Updates on BigIdeaAuthors and Whateveresque
Posted on March 23, 2009 Posted by John Scalzi 8 Comments
Quick notes on things:
* The publicist guide for BigIdeaAuthors.com is completed and I’ll be sending a URL for it to folks on the site’s mailing list in the next couple of days. If you’re not on the mailing list and would like to be, go to BigIdeaAuthors.com and sign up. We’ll also most likely begin programming the site in the next couple of weeks.
We’re still on track for a late April debut for BigIdeaAuthors.com, but may push back a week or two if we decide to fiddle and tweak more than originally anticipated. Best to get it right the first time. If that happens, we’ll continue to host the Big Idea pieces here and transfer them over later. Whatever does okay with the whole “people visiting” thing, so this should not be a hardship for the authors in question.
* Due to a number of commitments which take up a whole bunch of my time (including the big one noted in the paragraph above), I’m likely to close Whateveresque, or at the very least put it into a state of benign neglect, in which the current members are allowed to post but no new members are added. I’m still thinking about it and will come to a decision about it in the next week. Obviously, Whateveresque-ians are encouraged to post their thoughts on the matter, either here or there.
Although I haven’t had as much time to post at the Whateveresque of late, what with life trying to, you know, get in the way, I find myself curiously sad by the idea of the forums closing. (But then having admitted that life gets in the way of ME posting, and they aren’t even my forums, I certainly get that your life may get in the way of you moderating and admining.)
RE: Whateveresque
Is there someone who could take over moderating/admining Whateveresque? Is it worth finding someone or asking someone there to do it?
Possibly, but it’s not something I’d hand off to people I don’t know (and that means in real life, not only on Teh Intarnets).
Having seen, more than once, what can happen to an unmoderated (even with registration) forum … I don’t know. It can proceed well for a long time, actually, and then a talented troll will come along who pushes the right (wrong?) buttons and then … it’s not pretty. People leave slamming the door behind them, and then turn and shoot through the door at others who they thought didn’t support them sufficiently, causing more uproar.
That said, online forums can also be incredibly supportive (psychologically and spiritually) to members who are having problems.
Hard call, Scalzi, either way. Best wishes in making it.
I would moderate Whateveresque. I already moderate a couple of forums already.
I’m going to agree with PixelFish. I find myself sad to think of them closing or being closed to new registerants but I haven’t posted in a while because life is busy for me right now. So I have to say that since they’re your forums you have to do what you have to do. Best wishes on making that call!
@3 John, I understand.
I’ve offered previously. TNH could probably provide a personal reference for me as not being a complete psycho, and registration is not very time consuming.