I'm posting here the basic rules to the whole interview process. I'll update this as needed:

RULES FOR INTERVIEWS

1. DETERMINING THE NEXT INTERVIEWEE
1a. Members send a message to the interview moderator sugesting people they would like to see an interview about.
1b. When the moderator has enough votes, he can start a new interview. This may or may not be the person with more votes. Often, the current interviewee may have a word to say on selecting his/her successor (usually from the most voted ones).
1c. The new interviewee will then be notified about this choice. If (s)he aggrees to be interviewed, his/her name will be publicly announced here.

2. CREATING THE INTERVIEW
2a. When the next person to be interviewed has been selected, the moderator will open up a new Interview. A deadline to receive questions is also defined at this point.
2b. Members can use the Interviews link to access the new interview and post their questions.
2c. When the deadline is reached the question period will be over and the interview closed, preparing to be answered.
2d. The person being interviewed will then start answering the questions.
2e. When all the questions are answered, the moderator will release the interview to the public.
2f. Everybody can then access the interview from the Interviews link on the left column.

There can be more than one interview taking place at the same time. Often, while one is being answered another one will probably be open to questions.

How often will a new interview be announced?

What are the guidelines for selecting the person to be interviewed?

Do people propose names and then we can vote on who is the next to be interviewed from that list?

rednaz23: I'm planning on opening new interviews roughly every 1-3 months. It depends on the person being interviewed at the moment, the time of year, etc.

The first interview I conducted (Vikings') was by direct nomination from the previous interviewee - a suggestion made by someone in the BrainKing.com discussion board where someone that was interview should pick his/her successor. Then I got a feeling that was somewhat a mistake - if people kept nominating someone they knew already, it could en up in a series of similar interviews with people close to each other and (my fear) less unknown from most of the players. I probably got fearfull because I was receiving so little questions (which was probably due to the fact that this was also the first time someoneset a deadline for an interview). Anyway, when Vikings suggested PBarb's name, I first checked if she had any votes already, to make sure there were some people interested in asking anything. After that I settled on sending the top 4-5 names with more votes at the time so she could choose from them... and was planning on sticking to this method.

So, for now, anybody can send me messages suggesting names of people to be interviewed. I'll collect them and organize them and leave the ultimate choice to the current interviewee.

I'm also planning on starting new interviews on special events(like when someone reaches 100 votes, for instance)

pauloaguia: good plans!
dont make the interviews too common though .. there be should some time between them otherwise they arent as special anymore :)

i will change the description on the brainking.com board in a link to this board

pauloaguia: I understand it is exciting etc and we have so many people that we want to know more about, but i agree with Hrqls when it comes to doing too many.

I think that 4 to 12 interviews a year are way too many. 3 a year might not be too bad, but personally, I havent even read Vikes interview yet and there are already two other people in the process and another soon to follow. Its just going to get too watered down (IMO) and lose any meaning and people will also lose interest and the questions will start to dwindle, I would guess too.

Also, when I picked Vikings to be interviewed after me, it was because I knew him from game playing and discussion boards etc, but not personally, and just wanted to know more. So, i dont see that people will ask one of their personal buddies to be next, really, as much as someone they know who they are and want to know more.

Puckish: Also, when I picked Vikings to be interviewed after me, it was because I ... just wanted to know more. - Then why didn't you ask anything?

Anyway, I said that the buddy-nominates-buddy situation could happen, not that it already did. I still think it's a bit fairer the way it is now but, of course, I'm open to suggestions...


As to the time span between interviews, I already started spreading them out a little and was planning on doing so. I started with them spread out 1 month apart because there had been so little interviews latelly, but the number of questions also lowered... so I started spreading them further apart (though for MadMonkey I figured the questions would just flow easily, and I really wanted an interview for christmas). Of course, I can decide to make two interviews close together again every now and then, but not tooften...
Anyway, I think 4 months apart is way to much... especially for people that really like to read them...

We'll see how it gets along :)

pauloaguia: Yes, I understand your point anyway... that you dont want it to become something where a group of friends just keeps nominating each other, instead you are aiming to get peolpe with a broad appeal, when possible!

