The 'Shroom:Issue 175/Staff Notes

Staff Notes Written by: and



Hello, all of you readers of The 'Shroom, and welcome to a very special October issue of the paper! What makes this issue special? Well, not only does it fall smack dab in the middle of issue 175 and a hypothetical issue 200, meaning we're well on our way to another huge milestone, but this issue falls in the 15th year of The 'Shroom's operation! It's hard to believe, isn't it? I doubt anyone had, when this paper started, any expectation that The 'Shroom would still be going strong fifteen years later, but he were are, almost old enough to start driving in the United States!

I am incredibly proud of this community, and how long its members have come together to work on projects like this, to encourage each other, and to let their creativity shine. Now, with the paper in its fifteenth year, we have a great chance to look forward to the future, to continue welcoming and inviting folks into our community, to talk with them and help them become a part of the projects we have here, to set them on a path of taking on the leadership roles we have in this community to keep our projects and traditions going. Let's continue to encourage our fellow community members, and keep this community vibrant and growing, everyone!

I don't really need to call for that here, though, do I? We already have plenty of folks going out of their way to contribute to this community, including folks working on special sections for our paper. I think we ought to celebrate those folks, so why don't you take a look at our trick-or-treating activity to go meet a few of our writers? If you can't get out to trick-or-treat for real this year, or just want the experience without actually having to leave your house, be sure to take a look at The 'Shroom's trick-or-treating guide this year, and knock on the doors of our writers and staff members so they can share the candy they've prepared for you. Our writers took time to submit information to us so we could make this little activity for you, and put a ton of work into making the graphical assets for this activity, so, please, don't miss it! I know they'll all appreciate you taking a look.

Speaking of folks who worked hard on a project you should take a look at, don't miss the 12th Poll Committee's Awards Analysis! Your Poll Committee this year, under the command of Ray Trace and Luigi 64DD, have once again set out to take over the world analyze all of the results in our annual Awards Ceremony, so give it a read when you finish collecting your candy.

There's a few other special features you should look at alongside our usual six teams and Spotlight, but I'll let Rose tell you about them. I've kept you from getting to the rest of the issue long enough, and, besides, I have a few more issues to start working on. November will bring our Awards Director Election, and, in December, we'll have one more big special issue to finish out 2021!

Now, please notice that issue 176 will stray from the "third Saturday of the month" rule of thumb. Issue 176 will be releasing on November 13th, which is the second Saturday of the month, but which is still four weeks away. This means we'll have the usual four weeks for our regular issue in November, and will then have five weeks to work on our special issue in December. In other words, while it sounds like it will come early, you'll have the usual amount of time to work. We'll make sure all reminders are sent out promptly this next month so nobody is caught by surprise!

That's for Rose and me to think about and manage, though. All you need to do is go and read the issue already in front of you!

&mdash;Hooded Pitohui, Director



Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! October is upon is already, and it makes me feel like time isn't real! But you know what is totally, definitely real? All of the ghost sightings around The 'Shroom HQ. They say that when the Halloween moon is at its fullest, the spirits of the past 'Shroom writers will rise from their proverbial graves and haunt again! What? Of course this is a real story I didn't just make up on the spot! Honest, I saw last year with my own eyes!

You might have noticed we have quite the large sampling of sections for you this issue. Firstly, I must implore you to check in with your favorite teams and see if they have any new offerings for you. There's a good likelihood you'll discover some brand new sections! For highlights this month, though, we have two very special, 'Shroom dedication sections. The first one is best left as a surprise, so all I'll say here is make sure to pop over to Wahn Special 'Shroom Song to listen for yourself. The other one is a thoughtful collections of segments organized by, with messages from our writers about their experiences with the 'Shroom in honor of 15 years! Please give them all a read, and learn a bit more about how the 'Shroom resonates with those who work directly on it.

It's late. My eyes are tired. I've eaten an entire carton of Ben & Jerry's in twenty minutes. Help me.

Oh, and please enjoy the rest of what we have in store for this edition of The 'Shroom! Congratulations on 15 awesome years, everyone!

&mdash;Roserade, Sub-Director