I Spy... Quarkz: The Farewell Interview
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Introduction
Last month, we said farewell to three of The Smog's staff members. Now the time's come again, and we say goodbye to two integral parts of the Article Workshop era. Please welcome Spy and Quarkz!
Spy
skylight
What originally got you involved in The Player? What made you stay with The Smog past the merger?
Spy
Back when I was simply a PS random with big dreams, Vacate told me about this cool new idea he was working on alongside Scene, called "The Player". At the time, I did not know much about Smogon, since all I ever really used it for was PS staff convos and the occasional trade in the Wi-Fi forum, but it seemed interesting and Vacate wanted contributors so I decided "why not." After writing a few articles, one thing led to another, and I became a mod. I stayed with The Smog past the merger because even though I liked the simplicity behind The Player's releases (though many Smogon people were not big fans), everyone on The Smog's staff team was really cool (shoutouts to princessofmusic and Toast++) and my love for media was still there, so I stuck with it.
skylight
You wrote the first article released in the new daily format. What was the pressure like?
Spy
Honestly, there wasn't really much pressure. I've been working closely with ANTEMORTEM for years now in a ton of aspects, and this was nothing new, since it's not like the new format made some drastic changes in terms of how to write articles. I'd say there was more pressure in actually hosting PSPL than writing an article on it haha.
skylight
What was your favorite article to work on?
Spy
Though I wasn't really staff at the time, this article was by far my favorite to work on. It was extremely fun to write and I really appreciated all the praise I got for it afterwards, especially since it was actually the first article I ever wrote for The Smog. It even won second place in The Smog Awards for the "Best Smog Article" (and I even won first place for the "Best New Writer Award"!).
skylight
What were your best memories in regards to AW?
Spy
In regards to my media career in general, the last-minute rush of trying to release an issue for The Player alongside great people like Vacate, Scene, ANTEMORTEM, shaymin, (and later) f(x) and Quarkz was what really made me enjoy my job. Knowing in the back of my head I had an essay due the next day and still running around trying to put everything together for the issue was a real blast, and even though a few of the articles were never up to par I think the issues did turn out great. The change in format to AW removed that thrill, and even though it's a better idea in a long run, it's probably why I lost interest so quickly. But still, working with the great people within AW was what kept me around so long, and they definitely made for some great memories too.
skylight
Do you have any regrets?
Spy
I honestly regret not being able to fix the HTML system, because when I left it was really struggling with activity and quality. I have a ton of ideas all written down on a document somewhere about how to fix HTML on Smogon in general (including the issues I have with the Site Staff badge), but my life got busy and I never got around to it. However anto is a really smart person with a lot of great ideas, and that's why Quarkz and I decided on her as our replacement, so I'm sure she can succeed where I failed.
We wanna know...
What tips do you have for aspiring article writers? - truedrew
Spy
Since I've dealt with Article Approvals, one of the biggest issues I've noticed with new article writers is that they immediately post the first idea that comes to their head, without much thought. I can tell you from experience, it's not the size or the magnitude that makes an article good, it's the amount of thought that went behind the idea. People post these huge threads to get their article approved, but it's all just a bunch of fluff; what we want is someone who clearly knows what they're doing and thought their idea through. If you're having trouble thinking of a good idea, then join #aw on IRC; there's a bunch of cool people there who are willing to help you brainstorm.
Have you ever contributed to an article you didn't really like? - awu
Spy
Not really. I loved HTML because it forced me to read through all the great articles, and if I didn't like any of them I would definitely comment on it and how to improve it. That's why the staff team is there: to make sure everything they release is up to par.
Do you do any other HTML work other than articles? - Da Pizza Man
Spy
Not really, I'm just a high school kid who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life yet. HTML was just a really fun part about media and it just stuck to me, and if I got a chance to incorporate it into my life I'd definitely jump at the opportunity.
If there was one thing you'd like to change from AW right now, what would that be? - Steven Stone
Spy
Definitely the HTML system, but since I already explained my issues with that above, I'll say the activity of staff and contributors in general. I've noticed that AW has been pretty dead lately due to people not really having the motivation to contribute; maybe more incentives or something could motivate people to get back into shape.
Other than Spy, what is your favorite TF2 class? - Da Pizza Man
Spy
Don't play TF2 lol, my old name was Spydreigon because my favorite Pokemon is Hydreigon and an old friend recommended the pun to me, but then I shortened the name to Spy because the pun got old after a while.
Quarkz
skylight
You were the one who originally brought up the format change to daily releases. What inspired that idea?
Quarkz
Back in April, Cherub Agent got the ball moving with a thread proposing the merger between The Smog, The Player, and The Competitor (which went on to happen), and in that thread makiri brought up a very valid point, basically along the lines of "why are we still releasing content in webzines when the internet is moving in the direction of regular content uploaded daily." This got me thinking as well, and I posted with my initial idea. I posted the thread in May, and over the coming weeks The Smog eventually evolved into the Article Workshop. The inspiration for the thread is quite literally all over the web: people expect daily content from their favorite websites, and that wasn't something The Smog could offer. We needed change. In its state at the time, I felt The Smog existed just as an artifact for people to admire, not as a practical means of delivering quality content to a readerbase.
skylight
What was it like working for The Player and The Smog at the same time?
