Team Reading Competition Rules

[Siobhan]

I agree in principle, but 500 seems a bit steep. I don't know if I even meet that and I've been a regular around here for months! :)

[Miche]

Exactly, Niki. :)

[Miche]

Siobhan, you have over 1000 comments.

[Siobhan]

Miche wrote: "Siobhan, you have over 1000 comments."

Oh dear, I clearly spend too much time here! 😂 😂

[Miche]

My point is that this challenge should probably be for people that are here for months.

It is a lot of work for Niki to balance out the groups, so it would be easier if we knew people would be around for sure.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

You'd be surprised at how few stay long enough for even 25 comments. I think most of the newbies flash in and out of here in under 10. Seeing what we're doing within this first month, my initial thought is that at least 100 buy-in would be appropriate.

I'll come up with a proposal next week for the mods and see what the consensus is. I want to do a check in for the challenge in general and present feedback and see what we want to tweak going forward. I have a list, feel free to keep adding to it. :)

[Miche]

Siobhan wrote: "Miche wrote: "Siobhan, you have over 1000 comments."

Oh dear, I clearly spend too much time here! 😂 😂"

That's good! :D

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Miche wrote: "My point is that this challenge should probably be for people that are here for months.

It is a lot of work for Niki to balance out the groups, so it would be easier if we knew people would be aro..."

^amen, sister.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Miche wrote: "Siobhan, you have over 1000 comments."

Lmao. Your bf is clearly not confiscating your phone enough so you can binge-read, lol. ;P

[Miche]

I still find 100 low, but it is better than 25. ;-)

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Just out of curiosity, I went and looked at comments for members. It looks like the majority of the active people currently in the challenge have fewer than 500. I'm actually surprised to see a few who I've been doing buddy reads with for months under the 100 mark. I guess they haven't commented a lot, but when they do it's where it counts lol. It looks like a bunch of regulars are at about the 200-300 range. It amazes me how a few impactful comments and buddy reads can make me feel like someone has been engaged in the group for a while.

Just some interesting numbers. I totally get/support the intent behind your suggestion, so we'll have to hash it out to find the sweet spot.

[Diana Stormblessed]

How can you tell how many comments someone has? I really doubt I have 500 since I only joined a few months ago.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

You have 494!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

On the desktop version, you can hover over your name for any comment you've made. You can also go to the members section and find yourself in there.

[Miche]

wow, I am surprised about the people under 100.

I don't even think I comment that much and I am over 900. That's why I suggested 500.

How come I have so many comments? lol. It probably comes back to what I said about buddy reads in another thread. I don't do many, but when I am in one, I really participate.

Or maybe I am blind to the fact that I talk too much! ;-)

So let's forget my 500 comments suggestion. 100 might be a good start.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Haha yeah that's funny, how come? Actually, I think before May (when I became a mod), I hadn't participated in more than a handful of BRs. It must be all of the other cool challenges and participation threads this group has always had going on. You can do either or both and still feel involved lol. I don't think I've ever appreciated how much we're offering before.

[Miche]

Niki, it might help that this is the only group I actively participate. I am in another group and I participate there only once in a while. But even there I am over 300 comments.

Ok, I can't deny anymore. I talk too much! lol

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Hahaha me too.

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Miche wrote: "wow, I am surprised about the people under 100.

I don't even think I comment that much and I am over 900. That's why I suggested 500.

How come I have so many comments? lol. It probably comes back..."

Let me explain how easy it is for someone to have under 100.

I joined goodreads less than a year ago to keep track of books and didn't even know there was a social aspect. I joined this group (when I found out about groups, BRs etc) in October I think. I was excited; however, none of the ongoing BRs were for books that I was going to be reading any time soon. I joined this challenge with just over 25 comments.

This might be the case for many people. I don't necessarily think that a history of comments gives a good indication of how that person will participate in the following months. Maybe another criterion should be included rather than adjusting this one.

[Bill]

Has everyone at least checked in? We have two member with 0 reads so far but they have both checked in to say that they are still participating.

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

I know of a few no-shows, no check-ins. I have some thoughts on how we can address that going forward. In my mind we are still in a grace period, but it's end is near. I'm going to propose a plan to the mods on Monday.

[Siobhan]

Miche wrote: "My point is that this challenge should probably be for people that are here for months.

It is a lot of work for Niki to balance out the groups, so it would be easier if we knew people would be aro..."

Yeah I totally get that Miche. It definitely must be hard work keeping the teams even.

