READY TO GRADE
I need some money and I have had several people tell me that they used to be intimidated or scared to say hello or weren't really talking to me. I guess I want to fix that. Ask me questions and get to know me, whether it is about the league, my players, my teams, thoughts on the league as a whole, my articles and projects or whatever else you want to know.
@slothfacekilla asked:
Do you miss being a GM in ISFL?
Absolutely! It was some really fun times. There are aspects that I don't miss, certainly. I think a lot of being a GM was also frustrating to me. I was never a fan of testing for example. I also think that there was a lot of silly deadlines and tasks that GMs had to do that didn't make much sense. Thankfully some of that seems to be fixed but I still recall a time where one deadline was for 11:59 pm and the next was for 12:01 am. Why make it so complicated and confusing? Anyway, I do miss the good parts though. I love the comareedarie, building a team, building the team feeling. I love the draft and scouting and finding gems in there. I felt like I did a decent job with the NOLA team and there is definitely an itch to maybe one day try again.
How tough is it to GM in two leagues at once?
It's fairly mixed in some ways. I think a lot of things are fairly easy in that they are exactly the same for both leagues. So having that skill already really helps you. I.e. how to make a spreadsheet for your budget, how to scout players, what to look for in people that you want to get in the draft, how to pitch free agents, how to make good trades, etc. Those are all skills that overlap and therefore it's basically no difference being a GM in one or two leagues. The parts I struggled with were the very league specific parts. Testing here is endlessly more complicated than in PBE. I also think some of the GM tasks are a bit more complicated here as well and the deadlines. on top of it, I think that I just didn't know this league as well. In PBE I basically know every player on every team but the same isn't the case here and I felt like that really hurt my skill as a GM in a way, especially with trades. It took a lot more research and in some ways I found it harder to be GM here. I felt like I didn't give the team all it deserved.
@Tesla asked:
1. What maladies does Medicinal Toblerone cure, or is Medicinal Toblerone actually a doctor?
I think originally the phrase started as a way to say that when you have a bad day, a Toblerone can really cure a lot of problems. Headaches, general bad mood, etc. But as this character became more fleshed out, it became this idea of a sentient piece of Toblerone, who goes out into the world and studies medicine and heals people. I love all the art that people have made, and I think it really does look awesome when a Toblerone has a doctors coat and such.
2. Do you think you would be a general manager in this league again? If yes who would you most want to be your partner general manager among active users?
I think there is a possibility that I will want to be a General Manager again in this league. I am not entirely sure but it's a concept I very much do find appealing, getting another shot at proving myself that way. I am very tempted by the idea of taking over an expansion team. I think there is a challenge there that I have not done as a GM before. I am not sure if that will ever happen but it's at least on my mind. It would be insanely hard, given my very close ties to NOLA.
As for the second part, oh man, that is really mean! I feel like there are so many candidates for that. I am close to a few people that I think would make great co-GMs. Most people in the NOLA war room fit this bill already, I think. There would be some kind of poetic story telling going on if me and Tom Hanks were to GM together again one day. That being said, there was a plan for a while for me and @iamslm22 to take over a team in the SHL, but given my not as active nature there, I have been declined for a GM spot every time I applied and at this point I doubt it ever happens. I think that duo would be an insane combination and I think it would create a lot of buzz among older players who have been around for a while. Another name I will throw out is @Evok because her and I were GMs for the most outlandishly dominant team in sim league history and I think it would be fun to do that again as well.
3. Favorite origin for one of your players in the league? (Bonus Points: Favorite character concept that is not your own?)
I really do love Medicinal Toblerone as a concept and my other players weren't necessarily hugely backstory driven. There are so many awesome character concepts in the league that I love. I think Literally A. Hexagon always makes me laugh, I think that's a great concept for a player. I also really enjoyed @SDCore 's new player name. I also like Slothlisberger as a name.
4. You have an enormous amount of experience as a general manager across multiple sim leagues and so what do you most value in a draft prospect?
That's a really great question. It's an interesting mix of factors I look for. There are a lot of different things. Activity, doing their PTs, writing media, having a good interview, this is all part of it. But really, I would say what I most look for is that IT factor. You just have to kind of feel like that user is just it. That extra motivation to be great. That extra motivation to get involved in the league by writing media or getting jobs. I have been lucky enough to have found that a few times, just really special people. I think people that are involved in the sim also is a factor of that at times. But you do just kind of get that feeling with certain people.
5. In a pie eating contest which of your players would win? (Bonus Points: By how large a margin do you expect them to take the victory?)
Oh man, wow. Like I said, my players usually don't have a ton of backstory. I don't think a piece of Toblerone would be a good person to eat cake. So I guess I will go for Julian O'Sullivan, who as a linebacker should be able to eat a lot of cake! I think it should be an easy win with a lot of margin as well!
