That would Kick ass
And it would be a Kick ass job
You would have to follow Jason around and ask him about everything but still would be a great job
I think they'd not only have to have that extra money, they'd have to have a good reason to invest that money in someone of that sort rather than say, a new developer/writer/editor type. Or maybe getting a few more art pieces from some of the higher end artists stuck in their books. Etc.
To be honest, I think such a position would only create more arguments. Nerds find ways to argue about literally everything. I think it is one of the draws of the genre, to be honest. It is like taking the time to 'fix' the iconic builds. You make them better, people will still complain that they aren't good enough.
I think they'd need alot more "FAQ"able things to even make it plausible.
In my opinion, most of the things folks FAQ have nothing to do with FAQ. Some of it is "I don't like how you did that, so change it" and they FAQ it. Another- my personal favorite- is "You changed this from 3.5 and I want you to specifically say that you changed it from 3.5" so they FAQ it.
Others are "the language is clear but we want it to be more clear" and they FAQ it.
Others are things that are designed to be dealt with by their DM rather than by designer fiat.
Others are actual, true, inconsistencies in the rules that need to be addressed.
Most of it isn't this last category its in the former 3. FAQ does not mean "answer all of our questions". It takes alot of time for them to actually nail down rules without making a problem elsewhere and I think, my own opinion, is that most of the time taken so far is from wading through all the )(*@#)($ that shouldn't be FAQ'd in the first place.
But until there are alot of the *good* FAQ things, they can't really add much to the FAQ- much less hire someone to address it.
-S
That is, someone gets paid $35K a year and their entire role at the company is simply to answer rule questions and build up an elaborate and comprehensive FAQ for the entire corpus of rules.
I won't speak to financials at Paizo or in the game industry in general, but when tossing about numbers like $35k a year, you might want to keep two things in mind:
*When I started at Paizo, I helped populate the webstore at a nickle a jpeg.
*At this time last year, I had 8 roommates and regularly ate out of dumpsters.
Just sayin'. :D
The real issue is: *could* it be a full time job?
The answer is probably not. We just don't put out that many rules. At three rulebooks a year, there's just not that terribly much rule volume to be FAQ'ed and errata'ed.
Think about this: would all the FAQ flags and all the rules questions that *need* a ruling that you've seen on the boards add up to a full time job?
Not really.
Remember the rule of thumb: Employees cost roughly twice their annual salary. Unemployment insurance, SS withholding, benefits, facilities, etc. really add up. Sometimes even the 2x figure is conservative.
I think it is more about finding someone who views the rules in the same light as the people that write them. Maybe hiring someone to take just enough pressure off of Sean and Jason to give them time to do FAQ's and errata would be better. They have made quiet a few hires recently but it has not done much for the FAQ so I don't think it will matter until the FAQ gets higher on the totem pole.
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Think about this: would all the FAQ flags and all the rules questions that *need* a ruling that you've seen on the boards add up to a full time job?
Not really.
One could argue that just the Stealth questions would require a part-time job to answer. Of course, "ignore the Stealth questions" is sort of the current paradigm, and ignoring things is a NO TIME job, so, there's that.
EDIT to say: I understand why they're ignored (I think), please nobody get offended. [/endofedit]
That said, outside the Stealth questions that are out there, there's probably very little material that warrants the kind of treatment described upthread.
Think about this: would all the FAQ flags and all the rules questions that *need* a ruling that you've seen on the boards add up to a full time job?
Not really.
One could argue that just the Stealth questions would require a part-time job to answer. Of course, "ignore the Stealth questions" is sort of the current paradigm, and ignoring things is a NO TIME job, so, there's that.
EDIT to say: I understand why they're ignored (I think), please nobody get offended. [/endofedit]
That said, outside the Stealth questions that are out there, there's probably very little material that warrants the kind of treatment described upthread.
It would at most be a temporary full-time job. After maybe 3 months the gig would end if someone sat around answering questions. I don't think it would even last 3 months though. Most of the questions are fairly simple.
I'd gladly dedicate a few hours a week to the FAQ for free, but as it's been said, the real matter is getting someone to see the rules the same way as the developers do.
Sorting through flagged FAQs is a separate task than addressing real problems. Some one could separate the chaff from the grain and then send emails directly to the devs for stuff that actually needs answered.
I'd gladly dedicate a few hours a week to the FAQ for free, but as it's been said, the real matter is getting someone to see the rules the same way as the developers do.Sorting through flagged FAQs is a separate task than addressing real problems. Some one could separate the chaff from the grain and then send emails directly to the devs for stuff that actually needs answered.
