Looking for next 'Best Magic Writing of the Week' article? I'm sorry, you're not going to find it here again, at least in the interim. Let me explain.

I don't often delve into the behind-the-scenes of Gathering Magic. Articles appear, like magic, every day. News inserts itself as soon as it can. Spoilers populate just the same way. If all is going right it's an invisible process to you: Awesome just happens in a way you can count on. But there's some thought and science that makes it all tick.

Today I'm going to show you some of the creative process that goes on in the email chains and Facebook threads. Prepare for the mundane.

Almost an Art Minor

Choosing "the best" Magic articles to reshare every week was always somewhat problematic. It's impossible to properly review every online community and content site for our game every day. Preferences and time dictate some shortcuts, and therefore any list of article was always incomplete. Some sites lock content behind pay walls or signups, which mean it's technically "there" but it isn't accessible for everyone. Lots of content comes in the form of videos, short and long, as well as podcasts ranging from a few minutes to hours.

Complicating things were the fact that any list can feel either contrived, redundant, or both. Making editorial calls can be easy, but grinding away at finding great things to read seems noble and the best articles were often those already discussed, shared, and reshared long before we had our weekly roundup. Forcing a rehash of the same content isn't novel, particularly when we were adding little to the value along the way.

For some time I struggled with how to reinvent the process. I wanted to feature interesting things that drew passionate thought, yet provide it in a personalized way. It shouldn't feel like a list so much as a conversation starter. Less these are the best and more I found these fascinating. A human element felt needed, and it couldn't be just one person week after week: Out community is bigger and broader than what any editor can shoulder alone.

I fired up an email to some of the Gathering Magic staff to brainstorm what we could do. After all, there's a reason there's more than just me to run the show. Associate Editors Carlos Gutierrez and Alex Ullman were keen to change up the formula to something more compelling and rattled off a few thoughts. But the truth is in these discussions the voice of reason is most often the best Texan transplant to step into our lives, Community Manager Heathery Lafferty:

She's the number one reason I don't mess with Texas.

It was such a simple idea but it tied into so many things. Magic is reaching into the cultural zeitgeist just as all of our Saturday morning cartoons, movies, technology, and more influenced us and our game. Providing what we each found so interesting is the personal touch that was missing along with a diversity of views and choices. We're connected and share some ties, but experience the world in fundamentally different ways too. What strikes one of us may be completely overshadowed for someone else.

After Alex, Heather, and I all shared our different thoughts on the game's recent issues with cheating pulling picks across the staff (and special guests who would add their own flavor and spice to things) felt like a natural evolution of a great creative process. With a little discussion I proposed something that would look like this:

With minimal effort I got the go ahead to show off what this looks like in live execution. While Heather, Carlos, Alex, and others will be joining in the coming weeks, this is your first look at the future of our weekly roundup.

Picks of the Week: November 23, 2014

Adam Styborski is Content Manager for Gathering Magic, writer of Command Tower for magicthegathering.com, text coverage reporter at Grand Prix and Pro Tours for Wizards, a Pauper Cube developer, and known curmudgeon. You can find him sharing things on Twitter as @the_stybs.

The Saga of Net Neutrality in the US

Net neutrality is something I’ve seen plenty of fellow Magic players glom onto. While there is some nuance and technical knowledge that’s obscured from the everyday discussion, as is typical with any complex issue, the principle at its core is straightforward: Any given Internet traffic can’t be favored over other traffic by Internet Service Providers. While I don’t believe there would ever be slow lanes in the terms of our current speeds being halved, I also feel we’re already dangerously far behind global competitors such as Japan, South Korea, and eastern Europe in general.

Why it matters to me is for much more practical reasons: Almost everything I do online relies on the idea that all traffic is equal. When I peruse Reddit, compulsively check Facebook, write articles for DailyMTG, play games like Magic Online and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and book travel, its all handled as though it was all the activity. More importantly, sites like Gathering Magic are accessed the same way that juggernauts like Google. There’s no difference between it all, from consumer or publisher perspectives.

Of course, there’s money in putting up toll gates. That’s what I fear from the fall of net neutrality; sites like Gathering Magic and Reddit will hit the same ISP issues already plaguing Netflix and others. When the same companies that control delivery of content to me also control production of content, it’s impossible to see how self-favoritism doesn’t come into play. Building extra costs and delays between content outside their revenue reports isn’t what the Internet was meant for, and while it’s easy to see this as a struggle between titanic companies like Google, Comcast, and Netflix it’s all the little joys of the Internet that get caught in the crossfire.

After all, I’d hate to see a day where Gathering Magic has to figure out how to pay each and every ISP just to be handled fairly. As collecting state sales taxes from Internet retailers started with pressure on Amazon, the toll gates will start big and slowly get built down. I admit it’s a bit of slippery slope, but if there’s enough money to be had (There is.) it’ll be unnecessary costs we’ll all foot one way or another.

Real Wizards Wear Capes

I’ll admit that I’m merely an adequate Magic coverage writer. I have my knack for one-on-one interviews, but the ability to build unrelenting excitement and action into feature matches is something that still eludes me.

Fortunately, other writers have skill where I don’t.

Last weekend at Grand Prix New Jersey, Jacob Van Lunen wrote one of the best feature matches from a Grand Prix I have ever read. I can’t recall off the top of my head the last one that made me laugh, smile, and stay hooked until the every end. Channeling the irreverent humor of Walking the Planes’s Nate Holt, the pithy humor of top professional player Eric Froehlich, and their shared friendship into a package much bigger than the sum of its parts is a reading experience everyone that loves Magic should discover.

And, yes, a sweet cape was involved.

Being Sick Sucks

Being sick this week sucked. Not really a cure-all so much as a Nectar of Ambrosia, Liz Cady’s tip to dump as much honey as possible into hot tea was the highlight of a nigh constant fugue. If you’re feeling ill give it a go.

I really wish I could have seen and accomplished more this week.

The Result

That's the new format I'm proposing. While getting the literal snot knocked out of me this week was a real downer, the opportunity for more articles, recommendations, and anecdotes is there. Whatever you thought of the new format, or any suggestions you might have to tweaks, please let us know in the comments below. I'd love to make this a regular piece of the people, by the people, where everyone finds something interesting to consider every Sunday.