A Reader's Guide to Simtropolis City Journals

[thatmonkeysim 8]

yea it is kinda weird that those pics are gone and we remember what they used to look like... but it would be nice to reminece some more about those olden times when things were simplier

[Shadow Assassin 336]

What about Trixie Honorable Mentions? Or are there too many to mention?

[mayormommy 8]

I suppose I could do that. I don't have a little symbol for that but I could add it to the text. I'm planning on updating the guide in a week or two.

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

How about this: http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/4784/05hmtrixie9wv.png align=baseline>, a trixie with the letters HM in it.

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks, Leech - that looks great! Okay, I'll get those installed in the next week or so.

[defcon pilot 0]

CJ's: Dial-uppers beware! Lol.

[dev 47]

Mayormommy: This continues to be such a great resource! Keep up your great work!

[mayormommy 8]

Help Wanted: Reader's Guide Internships

Hopefully everyone by now is aware of the 2006 ST Upgrade Fundraising Campaign. I'd like to offer two student members who do not have their own means to donate with an opportunity to work off their donation.

In exchange for three hours of work each helping me with the Reader's Guide, I will make two $25 US contributions to ST on behalf of those two students. First dibs on one of these jobs goes to ginchael, who already has been helping out with this project and has proven his worth.

Qualifications: Good writing, attention to detail (and I mean almost obsessive ), and the ability to follow through in the next few weeks. I have no patience for people who make commitments and do not keep them. Please note that the Reader's Guide is maintained in old fashioned HTML coding because I often work on it from different computers using different browsers. I am happy to train anyone who doesn't know how to do this, so it is not a prerequisite.

Possible tasks: (1) Sifting through all 2003 CJs in search of any of significance that still have photos and are not already listed in the Guide, (2) Listing all 2003 CJ Trixie winners and adding a link and the Trixie logo to their listings, (3) Locating all 2005 Trixie Honorable Mentions and adding the logo and text describing the category to their listings, (4) Categorizing all CJs in the Reader's Guide and color coding them, (5) Assisting with write-ups and stats for several new CJs to be added to the Guide, (6) Coordinating with TMS to find a way to cross-reference his popularity scale with the Guide, and (7) Testing mtbrocket's CJ rating system on a few select CJs of different lengths and genres.

Now I'm not expecting all of these tasks to get done in six hours total but maybe you'll surprise me. You can start with the task you are most interested in (this isn't slave labor, you should enjoy it ). Please PM me by Saturday, February 11 if you're interested, and please include a writing sample, preferably a sample CJ listing. I will announce my two new interns a few days later and they will receive their STEX CDs upon completion of their internship.

[mayormommy 8]

I'd like to announce that due to my great sales on Ebay last week , I was able to able to offer three internships, instead of two, to ginchael, Shadow_Assassin, and Radioheadfan. Three $25 donations will be in their names in return for a few hours of work updating and upgrading the Reader's Guide. Congratulations!

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Heh, thanks.

Hey, you don't mind all the info in an Excel document? I did that for ease of organization.

[mayormommy 8]

Excel will be fine and thanks for helping out!

[mayormommy 8]

Just testing...please disregard...thanks

4/28/03 - One of the earliest city recreations was New York City . The city slowly develops over 9 pages and 24,000 views. Status: ?

City of Edmonton by TheJerseyDevil73 becomes a 2-year labor of love with over 55 pages and over 142,000 views. Winner of the 2004 Trixie Award for Most Realistic City Journal, and the 2005 Trixie Awards for Most Aesthetically Pleasing City and Granddaddy of All City Journals. Status: ongoing.

8/21/03 - Leave your heart in San Francisco by eppisgood, with 8 pages and 18,000 views. Status: ended.

10/1/03 - Dargor launches the long-running CJ Santa Lucia . The park-filled downtowns prove popular, with over 11 pages and 13,000 views. Status: ended.

Okay, got it...

[mayormommy 8]

Ack, the dreaded triple post! Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that if you're having any trouble finding your favorite CJs, the Reader's Guide links have been fixed. However, I couldn't get the whole thing back into one post, so please see the first two posts for the entire list. <-- a bunny!

[mtbrocket 2]

Is it really a triple post if the posts were on three separate days?

I have a minor request, mayormommy, that the new Topic Rating system not be included on A reader's Guide to Simtropolis City Journal. as it has the same problems as the rating system on the STEX. My opinion is the Guide should be as neutral as possible. (I find it funny that a journal even can be rated to begin with knowing the definition of the word journal. It is like trying to rate a personal diary.)

This Guide is the best feature to be added to CJs. I can imagine it is a full time job just to maintain it. I am very impressed that you are trying to sort the CJs by categories instead of the time line. The time line, though much easier to administer, is not very interesting. That being said, the descriptions are enjoyable and well thought out so maybe they are good enough. They do mitigate complaints of erroneous cataloging.

As to my uh...rating...I mean "CJ sorting system" (since it is not possible to get a high mark in ever category) it might need a healthy measure of trimming to make it user friendly and it definitely needs some critiquing with people with red pens. Did I send you the latest version with your inputs from last year?