I really enjoyed going back to many great memories of my life. Questions were great..With the new system it is so much better. When the questions are answered Paulo looked it over and then posted it.
Ok, I think you should at least do 1 a month. There are interesting people on this site.
I'm not getting any younger..I would like to know more about people playing here. I don't think you can get to many interviews. The advertising for people to ask questions is what needs to be worked on..
How do you get a message to all that don't read boards? The key is to get the message out to the people. Paulo you are doing very well.
Keep up the good work. If you ask to many questions in what you should do.. there are always a few that will be against whatever is suggested...
right or wrong. I think you had a great system going..Continue as it was. My 2 cents.

Bubbles Pbarb2: 1 per month?

Why dont you just get a standard set of questions and let anyone who wants to be interviewed go answer them and have them posted?

I mean if the only purpose is to allow people like yourself to find out more about everyone on this site, then why not just have a link in peoples profiles to make an interview about themseves available?

When I was interviewed, there were only like 4 people who asked to have one from me, and that was the majority!!! 4 people!!!

Start to water it all down even more, and it will soon not matter to anyone at all... it would be like making Christmas every day, it would not be special anymore!

Puckish:   Conclusion =  BrainKing's "Hall of Fame" should be too big! 

Andersp:

Bubbles Pbarb2: I remeber suggesting somewhere that when there's a new interview or an interview is about to be closed (for receiving questions) then some sort of mark could appear in the main page by theInterviews link. This would eventually attract more people.
Many people don't even know interviews exist yet, because they were only linked at the BrainKing.com db up until recently... adding something catchy to the left menu bar every now and then, at key moments in an iterview's lifetime, could help get the word out.

pauloaguia: Dont get me wrong.... my point isnt that there arent enough interesting people to interview.... its more about the interest generated in the interviews IE questions asked, or people who others want to see interviewed, etc...

Just dont get too excited and over do it... if I die before someone gets interviewed, then so be it...

pauloaguia: I had friends tell me they did not know anything about interviews. They said they would have asked me some questions. I think I had some good ones and enough. Just trying to make the point they did not know. So the thing is getting the word out.

Puckish: If you don't like interviews then why ruin it for those that do. Rest is not worth andswering.

Bubbles Pbarb2: Rest is not worth andswering.

Whatever that means?


I am NOT saying that i dont like interviews... I am allowed my opinion, arent I?

I am only saying that in my opinion that doing too many interviews too fast is not a good idea!

Maybe it shouldnt be a "time" thing at all? I mean, maybe right now, since it is still kind of new, and there are a relatively large amount of personalities on here that havent been interviewed, maybe more is okay right now.

But if you say something like one interview every month, it wont be long before you will be interviewing people who arent "personalities" at all!

Maybe for someone who wants to have everyone on here interviewed before they are dead, it may be okay, but for the long term prospects of this site in general, I would caution that flexibility is the best course, and setting a goal of one a month or whatever is not wise.

maybe something like whenever someone gets a certain amount of requests before they are interviewed, or something like that? Like I said before, only 4 people requested me, thats not too many, and that was more than anyone else, just be careful and take it slow, thats my advice.


One more thinking out loud..... there is nothing from stopping anyone from making an interview fellowship, barb, and you can get questions together and invite everyone you want to know more about and ask them questions and post the answers, and you can do 20 people a week if you want, and are afraid you wont be around here long enough to get to know people properly , official brainking interviews are NOT the only way to get to know someone, really!

...said as undiplomatically as possible to make sure to hurt barbs feelings.

Rose: well, diplomacy aside, you know i am right

Puckish: sometimes it doesnt matter how right you are - diplomacy actually matters - and feelings are really all that matters when it comes to relationships - what is the point of being rude when trying to make a point - it takes away the power of being right and makes you look foolish

redfrog: Ouch... that hurts... I guess trying to hurt me is a way for you to make me feel like you think barb will feel from my post?

