Don’t mention it, you Are one of those Gems of Viki who deserve our praise and recognition. Please, never change! ^^
Thank you for remaining here. ^^
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One remark about the progression path (I saw that at least one person spoke about it, just detailing it “by level” here, because it should be essential to this system and communication?): to sum up, from level 3, it looks like you have to have already managed “one type of project” to be allowed to manage that same type of project again? Which is not so logical / where is the actual progress?
Indeed, from what I understood:
- (level 1) For a start, you have to co-manage a channel (whatever type)
→ Normal and good. - (level 2) After co-managing one project, you can manage one of the “short library” projects
→ Ok, you need a little experience to move further, on small projects at first, understandable. - (level 3) After managing at least one short on-air series, you can manage a short on-air series
→ You have to have managed on-air series to be allowed to manage on-air series?! What’s the relation with “short library” projects? How can one actually progress to level 3?! - (level 4) After managing at least 3 on-air dramas (preferably Korean or Chinese, possibly Thai or Vietnamese), you can manage Chinese on air dramas
→ You have to have managed “on-air dramas” to be allowed to manage “on-air dramas”? What’s the relation with “on-air series” or “short library” projects? Once again, how can one actually progress to level 4? - (level 5) After managing at least 3 on-air dramas (preferably Korean or Chinese, possibly Thai or Vietnamese), you can manage Korean on air dramas
→ Same remarks than for level 4, and also what’s the difference with level 4?
In the end, the different steps and how one leads to the other should be clarified further: it looks like someone can get projects in level 1 or 2 rather easily, but reaching level 3 and above look nearly impossible, as the requirement to manage these projects is to have managed these projects already… not logical, there’s like no progress at in the system described.
And as someone mentioned, what of the movies in this system? Are they considered as “Short library series”, meaning Level 2 here?
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Thank you for expanding on it. It’s absurd.
Just like those employee search ads which always say that X years experience on that particular job is required. Then, those fresh from school/college, how on earth will they acquire this experience? (Some university courses provide internship - which I don’t know whether it counts - but not all)
They could say that if you have successfully managed X number of projects of the previous category, then you can move on to the next. That would have been reasonable.
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Could be that, or after co-managing at least 3 on air-dramas you can manage one on your own (good luck, though, in finding three experimented people who would accept to help you on THREE projects, when one is already very hard to get). Or whatever other relation that would make you go from one level to another.
Or maybe they forgot one level, for the Thai and Vietnamese dramas, probably between level 2 and 3? Meaning that you would have to have managed Thai and Vietnamese dramas before hoping you can get a Chinese or Korean drama? And -three-, meaning really spending time in those languages? As for me, I’m very sorry to say this, I’m really not into Thai or Vietnamese dramas (tried several, I just don’t like how they develop their stories): I’m really not sure that a system where you force people into doing something they potentially don’t like, and a “something” that is necessarily long, can be fruitful. Chances are many will just give up instead.
But yes, most logical would be co-managing → short, library → short, on-air → long dramas. Although I fail to see how and why Korean dramas should require a higher level / more experience than the Chinese? Especially when the Korean dramas are usually a lot shorter than the Chinese, meaning you need a lot more team-management skills on the long-term in order to complete a Chinese drama, compared to a Korean.
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But what about the reborn newbies, those who have been shunned for so long that their experience has expired or is about to do so? Are they seriously expected to make their comeback holding hands with a co-CM?
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That would be me. I just realised it’s been 3 years and 2/3 months since I was CM 
(I’m salty because it surpasses 3y)
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It won’t be that easy to find co-managing. It’s a hassle. I never accept co-moderation, for instance, I prefer to decline the project altogether. Why would a CM want another person, with whom it’s not known whether the collaboration will be smooth?
Generally, that job doesn’t really need more than one person. Yes, the other person could help with the tiresome, boring parts like researching the moderator candidates or compiling the list of ready episodes in each language. This could be a relief, surely. But then the CM has very little left to do, right?
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Sure, and to be honest if you’ve been “working” on Viki for long enough to be a CM (meaning you contributed to many projects already, surely both a translator and a moderator, maybe as a segmentor too), you probably need someone for your first project as a manager to present you the specificities and tools of the position, but for the most part you most surely know how you want to work etc. Would it be only because you’ve been under several CMs already, so you know what type of practices you liked or didn’t like / you found useful or not. So, yeah, would it be only for that reason, I really doubt that more than one project in co-moderation should be necessary.
It’s only that Viki seems to like the “3 something” in this description, that’s why I kept the idea in this “could be”. But in practice, it’s most surely not needed, indeed.
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We don’t need any. We’ve been doing without it for decades.
This can and has been done by a CE or CS, too, and basically by anyone in the team with the right experience.
Indeed, and depending on our exact roles, we might already know a whole lot about managing. Just the fact that they don’t even look into overall experience speaks volumes.
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I remeber that when I first became a CM, the CE helped me a lot with recruiting members of the team and many different things. The CS also helped me by explaining how to cut and adjust the parts, how to open and close the episodes etc.
I’m really grateful to them and to other members of community, who are always open to help me.
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It has happened to me that moderators I knew well wrote to me, after getting their first manager position, to ask for advice/guidance, and I gave it. No big deal. It wasn’t a one-message thing, we had an open chat and there were various questions of various sorts. But after that, they went on brilliantly!
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An answer side note style:
Yes, I feel it too, @zyxw.
When I could be CM for the very first time I was very anxious (amplified by the fact I had to give away about 3 channels before that due work + studying, so I was even more anxious and eager to do things well).
