Colin has been insanely busy so there’s no Community Round Up this week. In its place, I thought I’d write a little bit about what the active community means to the staff. I don’t want to divert anyone’s attention away from the events and competitions we’re having though so please, in exchange for these words I’m about to give you, take a look at the community content (also available on the left-side menu) and consider getting involved.
I joined TheSixthAxis a long time ago as a regular member. I remember lurking for a while, reading the opinion pieces and reviews. I remember loading the page each day, filled with anticipation of whatever new content I was going to find. I’ll be totally honest and say that it was the wit and charm of Alex and Michael that made me want to visit this site every day. I remember my very first comment. I remember hurriedly recording a song Michael had written about Home, it was awful (the recording, not the song). I remember when the forums launched and there was only half a dozen of us in there.
You see, it was a google search for PlayStation 3 news that delivered me to the site. It was the personality in Alex and Michael’s (and the other writers at the time) writings that made me want to return the next day. But it was the community that made me feel like I was actually a part of the site. I came for news, stayed for character and joined the community.
Now, years later, I own the place. That’s still a little bit bizarre to me and I don’t intend for it to sound grandiose. Technically, I am the owner of TheSixthAxis but I don’t fool myself. I know that without Alex I couldn’t run it. Without the News Team we wouldn’t have that constant influx of new readers, some of whom stay and become part of the community. Without the opinions and character of the writers there wouldn’t be a site here to own.
The community events and competitions at TSA are, by quite a distance, the single largest running expense to the site. The competitions now cost more to run than the rest of the site. From a business perspective that doesn’t make sense. Very few people arrive here after looking for a competition to enter so you could say that it doesn’t drive traffic and therefore won’t increase our appeal to advertisers and our prospects of making money. So why invest so much in it?
Let me clarify that when I talk about investment I will be referring to financial investment and the little bits of time and hassle I put in here and there. I don’t wish to gloss over or understate the massive time investment made by the Community Team but I will save that for another time.
The leading (business) reason I value the community so highly is for the difference they make to the site’s hardworking staff. It is almost impossible to describe how much easier it is writing something when you know that there is a good chance someone will respond to you.
Sure, all the staff are occasionally frustrated or annoyed by some of the comments we get on stories and articles. It genuinely hurts when we pour hours into a piece of writing and someone who has taken thirty seconds to form an opinion tells you what a fool you are for disagreeing. When people make assumptions about our integrity it is massively insulting because we work so hard to do things the right way. We really care about what we do and when we’re told we’re doing it badly, or when it’s wrongly assumed we’re doing it for nefarious reasons, it’s disheartening.
The negativity that occasionally rears its head in the comments sections is a tiny minority of the response we get though. We are far more likely to receive interesting discussion, well reasoned debate and genuine appreciation for the efforts we make. The difference that makes to a writer when they’re putting in the hours is immeasurable. The interactivity between staff and visitors here is much greater than I’ve seen anywhere else on the internet. It’s something we actively encourage the staff to do because we think you guys like it too. When the community speaks up on our behalf in response to the misfired negativity I’ve mentioned, that is such an affirming act of kindness that it’s difficult to put it into words.
It takes so much work to run a site like TheSixthAxis, so many hours of writing and researching to put out the level of content that we do. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people are reading that is humbling but the fact that a few hundred of those people take the time to respond and discuss our work is much more valuable to us.
The financial investment the site puts into our community is just a way to say thank you for taking the time to make our jobs here more enjoyable.
Hopefully, the staff of the site are one of the primary reasons for the community sticking around but without that community we probably wouldn’t be able to keep hold of the fantastic staff members that we have. So we all support each other. In that way I know that even though it might be my name on the deeds, this site belongs to us all.
Foxhound_Solid
Only site I hit everyday!
TSA FTW!!!!
As I said before, you are a Noble Bunch as is the community.
Its the only place I go for news, reviews and opinion.
Great work guys, really, great work!!
