add some casual elements

[Rodan]

I was thinking that maybe the rest of the internet takes us as overly serious competitive mons players

so im proposing that we have casually written articles (read: glens factory thread) alongside the more well made ones

[tennisace]

There is an in-game section, and the Battle Factory is in-game. So if people want to put in the work, we would definitely accept more in-game content for the site.

[Firestorm]

Battle Factory / Battle Subway / etc. are considered competitive =P If people write more articles they'll definitely go up. I think Rodan means the tone of the articles? Humour in articles should be done by people who can write well in that style. Shouldn't be forced though.

[tennisace]

I mean yeah I guess we could? I see that as more of a Smog thing than actual guides on-site though.

[NixHex]

I was under the impression that The Smog features the more casual articles. If future non-Smog article authors want to inject humor into their articles, that's up to them. I love writing articles but i don't know the first thing about being funny. If I knew how to be funny, I'd for sure add some humor. You have a point, Rodan.

[Pwnemon]

I mean I sort of put a little humor in my RU Slowking analysis? And I agree that those things are sometimes too boring, but isn't that what the Smog is for? Humor in analyses is a pretty gray area I guess but the general idea is that it should never be the main purpose of the article and never be misleading/sarcastic.

[New World Order]

Humor is already allowed in analyses, as long as you don't make a complete joke of it like using Choice Band Gengar or something, it'll be alright. I've personally have a ton of informals in my analyses.

[Eraddd]

Humour is allowed as long as its in taste, doesn't detract from the analysis, and makes grammatical sense. Most of the times, writers who try to inject "humour" write it so that it detracts from the experience, or it doesn't grammatically or logically make sense. This is speaking from my personal experiences as a writer for C&C and as a member of the GP team.

[Omicron]

oops xD

[Swaggersaurus]

after reading that clamperl analysis i'm actually now in opposition to this...

[Glen]

'pretend weak pokemon is strong' was almost funny six years ago

but either way i had a lot of fun writing that factory article, i'd gladly do something else like it

[Rodan]

if its fun to read more people will read it - is my mindset, i dont mean make a complete joke but i mean like adding subtle humour throughout articles and analysis that will make you smile or giggle or whatever

[Pwnemon]

you mean humor like "His typing is a mixed bag for a physical wall. Compounding all these problems is the fact that Slowking is a special wall," "When Blastoise was moved to UU, the RU community all shed a single manly tear and searched for the best suitable replacement," "When he can, though, Slowking doesn't mind being a cool tank," or "If you cannot outspeed Slowking, you are virtually guaranteed to lose. Fortunately, he has 30 base Speed?"

[Unbreakable]

Swagger's example is a classic case of trying too hard. Stuff like Glen's Factory thread are not only informative and insightful, they are a blast to read. (Mainly because we can all relate to the torment he's suffered on one level or another, but the principle remains the same.) The "dry" language of academia does have its place, but Pokemon, like any game, is about having fun. If you're not having fun, you shouldn't be playing--simple as that.

However, Smogon strikes me as a place that intentionally leaves no room for casual players in its community in order to better accommodate the hardcore battlers that win tournaments and perpetuate Smogon's place at the top of the hierarchy of fansites out there (if there even is such a thing). Thus, discretion on whether or not to inject humor into an article rests with the author, which seems to be the default policy.

[tennisace]

Originally Posted by Fat Unbreakable

Thus, discretion on whether or not to inject humor into an article rests with the author, which seems to be the default policy.

This. If you want more humor in analyses, then write analyses with subtle humor in them. If you want more humorous articles, then take the initiative to write humorous articles.