The Whyville Times. Everyone has their own thoughts and ideas when they see those words pop up. For most it's all about getting articles accepted and rejected, becoming a writer, or even just simply being a part of the Times by reading, rating, and posting about articles on the BBS. These thoughts haven't really changed from the past, but as a whole the Times is definitely different.
First of all, I guess I can't say that thoughts are the same. I've been a part of Whyville since the summer of 2008 and I can say the Times has changed so much. There used to be so many articles in many different sections we don't seen today. Almost every week you could read a fresh new article from an aspiring writer. Then you had your articles from your favorite beloved writers. Everyone put heart and soul into the Times and whatever they were writing about. I'm not saying that the writers now don't care about the Times and what they write, but I'm pretty sure that a lot of people agree with me when I say the Times is not like it used to be.
Now days the normal article count is around twenty give or take. If you go back to let's say three years ago, April 13th, 2008, there was a count of thirty nine. That's almost double the articles now days. I'm wondering if the change is that our editor isn't accepting enough or that if people aren't submitting quality articles or even plain articles like they used to. Let's also see the number of sections. Now these past few weeks there has been more in each section, but when you look back to the same date I said before you see Fashion, Entertainment, Events and so much more. They aren't just topics that are being revived like today, they were actually common categories.
I'm not saying that the editor is doing a bad job and I'm not saying that the citizens of Whyville are slacking off, I just miss the old Times. It seems as if there aren't the same type of articles as there used to be as well. I mean yes, you still see people and creative writing articles all over the place, but they aren't what they used to be. Back in April of '08 the kinds of people articles you saw were about matters that all teens care about and deal with. Maybe we don't even deal with it, but we related to it. When I go to read the Times, I glance at this week, but then I go to the archives to what I call the golden years.
I was wondering if anyone felt the way I did, so I decided to interview two well-known Times Writers who wrote back in 2008 and who still write today: Monet1616 and Ocean10kv.
IKnewIt2: Do you believe that the Whyville Times was better in 2008 or today three years later?
Monet1616: Definitely 2008.
Ocean10kv: I believe that the Whyville Times was better in the past. Not necessarily in 2008, but sometime in the past. At the moment the Times is less exciting it seems.
IKnewIt2: Do you think that the editor is accepting more or less and why?
Monet1616: I think she's accepting less, because either the quality of the work isn't acceptable or people just aren't submitting anymore.
Ocean10kv: I think that the editor is accepting more articles of perhaps poorer quality because there aren't as many Whyvillians submitting their work. I'm sure there are still quite a few people submitting articles to the Times that don't make it in, but I think that expectation is lower.
IKnewIt2: Have you noticed that people are angry or happy with the way the Times is today?
Ocean10kv: It really depends on the person. For older citizens I know that they're unhappy with the way the Times is today because it's different from when they remember it, but for newer citizens or newcomers to the Times I don't think they really notice anything wrong with it so they're content seeing as they know nothing different.
IKnewIt2: What do you think was the true golden age of the Times?
Monet1616: Hmm. I'm going to say 2007-2009. The Times have since died down.
Ocean10kv: I can't specify a certain time when the Times "golden age" was, but generally it would be the time before a lot of my favorite writers stopped writing ex: Morgan612, Holiday50, Glitsygrl . . .
From this interview it looks like I am not the only one who feels this way. Pretty much all of Whyville is in a different state than it was in the past. Whyville has its ups and downs that have been noticed a lot during the past few months. The Times has also been this way for a while. I remember last year when I was trying so hard to get in my articles and every week I saw the number of articles go down. Then it got to the average of fifteen articles every week.
It changed once and I know we can try to change it back. Try submitting at least one article in to the Times every week and make sure you are following good writing tips and procedures. Some sample articles to look for tips at are article numbers 4166, 7712, 8119, and 10371 written by the Times Editor, Holiday50, Cobd, and Mylo9810. If you also want to expand the Times by writing in more categories you can check out article number 11277 by Watermel8. I have looked and read all of these articles myself and they can help new writers or anyone who even has writers block. The Times is for everyone.
I have faith in Whyville. Let's bring the Times back!
~IKnewIt2
