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Thread: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

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  1. #1

    Default Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    It has been some time since the Writers' Study and its components (AAR sections, TotW, Lounge, MAARC/BAARC, Fiction Writing etc.) were reorganized. Over time we have implemented some new stuff, like the news threads, scoreboards etc, but maybe it is time for a more general reorganization.

    Before the staff goes on and does a lot of damage, we felt that it is important to get feedback from the writers, commenters, readers, voters - in other words, you.




    At this point we are looking for any kind of feedback, including (but not limited to) forum structure, competitions, propaganda, archives, stuff that you miss - anything you can come up with. Consider this as a collective brainstorming, step #1 for a better and brighter Writers' Study (not that it's not great already ).
    Last edited by Radzeer; September 29, 2011 at 07:16 PM.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Reserved for a collection of ideas.

    Creative Writing


    1. Forum description change

    2. Opening up historical fiction to all fiction
    3. Promoting the critiques section
    4. Consolidating HF and Work Critiques
    5. Promoting TotW style writer threads

    Last edited by Radzeer; October 10, 2011 at 10:08 PM.

  3. #3
    StealthFox's Avatar Consensus Achieved
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Just a suggestion:

    I think the creative writing area could be reworked. It could be made clearer that this is the place where people can post their stories, articles, papers, etc... that do not fit with the AAR section. I think a description of the forum stating this would help. Also, perhaps the historical fiction sub-forum should be changed to incorporate all forms of writing not fit for the AAR forums. I also think the work critique subforum could be better described so that people know they can post anything such as school papers for feedback and not just fiction.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Quote Originally Posted by StealthFox View Post
    Just a suggestion:

    I think the creative writing area could be reworked. It could be made clearer that this is the place where people can post their stories, articles, papers, etc... that do not fit with the AAR section. I think a description of the forum stating this would help. Also, perhaps the historical fiction sub-forum should be changed to incorporate all forms of writing not fit for the AAR forums. I also think the work critique subforum could be better described so that people know they can post anything such as school papers for feedback and not just fiction.
    I think these are great ideas. Creative writing and HF are the areas that are notoriously difficult to integrate. Opening these up and reworking the forum structure may help a lot.

  5. #5
    Boustrophedon's Avatar Grote Smurf
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    If anything then I think the Historical fiction subforum and the work critique subforum should be merged instead of split and even further hidden from view.

    I dislike subforums because they often hide the actual material we are looking for.

  6. #6
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Having one general 'Creative Writing' forum would be best, I agree.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  7. #7

    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Quote Originally Posted by Boustrophedon View Post
    If anything then I think the Historical fiction subforum and the work critique subforum should be merged instead of split and even further hidden from view.

    I dislike subforums because they often hide the actual material we are looking for.
    Quote Originally Posted by Katsumoto View Post
    Having one general 'Creative Writing' forum would be best, I agree.
    Yes, I agree with both of you. We could move up the active threads to the CW forum part.

  8. #8
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    What do you mean by 'active threads'? I would suggest moving all the works from HF and Work Critiques into the Creative Writing forum. There are a lot of excellent pieces in those forums that are quite old and not 'active' anymore, but it'd still be a shame to lose them. I have a few of my own pieces that I would like to retain too. I hope that isn't too much trouble though.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  9. #9

    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Yeah, I can see your point. Actually, I was thinking of some sort of a general archive under WS for the exact purpose you mentioned.

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    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    But that would just create another sub-forum, wouldn't it? The active threads are always going to be at the top of the forum anyway, so I don't know it seems a bit unnecessary. Besides, how would you define 'active' anyway?
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

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    StealthFox's Avatar Consensus Achieved
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    One potential problem with combining the two subforums is that people sometimes post their work, but do not want people critiquing it. So, without a separate "Work Critique" area we won't be able to tell if they actually want help or if they're just posting to get attention.

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    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Perhaps, but then again how many people don't want any feedback whatsoever on their work? Not enough for a separate sub-forum, in my opinion.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

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    Boustrophedon's Avatar Grote Smurf
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Quote Originally Posted by StealthFox View Post
    One potential problem with combining the two subforums is that people sometimes post their work, but do not want people critiquing it. So, without a separate "Work Critique" area we won't be able to tell if they actually want help or if they're just posting to get attention.
    If this is the case then they could post their story and ask a moderator to close the thread instantly. This way they could post their stories without feedback/criticism

    Quote Originally Posted by Katsumoto View Post
    Perhaps, but then again how many people don't want any feedback whatsoever on their work? Not enough for a separate sub-forum, in my opinion.
    I agree and I said so before but I dislike subforums. They all too often hide the material rather than categorize it. The WL and particularly fiction writings are quiet so there's no harm in trying to change things and see what comes of it

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    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Quote Originally Posted by Boustrophedon View Post
    I agree and I said so before but I dislike subforums. They all too often hide the material rather than categorize it. The WL and particularly fiction writings are quiet so there's no harm in trying to change things and see what comes of it
    Indeed.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  15. #15

    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    First of all, thank you all for the feedback and the continued discussion!

