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DT Applicant Voting System


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&nsbp;

#1 _Redrum

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Posted 13 January 2007 - 10:37 PM

Introduction:

This post is a brief overview of how the "Attention All Members: _____ needs your votes!" threads work. You may have already seen them in this section and there may actually be several of these up right now. What follows is a breakdown of the system being implemented with these threads.


Basic Idea:

Motivated by our recent "nice work" discussion, we’ve decided that it would be fair for Design Team applicants to be voted upon in terms of their (hopefully meaningful) interaction with others on the forum. Therefore, once a designer has applied to the Design Team via the usual application form and has proven to meet or exceed our standards for Design Team members with his/her portfolio, that designer will be subject to the voting system described below.


More Details:

The voting begins when a thread titled, "Attention All Members: _____ needs your votes!", is posted in the Announcements section; naturally, the blank will be replaced with the username of some DC forum member. Within this newly created thread, users will find a poll-question along the lines of, “Has this forum member contributed positively to your DC experience?” If you believe that the answer is yes, then vote “Yes”; otherwise, you should vote “No” given, of course, that you’ve seen at least a few of the member's posts and strongly believe that there has been no such positive contribution.


Please Vote:

The results of these polls will strongly affect the final decision about the Design Team application in question. Therefore, we stress the following:

a. Voting is vital – If you’re not already on the Design Team, then chances are that you too may be voted upon at some point. Please extend the courtesy of voting to others, remembering that you would surely have them do the same for you!

b. We encourage all applicants to keep this voting system in mind at all times; not just before and during, but also after the application process – If your skills are enough to get you through the Design Team door, then we would certainly appreciate it if you could share some of those skills with the rest of the forum members. Be it in the form of an occasional critique or a bit of inspirational work, your contributions to DC will help make it a better place.

Best of luck to all applicants, and thank you for voting!

Important:_______
Please note that, while this voting process is vital to becoming a Design Team member, it does not serve to undermine the required skills that are presented in a designer's portfolio. One should not expect to enter the Design Team based on forum participation alone.

#2 Al3x

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Posted 14 January 2007 - 10:28 AM

Hey, do you think that I could make a suggestion. From now on when then person applies and you post the thread up do you think you can post the link to their portfolio so we can see their works?

#3 _Redrum

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 01:33 AM

To be honest I'd rather not. It would be best if the designer's work didn't affect this part of the application process. In almost all cases you can assume, since they are at this stage, that their work is fairly good :)

#4 tpuentes

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 02:32 PM

That's right
This part of the process is about their contribution to the forums.
I personally think this thread is very helpful since we the users get to vote on the prospects even though the admin/mods have the last word.

#5

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 06:25 PM

That's right
This part of the process is about their contribution to the forums.
I personally think this thread is very helpful since we the users get to vote on the prospects even though the admin/mods have the last word.

actually administrators have the first word :) the voting is the very last step of the application process, so the last word is actually left to the members :)

#6 render

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Posted 31 January 2007 - 02:04 AM

this might not be a good question, but how can i tell whether or not the member being voted on has positively contributed to my DC experience?
Rest in peace Nevadabadgirl

#7 render

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Posted 06 March 2007 - 09:46 PM

I also think if the team can look at the portfolio (not just the admininstration/moderators) it would be a good contribution from us to this site to be able to vote on design qualifications rather than personality or comments made to the site by the members... personally i don't think the members personality or comments should have any bearing on our decision for them to join the design team. this is business, right? and like i said... it should be based on their works.
Rest in peace Nevadabadgirl

#8 _Redrum

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Posted 07 March 2007 - 12:14 AM

this might not be a good question, but how can i tell whether or not the member being voted on has positively contributed to my DC experience?

Since it's your experience, it's also your decision. For me, positivity would include anything that is meaningful, as opposed to trivial. Generally, if I can formulate an opinion about, or see the point of, a person's post (or it's just a cool post) I tend to place it in the "positive" category.

I also think if the team can look at the portfolio (not just the admininstration/moderators) it would be a good contribution from us to this site to be able to vote on design qualifications rather than personality or comments made to the site by the members... personally i don't think the members personality or comments should have any bearing on our decision for them to join the design team. this is business, right? and like i said... it should be based on their works.

I must disagree. The portfolios are not very hard to judge, certainly I have no problem with it. Moreover, I would argue that a flexible 1-person system works much better than a rigid body working of a rubric. One person is able to make small adjustments to portfolio requirements much easier than a group (that is, if they know what the requirements should be in the first place; can we trust everyone to know this?).

