New Factory Judge Overview & Guide

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New Factory Judge Overview and Guide

Trial periods for New Factory Judges last two weeks. In these two weeks the Factory Admin and Factory RPJ's mentor and provide guidance to the New Factory Judges on how the Factory as a whole works.

Important points to consider are behavior, activity, and a willingness to compromise and help the membership with their submissions. The majority of members are not out to make overpowered items; they only want their cool toy.

However, there may be items submitted that may be potentially denied on concept if they are unable to be viable in a Star Wars Environment. ( IE Mechas) As always, ask questions to the Factory RPJ's or the Factory Admin for advice.

As a New Factory Judge, you may expect the following:

1. You will be assigned a Factory Judge Mentor: This will be your immediate Factory buddy that will aide you in getting used to the factory and how it works. They are your first line of resource for any questions.

2. Factory Feedback: Expect feedback on how you interact with members, constructive criticism, and review your judgments.

3. A two week trial period: We will give you all the tools and resources necessary to be a successful judge. We want to get to know you and how you think! At the end of your trial period the Factory Staff will discuss your progress and upon review, you may advance as a permanent Factory Judge.

4. Start small!: As a New Factory Judge, you will be limited to only reviewing a maximum of 3 Factory submissions at a time. This is just so that you do not get overwhelmed.

What we expect from you in the Factory:

1. Steady Activity: Life gets in the way and we understand that. This is a volunteer position. However, the position of Factory Judge includes at least a steady commitment at being able to judge submissions in a timely manner.

- No factory item should wait longer than 24 hours before it is picked up by a judge.

- In that same vein of thought, at the very least within those 48 hours, some form of feedback should be posted. Please only place submissions under review if you are going to be prompt with feedback.

- If you go on LOA, need a break, or find yourself unable to attend to the board for more than a few days, please post on the Factory Judge board that you will be unavailable. This way, we can balance out the workload.

2. You are a Staff Representative: This means that as a Factory judge, you will be under the spotlight. It comes with the purple tag. Remember that how you act in Discord Chat and on the board reflects not only on yourself but on the Factory. Please review the Factory Judge Uniform Code Of Conduct for more information.

3. Proactively involved in Factory Discussions: We love it when the Factory Judges take up projects, provide active feedback, and give input on the inner workings of the Factory. If you have an idea that could make it better, please do not hesitate to post it in the Factory Discussion. On the same token, the Factory Staff expect Factory Judges to take an active part in Factory Discussions.

 

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The Judgement Process

You are likely wondering 'How do I start judging submissions?' it is actually fairly easy. It might be a little intimidating at first, but remember you have your Factory Mentor to help you step by step.

Overall, tackling a submission involves first and foremost:

1. Familiarize yourself with all of the templates, Restricted Materials, and the Factory Rules: Getting to know the templates, Restricted Materials missions, and the Factory rules inside and out is the first step in making a quality judgment. Most submissions may have one or two of the requirements missing, and being able to spot them quickly will help you with ensuring that every submission is streamlined. Check out the Technology, Vehicle, Starships and Company templates and review.

2. I don't know much about star wars!: That's okay. As a Factory Judge, you will find that you will end up reading more Wookieepedia articles and Star Wars resources books than ever before! Knowledge and familiarity with the genre and even real life technology will come to you with time. Don't be afraid to ask questions!

3. Gun counts, Numbers and What?: I know that Starships and counts can be fairly intimidating. By far the Starship forum may be the one forum that may take a new Factory Judge a little bit longer to get used to. We have plenty of resources in the Factory to help you with this. Don't worry if it takes you a little bit longer to be comfortable with it.

4. Be considerate: Tact and delivery of a Factory Judge's feedback and judgment is just as important as the content itself. Please be thoughtful with what you say as much as how you say it.

5. Complement Submissions: from time to time let submitters know what you like about a submission, especially for people new to the factory. If nothing else 'that image looks cool huh?'

Questions to ask yourself as you review a submission.

