The idea of paying people for writing articles comes up about once a year. So far we've thought it was not really feasible, mainly due to additional costs on top of the recurring costs of which premium users fortunately pay a share. :) Now we are thinking about a donation model, and pay authors from those donations. Below you can find a rough draft of what we are thinking off but this is of course a first setup of the idea and open to discussion and change on every point. So what do you, the community and potential article writers, think about this idea. Is it a good idea, will it attract more people writing stuff on EP, will people actually donate some money for a good article, anything else we should add/remove or change? To increase the output of quality content we are thinking about the following: In each month it will be possible to donate to a monthly pool. Donations can be done in real world cash via PayPal, and possibly in game by purchasing items from a shop/shopkeeper. But also think of more creative ways: donating "TT food" from a small hunt, service providers could donate one of their products/services, for example a flight service could donate a free flight, you can donate a team hunt and provide X PED of ammo, etc etc etc. We ask people to create quality articles (possibly also guides or even videos) that can be put on the EntropiaPlanets frontpage. The topic of these can be diverse and would be up to the author: a review of a new content release/feature/tool (website)/etc, a report on the economy (or any other aspect) of enhancers/instances/melee amps/etc an interview with a player/society/developer/etc, the history of a system/annual event/creature/etc and many more. (All content on EP is published under a free Creative Commons license, so the articles can also be used by other websites) Each month there's a poll to select the 'best' article(s). The pool of donations of a month are given to the authors. Maybe split 3:2:1, so for example if the pool sums up to 240 PED the split would be 120 for first place, 80 for second, 40 for 3rd.
Well, that's of course a great idea, and for the first month I would donate 100 PED. Some things I would personally find great: really extensive guide to taming, pets and stables really extensive guide to Camp Icarus and surroundings for new players really extensive guide to Space comparison of EU to other games feature or exploit - the pros and cons of trapping creatures theft or gameplay - the pros and cons of space piracy reviews for instances/mission chains/etc of various planets
So, anyone has anything to say about this? Good idea, bad idea? Maybe just divide the PED each month among the people that wrote an article, without voting for the best one?
I think it's a good idea, except for the voting to "choose" best one. When someone takes the time to write an article, or create a video or guide, it's not just about putting words or graphics into print. Time and effort have value, and if someone is going to set aside time to develop an article or project for the community, then I think it should be recognized in some way. If the quality of content isn't to the staff's standard, then perhaps someone could work with that person to bring it to such. It would not only be a process of learning for the writer/artist, but also give them a sense of satisfaction that their time had worth, and they were able to contribute something of value that benefited the community in some way. Even what might seem a simple article can be time-consuming to produce a quality product.
I'll be back to read later when my concentration bar has filled up again. I used it all already by rolling over too much ;)
