- Oct 7, 2019
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The Reign of Disaster: Barrybran weighs in
Previously, on the Wandering Bears….
After NaturalDisaster received a scroll from an angel which contained within it the keys to saving the SFA he has suffered a temporary state of delirium.
The only message ND could share from this religious experience was that Barrybran contained the keys to saving the SFA….
This investigator did what no man before him would dare to do…
He ventured to the house of Gumby to interrogate Barry on the state of the SFA under the reign of ND
GREENESHOOTS:
There has been a lot of noise made about the current state of the SFA, with many complaining it is too quiet and slowly dying, what do you make of this statement?
BarryBran:
It's not. Covid saw a lot of people with extra time on their hands and posting volume skyrocketed in seasons 29 and 30. What we're seeing this year is a return to normal as people are occupied with work, sport, family and community events and the ability to travel again.
GREENESHOOTS:
The current administration has received a lot of flack for their implementation of site rules, what impact do you believe this on the activity of the SFA? And do you believe posters are adjusting to these new rules?
BarryBran:
The administration of the Sweet FA league is completely separate to the moderation of a public forum. It just so happens that NaturalDisaster currently serves both roles. At the end of the day, like it or not, the Sweet FA moderators take their orders from above and while we have seen a sanitisation of content across Big Footy as a whole, that is just a reflection of society. I think the moderators have handled these issues superbly and people are adjusting. If a poster like Tigerturbulance can stay out of Banhammer Prison, continue to enjoy themselves and win a beez Trophy in the process then anyone can.
GREENESHOOTS:
The All-SFA selection and team continues to be a contentious issue amongst the league, after reviewing the survey results and given your own personal view, what changes should be made to the selection process and final teams?
BarryBran:
The survey was pretty clear about what people wanted the All-SFA team to represent and I think the result validates much of the process behind how the All-SFA team has been selected in recent seasons. The only real change I can see between what happens now and what people want is to reduce the influence of media on All-SFA selection.
GREENESHOOTS:
Many SFA sides have struggled over the years, with the Gumbies being a recent example, to what do you attribute the turnaround your team has had as a posting side this season?
BarryBran:
We've been up and about for three seasons now. We're not at the top of the table in terms of posting volume but we don't aim to be either. I would love to have more contributors but that is constantly a work in progress.
What we do have though is an fantastic group of posters who all get along really well with each other. While there has been a fair bit of luck involved, it certainly isn't an accident. When I came to the Gumbies in season 27, I wanted to bring to them what I had with the Bears in season 26 with posters like JoshWoodenSpoon, kdavva74], Test Tickle and Tandy.
I took over as captain alongside haydo in season 28 and the immediate goal was to boost activity so haydo leveraged existing relationships to bring in experienced players like Rodney Dangerfield and okeydoke7. From there, the focus was about building the character of the club and I knew the kind of posters I wanted to bring in, which saw players like Ned Ryerson and GWS Goose join through the Big Footy Tour of Qooty, beez and Riviat join for a change of scenery, Genghis Tron join through pre-existing relationships with myself and Riviat, and omgfridge join through a series of off-season werewolf games.
Having a vision of what I wanted the club to look like helped in targeting certain people who I knew would fit that culture and now that it has come to fruition, it is starting to feed off itself more than my own efforts. Something I'm particularly pleased about is the involvement of players like StFly, Brick Loosener and Rodney Dangerfield, who were at the club when we were struggling.
GREENESHOOTS :
Is there anything the SFA administration can/should do to help struggling clubs?
BarryBran:
Communication is the big one, I think. Checking in with captains to see if a down season is an aberration or something they might need help with. The admin's goal should always be one of growth and the two components to that are finding new posters and retention of players. ND took a lead role in organising and being the face of the Tour of Qooty this past offseason, which I think was a great move on his part. Retention is a tougher element as people stop posting for a variety of reasons, one of which is real life, which none of us here have any control over.
GREENESHOOTS:
How would you like the SFA to improve?
BarryBran:
I would love every club to have the 4-5 core posters they need to sustain a match thread each week. This is easier said than done, of course, as each team and leadership group has a different idea about how the league and their place within it should look, and there are natural ebbs and flows as active posters move between clubs.
I personally would love to see a shorter season (play everyone once + finals) but the current structure fits neatly into a calendar year while allowing for summer holidays, so I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Reading between the lines this Leaves us with Barry’s 6 Point Plan to Saving the SFA
1.It's not time for a hostile takeover… yet
2.NaturalDisaster is not the only person to blame
3.League captains need to start the revolution
4.Redistribute the means of Qooty production
5.Overhaul the All SFA selection criteria to account for media and board contributions
6.Shorten the Season
Previously, on the Wandering Bears….
