User blog:Bagwis/2022 Q3 Report

''This blog is a part of a series. If interested, you may check out the previously published report here. Enjoy reading the archives!''

''Just a brief disclaimer, though: the discussion below may not be detailed as expected because we originally intended it to be as concise as possible. Some points may be updated from time to time for various reasons necessary.''

Greetings! Thank you, readers, for taking a few moments of your sweet time to read or skim the report. There are many words to digest, so let's keep the pleasantries short.

The past three months have been fleeting, yet numerous events inside and outside the community have transpired since we published the last report. A real-life situation might be depressing and even painful for some. Still, the anticipation of the fans worldwide for the next season of the anime adaptation across most social media is high, somehow making the experience of world affairs less dreadful, even to a small degree.

So far as of writing this, there had been four episodes of Season 2 released via local Japanese TV channels and overseas streaming sites such as Crunchyroll, VRV, and Muse Asia. Without spoiling so much, the expected coverage of the said season is from Volume 4 to 7, probably dabbing a little bit of Volume 7.5 depending on the pacing. While it is undesired, most of the actives anticipate that some of the essential plot points are modified so that they can cater current flow. Such an example is the total number of students per class, but that's a talk for another issue.

We are yet to see the full impact of this new season on the all-around activity of the server, but so far, we're seeing the same, if not higher, new entrant turn-out rates that successfully established a new era of chat activity. It's unbelievable. Imagine what started as a more convenient collaborative chat medium for wiki editors, half a decade later turned into an ample-sized server filled with various personalities. I've been saying this every time on behalf of the moderation team, and I wouldn't be tired of conveying that we can't thank everyone enough for keeping the server alive. The strength of the community is its members. We have undergone several ups and downs, giving our highest respects to everyone who stayed with us surfing through these waves.

However, it is undeniable that there is a crisis in the staff team across all divisions that needs both short and long-term solutions. We already discussed the specific and concrete plans last year, yet we're having difficulty implementing these. Let's discuss highlights in the community divisions as per statistics for this report and see if these proposed measures still apply.

With regards to the Discord moderators, as stated in the last report, we have to open up new slots for the team. Per closing the forms, we got 27 applicants. This number was more than double the total number of applicants in 2020. None of the moderators are done with evaluations yet as of writing. The deadline is within the week so expect a separate issue for the results in a few weeks. Once we select the applicants, they shall undergo a three-month training and another moderator evaluation, similar to the previous process.

The primary assignment for the new blood is to prove the skills and contribution they claim in the applications to be undoubtedly genuine. These include basic chat moderation and judgment per understanding of the server rules. There's no need for them to execute their written plans yet, but if it's a sound and vital suggestion, the tenured moderators can consider it up for internal debate and discussions. As for the other mods, the main focus is improving the meta-descriptions such as the outdated channel descriptions across the server and information/contents for #server-rules, #server-guide, and #faq-board channels. It's a challenging process of rewriting and redesigning to keep the language as user-friendly and foolproof as possible.

After three months or by the following season, we expect these newly selected and qualified moderators to join us in the ranks as colleagues. The expectation for them will now be similar to the tenured members. Aside from the Discord Moderator Applications, we also have Subreddit Moderator Applications mainly handled by Subject#0001. If you're interested in this position, given that you have enough skills and available time, we suggest you apply by sending a direct message to him.

Moreover, the only moderator-initiated event this season is reopening the closed camps such as #airi-camp, #kikyou-camp, #mio-camp, and #sae-camp. We're yet to ascertain which temporarily-opened camps shall stay by the end of this probationary period, so we'll make internal evaluations a week before. Around October 3, the server members have to expect a server-wide poll, affecting each camp's emoji count should the decision is affirmative to these locked camps.

We also commence the festival of colors as a sub-event for the fifth anniversary for a month. That means all members will have access to 63 colors evenly spread among 13 hues (including grayscale). The event staff has yet to announce a schedule of events, but given the circumstances, we may extend the celebration until the end of September.

As for the general moderation side, we imposed thread discussions in the #yz-anime channel. Most members are open-minded and obedient enough to respect the rules related to "no off-topic" and "no spoilers beyond the current materials." Plans include introducing a mod mail system for reports and queries, improving the ticketing systems for suggestions, and adding the activity launcher. These are quick adjustments but may require several reviews before it gets approved.

On the camp generals, the streak for a higher number of candidates this season (Batch 13) remains. There are no primary issues for this batch but only praises for having an increased utilization rate of S-EXP rewardable events. Excellent job to Tris, Tuna, Scarbrothers, Bens, Ishan, and PurpleAFK for operating the intercamp event twice through a straightforward yet engaging activity. Some of you may have an active role more than others but

Here’s the reconciliation of camp activity, including the relative change from last year's report as of August 2022.

