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Post by Jeff Gerke on Oct 3, 2007 14:52:55 GMT -5
Okay, folks, it's time to take stock of our situation. The Anomaly is a way-cool place to come hang out with you guys. You're like an incredible home team. We're each other's posse. But the forums haven't taken off like I'd hoped. The collaborative story thing was good for awhile but then took a nosedive. I tried to reinvent this as a place for any short Christian fiction, but that didn't work. I tried to recast it as a place to come noodle about any strange speculative idea people might have. And while all of those things have been great fun, none of them caused the massive influx of visitors I'd been hoping for. And now, with the launch of www.MarcherLordPress.com and the one-year countdown to launching the publishing company in earnest, I'm stretched pretty thin. As you can tell from my long absences from the Anomaly. So we need to decide what we're going to do. Do we want to, 1) keep going like we are and just be happy with having 4-8 regular members, 2) shut the thing down and go back to our busy lives, or 3) hand the Anomaly off to new leadership (I'm thinking one or more of you guys) and see what a fresh guiding force could do to cause the Anomaly to become something new or finally fulfill its potential? I don't mind staying on as big cheese if you guys don't mind things staying pretty much as they are and you don't mind not seeing me for days or weeks at a time. That's the coasting option. The braking option would be to just pull the plug. I know: mixed metaphor; so sue me. The acceleration option would be to let one of you take it and run with it. It could still be the official forums of WhereTheMapEnds (and Marcher Lord Press, I suppose), but I wouldn't be running it. You'd be free to make of it whatever you want, so long as it stayed more or less true to the character of WTME and the Christian worldview. So what do you say, my posse? Jeff
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Post by Christian Soldier on Oct 3, 2007 16:39:23 GMT -5
That's a hard one...and frankly I don't have an answer, nor a ready opinion. Wipe that shocked expression off your face, dang it. There IS no easy answer. If I can make a recommendation here, Jeff, I'd set this as a poll and let it go from there.
Beyond that, I'll pray, and we'll see. May God have mercy on us all -- CS
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Post by Teskas on Oct 3, 2007 20:37:06 GMT -5
I'd like to give this some thought before I answer. I'll get back to you, if that's all right.
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Oct 4, 2007 7:53:42 GMT -5
There's no rush, folks. It takes a few days for all our regulars to check in and see new messages, anyway. Besides, it is something that should be approached with prayer.
Ooh, here's an idea. I've been wanting to do something with wiki--you know, where anyone can come in and contribute to the knowledge base and thus help build the Web site. I don't guess this could become that, but it IS in the same spirit as collaborative fiction. Is there some way we could create an official wiki page for Christian speculative fiction that you/we could manage and attach as part of WhereTheMapEnds? Like our own SpecFicWiki?
Jeff
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Post by pixydust on Oct 4, 2007 13:04:18 GMT -5
I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds cool! I'm not sure what to say either. I'd hate for you to have something else to have on your plate. I know this year is going to be a crazy one for you. I wish I had wisdom or a meaningful thing to suggest. My life's been crazy and I havent' gotten to hang out here like I want to. I'm going to mull it over...
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Post by Christian Soldier on Oct 4, 2007 18:53:48 GMT -5
Yes, we can Wiki.... Check out pbwiki.com/ . All free. For such a project to take off, we would need some things: 1) A mission statement. What's it supposed to do? 2) Volunteers who have too much free time..which isn't me. 3) This part you'd have to do, Jeff. All the christian Spec-Fic authors would need to be contacted to add in their info. Why the authors? Who better? They can add in entries about themselves and their books...or we, the users can do it, but it will take longer. My quick searches found that there's nothing on the net similar to this, except for wikipedia itself. The nice thing is that we can copy/paste any articles we make into Wikipedia for dual coverage. There is a catholic wiki, but I don't think it could serve our needs....whatever they might be. Also, if the majority here is willing to contribute, I'd be willing to head the project, if you want me to. This barring Jeff's approval, of course. Okay, now that I've told you all what you already know, I'll sign off and wait out your decision(s). Be safe, and God Bless-- CS
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Post by Teskas on Oct 4, 2007 19:04:14 GMT -5
What would be the knowledge base that a wiki would try to build?
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Oct 4, 2007 20:55:38 GMT -5
Oh, I dunno. Maybe... [scratches head]
Hmm, good question! Maybe it was a lousy idea. I just thought a wiki would be fun and would maybe involve lots of people coming together to...I dunno...advance mankind's knowledge of silly things?