Good point. Many times the answer is in the book, but the person wants to read it to their advantage, and others times the rule may be written badly or conflict with another rule.
Give me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Give me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Ah, but here's the rub: if the devs had time to be accessed, this position would be unnecessary, wouldn't it? The devs would do it.
This hypothetical position would be someone able to fly solo. James and Jason and Stephen et al don't have time to be on tap.
Ah, but here's the rub: if the devs had time to be accessed, this position would be unnecessary, wouldn't it? The devs would do it.Give me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Sorting through all FAQ tagged items might be a 20 hour a week job. Actually addressing things that need to be addressed might be 5 minutes a day.
If 1/100 FAQd items are relevant and need to be addressed, that's 99 irrelevant things some one that doesn't need to address them have tossed out. That's 99% of the time and effort that needn't be spent by people needing to do more important work.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Give me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Ah, but here's the rub: if the devs had time to be accessed, this position would be unnecessary, wouldn't it? The devs would do it.
It would be someone able to fly solo. James and Jason and Stephen et al don't have time to be on tap.
I will volunteer my time, pro bono, to be the Pathfinder Sage. Just give me access to the FAQ'd post list and I'll start this weekend! :D
I will volunteer my time, pro bono, to be the Pathfinder Sage. Just give me access to the FAQ'd post list and I'll start this weekend! :DGive me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Ah, but here's the rub: if the devs had time to be accessed, this position would be unnecessary, wouldn't it? The devs would do it.
It would be someone able to fly solo. James and Jason and Stephen et al don't have time to be on tap.
Only reason I'll take minimum wage, is being paid keeps you honest.
Easier to shirk it if you're not being paid.
I will volunteer my time, pro bono, to be the Pathfinder Sage. Just give me access to the FAQ'd post list and I'll start this weekend! :DGive me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Ah, but here's the rub: if the devs had time to be accessed, this position would be unnecessary, wouldn't it? The devs would do it.
It would be someone able to fly solo. James and Jason and Stephen et al don't have time to be on tap.
Only reason I'll take minimum wage, is being paid keeps you honest.
Easier to shirk it if you're not being paid.
Listen, if no serious time is being committed to it as it, no one cares if you shirk it.
Listen, if no serious time is being committed to it as it, no one cares if you shirk it.I will volunteer my time, pro bono, to be the Pathfinder Sage. Just give me access to the FAQ'd post list and I'll start this weekend! :DGive me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Ah, but here's the rub: if the devs had time to be accessed, this position would be unnecessary, wouldn't it? The devs would do it.
It would be someone able to fly solo. James and Jason and Stephen et al don't have time to be on tap.
Only reason I'll take minimum wage, is being paid keeps you honest.
Easier to shirk it if you're not being paid.
Well I would of course endeavor to do a better job than status quo.
The job doesn't even exist yet, and nerds are already arguing over it. I think that showcases my earlier point fairly well.
The job doesn't even exist yet, and nerds are already arguing over it. I think that showcases my earlier point fairly well.
Why do you hate FAQs?
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Give me an official icon thingy, access to devs and I'll dedicate 20 hours a week for minimum wage to this.
Dream part-time job? You bet.
Ah, but here's the rub: if the devs had time to be accessed, this position would be unnecessary, wouldn't it? The devs would do it.
This hypothetical position would be someone able to fly solo. James and Jason and Stephen et al don't have time to be on tap.
I see a fair number of questions that come through the hopper over and over again (Poison Rules, Race Trait versus Racial Trait being recent ones) that have been clarified by developers or just explained. These things just need someone with a little time and effort to incorporate.
There are also a fair number of questions about things that come up that are clear in the rules but commonly misunderstood.
These sort of things don't need a developer to take care of, just a person with a little judgement who can answer the simple question "Has this been asked more than 10 times?"
I'd like to see a volunteer take over that end of things so the developers can take care of the FAQ questions which need some developer input.
I would also suggest that the volunteer should be able to concoct completely unofficial answers for the FAQ that are labeled as such and the devs could either simply 'bless' or toss out *when they get time*.
I can give you a list of about 10 people who are active on the forums who would be trusted with that sort of role by most people in the community.
The job doesn't even exist yet, and nerds are already arguing over it. I think that showcases my earlier point fairly well.Why do you hate FAQs?
They're abominations and my deity commands it of me.