What is the intention of this submission?
o This is vital for whether something is approved or not. An NPC big bad needs less oversight than something designed for PvP.

Is the Restricted Material development thread suitable for the submission?
o Is it relevant to the item? Has it been used for other submissions? Do a quick search check. Was it used by other people? Did the person who is using this for their submission actively contribute?

Do the weaknesses balance the strengths?
o Obviously items with more development can be more powerful/rare/outlandish but should still have weaknesses.
o If the weaknesses aren’t really suitable or actual weaknesses, politely suggest some that you think would make a more well rounded submission

Is the production value suitable for the item?
o We shouldn’t be seeing mass produced lightsabers than can be given to an army of NPCs or Beskar-plated stealth tanks in their thousands

Check the special features for strengths the submitter has glossed over
o Special features that link to other submissions often hide abilities that would make an item overpowered, especially when there are several. Politely remind the submitter to ensure they draw all strengths into the main submission.

Judging Reminders

Below is a list of tips and reminders that will help you through the judging process. These are sometimes infrequent circumstances that arise, however, similar items with these issues in question have already been resolved in the past.

1) Reverse engineering of complex submissions may be accepted with sufficient development put forward towards the submission in question.

2) The Factory may have ideally only a 24hr wait before it may be picked up for judgment. Please ensure that you review submissions which have been awaiting judgment the longest.

3) Please do not state something to be canon or incorrectly attributed as canon without the proper sources.

4) Have all discussions pertaining to the submitted item in the submission thread. Please do not discuss in discord, over PM, or any other venue.

5) If a member is becoming hostile or if you are being harassed on or off the board, please notify a Factory RPJ or your Factory Admin. Do not engage in an argument.

 

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How to set submissions under review

Here is the process on how to set a submission you want to judge "Under Review"

1. You can do this one of two ways. The easiest would be to use the topic moderation tools within the submission itself and then use the drop-down to select "Factory - Under Review"

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2. The second method would be to click the check mark beside the submission and then use the drop-down to select "Factory - Under Review" This automatically changes the tag to "Under Review" and posts a message saying that you will be reviewing the judgment.

 

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How to set submissions under Pending Approval

1. Once you have reviewed a submission and are comfortable with the balance of strengths, weaknesses, and content, please place it under "Trainee Pending Approval." This will automatically lock your submission and add a new "Trainee Pending Approval" tag.

• Check off the box next to the submission at the front page.
• Use the drop down and select "Factory Trainee Pending Approval."
• Select "Go" so complete the process.
• Confirm that the submission is locked. You are done!

It is very important that we make sure that we lock the threads once you have completed the judgement. This prevents any alterations to the submission once any requested edits have been made. Please do not forget to ensure that any pending approvals are locked.

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2. Once a New Factory Judge completes their two-week trial period, they will instead use the "Factory Pending Approval" selection instead of the trainee one going forward.

 

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Factory Judge Mentors

Seasoned Factory Judges may be asked to become mentors for New Factory Judges. Factory Judge Mentors are there to provide a vital one on one dynamic for easing the transition into becoming a Factory Judge. These Factory Judge Mentors are assigned upon a New Factory Judge being hired onto the Factory.

What to expect as a Mentor?

1. Being the Factory Buddy: Being the primary contact for that new Factory Judge as they get settled into the Factory. This includes helping them with working with them in understanding how to judge a submission and where to go for more information.

2. Shadowing: The New Judges will also shadow your judgments to review how you go through the process. Take the new Judge with you and discuss how you review the submission, help balance, and work through any areas of opportunity that may need a little tweaking. This also includes shadowing and helping a New Factory Judge with their first few judgments step by step so they can get the hang of it.

3. Feedback: this is vital and important. We expect you to give feedback to the New Factory judge. Constructive criticism is key. Discuss areas of opportunities and build them up to be the best they can be. This also includes providing said feedback to the Factory staff so they can be in the loop of how the New Factory Judge is doing during their two-week trial.