CANTR Webzine: "WHO STOLE MY NOTES?"

[Nixit]

I love this one! Especially the comic, this one was REALLY funny!

[mtm21]

Yey! I am in it and owner of Tools and Rental. *giggles* I bet you know who I am again lol. I am going to kick ass on the 49 rooms. Only 20 to go. lol

[nitefyre]

I should mention the standing Webzine policy on literature submissions. We have no official policy but this is how things have been done in the past and the standards we uphold--though there is always the possibility of an exception. Works based on character stories should definitely go through a process of 'formalization' (i.e. putting it in an acceptable style of prose [or even poetry]). Materials that are simply transcripts of what has happened are usually unacceptable. Try making it into a short story (recommended), journal, chapter, news article, etc, format first. Also, make sure the work is interesting and entertaining!

Secondly, feel free to approach us as soon as you place it in that format and let us know that you'd like to contribute the piece in the future. We'll give you a better idea if it's better to just keep it IC or that there is an OOC medium for it. You're probably going to reach a lot bigger audience in this way. The most likely answer is not a 'yes' or a 'no' but rather 'let's do some more work on this.' That involves going over the piece for grammatical, etc, proofreading and clearing up any parts that are incoherent/confusing even if you did it before briefly for the IG version. (It is also likely we'll take a third sweep of it, but we ask you to make our lives easier.)

Another reason behind us holding onto it is we'll let any related events pass by first. All our works of IC fiction turned OOC have at least waited quite a while between being both 'detrimental to the IG world' and being published the first time IG. However, we encourage you to notify us of your interest and let us gauge the time gone by--so don't wait. There are five main reasons why we defer things 1) to avoid affecting IG events, 2) to wait until the work achieves 'novelty' again before provisioning its second, wider-audience draft, 3) we may already have other IC literature works being released and do not want to have too many of these compared to other works, 4) would want to wait until matching literature was released at the same time, or sequentially, 5) we as editors may be busy --there's only two of us--though this is rare that one or the other shouldn't be able to facilitate it by reading and giving comments. We always appreciate submissions like the 'Pirate Hunt' and other pieces, and if you are unsure, please just email us and ask!

Finally, if you're thinking of contributing a piece, I don't suggest releasing it on the forums prematurely. At the Zine, we love Zine-exclusive pieces. Releasing it once before to a small audience IG is alright, since we'll let the piece build its novelty back again, and that's a small price to pay if the work is good enough. Also, you may be affecting gameplay by releasing on the forums without couseling with anybody before hand.

The previous was for literature released previously IG. There are many ways to contribute to the Zine. IC-literature proves to sometimes be the least creative since it is done so often. What about thinking outside the box?


PS> The deadline for submissions for Issue 7, Sept 1, is fast nearing.

[nitefyre]

Now boarding!

Final call for September (Issue 7) submissions!

As of Issue 8, could contributors please regard the stated deadline (the beginning of the month) more closely? You're making it harder on the editorial staff if it's sent in later. However, most of the Issue is now assembled. It will be released on the Fall equinox.

[Doug R.]

Well, you could always hold late submissions until next issue... That would learn 'em.

[nitefyre]

Unfortunately, it's the more "regular" articles that are being held up. We're at 70+% readiness, which is pretty good. The pace of preparedness leading to launch has been improving dramatically over the last couple of Issues. Sarah's still undecided on whether it is my bastardly demeanor and willingness to threaten, blackmail, etc to get those articles in on time; it's just because she hasn't gotten the distaste of it before that she's still unsure.

(I feel like such a high school teacher sometimes, chasing people around for assignments! )

However, Doug, that policy you mentioned has been seriously considered and may go into effect in upcoming Issues. We just won't tolerate laziness or tardiness around here. It's a real ship shape operation. Oh right, about that "put on a nice, friendly face for the CD agenda." >_>

Erm... =)

[Sarah]

The 7th issue of the webzine is out now. It was technically released at midnight (my time) last night, but I didn't want to announce it until some technical problems were solved. I had to make all the images smaller, so if they're difficult to see now, right click them and view the images by themselves.

