DC2009 (organizational): what roles need to be filled?

[Meffy]

... and who would like to fill them? I'll do prize solicitation and distribution again unless someone else would particularly enjoy taking that over. What other "positions" will be required?

[jobromedia]

I dunno for sure what could be needed. Someone gotta get on with the press info and promoting the contest. What might also be intresting is a newsfeed entirely for the DC08. Maybe even a wordpress site where the crew can post news and such things. And also: A DC08 subforum here so we can organize stuff better.

[Meffy]

*nod* Shame I didn't inherit my mother's skills at public relations, event promotion, and such. I'm sure there are some folks at KVR who have those abilities though.

In order to promote it we'll have to solidify what, when, etc. -- all those 'w' questions that journalists want answers for.

[jobromedia]

Check my site. At least I put up the RSS feed from the DC forum on the frontpage. Should secure that some persons check it out anyways.

I have an idea when it comes to put up a donation for prizemoney. We could set that up on http://www.pledgie.com and get clear insight to who donated money to the competition as well as get some good publicity there.

Setting up a wordpress site takes no time, getting the crew acounts there. That way we can hand out all the questions each in a post to all the journalists. By tagging and categorize the posts we can get perfect transparency. I've done this before, and I could do this again. I'm using 000webhost.com's webhotel. Ok you don't get much space, but you get quite a stabile site there.

[jobromedia]

C'mon now. We're soon hitting November.

[ugo]

While you're working up a list of jobs that need to be done...if I remember correctly, Tolga mentioned there being a need for someone to handle uploading/checking the files that are submitted, and also someone to handle general communications with the developers.

I would be happy to help out in some way, if I can. I do not know anything about marketing (as evidenced by my own lack of advertising) but I'd certainly be willing to help out with some other job if it helps the DC get rolling for another year.

As I mentioned in another thread at some point, I think it's best if those who are part of the organization of the DC do not submit anything into the contest themselves. During the last two DCs some people made plenty of noise when their favorite plugs didn't score higher. I can foresee many an accusation being posted if an organizer scored high and some disagreed with the results. So if I can lend a hand in the organization of the DC I will bow out of the actual competition. (And to be honest, I'm never sure if I will have the time to build anything or not anyway.)

I remember there being some discussion about possibly having different categories this time. (Synths, effects, best overall, etc.) That seems like a good idea to me since it may help make things more fair. I'm not sure how to handle platform awards though, since the relevance of that all depends on how many devs submit software for different OS'.

Anyone else have some thoughts on how to organize/setup the next DC?

[ouroboros]

I can help out however is needed.

[exonerate]

I think that there should be a limited number of prizes allocated, prizes should only go to the top ten, everyone below gets nothing, unless a prize donator want to do so at there own discretion.

There was over 40 entries last time, I can see this number increasing year upon year as anyone can export a simple vst in synthedit or synthmaker and know they are going to get a prize worth more than there pile of crap.

I know the DC is "fun" but why not make it more serious and competitive? if there are only prizes going to the top ten then this will cut down on the crap entries and the Dev's who do enter know they'll have to pull out all the stops to be in with a chance of getting a reward for there work, so what we end up with is less crap and more quality.

I'm going to be entering next time and I'm am entering for fun but also to win the whole thing, I just think it would be really good for the DC if all the dev's entering had a similar mind set.

cheers

Exo

Edit....Sorry a bit off topic there

[realisation]

I know the DC is "fun" but why not make it more serious and competitive? if there are only prizes going to the top ten then this will cut down on the crap entries and the Dev's who do enter know they'll have to pull out all the stops to be in with a chance of getting a reward for there work, so what we end up with is less crap and more quality.

I'm going to be entering next time and I'm am entering for fun but also to win the whole thing, I just think it would be really good for the DC if all the dev's entering had a similar mind set.

cheers

Exo

Edit....Sorry a bit off topic there

One man's crap is another man's gold

I dont think i will enter this year if there is this sort of vibe to the compo.