As for removing this process entirely, one argument against that could be that: this part of the process is useful in filtering members who simply don't want to contribute at all. Members who don't feel at least somewhat connected to DC as a community are more likely to abuse the services; we certainly don't want people like that on the Design Team.

#9 render

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Posted 07 March 2007 - 12:41 AM

As for removing this process entirely, one argument against that could be that: this part of the process is useful in filtering members who simply don't want to contribute at all. Members who don't feel at least somewhat connected to DC as a community are more likely to abuse the services; we certainly don't want people like that on the Design Team.


This process to filter those people out would take weeks, not days... anyone can post 3 posts a day to try to win the team over, then, not communicate at all with us or the rest of the community the next few months and abuse the privelege to post in the DT contests. i'm not saying at all we as a team shouldn't be involved in this process to bring new team members. quite the contrary... i just think we should get more of a voting system for the new rules and "member voting systems" that are being implemented. we as a community have suggestions too. it's only fair as a community. please remember _Redrum, i have no intent to oppose these new rules and systems, just help us to improve them... btw, i am one of the DT members that suggested the new canvas contest and look where that's going... we have some good member designs there, that's another good way to get people involved in the community.
Rest in peace Nevadabadgirl

#10

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Posted 07 March 2007 - 11:55 AM

render, first of all I would like to thank you for your suggestions. Unfortunately many DT members are too much concentrated on the contests and don't pay much attention to the community life.

As for the comment itself, while it may sound that by having the DT members judge the applicants portfolio we make it more efficient, I personally believe that it will make things more complicated and less flexible.

Alex (_redrum) is doing a great job reviewing the portfolios. And I must say he is a rather kind judge. You don't have to be really a pro to pass the portfolio verification - however you have to show that you are serious about graphic design and willing to work and learn.

For the sake of flexibility I would leave the portfolio review to _Redrum. I really don't want to make applicants wait extra weeks to let sufficient number of DT members vote.

I believe that the voting system about the applicant's input allows the community (not only the DT, but all the DC members) to take part in the process of decision making. You vote should be based on your personal point of view. If for some reason you don't think the given applicant should be accepted to the team, feel free to vote "no".

P.S. as I was writing this I got an idea about applicants rejected because of their portfolio - Alex might post messages about each of them in the DT only forum and DT members might post replies if they disagree with the decision. It means extra posting for Alex, so I leave it to him to decide wether this will help make the process more transparent for the DT members or not.

#11 _Redrum

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Posted 07 March 2007 - 11:52 PM

Heh, ok I have to split this reply up :)

This process to filter those people out would take weeks, not days... anyone can post 3 posts a day to try to win the team over, then, not communicate at all with us or the rest of the community the next few months and abuse the privelege to post in the DT contests.

Yes, ideally this should take weeks; however, would you not appreciate it (as a new member) if the entire process took two weeks instead of two months? I think that there has to be a middle-ground, which is better than nothing, but not as good as the full process. This middle-ground is what's currently being implemented.

i'm not saying at all we as a team shouldn't be involved in this process to bring new team members. quite the contrary... i just think we should get more of a voting system for the new rules and "member voting systems" that are being implemented. we as a community have suggestions too. it's only fair as a community. please remember _Redrum, i have no intent to oppose these new rules and systems, just help us to improve them...

As resurepus and I have mentioned, this would occupy a significantly longer time period; not a good thing when people are waiting on the results. About voting for rules, I wouldn't be against it, though I see only a marginal improvement at best. As moderators/administrators, we look at things from the point of view of DC. If everyone were allowed to vote for rules, do you not think that they would simply vote from a "what's best for me" perspective? Anyways, the idea would require much more development if we were to actually entrust this responsibility on others. Remember, mods and admins are chosen based on certain criteria, which not everyone possesses.

btw, i am one of the DT members that suggested the new canvas contest and look where that's going... we have some good member designs there, that's another good way to get people involved in the community.

Yes, you did suggest that. Certainly one could argue from this (as you have done :)) that you're a source of mostly good ideas, but the other possibility is that genuinely good ideas will be considered by the staff. Notice: we recognized this as a good idea, and that's why it was implemented.