    Quote Originally Posted by Katsumoto View Post
    But that would just create another sub-forum, wouldn't it? The active threads are always going to be at the top of the forum anyway, so I don't know it seems a bit unnecessary. Besides, how would you define 'active' anyway?
    We can work on this "active" issue, I was just thinking about a little housekeeping, but I guess the thread timestamps keep the active ones on top anyway.
    The archive subforum is also a matter of discussion, MAARC and TotW have their own ones, so at this point I am just fishing for opinions.

    Quote Originally Posted by StealthFox View Post
    One potential problem with combining the two subforums is that people sometimes post their work, but do not want people critiquing it. So, without a separate "Work Critique" area we won't be able to tell if they actually want help or if they're just posting to get attention.
    Good point. One thing we could do is to advertise Mega's idea about writers having their own thread. Several people use it already, but I think more could participate. Frankly, I think it is misplaced at the TotW section exactly because it does not grab the HF crowd. What I would suggest is a subforum directly under WS with a collection of theads where people can repost their TotW or CQ works or originally post their HF or other contributions. Then they could ask for feedback in their own thread, or even we could have a stickied thread especially for asking critiques. There writers could post, saying "I just added such and such to my own collection, please come and take a look" and give the link.

    Quote Originally Posted by Boustrophedon View Post
    I agree and I said so before but I dislike subforums. They all too often hide the material rather than categorize it. The WL and particularly fiction writings are quiet so there's no harm in trying to change things and see what comes of it
    Agreed on the subforum problem. The cleaner the structure the better off we are.
    And yes, change can be good some time.

  16. #16
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Quote Originally Posted by Radzeer View Post
    The archive subforum is also a matter of discussion, MAARC and TotW have their own ones, so at this point I am just fishing for opinions.
    They have archives because they're weekly/monthly competitions. The creative writing forum doesn't have any such competitions and hence wouldn't require an archive as it pretty much is an archive of posted pieces already.


    Good point. One thing we could do is to advertise Mega's idea about writers having their own thread. Several people use it already, but I think more could participate. Frankly, I think it is misplaced at the TotW section exactly because it does not grab the HF crowd. What I would suggest is a subforum directly under WS with a collection of theads where people can repost their TotW or CQ works or originally post their HF or other contributions. Then they could ask for feedback in their own thread, or even we could have a stickied thread especially for asking critiques. There writers could post, saying "I just added such and such to my own collection, please come and take a look" and give the link.
    Writers having their own thread would be cool, although I'm not sure how we can have those as well as separate threads for individual pieces and still continue to keep it tidy. Perhaps a stickied thread asking for critiques would indeed be better. Good idea.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

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    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    I think each piece deserves its own thread. That's how the AARs do it, I don't see why we should do it differently. Having a thread per writer would become unworkable since each post has a word limit in it and having multiple pieces in one thread would reach that limit rather quickly. Also, some people may want to follow some stories by a writer but not others. I do think having a thread for each writer would be good but I don't think we should remove allowing people to make a thread for each piece. We could perhaps make a subforum for all the personal writer's threads if they wish to make one, as it will still provide the exposure for each piece but still allow writers to have their personal area. Apologies if I'm coming across as persistent but I think we shouldn't over-complicate things with unnecessary changes.
    Last edited by Katsumoto; October 10, 2011 at 01:14 PM.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

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    m_1512's Avatar Quomodo vales?
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Looking at the whole thing, I felt that it could do with some massive re organization. So here is one of my many ideas/proposals.


    Variant I
    The Writer's Realm*


    Tale of the Week.
    Needs no explanation. But I'll come up with something for that too.


    After Action Reports.
    A place for AARs with it's categories.


    Creative Writing and Fiction**.
    Merged in one. Writer's can post their writing and fiction here.


    Writer's Lounge.
    A place for esteemed and senior writer's to talk and discourse about writing. Also a place for aspiring writer's to get feedback and ask questions to them.


    Guild Hall
    A place for all brothers of the writer's guild to rest and talk. They can also issue challenges for writing or poetry here. The battles are settled here in stickied threads.

    Challenge Repository
    The repository for all epic duels fought.



    Competitions.
    MAARC, BAARC. Even the new ones that can be started.


    Hall of Gentlemen
    The Hall where one can gain an insight into the Illustrious members of this community and their articles pertaining to writing. Minimum number of articles to get a name here, decided and can be managed by Writer's Staff.




    * Can be changed to anything suitable.
    ** Need to look into statistical data first.


  19. #19
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    That seems like quite a sensible lay-out. Nicely done.
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

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    StealthFox's Avatar Consensus Achieved
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    Default Re: Writers' Study Reorganization Project - Member feedback needed

    Why not combine the Writer's Lounge with Creative writing/Fiction and have one place for people to either talk about writing or post their own material? Also, I'm not so sure about the Guild Hall and Hall of Gentlemen; it just seems convoluted and pretentious to me.

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