Hello to all of you readers of The 'Shroom! Let me begin this issue by first thanking all of you, our readers and writers, for your patience this month. I know we're coming out with this issue two days later than usual, but I think you will find that the little bit of extra time helped us ensure this month's edition is everything you have come to expect. There's no denying that 2020 has been a rough year in general, and it seems that September in particular hit a large swathe of our community very hard this year. As a community project, we first and foremost have to ensure the health - mental and physical - of our community members. Otherwise, we'd have no one to contribute to the paper! On behalf of the whole staff, I thank you again for your patience.
On the topic of thanking people, while I'll individually thank them in the Awards Analysis itself, I have to give a great thanks to the members of the Eleventh Poll Committee, who gave it their all this month to get the largest project of their term done. Please, do read what they've written, and if you see them around, congratulate them on getting through all of the work.
Now, I'll allow Roserade to talk about what we have special for you in this issue in a little more detail, lest I try and cram too many words into this box. For now, I'll tell you that we already have work underway for our special issue 165 in December! I hope you look forward to our way of finishing out this year with a spectacle.
That's all for now, as I need to go and find Superchao, our janitor. I understand that Rose, in one of his porcine propaganda publicity stunts, has filled his office with mud and has been rolling around in it. Poor FunkyK and Doomhiker have had the stench wafting over to their offices in Palette Swap and Fake News! Thankfully, chickens would never create such a mess, and my office has never had so many eggs on hand before...
—Hooded Pitohui, Director
Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! I hope you're appreciative of the evil throne this month. I finally got it installed up here in the Director's Office, and let me just say that the top of it is an inch taller than Pitohui's chair! Haha, loser.
I don't have much more to share this month, but I'd like to point your attention towards the 2020 Awards Analysis, conducted by your fabulous Poll Committee! They've taken a look at the results of this year's Awards Ceremony and are ready to share what they've found. Please make sure to give it a read! They've put tons of effort into it, but hopefully not too much blood or tears.
Speaking of blood and tears, war is upon us once again. With this next 'Shroomfest under way, I've got to have all of my defenses ready. Nobody gets in my office without special clearance! In fact, I've got a security camera set up right no—
EMERGENCY MEETING!
Guys, I just saw Ninja Squid vent.
—Roserade, Sub-Director
Staff Section of the Month for July 2020
| STAFF-VOTED SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Writer | Reasoning | |
| 1st | Anton's Half-Baked Reviews | Hypnotoad (talk) | While everything that's been said in the past about this section continues to apply, this month, we want to highlight the tight, organized structure of this section. This is consistently one of our longest sections, and this edition doesn't differ from the norm in that regard. It would be easy to start skimming over partway through, to get distracted while only a short way through the lengthy reviews, but the organization - clearly demarcated through proper use of headings - makes it easy to break up the read. Whether reading it in one sitting or coming back to it and reading it in small chunks, the bite-sized nature of each individual restaurant review helps to keep the length from taxing readers. It's a good strategy to follow, for anyone who wants to write sections of a similar size. | |
| 2nd | Drawn and Pressed | winstein (talk) | winstein shows that a short overview can be just as worth reading as a long and detailed section, if structured well. The section doesn't use headings, but each individual paragraph is properly organized around a single topic, the section as a whole covers the basics of the Arlo and Janis strip by giving just enough information to intrigue the reader while not explaining every single aspect of the comic, and it's followed up with a nicely curated gallery and cited sources. Shorter and focused can be just as good as long, and winstein shows that a section of a short size is not a bad section! | |
| 3rd | Mach Speed Mayhem | Superchao (talk) | What we'd like to highlight here is that it's important to accept that, sometimes, there's just no need to say more. Princia, as an AX character, has less information and appearances to document than most F-Zero characters do, but Superchao runs with what he has. He remains thorough, detailing not only her biography, but also giving some insight into how she is unlocked and how her vehicle handles when playing, but he does not pad the section out with needless fluff. Even in a section that is built entirely on historical analysis, there's no need to dredge up more words when you've covered all the relevant information. | |
| The 'Shroom: Issue 162 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • 'Shroomfest |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |
| Specials | Awards Analysis |