Bulbagarden Staff Drive 2022 - Questions and Discussion

[Archaic]

Hi everyone,

As you may have already seen in our recent news post, Bulbagarden is actively looking for applicants for a range of volunteer staff positions:

• Bulbagarden Forums Moderators
• Bulbapedia Junior Administrators
• Bulbanews Writers
• Bulbagarden Discord Moderators

It's been a good while now since the last time we actively sought to bring on new volunteers, so I imagine there's probably more than a few of you with questions about the application process, and what these roles would actually involve. I'll try to give as much information as I can here, but if you have any questions that this post doesn't answer, please don't hesitate to reply to this thread and we'll do our best to clear things up for you.

General Questions:
How can I apply?
Click the links above, or in the news post, and they'll take you straight to the application forms. If applying to multiple positions, you'll need to fill out each form separately.

Why aren't you accepting any applications for the social media or multimedia (Youtube, Twitch) teams?
At this point in time, we only recruit for these sorts of roles internally. If you're interested in contributing in these areas, we'd suggest considering working with our Bulbanews or Discord teams, as these would offer the most opportunities to work with our social media and multimedia teams.

When can I expect to hear back from you?
All successful applicants should hear back from us by the middle of February.

Role Responsibilities:

The basic responsibilities of Bulbagarden Forums Moderators are to:

• Be a friendly and welcoming presence on the forums
• Be an active participant in conversations on the forums
• Create, co-ordinate and facilitate events in your section, and assist with and/or participate in broader website events
• View threads in your section and report problematic posts for staff discussion
• Discuss and act on reports from your section through PMs, warnings, or other appropriate methods
• Manage your section by performing tasks such as deleting posts, moving threads, and banning spambots
• Participate in discussions about other sections, the forums as a whole, and off-forum projects with all other Bulbagarden staff members

Moderators of certain forums may also have additional responsibilities relating to the needs of that particular section, such as an expectation to keep up with Pokémon news relating to that aspect of the fandom. These specific responsibilities are outlined in the application form.

The basic responsibilities of Junior Administrators on Bulbapedia & the Bulbagarden Archives are to:

• Patrol the Recent Changes and address any content, conduct, policy, or style violations
• Participate in staff discussions regarding content coverage and overall wiki direction
• Serve as an active user resource by answering user questions and concerns
• Assist with staff maintenence/backend tasks (ie. moving images on the Archives, updating protected pages).

People brought on board because of a specific skillset (e.g. wiki template editing, specialised knowledge of a certain segment of the Pokémon franchise) may have other responsibilities that they might be tasked to focus on.

The basic responsibilities of Bulbanews Writers are to:

• Write news articles relating to your field(s) of interest
• Actively follow Pokémon news and announcements relating to your field(s) of interest, to enable timely posting of the news
• Keep up with current discussions in the broader fan community relating to your field(s) of interest, including rumours and events

While not a part of expected responsibilities, Bulbanews writers may also have the opportunity to:

• Write reviews, opinion pieces, and other long-form content relevant to your field(s) of interest
• Contribute news coverage and commentary for Bulbagarden's Social Media and Multimedia teams.

The basic responsibilities of Bulbagarden Discord Moderators are to:

• Be a friendly and welcoming presence on the Discord server
• Be an active participant in conversations on the Discord server
• Keep up with Pokémon-related news and rumours, as well as current trends in the broader Pokémon fandom
• Maintain the environment of the Discord server, including but not limited to dealing with spam, and ensuring discussions remain on-topic
• Participate in staff discussions about the health of the Bulbagarden Discord community

If you intend to focus on a specific channel or set of channels, you may have other additional responsibilities that you might be tasked with. These would be discussed with you prior to you coming on board.
While not a part of expected responsibilities, Bulbagarden Discord moderators may also have the opportunity to:

• Assist with chat moderation for Bulbagarden's Twitch streamers

 

[Archaic]

We'll contact people through either Forums or Discord DM, depending on what contact details were provided, and what the position(s) applied for were.

 

[Torchic W. Pip]

How long are responses to the questions in the application supposed to be? I remember giving a lot of one sentence answers, and I’m concerned about that will factor into how my application is perceived.

 

[WyndonCalling]

How long are responses to the questions in the application supposed to be? I remember giving a lot of one sentence answers, and I’m concerned about that will factor into how my application is perceived.

There's no minimum length, nor are there any 'right' answers on many of the questions - but generally, I'd say that we're interested in thoughtful answers, even if they don't arrive at the same conclusions that the existing team might. However many words constitutes a 'thoughtful' answer is up to you; you're very welcome to revisit your application if you wish.

 

[Archaic]

Just a quick note to please make sure you correctly input your Bulbagarden account details so we can contact you. There's been a couple of applications we've received that looked initially promising, but where the contact details included were incomplete or incorrect, making it impossible for us to follow up with them.

 

[helperman]

am i aloud to apply for both bulpedia and bulpagarden forums

 

[Torchic W. Pip]

Just a quick note to please make sure you correctly input your Bulbagarden account details so we can contact you. There's been a couple of applications we've received that looked initially promising, but where the contact details included were incomplete or incorrect, making it impossible for us to follow up with them.

Now I'm paranoid I didn't give my details. Gonna go redo my application maybe anyway.

Is there a way to see my responses after submitting?

 

[Clavell]

am i aloud to apply for both bulpedia and bulpagarden forums

Yes, you can apply to as many positions as you wish!

 

[Beth Pavell]

Now I'm paranoid I didn't give my details. Gonna go redo my application maybe anyway.

Is there a way to see my responses after submitting?

I know how to contact you; there's no need to resubmit your application

 

[helperman]

if ifail could someone tell me why so that i can do better next time?

 

[noworry]

if ifail could someone tell me why so that i can do better next time?

Remember that there isn't such a thing as failing when you're applying for a job, sometimes someone else just had more experience than you. There isn't much you can do about it I'm afraid. If you don't make it the first time try reflecting on your answers and do what you can to contribute as a regular user.

 

[Archaic]

I've already contacted a few people, but I'll be following up personally with Bulbanews applicants over the next few days.

 

[Dorothy]

I did mine yesterday, am I still counted?

Deadline to apply was Feb 11.

 

[Archaic]

News and Discord I believe have finished reaching out to applicants that we're bringing on board. Forums and Bulbapedia candidates have already begun reaching out to people, but I believe they're still waiting to complete follow-ups.

EDIT: I should mention - we'll formally announce all the new staff members once we've completed the initial on-boarding process for everyone.

 

[Torchic W. Pip]

News and Discord I believe have finished reaching out to applicants that we're bringing on board. Forums and Bulbapedia candidates have already begun reaching out to people, but I believe they're still waiting to complete follow-ups.

EDIT: I should mention - we'll formally announce all the new staff members once we've completed the initial on-boarding process for everyone.

Will the announcement be before or after new staff training?

 

[Archaic]

Will the announcement be before or after new staff training?

Might be different for different projects, since the new staff will be more obviously public (e.g. Discord) right from the beginning of their training.