2002-11-14: Comments from Kerowyn

Comments from Kerowyn

Nov 14 2002 1:59PM

This was originally posted to Development at uo.com.

After all the Team Comments that I've scheduled for other team members, it's finally time for me to write one myself. Since I stay tucked behind the scenes most of the time, I thought I’d take a moment to explain who I am, and tell you a little bit about what I do.

Who are you, Kerowyn, and what in the world do you do?

Great question! I am the Online Content Editor for UO.com, which basically means that I work with the web team to update and add content to the UO.com website. Most of the web content that I work with involves the Playguide. You may have noticed that some of the sections have changed, and a lot of the areas have been (and continue to be!) fleshed out and re-worked -- and if you haven't had a chance to see the changes yet, what are you doing reading this? Head over to [[1]] and take a peek. ;) It's an ongoing process, and with all the changes that are added to UO on a regular basis, it'll probably never be 100 percent complete at any one time, but we're certainly going to try to get as close to that as possible. If you should happen to find any errors in the Playguide, feel free to submit them via our Game Wizard or by emailing me at [email protected]. We’re always appreciative of the extra sets of eyes out there in our community that help us keep UO.com as up-to-date as possible.

Is that all you do? Update UO.com and the Playguide?

Well, no, not exactly. I do have a few other responsibilities that keep me busy on a daily basis. In fact, you might recognize a few of them:

• Spotlights: This has to be one of my favorite things to be involved with. I love reading. I love fiction. I love hearing about other people's experiences, whether in-game or in real life. So it's only natural that I would enjoy this part of my job as well. There are times that we'll solicit stories by posting a spotlight topic to FYI -- the last one was 'Quest Adventures,' I believe. I have the delightful task of reading the submissions that are sent to the [email protected] mailbox, and then choosing and editing the ones we ultimately post on UO.com. One thing I've discovered from reading all those submissions is that there are a lot creative writers in our community!
• Interviews and Chats: Another one of my big responsibilities is the scheduling of interviews and chats with fansites. This usually involves juggling a lot of dates as I try to match up the times that Dev Team members are available, with the requests from the fansites. Sometimes, depending on what we have going on at the time, it can be quite the task. Ideally, we try to stick to doing around two interviews and two chats per month, so as not to overwhelm the Developers.
• Fansite Link Program: This program is still fairly new, and it's one that we're very happy to be able to support. It took a while for it to come together, as it had to go through an approval process, but it’s certainly something we hope to be able to continue with in the years to come. Whenever a site is submitted, I perform the initial review. If the site meets the basic requirements listed at [[2]], I write up a quick review and pass it on to Cynthe for final approval. And if the site doesn’t quite meet the requirements, I’ll communicate our concerns to the website’s owner.
• Team Comments: Posting team comments is something we try to do once a week, but it really depends on people’s schedules. To help the process along, I sometimes take on the role of interviewer and pose questions based on topics discussed in the player community, or things that I just think would be interesting to know about the members of the Dev Team. After a quick edit, to catch any pesky little typos, the Team Comments is posted for the world to see.
• Pics of the Week and Establishment screenshots: Pics of the Week and Establishment screenshots are posted to the front page of UO.com on a weekly basis. I get to sort through the screenshots that are sent in and determine which ones we can use on the website. Sometimes we receive screenshots with a lot of desktop clutter that tends to draw the focus away from the subject of the picture. These often don't make the cut. So, when you're submitting your screenshots, make sure you try to remove things like excessive spell icons and open menu gumps. Having said that, if you have a screenshot that you'd like to see posted to UO.com, click Here for information on how to submit it.
• Miscellaneous Tasks: Things tend to be pretty hectic here on the UO OCR team, and like everyone here I pitch in to help wherever else I may be needed. Oftentimes I'm called on to edit miscellaneous text for my department, or for our Marketing team. I sometimes compose and post entries to FYI and even update UO's login patch message on occasion. I also assist with the board help requests that are submitted through the Game Wizard, and even help Marketing compile survey results. There’s always something for me to do. :)

For somebody working behind the scenes, my workday can certainly be a busy one! And with the release of AoS early next year, it’ll only get busier. The OCR team will have the tremendous task of gathering information and documenting all the wonderful things that are coming to UO with this next expansion. It’s sure to be a very exciting time for all of us!

Kerowyn
Online Content Editor
Origin Systems

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