6. Extending from 4 what would you suggest a draft prospect do if they explicitly wanted to raise their draft stock with you?
Another great question! Media is a huge part of that. Earning TPE is a great way to stand out but a lot of people do that. Going the extra mile and writing interesting media is the easiest way to stand out, especially if it's not just a player backstory but rather some kind of statistic driven article, or something analytical. I am personally a big fan of those kinds of articles and therefore doing things like that is an easy way to stand. Also doing podcasts is similar in my eyes. I feel like these are great signs.
7. What is Medicinal Toblerone's diet, and does it include Soylent Green?
I will say that maybe Medicinal is actually a cannibal and only eats other pieces of Toblerone, in order to stay the most sentient piece of Toblerone.
8. What is your favorite gridiron football position? Do you think the sim does it justice? (Bonus Points: What is your least favorite gridiron football position?)
Oh that's a fascinating question. Interesting. Hmmm. I really appreciate the work that cornerbacks do and in some ways consider it to be the most difficult position in real life. You really have to be skilled in a lot of difficult things and reacting is tough. I also think it is the toughest position to be great in while also not getting penalized constantly. It's such a fine line. I think our sim does a decent enough job with it. Cornerback is not the flashiest position but it can work decent for win percentage if I am remembering correctly. I think typically I lean towards other defensive positions as well, linebacker or defensive end or similar. Worst.... Hmmm I guess quarterback when it comes to the sim. It's obviously important but it's kind of boring as well. I guess running back is super overrated in my eyes in real life football.
9. Would you ever make another quarterback in this league?
I will refer to my previous media piece. I think quarterback is the worst position in the sim to be and I don't think my mental health could handle another run at quarterback. So if I ever create as a quarterback again please shoot me or remind me of the media and make me change my mind. Fuck quarterback lol
10. You listen to a large number of simulation league podcasts to my knowledge, but have you ever considered making one of your own?
There is a part of me that thinks about it sometimes. I feel like there are people that would be interested to hear my opinions and stories on stuff. I would definitely make mine very statistic driven and story driven in terms of history of the league. There are particular reasons as to why it is unlikely to happen though.
@.simo asked If you were ISFL Queen for a day and could make any changes you have ever wanted to, what is three things you would think could improve the league?
This is a very interesting question and I do have a few things I would change. First, I will give a nod to the league because up until very recently I would have said that one of my issues is that people max their players too fast, but the introduction of the traits with this new sim fixes this issue a lot I think (or at least potentially) - so I will leave that away from my answer.
My first change would be one that I actually recommended for my GMs to bring up as a rule change officially. There is currently what I consider to be a loophole when it comes to contracts. While the max contract minimum is for 1000 TPE and 5 million, you can do unlimited contracts at 800 TPE and 4 million. Basically it means that if you are lucky with timing on extensions you can save your team a million for several seasons by signing an unlimited extension. In my eyes, an unlimited extension should only be allowed at 5 million. In general, the contract system here is probably one of my least favorite things about the league as they just don't really help parity with the way contracts are handled, with higher TPE guys still making so little money and the contracts never raising in money like in the PBE. I think this is one of the things I think the PBE does better than here.
My second change would be to fix the history and awards section. I was one of main people that fought against an awards committee and I would get rid of it again now. Additionally, voting for awards is just handled very badly and wrongly and should be done with a system better than what is currently handled. Ideally with a system where you vote for several players in a top 1-5 type system, to make sure that the vote is more accurate. This is a huge part why the history here is a bit hard to get into. The wiki does have a lot of history pages but they aren't necessarily easy to find or get into. I would put a lot more data on the forum or links to the wiki in a more easy manner. Additionally, I would very very much create and highlight a spreadsheet with everyone's stats that gets updated regularly. I know that such data exists but not necessarily in a way that it gets updated constantly or it is also not easily found or done. it would make so much easier in terms of statistical and historical context for media pieces.
My third change would be that I would allow rookie tasks to be done by recreates. No reason why recreates have to be behind in TPE. Alternatively, I would also say to not have extra off-season weeks. They hurt user retention in my eyes.
@Hordle asked Why did you bank all of your TPE when you were in the DSFL, to the detriment of the team?
There is a fairly easy answer to this though there are several parts to this. The main reason is that I knew I would change positions after the minors and the current rules in this league make this inconvenient, with the rule of having to keep TPE in certain spots. I wanted to keep my options open and so I didn't want to spend any TPE to make it easier to switch. The second reason is that I just genuinely don't care about the DSFL. I know I am in the minority with that opinion, but it's just not important to me. That being said, I did let every GM who scouted me know that this is what I would do and that they shouldn't draft me. I don't think it's fair to call me a detriment with that in mind, as I made it clear before and was told by the GMs that drafted me that I was still an upgrade over a bot or whatever.