Okay, forget that idea. [blushes]
Jeff
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Post by J Jack on Oct 5, 2007 20:25:27 GMT -5
Just give it over to two or three regulars and then let them split up the mod time amongst themselves. Let the Anomaly live on!!!!!!
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Post by Christian Soldier on Oct 6, 2007 4:46:53 GMT -5
I have to concur with Saber. Although I think it best if you provide oversight, Jeff. And the occasional comment, of coarse. This will allow you to concentrate your time between Where the Map Ends and MLP while still keeping this site open, running, and changing as necessary. Oh, and you'll still be able to sleep an hour or two a night. Maybe even three on the weekends.
So okay, I am formally voting for option 3 for the reasons listed above.
God Bless -- CS
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Post by Teskas on Oct 7, 2007 20:46:06 GMT -5
I'm still thinking about the future of this site. It does seem that we newbie and would-be authors of this genre would benefit a lot from having a place to hang out, share info, offer encouragement, and occasionally have our material get the once-over from a pro.
So, it would be a shame to shut it down all together.
However, it looks as though the original concept of the site has changed since its inception. Maybe some rethinking of the concept might be in order.
It is possible to haul away some of the threads of the board into archive until MLP gets well-underway. Then they could be revisited in the future to see whether they might live again in open view. (I'm thinking, for example, of the collaborative fiction project.) Pare down the board to a few essentials.
A writers blog space seems to fit what's going on at the moment. I for one like the idea of a courteous environment where I can get a friendly, but truthful, critique of what I'm writing. Fresh eyes can be a big help.
Instinct tells me that when MLP gets off the ground, there is going to be a need for a place like The Anomaly.
Just a few ideas.
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Post by sparrow on Oct 7, 2007 21:05:46 GMT -5
Before you get to the point of coming to a total end, you might consider moving to a yahoo group format. You can have the entire groups postings sent to your emails, labeled under appropriate threads. They are easy to set up, and easy to use. I really like THIS site and hope you don't have to come to that, but I see no reason why the group here should disband completely.
There are, BTW, other writer's groups who use Yahoo Groups quite succesfully. (I repeat, I like THIS site. But as I am a newbie here it is not my decision to make.)
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Post by scholar on Oct 7, 2007 21:10:28 GMT -5
I agree with Teskas. I tend to start projects but get caught up in daily living. But to see that there are others out there, doing what I would like to do, is a great think. This site has been a real encouragement, but, as sparrow said, I'm a newbie and not my decision. Whatever y'all decide'll be fine by me.
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Oct 8, 2007 10:04:27 GMT -5
Thanks for your thoughts, you guys. The Yahoo group is a good idea, but there's no reason we'd need to do that. So long as you want this site up, it can stay up. It's free to operate (paid for by those sometimes very inappropriate ads at the top) so there's no need to change to Yahoo. As for having "a pro" look over your stuff here, I can't really do that (if you're referring to me). I reserve my true reviews for those who use me as a book doctor or editor. It's how I pay the bills so I can't really give it away for free. What I CAN bring to the group is the occasional story idea and answers to questions about the craft of fiction or the inner workings of the Christian publishing industry. Those I don't mind sharing. Plus we can have discussions here about my Fiction Writing Tip of the Week column. One cool thing I think this place could become is a wonderful and very affirming critique group for those who love to write and read Christian speculative fiction. (There are, by the way, several such groups for spec-fic over at the ACFW site, so if this doesn't become such a thing you could find one there.) As for paring down the boards and archiving things--and doing just about anything else--those are the things you guys could do if the inmates ran the asylum. I mean, if two or three or more of you had administrative rights to the boards. I'm happy--and ready--to hand over those rights, by the way. So here's what I propose: - We leave The Anomaly up (no cancelling and no Yahoo, etc.)
- I hand over administrative rights and duties to 2-5 regulars who volunteer for the job
- I continue on as Administrator Emeritus and Resident Pro Editor and All-Time Goonyface
- The Anomaly stays on as an official part of WhereTheMapEnds
- Those new administrators enjoy the powers and priviledges--and endure the duties and responsibilities--of taking The Anomaly wherever you/they/we want it to go.
How does that sound to you guys? All in favor, say Aye. All opposed, say Nay. All saying nothing, well, say nothing. Jeff
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Post by scholar on Oct 8, 2007 10:22:31 GMT -5
I say "Aye". Jeff, I think what you have proposed is a good idea. It keeps the Anomaly running and (more importantly ) keeps you free to work with MLP. I'll keep praying for both the Anomaly and MLP.
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