[Jos Elkink]

Amazingly good issue again!! I really love the fake journalistic article, Jon. And some really good tips for roleplaying as well. And our very own cartoon! Hilarious!

I hope people will get a bit of a better understanding of the PD through this webzine, as well.

[SekoETC]

A little tip, if you absolutely have to resize pictures that are not saved as vector graphics, and have thin lines in them, such as writing, then please, blur the original image before resizing! This expands the colours to surrounding pixels, and there's less of a chance for a part of a line vanishing altogether. The diagrams in the statistic section are now pretty much unreadable, due to lines missing from the lettering. (One might catch something by squinting, but the poor quality doesn't encourage readers to go through the trouble.)

Unfortunately I seem to remember this is not the first time this has happened. The best option would be to have vector graphics (such as excel diagrams) handed in in their unrendered form, and should need to resizing arise, the program will make sure no lines vanish. *sigh*

[Jos Elkink]

I just right-click on the pictures and click on 'view image' and the proper version opens. The files are not resized themselves, they are only given fixed (smaller) proportions in hte HTML code.

[SekoETC]

Oh yeah, I later discovered that one out. Would it be possible to have a link on them, so that people not so much familiar with the finesse of browsers would still have a chance?

[Sarah]

I've made the images into links to the original, larger versions. Thanks for the suggestion. I have no skills with images whatsoever (as Jon can certainly attest to ), so I don't really know how to blur them or do anything else. . . .

[nitefyre]

I'm not going to lie, that issue was a back-breaker. Fortunately, we had a few breakthroughs (e.g. Seko's comic exclusive and you don't want to know how last minute HF's stats were ), but by personally crafting the fourth article for it, it was starting to drain me. We really need a few more contributors and editors. We try to be as in touch and available as possible, so if you have an idea, please let us know!

(Great work with the final launch, Sarah!)


By the way, if you just have a question (about the job, or anything really) feel free to simply email us or ask us here. . . .

Amazingly good issue again!! I really love the fake journalistic article, Jon. And some really good tips for roleplaying as well. And our very own cartoon! Hilarious!

ps There was nothing 'fake' about the journalism

[Jos Elkink]

ps There was nothing 'fake' about the journalism

Don't tell me you did not write that tongue-in-cheek ... Because then I start to worry about how serious you take things ...

I mean, it read like a professional, external comment on Cantr, rather than an internal webzine article. Which made it fun to read. Did I totally misunderstood your intentions?

[nitefyre]

ps There was nothing 'fake' about the journalism

Don't tell me you did not write that tongue-in-cheek ... Because then I start to worry about how serious you take things ...

I mean, it read like a professional, external comment on Cantr, rather than an internal webzine article. Which made it fun to read. Did I totally misunderstood your intentions?

You were right, but I was just pointing out that it was worthy on its own merit as a poignant journalistic article. It's intended to point out the significance of the MD's role and encourage the support/administrative areas of Cantr to take a good, long look at that department. Without a dynamic and capable MD, there is no pool for Cantr staff, players, etc, and essentially, there is no Cantr.

I feel our Human Resources people should place more emphasis on this, as I have told them and they have heard repeatedly. This was just another, more fun, approach to it.

On a secondary point, I was discussing with Sarah the 'role' of the Cantr Webzine. On one level, it is a community support publication as with any other company, site or game newsletter. This hopefully adds to the knowledge (e.g. GAB reports) and interest (e.g. Hobbes commentary) of the player.

On another level, the way I wish the Zine was more of, is from the editorial approach--being the OOC community's official press we're stuck between giving the official word and direct criticism. Before going off on a tangential thesis on the role of press in society (today) as a check and balance, I just want to stress its important to portray honest viewpoints on contemporary Cantr issues (including staff) so that progressive change can be made.

It seems to be certain key arteries and veins are stagnant within the staff infrastructure. On the other hand, certain organs (e.g. RD, PD) are persisting despite the setbacks...I feel it is from strong leadership and so kudos.