Also, we obviously both talk too much xD and Niki is right, my bf is doing a terrible job of confiscating my phone so I can binge read! Haha 😂

I spend so much time commenting here because you guys are all the best though 😘

[Miche]

Bill, at Niki's team, from the 5 that have 0 points, three are participating at the threads but 2 didn't check-in at all.

I think another team also have a few that didn't check-in. Not sure if Jenna's or Margret's team though.

[Hacen]

There's 3 in blood eagles that I know of

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Yanique - any suggestions for other criteria?

The current 25 isn't bad, and I agree it's not a fool-proof way to predict future participation. I think the argument is that it could be a better predictor if we raised it enough to give us some more data to go by. The more you show you have participated, the likelier you'll continue going forward. Right now it might not be a large enough number for us to see someone establish their spot in the group before they're added to this massive undertaking of a challenge. You and a few others have been a happy addition to the challenge, but we really had no way of knowing if you'd stay (which is both your point and my point haha). Raising the numbers for future entries might help reduce the number of no-shows.

[Miche]

Yanique, I understand of new people having under 100 comments. That's normal.

The ones that I was surprised about I were the people that we interacted often and that have been here for a long time so I thought they would have more comments.

Not the same case at all of new people.

People that have been here a while is easy for us to judge if they will participate, even if they have under 100 comments. But we do need some guidance for new people. The number of comments would be necessary in this case.

I do believe this challenge doesn't need to be open for all as soon as they join the group. There are plenty of other challenges around and buddy reads are also open for all. Nothing will block people from participating there.

However this challenge is a group one and to be able to participate, new members must earn the group trust.

[Bill]

Maybe do 100 comments and a buddy read or actively participating in one of the other challenges. This way they get involved with the group and kind of do a trial run before jumping into the team competition.

[Miche]

Good idea, Bill.

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "Yanique - any suggestions for other criteria?

The current 25 isn't bad, and I agree it's not a fool-proof way to predict future participation. I think the argument is that it could be a better pr..."

Maybe have a requirement for previous and recent buddy read participation. If I was new and saw Team reading competition and that there was a BR requirement, I would wait until I'd done a couple before trying to sign up. I hesitate to suggest anything because I can only imagine the strain on the mods....

[Yanique, Thread Master]

Bill wrote: "Maybe do 100 comments and a buddy read or actively participating in one of the other challenges. This way they get involved with the group and kind of do a trial run before jumping into the team co..."

Great idea on the challenge idea as well!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Lol, yeah, I'm coming to appreciate the "less is more" mentality. The more we try to coordinate, the more like work it feels (I regret nothing so far). Having a challenge going or having participated in buddy reads seems like a great baseline to be considered with comments.

I should also add that changing the requirement is in no way a negative jibe at newer members. To echo what I said above, I think the main motivation is to save work of having to hunt down no shows later lol.

[Miche]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "I should also add that changing the requirement is in no way a negative jibe at newer members. To echo what I said above, I think the main motivation is to save work of having to hunt down no shows later lol.

I agree. I know how much effort you put in the organization of this challenge so my vote will be in the easiest way for you to keep the challenge going without loosing too much time hunting down people. :)

[Virginie]

As a newcomer that has under 50 comments, I agree that upping the comments requirement is a good idea. The comments quickly go up when starting to participate in BR, and that'll help our God-Mods find out who's really active.

Even though I'd like to participate in the competition, BR and challenges will keep me busy and entertained! I don't mind waiting until I fit the requirements to join in, so long as the option's there.

[Brian]

I’m not sure the amount of comments relate to how much a person will participate. I think some minimum challenge requirements would be a better gauge. Such as must participate in x number of challenges or must participate in so many Br or else removed. I’m pretty quiet in the threads but fairly active in BR and challenges during my short time here. Anyway y’all are awesome 👊🏼.

[Delitealex]

I agree with Brian. How many buddy reads and or challenges they actively participate in would be a good gauge

[Silvana]

Since this is a reading competition, I still think we ought to focus on the reading and less on the commenting side.

I for one have lots of groups already in GR (this being my sixth or seventh SFF group) and sometime do not comment in every group every day if I don't have anything to say. I do comment in BR threads I commit to and I think that is sufficient. For now I think the format is already very good and I appreciate the hardwork in developing the form and rules that surely takes time and energy. You guys are already very advanced from other groups I am in, in terms of challenges. If we feel there are changes to be made let just have a review in the mid term (end of June). Just my two sickles.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "Just out of curiosity, I went and looked at comments for members. It looks like the majority of the active people currently in the challenge have fewer than 500. I'm actually surprised to see a few..."

