“Getting Involved at Replay” by Alan25main

Do you enjoy the Replay Poker community? Are you interested in getting more involved? Alan25main, who volunteers for Replay in several different areas, shares his take on what you can do to make Replay a welcoming, friendly place to play poker.

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You’ve been playing at Replay for a while, now. You’ve explored the site a bit, found many of the features, made a few friends, even met some of the players away from the tables in the forums. You’ve discovered the forums and read what other players think on numerous topics, mostly–but not entirely–about poker. You’ve found things–a lot of things–you enjoy about Replay, and some you don’t (but, not a whole lot of those or you wouldn’t still be here, would you?).

You’ve tried to improve your game so you can take on some of those 3-digit or better ranked players in the most expensive games. You’ve even had some success at that. You feel as if you’ve grown as a player since coming here.

Now, what? What can you do to become more involved in the site without having to become “an employee?” Is there any advantage to that? Have you thought about becoming a volunteer? I want you to notice I used a small “v” on that because most of our volunteers are unofficial.

They’re that “other” player who explained to you how to do something at a table or where to find some bit of knowledge, or who to ask a question of, or how to use a control button in the game. Most of our players do that automatically out of simple helpfulness, with no thought of becoming an “official” Volunteer.

Think about it: if you were a customer in a casino and another customer asked where to find the restroom, wouldn’t you tell them? Without expecting anyone to pat you on the back? Sure you would. We all do that stuff almost automatically. It’s no different here. Most folks are kind and are just hoping to have a good time and maybe make a friend or two.

But, let’s suppose you really want to help in a more substantial way. What good and valuable service can you bring to the site and your fellow players?

Are you conversant in another language? Replay ALWAYS needs more translators. The Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and their closely related variants) and Germanic languages are pretty well covered at some times of day, but not so much in other times. Other languages can be hit or miss; I don’t think we have a single Japanese translator right now. I know we have plenty of Italians here, but just one translator. If you speak more than one language, this ought to be something for you to think about.

Do you like helping people? Think about becoming a Player Representative. Mostly what they do is play the games and help if someone has a problem. If they can’t solve it on their own, they ask someone more senior (like a Moderator) for help. That sounds easy enough.

There are other “jobs,” too. We have Forum ACEs, Facebook Friends, Blog Buddies, and Moderators, too.

What do YOU get out of it? Mostly, personal satisfaction. Most jobs get very modest chip rewards that come around once a month; you won’t get rich from them. You get to participate in virtual meetings and tournaments with the other Volunteers and sometimes, staff. Frequently, you get information before anyone else does–but, sometimes, you can’t reveal it, so pooh on that part.

If you think you might enjoy helping your fellow players in one of these ways, contact by PM Pageaux or Fizzymint, or your friendly, local Player Rep at a table, or even me. We’ll all point you at a “right person” to talk to about the opportunities.