Café de Nuit

Less issues per year might mean I have enough time to review. But it also might not, and I would be wary of cutting back production solely with the intention of getting more feedback. I would much rather have more QtR if it meant less feedback, but then, I'm not one of the authors.

gonzoron wrote:I would be wary of cutting back production solely with the intention of getting more feedback.

A good point, and I would doubt that we would cut back on producing our projects based upon the amount of feedback we receive (although the lack of response was a large part of why the USS 2004 was not done). I think that our decision would be based more upon the authors and editors needing more time to finish their work. However, the lack of reponse does detract from the drive to produce articles.

The main reason why I bring this up is that four of the voters so far responded that it is a lack of time that keeps them from providing their opinions. If it were a lack of interest, then I could easily say that reworking the production schedule would make no difference, but time is something that we could potentially correct.

Once my current RPG tasks are finished, I am gonna write some reviews for your netbook. After all, as I so often boast around, *some of the QtR articles are better than official stuff*, so I'll make sure that your works get a bit more attention from the audience...

I often leave some review, but often it isn't a looong constractive criticism. Just a "I liked this!"
Why? I'm not sure. Some of the articles I only wrote a "I liked this!" were very good articles and I liked them much. I haven't thought of constractive Criticism and I thought that a "thank you, you made my day (and a couple of sessions)" were enough.
However, after I use an idea in an adventure I leave some feedback either here or in the General Noticeboard.

I voted "Lack of Interest", but let me explain--I'm an aberration. But then again, you guys already knew that, didn't you?

It's not that I'm not interested in the articles from QtR--I am. Having contributed to one of the issues--and only one, so far--I still can appreciate the amount of time and effort that's put in by the authors (and by editors like ScS, who had to help me whittle down a 50+ page article into the 15 or so pages that made in into the actual issue). I can also appreciate the hunger for feedback... unless it's just a lot of flaming.

Like Igor, I download every issue and read the parts of it that appeal to me. Unfortunately, since my group and I are remaining in 2e, I tend to find the conversion of the game mechanics from the 3e articles cumbersome. Oftentimes, the ideas that I cannibalize for our games end up resembling the original author's intent only superficially.

Plus, still not being familiar with 3e rules and such, many of the articles introducting new monsters or magical items don't make a whole lot of sense to me. I tend to enjoy the fiction and new domains more, because they have ideas I can more easily use in my campaigns.

I guess what it boils down to is that I don't leave feedback because I often don't fully understand all the nuances of the 3e articles... and I figure the authors aren't interested in an uninformed opinion. As writers, they need to know--I feel--what works and what doesn't work, as well as WHY it does or doesn't. And that's something I can only rarely provide for anything written for 3e.

AdamGarou wrote:I'm an aberration. But then again, you guys already knew that, didn't you?

We had our suspicions...

AdamGarou wrote:I guess what it boils down to is that I don't leave feedback because I often don't fully understand all the nuances of the 3e articles... and I figure the authors aren't interested in an uninformed opinion.

While I cannot speak for every author and editor, you do make an excellent point. We are looking for constructive criticism and informed opinions on the articles that are being included within the netbooks. People who complain about articles without providing anything substantive can be merely frustrating (although we do get a better idea about what people don't like). Plus, praise without expressing what was good also does us little good. While I like compliments over criticism, someone merely stating that they liked my article doesn't help me grow and develop as a writer. Therefore, I can understand and respect your statement above, Adam.

I would, however, still encourage you (and anyone else in a similar situation) to occasionally provide feedback on articles that you would be comfortable with. We do get short stories and artwork submissions that do not rely upon game mechanics of a certain edition. Providing feedback on the story would still be beneficial even if it is limited to the one article.

Jason