This got really long and doesn't really cover everything I have in mind. The short version: We're going to get off our butts and make the Phoenyx the first-class service it ought to be. Chats resume May 1st. The long version: First, an introduction, as some of you are new to volunteering on the Phoenyx. Karen and I (being the co-owners of the Phoenyx, which is a not-for-profit, devoid-of-income hobby of ours; it's Karen's baby, she does the coding and overall direction, I handle the hardware, OS, network and games) view the Phoenyx as a service to players and lurkers. You, the gamemasters, are volunteers helping to provide this service. That is, you aren't our customer, you're part of the inner-circle that makes the Phoenyx work, and you are our most valuable asset. In light of this, we've been working toward building a "community"... a feeling of belonging to a group and some "brand loyalty" among our users. In addition to gamemasters, we need other volunteers to help manage and improve the Phoenyx. We're having trouble recruiting and keeping them though. Our gamemasters already have a job to do, but we need at least your input on things. Lately, I'm starting to feel like Karen and I are having stagnation problems here... things aren't developing fast enough and we're not handling the work-load well. The Phoenyx just isn't becoming what we want it to become. Not only that, it's difficult to even let it "coast" because there's a lot of work involved just to keep the status quo. Awhile back, we were doing weekly organizational chats... Karen started calling them Town Meetings, I think. They were useful in determining our vision, what we wanted out of the Phoenyx and where it was headed. But in the end they stopped being productive. One of the reasons we quit having weekly chats was because they were producing lots of ideas that couldn't be used until we were ready for technical implementation... and Karen's schedule has been such that she's not finding as much time to work on the code as she used to. (There're a lot of factors, not the least of which was becoming a mother and homemaker... the amount of free time we get in front of the computers has decreased, especially since she used to code on Firehawk from work when things were slow.) I'm thinking we need to resume a regular chat (maybe not weekly, but regularly), focusing not on things that require the new software but on things we can work with now. My primary concern right now is with the game application process, and recruiting and training volunteers. For some time now I've been wanting to revamp the application process... it doesn't present the right info to the applicant and doesn't ask for the right info any more, as our evaluation process has evolved but the application hasn't. That's where I'd like to start. I also think there's a lot of community issues we can address without the technical advancements we're looking for in the new software. I think we can move into those after we address applications. (I also think we can use the Wiki (http://www.phoenyx.net/twiki/) for a lot of the things we discussed before, like "home pages" for each game category.) I suppose tonight is too short a notice for a chat. Next Wednesday is Karen and my 10th wedding anniversary, so no chat then, eh? So I'm going to shoot for May 1st, 8 CDT. I'll find a European-friendly time to schedule a regular chat as well. One of us might be in chat tonight after 8 CDT, though Nathan's 9 o'clock bedtime complicates that. Drop by just to chat if you like, or we can even talk business. Meera, are you still with us as administrative assistant? (I'm building an area on the Wiki for the chat logs and such , which will make it very simple for you to manage the information.) You can find out about our MOO chat server here... http://www.phoenyx.net/chat/ The Volunteers home page on the Wiki is here... http://www.phoenyx.net/cgi-bin/twiki/bin/view/Volunteers/WebHome -- -------------------------------------------------------------- Game(s): Fudge, Worldmaking, Fantasy Co-Editor, Phoenyx Co-Owner Listowner tools are found at http://www.phoenyx.net/listowners/
