You're condemning your writers' expectations, yet you flaunt your own? That's some kind of hypocrisy, I'm sure.

I am not condemning, they are all good people, just wish they were a bit more commited and dedicated, some of them do a great job but others lack the enthusiasim and dedication that I'm looking for

I've written, and continue to write, for free for something like 6 years. I do decently with paid gigs, but still like to write stuff that doesn't fit with my paid outlets for smaller sites or places without a budget. I am an anomaly. I'm not bragging, by any means, but there are very few people that are willing to write consistently, for free. Dedicating yourself to something like 5 posts per week *is* work, so it's no wonder your not-good staff has an issue with consistent writing. Pushing someone to work for you without any benefit is going to push them away, not deeper into a passionate love for what they're doing. I learned that when I started running Nukoda.com and hiring folks for that. You can't force someone to do something, even if they like to do it. It'll only make 'em not wanna do it.

Expecting some Joe to write regularly for you out of the gate, for a site they have literally no investment in beyond "I might want to write about games sometime" is foolish. It's totally manageable and there are some people who are willing to go hard from day one, but you need to let your writers write what and when they can. If you can't offer them anything, why should they offer you anything?

These people are volunteering to help you. Even though you're The Boss, you're really just some dude on the internet to volunteer writers. There's no shortage of places to go to write pro-bono and to get free games (the wrong reason a lot of people start doing this) so they'll go somewhere that's willing to be flexible if you aren't.

I can see both sides of this discussion. I know that Matt has a lot of enthusiasm and wants to makes something special. I think that many of us in the gaming press desire the same thing. We push ourselves and continually hone our craft to try and bring something special to our readership. Many of us, while perhaps wanting to one day write for a living, devote our spare time to the industry because we love it and know that we have something to share.

Mitch also brings up valid points. It is easy sometimes to forget that, despite our enthusiasm, many writers are doing this voluntarily. There simply aren't enough paid positions to go around, and the competition for said positions is fierce. Those of us in senior administrative roles must remember that it's not always easy or realistic to push staff writers as hard as a paid employee can be pushed. Rather than hoisting unrealistic expectations, we must recognize what our staff writers do for us and appreciate that first. Ask honest questions, like, "How many articles can you provide for us in a week?" or "If we're able to secure a review copy from our PR partner, what is the earliest reasonable time that we can expect a review draft from you?"

You just cannot bark orders at your volunteers and expect them to jump at your command. Leadership and respect in this volunteer line of work is earned, not just given. We have to motivate. Talk up web traffic numbers. Assign titles and maybe a bit more responsibility for those who are working the hardest. Promote from within whenever possible.

I have agreed to work with Matt, at least for the short term, and help him with staff organization and some copy editing duties in a limited capacity. I'm hoping that the end result will be a positive and promising one.