Very important disclaimer before continuing reading what I have to say:
I don't want to cause intrigue; I just want to start an important discussion that, in my opinion, is in the best interest of this community.Let's talk about the elephant in the room. How did the community come to accept the staff defining 'featured maps' in a black box, without a well-defined criteria of what gets selected? As clearly explained in this thread here: '[...] maps will be nominated anonymously by the public, and then reviewed internally by the staff team.' So, 'reviewed internally' means some undisclosed criteria are used for map selection. I don't know about you, but when a staff member gives 'featured map' status to their own projects, it's AT LEAST weird.
Getting your map accepted on the 'featured maps' list is no small feat. This list gives visibility to your project, serves as a respectable portfolio. Unfortunately, it seems like some members of the community are more equal than others and are getting way, WAY more attention than they deserve.
In summary, I want to propose a discussion to figure out if this whole 'reviewed internally' thing still makes sense.
Maybe it's time to establish a clear, well defined criteria for which maps get selected.
Okay, you disagree with everything I said.At the very least, the staff could explain the current method of selecting featured maps.
Honestly, right now, it looks pretty shady.
Edit1:
Here are the links to the discussions that took place on Discord:
TF2Maps Discord: https://discord.com/channels/217585440457228290/217586062736883722/1191716124761542657
UEAKCrash Discord: https://discord.com/channels/281772513384726528/281772513384726528/1191718466462425118
I think it's important to keep these discussions accessible; Discord isn't very good for historical purposes.
Edit2:
After discussing with community members, I believe the thing about bias is not relevant and should not be the focus.
So, I know what I'm about to question might sound like heresy to some members of the community, especially since a few of them benefit from this trend. Please approach this discussion with an open mind; it's not a personal attack on anyone, even though the motivations are personal.
After checking out the 'featured maps' list for the year 2023, I decided to do a quick dive into the connections of community members whose maps got selected. What I found is at least intriguing:
With these values in mind, I believe the trend in the 'featured maps' list of 2023 is this: It pays off to be friends with the king. Seriously, two selected maps are from the staff member who led the nomination threads on the forum.
Basically, it seems like if a map nomination wasn't from someone with a connection to the staff, the map got quickly disqualified.
Now, I think it's fair to disagree with the data I've put together. Some connections are kind of ambiguous, and my selection criterion was based on interactions with staff members. I considered whether they have any staff member on their Steam friends list or on the forum. I also took into account the number of interactions with any staff member. If a member got a happy birthday from a staff member, I counted it as a connection. Nobody wished me a happy birthday on the forum, so for sure the staff isn't wishing everyone a happy birthday. One thing is for sure, you can't argue about the quantity of ex-staff members.
I suggest that you, the reader, do your own research. if you weren't an active member, a friend of the staff, or somehow connected to the staff, your chance of getting a nomination accepted was low.
After checking out the 'featured maps' list for the year 2023, I decided to do a quick dive into the connections of community members whose maps got selected. What I found is at least intriguing:
Staff: 2
Ex-staff: 10
Moderator: 1
Has staff on team: 2
Friend of staff: 17
Inactive: 2
Normal: 11
Empire - youporkchop5 (moderator)
Logwash - Rhamkin
Snowbank - iiboharz (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Undergrove - Sweepertank (friend of staff member)
Fjord - Fiddleford
Megasnow - Berry (ex-staff, has staff member on the map team)
Camp Saxton - Void (ex-staff, friend of staff member, has staff member on the map team )
Control Points:
France & Dark Marsh - Panckakebro
Holyhell - Panckakebro
Nixie - Idolon (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Villa - Kevin Gator
Mainline - S.W.A.T.Y (Inactive member since 2010)
Mannbase - skaz_
RocketForge - Nesman (staff member)
Cold Era - Emil_Rusboi (friend of staff member)
Payload:
Vineyard - Panckakebro
Effigy - fubarFX
Saxton Hills - Ravidge (ex-staff)
Extinction - heyyou (friend of staff member)
Fountain - Idolon (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Arena / Vs. Saxton Hale:
Outlook - LizardOfOz & Phe (friend of staff member)
Hardhat - Penguin (inactive member since 2021, friend of staff member)
Snowcastle - Idolon (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Facility - Phe (friend of staff member)
Player Destruction:
Tomb - Suna (staff member at the last moment of the selection of featured maps, friend of staff member)
Kodama & Shogatsu - Freyja & Void (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Circus - Diva Dan (ex-staff, friend of staff member )
Capture the Flag:
Sidewinder - Stickface ( friend of staff member, promoted by UEAKCrash )
Toucan - Suna (staff member at the last moment of the selection of featured maps, friend of staff member)
Terminus - Stack Man (friend of ex-staff member)
Mann Vs. Machine:
Hideout - Mikroscopic ( friend of staff member )
Humbridge - Elizabeth
Whitecliff - Elizabeth
Bonus:
TF2 Party - BigfootBet
Staff: 4.65%
Ex-staff: 23.26%
Moderator: 2.33%
Has staff on team: 4.65%
Friend of staff: 39.53%
Inactive: 4.65%
Normal: 25.58%
79.07% somehow related to staff of TF2maps community.
