Active Users:426 Time:03/05/2025 07:35:07 AM
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules
I know, especially after the quadrumvirate broke up in 2003, with only Jake and I remaining active Larry Send a noteboard - 10/03/2010 09:19:49 PM
1) Sometimes, it's as slow as molasses around here.

That it certainly is.


Of course, some use that as an excuse not to get active themselves

2) There really isn't all that much engagement it seems with what is transpiring on the larger SF-oriented sites.

I suspect we've lost a few of the dedicated SF/F people and there are probably more people interested in Other Literature.


Well, the policy on blog linking did tick off a few besides myself. Pat was the main casualty of that, but I believe there were others. As for more interest, I dunno about that. I think things were bent quite a bit during OF's final 4-5 years, plus it's really pretty much the same people who were at wotmania 6-8 years ago, anyways.

3) Too often people here seem to wait around for an Admin or someone else to take the initiative. I hated that when I co-ran OF and I still despise that lazy attitude these days.

Drives me batty.

And it doesn't help that neither of the admins has had much time recently to drive things along.

That said: now that I've secured my new job, and will not need to work long hours anymore, I should have more time.


Time is a discipline, I've found. One can always free up space if there is enough importance placed on a matter. I remember working upwards of 16 hours and still trying to post about new and interesting works, so it can be done. Energy is another matter, though, I suppose

But the real issue is that the readership here doesn't drive much of anything along. Unlike other sites, where the mods are not the main facilitators of most discussions, this site seems to be oriented around the mods. Strange.

4) Still too bare-bones nearly 9 months later. I'm not talking about huge features, but rather the lack of even that tacky yet easy-to-do Interviews post category for the mods and a corresponding link where all such posts were gathered automatically. Speaking of interviews...

We have the category, just not the separate board. Working on that.


OK

Well, for starters, you lot could get off your asses and go forth and interview authors. I'm currently interviewing two right now for the Nebula site, but it's not that hard to find authors willing to do interviews with SF sites. Look at the Nebula and (later) Hugo shortlists. Contact each and every one of them (most have LJs, blogs, and sites where their emails are listed). Read a sampling of their work to get an idea of who they are and what they write (many of the authors I've interviewed had samples online). Then start conducting interviews after polite requests. A dedicated 1-5 people could, if they wanted to, could have an interview a week for months on end. Also helps that said authors usually post links, via their blogs, LJs, and/or Twitter/Facebook accounts and more traffic is generated this way.

It would also help if some here, whether they be Admins or just regular posters, would just engage more often with people at other sites or who do other blogs. It's sad when someone such as myself, who as the main blogger (still waiting for Jake to rise from the dead and participate more often, like he promised ) at the OF Blog, gets much more attention from authors and publishers with only 1200 blog entries compared to a site that perhaps has a few million page views and a dedicated SF/books section that has over 10K posts.

Sometimes, you just have to be more proactive and learn how to network if you want this place to be hopping, I guess.

This is what I'm working on doing. As I'm sure you're aware, I'm completely new to this so it's taking time.

Thanks for your feedback.


I know it takes time and sometimes talent as well. Some people just aren't comfortable emailing a near-total stranger and trying to gain insight into what makes them and their writing tick. But it can be learned, with time and patience
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie

Je suis méchant.
Reply to message
So. Sometime today we passed 10,000 posts. Rebekah - 10/03/2010 07:00:14 PM 269 Views
That's totally Nossy! Jacob - 10/03/2010 08:14:17 PM 150 Views
posts, not years. *NM* jh - 10/03/2010 08:41:47 PM 47 Views
Rebekah - 10/03/2010 08:59:07 PM 159 Views
Huh, would have thought that would have been passed some time ago... Larry - 10/03/2010 08:17:07 PM 261 Views
Meh... Jacob - 10/03/2010 08:23:20 PM 164 Views
I know Larry - 10/03/2010 08:36:34 PM 163 Views
Yes... Jacob - 10/03/2010 09:00:10 PM 130 Views
Remind me which ones are in there Larry - 10/03/2010 09:06:54 PM 233 Views
People never were incredibly active. Rebekah - 10/03/2010 08:56:59 PM 159 Views
I know, especially after the quadrumvirate broke up in 2003, with only Jake and I remaining active Larry - 10/03/2010 09:19:49 PM 263 Views
I don't think it's this site so much as this board. Rebekah - 10/03/2010 09:36:26 PM 136 Views
Nah, it's more a site-wide thing that has to do with much of anything beyond themselves Larry - 10/03/2010 10:00:50 PM 134 Views
I will start this by apologizing. jh - 10/03/2010 08:46:14 PM 143 Views
Yes. This was aimed at you, and you alone. Rebekah - 10/03/2010 08:59:48 PM 165 Views
I still don't like that the board is called the "Sci Fi and Fantasy" Board. Tom - 10/03/2010 08:53:39 PM 10730 Views
~nods~ Rebekah - 10/03/2010 09:03:35 PM 214 Views
Regarding the last point Tom - 10/03/2010 10:14:21 PM 124 Views
OK. That sounds pretty neat. Rebekah - 10/03/2010 10:15:53 PM 143 Views
Sweet nossy - 11/03/2010 11:11:08 PM 129 Views
Yay us Camilla - 14/03/2010 12:27:01 AM 124 Views
Back to Messageboard Post New Thread Search Help Stats Rules

Reply to Message

Block Quote Paragraph Quote
Formatting
Smiley Codes