I wish I could assist you in your endeavor but little Isaac has learned that he has back muscles and is learning to wriggle and this also is an election year.
-Dan

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Ah, I noticed the Reader's Guide's been redone. Maybe talk to dirk about increasing the character limit on posts? I notice that the links are gone... do you still have them, by any chance? I haven't finished categorizing the CJs yet [i'm stuck around January 05]

[mayormommy 8]

Dan, I agree that the topic rating system is too blunt an instrument to use on CJs. How come you get to rank members from 1-10 but topics only 1-5?

I'm not sure if I've seen the absolute latest version of your rating system, but I remember the earlier drafts. Although it is very thorough, it's a little intimidating in length. I was wondering about a bare bones version - for example, like the 20 point scoring system on Iron Chef (one of the few tv shows I watch).

Taste: 5 pts.

Plating: 5 pts.

Originality/creativity: 5 pts.

Use of the secret ingredient: 5 pts.

But instead, we'd have:

Text: 5 pts.

Pictures: 5 pts.

Originality/creativity: 5 pts.

Extras (maps, mosaics, newspapers, etc.): 5 pts.

What do you think? Might be a little more workable with large numbers of CJs.

S_A - What links do you mean? I fixed the links in the Reader's Guide so they work fine for me. They're just the default dark grey and don't look like links anymore. I'll try to fix them when I figure out how to post colored text. The new character limit is more of a problem - apparently a few Chaumont posts got cut off, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few others.

[simmax 0]

I'm really pleased to have my 2-year old (already....) journal in the guide, especially with the comment you made!!

[mtbrocket 2]

Your idea is very much user friendly and I like it. Maybe add five more categories that focus on actual city design. That way you have five for the journal and five for the city. Maybe we should take this topic off line as it is starting to diverge off the forum topic.
That being said I will stick to my original position that the Guild should be as neutral as possible and not have any ratings systems shown at all. I think of the Guild more as a library directory. The descriptions are the best part of the Guild and any rating system shown would just diminish their importance.
-Dan

[mayormommy 8]

Originally posted by: mtbrocket

Your idea is very much user friendly and I like it. Maybe add five more categories that focus on actual city design. That way you have five for the journal and five for the city. Maybe we should take this topic off line as it is starting to diverge off the forum topic. That being said I will stick to my original position that the Guild should be as neutral as possible and not have any ratings systems shown at all. I think of the Guild more as a library directory. The descriptions are the best part of the Guild and any rating system shown would just diminish their importance. -Dan

quote>

Quite true - let's discuss via PM. Though I don't know how much scheming we can do until we find out how the CJs' new home is set up. A new CJ format was hinted at for ST 4, but it looks like it's finally going to happen in ST 5 - it's on the calendar! (Of course an editor, I attach more importance to calendars than most.)

[rewright 804]

Thanks for including Casa Grande in your list mayormommy. I am having a problem with that region; it shuts down each time I try to load it. Hopefully I will be able to get it up and running again soon.

[p1 1]

Like all the CJs on the lists

[mayormommy 8]

Okay, I've updated the 2005 CJs. I'm reluctant to disturb the 2003-2004 CJs because I will lose all the links (again!) because of the way they are formatted. Eventually I'll update that but I've had enough for today. I still need some write-ups on the last few CJs of the year and then I'll start on 2006. If anyone from SCJU or MOS would like to provide me with a little logo (about the Trixie medal size), I'd be happy to add that your various members' CJ listings.

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Aww, no descriptions for September onwards?

edit: As for the SCJU crest, what about this one?

It's a PNG, so it should be OK for ST. [1kb vs 2kb for JPG]

[choco1 4]

Hey Mayormommy, your list is looking great!  Nice idea for putting an icon in for the SCJU and MOS.

Anyway, I was just looking through your list and when I clicked on the Green Depra link, it took me too a page that said it could not be found, so I think the link must be broken.

If you have time to fix it, then the actual link can be found here:

https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=36&threadid=67742&enterthread=y

Thanks!  Choco.

[Montu 0]

Hello,

Just letting you know, the MoS logo isn't ready yet, I'm changing the logo to something new, so when it is ready, I shall post it here. Roughly what size do you want it to be?

Thanks.

[mayormommy 8]

S_A - The logo looks great but I can't see it in Internet Explorer - could you make a JPG version?

Choco - Sorry about that, I had to redo all the links (yet again). I'll fix that this morning.

Kumba - I'm looking for something small, about Trixie logo size. Perhaps I'll put MOS in colored text for the time being. Please PM me a list of your current members.

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Here you go.

JPG'd.

[mayormommy 8]

Thanks, S_A -  I put them in and they look quite nice, I think. Let me know if I've missed anyone. I've also added MoS to the MoS members I know of, just as a placeholder until their new logo is ready. Note that union membership by itself is not enough reason to be listed n the Reader's Guide - Trixie awards or a high number of replies here on ST are also still required.

EDIT: I'll go back and add these to the 2003-2004 list as well, once I have time to deal with fixing all the links.

[Lyhoko Leaci 770]

What about the continuation of a previous journal? The Planet Myon has ended, and I have started a new CJ, Galesfe City.

[Ringo 0]

Awesome posts--I would like to see some pictures of the city though. Good posts, very detailed