Suggestion for Improving the AH

[scheherazade_79]

The Authors’ Hangout has never been awash with writerly threads. It’s a place where people hook up, discuss, debate, daydream, make love, fight, make up and make out. And the broad variety of threads has always reflected that.

Recently the balance has changed. We have a new sub-forum for writerly things, which means that any related ideas or threads have pretty much vanished from sight. The void has been filled by threads exploring politics and the economic slump, which have resulted countless arguments, shit-slinging and outright personal attacks.

Apart from being boring, they’re not the kind of threads that encourage civil behaviour – which is possibly why there’s been such an influx of difficult characters from the GB and further afield. Instead of logging on to discuss writing, there seems to be a new trend of logging on to pick fights – to prove personal opinions to be true in the face of all opposition, even if it means ripping someone’s personality / appearance / background / ideas to shreds

I wouldn’t say that the Writers’ Challenges and Exercises subforum was a success. It’s given birth to very little creativity and at the moment seems limited to games of bingo and rhyming competitions.

What I’m proposing is that we get rid of that subforum, make the writing stuff more of a main feature of the AH than a spin-off forum… and create a special political subforum in its place. That way all the fighting, quarrelling, name-calling and denunciations can take place away from the limelight.

It’s not something I want to see on a daily basis, which is why I haven’t been posting on Lit much recently. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

It just seems nuts that people interested in writing are swept off to a quiet and concealed corner of the AH, while all the political arguments take centre stage. And in my mind it's an imbalance that needs to be addressed.




NB - And it's no use reassuring me that the US election will be over in a couple of weeks, because it won't. There'll be all the bickering and accusations of cheating afterwards, and in two years' time it'll start up all over again. Maybe sooner if John McCain dies or Obama gets assassinated. And by that point the AH will probably be inhabited but no one but trolls, who thrive on all the aggro.

 

[Safe_Bet]

Nope. Sorry Chickie, I don't agree. This is the Author's HANGOUT, not the Author's Writing Class. I get pissed off about all the politics too, but if they bug you that much don't read them. If the people who are arguing about politics are writers then they have as much of a right to be here as you or I. If I'm not in the mood to read their opinions then I don't.

That said, I DO think that re-integrating the "writing" related threads is a good idea. Putting them in a sub-forum is kind of like being sent to your room while the adults talk in the living room. just saying.

 

[scheherazade_79]

Nope. Sorry Chickie, I don't agree. This is the Author's HANGOUT, not the Author's Writing Class. I get pissed off about all the politics too, but if they bug you that much don't read them. If the people who are arguing about politics are writers then they have as much of a right to be here as you or I. If I'm not in the mood to read their opinions then I don't.

That said, I DO think that re-integrating the "writing" related threads is a good idea. Putting them in a sub-forum is kind of like being sent to your room while the adults talk in the living room. just saying.

I wasn't for a moment suggesting that politics be banished from the AH - just given less of an emphasis than the centre stage place it occupies at the moment.

As for Authors' Writing Class, I've been here a good 6 years and the forum never has been, and never will be that. It was always a place to exchange ideas on a whole variety of topics.

Ignoring the political threads might seem like the logical solution, but there are days when it's very, very hard. Especially when they have such an impact on the ethos and morale of the forum, and start making people walk.

What I'm suggesting is redressing the balance which, unless I'm mistaken, is something you support. I think it would work better if the threads on (mostly American) politics were put in a special place on their own with padded walls, but I appreciate that not everyone would want this.

So I'm borrowing your analogy and putting in a request to have the writing subforum axed so that all the writerly games and ideas can be a part of the main adult forum again, instead of being banished in the nursery.

 

[THROBBS]

A mixed bag that "sub forum" concept, eh?

Although it allows a category to remain visible (always on the first page and at the TOP), it also "wallpaper", like many of the sticky threads.

HaloNHorns worked hard to advocate for a forum for the Visual Artists and got one, The Visual Artists Corner. Sadly it is very much that. As much as I prefer the AH to other Forums, I feel that being as SUB Forum to AH is.....

to be cont.
(have to transport)


nah...

 

[Safe_Bet]

I wasn't for a moment suggesting that politics be banished from the AH - just given less of an emphasis than the centre stage place it occupies at the moment.

As for Authors' Writing Class, I've been here a good 6 years and the forum never has been, and never will be that. It was always a place to exchange ideas on a whole variety of topics.

Ignoring the political threads might seem like the logical solution, but there are days when it's very, very hard. Especially when they have such an impact on the ethos and morale of the forum, and start making people walk.

What I'm suggesting is redressing the balance which, unless I'm mistaken, is something you support. I think it would work better if the threads on (mostly American) politics were put in a special place on their own with padded walls, but I appreciate that not everyone would want this.

So I'm borrowing your analogy and putting in a request to have the writing subforum axed so that all the writerly games and ideas can be a part of the main adult forum again, instead of being banished in the nursery.