I need some money and I have had several people tell me that they used to be intimidated or scared to say hello or weren't really talking to me. I guess I want to fix that. Ask me questions and get to know me, whether it is about the league, my players, my teams, thoughts on the league as a whole, my articles and projects or whatever else you want to know.
@slothfacekilla asked:
Do you miss being a GM in ISFL?
Absolutely! It was some really fun times. There are aspects that I don't miss, certainly. I think a lot of being a GM was also frustrating to me. I was never a fan of testing for example. I also think that there was a lot of silly deadlines and tasks that GMs had to do that didn't make much sense. Thankfully some of that seems to be fixed but I still recall a time where one deadline was for 11:59 pm and the next was for 12:01 am. Why make it so complicated and confusing? Anyway, I do miss the good parts though. I love the comareedarie, building a team, building the team feeling. I love the draft and scouting and finding gems in there. I felt like I did a decent job with the NOLA team and there is definitely an itch to maybe one day try again.
How tough is it to GM in two leagues at once?
It's fairly mixed in some ways. I think a lot of things are fairly easy in that they are exactly the same for both leagues. So having that skill already really helps you. I.e. how to make a spreadsheet for your budget, how to scout players, what to look for in people that you want to get in the draft, how to pitch free agents, how to make good trades, etc. Those are all skills that overlap and therefore it's basically no difference being a GM in one or two leagues. The parts I struggled with were the very league specific parts. Testing here is endlessly more complicated than in PBE. I also think some of the GM tasks are a bit more complicated here as well and the deadlines. on top of it, I think that I just didn't know this league as well. In PBE I basically know every player on every team but the same isn't the case here and I felt like that really hurt my skill as a GM in a way, especially with trades. It took a lot more research and in some ways I found it harder to be GM here. I felt like I didn't give the team all it deserved.
@Tesla asked:
1. What maladies does Medicinal Toblerone cure, or is Medicinal Toblerone actually a doctor?
I think originally the phrase started as a way to say that when you have a bad day, a Toblerone can really cure a lot of problems. Headaches, general bad mood, etc. But as this character became more fleshed out, it became this idea of a sentient piece of Toblerone, who goes out into the world and studies medicine and heals people. I love all the art that people have made, and I think it really does look awesome when a Toblerone has a doctors coat and such.
2. Do you think you would be a general manager in this league again? If yes who would you most want to be your partner general manager among active users?
I think there is a possibility that I will want to be a General Manager again in this league. I am not entirely sure but it's a concept I very much do find appealing, getting another shot at proving myself that way. I am very tempted by the idea of taking over an expansion team. I think there is a challenge there that I have not done as a GM before. I am not sure if that will ever happen but it's at least on my mind. It would be insanely hard, given my very close ties to NOLA.
As for the second part, oh man, that is really mean! I feel like there are so many candidates for that. I am close to a few people that I think would make great co-GMs. Most people in the NOLA war room fit this bill already, I think. There would be some kind of poetic story telling going on if me and Tom Hanks were to GM together again one day. That being said, there was a plan for a while for me and @iamslm22 to take over a team in the SHL, but given my not as active nature there, I have been declined for a GM spot every time I applied and at this point I doubt it ever happens. I think that duo would be an insane combination and I think it would create a lot of buzz among older players who have been around for a while. Another name I will throw out is @Evok because her and I were GMs for the most outlandishly dominant team in sim league history and I think it would be fun to do that again as well.
3. Favorite origin for one of your players in the league? (Bonus Points: Favorite character concept that is not your own?)
I really do love Medicinal Toblerone as a concept and my other players weren't necessarily hugely backstory driven. There are so many awesome character concepts in the league that I love. I think Literally A. Hexagon always makes me laugh, I think that's a great concept for a player. I also really enjoyed @SDCore 's new player name. I also like Slothlisberger as a name.
4. You have an enormous amount of experience as a general manager across multiple sim leagues and so what do you most value in a draft prospect?
That's a really great question. It's an interesting mix of factors I look for. There are a lot of different things. Activity, doing their PTs, writing media, having a good interview, this is all part of it. But really, I would say what I most look for is that IT factor. You just have to kind of feel like that user is just it. That extra motivation to be great. That extra motivation to get involved in the league by writing media or getting jobs. I have been lucky enough to have found that a few times, just really special people. I think people that are involved in the sim also is a factor of that at times. But you do just kind of get that feeling with certain people.
5. In a pie eating contest which of your players would win? (Bonus Points: By how large a margin do you expect them to take the victory?)
Oh man, wow. Like I said, my players usually don't have a ton of backstory. I don't think a piece of Toblerone would be a good person to eat cake. So I guess I will go for Julian O'Sullivan, who as a linebacker should be able to eat a lot of cake! I think it should be an easy win with a lot of margin as well!
