The 'Shroom talk:Issue 114/Awards Director Election

Awards Committee Director Campaigns

Here is where you can post your campaign! Have fun.

Anton / Turb
Heya guys, we're here to briefly tell you who we are (if you don't know) and what we've got to bring to the annual awards ceremony!

We are Anton and Turb, two people who have been around this community for many years involved in all kinds of things, most importantly both having been Awards Directors in the past. If you hang around chat at all you'll be sure to see both of us there pretty much constantly, and you've probably played some games with us at some point.

For the next year we've talked out some things and decided that the best course of action to take would be one of maintaining the status quo. In the last few years the Awards Ceremony and all of the events surrounding it have blown up larger than before and have what we believe to have peaked for what our current level of activity and management is. This is not to say it won't ever get bigger again, but rather that we intend to hone in and perfect what we've got going for us now before we dive into the deep end.

We want to make sure the awards will stay strong in 2017 without burning out anyone. We are looking forward to your support if you wish to give us that chance.

Both of us have years of experience directly involved in running the Awards Committee and ceremony events, but below you'll find a more expanded list of our qualifications, kept brief to what's relevant to the position, as well as a basic outline of some thoughts and plans for the upcoming year.

Relevant Experience
Anton (Director):
 * Current Co-Drector of the MarioWiki Anniversary Awards Committee (Mario Awards IX - 2015, Mario Awards X - 2016)
 * Awards Committee member (2011 – 2016 (Mario Awards VI – X)).
 * Current #mwchat Founder (June 2014 – Present) and Admin (3 November, 2010 – Present)
 * Current Userpedia Steward (18 November, 2012 – Present); Sysop (2 March, 2012 – Present), Bureaucrat (18 Nov, 2012 – Present)
 * UP Awards Host (2014, 2015); User Awards Host (2016)
 * Current 'Shroom Critic Corner Director (Issue 112 – Present); 'Shroom Contributor (Issue LXXXVII – Present)

Turb (Sub-Director):
 * Current Fail Awards Host (2016), and Former Director of the MarioWiki Anniversary Awards Committee (2012 – 2014)
 * Current Sysop (19 March, 2014 – Present) and former MarioWiki Patroller (30 April, 2013 – 19 March, 2014)
 * Former ‘Shroom Sub-Director (October 2013–January 2015)
 * Current #mwchat Admin (5 July 2010 – Present)
 * Current Userpedia Patroller (March 2015–Present) and former Userpedia Sysop (October 2009)

Plans
We seem to have found a formula that works in the last couple years, so as stated above not too much will drastically change aside from a few management details:
 * The midway checkpoint to gauge progress and catch early dropouts for presentations continued to be very useful so we plan on making this an Awards staple.
 * A suggestions box at the beginning and end of each awards year has been a good source of insight and ideas, so it will be used again.
 * 65 awards are currently planned again (30A, 15F, 10U, 10S) but we are open to discussion on amounts while keeping in mind proper balance and maintenance.
 * User and ‘Shroom dossiers with the polls located on the page have helped maintain voter quality so these will be maintained.
 * Rotating the polls on the main page of the wiki has been checked out and proven to be a key factor in pulling in the record-breaking polling numbers we received in 2016, so we will continue to partner with the Poll Committee to see this through in 2017.
 * Meetings will be scheduled on alternating days to avoid conflicting meeting and release dates of The ‘Shroom, as well as other potential factors. All other scheduled dates and times are free to be discussed by the AC unless already predetermined.

There are some improvements that could be made, of course, which we plan to work with the AC to develop and implement:
 * Awards Committee applications and size limit:
 * This will genuinely be the biggest shake up. We plan on limiting the AC size to roughly 10-15 hard-working committed members as vetted through an application and selection process that will occur a month or so before meetings start.
 * Meetings will remain public, of course, so anyone is free to join and provide commentary and insight during scheduled chat meetings or within the public awards board once it is created.
 * Tournaments:
 * Deadlines were met better this year than last, but we will continue trying to find ways to manage this more cleanly.
 * At this moment in time it's hard to say if what we did this year was effective in curbing the wild token economy inflation, but from what it looks like it's certainly been dampened, so we will continue to monitor this and come up with sustainable solutions that are fair.
 * Activity:
 * With a good portion of our active forum community and the audience who show the most interest in the Anniversary events aging into high school and college years, as well as beyond that into adult life, putting a lot of focus into working on presentations and tournaments isn't as feasible as it once was in the past.
 * This certainly isn't any indication of a declining community, but rather a shift in priorities and focus; as a result this may lead to relatively dramatic decisions such as a cut in total awards numbers, or a decreased or shifted focus on tournaments, but regardless of what this is any idea will be presented in front of the AC to be discussed and agreed upon.

And don't fret! Both Edo and 2257 have talked with us and would like to still be part of this campaign in some form as time goes on, helping out in a capacity such as Fail Awards Host, technical support, etc.

If this sounds good to you and you trust us with the handling of the Mario Awards XI, we will be delighted to have your vote!

Thank you very much, and here’s to another successful awards celebration in 2017!