Image Designer Archive
Thread: Expectations for an Image Designer correspondent
I agree that it is not constructive for us to flame each other. Forums are very sticky places to communicate. It is difficult to read a person's tone, and you can be gone for as little as a day and miss vital information. Although this topic has come up now and then, Moonlilly is the one that has really brought it up to the forefront of discussion, all starting with avery politeplea to Rilawyn to explain her absence, and later listing her expectations for a correspondent and again asking for explanation from Rilawyn. She kept us informed of the steps she was taking which included pm'ing Q-3PO about her concerns after yet another week of silence, then pm'ing Thunderheart and encouraging others to do so.The latest posts in this forumon the topic of Rilawyn, including some by Image Designers who have never seen the need to post before, only highlight the incredible frustration we have all felt over essentially having no representation.
I have seen this topic come up in the past over and over again and each time itfizzles away and eventually dies when Rilawyndoes a rash of posts over a one to three day period. Each time she promises to be more involved and we are leftlistening to crickets.The "I'mstill here" postappeared on the forum the same day I sent her a tell in game asking if she had resigned because I honestly thought she must haveto have been absent from the forum for such a long time.To the casual dev visitor we all seem perfectly content.
So I disagree that our unanswered questions and disappointment should be restricted to pm's and in gametells as they have in the past. I do agree that we should try to proceed in a constructive manner as far as agreeing to disagree about our approach.
Although his presentation was a little rough around the edges 
I did agree with Alter's suggestion that we concentrate our efforts on delineating what our expectations are for the correspondent position and whether or not we each feel that those needs have been or are being met.It is probable that this matter will be looked into by a dev, and so I would like to urgeeach and every Image Designer reading this to post your realisticexpectations for an Image Designer correspondent here, so we can have an up to date andorganized (in that it is all in one threaddevoted for that purpose)presentation. Many of you are probably thinking that this is redundant (and for many of you you are right) but I think it will be valuable to have our thoughts concentrated in one place, and toprovide anopportunity to thosewho have not voiced their thoughts yet tosay how they feel. So far only a very small minority of our community has posted on this matter that affects us all.
I've already posted my expectations way back in the "I'm still here" thread, so I'll just copy/paste:
As for my expectations concerning our correspondent, here's what is important to me personally:
- regular posts on this forum(not spam, mind you). Once a week minimum.
- Sticky topics on image design FAQs, stickies containing links to image design web sites if possible, stickies about the top 5 issues of our profession (as have been posted months ago already on other profession forums).
- keeping the community up-to-date about the ongoing communication or lack thereof with the devs. A simple reply to a thread containing good ideas stating "great input, thank you folks - I lead it on to the devs" goes a long way. Also, a feedback post stating "Sorry, no news yet for us" goes a long way.
- creating important threads and gathering *actively* opinions on important image design issues. I saw that currently, "state of the profession" threads are being collected, and have been posted already by CHs, medics, chefs, entertainers etc. Where's the image design post?
- being willing to resign when they know that they cannot fulfill these tasks to our satisfaction anymore, or at the very least, a post of a "vote of confidence", giving the regular posters the chance to vote for one of 2 - 3 possible correspondents - 1 of them being the current correspondent. This willingness to give up the job when they know they can't do it shows the dedication of a correspondent to their profession. Also, forwarding the result of the poll to the developers and asking to be replaced by the person who was chosen if necessary.
JuJutsu wrote:
Following Kwee's post makes this a piece of cake.
/agree with Kwee
lol JuJutsu. Too true.
I'vehave to admit I've never read that stickied post on correspondents. But it sure seems to have it allcovered. Go Q! I can't say as I've changed my view at all from what I posted before on what I'mhoping for with a correspondent. So I'll also cut and paste what I said before...
I think a correspondent, in addition to having a good working knowledge of the profession they represent,needs to wear a number of different hats. They need to be part secretary, part researcher, part diplomat, part cheerleader, and part bulldog, with good organizational, communication, and peopleskills.
