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Iluvatar · 10-16-2002, 04:25 PM

I actually have issues with both these posts as not really getting to the heart of the matter.

A builder is a cog in the machine that creates a world and as such needs to be integrated into the team that does most of the work. If attitude and ability fit the team, then that process usually goes smoothly. Some just aren't cut out for the responsibility nor dedication it takes to writing and figuring out how to get along others and they rarely stay. A rough guesstimate on my part is for every 10 I hire only two actually finish a zone and of 10 who finish a zone, one becomes a keeper. That's a pretty sad average given the effort put into it, but oh well.

Latitude to build whatever a noob builder wants is important if they fit your theme and standard of construction guidance. I enable a noob, show the ropes and turn loose their imagination with their first ten room redits. If they ask help, that is given, if not, they are left alone with the guidance to impress us with how well they can paint a picture with words for the ten rooms. The first ten is then proofed in order to put it into the standards of grammar and context that fits our world and if they pass, they are allowed to do mobs/objs and complete 100 rooms of the zone, if they wish for that many.

All along the way of this process, they are gradually taken into the fold as team members by the other Imms that build and slowly fed more and more information. Some just can't deal with the personalities of others or the critiques or the standards and just fade away. Some take it as a point of honor to at least finish the zone they started. The ones who truly enjoy writing and the thrill of seeing their ideas come alive usually wind up staying so we're blessed with about 20 active members of the management team and 20 or so active trainees.

The point to me here is give them an opportunity to be team members, value their ideas, include them in discussions and make them feel at home. Sometimes you gotta spank so they meet standards, but most often it's just a matter of communicating what your teams needs are. Good builders aren't hard to keep, they are just hard to successfully integrate into an entrenched management staff and get frustrated enough to leave.

10-16-2002, 04:25 PM	#3
Iluvatar Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Mississippi USA Posts: 142	I actually have issues with both these posts as not really getting to the heart of the matter. A builder is a cog in the machine that creates a world and as such needs to be integrated into the team that does most of the work. If attitude and ability fit the team, then that process usually goes smoothly. Some just aren't cut out for the responsibility nor dedication it takes to writing and figuring out how to get along others and they rarely stay. A rough guesstimate on my part is for every 10 I hire only two actually finish a zone and of 10 who finish a zone, one becomes a keeper. That's a pretty sad average given the effort put into it, but oh well. Latitude to build whatever a noob builder wants is important if they fit your theme and standard of construction guidance. I enable a noob, show the ropes and turn loose their imagination with their first ten room redits. If they ask help, that is given, if not, they are left alone with the guidance to impress us with how well they can paint a picture with words for the ten rooms. The first ten is then proofed in order to put it into the standards of grammar and context that fits our world and if they pass, they are allowed to do mobs/objs and complete 100 rooms of the zone, if they wish for that many. All along the way of this process, they are gradually taken into the fold as team members by the other Imms that build and slowly fed more and more information. Some just can't deal with the personalities of others or the critiques or the standards and just fade away. Some take it as a point of honor to at least finish the zone they started. The ones who truly enjoy writing and the thrill of seeing their ideas come alive usually wind up staying so we're blessed with about 20 active members of the management team and 20 or so active trainees. The point to me here is give them an opportunity to be team members, value their ideas, include them in discussions and make them feel at home. Sometimes you gotta spank so they meet standards, but most often it's just a matter of communicating what your teams needs are. Good builders aren't hard to keep, they are just hard to successfully integrate into an entrenched management staff and get frustrated enough to leave.