Chat corner 73: Meta

[annathecrow]

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)