In all seriousness, I don't hate them at all. I just don't find them to be a high priority, let alone worthy of a position dedicated to them.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I can give you a list of about 10 people who are active on the forums who would be trusted with that sort of role by most people in the community.
Same here. There are some people in particular who know the rules and are not dicks in providing explanations (you and Fatespinner come to mind).
There's always room for unofficial FAQ/Sage-ing. I know that back in the 3.5 days on ENWorld, Hypersmurf was pretty well respected because he knew the rules very well, could quote them in support of his conclusion, acknowledged ambiguities, and did it all fairly politely.
I don't think an official system is needed. If you want to be an unofficial sage, just post answers that are intelligible and supported by the text to questions as you see them. If you do it well, you gain credibility. It's all unofficial, but many times, all a poster really needs is a summary of the arguments/counter arguments on a particular issue. Then they can make a determination of what is appropriate for their own table.
It strikes me that Paizo is attempting to break the absolutest nature of rulings that arose in 3.5, and move back to a model more akin to 2e. Sage Advice back in those days was very heavy on providing a DM with tools to make a reasoned ruling appropriate for their players/table, and less about making an absolute and definitive ruling to prevent the theoretical infinite gold masturbation that crops up on the internet these days.
The job doesn't even exist yet, and nerds are already arguing over it. I think that showcases my earlier point fairly well.Why do you hate FAQs?They're abominations and my deity commands it of me.
In all seriousness, I don't hate them at all. I just don't find them to be a high priority, let alone worthy of a position dedicated to them.
An FAQ as a whole is not important, but certain questions are.
An FAQ as a whole is not important, but certain questions are.The job doesn't even exist yet, and nerds are already arguing over it. I think that showcases my earlier point fairly well.Why do you hate FAQs?They're abominations and my deity commands it of me.
In all seriousness, I don't hate them at all. I just don't find them to be a high priority, let alone worthy of a position dedicated to them.
In certain contexts certain questions might be, and to certain people. To others, those questions might not even register.
However, my feelings on their viability in this context isn't based on my personal feelings towards FAQs. It just doesn't make a whole lot of financial sense for Paizo to institute such a position. It doesn't make their books more popular or sell better.
I think I can solve the FAQ problem quickly right now:
Q. Rule x. is broken
A. Just let the GM houserule it for now.
I'll take the $35k in bullion or alcohol pls.
;-)
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The "problem" (and I say "problem" because I don't think there is one, necessarily) is that the status quo is essentially exactly that, except the words "for now" are not present. It's presented as an all-time solution, because (I think, or at least I infer) that's the way the Paizo folks play. Unfortunately, it's not how ALL people everywhere play. Some people like really definite rules to play. Can I fault them for that? Not really.
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In the spirit of brainstorming an extension this thread a bit, I think that the essential problem is that the FAQ function is used indescriminately. I appreciate that the developers have a limited amount of time to devote to the issue. I also suspect that there is a lack of motivation just based on the idea that the flood never stops.
What might solve this? I have two thoughts.
1) Modify the internal system so that, instead of sorting based on the total volume of FAQ flags, sort by flags tied to key posters. Key posters might be identified initially by some of the existing tags (RPG Superstars of some level, Venture Captains, whatever else makes sense). An additional "Rules Guru" tag could be added in the future.
2) Reduce the time requirement for the developer involvement by providing a forum for Rules Gurus to provide a draft of proposed answers. This could be a forum for access by Rules Gurus only for discussion and development of proposed replies, rules backup, and dissenting positions.
I suspect the tech side of this would be light to implement if the forum software is sufficiently robost; add a forum or two, add a tag, populate the tag, populate the rules that tie the tags to the forums.
The challenge to this would be getting the right people into the Rules Guru group, such that the group is productive and representative, but which does not create an overwhelming administrative overhead burden for the appropriate people on Paizo's end deciding who gets added from the volunteer side.
The upside is that Paizo gains the benefit of the highly motivated volunteers who are legitimately experts in the rules system while maintaining control over the final product with a minimal investment of paid staff.
Would this be possible and/or desirable?
Its not 35k a year though. By the time you're done paying social security, benefits, workers comp insurance, unemployment insurance, its more like 50k.
This is one of the reasons that a plumber making 20 dollars an hour costs 120 bucks an hour.
*At this time last year, I had 8 roommates and regularly ate out of dumpsters.
With or without black masks and bushy ringed tails?
Director of Narrative
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I can give you a list of about 10 people who are active on the forums who would be trusted with that sort of role by most people in the community.Same here. There are some people in particular who know the rules and are not dicks in providing explanations (you and Fatespinner come to mind).
