I want to start by saying that this post is in response to the
comments we've been receiving, as well as a
post made by the newest Stardoll anonymous blogger.
If you haven't read the comments or the post, feel free to do so before continuing to read this post.
It has come to my attention that some readers may be displeased with the work Deidra and I have been doing for MDM. Whether it be the makeover delay, the graphic designer we're using, who's to blame for the delay, selection of writers based on social status, or Dei and myself being "stiff necks". Some of our readers are clearly not happy. So I'm using this post to explain all the issues that have surfaced in recent days, as well as, give you a chance, as readers, to voice your opinion.
The paragraphs below are a collaboration of Dei's opinions edits, as well as my own opinions.
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MDM Makeover
Before Noelle took a break from Stardoll, Deidra and I spoke to her over Skype about the
results of the
Writer's Poll and how to proceed.
Main Parts of Conversation:
With all of the ideas we had for the blog, Noelle decided to make us admin so that we could freely express those ideas. That's one thing I've always loved about this blog. Noelle didn't restrict us. Shortly afterwards, Noelle disappeared; and after not hearing from her for months, we decided to take our makeover ideas to the next step. And constantly, we reiterated that we were not the new owners of MDM. We were just keeping it up and running while Noelle was away.
Dei's Edit: Here is part of a conversation I had with Noelle when she came on Skype after her hiatus.
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Choosing a Graphic Designer
Chace is a great designer. And I really enjoy seeing his work in
POSH. Why else would I have asked him to do the graphics for MDM? I'm not going to ask someone to let me pay them for something if I don't believe they have the potential to do well. When Chace showed me my banner, I was pleased overall and I
did say it looked great, despite having a few issues with the graphic. It wasn't until I talked with Deidra about the banners he made, that we decided to take a different route. That's when we decided to hire Nika. Unfortunately, with all the chaos, I neglected to tell Chace that we had hired someone else.
Here are the messages Chace and I(Aislin) exchanged about the banners:
Dei's edit: I didn't see the banners he made up until right before we decided on another, before he posted the one for Lia. After we talked about them, Aislin started to not grow found of them, and I thought they looked nice as well, but I didn't favor Chace's style for them for the banners, and we decided to find a different graphic designer, and silly Aislin, after I told her to, forgot to tell him otherwise but eventually did.
These next messages are what Aislin showed me of her and Chace's personal conversation from the last 2 days when Aislin talked to him about Chace's post on his graphics blog.
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When I mailed Nika about doing the graphics for MDM, she seemed very pleasant and happy to do them. We worked out prices and she told me that she had a couple of things to do before starting the banners. She told Deidra the same thing, but promised that she would start within a week. That was in December of 2011.
Dei's Edit: We asked her to in the beginning of of December, around the 5th-10?
Here are some snippets from the conversation(s):
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Nika, as I've said over a thousand times, failed in multiple instances to keep in contact with us. And believe me, we tried more than several times to talk to her. She just failed to respond. We are not blaming her for the makeover not being completed. However, I do believe that it's her fault that the banners weren't completed. Simply because we gave her several opportunities to tell us that she wouldn't be able to do them. It was her choice to wait until mid-January to let us know. And as I've said before, we didn't want to create MDM's new layout until we had the banners, so that the layout would be cohesive with the banners.
After that, Deidra and I were frustrated to a point because Nika waited so long to tell us that she couldn't finish the banners, after she told us that she was working on them. So I thought of the most reliable graphic designer, with the best work. Having worked with Lana before, I knew that she was the person for the job. I contacted her and she said she'd do the banners. So that's that. I'm sorry if you guys are "bored" with her work, but she's a great designer, who just so happens to be very reliable and pleasant to work with. I understand everyone wanting a say in what happens during the makeover; and I am more that willing to listen. But when it comes to graphic designers, I think we all know how sketchy they can be. And at the end of the day, It's Dei and I who have to deal with designers flaking out. Which is why I didn't care that a couple of readers were "bored" with Lana's work.
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Choosing the Writers
When we started thinking about who we'd like to write for MDM, we didn't run to our friends list and pick out the people we talk to the most (Dei's Edit: Quite frankly, after we chose the majority of them was the first time I really talked to most of them.), or the people with the highest social standings. We weighed our options and chose a few people(who shall remain nameless until the makeover is completed) whom we thought had great writing skills and an equally great personality. Before we chose these people we had decided that we would only use the applications to fill the last spot. When reviewing the applications, we didn't just hastily make a decision; we read over the applications, checked out their previous work, and even interviewed the candidates. I would provide links to these conversations, but they would reveal the writers we've chosen. And we'd like it to be a surprise.
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"Stiff Necks"
I had to include this since I don't believe it's true. I don't believe that spelling correctly, using proper punctuation, and forming proper paragraphs makes us 'stiff necks'. Also, never have I looked down on anyone who wanted to be a part of MDM. And neither has Deidra. We don't believe that we are better than anyone else. And we don't hold ourselves on pedestals. If conveying intelligence through writing makes anyone think that, I am sorry.
The last thing we'd want to do is displease all of our readers. However, we all know it's impossible to please everyone. But at the end of the day, I'd like to know that at least the majority of our readers are completely happy. If ever you thought that I was neglecting your opinions, I'm sorry. It was never my intention to do so. Though we may not follow through with all of your suggestions, we do value them, and take them into strong consideration when making blog decisions.
I hope that this post has helped ease some of the confusion and frustration, concerning the makeover and other issues. Feel free to express any other opinions or questions you might have, and Deidra and myself will do our best to respond to them in a timely manner.
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Dei's Edit: I am just sad that people think we are this and we are that and yet we didn't even have a chance to answer if those statements are true or not.
We don't believe in 'elites'. We don't believe we are better.
We are just normal people. End of story.
