I want you all to understand that this bulletin in no way relates to or reflects my publication, The Orbis Orbiter Weekly.
I, and I think many of you, have grown weary of the current form of bulletin. I believe in a better "World News" section than the one being put on display now. There is a reason most bulletins get extremely lucky by hitting 20+ likes when, in a game with this many players who visit on a regular occasion (About 1700 a week though that number may be a little off.) the number most bulletins should reach is a clean 35 or more. I think the bulletin community can do better. I don't want to put to shame the efforts of my fellow nations who create bulletins but writing two sentences and then filling the rest of the space with characters to meet a minimum character goal is just sad. The idea of the bulletin has so much potential and what makes it difficult to watch and read is that this potential is being wasted in a mighty way. There are good things here and there but too much of the bulletin experience is covered by trends that define the next week of bulletin writing. The furry trend (which I admit I got in on), the disease trend (which has been a plague, if you will, on the bulletin community), the meme trend that lasted maybe a day or three, the list goes on and on and on and on. I have no right to barge in and demand quality for my entertainment, but I sadly feel this is what it must come to. Otherwise, I may not achieve the entertainment I get from that rare bulletin that pushes our expectations. I don't feel I am alone in my position. Seeing someone who gives a new meaning to the words "World News". Seeing someone who opens up and exceeds in creativity. These are areas in which I find that the bulletin is a place of greatness. I see too little World and not enough News. I see to many degrading comments and not enough uplifting motions (though it may be that the best comment is the plainly objective one). I think something we may all like to see is an Orbis that can all go, "Hey did you see that bulletin last night?" and the response would be an immediate "Of course I did, it was amazing!" Let's not squander what we have been given! Let's find a way to make the bulletin something everyone is engaged, excited, and involved in! I want to see a bulletin Community that exceeds the tiny box we have put it in!
However, I did say it was an open question bulletin. That's because I write this bulletin with a question in the back of my mind. Am I Overreacting and Missing Something? That is the greatest part of a bulletin. People will correct you and I will correct them, and we will all be glad we did so. So, I'd like to ask the people of Orbis in a general question "What is the Bulletin to you, and what should it be?"
(I would like to iterate once again that I am in no way raising myself up on a hill by praising my own bulletins. This is not a criticism but a general question. Thank you)
Replies
Bulletins have been pretty stale for months now. If those that posted alot during the start of the year came back then maybe it would be better
No drama to write about
Yeah theres very little drama at the moment, I want to change that with my re-election of a past president... hehe...
Anyways, I have seen that international bulletins perform EXTREMELY better than national bulletins. What I mean by this is that bulletins focusing on several countries receive as many as 10x more likes average than bulletins about a single nation. The majority of the most liked bulletins do not talk about a single nation. The furry purge, UC democratic index, nuclear treaty, democracy index, Cloc commits war crimes, etc, etc. These bulletins do far better than the other ones because people feel like they are more involved with them. I feel like if we had a views count we could truly track this difference.
However ofcourse, likes isn't everything. We then discuss the quality of these bulletins. Overall the newer bulletins have been more stale as there is a lack of nations interacting with eachother. The Niohama virus: "oh no cases a bajillion deaths" Next day: Vaccine. Wars: "I killed your leader!" "No they survive and I nuke you!" so on.
I dont think you are over-reacting or anything, its just an interesting topic not many people care about. And for what is worth, I dont think you should care about it as much as you should (or even myself) but its still a good question.
@Kihansi Haley I see what you are saying. I like to think what you think as well, quality is key. However, your other thought may be the key. The more people involved the more likes. However, in the end I hope to see a value of quality above appealing to people. It starts with the writers but it depends on the readers.
Quality is valuable to a certain extent, but ultimately you want people to be replying to your bulletin. People reply and like more when their nation is mentioned, when it is a diplomacy issue, etc. When there is something horrible that has happened.
I also agree with Dauchh Palki here. While I do try my best to make my bulletins well-written, I'd say it's up to readers whether they're interesting to read or not, so I'm aways open for feedback on that, and I have noticed that pattern as well, with my own bulletins: the Orbis Livability Index and my recent ones on the Niohama Virus have definitely gotten more attention than the ones just concerning my own nation (such as election bulletins).
Yeah I think the comment section really brings life to a bulletin. However, as always it can be a tool for dysfunction and I have known times when it can be bad or blatantly slanted. Seeing a hint of objective thought is something that I always find refrehingwhen I read bulletins or bulletin comments.
Yeah I see what you're saying and mostly I agree except the part about the virus trend , for me it gives an extra lane to go down especially when I reach a creative roadblock but I also agree that there shouldn't be a world ending virus announced every week or so ..Maybe more like once a month or two.
And to answer the question "what is a bulletin for you" I will say that it's a creative outlet for world building and a source of entertainment at times with a hint of debate and controversy.
Thanks for reading this.
Your bulletins are great. However, it is slightly maddening to see the same trend over and over. Maybe two or three weeks ago there was another virus outbreak
A lot of the people who used to make pretty good bulletins in the past have gone to the pnw rp discord server.