The 'Shroom:Issue XCIII/Director Election

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Debates
None yet!

Super Mario Bros. / Edofenrir
I would like to announce my candidacy for Director of The 'Shroom. As a longtime Core Staff member, including having been the Director from January 2011 through January 2014, I understand what it takes to properly lead the paper and which policies to implement in order to foster the growth of this project. My running mate, better-known as Edofenrir, is also a former Core Staff member and served a cumulative year and a half as my Sub-director. I have asked him to serve in this capacity again not only because he is the best person for the job; he is somebody I can trust to manage the operations of the newsletter should I be unable to carry out my responsibilities for any reason.

I am running for my old position again because while the content we provide each month is quality, it is evident that the newsletter is starting to stagnate– we have seen few writers sign up this year, our viewership is mostly decreasing and overall interest in the paper has been declining. We see it in the lack of sections each month, low turnout in our monthly forum polls and lack of discussion in the community. There is nobody to fault for this slower period, and everybody on the team has done their best to provide the best content possible each month. It is clear, however, that The 'Shroom needs to enjoy different trends than the ones it is experiencing now.

To quote my mentor and close friend from his second Director Election campaign in December 2009, "[We need to] make people want to read The 'Shroom. Too long the paper has went without the attention it deserves. It's time to bring that back. . . . It's time for The 'Shroom to reach a golden era." His words ring true again today&mdash; we need to implement ideas that will allow for a renewed interest in the paper. My plans will do just that. My proposals for next year are the following:


 * Outreach will be a priority. Our old e-mail subscription program will be restarted, and vigorous social media campaigns will be launched on Facebook and Twitter in order to attract attention and expand our viewership. We will also make full use of our forum board, the Sitenotice and to make sure that current 'Shroom readers are kept up-to-date with 'Shroom-related information such as vacant positions.
 * A simple and flexible meetings schedule will be produced. Staff members will meet at least once a month in the chat in order to discuss plans in real-time. Public chat meetings to receive feedback on certain ideas from the dedicated readers, writers and community members might also be considered as well.
 * Our older issues will be maintained. We should go over each archived issue to make sure the coding is updated, external images uploaded to the wiki and other various steps are taken to ensure that their original appearance is kept. We can start this year by making it a wiki collaboration: team up with the many editors of this wiki who are looking for projects to contribute to.
 * As Superchao did this year, I will accept applications for vacant staff positions. Most current staff members will be invited back to serve in their position for another year, and any vacancies will be filled through an applications system. This allows members of our community to come forward and demonstrate their interest in helping out The 'Shroom and share their experiences.
 * The 'Shroom and the Awards Committee will continue to enjoy a strong relationship. I plan to work with, , and the Awards Committee to promote the Anniversary ceremonies. I also support an idea by Edofenrir to run 'Shroom Awards voting on the newsletter's Main Page to increase the amount of votes we receive this year without sacrificing the quality that comes with an informed voting body.
 * Sub-teams will see Core Staff support. Reviving interest in our sub-teams will require a focused effort to improve their individual situations. Linking them with contests, competitions, and our heightened promotion efforts will allow for all sectors of The 'Shroom to expand and develop healthily.
 * Feedback Surveys will be held regularly. Readers and writers alike will be able to share their opinions on the processes of The 'Shroom from time to time in regularly-scheduled surveys that will be overseen by our Statistics Manager. One of these surveys will be launched during Issue C and will feature questions regarding the special issue.
 * We will get rid of the cumbersome Single Page design. The current page is difficult to maintain (and as of late, even create), bulky and relatively inconvenient. We will invest focus into our main issue page instead to improve its functionality.
 * Events will be run in order to improve interactivity. Several years ago, the staff made it a point to run or promote tournaments and competitions. These events attract attention and encourage participation in our newsletter, which is why the staff will host more activities like these in the coming year.
 * Our Achievements project will be revitalized. Not only will we update this project and award Achievements to our newer writers, we plan to overhaul the project into something better than what it was. This project could very well be an incentive to get our readers to become active contributors and participants, and can breed an environment of appreciation for doing so.
 * The planning for Issue C will begin immediately in January. I will open up a suggestions box that will be included in every issue from February onward so that readers can tell us what they want to see. Issue C will be the biggest and best issue to date.

We are entering an important era of our paper– we are quickly approaching our one hundredth issue. The 'Shroom needs leaders that will be able to balance the priorities of planning this important edition, maintaining overall issue and section quality, and assembling a team of Core Staff and contributors that will secure the future of the paper. A framework for success has been established in the past several years, one which will allow for writers with great ideas to express their creativity. All it takes from here are the right policies and energy invested to build upon that foundation. If you elect me and Edofenrir to lead the newsletter, we will do what it takes to ensure The 'Shroom starts to enjoy the growth and prosperity that it deserves.

Votes

 * 1) Having worked for this man before I can say with 100% certainty that he will make a fine director