There is an increase in the number of members, especially for newly reopened temporary camps, so that's given. Only Airi Camp had a distinct trend since it was closed within the past year, but it would otherwise have the same pattern as the three other locked camps. Generally, most camps have a good standing, but we want the % increase for the chatters to be consistently higher than the % increase for readers. Camps such as Arisu, Honami, Ichika, and Harem qualify for this. While big camps such as Kei and Suzune face significant lurking rates among their groups considering they are also the top two regarding numbers of chatters and messages per user. High turn-out rates for Kei Camp can easily offset this challenge, while Honami, Suzune, and Harem Camps confront an issue related to a downward trend of new entrants. We can't do anything about it since, based on experience, it highly depends on the light novel's current plot scenes. If the new camp generals can find a way to counter the odds, then it would be a change that we'll highly welcome. As of now, none of the camps are on the verge of closing yet.

Regarding the translation and archiving team, we have yet to receive an update from our local translators for the upcoming release of the special volume. Similar to last time, D3nj4l and Jhelan stepped up in translating LN Year 2, Volume 6. On the other hand, Graze, and his team from Confused Translations have remained stagnant in delivering translation of the LN Year 2, Volume 4. Weeks ago, he posted in #the-white-room channel that they'll be resuming work but without an estimated time of actuation. Please continue supporting these fan translation groups by motivating them or in any way that could help them deliver an output. While we support these fan translations, we urge people to support Seven Seas' Translations for official EN translations as the copyright holder.

We are still looking for the translation group willing to handle the LN Year 2, Volume 5 without compromising the quality. However, as of writing this, since the official translations are caught up in the LN Year 2, Volume 2 already, we might as well wait for it.

For the event staff, their activity this season is slowly coming back, with each host commencing their events. I'm proud of this group because even without the consistent presence of the head moderator for events, Jacob, the staff spearheaded several regular activities. For instance, Pyguel reconstructed the fourth installment of Waifu Gaunlet, which consisted of 31 rounds and lots of editing, hosted Among Us Game Night and Quiz Nights, and finally hosted the fourth installment of Discord Sings (a possible fourth installment of ZZ soon?). On the other hand, Jacob hosted a pokemon tourney, and Shadow casually initiated the Battle Royal Event, Yugioh Tourney, and 4P Chess Tournament (what a madlad!). Zestue, being a new event host, commenced the Uno Tournament and Fall Guys Tournament.

Additionally, the staff held group watches for two seasons, the first being handled by Shissou and Can while the second was by Kaguya. Tuna did QOTD daily and helped her co-generals in making intercamp events successful. Shissou was also behind the scenes of these events, and they used his collections of Blargbot tags for the second intercamp event. Also, a mini-betting event headed by Safwan has successfully continued during the release of LN Year 2, Volume 7. This team has undeniably boosted the server activity once again.

On the wiki moderators and editors, the wiki auditor has noticed less and lesser activity on both moderator’s and editor’s sides amidst a lot of content or information to add to the site. It is a little concerning since maintaining our database is one of our principal duties as a community. For now, the main focus for editors is drafting articles related to season 2. The transfer of banners for spoiler tags shall commence a week after the end of the anime preview. Depending on the pacing, plot points before Volume 7/7.5 are deemed non-spoilers.

Similar to the prior report, we expect a high visitation rate worldwide on the debut of the new anime season. We highly need new members, and we welcome volunteers in the sector. Being an editor might feel like a lonely task; however, in doing so, you'll be able to refine your writing style for storytelling and have insight into programming. Anyone can start editing on the Fandom site as long as you register your account.

As stated earlier, there were several changes to the management of the subreddit moderators since Subject is assertively looking for new mods. So far, there have been three temporary mods who undergo his training. He has yet to announce a long-term post for these probationary subreddit mods. They reached 82,500 users as of writing this report (an addition of 11,300 since three months ago). We are expecting the subreddit to reach 100,000 before 2022 ends. Mark my words!

As for the general server health, here’s the simple metric provided by Discord on the server member's activity.

We can observe from the table that the numbers shoot up starting the release of season 2, and the number of engagements consistently gets higher up to this date. We expect the same rate next year for the third season's release. Similar proportions can be applied here: almost 25% of the current members visited the server, and 1 out of 5 members talked at least once among these visitors. There's also an average of 195 new members every week. We are also expecting another influx of activity during the release of the new LN volume. The engagement peak is yet to come, which is around the whole month of August, the server's anniversary month.

This report may not show significant statistics, but here's the link to the server's basic statistics are open to the public.

That is all for the third quarterly report of the year 2022. I'm excited to write the next blog, which I deemed to be the final one. We'll migrate the seasonal reporting into another form. We will try to initiate this in the following season. For now, it's a secret project. Please look forward to our progress in the next season. Oh, and if you're looking for the hidden treasure for this blog, the clues are already posted together with the series of images in the bulletin.

Five years' worth of community building is a milestone. Before we reached that length, each day was a long and arduous process of sharing ideas back and forth, combined with a leap of faith and countless joyous steps shared among the worldwide brotherhood. The future is uncertain, yet, it is not as scary as it used to be. We'll see the community grow further, and before we even know it, it'll reach its peak -- and somehow, someday, it'll be as good as a lasting endearing memory for most of us. Let's cherish the community while it is still here.