Your friendly neighbourhood Foxhound_Solid :-D
cc_star
I found TSA via ThreeSpeech (remember that?) and never looked back
Pemberton_
Hivemind.
seedaripper1973
Hivermind…(yeah i realise it dunna work, but just go with me on this one)
Pemberton_
Think I arrived here via ThreeSpeech. It’s been my goto site ever since, never looked backed.
seedaripper1973
Ironicaly me too. (R.I.P Threespeech mind)
seedaripper1973
*read forever* and it will always stay that way… <3
sesameseed
Yup, I agree with pretty much what everyone else is saying. TSA is my homepage for all my internet devices, there’s nowhere else quite like it!
And thanks to the site I’ve made a really good friend too… So thankyou TSA :)
jayjay119
I must admit, I strumbled across TSA purely by chance. But like you Peter it was the writers that kept me coming back. All the wrtiers here have their own distinct opinions, humour ans style which inevitably reflects the articles they post. It is interesting and a nice community.
It was interesting to learn that the writers here do so on an entirely voulentary basis, so ignorance in the comments section towards writers certainly isn’t appreciated.
TSA really reminded me of GAMEStm which for anyone who doesn’t read it, is a highly regarded, entertaining and most importanly highly imapartial mag. And TSA is the online equivalent for me. It’s a great community. You can get news from anywhere, but TSA is the best place to due it because of this.
jayjay119
* Damn touch screen keypads, I cannot type on them. Excuse the abundance of typos above.
bigdon23
“The negativity that occasionally rears its head in the comments sections”
Have to admit and apologise that i am guilty of this sometimes, the site is very professional and well put together and we/I oftern forget that its not a full time paid staff that puts in the time and work.
Keep up the good work guys, the site’ better than any other
hol
I found TSA through some mates on a ps3 forum, I followed a link & this place has been bookmarked ever since. Always a intelligent read, kinda reminds me of the early days of edge in lots of ways!
Love the interaction between you guys in TSA towers and us, the community, even when sometimes it spills over onto twitter ;)
Keep up the excellent work everyone
bunimomike
The moment you stop caring about the site is the moment it goes to the dogs. This is why TSA continues to be such a great website (both to read articles on and to get involved with the community); you all care which rubs off on us.
We want a place free of fanboy slanging matches (although some heated debates are always fun). We want a place where people genuinely listen to most of our comments instead of being swallowed up in sea of obscenities and racial slurs.
If you continue to care about TSA the way the community does then we will always be able to keep the site at the top of its game and a shining example to the rest of the industry.
If you want to achieve truly stratospheric levels, I’d get rid of Dexter. Nothing but trouble. :-p
bunimomike
Forgot to mention. I found TheSixthAxis.com one night when I drunkenly mispelt TheShitTaxis.com – a site dedicated to people who poop in the back of London cabs.
seedaripper1973
bunimomike, you never fail to entertain…i’m sure you’re as valued as (here’s hoping) the rest of us…(christ, this is turning into a circle jerk innit?) :P
XisTG
Ahahahahah :D
The Solid one
Did’t you suggest throwing a grenade at the staff the other day? mike
What wrong with Dexter? he has not done anything wrong. He is with the Elder so are you jealous?:P
I pretty much agree with most of that. I can think of a few heat debates.*heads off to the forums*
mynameisblair
I’m still a member.
I might write for the site and may be staff, but I’m still a member of TSA and I view the other staff’s work as a member; it’s what I was when I came here and what I will be until the end of time.
I’ve just got a cool red banner and get to write articles for all the other lovely members – but that doesn’t make me better than some of the members we have. Without members that actively take part in the competitions and comment on the articles, we would be nothing.
I joined because of the welcoming community and the awesome staff producing great content, and I’m sure this is why a lot of others signed up too.
BrendanCalls
I read that like “Im still a member?”, like you were surpised LOL!!
Foxhound_Solid
hahaha I read it like that for entertainment hahaha – brill
mynameisblair
hehe