I would just like to say that I am glad that there is as much interest in this idea as there is. I do have some things to add to this that I didn't really impress upon earlier. For the whole paper idea I was thinking that anyone could submit any article they wanted. Now this being an electronic paper it means that we do not have size limitations like amount of pages or page width or anything. That being said I was originally planning on suggesting a monthly or at the earliest bi-weekly paper. Also that there Should be a limit to about one page per issue just like in the game (I am sure there were other pages but we only ever saw one, to my memory anyway.) Now before everyone freaks out you have to remember two things. 1) That it is only us writing these articles. Sure at first there is going to be a large surge in article submissions but as time goes on people will eventually lose interest in it, at least the freshness of it anyway. Also not every article might make it into the paper. Sometimes people do write things that aren't always that fantastic. Now without hurting feelings we can leave it unsaid this way. If we have a master editor to filter this they can make the call to cut for content or for space or other reasons and no one would really know for sure. I believe that this is the fairest way to approach things so there aren't hurt feelings.
2) How big exactly is a page? This could vary from issue to issue. Having said all that at first we might want to bend the once a month thing and have it once a week for the first little bit to figure out how to get the show running smoothly. Once we have an established method of producing this paper and the article submission becomes less frequent (it will happen) then we can slow it down to a monthly release. This also gives the editor/editors more time to polish their work and have a superior product. I mean we all have regular lives right? Jobs and friends all that stuff. This is just a volunteer production and the last thing we want to do is make it too stressful for those involved. It should always be a fun thing to work on. Especially if there are images associated with the article. This can lead to many editing hardships. Actually I think that to stick with the one page format, if the articles go long they should be able to be clicked and open in another window, especially if they are heavy with pictures like a magazine article. Actually I really like that more than cramming stuff onto one page. Hmmmm yeah that could detract from my other statements about keeping things fair and unsaid if an article doesn't make it. Maybe we'll just have to work on that when we start up.
If we go more than one page I think it should be a "classifieds" type of section. Something for the community to communicate with directly. I know that this is the whole purpose of this forum so it would have to be separate from it. We could keep it 100% real in that if you have something to sell, trade or something that you normally see in the classifieds we can put it there as WELL as the designated section on the forum.
This brings us to the master editor idea. I don't know if this would be a wise or foolish course of action. If we were to choose a master editor I think that we would need someone with great English skills (proof reading etc.) I would volunteer for the master editor but I do not have the best English skills myself. I do however have experience in the news department as my program focused on news for television so I would still offer my services in that regard. Also I am a visual artist so I can help organize the look of the page. Actually that leads to my next thing. If there is NO "master" editor, then I think it should be a few people (I like this idea better) to toss ideas and structure back and forth. I think there should be an editor for content (what articles to include, leave out,) an editor for assembly (the look of the page, articles vs. pictures,) an editor for posting the page and subsequent links. We can think of official titles later. I would definitely volunteer for one of those roles, time permitting and unless there is someone better. Perhaps at first I will see how it goes and help get things organized and then leave it to someone else if it becomes problematic. . . . if everyone is okay with that that is.
I must also impress upon format. Do we want to make this comical (my preference) or make it like a real paper? If we make it a real paper it could get kind of boring and stale and just become a paper like any other. If we make them comical I think it would be more fun for all. If we do make it comical does that mean we should not have any articles that are truthful? I recall a while back a post about a flying car in relation to Tex’s speeder. Should we include a “real” section for news like that? Things that are similar in theme to the Tex games? I am sort of fuzzy on the direction we should take with this. One of my inspirations for this whole idea, aside from the games, was the discovery of the “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey” website. It was one of my favorite sections of Saturday Night Live and I am glad to see it still exists. He even updates it daily. I would love to have that kind of idea be translated to the paper in terms of simplicity and humour balance. Here’s the link if you have no idea what I am talking about:
http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/today.asp
Now depending on what day you view this and click on it the “thought” will be different. Just erase the ”/today.asp” if you want to see the full site. I also believe that we should leave the sections of the paper open to the community for a vote. If we stray from straight articles like a "Dear Malloy" section it should be approved by the community. I can understand everyone wanting a section to themselves but if they do do that it would have to be for EVERY issue and is whoever interested in that up to the challenge? I suppose what we could do is have a section appear from time to time if it becomes problematic. I think when James is ready to go with the new site we should hold votes about all this so in the meantime think about what you would like to contribute to the paper and when the time is ready pitch it to the community to vote on and we'll go from there. That way it is completely fair for everyone.
Anyway that’s all I’ve had on my mind lately. I am curious about everyone else’s feedback. Wow I really wrote a lot there.
