Hello there dear reader, good to have you again. As some of you may be aware, some time ago, there was an end of season survey. This survey was used by HO to gather feedback following what was the largest class in league history. I’m fully expecting them to implement this survey as an annual thing, as it provided a massive influx of useful (and unuseful) information. While I won’t be going in depth on the information provided in this article, I may look at some of the more fascinating aspects at a later date. (I’d tell you when but half my projects for the NSFL this season have already been canceled or delayed) Today, I’d like to go over some of my ideas on how to make the league a little more enjoyable for everyone. I understand that some, perhaps many of you will disagree with me, however this is my show and your opinions are wrong.
The Forum
At first, I was like the majority, I hated the forums with a blinding passion. However, recently, having done some research I’ve discovered it could be a lot worse. The biggest issue with the forums (at least in my mind, my show remember?) is that it’s a jumbled mess. My 8 year old niece could organize her barbies better.
As someone who’s only been in this league for roughly two and a half months, some of the placements make no sense at all. I’ll start with what I think is by far the worst offender, the “Getting Started” tab. First off, if this is where you’re supposed to get started, why is the rookie guide not the very first thing you see when you enter the league? On another note, why is player retirement part of getting started? In my version of the NSFL this tab is getting a complete overhaul.
Now, if I had the spare time, I’d have gone into photoshop and created some visual aids. For now, I’m going to ask you to help me out and use your imagination for a minute. My new and improved “Getting Started” tab, opens with a brand new sub section. “Rookie Corner” in here, will be every useful link someone might need to have a good experience. Priority one would be of course, the rookie guide. As flawed as it may be. Secondly, this is where everyone can go to find the player templates. In my own version of the NSFL the player templates would be significantly different but that’s for another time.
Another thing I would place in here that I think would be a massive help to the league, is a list of every user associated with the different parts of the league. Graders, sim team, GM’s, rookie mentors, etc. If this already exists I have no idea because I haven’t been able to find it. I’d also put here a description of all the different league jobs. A proper guide for anyone who wants to get into sim testing. As well as a few examples of media, and GFX.
Some other changes to “Getting Started” would include moving announcements in this section. I’d also move player retirement into the announcements tab, instead of being one of the first things you see the moment you enter the league. I’d also move the discord link to the front page. Finally, inside the create a player tab, I’d pin a permanent example sheet that not only shows what you need to do, but also how TPE is spent. I’d probably also put this in the rookie guide as well, the more accessible it is the better.
Next up in my version of the NSFL. The second thing you’d see is the “Player Development” tab. There are two things that are being moved here. The ”bank”, and the ”NSFL/DSFL transactions” tabs. Both of which would be placed under the three things already in this category. I personally believe this makes for a much more streamlined user experience having all things associated with the actual development of your player in one place.
The “Community” category is the one that I’d make the most changes too, and I also expect you to hate these changes the most. The first thing I’d do is eliminate anything that does not inherently make any money. Announcements, off topic, and discussion are all removed and placed elsewhere. The second thing I’d do is rename the category entirely. I’ve never been good with naming things, so I’ll leave that to those with actual power around here. (God knows they’d never give it to me) I’d also move fantasy football in here.
Where will off topic and discussion be going I hear you ask? The all new (actual) community board! In this board is everything not directly related to the league at large. YouTube, twitch, discord, off topic, discussion, and the draft central are all here. My entire plan for a new and improved NSFL is to streamline everything. I think this is a great way to do it, bringing all the major community tabs in one place. I’d also bring my proposed “Community Events” board here, but I’ll go more in detail on that at a later time.
The final change I’d make to the forum directly, is to combine the wiki and history tabs. I’d also put any other informational links and tabs here that aren’t in the rookie corner. The indexes, player database, TPE tracker, anything like that can all be found in one place.
Again, I’d like to reiterate, I personally don’t believe the forums themselves are all that bad. They certainly have their own unique set of flaws, but it could certainly be far worse. I think a fresh change of scenery could be all we need as a stop gap measure if HO still wants to pursue other options. I understand implementing the changes I have illustrated above, will in and of themselves create their fair share of challenges, but I think it’s a risk worth taking.
