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*New Kid on the Block - nunccoepi - 02-28-2018
New kid on the block. It's what I am, it's an ode to a semi-great band, and perhaps most importantly, it keeps the NSFL fun and exciting. I'd like to contribute (at least for the first season or two) through sharing a series of my thoughts as a complete noob to the world of simulation sports. While it seems that most of the active users here have played multiple seasons with the NSFL (or have been here from the start) and have even played in other sim leagues, I might be able to provide a unique and uncommon perspective. I'll do my best to be brutally honest so that the dedicated individuals who make this league a success can continue to do so with the advantage of seeing through the eyes of a first-timer, for, as was mentioned earlier today in a comment long buried, bringing in new members is essential.
So, without further ado, here are my first impressions after 1 week within the National Simulation Football League.....
I first heard about the NSFL through a post made more than 3 months ago on fleaflicker, a fantasy football website. So h/t to @AsylumParty for an introduction I'm sure he didn't even realize he made. After clicking on a link that looks like it's just waiting to give my computer AIDS (I'm looking for an excuse for a new computer anyway), I was thoroughly confused. In retrospect, I think it's probably a 50/50 split between a confusing website layout and just never having even heard of sim leagues. And I consider myself to be a quick learner. In all honesty, it took me HOURS to finally figure out what I was looking at. But once I did, I was hooked. I think that's largely me and my personality--as I'm sure you all know sim leagues are not for everyone.
Once I created an account. I just didn't know what to do. I knew that I had to create a character, but I think I misunderstood exactly HOW MUCH of the onus was on me to take the initiative. Most websites these days will walk you through everything you need to do to be on your way. Of course, I know now that that's not possible with this website, but at the time I had a hard time figuring out how I could "create a character" simply by posting in a folder. Part of that was that I was unprepared for the sheer amount of work that you all have put and continue to put into this project. So, pat on the back for that.
Once I did create an account and a badass character I was immediately welcomed warmly. And I mean this in all sincerity. Within minutes, maybe seconds, I was contacted by multiple HOs, GMs, and other admins to make sure that I felt welcomed and knew I had a place to go with questions. I'm fairly confident that it was @PDXBaller that reached out to me first on both the site and discord. I've heard several comparisons between him and pops so far. Heads up to you GMs out there, I don't know hardly anything about his coaching or playing style, but I have a strong hunch that a lot of his success comes from just jumping on the new guys--it makes you want to play for him (two other notable recipients of my myriad of questions: @tbone415 was probably the second to reach out to me, and @jaskins811 has also been super helpful since signing with Tijuana). From this point on, I had a good idea of what to expect next. Or I least knew who to ask.
Waiting was next. And honestly, the turn around is really pretty fast. I think I was just excited. During this time (from clearing waivers Thursday until first game on Tuesday), I spent time amassing TPE, learning how to update my player, and just going more in-depth into how the league works. I also tried my best to follow along on the discord (and twitch). This was incredibly difficult to do (and truthfully still is) due to inconsistencies between pictures and usernames on the site and on discord, references to players both current and past who have played for multiple teams (some of which don't even exist anymore), and the fact that every time I pick up my phone another 50+ comments have been made. Other difficulties included changes to the functioning of processes (how and when TPE is earned, payout structures, grading methods, etc) which all seemed rather inconsistent. Two recommendations in this area: 1) Better presentation of the game schedule. That was hard to find and even difficult to remember as a new guy. Plus there isn't a good place to go to just see the weeks games--I don't think. 2) A central area with a history of the league and how things work for the new guys. Newby guide to NSFLThis was something I found buried in the Solar Bears folder and is actually pretty decent. Maybe it could be more prominently placed?