[ugo]

I know the DC is "fun" but why not make it more serious and competitive?

If the focus of the DC becomes only about winning then yes, it could discourage a lot of devs from participating. I know that is exactly what you are asking for, but I think that in the long run that route would be more of a drawback than a benefit. For example, if it's only about winning prizes and a few particularly popular devs enter then lot of people with cool plugins might not even bother submitting anything at all because they may feel there is no way for them to win. So while it might raise the technical bar, it could also kill the whole community aspect of the DC and drain a lot of the fun out of it for many people.

My view of the DC has always been that it's essentially like a freeware holiday. One day a year a whole ton of freeware comes out, which benefits the community. Sure freeware comes out all year round, but there is an extra bit of fun knowing that a whole ton of stuff is on the way.

I have viewed the competition end of it as just being an excuse to encourage devs to have fun and join in a friendly event, rather than it being a hard core comp, and the prizes are just a way to say thanks and show our appreciation to the devs for having donated new software for the greater good of the community. Additionally, devs get some extra exposure from having participated.

Also, if you really want to increase the technical level of the DC you're likely to want to see more commercial devs getting involved. But again, that could turn away some devs that may be less experienced but are still well skilled. So in that case, I think you'd have to split the DC up into a few extra categories. Perhaps something along the lines of:

- beginner - newer freeware devs on the scene and basic plug builders
- intermediate - devs who are not top quality, but release good stuff and are not new on the scene
- advanced/pro - top quality devs like Urs, Big Tick, Camel, Linplug, IL, etc.

Devs would be encouraged to enter into the category they feel suits them best, but registration would need to be moderated to make sure that someone doesn't enter into a category that they are clearly far too good for. (Maybe more skill level separation would be needed?)

In any case though, the problem with this is that I don't think that we'd have enough people entering to fill all skill levels and sub categories (synth, effect, utility, etc.), especially in the higher ranks. As a result, we could likely end up with a whole bunch of foregone conclusions instead of a real competition. To get more devs involved, and especially at the higher levels, we'd need to be able to offer much more in prizes and/or advertising. As great as the prizes were for DC07, not all commercial devs would feel that there was enough on offer (monetarily or in advertising) to sufficiently compensate them for their development efforts, particularly in comparison to what they'd get if they sold the software instead.

So I think we'd need to offer more to entice more devs. Once more big names entered then we'd see the press paying a lot more attention to the DC. That could encourage a greater increase in participation even among high end companies just because they'd want the extra press and the chance at bragging rights. (Like an Olympics of audio software development.)

But this is very much a long shot and we'd need serious backing to pull it off. If we can't do that and the DC will stay approximately around the level it's currently at, I just don't think the DC can support moving beyond our current system of basic friendly competition within the community and still remain a really fun event for all involved.

[xoxos]

in my opinion, the primary objective of the dc is not to entice freeware developers or celebrate identity, it is to create awareness of freeware (and coopted by independent developers, now, such as myself).

there are a ton of guitar centers around the world where no one tells people that you can get instruments that don't cost less than $199. it's a fair bet to say a good half of the VST consumers do so without erudition, and the commercial venues, magazines, and those who speak proudly of their acquisitions aren't about changing that.

the dc is essentially a grassroots movement to notify people that they don't have to buy their way into music. if you're thinking about prizes, you're not looking at the big picture (i gave 70% of mine to jeff and chris).

and, of course, the big picture is about reauthorising the individual instead of creating archetype identities.

imagine that - a society where everyone is someone!

[tuz]

i'm not sure if ben is up to having the challenge. i don't know but the dc might have to be done elsewhere if that's the case and people really want it. this might be the end of kvr dc.

[ugo]

That would be quite a shame.

[Laguna Rising]

[RunBeerRun]

How about a Gersic dc or midi musiker.de dc? Just sayin'. Or Rekkerd, all active sites.