Discord
I’m only going to touch on this briefly, as I’d like to be more in depth with this in the future. I don’t like the NSFL Discord, I don’t like the league's reliance on it, and I don’t like how quickly it can turn into a contest to see who can get bullied the hardest. I’ll have a lot more to say when my community engagement post comes out, but here are the footnotes.
I think the league’s overreliance on Discord to gauge user activity creates an unnecessary amount of pressure on anyone who wants to play more casually. As such, anyone who intends to play more casually may not be reached out to by scouts, thus creating an endless cycle where some users may not feel they belong. I think the best way to improve interest from casual players is to have a dedicated channel with links to every league’s guest locker room. I know there are several teams that do this already, having a dumb downed, smaller area in their locker room specifically for guests. I know most of these servers are already publicly available, though that does not mean they’re immediately accessible. I think these guest rooms should also be available under each team’s page on the forum. I also think the DSFL teams should be exempt from this, as rookies are the only ones that really need to be in those servers.
Quality of Life
Now let’s get into some more general improvements. The first of which, I think every team, both DSFL and NSFL should have their own banker and updater. I think this will significantly reduce the workload on both respective groups, and allow them both to be much more efficient. Having less work to do I think could also draw more people in to fill these roles.
The next thing I’d suggest is a new award. The “Community Achievement Award” as a means to give much needed praise to those in the community who go above and beyond to create a more welcoming and enjoyable experience. This award would not apply to GM’s as they have their own equivalent award.
I also think the update scale should be reworked, such that speed is nerfed. It is well documented by now, just how overpowered speed is, to the point where it dismantles flexibility in the league. With speed the way it is, almost all players will spend the majority of their first two or three seasons trying to max speed first. I don’t have a formula to suggest, but I do believe it’s something that needs to change.
Finally, consider this a precursor to a much larger, much more in-depth article to come. I think the biggest, most important change the league needs to make is to switch it’s focus to the community as a whole. I’ve grown tired of the seemingly constant stream of constantly treating wins and losses as the sole importance over all else. Before you start typing that response, yes, I fully understand the want to be competitive, and the joys of winning, however, in no way does that give you a free pass to be a dick. Be competitive, but don’t bring others down when you do it.
~T
The Forum
At first, I was like the majority, I hated the forums with a blinding passion. However, recently, having done some research I’ve discovered it could be a lot worse. The biggest issue with the forums (at least in my mind, my show remember?) is that it’s a jumbled mess. My 8 year old niece could organize her barbies better.
As someone who’s only been in this league for roughly two and a half months, some of the placements make no sense at all. I’ll start with what I think is by far the worst offender, the “Getting Started” tab. First off, if this is where you’re supposed to get started, why is the rookie guide not the very first thing you see when you enter the league? On another note, why is player retirement part of getting started? In my version of the NSFL this tab is getting a complete overhaul.
Now, if I had the spare time, I’d have gone into photoshop and created some visual aids. For now, I’m going to ask you to help me out and use your imagination for a minute. My new and improved “Getting Started” tab, opens with a brand new sub section. “Rookie Corner” in here, will be every useful link someone might need to have a good experience. Priority one would be of course, the rookie guide. As flawed as it may be. Secondly, this is where everyone can go to find the player templates. In my own version of the NSFL the player templates would be significantly different but that’s for another time.
Another thing I would place in here that I think would be a massive help to the league, is a list of every user associated with the different parts of the league. Graders, sim team, GM’s, rookie mentors, etc. If this already exists I have no idea because I haven’t been able to find it. I’d also put here a description of all the different league jobs. A proper guide for anyone who wants to get into sim testing. As well as a few examples of media, and GFX.
Some other changes to “Getting Started” would include moving announcements in this section. I’d also move player retirement into the announcements tab, instead of being one of the first things you see the moment you enter the league. I’d also move the discord link to the front page. Finally, inside the create a player tab, I’d pin a permanent example sheet that not only shows what you need to do, but also how TPE is spent. I’d probably also put this in the rookie guide as well, the more accessible it is the better.