There's always room for unofficial FAQ/Sage-ing. I know that back in the 3.5 days on ENWorld, Hypersmurf was pretty well respected because he knew the rules very well, could quote them in support of his conclusion, acknowledged ambiguities, and did it all fairly politely.
I don't think an official system is needed. If you want to be an unofficial sage, just post answers that are intelligible and supported by the text to questions as you see them. If you do it well, you gain credibility. It's all unofficial, but many times, all a poster really needs is a summary of the arguments/counter arguments on a particular issue. Then they can make a determination of what is appropriate for their own table.
It strikes me that Paizo is attempting to break the absolutest nature of rulings that arose in 3.5, and move back to a model more akin to 2e. Sage Advice back in those days was very heavy on providing a DM with tools to make a reasoned ruling appropriate for their players/table, and less about making an absolute and definitive ruling to prevent the theoretical infinite gold masturbation that crops up on the internet these days.
This, my pretty pony. This.
I fully understand tables run things differently and the biggest concern for general rules consensus involves PFS, but there are some awesome rules folks here on these fine boards who will swoop in with an answer to a question or ruling in minutes.
Dude, minutes. You can be in a game, post a question, and have an answer (if it wasn't already covered by a zillion threads) before the combat was resolved. This community has some amazing folks who have completely solid rules knowledge and advice for resolution.
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You can be in a game, post a question, and have an answer (if it wasn't already covered by a zillion threads) before the combat was resolved. This community has some amazing folks who have completely solid rules knowledge and advice for...
I do this all the time in the PFS forums, and with out fail I get this answer..
"You have a link from someone from Paizo saying that?"
I know I am 100% right but still everyone wants someone from Pazio saying the same thing I just said... sigh...
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You can be in a game, post a question, and have an answer (if it wasn't already covered by a zillion threads) before the combat was resolved. This community has some amazing folks who have completely solid rules knowledge and advice for...I do this all the time in the PFS forums, and with out fail I get this answer..
"You have a link from someone from Paizo saying that?"
I know I am 100% right but still everyone wants someone from Pazio saying the same thing I just said... sigh...
In my experience there is a disproportionate number of rules lawyers in PFS who are more interested in what they can get away with and their pet rules hack. A community volunteer isn't going to be much help with that.
From what I've seen there are a fair number of people who don't understand the rules or want a clarification and just want a little help. Those are the sort of people who this would help out.
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I agree. As a home GM, I'm fine making up my own rules clarifications. But when I play or run PFS, I feel like I need a more definitive answer. Players should experience more-or-less the same rules whenever they play PFS, but if there are questions out there that the developers refuse to clarify in the name of empowering the GM, it creates a more varied (and more frustrating) experience for players. Once Paizo decided to create a Society, it kinda' created the need for definitive rules clarifications.
I'm a huge Paizo fan, but the lack of rules clarifications or a robust FAQ system really bugs me.
Once Paizo decided to create a Society, it kinda' created the need for definitive rules clarifications.
I'm a huge Paizo fan, but the lack of rules clarifications or a robust FAQ system really bugs me.
This.
An FAQ as a whole is not important, but certain questions are.The job doesn't even exist yet, and nerds are already arguing over it. I think that showcases my earlier point fairly well.Why do you hate FAQs?They're abominations and my deity commands it of me.
In all seriousness, I don't hate them at all. I just don't find them to be a high priority, let alone worthy of a position dedicated to them.
In certain contexts certain questions might be, and to certain people. To others, those questions might not even register.
However, my feelings on their viability in this context isn't based on my personal feelings towards FAQs. It just doesn't make a whole lot of financial sense for Paizo to institute such a position. It doesn't make their books more popular or sell better.
I agree with that, and I am sure it won't happen. They could just have an intern do the separation stuff.
Seems like PFSRD would be a great place for an unofficial FAQ, in fact they already started one. All of the great rules lawyers on these boards could apply their energies to that. As more official answers become available it can be updated.
Best.
I'd agree with that.
However, unless a FAQ entry points to an official statement from someone with a golem next to their name here on the boards, some people are not going to accept it. In fact, there have been numerous occasions where even WHEN someone from Paizo says something, the next day they reverse themselves, or are over-ridden by Jason/Sean/Stephen.
Tim Shadow on d20pfsrd.com does a great job managing the Unofficial FAQ but he's basically the only one doing it. If anyone else wanted to help him out on that just let me know.