ATeaTree addendum: Host Audition Process & Clarification

 So yeah - it seems to be a common misconception that it's all the same hosts every event and that that's for... whatever reason people want to put forth: "they have favorites who get invited back" or whatever the case may be.
But the truth is that every host has to complete an audition process and be judged by a group of volunteer hosts and the host coordinators before being accepted.
EVERY EVENT!
The current host coordinators have also done good work to make the audition process more fair and welcoming to new auditioners.
The old system - and the one that many events use - involved recording an audition on your computer locally while following a provided set of instructions (and other provided materials, like sample donations you had to review and choose which were appropriate to read).
This is good, and allows hosts to exercise their judgment and show off their energy and style.
BUUUUT it was also open to people repeatedly recording auditions until they felt it was perfect before submitting it.
So the current system uses a Discord bot to serve content to you live, and you enter a channel which is actively recording you while you're in there.
(what game is up next, who the runner is hoping to hear from in donations (game devs, mom and dad, etc.), open bidwars - that kind of thing)
Everything beyond that is you reacting to what the process and associated bot are telling you what you need to do, and the video clips it's serving you.
Which tests your flexibility when the unexpected happens, your ability to recover from any mistakes you make, etc. - it's a lot more honest to the live process.
it's also a lot more nerve-wracking in theory - so they've created a practice bot that serves up different content that you can practice with to get more comfortable with the process, and they hold "office hours" to answer questions while the audition period is open (typically a couple weeks).
If you personally are interested in hosting that recommendation about Oengus and keeping an eye out for smaller marathons looking for volunteers is totally for you as much as it is for anyone else who sees it as a result of our discussion/interview earlier.
(Oengus: it's a site that helps organizers create marathons and solicit run submissions
it can also be used as a de facto calendar of what online events are coming up)
SIDE-NOTE: This process applies for both in-person and online-only hosts.
It is also an explicitly stated goal of the current host staff to take a minimum of four new hosts each event.