Next up in my version of the NSFL. The second thing you’d see is the “Player Development” tab. There are two things that are being moved here. The ”bank”, and the ”NSFL/DSFL transactions” tabs. Both of which would be placed under the three things already in this category. I personally believe this makes for a much more streamlined user experience having all things associated with the actual development of your player in one place.
The “Community” category is the one that I’d make the most changes too, and I also expect you to hate these changes the most. The first thing I’d do is eliminate anything that does not inherently make any money. Announcements, off topic, and discussion are all removed and placed elsewhere. The second thing I’d do is rename the category entirely. I’ve never been good with naming things, so I’ll leave that to those with actual power around here. (God knows they’d never give it to me) I’d also move fantasy football in here.
Where will off topic and discussion be going I hear you ask? The all new (actual) community board! In this board is everything not directly related to the league at large. YouTube, twitch, discord, off topic, discussion, and the draft central are all here. My entire plan for a new and improved NSFL is to streamline everything. I think this is a great way to do it, bringing all the major community tabs in one place. I’d also bring my proposed “Community Events” board here, but I’ll go more in detail on that at a later time.
The final change I’d make to the forum directly, is to combine the wiki and history tabs. I’d also put any other informational links and tabs here that aren’t in the rookie corner. The indexes, player database, TPE tracker, anything like that can all be found in one place.
Again, I’d like to reiterate, I personally don’t believe the forums themselves are all that bad. They certainly have their own unique set of flaws, but it could certainly be far worse. I think a fresh change of scenery could be all we need as a stop gap measure if HO still wants to pursue other options. I understand implementing the changes I have illustrated above, will in and of themselves create their fair share of challenges, but I think it’s a risk worth taking.
Discord
I’m only going to touch on this briefly, as I’d like to be more in depth with this in the future. I don’t like the NSFL Discord, I don’t like the league's reliance on it, and I don’t like how quickly it can turn into a contest to see who can get bullied the hardest. I’ll have a lot more to say when my community engagement post comes out, but here are the footnotes.
I think the league’s overreliance on Discord to gauge user activity creates an unnecessary amount of pressure on anyone who wants to play more casually. As such, anyone who intends to play more casually may not be reached out to by scouts, thus creating an endless cycle where some users may not feel they belong. I think the best way to improve interest from casual players is to have a dedicated channel with links to every league’s guest locker room. I know there are several teams that do this already, having a dumb downed, smaller area in their locker room specifically for guests. I know most of these servers are already publicly available, though that does not mean they’re immediately accessible. I think these guest rooms should also be available under each team’s page on the forum. I also think the DSFL teams should be exempt from this, as rookies are the only ones that really need to be in those servers.
Quality of Life
Now let’s get into some more general improvements. The first of which, I think every team, both DSFL and NSFL should have their own banker and updater. I think this will significantly reduce the workload on both respective groups, and allow them both to be much more efficient. Having less work to do I think could also draw more people in to fill these roles.
The next thing I’d suggest is a new award. The “Community Achievement Award” as a means to give much needed praise to those in the community who go above and beyond to create a more welcoming and enjoyable experience. This award would not apply to GM’s as they have their own equivalent award.
I also think the update scale should be reworked, such that speed is nerfed. It is well documented by now, just how overpowered speed is, to the point where it dismantles flexibility in the league. With speed the way it is, almost all players will spend the majority of their first two or three seasons trying to max speed first. I don’t have a formula to suggest, but I do believe it’s something that needs to change.
Finally, consider this a precursor to a much larger, much more in-depth article to come. I think the biggest, most important change the league needs to make is to switch it’s focus to the community as a whole. I’ve grown tired of the seemingly constant stream of constantly treating wins and losses as the sole importance over all else. Before you start typing that response, yes, I fully understand the want to be competitive, and the joys of winning, however, in no way does that give you a free pass to be a dick. Be competitive, but don’t bring others down when you do it.
~T