Rewarding contributors

[I.M.O.G.]

This thread summarizes the ways I want to reward contributors:

1. White stars for active content editors
2. Badge system on forums to indicate/reward article writers
3. Raffle system to distribute reviewed hardware amongst all contributors

[jhanby]

That sounds good.

What do you mean by Badges though ? Like a custom rank ?

[Trombe]

badges!? we don't need no stinkin' badges!

[Neuromancer]

Sounds like a good plan.

Dunno what you mean by Badges though...

[sephiroth_749]

was curious on how the raffle system will work and if that applies to all memebers or members with a certain amount of post and up?

[Evilsizer]

2 sticks out like a swore thumb, not sure what it would do to help... IMO 3 seems best, if it is donated HW, if i bought the HW to do the review. I would find it very tough to just raffle it off, esp if i bought it to keep for personal use.

i still would like to see some E-tailers possibly step in here. i mean how many of us shop at newegg? i have since they opened up on the web. why not see if they might do some "gift card" donations for such a raffle or parts. what if they donated some parts for the reviews then got raffled off? fine details would need to be worked out on that of course...

[Neuromancer]

I already typed a couple of pages... and had to delete it.

I proposed this idea to Matt a couple weeks ago since I did some HW reviews for another site a few years back, I think he said it was in the works.

Companies will send you stuff, a lot that you get to keep for reviews. Instead of letting reviewers keep these items, I proposed a sweepstakes of sorts to keep it balanced. People that contribute to these should have an equal "compense" of sorts, a ticket to free stuff. Not fair that a linux reviewer should receive nothing of value EVER. LOL (little jab to the OpenSource guys there )

[I.M.O.G.]

As neuromancer mentioned, he's proposed ideas for how to handle hardware. I already had some things in mind - primarily based off the fact that I want reviews of donated hardware from vendors/manufacturers to be impartial, in reality and in perception of the readership. Thus, the donated hardware will be put into a pool, periodically it would be raffled, and those who will be put into the hat as possible winners will be picked from amongst the writers, proofreaders, and content editors. While the physical reviews are important, so is the work that everyone else is doing, and everyone should be elligble to enjoy the benefits. Shipping costs will be reimbursed.

Badges would be a vbulletin award system - something to make it apparent who is involved, and in what way, at a glance. This is an example addon that provides the sort of functionality we may consider:
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=187600

@Sephiroth: Raffle will only apply to active contributors from the forums. Writing one article and never again will not qualify. Acting as a content editor will qualify, writing several articles establishing your a consistent contributor will qualify, acting as a proof reader will qualify, acting as a hardware reviewer will qualify, etc. This only applies to the news team. Forum members will not be included.

Some hardware may be used for site wide promotions, readership promotions, or for special promotions for our teams on occasion. Most of the hardware will be dispersed amongst the blog contributors to encourage the people who are consistently putting in the work to improve the site - anyone can gain elligibility for this by becoming involved. I'll be keeping track of whose elligible and what hardware goes where, ensuring things get to the right place.

Finally, none of this is final. We aren't ready for it yet, but we're planning so that as things develop we will be ready. There's people I need to talk to and preparations which need to be made prior to pulling the trigger. I need to identify people interested in doing hardware reviews, who are qualified and that I can place faith in, so that they will follow thru and not damage our vendor relations right out of the gate. I've just recently gotten the clearance I've been waiting for from iNet, so I am now in a position to move forward in these regards.

Just wanted to get this out there now so the people already putting in a lot of work can know their efforts are appreciated and I'm planning to do everything I can to make the experience rewarding.

[nzaneb]

was curious on how the raffle system will work and if that applies to all memebers or members with a certain amount of post and up?

I think he means all "contributors", as in anyone that contributes to the frontpage (content editor, author, etc...)


i still would like to see some E-tailers possibly step in here. i mean how many of us shop at newegg? i have since they opened up on the web. why not see if they might do some "gift card" donations for such a raffle or parts. what if they donated some parts for the reviews then got raffled off? fine details would need to be worked out on that of course...

I like this idea, but it would also come with an extra position to fill. Someone in charge of Overclockers.com promotion, they would also need to be the deciding factor on where(or to whom) the hardware would go. Is this going to be stepping on Joe C's toes?

Not fair that a linux reviewer should receive nothing of value EVER. LOL

ROFLMAO!

EDIT: IMOG beat me too it!!

[I.M.O.G.]

i still would like to see some E-tailers possibly step in here. i mean how many of us shop at newegg? i have since they opened up on the web. why not see if they might do some "gift card" donations for such a raffle or parts. what if they donated some parts for the reviews then got raffled off? fine details would need to be worked out on that of course...

Newegg is difficult to work with, because they are very large and rigidly structured. I'm not averse to pursuing possibilities with Newegg, but they are more difficult and unlikely to develop, although their support team is very receptive (refer to sticky in vendor discussion).

I'm first going to focus on helping out the little guys, in a way that's mutually beneficial for the membership as well as the good vendors out there.

I've already contacted Jabtech and something will come out of that - that's waiting on me to develop further, but John (jab-tech on the forums) has expressed interest.

Sidewinder and Petras are both on my target list also, although I haven't yet reached out to them yet.

I'm not sure what involvement we're looking for from these folks, but there are multiple ways we can leverage relationships that will benefit everyone. Once I gauge interest I'll iron out the details.

[zangler]

This could be slightly off topic, but related...

Is there an official process or form to use for the request of hardware to be reviewed?

For instance: If I wanted to have a gt300 review ready to go for when the NDA is lifted (perhaps not possible at this point, but still a good example); I would not want to represent O/C unless I had expressed permission.