6. Extending from 4 what would you suggest a draft prospect do if they explicitly wanted to raise their draft stock with you?
Another great question! Media is a huge part of that. Earning TPE is a great way to stand out but a lot of people do that. Going the extra mile and writing interesting media is the easiest way to stand out, especially if it's not just a player backstory but rather some kind of statistic driven article, or something analytical. I am personally a big fan of those kinds of articles and therefore doing things like that is an easy way to stand. Also doing podcasts is similar in my eyes. I feel like these are great signs.
7. What is Medicinal Toblerone's diet, and does it include Soylent Green?
I will say that maybe Medicinal is actually a cannibal and only eats other pieces of Toblerone, in order to stay the most sentient piece of Toblerone.
8. What is your favorite gridiron football position? Do you think the sim does it justice? (Bonus Points: What is your least favorite gridiron football position?)
Oh that's a fascinating question. Interesting. Hmmm. I really appreciate the work that cornerbacks do and in some ways consider it to be the most difficult position in real life. You really have to be skilled in a lot of difficult things and reacting is tough. I also think it is the toughest position to be great in while also not getting penalized constantly. It's such a fine line. I think our sim does a decent enough job with it. Cornerback is not the flashiest position but it can work decent for win percentage if I am remembering correctly. I think typically I lean towards other defensive positions as well, linebacker or defensive end or similar. Worst.... Hmmm I guess quarterback when it comes to the sim. It's obviously important but it's kind of boring as well. I guess running back is super overrated in my eyes in real life football.
9. Would you ever make another quarterback in this league?
I will refer to my previous media piece. I think quarterback is the worst position in the sim to be and I don't think my mental health could handle another run at quarterback. So if I ever create as a quarterback again please shoot me or remind me of the media and make me change my mind. Fuck quarterback lol
10. You listen to a large number of simulation league podcasts to my knowledge, but have you ever considered making one of your own?
There is a part of me that thinks about it sometimes. I feel like there are people that would be interested to hear my opinions and stories on stuff. I would definitely make mine very statistic driven and story driven in terms of history of the league. There are particular reasons as to why it is unlikely to happen though.
@.simo asked If you were ISFL Queen for a day and could make any changes you have ever wanted to, what is three things you would think could improve the league?
This is a very interesting question and I do have a few things I would change. First, I will give a nod to the league because up until very recently I would have said that one of my issues is that people max their players too fast, but the introduction of the traits with this new sim fixes this issue a lot I think (or at least potentially) - so I will leave that away from my answer.
My first change would be one that I actually recommended for my GMs to bring up as a rule change officially. There is currently what I consider to be a loophole when it comes to contracts. While the max contract minimum is for 1000 TPE and 5 million, you can do unlimited contracts at 800 TPE and 4 million. Basically it means that if you are lucky with timing on extensions you can save your team a million for several seasons by signing an unlimited extension. In my eyes, an unlimited extension should only be allowed at 5 million. In general, the contract system here is probably one of my least favorite things about the league as they just don't really help parity with the way contracts are handled, with higher TPE guys still making so little money and the contracts never raising in money like in the PBE. I think this is one of the things I think the PBE does better than here.
My second change would be to fix the history and awards section. I was one of main people that fought against an awards committee and I would get rid of it again now. Additionally, voting for awards is just handled very badly and wrongly and should be done with a system better than what is currently handled. Ideally with a system where you vote for several players in a top 1-5 type system, to make sure that the vote is more accurate. This is a huge part why the history here is a bit hard to get into. The wiki does have a lot of history pages but they aren't necessarily easy to find or get into. I would put a lot more data on the forum or links to the wiki in a more easy manner. Additionally, I would very very much create and highlight a spreadsheet with everyone's stats that gets updated regularly. I know that such data exists but not necessarily in a way that it gets updated constantly or it is also not easily found or done. it would make so much easier in terms of statistical and historical context for media pieces.
My third change would be that I would allow rookie tasks to be done by recreates. No reason why recreates have to be behind in TPE. Alternatively, I would also say to not have extra off-season weeks. They hurt user retention in my eyes.
@Hordle asked Why did you bank all of your TPE when you were in the DSFL, to the detriment of the team?
There is a fairly easy answer to this though there are several parts to this. The main reason is that I knew I would change positions after the minors and the current rules in this league make this inconvenient, with the rule of having to keep TPE in certain spots. I wanted to keep my options open and so I didn't want to spend any TPE to make it easier to switch. The second reason is that I just genuinely don't care about the DSFL. I know I am in the minority with that opinion, but it's just not important to me. That being said, I did let every GM who scouted me know that this is what I would do and that they shouldn't draft me. I don't think it's fair to call me a detriment with that in mind, as I made it clear before and was told by the GMs that drafted me that I was still an upgrade over a bot or whatever.