Question to members

Hi all,

I've been looking at the stats for the site and we are currently getting around 1000 hits per day (that's without bots) but the level of forum activity is nothing like that, so my question to new members and to members who have not posted before is.

What would get you posting to the site?

Is there something that is blocking you from posting, is there a type of topic that would get you posting, or is there nothing that needs to be done and you are happy with the site as it is.

Can you please post a reply with your views.

Lastly, can I ask for active members not to post here, I would like new and inactive members to reply to this thread only so that I can get a sense of what is required.

Fats

Don't underestimate the power of those "Wow - I loved it! Great story!" replies. Acclaim is often the point when posting free stories. I crave that little bit of applause after cranking out a piece and I suspect most of the other authors here do too . If that's all you want to post, fine by me. Detailed examination is WORK. To me, the SWC library is a place for entertainment. I expect most users to interact with it as readers. When I post stuff I'm mostly hoping for a grin and a nod (even the "!!" are optional ). I don't expect other folks to dissect the narrative arc or chase typos for me . (though it's nice when they do)

I wonder if we could get some mileage out of reviving the "request" areas so people could express what they'd like to see. I occasionally write based on other people's tastes just to get a feel for what's involved.

Now some long rambling structural observations (seriously, you can skip this)-

I personally think the site caters to two primary groups of audience members....those who are enthusiasts of comics and superheroines, and those who up the ante and see it almost as an infatuation or fetish. Often, it seems that we admittingly struggle between catering to both groups.

SWM IS a niche site that features stories and discussions (hopefully) that the latter type of individual could not find elsewhere. We love superstrong, kickass women and that's what led to the creation of SGI, ubergirls.org, and now the amalgamated version which is SWM. Back then, there was almost NOTHING in the mainstream -- aside from an occassional comic appearance -- so we had to create our own content and foster relationships with genre producers like the Steeles. Heck, you were even hard pressed to find superheroine art online (anyone remember PencilJack.com?). Now, art is a click away thanks to DA....relationships are fostered va Facebook and other social media outlets....and it seems that powerful females in mainstream media is now tres chic! This new "mainstream" audience is much larger, and we would be remiss if we didn't try and cater a bit to some of these "casual fans" and try and get them hooked on our site.

My hope was having the different perspectives would open up MORE conversation, but its almost been the opposite. The last few months have seen a number of new users join, but the forum interaction has not. With the start of the Supergirl series, I will be honest that I was surprised over the lukewarm response to it. Admitingly it has issues, but I thought people -- old guard in the genre like me --- would be doing backflips over the opportunity to see a big budget (TV) superheroine, but maybe its still so far from some fantasies' here that it is counter-productive.

I think the topics that garner the most interaction with users are the topics that are specific to the SWM and the stories, but you can only ask "What's everyone's Top 5 stories" so many times When SGI was around (and ubergirls.org), we tended to ask more fetishistic questions (e.g. "How did you get turned on to the genre?", etc) but I have refrained from trying to create conversations, hoping some would happen organically -- and be created by users. What think y'all?

While in the past I agreed with the idea that feedback has be something more than a simple "Hey I like your story", I came to acknowledge that those little "I like" often keep an author writing one page more and that's often makes the difference between a good story and a half-assed one. Even adding a simple note about what you liked best, being a scene, a description or even a simple one liner can be of immense help for a writer, because it helps him identify what works and what doesn't. The devil is often in the details and the more people comment on a story the better one gets at hammering them down. This doesn't imply that everybody should give detailed descriptions of what works and what not based on a literary analysis worth of a college paper. Even if someone already told what you meant in a comment thread that doesn't make your opinion any less significant, even simply agreeing can be of help. Over the years way too many authors faded into obscurity because they felt that their work was underappreciated (I'm not naming names) and I truly believe that one more simple line could have made all the difference.

AuGoose pointed out that there are many way on this site to leave feedback (perhaps a little too many) and that different kind of feedback can be funneled in different ways.

Regarding the subject of the site being very one-tracked ... I have to agree, at least partially, with Wulfmir's opinion: often we, as writers, tend to gravitate toward the known and the familiar either because our preference are bound that way or because it's easier to return to places already visited.

McVee wrote: This might be my first message, although I have started to give thanks.
I'm a big fan of the genre but don't think I have much to contribute, it has been said earlier that a "great story" kind of comment seems quite pointless compared to some of the very detailed replies some of the more frequent contributers. A simple great story also adds a new notification to the thread so clicking the link to see just that is quite annoying.
I can appreciate that feedback, especially positive, would be welcome so if I think I have anything worthwhile to say I will.
Another reason I don't contribute much is because I have fat fingers and am using a phone; this message has taken about 20 minutes.
Cheers

A couple of months back I added two emoji, for general purpose use, but also for giving quick feedback in a fun way for fans who didn't want to commit to a full review. Let me demonstrate...

McVee, I give your message...
Style:
Presentation:
Character development:
Enjoyability:

I hope members will find them useful.


R5