[SotW] Waiting Period Discussion

This thread does not have a poll or anything right now because I'm just making it for discussion about what we want to do about the waiting period. If we come to a consensus in a couple of days without one, that's great. We'll see how things go.

Here's some background on what exactly we're dealing with:

Originally Posted by CHz

The waiting period is neither a rule nor a guideline: it's a decree made by the SotW founder that was invoked probably once over the seventy weeks between when it was issued and a few weeks ago. Since then, it has been mentioned with regards to five tracks and counting, four of which have been nominated by people who only started participating after it was imposed. . . . the waiting period is not in the rules at all. It has never been formalized and just been treated as common practice between the people who actually remember it happening because there has never been a pressing reason to until now.

We have this idea where there's a waiting period between when a track is released and when it actually becomes eligible to be nominated, so that it can spread on its own, through the game being released in different countries, soundtrack being released and ripped, etc. The theory is that just because not many people have heard a track a few days or a few months after being released doesn't mean that it's obscure at all, but just that people haven't had time to hear it yet. Plus, there's the chance of unforeseen explosions in popularity.

We are here to decide whether or not this is a good idea in principle, and, if so, how long exactly the wait should be.

There's a lot of discussion starting here in the Week 124 thread, so read up on that. I threw out 3 months to get the ball rolling (I didn't even say 3 months after what: game release, soundtrack, etc.), and that seems somewhat palatable to some. There's a lot of range in what we can do here: just set a fixed time frame after the game's initial release, take into account a domestic release of the game and a soundtrack release, chuck the whole thing, etc. Rotorblade mentioned Darius Remix, which made me think of something very important: whatever we decide also has to take into account arrangement albums, original albums, and so on.

The rest of this post is just specific opinions I've picked out from the last thread:

Originally Posted by Rimo

Three months sound good. When a new album gets released (and even more so when it's shared by #gamemp3s), it receives a good deal of attention. So, I don't think it needs the boost of SotW yet.

Originally Posted by Djinova

Regarding the inhibition period for new releases, I'd put it 3 months after a game's release (1) in the US (2) for the following reasons:
1. OST wouldn't matter, because it's the chance to listen to the track that's important. The time that an OST is released is also quite arbitrary.
2. US, because that's when the chance is greatest to be exposed to a track.
If it's a JP release, then wait 6 months or so.

Originally Posted by surasshu

Anyway I do agree that a general rule should be formed (after all my nomination for NiGHTS 2 was shot down just a few weeks ago on similar grounds). 3 months after a game's US release sounds good to me as well.

Originally Posted by Elorin

I'm quite neutral on the issue of time frame with regards to newly released games/soundtracks. I guess just stick with something that works for administration purposes and as it stands, I think the current methodology is ok.

Originally Posted by Rotorblade

my point goes back to when CHz made mention that the album for Omega Five was just released and we should give it time, whereas I felt it was more important that we go based off when the video game actually hits. Since that's the point of origin, barring any musical arrangements/remixes. I feel that VGM enthusiasm seems to often forget the very reason the music exists in the first place: the video game itself. I don't care where people find the music, just that we could make some kind of concession to original tracks if there's no gamerip. I could see us waiting on albums like the Darius Remix, which has absolutely no original music from any of the games in question, but if I had to wait to nominate an original track from Darius based off when the Remix album dropped, I'd be somewhat puzzled.

Originally Posted by Drakken

If its music happens to become popular after the soundtrack eventually comes out, so what? I don't think that's an issue.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Alright, seems it's mostly just haggling over how long to wait at this point.

Is there anyone actually opposed to adding some sort of exception clause where a nominator can argue that a track should be exempt from the waiting period? Seems like that idea's got some support, and I like it myself.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Summary:

Opinions are split on 3/6/12 months. I will start a poll with these options soon, but there is one issue that I need to have resolved first: the exact point that the waiting period starts. This hasn't really been addressed by a whole lot of people. It seems a majority are in favor of whenever the initial release of the track is (game release, soundtrack release, whichever is first), but there are some other opinions like different periods based on Japan-only and U.S.-released games and having no period at all for arrangements and I'm assuming other non-in-game tracks. This could actually affect some votes, which is why I want it nailed down beforehand.

I'm voting for initial point of release, be it in-game or on an album, game composition or arrangement or original track. Any significant disapproval? I'm more than willing to start a poll for this as well, but I want to see this part wrapped up pretty quickly so we can get a move on.

Also, everyone likes exceptions, so that's definitely in.

How ya doing, buddy?