They need to be someone who can gather and organize info on wishlists and buglists and present it to both forum members and dev's in a way that's easy to understand. They need to be diplomatic enough that they'll be able to remain unbias while they wade through, compile, and present ideas from voices who's desires sometimes conflict with one another. They hopefully would be unbeat enough that they can keep dialogue flowing in a profession forum like ours, where it's very easy to become discouraged. And they have to not be afraid to keep barking loud enough and long enough inside that correspondent forum to draw attention to Image Design. Even if it becomes frustrating and repetitive for both the correspondent and the forum members who occasionally will have to chant their wishes over and over again. No one said being a squeaky wheel was fun or exciting.I think that, in a nutshell, is what I'm wishing for in our correspondent.
I'm going to approach this using Q-3PO's general guidelines, stickied at the top of all of the profession forums.
Q-3PO said:
Are you knowledgeable about the Image Designer profession?
We certainly expect our correspondent to be knowledgeable about our profession. That would not only involve actively playing an Image Designer (Novice ID or Master ID), but also regularly reading the forums because every character does not experience every issue that can possibly happen in their profession.
I expect the correspondent to ask for more information and input from the community when a new issue arises. An example is the recent thread about female body types permanently ending up thinner and less curvy after body modifications. The thread was never posted on by our correspondent, and to our knowledge she is not aware of the problem. We were not asked to expound on it or test anything out. Many of us did so anyhow but to what end? We do not have the ear of the devs.
Which leads me to the Test Center. I expect our correspondent to make use of the correspondent terminal provided him/her on Test Center to test any changes to the Image Designer profession. There are very few Image Designers on test center and as of this post not a single Master Image Designer. I do not expect the correspondent to actively play on Test Center, but to check things out after a large patch and especially when changes are announced, and then to report back to us what if anything they have found. Things that needed testing in the near past include the color palettes and other changes to our UI, and new bug fixes such as the addition of Twi'lek eyebrow options.
In short I expect a correspondent to make use of all resources available to them to do their job, especially his/her most precious resource - the community they represent.
Our current correspondent has stated on a public forum that she is no longer playing her Image Designer character. If all expectations were to be thrown out the window but one, I would retain that our correspondent at least play our profession.
Q-3PO said:
· Can you objectively identify relevant issues and distinguish them from simply passionate arguments?
This is a toughie. We all have opinions and they can cloud our judgement of whether or not the majority is being represented. I have seen correspondents in other forums present ideas and issues in reports to the devs (which they share with their community) being sure to indicate when and where something has been controversial or unpopular and why. Sometimes a correspondent may feel that something should be brought to the devs attention even if it is unpopular and I can understand that. I do however have the expectation that the correspondent would be sure to let the devs know that it is controversial, and let the community know that they have sent it in anyway and why.
Q-3PO said:
· Do you like organizing information and corresponding with other members of a community?
Clearly the devs expect correspondents to communicate with the community they represent, and we have seen this particular requirement come up again and again on our forum as one we find of primary importance.
Of course one would hope a correspondent would enjoy organizing and collecting information for many of the reasons listed above. But also for the perks of having someone with the power of stickying which has so many advantages. The types of stickies I envision would cut down on many of us responding to some of the same questions over and over. Time we could instead spend in more entertaining ways 
Examples of stickies as seen on other forums:
- FAQ's/Guides
- Image Designer websites: Screenshots of what we can do
- Looking for an Image Designer in your galaxy?
- Report of the week
- Top five issues?
- Wish list
- Bugs
- How far we have come
Lastly, a repost of my synopsis of the correspondent position:
My vision of the position has always been two fold. It not only involves gathering information to submit to the devs, but also keeping the player community feeling involved in the process. The devs had always said that they read the forums, but many professions were feeling ignored or abandoned. Correspondents were put in not only to communicate our desires and issues, but also to allow us to feel involved in the process and confident that our voices were being heard. We have no way of knowing if the information gathering and sending is happening, but we do know that we are out of the loop. Even no news is news.
Following Kwee's post makes this a piece of cake.
/agree with Kwee
I now have an addition. I expect our correspondent to not write posts such as this about image designing:
/agree
That is one of the things that really worries me about this skill. It's not only easy to master, but it includes no danger what so ever. The other skills that don't include some type of dangerous situation, are dancer and musician. But neither of those are easy to Master in.
