1
I'm Really Not Scary
Posted by
Cederak
,
Feb 12 2013
·
90 views
So now that I've gotten the overly-dramatic, overly-formal open letter of the ECC out of the way and provided that version of a response, I'm ready to give the more personal explanation.
I served in <daydreamer>'s ECC for a very long time. Back then, I longed to one day run the ECC for myself, overseeing the business of getting reviews to people and inspiring them, really helping them along and working together as a community of epic writers. In late 2011, my wish was fulfilled. I sent in the proper information to Hahli Husky via PM, and I was granted permission to start the sixth incarnation of the ECC. During the second half of 2012, however, I began to prepare for the impending change in my life – the March 19 deadline where I could no longer take an active role in anything BZPower-related.
During this time, I looked for a successor, someone who would tend to the ECC and ensure it was managed honorably and efficiently. I made this decision in fear that someone else would go to Hahli Husky with the aforementioned "proper information" and start an ECC that was lacking. In a sense, I hired a babysitter, someone who shared my values of the ECC that would allow me to eventually return to it in the very same condition I left it in. I wanted the position of ECC director for so long, and letting go can be difficult sometimes.
Around the same time as my search for this successor, I came up with an idea one afternoon. The ECC was generating very little traffic and I wanted to keep the members active. When they first joined the ECC, they volunteered to review work and I wanted to provide a selective service that would ensure the ECC was constantly giving back to the community they wished to serve.
I could say a lot about hindsight right now, but that seems like it might deserve another entry entirely. The real answer to the ECC's problem was recently thrown at us. The first part of that problem stemmed from being overcritical in certain areas. Now, there was some commentary about my fellow ECC members and how they approach a critique. I'm not here to address that, as I have nothing but respect for them. That's not to say I can't own up to my own issues in reviewing, and the lines I've crossed. I've felt myself mentally clocking out already, preparing for the change ahead in my life. The simple answer is that I should've quit if I felt my conviction waning. Again, letting go can be difficult.
The second part of the ECC's problem is how that overcritical mindset appears to have been a driving force in the epic sub-forum's decline. It suggested people were scared of the ECC, put off by the lengthy criticisms and negative words to the point that they weren't reviewing or even writing in some cases. Truth be told, I don't find myself particularly scary at all.
At the end of the day, I made an effort to have the ECC seem approachable. Come talk to us. Shoot me a PM. Ask me questions. Basically, tell me what your problems with the ECC are and I would love to work with you to see that idea realized. My days are limited here, but if I spend some of that time just chatting with people, reminding them that the ECC is always trying to improve, reminding them that they shouldn't have to feel like they have to go over our heads to the staff, I'd be okay with that.
When I leave in thirty-some days, I want to be happy with how I leave the ECC behind. But the best way of doing that is by knowing the epic sub-forum is happy with how I'm leaving the ECC behind. So please, PM me. If you didn't like a review you got, whether it was one you asked for or not, tell me. If a friend complained to you that they didn't like a review they got, tell me. If there's anything that bugs you about the ECC, tell me. I'm completely willing to work with you in finding a common ground, and I think I'd prefer a PM that reads "I don't like you or the current person in charge or how the ECC is run" to anymore silence from the sub-forum I serve. But I'm not a mind reader, so I decided to make an attempt at starting a dialogue here.
Anyway, my Inbox is always open to hear your questions, comments, and concerns.
-Ced
I served in <daydreamer>'s ECC for a very long time. Back then, I longed to one day run the ECC for myself, overseeing the business of getting reviews to people and inspiring them, really helping them along and working together as a community of epic writers. In late 2011, my wish was fulfilled. I sent in the proper information to Hahli Husky via PM, and I was granted permission to start the sixth incarnation of the ECC. During the second half of 2012, however, I began to prepare for the impending change in my life – the March 19 deadline where I could no longer take an active role in anything BZPower-related.
During this time, I looked for a successor, someone who would tend to the ECC and ensure it was managed honorably and efficiently. I made this decision in fear that someone else would go to Hahli Husky with the aforementioned "proper information" and start an ECC that was lacking. In a sense, I hired a babysitter, someone who shared my values of the ECC that would allow me to eventually return to it in the very same condition I left it in. I wanted the position of ECC director for so long, and letting go can be difficult sometimes.
Around the same time as my search for this successor, I came up with an idea one afternoon. The ECC was generating very little traffic and I wanted to keep the members active. When they first joined the ECC, they volunteered to review work and I wanted to provide a selective service that would ensure the ECC was constantly giving back to the community they wished to serve.
I could say a lot about hindsight right now, but that seems like it might deserve another entry entirely. The real answer to the ECC's problem was recently thrown at us. The first part of that problem stemmed from being overcritical in certain areas. Now, there was some commentary about my fellow ECC members and how they approach a critique. I'm not here to address that, as I have nothing but respect for them. That's not to say I can't own up to my own issues in reviewing, and the lines I've crossed. I've felt myself mentally clocking out already, preparing for the change ahead in my life. The simple answer is that I should've quit if I felt my conviction waning. Again, letting go can be difficult.
The second part of the ECC's problem is how that overcritical mindset appears to have been a driving force in the epic sub-forum's decline. It suggested people were scared of the ECC, put off by the lengthy criticisms and negative words to the point that they weren't reviewing or even writing in some cases. Truth be told, I don't find myself particularly scary at all.
At the end of the day, I made an effort to have the ECC seem approachable. Come talk to us. Shoot me a PM. Ask me questions. Basically, tell me what your problems with the ECC are and I would love to work with you to see that idea realized. My days are limited here, but if I spend some of that time just chatting with people, reminding them that the ECC is always trying to improve, reminding them that they shouldn't have to feel like they have to go over our heads to the staff, I'd be okay with that.
When I leave in thirty-some days, I want to be happy with how I leave the ECC behind. But the best way of doing that is by knowing the epic sub-forum is happy with how I'm leaving the ECC behind. So please, PM me. If you didn't like a review you got, whether it was one you asked for or not, tell me. If a friend complained to you that they didn't like a review they got, tell me. If there's anything that bugs you about the ECC, tell me. I'm completely willing to work with you in finding a common ground, and I think I'd prefer a PM that reads "I don't like you or the current person in charge or how the ECC is run" to anymore silence from the sub-forum I serve. But I'm not a mind reader, so I decided to make an attempt at starting a dialogue here.
Anyway, my Inbox is always open to hear your questions, comments, and concerns.
-Ced
But hey, getting results! This is progress!
Pfft...
Sorry, I was just trying to picture what you'd be like if you were scary.
I imagined you in a bear suit jumping out of bushes screaming.
It was not scary at all. =P
Anyway, I will send you a PM about what I think regarding the ECC.