#73327 - Board writers demographic and location

[vorpal blade]

Anne, Certainly had at least three good reasons for the policy of hiring current BYU students as Board writers. I think I can understand her points, but I haven't exactly made up my mind whether I agree with her or not. So my question to the readers of the Board is this, does having a "corps of writers of the same demographic and location as our target audience" make the Board a better institution?

I guess a corollary question would be, considering the number of former BYU students who read the Board, should Provo be the location of the target audience?

I'm just curious about what others think.

[SmurfBlueSnuggie]

I think having the shared experience of BYU is important. So at the very least, if there were a change, all Board Writers should be BYU students or fairly recent alum. (Or, I suppose, they could also present arguments during the application process regarding how well they relate to the experience if they haven't attended BYU.)

Part of why this site is so special is that it is made up of peers. So someone who graduated 7 or 8 years ago starts to have a higher level of separation from the core readership (as I see it from a reader's perspective). Since having writers stick around for a few years is nice, I'd say keeping applicants within a couple of years of graduation would be a good call. However, keeping it at current students only is probably a much simpler cut-off. I think any current student (even if they only have one term left) should be able to join. As long as the probie period was completed while in Provo and at BYU, I think the benefits of bringing on students only remains. Hopefully, we would see an increase in older writers joining and being highly active for several years after graduation.

[Whistler]

I think you shouldn't be a board writer unless you're a student, because I'm a big grumpy meanie poo.

[Tally M.]

I think you shouldn't be a board writer unless you're a student, because I'm a big grumpy meanie poo.

So, automatic retirement at graduation?

[Whistler]

well, within a year at least

[Tally M.]

I think that's reasonable.

[Marduk]

Anyone have a tally of how many not-current-students have been hired?

[krebscout]

I was not a current student when I was hired as Waldorf. But I used applying as a team with Sauron as my way to circumvent that rule, and I had been a writer before while I was a student. So...if you can figure out how to work me into your tally, there you go.

[OptimusPrime]

So someone who graduated 7 or 8 years ago starts to have a higher level of separation from the core readership.

As someone who graduated 9 and 5 years ago, I can personally vouch for this. I had to consciously avoid being a curmudgeon during the alumni week (and I still might have failed), because I felt detached from the dating/silliness/humor/pop culture/etc that I either outgrew, got tired of, moved on from, couldn't empathize with, or didn't experience.

Basically, I'm saying I agree with the current rules. If I were an editor, I wouldn't hire me right now. Even if I could still churn out the answers, I don't relate to the target readership anymore.

As for the other issue, I think being in Provo is pretty important, both for answering questions and for board culture and rapport, which translates into more interesting answers.

[Genuine Article]

The policy has changed back and forth a bit over the years, so it's difficult to know who was hired under what circumstances. Initially you had to be a current student to be a writer, and the second you graduated you had to retire. Then in 2007 an editor changed the policy, making The Defenestrator the first non-BYU student to be hired as a writer (at least I think she was the first). Current policy says that you must at least be a current BYU student at the time you apply.

We have had several writers return from retirement for a second go-around (Dr. Smeed, Azriel, branflakes, and steen, off the top of my head), some of whom were no longer students when they were rehired. There has also been at least one other married couple (de novo) who came back, kind of like Waldorf and Sauron. And I know of two writers who weren't technically BYU students when they applied. Ultimately who the editors hire, as well as who they decide to rehire, is always handled on a case by case basis.

[Laser Jock]

Lavish, also, was never a BYU student. (This was something that, as she points out, even many other writers didn't realize!)

[S.A.M.]

As for the other issue, I think being in Provo is pretty important, both for answering questions and for board culture and rapport, which translates into more interesting answers.

Writer applications from students at BYU-Idaho or BYU-Hawaii should still be considered, though?

[Katya]

well, within a year at least

I can see the argument for this, but from an editor's perspective, it's reeeally hard to let go of a good writer who is still keeping up their quota of answers.

[Whistler]

I hear you, but I think it should be the writer's job to retire responsibly, not the editor's job to decide who stays.

[Katya]

I hear you, but I think it should be the writer's job to retire responsibly, not the editor's job to decide who stays.

In your experience or estimation, how hard is it to replace a solid writer who's been writing for a few years?

[SmurfBlueSnuggie]

Writer applications from students at BYU-Idaho or BYU-Hawaii should still be considered, though?

Have there been any writers from the other BYU campuses? I don't remember anyone clearly. That would be interesting, though. Enough questions come in from BYU-I to warrant a writer or two from there, perhaps. It might be sort of awesome to have a couple of writers from each of the other campuses. I just can't really imagine it very well.

[Whistler]

I hear you, but I think it should be the writer's job to retire responsibly, not the editor's job to decide who stays.

In your experience or estimation, how hard is it to replace a solid writer who's been writing for a few years?

I know it's difficult (I was roommates with an editor who often bemoaned how difficult it was to find good writers), but I guess I feel like writing for the 100 HB should exist more as an activity for BYU students and not alumni. At least, that's how it's described: "a BYU online forum of volunteer students." If they want to change who they are (and, um, they have) they should be more upfront about it. I guess I'd be fine with the Board changing who its writers are as long as they make it clear that they're not just BYU students anymore.

[C is for]

Writer applications from students at BYU-Idaho or BYU-Hawaii should still be considered, though?

Have there been any writers from the other BYU campuses? I don't remember anyone clearly. That would be interesting, though. Enough questions come in from BYU-I to warrant a writer or two from there, perhaps. It might be sort of awesome to have a couple of writers from each of the other campuses. I just can't really imagine it very well.

Cuddlefish was from BYU-I, but as far as I know she was the only one.

[vorpal blade]

I just asked a question about the readership of the Board. Then I did a little more searching of the archives and found question #72582. Laser Jock wrote

"In the past month, 21% of our visits came from Provo, and 37% from Utah as a whole. That means the vast majority of our readers are from places outside Provo/Utah.

Judging by the people on this site who live in the Provo area but are not BYU students I would suspect that the number of current BYU students who read the 100 Hour Board is a very small percentage of the audience.

Why is BYU and Provo considered the target audience and location, when in fact they are the small minority?

[Katya]

I hear you, but I think it should be the writer's job to retire responsibly, not the editor's job to decide who stays.

In your experience or estimation, how hard is it to replace a solid writer who's been writing for a few years?

I know it's difficult (I was roommates with an editor who often bemoaned how difficult it was to find good writers), but I guess I feel like writing for the 100 HB should exist more as an activity for BYU students and not alumni. At least, that's how it's described: "a BYU online forum of volunteer students." If they want to change who they are (and, um, they have) they should be more upfront about it. I guess I'd be fine with the Board changing who its writers are as long as they make it clear that they're not just BYU students anymore.

That's fair.