Is it time we looked into bringing in more staff?

[ninetalescommander]

I know when it comes to this area I likely am ignorant to a lot of details surrounding this particular topic but given how things stand right now, I really think this is something that needs addressing.

It is no secret that approval processes on this website take a lot of time and I completely understand why, combing through each model and making sure each 1 is up to the standard of this website is a massive task and is no simple matter.
However, this 3D Modelling community in recent years really has grown. With the rise of free programs like Blender, getting into this area of work has become a lot easier when compared to how it used to be. I actually can still remember the time I would browse on The Models Resource and wonder when I would even be able to use the models found.
With how much this community has grown over the last few years, I feel at this point finding suitable people to join the approval team is a lot more doable. Just to clarify; I'm not saying we should take on anyone, there would need to be a sort of "process" of getting someone on board before we know who is suitable.

As for how it's done, the best way I can think of is to make some sort of announcement that we are looking for people to help with the approval process. I don't know exactly how many people are currently on the admin team but considering how approving models takes literally anything from 6-12 months, it can't be easy for the people on board. You could even set up some sort of "test run" where new members are sent a select number of models to approve and if they check out and properly identify what is acceptable and what is not, they get to join the team.
Another route that could be considered is to look at members that are already uploading a lot but have yet to be given the raise to admin should they want it.

I understand that this site tends up operate on a "We pick who we trust" protocol but given how slow the process is right now, I strongly feel that aspect needs to be changed because at this rate, I can see the pending models only getting larger and larger. At the time of me typing this lengthy post, the pending count sits at 2,523. I don't think I've ever seen it go below 2,000 which means at best the team's efforts are less reducing the number and more just being able to keep it from overflowing. Also, another thing I want to point out this site is often deemed as the "go to" for many 3D Model Users. I've actually spoken with 2 or 3 custom model makers and they've specifically said that any work they do they plan to only release on this website.

I could go into more details like how easy it is to dump games from the Nintendo Switch and then rip from them (Even a numbskull like me has done it) but I think I've made my point. If anyone from the higher ups of this site is reading this post, please consider going down this route as I truly do feel that if we band together and boost our members, we can help reduce this issue.

[Petie]

People bring this exact topic up from time to time but always seem to miss the most important point - we don't keep our team small by choice. With models in particular, finding qualified people who are willing to donate their time just isn't easy. You accurately bring up the ever increasing model count and use that to suggest that there are more people now than ever who could lend a hand and I really wish that were the case but let me change your perspective here for a second.

That number continues to grow larger and larger because it takes significant time to go through each submission. A large part of the time required to approve models is that often, there is a lot that needs to be fixed. If things are outright broken or critical elements are missing, it's quick to reject and tell the submitter to fix it. But when relatively minor things are missing, the staff usually makes those fixes themselves before approving. Of particular note are the icons. Icons have historically always been optional to make the submission process accessible to as many people as possible. This isn't a huge deal on tSR where icons can be generated quickly but for models, the entire thing needs to be loaded, rendered, and captured at least twice.

I'm getting a little off topic now but my point is that we don't just bring on friends here. For models especially though, we only consider those who have a proven track record of exceptional submissions and while that is definitely a high bar, it's a needed one for the complexities encountered while reviewing model submissions. We frequently discuss the need for more staff on tMR but as I said, finding people is difficult even from the larger base of submitters we see today.

So, to sum it up, we'd love more help, especially for tMR. It's just not as easy as you might want to believe to find it. I assure you we're not being picky because we want to though and we don't extend invites to the staff only to some secret inner circle of friends. I love that your desire here is to help the site grow and I'll definitely have a chat with the staff to see if there is anyone sticking out to potentially come on board.

[ninetalescommander]

People bring this exact topic up from time to time but always seem to miss the most important point - we don't keep our team small by choice. With models in particular, finding qualified people who are willing to donate their time just isn't easy. You accurately bring up the ever increasing model count and use that to suggest that there are more people now than ever who could lend a hand and I really wish that were the case but let me change your perspective here for a second.

That number continues to grow larger and larger because it takes significant time to go through each submission. A large part of the time required to approve models is that often, there is a lot that needs to be fixed. If things are outright broken or critical elements are missing, it's quick to reject and tell the submitter to fix it. But when relatively minor things are missing, the staff usually makes those fixes themselves before approving. Of particular note are the icons. Icons have historically always been optional to make the submission process accessible to as many people as possible. This isn't a huge deal on tSR where icons can be generated quickly but for models, the entire thing needs to be loaded, rendered, and captured at least twice.

I'm getting a little off topic now but my point is that we don't just bring on friends here. For models especially though, we only consider those who have a proven track record of exceptional submissions and while that is definitely a high bar, it's a needed one for the complexities encountered while reviewing model submissions. We frequently discuss the need for more staff on tMR but as I said, finding people is difficult even from the larger base of submitters we see today.

So, to sum it up, we'd love more help, especially for tMR. It's just not as easy as you might want to believe to find it. I assure you we're not being picky because we want to though and we don't extend invites to the staff only to some secret inner circle of friends. I love that your desire here is to help the site grow and I'll definitely have a chat with the staff to see if there is anyone sticking out to potentially come on board.

I had a feeling there would be areas that I'd be ignorant to so I am grateful for you shedding some light on the areas I was not aware of.
Obviously, I'm just a member, how this site is ran is of course up to the people in charge but I only want what is best for this website as I really do appreciate what this site offers and it's been 1 heck of a personal journey for me as well. I actually find myself visiting this site daily to see if anything new has been posted.
Regardless of whether things improve or stay as they are now, I want to say that I will always be supportive of this site.