Ex-staff: 10
Moderator: 1
Has staff on team: 2
Friend of staff: 17
Inactive: 2
Normal: 11
Empire - youporkchop5 (moderator)
Logwash - Rhamkin
Snowbank - iiboharz (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Undergrove - Sweepertank (friend of staff member)
Fjord - Fiddleford
Megasnow - Berry (ex-staff, has staff member on the map team)
Camp Saxton - Void (ex-staff, friend of staff member, has staff member on the map team )
Control Points:
France & Dark Marsh - Panckakebro
Holyhell - Panckakebro
Nixie - Idolon (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Villa - Kevin Gator
Mainline - S.W.A.T.Y (Inactive member since 2010)
Mannbase - skaz_
RocketForge - Nesman (staff member)
Cold Era - Emil_Rusboi (friend of staff member)
Payload:
Vineyard - Panckakebro
Effigy - fubarFX
Saxton Hills - Ravidge (ex-staff)
Extinction - heyyou (friend of staff member)
Fountain - Idolon (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Arena / Vs. Saxton Hale:
Outlook - LizardOfOz & Phe (friend of staff member)
Hardhat - Penguin (inactive member since 2021, friend of staff member)
Snowcastle - Idolon (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Facility - Phe (friend of staff member)
Player Destruction:
Tomb - Suna (staff member at the last moment of the selection of featured maps, friend of staff member)
Kodama & Shogatsu - Freyja & Void (ex-staff, friend of staff member)
Circus - Diva Dan (ex-staff, friend of staff member )
Capture the Flag:
Sidewinder - Stickface ( friend of staff member, promoted by UEAKCrash )
Toucan - Suna (staff member at the last moment of the selection of featured maps, friend of staff member)
Terminus - Stack Man (friend of ex-staff member)
Mann Vs. Machine:
Hideout - Mikroscopic ( friend of staff member )
Humbridge - Elizabeth
Whitecliff - Elizabeth
Bonus:
TF2 Party - BigfootBet
Staff: 4.65%
Ex-staff: 23.26%
Moderator: 2.33%
Has staff on team: 4.65%
Friend of staff: 39.53%
Inactive: 4.65%
Normal: 25.58%
79.07% somehow related to staff of TF2maps community.
With these values in mind, I believe the trend in the 'featured maps' list of 2023 is this: It pays off to be friends with the king. Seriously, two selected maps are from the staff member who led the nomination threads on the forum.
The meme of Obama awarding himself has never been more real.
In this thread here, it was mentioned that the maps would be tested on a gameday. I don't know if the demos were recorded on that day, but I couldn't find my map koth_gamma on the list. I believe the same might have happened to most maps, considering there was very little time to test all the nominations that the community suggested.Basically, it seems like if a map nomination wasn't from someone with a connection to the staff, the map got quickly disqualified.
Now, I think it's fair to disagree with the data I've put together. Some connections are kind of ambiguous, and my selection criterion was based on interactions with staff members. I considered whether they have any staff member on their Steam friends list or on the forum. I also took into account the number of interactions with any staff member. If a member got a happy birthday from a staff member, I counted it as a connection. Nobody wished me a happy birthday on the forum, so for sure the staff isn't wishing everyone a happy birthday. One thing is for sure, you can't argue about the quantity of ex-staff members.
Despite so many maps, are former staff members more likely to have their maps selected?
I suggest that you, the reader, do your own research. if you weren't an active member, a friend of the staff, or somehow connected to the staff, your chance of getting a nomination accepted was low.
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