Raistlin's Round 4: Not-So-Elite Eight

[Raistlin]

SMACK TALK TIME

I meant to do this yesterday, but there was so much to catch up with that I forgot. Here is my breakdown of the competitors and my honest and straight-forward opinion of them. So basically, just like last time, this is where I piss off all the other competitors when they can finally read this. Which is always a risk, because at least one of them will be a CK!

Bleys: Probably the funnest guy of the bunch, I wish he would be staff again. However, I would be a little bit concerned how he’d fit in with the current staff at the current EoFF. EoFF was very different when he was an admin. Also, the staff might reasonably be concerned that he may not continue to be this active, as before fairly recently he has not been a consistent regular since 2005. But if Bleys continues to stick around, and I do think he will, I think he’s one of the biggest assets to the forum in the competition, whether he’s staff or not. Just look at the FFV Revisited thread for an example.

Quin: One of my dark horses, Quin is a fun, well-liked, and active member, which historically has been the main qualifications for becoming a CK. I think he’s also shown in this competition that he is willing to help out and he can have some good ideas. I’m not entirely sure he will keep up those ideas and helping out, however, when something is not pushing him. In the team challenge, for example, Quin’s contribution was largely some feedback about ideas from Bleys, Vivi, and myself – feedback which was not unhelpful, don’t get me wrong, and he certainly deserved points for enthusiasm and willingness to try. But I’m not yet convinced about what he’d add to the staff forum. He might well add a lot, and I think the potential is there; I just haven’t personally seen it.

Goboko: Freya told me that Gobo was another repeat finalist, but I looked it up and he definitely was not! BWAHAHA I AM THE ONLY PERENNIAL BRIDESMAID! Wait, that’s probably not a good thing… Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Gobo is another fun member, but I think there are better choices here for CK. First, before a little over a month ago, Gobo had been fairly inactive for a long time before that. Secondly, and notwithstanding his apparent misunderstanding, I thought some of his posts in the “staff activity” thread were just bizarre. Staff efficiency? EoFF can’t “afford” taking time to discuss who should be the new staff members? Huh? He’s a good member and I hope he keeps up this activity, but I don’t think he has a strong likelihood of being chosen this time around.

milliegoesbeep: One of the most quickly productive newbies we’ve had in a long time! Her enthusiasm and willingness to help out have made her by far the most surprising finalist. But sadly, I think this is where it ends for Ms. Beep. She did, after all, only register a couple of weeks before the competition, and while she is a very nice member who needs to stick around, I’m pretty sure Kishi would come back from the great beyond to kill her if his record is broken. Additionally, in more serious discussions, she seems fairly passive. I’d be worried about her being able to hold her own against more opinionated members and fellow staffers.

Sephex: My other dark horse! Sephex is fun, well-liked, and has been very active for this year, at least, which again meets the historically main requirements for CKship. But even moreso than Quin, my criticism of Sephex is that what you see is what you get. Meaning, I'm concerned that what he has done for the past 8 or 9 months is exactly what he’d do as a staff member. Which is far from a terrible thing; Sephex is a great member who is, in fact, next in line to have a turn as the next Unne/Bleys/BoB/Psychotic/G13/Jiro/Pike (did I miss any?) and have a huge run of awards in December (the trend is even getting predictable at this point, as number of members have already called this). But I’ve not been overly impressed with his discussion in the fake staff forum threads, and so think EoFF might have more to gain from other choices. But if it comes down to a popularity contest, Sephex has to be a favorite.

Shorty: A good friend of mine, I bugged her to post more at EoFF, and I’m happy she has. She’s fun, sassy, and has big cans, which the staff could always use more of. But she’s not one of my favorites to win this thing. She’s been very active… for about two months. Before that, she didn’t post at all for a long time. I think she can be a great addition, but I would certainly like to see her stick around more first.

Vivi22: My pick from the beginning, and still my pick now. He is WK from 2009, but has even more things going for him (no one had WK to win at the start of the last competition). He’s better known (and therefore more liked), he posts more in the General forums, and he’s been active in a major EoFF event, the FF census. With the possible exception of Bleys, I also think he has the most to add to the frontsite, though admittedly he has not shown that much before now. Because I have to say something negative (otherwise what fun would this be), I think his mock-staff discussions show a passive inclination towards the status quo, but he did change his mind in the double post thread. And even with that possible con, I think he has more to contribute to staff discussions than most of the other competitors.

Raistlin: And then there’s me. I think we’ve already covered myself pretty thoroughly towards the end of my Round 3 blog thread, but I figure someone would point it out if I didn’t include myself. I am certainly not a favorite to win, if only because Miriel would probably divorce Del if she came back to find a CK title under my name (I’m not sure she’s forgiven him for our 2010 prank). And, of course, because the thought of me having staff access terrifies the admins, which is incidentally why I’m also unlikely to be an Editor (and the reason I expressed disappointment when it was revealed in the last Editor call that Editors had staff access). BUT THIS IS ABOUT THE CK COMPETITION. Ok, so my pros: I would challenge the staff in discussions, I am good at giving criticism, and I have done more recent news and frontsite work than the other competitors (I say “recent,” because overall Bleys has me beat). My cons: I would challenge the staff , and have a history of playing devil’s advocate and arguing over trivial minutiae when I was bored. Also I would be able to edit Shlup’s profile, and just think of all of the antics I could pull with that (I suppose this is only a con for Shlup).

In sum: Vivi to win. If they make two CKs again, then toss-up between Quin and Sephex.