16. Updates & Updaters (for soaps which have regular updaters, ie AMC, ATWT, GH, GL, CITY, B&B, Y&R) (rec.arts.tv.soaps)
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This article is from the rec.arts.tv.soaps FAQ, by Margaret D. Gibbs gibbsm@ll.mit.edu with numerous contributions by others.
16. Updates & Updaters (for soaps which have regular updaters, ie AMC, ATWT, GH, GL, CITY, B&B, Y&R) (rec.arts.tv.soaps)
"Where's such-and-such an update?"; "Why do we have only one
updater for each day of the week?"; "I want to do an update too,
may I?"
Remember that the updaters are real people with real jobs and real school
work just like you. Let's put it this way -- if someone works 8-5 and
watches a soap opera episode after work, it might be difficult for
them to have the update done by early the next morning. Also, there
is often a bit of lag time between the time an article is posted
and when the article reaches your news site. So *please* don't post
an article on Tuesday asking where Monday's update is... you might
upset the Monday updater enough that he or she will stop doing the
updates altogether!
Some history: Years ago - Carolyn Zaccaria (CAZ) did updates EVERY
day of the week for AMC. The updates were very much appreciated, but
too much work for one person to do, so the weekly update schedule was
set up to add some sort of method to the madness. This type of schedule
is used for other soaps as well. (HELP me out here, folks - which of
the daytime soaps have regular updaters???) If we DIDN'T have a
regular schedule, most likely we'd have 4 or 5 people doing updates for
the REALLY great shows and there would have been NO updates during
slack times. If you think that you're not getting updates for every
day of the week, check out section 11 of this FAQ - you might be able
to get the updates via a mailing list set up by a volunteer on this
newsgroup.
Remember, when a person is able to plan in advance that they're
going to be doing an update they usually it takes them longer to watch
an episode and take notes for the update. Most of the updaters would
not be willing to do this if they weren't sure that they wouldn't be
duplicating other people's work. If you are not a regular updater, but
would like to try your hand at doing one, it would be polite to get in
touch with a regular updater to do a guest spot when that updater needs
a stand-in.
An open letter to those who say, "I don't care who posts the updates
as long as I get them.":
Perhaps this analogy will help: Imagine, if you will, that you had
decided to volunteer your services to read to a group of children every
Wednesday. You select the books and you make time in your schedule.
Then one Wednesday you arrive at the appointed place and find someone
else reading your book to the children. You might try to understand,
but you would be a little hurt. You would probably tell this person that
you were the scheduled reader and if he/she wanted to substitute one day,
that would be okay as long as he/she asked you. After all, you could
have done something else that day if you knew you weren't needed. But
now, imagine how you would feel if the parents of those children, or the
children themselves said, "Hey, I don't care *who* reads the story as
long as the ]story is read." I'll tell you how you would feel. Slighted.
Unappreaciated. Swept under the rug. Stung. Upset. Ready to chuck
the whole thing. When the regular updaters see people saying things
like this they want to give it all up. This is sad. They're not
getting money for this. They're doing it on a volunteer basis but
it's organized. There's a structure and a protocol as in all operations
of this type. Feelings can get hurt all around if the protocol isn't
followed.
[Thanks to Mary Wu and Nancy Calzaretta]
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