And then there was the @Pens incident. I don't need to get too in depth here as nearly every to be said probably has been at this point. But nevertheless, I'll share my thoughts as they may be helpful coming from a newby. I believe Pens broke the rules. However, I don't believe it was handled the best way (even if it did follow precedent). As the rule is written (which we all know by now, so I won't copy and past it), it seems to me that Pens did not have permission to make the edits he did and a reasoning on the basis of validity is shaky at best, ignorant at worst. I 100% understand the fear behind many of the strong reactions from admins, even without fully understanding the abuses this league has seen so far. Yet, I believe that intent and experience should absolutely be taken into account in determining culpability. We do it formally in our legal system and informally in our everyday social interactions. Finally, I'm also of the opinion that not every situation or circumstance can be legislated, it's just not possible. I don't even think the rule needs to be re-worked. Grey area exists in nearly all legal systems and even in many individual laws. It's not something to be afraid of, but an opportunity for leadership to take each situation on a case by case basis. And in this case, I truly believe Pens had no ill intent or negative outcome. I respect the HO's authority to make this decision and to rectify the situation appropriately. In full disclosure, it has made me somewhat squirmish about taking on a larger role with the NSFL. Some of you all (you know who you are) treated him downright nasty, and not at all consistent with the warm welcome I (and I'm sure he) received. My inexperienced and unsolicited recommendation? Better onboarding procedure for anybody with a job, especially one with editing privileges. I think that along with simply more time in the league before taking on a job could have avoided the whole situation.
Of course, these are just some of my impressions from the last week. I was pumped to finally see Verso L'Alto step onto the field. And I look forward to many more entertaining weeks. Thanks for reading.
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*New Kid on the Block - jaskins811 - 02-28-2018
Awesome read man! I'm so glad to see you amped up about this league!
*New Kid on the Block - PDXBaller - 02-28-2018
<3
*New Kid on the Block - Ben - 03-01-2018
Glad to hear two NOLA guys were the first you heard from. PDX is just a boss no one is ever going to out-work him.
Welcome to the league, hope you enjoy your time here!
*New Kid on the Block - bovovovo - 03-01-2018
Ayyyy good article. Really cool idea to give your perspective as a “noobie” which I think gives us a good opportunity as a league to analyze how we look at things from a different perspective.
I really like some of the ideas you came up with, especially the job on boarding process and maybe figure out some way to be able to reach out to people in that phase of “I just randomly found the site and am trying to figure things out.”
Maybe there’s a way to make a bot which automatically sends a message to any new account that’s created? Idk if that’s possible or not
*New Kid on the Block - nunccoepi - 03-01-2018
@Ben Thanks!
@bovovovo Appreciate it. Last thing I want to do is spend time writing a waste of 1000 words. So hopefully it's helpful. I do enjoy coming up with new ideas, R&D like. I'm not sure about making a bot like that. Obviously it exists on other site, but I don't anything about jcink or even programming really, so I wouldn't be much help there. But I think the resources are available on the site (both written and personal), it's just a matter of getting them in the right place at the right time.
*New Kid on the Block - timeconsumer - 03-01-2018
I think one of the main reasons it is confusing on the side of how player creation works right now is because a new person just jumping in doesn't see a bunch of other created player threads in the "Create a Player" section. When I joined the league was just getting started so that section had 20+ other players in it, all you had to do was look at theirs and quickly realize what was going on. As it stands right now that isn't so easy.
Maybe stick a couple of fake ones in there? Some sample created players?
*New Kid on the Block - PDXBaller - 03-01-2018
(03-01-2018, 09:33 AM)timeconsumer Wrote:I think one of the main reasons it is confusing on the side of how player creation works right now is because a new person just jumping in doesn't see a bunch of other created player threads in the "Create a Player" section. When I joined the league was just getting started so that section had 20+ other players in it, all you had to do was look at theirs and quickly realize what was going on. As it stands right now that isn't so easy.
Maybe stick a couple of fake ones in there? Some sample created players?
This is a good idea! I think we could create a couple templates for new players to use or reference.
*New Kid on the Block - iamslm22 - 03-01-2018
(03-01-2018, 01:42 PM)PDXBaller Wrote:This is a good idea! I think we could create a couple templates for new players to use or reference.
Yea I love this idea @timeconsumer. We're likely going to do this - just making sure the other guys can't think of a reason not to.
*New Kid on the Block - nunccoepi - 03-01-2018
Makes sense to me!