So I was thinking about this ever since my last website feedback thread. I was talking to a few of the users here about the Game DB believe it or not and how it used to work. I was never able to experience it during its hayday, but I love what I've heard about it from more experienced users. Specifically, it did a lot to convince me of the benefits of having such a strong focus on our community.
Not one to just leave something alone, I've been having this idea churning. Unlike most of mine, however, I'm not sure if this would work, or if it's a good idea, but I think it might be. I do advise anyone reading this to read it through to the end though, because I plan on addressing some of the more obvious concerns here.
So when learning about the Game DB, I discovered that it was a community driven database for cataloging games. Users would submit their edits and games to the GDB, the GDB admits would check to make sure everything was okay, and then the games or changes would be submitted. Because it awarded members with the equivalent of "points," members were motivated to keep the database up to date, and it's clear even years later that it was a much beloved feature of the site.
At the same time, I've been thinking about the site, and my proposition to focus more of the layout on the articles provided here. But I'm a realist, and I started thinking. We have outstanding writers here. I myself aspire to one day be apart of the writing team here, so trust me when I say that I hold them to high regard. But I have to be honest, the flow of articles isn't the most consistent. What I mean to say is that the rate by which articles are posted isn't frequent enough. Now I don't think it's anyone's fault. It just the reality of having to staff freelancers. It just isn't realistic or fair to expect them to compete with news gaming sites in how frequently they write content. And at this point, it also isn't realistic to expect VGC to be able to afford a team of writers dedicated to writing news on that kind of schedule. So VGC is sort of between a rock and a hard place. I want the site to give more of a spot light on the articles, but doing so at this stage would expose just how understaffed we are.
A user posted something a few months ago that stood out to me. It was honestly a little rude, but true - he mentioned how the forums here will oftentimes post news hours before they ever get an actual article here. And it's true. They do. And we all know that, but the two situation are obviously incomparable. One is posting the bare minimum for free to spark discussion, while another is a freelancer putting in the work to maintain a level of quality in their spare time. They aren't making a living off it. But still, that stood out to me.
And I thought about that this morning. And then I thought about the game DB. And then it hit me.
What if submitting news articles worked like submitting something in the old Game DB?
Now I want to specify. Not editorials. Not reviews. Not interviews. Not sales numbers. Just news. Just telling people that something happened. Now maybe I'm off on this, but news articles typically take the least skill in writing to make. All you're doing is delivering information in a consumable and legible way. Why not let the community do this? Why not allow the community to contribute to the articles in a less formal way? Like with the game DB. We'd still have writers for the bigger stuff, but it might be beneficial to allow users to submit news articles. Almost like a videogame equivalent to Buzzfeed.
Only curated.
Just like the way that the GDB had Admins, this program could have mod elected Editors. These editors would have to apply, just like any position, and it would be their job to select the user submitted articles that get posted. They'd make sure that the info was legit, that the article isn't plagiarized, that the news is well written, and that everything was properly sourced. They'd edit any minor thing that needed to be edited, and they'd post the news to the site. If you're article is selected, you get points for it, on top of credit obviously.
With this, the theory goes that VGC will always have news articles that posted as timely as possible in the highest quality possible. Then the writers can focus on writing articles that are more time consuming. It would take pressure off them to write about things like how Phil Spencer said something about someone.
What do you guys think, though? Could something like this work? Would it be fair? The people writing these news wouldn't be payed, and neither would the Editors. It would all be volunteer. I'm not necessarily set on this, but I can't really see a downside. I think it would be an excellent way to generate user activity and participation, it would be a great way to train potential writers here, and it would be a way to allow for more timely news articles. I want to here your thoughts though. If you can think of any reasons why this isn't a good idea, mouth off here. I might agree, and there might be something I haven't thought of, but I'm ready to debate if I disagree lol so be warned! I'm mostly trying to get a feel for if something like this could work. If VGC want a focus to be on our community, this would be an excellent way to do it.