Coolest. Whole heartedly agree. I would encourage everyone who agrees to send a supporting email as well. I think the best way to reduce the impact of the political threads is to increase the number of non-political threads. I think you can actually see some of that occurring. There are currently 2 - 3 ANTI-political threads running (my LOL Catz, Sarahh's Renaissance Festival , Dr. M's Orgi thread, even souries is non-political, in kind of a humorous/dufusy way). We just need more of them.

I'd, personally, LIKE to see more interactive/question & answer threads. For example, a few weeks ago, I started a story specific thread asking for input. I was writing a story and needed to understand what a straight guy would think (I'm a lesbian = no clue). I got a lot of excellent feedback from a very diverse group. Those are the kinds of threads I think we are missing here.

 

[Noira]

No, I agree. I joined this forum for the WRITING, not the sex, and there is a sad amount of discussion about writing erotica on this site. Which is why I joined. Because I am interested in the genre and its many faucets. Yet the way the site feels, I can't pop down to the BDSM board and ask questions with the justification that 'I'm a writer'. It's about sex, not writing. At least most of the time. And the place where it looks like I should be able to go "so say I'm writing two masters butting head to head while their slaves sneak off for a night of fun, which is the best perspective to tell this story from? What goes through a person in that situation's mind and what is the best way to write it? Third person and multiple scenes from different perspectives...?" Yeah, based on an idea I briefly had... I wanted to do a story with a real asshat master with a female submissive, and then a mistress who was more laid back and devious without a submissive yet, but there was nowhere for me to present the questions I had about the setting and how to best write this story to be most interesting to the people who read the BDSM genre. I am not a nasty male master, I'm a slightly kinky virgin. I don't personally know all of these mindsets.

But in the flood of political questions in the Author's Hangout--which should be for authors discussing things, right?--there's no place for me to ask questions about writing. It's all... non-writing things. I'd go to the specific board (BDSM, in this story's case) but for all my searching, I can find no predecessory threads asking WRITING questions. It's all real life there. I'm not asking for real life advice. I want writing thoughts, writing advice. I want to be able to give it.

Writer's challenges doesn't serve as a place for me to ask 'okay, so what's the best way for me to write this scene...?' Lit's a fun hangout and fun to read, but it does seem to lack that aspect which I feel it deserves to have--seeing as it's attached to an erotica collection webpage. I just wish this board felt less like a tame version of the General Board and more like an author's hangout. At least, this part of it.

 

[Vermilion]

I second bringing back the writerly topics - I miss them.

As for getting rid of the political threads, well, I personally would be for that. Alternatively, if that's not agreed upon, at least mandate that every political thread is marked as such in the title. I hate wandering into a thread, thinking it's about personal achievement or a tricky grammatical issue then finding myself immersed in American politics again.

Anyway, my tuppence worth
x
V

 

[DG Hear]

No, I agree. I joined this forum for the WRITING, not the sex, and there is a sad amount of discussion about writing erotica on this site. Which is why I joined. Because I am interested in the genre and its many faucets.

I wanted to do a story with a real asshat master with a female submissive, and then a mistress who was more laid back and devious without a submissive yet, but there was nowhere for me to present the questions I had about the setting and how to best write this story to be most interesting to the people who read the BDSM genre.

I just wish this board felt less like a tame version of the General Board and more like an author's hangout. At least, this part of it.

I took out part of your quote and thought I'd answer this part. Yes there are to many political posts but that's part of the freedom of the thread. You can choose to read or not to read any of them.

If you have specific questions on anything or just want to spout off (in a good way) Then just start a thread. Click on NEW THREAD and ask your question. Believe me, you will get more than enough replys to answer any questions you may have.

This is a large diverse group of writers here and most would be willing to answer any question you may have. It is an Author's Hangout but as with any group they have opinions on topics besides writing.
Thank you for posting to the A/H, hope to see you here more often.
DG Hear

 

[SweetWitch]

No, I agree. I joined this forum for the WRITING, not the sex, and there is a sad amount of discussion about writing erotica on this site. Which is why I joined. Because I am interested in the genre and its many faucets. Yet the way the site feels, I can't pop down to the BDSM board and ask questions with the justification that 'I'm a writer'. It's about sex, not writing. At least most of the time. And the place where it looks like I should be able to go "so say I'm writing two masters butting head to head while their slaves sneak off for a night of fun, which is the best perspective to tell this story from? What goes through a person in that situation's mind and what is the best way to write it? Third person and multiple scenes from different perspectives...?" Yeah, based on an idea I briefly had... I wanted to do a story with a real asshat master with a female submissive, and then a mistress who was more laid back and devious without a submissive yet, but there was nowhere for me to present the questions I had about the setting and how to best write this story to be most interesting to the people who read the BDSM genre. I am not a nasty male master, I'm a slightly kinky virgin. I don't personally know all of these mindsets.

But in the flood of political questions in the Author's Hangout--which should be for authors discussing things, right?--there's no place for me to ask questions about writing. It's all... non-writing things. I'd go to the specific board (BDSM, in this story's case) but for all my searching, I can find no predecessory threads asking WRITING questions. It's all real life there. I'm not asking for real life advice. I want writing thoughts, writing advice. I want to be able to give it.