Quarkz
That's quite a while ago now... I was Smog staff first and was only Player staff for a short period prior to the merger, but due to the discussions regarding the merger taking place at the time, it did provide an interesting perspective on it. I think it's fair to say in those talks that some staff only wanted what was best for their area of the site without much consideration for the other webzines. I felt, however, that I was able to give a much more honest perspective because I didn't feel obliged to take sides or anything. This isn't saying that the other staff weren't honest, but it's always tempting to choose the option that benefits you as opposed to the site, and this was something I was able to avoid because I wasn't really affected either way. Other than that, though, I would say that it is no different from being staff of one webzine... you just have to do things twice.
skylight
What was your favorite part of being staff?
Quarkz
Learning by teaching. There's been a massive surge of people learning HTML since I've been staff, so I've helped a few people along the way. You learn a lot from doing this, as it challenges you to read other people's code and evaluate it. This way, not only do you get better at checking over and optimizing your own code, but you also get better at explaining things to other people. Through this, you develop a better understanding of the language yourself, which means that both you and the person you are helping can benefit from the situation.
skylight
What made you decide to leave?
Quarkz
A number of reasons really. A declining interest in producing articles was one of them, and school was catching up to me also. I've got important exams this year, so I really want to be able to focus on them. On their own, these events would have forced me to quit sometime around Christmas anyway, because it's no fun working on a project you have little motivation for and you should always prioritize school (though it pains me to say that). My departure was catalyzed though by the fact that I find myself disagreeing more and more with the way this site is run.
skylight
Do you have any regrets?
Quarkz
Only that I should have quit sooner. I've enjoyed life more since quitting as a staff member; I've had more time to do what I want and less pressure to get stuff done. After quitting I did wrap up one final project, but other than that, I've not worried about Smogon so much. It's amazing how much time it took up even if I didn't actively do much, only browse the forums. There's definitely a lot more wiggle room for me to do my own thing now, and that's never a bad thing.
We wanna know...
Hobbies outside of Smogon? - rubsomebacononit
Quarkz
Well I like doing stuff with computers, whether it's gaming or learning something to do with programming, so that takes up a lot of my time at home. I also actively play (field) hockey and cycle in the evenings and weekends, and I really enjoy being able to take a break from schoolwork to do those things. Other than that though, I don't do a lot. I've never been a guy with many hobbies. There's a few things I like doing, and I am more than content just sticking to doing them.
How much time did you usually spend in AW? - Steven Stone
Quarkz
This is kind of hard to say. I have the forum on watch, so when I was a staff member I tried to make sure I read every post. I reckon there was probably an hour that I spent a day browsing Smogon, waiting for another post only to realize it was a placeholder post from GP that didn't really matter to me much. When I first started contributing, I was doing a lot of HTML as well, and this was taking up yet more time. Near the end of my stint, though, I did far less than I probably should have been doing. There was definitely a point at the end where I didn't really do anything, and that was when I really realized that I should step down. Albacore and anto are two great additions to the team, and I'm sure they'll be doing a lot more than me.
Does AW help you in real life in regards to HTML, if you are studying/working in that field? - awu
Quarkz
I wouldn't say HTML helps directly because HTML is quite a limited language really (only really used for creating basic static web pages), but without HTML, I wouldn't have continued learning JavaScript. Without this, I never would have gotten interested in programming and doing stuff with computers. It was this interest that has inspired me to pursue a degree in Computer Science, though I am a number of years away from that stage. I don't really know what I will do beyond there, but without HTML I don't think I would have a clue about where I want to take my life. So yes, it has helped in quite a big way for me.
What inspired you to become a contributor? - truedrew
Quarkz
I don't remember how the story went exactly, but I know that for some reason I wanted to try my hand at computer programming. I decided JavaScript would be a good first language to learn (I think a desire to run a PS! server was involved) and I noticed that pretty much everywhere I went recommended a prior knowledge in HTML. I started the language without doing this, but I soon realized to do 'cool' things with JavaScript you really did need HTML, so I learnt it. I wanted to be able to use my newfound skills, and so I remember PMing the then-editor of The Smog, Setsuna. I completed the eval, which I at the time I thought I did an insane job on, but looking back now it was nothing to be proud about. I then started HTMLing. So in the end (or beginning I guess), it was just me wanting to not waste my HTML knowledge that led to me becoming part of The Smog.
Hardest part about releasing articles for AW? - rubsomebacononit
Quarkz
Honestly, I've never done anything too challenging in AW. The upload process is relatively straightforward, and HTMLing for AW doesn't require too much skill, so once you've done it one time you get a good feel for it. I think the authors and artists have it the hardest. They have to create entertaining and original content, which is much easier said than done. These are the guys who deserve the extra credit, especially the authors who manage to bring their articles from concept to final product. That said though, I will say that the hardest part of releasing articles isn't anything to do with any individual article, but what it took to get to this stage. The staff team didn't really all agree with the Article Workshop idea, and of course democratic conflict ensued. This was a low point for me, as discussions got quite heated at times and many people quit as a result. It wasn't an enjoyable time to be called Smog staff.
Conclusion
Stay tuned, because we'll be releasing Ask the Admins later this month as well as a look behind the scenes of Smogon's webzines the following month. Thanks to everyone for contributing questions!
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