There are so many incredible things about the ISFL, but one of the biggest ones that stands out time and time again is how much the league needs to continue to adapt to the changing times. While we have seen the league grow and expand over the past 2 years, we haven't necessarily faced the hard conversation about the league and the fact that it is continuing to decline in it's userbase. This is evidenced in both the amount of users being recruited, as well as the retention of some other users as well. I think it's very important to look at some of the biggest reasons why users may not be inclined to stay, as well as why they end up loving the league.
For Rookies the league can be incredibly overwhelming to start. Between looking to be invited to the ISFL rookie discord, the ISFL general chat, along with then suddenly a separate Fantasy Football chat and currently 8 different DSFL team locker rooms that they have the potential to join, that is a lot of different places to chat (especially since many users come and this is one of their first experiences, really using discord in this way). There are some ways to make this less overwhelming (especially when rookies would complain time and time again that they felt pressure to talk in every DSFL locker room or they wouldn't get drafted), and I think it really comes down to eliminating the ability for rookies to be added to DSFL locker rooms. "But Schwarz," you might say, "How are we supposed to know if they fit into the culture of the team?"
Well, ideally, the biggest culture of your team in the present are the previous seasons rookies. Who are also in rookie chat. Making everyone more active there is a. just great for everyone (classes bonding together and being less tribalistic makes for a healthier league, healthier users, and ultimately provides more movement in free agency). Have them help you be the ones who scout, instead of the same users for two years. Let them get a taste of that, let them stay engaged and want to learn more about the newest group of users. Rookie chat should be the biggest asset to the league and any ISFL and DSFL team. Being present there as management has way more power than anyone realizes.
Additionally, while the offseason has gotten better (with the offseason task, but to be honest that's super intimidating for new users), it's pretty boring for the newbies. For everyone in management and behind the scenes, the offseason can feel like chaos. Between drafting, callups, preseason checklists, contracts and more, there is a lot going on. However, for rookies they come in not seeing any games really, and GMs are busy.
Now that we've talked about some of the reason our retention may not be great for new users, let's talk about some big reasons why people stay.
Love of football. Even though DDSPF is a monster that Brooks Pigeott made, most of us here love football. Hell, I didn't know as much about football until joining the league, but I still loved watching it prior to joining.
We also stay for the friendships and bonds that we made. Now, some people (like me), end up feeling as though those bonds are only to one team. And that's totally legit, no need to like, feel bad about having friends mostly in one place. Other people end up making those friendships and having them in tons of different places. These users are really the ones you want, more than the users like me. And I think reducing the tribalism in the league helps to create more users like this. These are the users who are going to swap teams, and be flexible in drafts, and they make every moment exciting for everyone.
For Rookies the league can be incredibly overwhelming to start. Between looking to be invited to the ISFL rookie discord, the ISFL general chat, along with then suddenly a separate Fantasy Football chat and currently 8 different DSFL team locker rooms that they have the potential to join, that is a lot of different places to chat (especially since many users come and this is one of their first experiences, really using discord in this way). There are some ways to make this less overwhelming (especially when rookies would complain time and time again that they felt pressure to talk in every DSFL locker room or they wouldn't get drafted), and I think it really comes down to eliminating the ability for rookies to be added to DSFL locker rooms. "But Schwarz," you might say, "How are we supposed to know if they fit into the culture of the team?"
Well, ideally, the biggest culture of your team in the present are the previous seasons rookies. Who are also in rookie chat. Making everyone more active there is a. just great for everyone (classes bonding together and being less tribalistic makes for a healthier league, healthier users, and ultimately provides more movement in free agency). Have them help you be the ones who scout, instead of the same users for two years. Let them get a taste of that, let them stay engaged and want to learn more about the newest group of users. Rookie chat should be the biggest asset to the league and any ISFL and DSFL team. Being present there as management has way more power than anyone realizes.
Additionally, while the offseason has gotten better (with the offseason task, but to be honest that's super intimidating for new users), it's pretty boring for the newbies. For everyone in management and behind the scenes, the offseason can feel like chaos. Between drafting, callups, preseason checklists, contracts and more, there is a lot going on. However, for rookies they come in not seeing any games really, and GMs are busy.
Now that we've talked about some of the reason our retention may not be great for new users, let's talk about some big reasons why people stay.
Love of football. Even though DDSPF is a monster that Brooks Pigeott made, most of us here love football. Hell, I didn't know as much about football until joining the league, but I still loved watching it prior to joining.
We also stay for the friendships and bonds that we made. Now, some people (like me), end up feeling as though those bonds are only to one team. And that's totally legit, no need to like, feel bad about having friends mostly in one place. Other people end up making those friendships and having them in tons of different places. These users are really the ones you want, more than the users like me. And I think reducing the tribalism in the league helps to create more users like this. These are the users who are going to swap teams, and be flexible in drafts, and they make every moment exciting for everyone.
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