After NaturalDisaster received a scroll from an angel which contained within it the keys to saving the SFA he has suffered a temporary state of delirium.
The only message ND could share from this religious experience was that Barrybran contained the keys to saving the SFA….
This investigator did what no man before him would dare to do…
He ventured to the house of Gumby to interrogate Barry on the state of the SFA under the reign of ND
GREENESHOOTS:
There has been a lot of noise made about the current state of the SFA, with many complaining it is too quiet and slowly dying, what do you make of this statement?
BarryBran:
It's not. Covid saw a lot of people with extra time on their hands and posting volume skyrocketed in seasons 29 and 30. What we're seeing this year is a return to normal as people are occupied with work, sport, family and community events and the ability to travel again.
GREENESHOOTS:
The current administration has received a lot of flack for their implementation of site rules, what impact do you believe this on the activity of the SFA? And do you believe posters are adjusting to these new rules?
BarryBran:
The administration of the Sweet FA league is completely separate to the moderation of a public forum. It just so happens that NaturalDisaster currently serves both roles. At the end of the day, like it or not, the Sweet FA moderators take their orders from above and while we have seen a sanitisation of content across Big Footy as a whole, that is just a reflection of society. I think the moderators have handled these issues superbly and people are adjusting. If a poster like Tigerturbulance can stay out of Banhammer Prison, continue to enjoy themselves and win a beez Trophy in the process then anyone can.
GREENESHOOTS:
The All-SFA selection and team continues to be a contentious issue amongst the league, after reviewing the survey results and given your own personal view, what changes should be made to the selection process and final teams?
BarryBran:
The survey was pretty clear about what people wanted the All-SFA team to represent and I think the result validates much of the process behind how the All-SFA team has been selected in recent seasons. The only real change I can see between what happens now and what people want is to reduce the influence of media on All-SFA selection.
GREENESHOOTS:
Many SFA sides have struggled over the years, with the Gumbies being a recent example, to what do you attribute the turnaround your team has had as a posting side this season?
BarryBran:
We've been up and about for three seasons now. We're not at the top of the table in terms of posting volume but we don't aim to be either. I would love to have more contributors but that is constantly a work in progress.
What we do have though is an fantastic group of posters who all get along really well with each other. While there has been a fair bit of luck involved, it certainly isn't an accident. When I came to the Gumbies in season 27, I wanted to bring to them what I had with the Bears in season 26 with posters like JoshWoodenSpoon, kdavva74], Test Tickle and Tandy.
I took over as captain alongside haydo in season 28 and the immediate goal was to boost activity so haydo leveraged existing relationships to bring in experienced players like Rodney Dangerfield and okeydoke7. From there, the focus was about building the character of the club and I knew the kind of posters I wanted to bring in, which saw players like Ned Ryerson and GWS Goose join through the Big Footy Tour of Qooty, beez and Riviat join for a change of scenery, Genghis Tron join through pre-existing relationships with myself and Riviat, and omgfridge join through a series of off-season werewolf games.
Having a vision of what I wanted the club to look like helped in targeting certain people who I knew would fit that culture and now that it has come to fruition, it is starting to feed off itself more than my own efforts. Something I'm particularly pleased about is the involvement of players like StFly, Brick Loosener and Rodney Dangerfield, who were at the club when we were struggling.
GREENESHOOTS :
Is there anything the SFA administration can/should do to help struggling clubs?
BarryBran:
Communication is the big one, I think. Checking in with captains to see if a down season is an aberration or something they might need help with. The admin's goal should always be one of growth and the two components to that are finding new posters and retention of players. ND took a lead role in organising and being the face of the Tour of Qooty this past offseason, which I think was a great move on his part. Retention is a tougher element as people stop posting for a variety of reasons, one of which is real life, which none of us here have any control over.
GREENESHOOTS:
How would you like the SFA to improve?
BarryBran:
I would love every club to have the 4-5 core posters they need to sustain a match thread each week. This is easier said than done, of course, as each team and leadership group has a different idea about how the league and their place within it should look, and there are natural ebbs and flows as active posters move between clubs.
I personally would love to see a shorter season (play everyone once + finals) but the current structure fits neatly into a calendar year while allowing for summer holidays, so I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Reading between the lines this Leaves us with Barry’s 6 Point Plan to Saving the SFA
1.It's not time for a hostile takeover… yet
2.NaturalDisaster is not the only person to blame
3.League captains need to start the revolution
4.Redistribute the means of Qooty production
5.Overhaul the All SFA selection criteria to account for media and board contributions
6.Shorten the Season
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