The problem with staff picks

[JackSherwin]

So I see a lot of people on here complain about visibility, and tapas says they are making an effort to hand select series in the staff picks section. Well, I would like to say here is the problem and why people complain. and what is wrong with staff picks

Above you can see the series I am the final boss in the staff picks section. Now if we click on the series we see this.

Now the series only has three episodes but that's not my problem, can you see what it is tapas?
It's the fact that you are promoting a series that hasn't uploaded in three years. When there are plenty of artist and series like myself that do there best to upload weekly, heck i even update 2 times a week yet have never been on staff picks but somehow a series three years ago get's picked.

Here is another issue with staff picks.
Staff picks in my mind are series that the staff have seen but might be hidden on the website, giving the opportunity for an unknown artist to gain a following.yet multiple times I see premium series with a huge following already on there.

As you can see My fair foot man is a premium series, now i actually think it's fine to promote premium series and definitely on the big banner and wherever you want. But in a place called staff picks i really think that should be kept just to medium to relatively unknown series that have good quality art, and a good update schedule.

Edit: i forgot to put but there is also another premium series right next to these two on the front page called woman's best friend

Wanted to know other peoples thoughts or if I was just being crazy

second Edit: If it is an algorithm selecting these titles then I suggest two things. Perhaps don't allow series on there that haven't updated in a month. this way it rewards those that upload more frequently. Second (I'm not sure about this one) there is already a new and noteworthy section. No need to put new series in staff picks as they have there own section. maybe above 7 episodes.

[Ajhaynes420]

You know, I felt the same way, and I am a very outspoken person, but even I kept my mouth shut because I was scared to get buried further lol But yeah, hopefully they see this, and decide to switch things up because I already have like 9 Series, but it is pretty difficult getting noticed

[joannekwan]

Hm, I've noticed that Staff Picks now are separate from New and Noteworthy, and before the update they were pretty much one and the same?

Not sure how Staff Picks are chosen now, but I think Michael mentioned an algorithm working alongside human-selection so that might be the cause here, particularly for series that haven't updated in a while.

[JackSherwin]

Yes i saw this as well.
I think staff picks have been on the App for a while and has only recently been sperated on the website.
I saw that micheal wrote that but to me that dosen't make sense.
Staff picks in my opnion should be done manuelly, if they can't, then they probs should change the name

This is perhaps more of a messge that although the algorithm may be new or what not it should defiently not be picking up series that haven't updated in three years .

The preimum thing i don't mind too much especially it it's a new series but not one that has been plastard on the front banner and all over the website sevreal times

[StrangeVision]

Perhaps, but there should still be a human element involved with something called "Staff Picks" to filter out something that hasn't updated in three years and is probably abandoned, when there are tons of worthy comics up to date worth featuring in its place.
Otherwise, yeah they should change the name.

[Rosso]

This is not new. I noticed this long time ago and it's one of many reasons i stopped bothering updating here. Their system is so fickle and unreliable it's frustrating.

Anything that involves an algorithm should not be called "Staff Picks", period.
So exactly which category is %100 picked by actual human staff, so to speak?
is it only the highly specific ones like the mermaids and love in palace etc?
(just checked the app /which took forever to load/ annnd where did the mermaid category go? am i tripping? )

[Iris-Grimoire]

I stopped checking Staff Picks and warily looked at Noteworthy for a while. If the series were finished that's one thing, but I've seen so many show up in there with a hiatus at chapter 3 and not a whole lot of pages. It's fine, they were still good, but it's probably a bad sign of not being updated for a long time - might as well have it instead pick a work with lots of recent comments instead, though it might turn into Popular 2.

[sushy00]

I never check Staff Picks but I would love to see some more features for people that are for a long time on Tapas and aren't so popular yet.

[JackSherwin]

Those catogory get changed to intesting titles which i dont mind so much, like one week it was like vampire stoires, another week it was fantasy stories and I guess when you saw it it was mermaid week or something hahah

[JackSherwin]

That's why i thought staff picks was ment to be diffrent. the whole point is not to have somethign done by likes or views( we already have populer and trending), but the staff see an intresting story that they like. if this story truley was picked by a human the mind bogles to why they picked one that hasn't updated in three years

[jensrichard77]

This is a good question. But before we go too crazy about this can you bring some light over this @michaelson

[UrMom]

Ah you know, it might be automated because the staff may not have time to go through all the comics manually? The front page stuff needs to adhere to Apple's age rating requirements, to check if each comic complies before throwing it up in a Staff Pick may be too much of a pain.

Although I'm just guessing this because my comic was denied to be added to the LGBT+ Collection when the new genre tag came out after letting Michael know it showed nudity, and it was a comic people can't access from the app. I assume it's kind of the same? Like, it might be easier and less time consuming to let a bot loose in the app version of the site. (I wonder if my comic would have been added if I hadn't told him about it. Lol)

I'm just speculating why the picks aren't manual though. I agree it is ridiculous to promote a comic that hasn't updated in a long time and to add premium comics to the Staff Pick when they already get their own spot for promotion.

[JackSherwin]

I Agree and i know Tapas have a small team and right now this is probably on the bottom of thier list.
Just pointing out that these two reasons and others is why people complain it's so hard to be seen on the website.

Staff picks is a good idea, put clearly it is being implmented very poorley if many preimum series, cause i have seen many on there, (i don't have a problem with premium series being on there, but not the really really popular ones.) and if a series from three years ago get on there. Im not a codder or a web desighner heck i only kind of know the basics of how an algorythm works.

But is it hard to put in a contingency to say don't out in comics that havent been updated in a month. I think this way it can also reward those that update frequently on the site. Also it would help as if these series get seen and they update reguarly it means more views. Rather then a series with 3 EPS, only can be seen 3 times by each person that see's it.

[ratscout]

Y'know, staff-picks are really important for giving the little guy a chance to shine. I really don't understand the logic of giving comics that have already been given slots on the front page yet another slot on the staff-picks. I have a soft spot for the staff-picks since they helped me gain some traffic (and some other really cool authors who I like) and to see a spot given to a comic that already has so much traffic when it could have gone to a talented unknown is pretty disheartening.