And when you have a very easy skill such as Image Design, you end up with people wanting to pick it up for the wrong reasons, and eventually causing problems with the existing masters of that profession (such as insulting the profession itself).
If you focus/grind, you can get through ID really fast... Typically not so much seen as a problem because our more desirable changes are available in one skill tree (Hair) or at Master. However, it also becomes fairly easy for folks to see ID as an "Easy" profession to master, and thus devalue the worth of being a Master Image Designer. This becomes more prevalent as Holocrons point some of the major grinders to being Image Designers.
Part of the problem with entertainer resent in general. 'Easy'/Fast to level the skill tree, and getting closer and closer to being considered "not a real profession".
I pretty much don't care too much either way for empty posts from Correspondents every week saying the exact same thing that was already said some weeks ago.
We know there are some interface changes coming our way. Our issues are the same, and for the most part they're the same as a few monthes ago.
Reiella wrote:
Bit curious exactly as to what the problem is with Rilawyn's comment there is.
here are my problems with it
"/agree
That is one of the things that really worries me about this skill. It's not only easy to master, but it includes no danger what so ever."
Why is the lack of danger worrisome? What does danger have to do with image design as a profession?
"The other skills that don't include some type of dangerous situation, are dancer and musician. But neither of those are easy to Master in."
Neither of them are easy to master but ID is? The constant requests for the 'accept design' command from the Holocron Hooligans is telling; both musicians and dancers could macro 24 hours a day in a house if it wasn't for the entertainment healing portions of the skill trees.
"And when you have a very easy skill such as Image Design, you end up with people wanting to pick it up for the wrong reasons, and eventually causing problems with the existing masters of that profession (such as insulting the profession itself)."
People aren't picking ID because it's a very easy skill to master. Some people are picking it because a Holocron told them to do it. And when one of them trolls the ID borad how does our correspondent respond?
/agree
Reiella wrote:
Bit curious exactly as to what the problem is with Rilawyn's comment there is.
here are my problems with it
"/agree
That is one of the things that really worries me about this skill. It's not only easy to master, but it includes no danger what so ever."
Why is the lack of danger worrisome? What does danger have to do with image design as a profession?
"The other skills that don't include some type of dangerous situation, are dancer and musician. But neither of those are easy to Master in."
Neither of them are easy to master but ID is? The constant requests for the 'accept design' command from the Holocron Hooligans is telling; both musicians and dancers could macro 24 hours a day in a house if it wasn't for the entertainment healing portions of the skill trees.
"And when you have a very easy skill such as Image Design, you end up with people wanting to pick it up for the wrong reasons, and eventually causing problems with the existing masters of that profession (such as insulting the profession itself)."
People aren't picking ID because it's a very easy skill to master. Some people are picking it because a Holocron told them to do it. And when one of them trolls the ID board how does our correspondent respond?
/agree
Reiella wrote:
Sorry for replying out of order, just easier this.
The lack of danger and the Entertainer resentment is just common throughout all the Entertainer professions. IDs get less of it than the others since there's no perception that we're actually required for anything.
And honestly, danger doesn't have anything to do with the Entertainer professions, it still results in frustration from other players.
I'm pretty sure that unless you're in a group of 19 master Dancers/Muscians, you're not going to beat 5 hours for mastery of even the Non-EH portions of Dancer and Muscian, and mostly that's a matter of Time.
And our correspondant responds that the fast xping is possible detrimental to the level of respect Image Designers get. Or would you perfer that the correspondant attempt to maintain that the class isn't quick to xp? Or would you perfer that she just not comment at all? I'm guessing hte later personally. Fun no-win situation though I guess.
Anycase, I'm sorry if I repeat stuff I already said, just responding.
Ok. I've not yet mastered ID, just done hair, body and 2 boxes of facial. Apparently the agonizing process I've gone through for the last month was just flat out wrong. How do I Master ID in I 5 hours? I'll do it this weekend and be done with it. Then I can focus on Musician with this character.
What's the secret?