Sergey; objectively, I like the concept and wouldn't mind taking the time to write explanations for them if people are willing to make their opinions known as well. On the other hand, this would sort of undermind the time I take to actually go through the applications. If everyone is going to post their own opinions on whether a portfolio should be rejected or not, then then I feel like I would be wasting my time looking through them and trying to make a decision. Not to mention, when a portfolio is rejected, I usually make sure that the designer's benefit to the paid contests would not have been significant at that point in time or in the near future. From experience, I can tell you honestly that 90% of those portfolios would not stand a chance against the Design Team. In the end, I would probably rather stick to the current system.

#12 render

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Posted 08 March 2007 - 12:40 AM

Ok, you have made good points, i'll leave this rules thing alone, (for now) lol. so is there an opening on the staff?? no i'm kidding.. i'm not ready for that yet... no time on my hands. but i do thank you for not totally rejecting my ideas and at least listening to me, not totally ignoring suggestions... like i said, it's for the good of the community. thanks for taking the time to always reply _Redrum, may i call you alex?. You are a good mod! and you are a good listener sergey, if i may. forgive me for seeming like i like to argue, the truth is i don't. as i said before, this is a great site. i love it here!!! i'll keep suggesting away then... thanks for listening!!! is there a thread started for rule suggestions, i mean at least we could try as a community to make this site the best it can be for team members users, and c.h.'s.

regards to the resuperus & the staff, rEnder (Eric)
Rest in peace Nevadabadgirl

#13 _Redrum

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Posted 08 March 2007 - 12:58 AM

_Redrum, may i call you alex

Heh, sure, why not.

#14

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Posted 08 March 2007 - 06:41 PM

Eric, thank you again :)

you are actually doing what mods do - we share, discuss ideas and then implement the best ones :) though we often do it in the private mods only forum but maybe the community will benefit more if we discuss things in open forums.

#15 render

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Posted 08 March 2007 - 08:31 PM

i think that might be a great idea! btw, sergey... what ever happened to the audio ch interviews? i thought that was a great idea... but instead of asking the questions in a live interview, it might be better to have a standard list of options/questions which you probably already have in place. and just offer them the option to do an audio description of the company they own/contracted by, and logo design type they are looking for.
Rest in peace Nevadabadgirl

#16

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Posted 09 March 2007 - 04:50 PM

i think that might be a great idea! btw, sergey... what ever happened to the audio ch interviews? i thought that was a great idea... but instead of asking the questions in a live interview, it might be better to have a standard list of options/questions which you probably already have in place. and just offer them the option to do an audio description of the company they own/contracted by, and logo design type they are looking for.


I liked audio interviews myself, but the reason is quite simple - I got overloaded with work and just couldn't do it. It takes some time you know to catch the person avaliable to talk on the phone, to record the interview upload it and announce it on the forums. Right now with several contests a day at times it is really time consuming.

#17 harrisp9

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Posted 14 June 2007 - 01:49 PM

Talking about posting portfolios along with the voting thread:

To be honest I'd rather not. It would be best if the designer's work didn't affect this part of the application process. In almost all cases you can assume, since they are at this stage, that their work is fairly good :)


_Redrum - I agree with this idea. May I suggest adding this thought to the voting thread , something like this...

" Attention All Members: ________ needs your votes!
Please read this thread if you’re not sure how this voting system works.
Also remember, you are voting concerning this user's involvement in the DC community, not on the quality of their portfolio.

The member who you’re voting for is – _______ "

I know my first instinct is the look at the user's portfolio when asked to vote yes or no. This might serve as a friendly reminder as to what to concentrate on when voting. Just a thought.

-Paul

#18 bunker

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Posted 17 July 2007 - 06:37 PM

Hello I’m Patricio from Argentina, I’ve never been a Forum User and when I saw in order to become a member of Design Contests I first need to have an active participation in the forums. At first sight I didn’t understood it, but now it’s clearer for me.
The thing is that you are community that doesn’t have ass a priority to leave people out, instead you are looking graphic designers who respect the others members in the design team and adapts them selves to co exist in a community not just only for work but to improve the quality of the designs in this community.
At first I was afraid of what to say and what do you like to hear from a guy trying to enter the team, a team that is working great?
Now I know I simply need to be my self, because I love graphic design and my goal it’s to improve my quality and become a great professional and this is a great place to do so.
I hope I can be a part of this and contribute with what I can.

Greetings.

#19 _Redrum

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Posted 19 July 2007 - 07:22 PM

harrisp9, thanks for the insight, I'll add that in there.

bunker, welcome! That's entirely correct, good to see that you understand this.

#20 dumbdesigner

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Posted 23 July 2007 - 01:05 PM

Seems that I have to go though a similar one in the near future :D




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