To add more to the normal anxiety, the project was a big challenge by itself (at that time): it was a quite antecipated K-Drama and all of its episodes were released at once (in a time where Disqus wasn’t as filtered as it is now).
My team literally suffered from bullying even though all of them were Sooo Wonderful: they segmented, translated, edited and released episodes for OL ahead of the schedule I published on the cover page - to try to calm down those who were too eager and aggresive.
I was Very Fortunate to have such Lovely Amazing Magic partners and this Marvelous Viki family too, who kindly gave me support, advice and warmth. At some point, even quiet viewers started defending us against bullies and were on our side on comments section.
Also, Viki started helping us as well.
Believe me: It was quite tense and intense. But I’ve Learned a Lot with everything and everyone and thus my grattitude is everlasting. I’ve learned some things for life.
A channel is only a channel but when you go through thick and thin together, it becomes Much more than that.
I’m Really Grateful!^^
Some colleagues, sadly, aren’t here anymore. I only hope and wish it wasn’t for the pandemic…
Remembering all of them (the ones who left, those that still remain here and are kind to me plus those viewers who bravely supported us) to be Always Fully Blessed, Happy and having the Sun constantly making their souls smiling radiantly ^^
On the previous note: A special mention to @moreugesseo: He was a Great teacher for me. I hope you’re specially well, wherever you might be, Dear Teacher.
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It must have been three years since I last heard of him.
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Since the new progression path and requirements and skills update, I’ve come up to some conclusions. This is not addressed to anyone, as these are just facts that I have already expressed before, when this was posted.
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As I said beforehand, this system won’t work for “newbies”, unless you have a great relationship with a specific person that has been CM multiple times.
No one will accept people they don’t know as a Co-CM, as they maybe don’t have time or even better, they just don’t want to “teach” them, as it might be a bother, so you either get a no as a response (which is NORMAL guys, you have to expect it, and I appreciate it, or either you don’t even get a response, which is even more troublesome) -
It’s too bothersome each time searching up for CMs that have been CMs for ON-AIR dramas, and that currently have a project either on-air or coming up soon. (and with the 429 error it’s even worse)
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Are movies even counted as on-air projects?
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It’s not fair for veteran contributors too, as many of them didn’t get a channel in years, and are treated, as someone already said in here, as toddlers.
Maybe it is just me, I don’t know…
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I guess the answer is yes, as I now see all kinds of people who are experienced in reality become CM together with someone who is experienced in Viki’s eyes. This is pure politics. The supervising CMs are not there to actually teach the “new” CM; they are there to give them a chance at doing what they’ve already done before more than once. It’s an insult to the unlucky CM who’s expected to bow down to the “experienced” CM, a waste of time for the “experienced” CM, who is basically superfluous and could spend their time in more fruitful ways, and it robs anyone without the right connections of their chances to ever become CM again. Viki has sunk lower than ever before. Why do we keep on tolerating this?
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I could be wrong, but on Viki’s side here, as we’re talking about people who haven’t been CM in three years, chances are the tools might have changed in 3 years. We agree that one doesn’t necessarily need a co-CM just for an update on tools, but co-(whatever) are usually there to help on tidbits here and there, they rarely fully help on everything. So I can understand why a co-CM could be necessary after a while, at least on one project?
Anyway, people wanted a “general trend”: there is one now. Nothing’s ever perfect, and it can’t be “once a CM - freepass to be a CM forever” either. Surely Viki will have to improve it with time, but let’s give this system a try, give feedback on what’s needed, and be constructive overall?
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This rule was scrapped, and rightly so because it was nonsense.
What kind of tools did you have in mind?
Maybe the Subtitle Editor getting new shortcuts? The Bulk Editor and the Segment Timer getting a drop-down menu to jump from one episode to another? But a CM doesn’t use those anyway.
The Inbox? (I wish!) The way to add team members? The way to send group messages to the team? The project finder? Even if a volunteer has not been a CM in three years, s/he is still contributing. After all, it’s in the prerequisites, that it must be an active volunteer. So s/he would already be familiar with any changes in the tools.
The only page a CM sees that a moderator doesn’t is the Manage page accessed through the Editor. The one from which you cut the episode into parts and where you lock/unlock all the languages and the segments. But what kind of revolutionary changes might they make to that page that would be so difficult to learn?
I don’t think this motivation for the 3-year thingy stands to scrutiny and, I repeat, I’m very glad that Viki scrapped it.
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It would be great if Viki had changed the way of managing in the last 3 years. Starting with the fact that CSs cannot cut parts of videos.
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You’re right about the “three years-thing” disappearing, I had missed that.
Actually, it also looks like they don’t request this co-CM thing anymore, except for “fully first-timers as CM” (which can be understandable), so… no point “holding hands with a co-CM” anymore?
I mostly meant: “let’s give this system a chance, we’ll see its results in the next few months after all”. Especially with these new changes actually, as it’s now clearer how you go from “level 3” to “4”, and then “5”. It might look artificial to request someone more experienced to manage a Korean drama rather than any other language, but it is true that there are less and less Korean dramas, while they’re usually quality ones, so… we can understand that, from Viki’s point of view, they have to be managed by “the cream of the cream”. At least I can understand it. And as such, I don’t have much more to say on this system, I’m only curious on the results it will give. And if there are still issues after a few months, I’m sure everyone here will be very vocal about it.
hoping this message made sense, I’ve had a bad cold for a few days now, so… not at my best to write, into any language!
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You wrote it quite well! I hope you get better very soon ^^
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