it's just a reworded account of a news story, do not allow it.
I totally agree with that... and it's funny that you say that because I had been talking to Laura and I have requested on making "Guest Articles Writers" now.. before you get the wrong impression on that let me explain;
I know with the "Guest submissions" where you'd send in your piece and then if by chance the manager (me) likes it, and approves it, then it goes on... well with the actual "Guest Articles Writers" you get your perms to post articles freely. I know that there are fantastic writers out on this forum, and I totally agree that the veterans of both the forum and the Articles department are still writing fantastic pieces. I think what this will entail is seeking out myself and PMing those who have really strong articles/postings and offer it to them.
And like every other Guest position it does have requirements and what-not but I think it may offer to bring back some of the older writers.

And to bring back the conversation starters; I am starting this forum base feature in articles because I feel it is a great incentive to the writers to not only get their post count up, but it also will allow the forum to become more active with larger amount of threads being created, but it gives opportunities to those forum users to be apart of habbox that maybe choose not to because it involves them moving away from the forum (if that makes sense)


That sounds harsh but I'm sick of seeing articles about something I read about two days ago on the BBC news site.

Hope this helps x I just started typing without stopping in that last paragraph so if it doesn't make sense, feel free to ask and I'll explain when it's not 11:17 at night!
I don't find it harsh at all. I expect honesty and I appreciate all of it. I will definitely take everything you've said into consideration and I am always open to what you have to say... so thank you.