I know we are all different, I was always under the belief that if you cant stand the heat to stay out of the kitchen... i have a thick skin, so i assume others are the same way, but that is not always the case.


But simply stated, barb has her opinion, that she gave, and said her reasons why. I happen to disagree and gave my reasons why, there was no malice intended, I actually think an interview fellowship is a very good idea!!!!

Puckish: i wasnt trying to hurt you - im glad you have thick skin - that helps sometimes... i didnt mean to saying anything hurtful - just trying to voice my opinion too... i was trying to be helpful - you had some good things to say - but i fear you arent listened to when youre feeling especially puckish!!!

redfrog: when youre feeling especially puckish!!!

, Nice one!!!!

Any further bickering will be deleted.

Puckish: I do, I do And may I pleassse say how very "PC" of you

Puckish: I agree.. the interviews should be one a month.. there are enough players on this site who are very interesting.. and lots of us enjoy getting to know others.. one a month is NOT too many..

ScarletRose: Is it possible to have too many then? How about 1 per week? Why not interview several people at the same time?

Like I have said before, there are many ways to get to know people, other than through a public site sponsored interview.... if there are really so many people who want more, then why not just ask them? You can always send people questions about themselves through a PM, cant you? Or even make it more public by starting a private fellowship, right?

Dang, maybe I will just have to do it myself!

Andersp: Regarding voting for a new vict... I mean, person to be interviewed (), the system is the same that has been so far - if there's someone you'd like to see an interview with, just send me his/her/their name(s) and I'll add them to my list. The top most voted ones I'll send to Foxy Lady when her interview is almost over, for her to choose from.

Oh... did I mention she's our next subject?

Puckish: I feel the same way you do... which is why I started making interviews about 1 month apart and then spreaded them out a little more. Of course, now that I don't have to do so much work on them, it's easier, but I also think that if the subject isn't well known, there simply won't be so many people asking questions... or at least those funny and witty questions that make the interview more enjoyable.

However, I think a very large interval between interviews will also have a negative effect - people will start forgeting to come to this board to be informed about new interviews and won't post any questions... which is not good either.

So I'm trying to find some compromise somewhere in between...

pauloaguia: I don't agree with your method of picking the next interviewee. I still think it should be by popular vote. No offense but when you send the list to the present interviewee, they just pick someone they like. Don't guess there is a fool proof way of choosing anyway.

pauloaguia: An idea to keep traffic to this board in between interviews - how about once a week, have 5 "open" questions that anyone can post on the board with their answers. Anyone who visits the board can answer - even me since I've already done an interview and will most likely never do another one.

It could be a good way to keep traffic to this board, and possible get a good conversation out of those questions.

Maybe mix in a few odd-ball questions like is you yard more grass, weeds, dirt, or no yard - with more serious questions like maybe how often would you like to see interviews and why.

Dolittle: No offense taken.
But to clarify: I only send them 3 or 4 names - the ones that collected more votes. So, whoever gets to be choosen is still someone requested by severall other people.
I send them to be picked by the current interviewee because it was suggested that (s)he should pick the next one and the idea seemed to collect lots of support. I just changed it slightly preciselly to avoid the friends-picks-friend scenario and to still give other people a role in selecting who the next one should be...
Like you say, whatever the system, it will always have its pro's and con's, so I'm sticking to this one for now (can't keep changing system every month, unless there's a very solid reason)

pauloaguia: I agree that you have to stay with whatever the majority wants. All I was saying is that even though someone was requested by the most people, if that person that you send that list to doesn't particularly like that person, then they won't be picked. The final decision should be yours since you are the one in charge of interviews! It is just an opinion, that is all. Go forth and do good!!

coan.net: I'm not sure... if this was a threaded board, it might work, but on an open board such as we have here on BK, I think there's a risk of cluttering, expecially if some of those answers provide some good conversation, like you said... which, by the way, could also make this turn into a debate club (which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not something I'm prepared to moderate, that's all)
Also, I'd run out of questions preety fast if I were to have to come up with 5 different questions every week

Yet, I had already thought in the past of the concept of a quick interview, I just didn't come up with a right way to put it in practice... Somebody else care to comment on coan's idea?

pauloaguia: Yes, I like your idea to let the last person choose, but to make them choose from some popular requests!