I was just not sure if that was a centralized request system, or if requests are even possible. Alternatively, if it is my responsibility, if there was a form letter to use, or if permission would need to be granted.

Thanks,

zangler
nVidia Content Manager

[EarthDog]

As neuromancer mentioned, he's proposed ideas for how to handle hardware. I already had some things in mind - primarily based off the fact that I want reviews of donated hardware from vendors/manufacturers to be impartial, in reality and in perception of the readership. Thus, the donated hardware will be put into a pool, periodically it would be raffled, and those who will be put into the hat as possible winners will be picked from amongst the writers, proofreaders, and content editors. While the physical reviews are important, so is the work that everyone else is doing, and everyone should be elligble to enjoy the benefits. Shipping costs will be reimbursed.

Badges would be a vbulletin award system - something to make it apparent who is involved, and in what way, at a glance. This is an example addon that provides the sort of functionality we may consider:
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=187600

@Sephiroth: Raffle will only apply to active contributors from the forums. Writing one article and never again will not qualify. Acting as a content editor will qualify, writing several articles establishing your a consistent contributor will qualify, acting as a proof reader will qualify, acting as a hardware reviewer will qualify, etc. This only applies to the news team. Forum members will not be included.

Some hardware may be used for site wide promotions, readership promotions, or for special promotions for our teams on occasion. Most of the hardware will be dispersed amongst the blog contributors to encourage the people who are consistently putting in the work to improve the site - anyone can gain elligibility for this by becoming involved. I'll be keeping track of whose elligible and what hardware goes where, ensuring things get to the right place.

Finally, none of this is final. We aren't ready for it yet, but we're planning so that as things develop we will be ready. There's people I need to talk to and preparations which need to be made prior to pulling the trigger. I need to identify people interested in doing hardware reviews, who are qualified and that I can place faith in, so that they will follow thru and not damage our vendor relations right out of the gate. I've just recently gotten the clearance I've been waiting for from iNet, so I am now in a position to move forward in these regards.

Just wanted to get this out there now so the people already putting in a lot of work can know their efforts are appreciated and I'm planning to do everything I can to make the experience rewarding.Looking good so far! :beer:

[Neuromancer]

Excellent point made by Zangler.

While having content editors take care of soliciting HW for reviews could be a good idea, this would lead to manufacturers like ASUS being solicited by, well everyone on the forum LOL. CE's should instead have a thread just for suggestions on manufacturers, or for those in the industry, perhaps even share contacts in said companies. Assign one or two well spoken professional people to handle the details. Most manufacturers will ship directly to the reviewer if you ask, if they are sending multiple samples out (like ASUS for instance) a central location (ideally central CONUS to reduce shipping charges) would be best for redistribution.


Also for the giveaways, basing the value on MSRP is a good way to decide whether the reviewer can keep it, under say $25, because shipping it all over the place would reduce its value to below zero. $25-250 be eligible for contributors. Over 250 be saved for global giveaways. Just suggestions and leave it to smarter people than I to come up with dollar value, or what products break the "dollar value"

For instance a 5 pound $30 heatsink might fit into the "just keep it" as it would be more expensive to ship than say some case fans. Like wise a G300 video card that came out at only $200 MSRP, might be best fit into global, as it would be great for building traffic, IF we had one near release date.

[I.M.O.G.]

This could be slightly off topic, but related...

Is there an official process or form to use for the request of hardware to be reviewed?

For instance: If I wanted to have a gt300 review ready to go for when the NDA is lifted (perhaps not possible at this point, but still a good example); I would not want to represent O/C unless I had expressed permission.

I was just not sure if that was a centralized request system, or if requests are even possible. Alternatively, if it is my responsibility, if there was a form letter to use, or if permission would need to be granted.

Thanks,

zangler
nVidia Content Manager

That is an excellent question and one I am glad you have asked. I am currently working on the process and agreements necessary to work out these details, so everyone knows how to go about this.

Essentially, if you want to get review hardware, you should come to me with your ideas and who you'd like to contact. I'll initiate contact with the vendor/manufacturer, provide them the details they require (analytics - uniques/pageviews etc), and then request to put them in direct contact with the reviewer/content editor to make arrangements. I'll need to be involved in every step of this, and I need to be the only one initiating contact with manufacturers to ensure everything is tracked, because it will take time before I'm comfortable trusting anyone else to represent the overclockers name and ensure we deliver on our commitments.

@Neuro: Again, thinking similarly to what I'm thinking. Small value items will need to be dealt with differently than high value items. Shipping costs will also need to be controlled - we want to ensure this is profitable for iNet so that its sustainable, and they stay out of our way.

EDIT: If anyone wants to work up a preliminary process document which I can tweak, that would be a good start and it'd get this moving faster. My time is rather strained.

[Neuromancer]

LOL I took too long to type nm :P

[I.M.O.G.]

I'll start the process guidelines, feedback appreciated:

1. Identify qualified, interested members who want to do high quality hardware reviews
2. Confirm what hardware they are capable of reviewing
3. Identify vendor/manufacturer to obtain hardware from
4. Contact IMOG to start communication with vendor/manufacturer
5. IMOG will put vendor/manufacturer in direct contact with reviewer to arrange details
6. IMOG will be included on any exchanges/deadlines (this will be communicated to vendor/manufacturer prior to connecting them with the reviewer)
7. Content editors are notified of pending review, and keep updated on the progress, helping reviewer with anything they need
8. Finished review is submitted to content editor
9. Content editor submits review to IMOG per the normal submission process

Ratbuddy probably fits in here somewhere, but I'm working out the details with him.