Chat corner 73: Meta
Sep. 12th, 2022 08:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Hi! This week’s post is going to be mostly community meta.
In case you’ve missed it, last week I asked whether you would like to open the comm for more traditional “everything goes” posting, and it brought up a few other issues I haven’t been aware of before. Thanks everyone who chimed in, and if you haven’t yet, you’re welcome to add your thoughts now (whether replying there on commenting here).
First, because the answer to the above question was an unanimous “yes please”, this comm is now open to member posting. Enjoy your freedom! :D (…please don’t spam everyone.)
I updated the info/rules post to reflect that, but for your convenience:
Posting to the comm is open and unmoderated, but please, keep the posts:
- On-topic. Obviously.
- Moderated. I don’t expect anything bad to happen here, the comm is small, but still. Keep an eye on the comments and be ready to step in.
- Spoiler-proofed. Use cut tags and warn if the content and discussion is intended to be spoiler-y.
- If NSWF, visibly marked as such, and any NSFW content hidden behind cut tags. By “NSFW” I mean anything you would rate E on AO3.
Second, several people suggested that it’s uncomfortable to have a “free” discussion when there is a topic, even if it is optional. I want to accomodate that, but I’m also a bit too emotionally attached to the topic rotation to just give up on it XD Therefore, I will try adding a second, completely “free for all” chat corner post somewhere in the second half of the week - Friday has been suggested and I might do that, but it might not be as regular as these posts are. We’ll see how that goes.
Third, some of you raised an issue with the Dark Side posts. But while there were shared sensibilities (that they make it seem as if negativity is unwelcome or swept under the rug), the details and suggested solutions are radically different, so I don’t feel comfortable making any decisions and would be glad for more input.
What do you think about the Dark Side posts, and the logic behind them (as mentioned in the Info)? There used to be a “mirror” DS post for every chat corner, now there is a permanent DS post - do you prefer one or the other? Also, now that we’re about to have more than the one chat corner, how should this be handled?
(no optional prompt for this week, we’ve got enough to chew over XD)
no subject
Date: 2022-09-12 06:55 am (UTC)("is she actually going to add a link to the Dark Side post to this?" well... XD)
For the discussion of Dark Side posts, they're all collected under a tag ("chat corner: dark side"), so you can check out how they've been used.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-12 08:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 05:30 am (UTC)All 7 Vex vids! I am amaze. I'm definitely going to read the summary post, I have seen some of your vids as the event went on and I'm curious about your process thoughts.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-15 05:21 pm (UTC)(The trick was being done early with some of the first ones and pre-planning/starting ahead with the rest.)
I hope you find the summary post interesting! Next year I think I'll do them one vid at a time, as I had lots to say about the last one but had sort of half-forgotten the first ones' notes, and doing them all at once created a bit of a word overload, I think.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-12 03:59 pm (UTC)Great news about opening to additional posts. I saw someone mentioning the possibility of doing different themed posts for different days. It sounds like a great idea as a prompt but probably a lot of work to do and may not get that much response. Certainly having a themed Monday but free-for-all Friday might be some nice bookends that might be a simpler start.
I have not paid any attention to D3 but I assume there was Star Wars news being shared there? I saw some scattered stuff about other fandoms.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 05:50 am (UTC)I'm curious how the open posting is gonna work, honestly! Themed posts sound cool, too - even short-lived series could be fun, like a TV show rewatch, or a book read-along. Maybe someone will try that...
Went to google and there were... some news? Lots and lots of shows, it looks like. I'm really torn about Ahsoka - I would like to be excited, but I absolutely hated the way she and Luke were handled in TBOBF and this is the same creator, AFAIK.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 05:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-12 08:39 pm (UTC)Dark Side posts
I understand your initial desire to make them in such a wanky fandom, but given the respectful discussion and altogether rather mild vents showcased there, I think they could be abolished altogether and have people just mark any venting topics as such. (E.g. at the start of the comment text or as the comment subject.) As it is it sort of feels like the crunchy stuff is in limbo as in whether it should be here (because it engages with the topic) or on the DS post (because most crunchy stuff contains critique of some sort, or simply "I didn't like this aspect", and sometimes people want to elaborate on that). And any extra click makes people less likely to engage.
Other people posting
Good idea! I don't expect we'll be inundated with commentary, but giving people permission to post would maybe make this less your space (where we reply to your post but not really to each other's comments) and more of a community. The topics chosen have also beeen canon topics, so the occasional other person making a post with a different tack (e.g. a fic recs post, or a "Least Problematic Pairing in Star Wars! Please present arguments for your ship. Wrong answers only!" -type post) would generate different engagement and idk maybe make the place feel more friendly due to making it feel more pluralistic wrt engagement methods? I probably didn't explain that well lol.
Free for all vs topic
Your solution sounds good! Let's see how it goes.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 06:06 am (UTC)Dark Side posts -- I've been very relieved by everyone's effort to stay civil, and that it's working. It's so great. I'm a bit worried about having nowhere to send people if things get too wanky (now I could always say "take it to the DS post"), but given how rarely has DS been used, I suppose I worry for nothing.
Different engagement making things feel more pluralistic -- I get what you mean, and yeah that's a good point! I'm hoping that's how it shakes out.
I had hoped the chat corners themselves would become this, that people would come with their own topics and everything, but it never really happened. What people have said made me understand that I'm trying for a system (chatroom-like comment section) that clashes with a very ingrained pattern of behavior (topical post + only on-topic comments), and maybe the best solution is to give up on that system.
Oh well! Learning experiences, and all that! :D
no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 12:46 am (UTC)...and, wow, it sounds like a lot of things I suggested are getting traction, so, um, I'll just sit here being very glad I could help?
As far as the Dark Side posts go specifically, I really like
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 06:10 am (UTC)Thanks for raising those issues! Apparently it resonated :) I'm looking forward to seeing how this all shakes out.
Yeah, I think DS posts are getting shelved for now. Oh well. It was an idea, it didn't work out, I'll get over it XD