Puckish: It was not my idea, someone else suggested it on BrainKing.com DB when I started doing this... since there were so many people saying it was a good idea, I implemented it, that's all...

pauloaguia: just thinking out loud again... like BBW suggested, since people who have already been interviewed will likely never be interviewed again, and since there are always new people here and others who did not participate in prior interview questioning, maybe there would be some interest in picking a prior interviewee, where people may be curious about some aspect of them that was not covered in their first interview, and they could be the person of the week, or month or whatever, to come here and answer additional questions, or something like that?

Some kind of follow up.... I know after reading someones interview, there are always other questions that come to mind, maybe to clarify or expound on what they have already said, or to find out something that was not covered at all....

Even maybe the person who most recently completed an interview could make themselves available for a couple of weeks of follow up.... just make that part of the routine, where after you post your interview, you come here to answer follow up questions generated after people have read your interview....

pauloaguia: Or instead of every week, whenever there is a "dull" time. For example, lets say you notice that a week went by without a post, maybe introduce some "quickie" questions for people to answer. Maybe even like "poll" questions like what new game would you like to see on this site. (with a list of some options with of course leaving it open for any answers).

Seasonal questions like "Did Santa bring you anything this year?"

Yea, a threaded board would make it a lot easier - but maybe an idea to keep when the posts do slow down - and randomly so you are not forced into doing new questions weekly and such.

pauloaguia: I think what you are doing is fine. I know when you told me to pick..You gave me 5 names I think it was..You listed them from highest to lowest votes. Mad Monkey had the highest number so I picked him. So if you have people sending in votes..Why don't you just pick the highest vote? That way all this stuff about picking favorites can be avoided.
Coan.. Why mix other things in with interview board. This is for interviews and should really be for that.

Bubbles Pbarb2: I had no idea this was such a complicated venture.Has anyone considered having people submit themselves to a list for interviews? that might simplify the process

Bubbles Pbarb2: Why don't you just pick the highest vote?

Well, the thing is, that people with a lot of votes can get them from a clique of friends, just as easy as the most recent interviewee who keep picking their friends etc.... the point is that there is no perfect solution.

Since it seems like we are going to get interviews more frequently than less, it likely that everyone who has any votes will eventually get interviewed at some point in the near future, so it doesnt really matter who picks them or why, or what order they get picked.... it just seems like since someone has to get chosen, why not let the latest person interviewed do it, thats just as arbitrary as any other method, and is a nice bonus for the person who has just gone through the somehwat grueling interview process, to get to have someone from the list who most interests them.

Jim Dandy: It never was before.

Bubbles Pbarb2: Things always get more complicated within any democratic system, an autocracy is vastly less complicated, but who likes uncomplicated anyway?

Bubbles Pbarb2: It just seems logical to me.Sometimes people lose interest when the process become too complicated

ps

I have no intent of submitting myself,I enjoy asking questions though.

MadMonkey's interview has just been published!! Enjoy it.

In the mean time, don't forget to post your questions in Foxy Lady's interview... a special note to remind those that had previously asked their questions to be recurrent, that they should now manually post them again (I may pick one or two of those from previous interviews when the time is almost up, but I would prefer them to be credited to their original authors and the only way to do it right now, is for them to post themselves).

And remember you can still send me a message sugesting who the next subject should be.

pauloaguia: mad monkeys interview was very interesting, good questions, and great answers from Ian.
i agree with keeping the interviews running the way they are, you're doing a good job.

ellieoop: Thanks. But the quality of the interview is mostly due to the help of the over 20 "inquisitors" and the quality of the subject. I have almost no hand on it anymore

It's up to you all to keep the interviews up to these same standards...

Just a suggestion (hoping not to complicate matters more) but how about just giving the suggested names for the next interview numbers 1 to 4 (or however many need to be picked from) & the person choosing just picks a number & they dont know who the name is associated with that number.

Does that make sense?