Yea... 25 comments barely takes the amount of time someone spends introducing themselves, asking if they can sign up for the competition, and responding a few times...

That being said... I like the ideas about requiring some Buddy Reads first, or a challenge thread...

Edit: Looking at the member list, only 23 people have 500+ comments... and there are 41 active members in the competition right now...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Miche wrote: "Niki, it might help that this is the only group I actively participate. I am in another group and I participate there only once in a while. But even there I am over 300 comments.

Ok, I can't deny ..."

I'm a good benchmark to let people think they don't talk much in comparison... 2200 comments in 5 months... if talking were a competition, I'm in 4th place

[Barry]

Just my 2c.

I think using an increased number of comments alone isn’t the best indicator. I’ve been here for 3-4 months, been only really active since December 2017, and I think I barely have 100 comments (surely no more than 150). In fact, I remember I barely passed the 25 comments rule exactly with my questionnaire entry.

I agree with several people here that perhaps we should look more on whether the participants have joined BRs here or are actively reading books in general. Perhaps as a minimum requirement we could add :

1. A minimum of 3 BRs joined in last 3 months
2. And, a minimum of 5 books read in past 3 months
3. And, minimum 50 comments posted in the group if we want to increase it.

So these requirements ensure that the participants are active readers first and have been around the group for quite a bit.

Plus, we can do team readjustment every 3 months perhaps. Or, do the competition every 3 months. Members who don’t check in at least once a month and/or fail to complete any book in 3 months are disqualified for joining the competition for 1 period.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "On the desktop version, you can hover over your name for any comment you've made. You can also go to the members section and find yourself in there."

Oooohhh! Thanks!

[Loralie]

Yanique wrote: "Niki Hawkes wrote: "Yanique - any suggestions for other criteria?

The current 25 isn't bad, and I agree it's not a fool-proof way to predict future participation. I think the argument is that it ..."

What about people like me who don't do buddy reads but participate only in the Team Reading Challenge?

[Yanique, Thread Master]

@Pendra however you choose to engage with the group is up to you, but this is a Fantasy Buddy Read group... so I think a BR requirement is completely fair.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... I was going to say something similar... you sound more like an exception than a norm for people joining a group with buddy reads in the title... and a group with such a high volume of Buddy Reads each month...

[Siobhan]

It's hard to make a rule that fits all... Maybe Pendra doesn't want to do buddy reads, but she's been actively participating in the reading challenge and I'm sure she's a valuable member of her team.

This is going to be a tough one for the mods to figure out.

[Lundos]

Strictly in terms of this competition I think it's fair to say that you should participate in the BR discussions to get the extra points from BR since it's stated in the rules from the beginning.

As being part of the overall competition (and the BRG) I don't think there is any requirement to participation in discussions. If you just want to hang around, read books, update your scoresheet, comment of your challenges, and follow the discussions that should also be fine.

[Lundos]

Barry wrote: "Just my 2c.

1. A minimum of 3 BRs joined in last 3 months
2. And, a minimum of 5 books read in past 3 months
3. And, minimum 50 comments posted in the group if we want to increase it."


Ad 1) I don't think it's necessary take be part of the BRs available to participate. It does give added incentive with a high amount of points added.

Ad 2) I agree that the reader should be active. Otherwise it makes no sense.

Ad 3) Group comments have been a requirement to enter since the beginning and with good reason.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm not trying to say Pendra isn't doing enough or participating right... and looking at her spreadsheet, she is participating in the challenges, so she's getting something out of the group... maybe make it a 2 out of 3 requirement... participate in Buddy Reads and/or Challenges and/or higher comment requirement...

[Siobhan]

Iain wrote: "I'm not trying to say Pendra isn't doing enough or participating right... and looking at her spreadsheet, she is participating in the challenges, so she's getting something out of the group... mayb..."

Yeah that makes sense. I think most people here will take part in either buddy reads OR one or more of the challenges. Otherwise what's the point in being here? xD
Also, a bit higher comment requirement makes sense.

I know you weren't trying to say that Iain, just thought I'd point out you don't have to BR to participate. :)

[Lundos]

I would also like to mention that this is the first reading competition I've seen. I think it's fair to say that the rules, teams and minutiae can/must be tweaked to adapt to possible changes.

How we do this in a fair way is up to the mods, of course. We (the participants) can only assist with suggestions/opinions.

[Siobhan]

Lundos wrote: "I would also like to mention that this is the first reading competition I've seen. I think it's fair to say that the rules, teams and minutiae can/must be tweaked to adapt to possible changes.

How..."

Totally agree. :)