The DOTS Guild is a place where people come together with a common goal: improving #AccessibilityInTabletop for disabled gamers wishing to play tabletop roleplaying games. There is much work that goes into this project, some of which we follow traditional standards on and others we break tradition and create something new and improved. Join us on this journey as we take a deep dive into the volunteer positions of the DOTS Guild, and learn what makes them so special.
A skilled artisan who can paint pictures on a different kind of canvas, a Wordsmith works to weave stories and create educational materials. This written content can cover different areas such as accessibility topics as well as updates on the status of projects from the DOTS Guild. With needs being a hybrid between a copywriter and a content writer, one Wordsmith may be better suited for a certain project than another with different experience.
While our work as a nonprofit organization continues and our projects grow and improve, there is always a need to share different updates and information regarding our progress. This often comes in the form of blog posts and Patreon updates but can also be in our monthly newsletters and posted on social media platforms.
Blog posts are a great way to cover a lot of information in one area. These can be long or short, each one varying based on the topic covered. The blog posts themselves can be educational material with an accessibility focus, big picture updates on the overall status and major planning of the organization, details on the structure and operations of the organization, smaller updates on individual projects, and much more. The Wordsmith who works on something with a large amount of updates will collaborate closely with Guild Leaders to have the most accurate information as projects are updated and moved forward.
For smaller updates that may be time sensitive, monthly newsletters and social media are used more frequently. A Wordsmith works with the team of Guild Leaders to identify what information needs to be shared and how to best condense all of it into a size appropriate for a small character limit within social media posts or the monthly newsletter. Since most of our audience members utilize social media to keep themselves up to date with our progress, it's often an important part for Wordsmiths to care for.
Patreon updates are a little more unique with the "Initiate's Visions" reward that provides behind the scenes information about projects which are not shared anywhere else. These are often things behind NDAs our project partners do not wish us to announce exact details on yet, or things that we are hopeful to have happen and are working towards but do not have confirmation yet. For items under NDA, we may share through Patreon that we are working with a certain partner but can't say on what, or we may give general details about a project but not say who it's with or what it's for. All of this changes based on the terms of the NDA with the specific project and project partner, and the Wordsmith consults with Guild Leaders to ensure nothing is shared incorrectly. We also use these updates to give Patrons advance knowledge of upcoming plans as an organization, providing information on what their monthly donation is being used for.
For a Wordsmith that is interested in creating more educational material, we offer a Resources area which is continuing to expand with more guides on different accessibility topics for both a digital and physical setting. These guides are often created as blog posts and made available as screen reader friendly PDFs for download, printing, and easy reference to share with others in a professional setting.
Since our focus is on education and awareness, we love working with experts in their field but a Wordsmith does not necessarily need to be an expert on the topics they will be writing about. They do, however, need to be interested in doing extensive research to learn all of the correct information before creating any kind of content that can be used to educate others. We always welcome those who want to learn more about a topic and work to improve their accessibility knowledge. Some of our existing 101-style guides were written by those with no previous experience with the topic but the Wordsmith was eager to spend time gathering information from multiple sources before creating a simplified guide.
Creating these condensed documents and guides is a way we're working to make accessibility topics accessible; an easy introduction to basic concepts for someone who is just starting to learn. The amount of information available regarding different accessibility topics can be overwhelming and may deter people from learning more. We hope the simplified versions make it easier to get an idea of what accessibility can mean in different settings.
Note: Guides written by our Wordsmiths are not intended to be detailed training documents. Those looking for more information, we recommend hiring a paid consultant from our Consultant Directory or taking courses through online platforms that offer classes.
If you have any questions about our services and want to get in touch, please contact us. If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out our volunteer form.
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