Writer's challenges doesn't serve as a place for me to ask 'okay, so what's the best way for me to write this scene...?' Lit's a fun hangout and fun to read, but it does seem to lack that aspect which I feel it deserves to have--seeing as it's attached to an erotica collection webpage. I just wish this board felt less like a tame version of the General Board and more like an author's hangout. At least, this part of it.

There are writerly threads here, many of them. You just can't see them because they were buried by all the political cat-fighting. Personally, I would love to see the politics banished to the back room, then the plot-bunnies and helpful discussions can flow again.

Here's one thread you might enjoy: The Hook

There are many more. You just have to wade through all the muck to get to them.

 

[sutherngent985]

I have enjoyed reading the AH since I got on the forums. It has always had a good mix of topics, I think. As for political threads, I ignore them for the most part. I also read other forums, and if a thread catches my eye and I feel I have something to contribute, irregardless of forum, I will.

 

[SweetWitch]

I took out part of your quote and thought I'd answer this part. Yes there are to many political posts but that's part of the freedom of the thread. You can choose to read or not to read any of them.

If you have specific questions on anything or just want to spout off (in a good way) Then just start a thread. Click on NEW THREAD and ask your question. Believe me, you will get more than enough replys to answer any questions you may have.

This is a large diverse group of writers here and most would be willing to answer any question you may have. It is an Author's Hangout but as with any group they have opinions on topics besides writing.
Thank you for posting to the A/H, hope to see you here more often.
DG Hear

And don't forget to drop by DG's humor thread. It's always good for a laugh and a plot bunny or two.

 

[DG Hear]

And don't forget to drop by DG's humor thread. It's always good for a laugh and a plot bunny or two.

I love you Sweet Molly

 

[SweetWitch]

I love you Sweet Molly

Aw...

 

[English Lady]

Maybe my time in the GB has given me a tougher outer shell, but to be honest I can't see how making a political sub forum will help. Will posters stick to posting the politics in there? What if a thread starts out non political then goes political? The only way we can deal with that is making the AH moderated and I think I'm against that.

I think the writing threads should be brought back, I'm not a big fan of the sub forum idea, I've not once stepped into the writing sub forum since its creation, actually.

But really, if we want to change what the majority of tthreads are, we need to start making more non-political threads. It's up to each of us to make it change.

 

[SweetWitch]

Maybe my time in the GB has given me a tougher outer shell, but to be honest I can't see how making a political sub forum will help. Will posters stick to posting the politics in there? What if a thread starts out non political then goes political? The only way we can deal with that is making the AH moderated and I think I'm against that.

I think the writing threads should be brought back, I'm not a big fan of the sub forum idea, I've not once stepped into the writing sub forum since its creation, actually.

But really, if we want to change what the majority of tthreads are, we need to start making more non-political threads. It's up to each of us to make it change.

I tried for a bit, but I was one of only a few who did. Then I got really busy on a project so I couldnt' keep up.

What I see lacking this year is a definite lack of all the fun Halloween threads of years past. Maybe it's time to revive a few.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

People on AH brawl about grammar, for Christs sake!

 

[DG Hear]

Aw...

You know I'm posting on scheherazade_79 thread and she has me on ignore because of things posted on my Humor thread. Thanks again Sweet Molly, one of my favorite witches.

 

[scheherazade_79]

You know I'm posting on scheherazade_79 thread and she has me on ignore because of things posted on my Humor thread. Thanks again Sweet Molly, one of my favorite witches.

Do I?

Sorry. Water under the bridge if I did

 

[scheherazade_79]

People on AH brawl about grammar, for Christs sake!

You missed out an apostrophe in that sentence

 

[DesertPirate]

You missed out an apostrophe in that sentence

*snerk*

 

[scheherazade_79]

Thanks for everyone's constructive input. It's restored my faith a little

And EL has a point - it's up to all of us to create more non-political threads

I just wish we could get rid of the stupid fucking Writers' Exercises subforum and mainstream the theme of writing a little bit more - just to create some healthy competition for the glut of political threads.

And I enjoyed The Hook thread. That's the kind of thing we could do with more of.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

NO! It's up to EVERYONE (especially you) to resist being an asshole.

And when youre an asshole I jerk a knot in your tail.

 

[DG Hear]

Do I?

Sorry. Water under the bridge if I did

Thank you, you're welcome to visit and reply anytime.
DG

 

[JuicyBoom]

I'm pretty new around these parts so i don't know any history. One of the first things I noticed was a lack of a Politics Board. Sure, this is the "Hangout" forum of people with a common interest and they can discuss what they want. However, Politics tends to be so emotionally charged, it deserves a special place to talk about it. Given the International make up of the community and the emotional fire that is Politics, I believe a dedicated Political Forum is in order. You can make it a sub-forum to AH or its own Forum from the main board - doesn't matter. If you want to leave it in AH, then I suggest you make a Political sub forum.

Of course, it won't work if mods don't move threads to the Political board when they go down that path.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

JUICYFRUIT

Around here the Usual Suspects fight about what day of the week it is; the topic is irrelevant.

If you suggest, for example, as Hemingway did, that adjectives follow the subject, a dozen posters will curse you then insist youre a troll. Its the game they play.