Book Club discussion

[Minato Namikaze]

As of recent, I have stopped putting up new Book Club threads. I did this because there was just not point in having a thread where little to no people would be giving feedback.

In an effort to... exhume the idea, I am asking you guys to post what you think would get you in gear for reading threads and posting in the book club, and why you guys weren't posting in the book club to begin with.

We, as the staff, do have some of our own ideas on the matter, but we'd also like to as the members as well. Because, ultimately, it is you guys that will/ should be participating in it the most.

[Amaterasu]

If I'm to be honest, I never quite got into the Book club when it was still alive. It was a mixture of that I lacked understanding of the site in general and the book club in specific, and that I lacked the motivation to get into it. So I'm to blame for being lazy, I'll admit.

I'll mention what I think may have been a Book Club problem, but if the way I understood it may not be the way it really was. Just feel free to ignore the next paragraph if I'm talking nonsense. From my understanding the Book Club was about submitting a number of threads every so often, which people could read then decide which one they liked best.
My problem with this system is that in order to give your votes on a thread to be voted "best", you had to read every thread to have an unbiased opinion. That would stack up fairly fast seeing how some people are very literate, and the Book Club offered a number of threads to vote for.

Anycase, here's a few further suggestions from moi!

As I have mentioned to DL in the chat, this might not really be what the original Book club was about, but something like a thread (or two threads) where people can post links to threads or posts that they found to be particularly good reading, be it because it was good writing or because something awesome happened there that "wrote Omniverse history". A thread where people request criticism on their writing would also be an option.

On the other hand the problem I see there is to keep people motivated to post there, if there are no "rewards" like OM or badges. Some might have the dedication to do so without needing that extra reward to push them on, but I'll just go out here and assume that that's a minor part of the Omniversians.

[Minato Namikaze]

It wasn't about choosing a thread that was best.

The person who hasted Book Club (which was Sarah initially, then I took over for her when she needed to take some time away from the site) would chose some threads, most likely ones they had read themselves, or some that had been nominated for the next Book Club, which people would read and give feedback on. This wasn't ever about choosing a 'best' thread. It was simply just a feedback system.

But that seemed limiting, so we opened it up to whatever people may be reading at the time, with the option of nominating threads (in case people wanted feedback on a specific thing).

[Jade Harley]

Well, the first Book Club I was around for and participated in was great. I'm not very decisive and having a few threads listed as options to pick from was great, because I knew that the people writing in them might actually want feedback on just this one particular thread, so it wasn't as harrying as posting in a C&C thread and became just a one-time deal.

Aaaand then things became different and suddenly there was freedom???¿? To pick a thread?¿?? I wrote up some stuff but I always chickened out in the end about posting because I wasn't sure if the people in those threads would even want to hear any feedback.

No offense to anyone here, but like, some people get a little scary when there's even the slightest hint of criticism on their writing. Or they give feedback..... on the quality of your feedback. It's pretty nerve-racking, at least for someone who just writes what they generally think of a piece.

So, what I'm trying to say is, I'd like knowing when I go into this that someone really wants some constructive criticism on their work and that they won't take my review thing waaaaay too personally, because they asked for it and want to improve.

That was why the newer system was especially daunting to me. I mean, everyone here is a role-player and in it for the game mechanics, plot shenanigans and stuff, but does everyone really want to be treated like a writer with seriously written reviews?

But that seemed limiting, so we opened it up to whatever people may be reading at the time, with the option of nominating threads (in case people wanted feedback on a specific thing).

I never saw that anyone nominated their threads or that this was one of the options with the more recent Book Clubs, but that seems like a good idea! But I mean, in general, I wouldn't take very few people participating as a sign that no one is interested. Book club just isn't a top priority for everyone, and as an optional thing it shouldn't be. It's not like the offered OM is real wasted currency if no one participates. There are other threads and PMs where constructive criticism is given and some people just stick to those.

It's... probably not a big deal, and most people are absorbed with keeping up with their own writing anyway. I think Book Club could be there as an option, but nothing is really lost if no one uses it besides maybe the fifteen minutes or less it takes to post it. An empty thread floating around isn't that bad, it happens all the time, and I'm hoping that no one has been taking this kind of thing personally.

[Zack Fair]

What about a buddy system, or a "Not-Secret Santa" type format? Instead of nominating threads and everyone piling C&C on a few stories, we instead sign up and get assigned a writer. Writer A reads and reviews Writer B's work, while Writer B is reading and reviewing C's, and so on. There's a brief sign up period (a few days?) where you express interest in participating this month, or fortnight, or however long we stretch it. You then get randomly assigned a different person each time, who, if they want, points out certain posts they'd really like reviewed. Maybe put a word limit so people aren't drowned in material, and everyone reviews roughly the same amount?

I don't know, it's a rough idea, but we've definitely got enough writers on this site that would love some constructive reviews on their work and would participate in a system like this for both steady OM and steady feedback, instead of waiting for their turn in the old format.

[Gin Yatreg]

How about a thread where people request C&C?