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Where is everyone????

29 Jul 2017 15:29 #55527 by Woodclaw
Replied by Woodclaw on topic Where is everyone????

circes_cup wrote: It's a hard question to answer, Fats, because we never know whether our opinions are widely shared. Ace didn't like the parameters of the workshop, but that didn't bother me. Markiehoe didn't like the advertising of peril stuff here, but I didn't even know that was going on.. I personally think that improvements to the library would make a big difference, but there are active participants here who wouldn't agree with me.

When I take a step back and ask, "what are most people doing in the genre", it seems to me that most people are staring at imagery on DeviantArt. Obviously, 3d rendering technology has improved greatly over the last twenty years.. When the AU was started, the best way to enjoy all superwoman stuff was through stories. Now, people can produce, and view, really slick visuals in ways they couldn't only a few years ago.

To give an example, I posted LaPorte Caves to DeviantArt as it was being written. Then, as the story postings began to dwindle, I started posting Lowerbase's visual art on the same subject. The number of people "favoriting" and "watching" me on DA quadrupled. People want the visuals.

And if people want visuals, then maybe that is an area to focus. You could transforms teh "few images" into a proper gallery, with tags and thumbnail views and the other normal gallery stuff. But I dont'w know if it's realistic. There's work involved in creating that infrasturcture. And there's cost involved in bandwidth-intensive images and videos. But I expect that having a high quality gallery would be attractive to the site's historical audience as well as new participants.


I think that Circes makes a very good point here: SWM is a hybrid site. We are a story repository, a gallery of sorts, a forum and a lot of other things. BEing a hybrid we survive crisis a lot better than other realities, but we are also more susceptible to problems since each and every user is looking for something different.

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29 Jul 2017 17:04 #55528 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Where is everyone????
If you approach this from the classic marketing perspective, we have to ask what portions of the potential "market" are not being adequately serviced by TV, movies and other Net sites.

I personally find that there is very little decent material which crosses over ubergirls and SciFi and/or high fantasy.

Star Wars with ubergirls on both sides.

Tolkien with beautiful, ultra-powerful Elves taking on unspeakable evil (along with lots of Orcs and a Balrog or two).

Star Trek with alien ubergirl NSFW themes on exotic planets.

Firefly where Inara or Kaylee or River gains incredible physical powers (even pheromones in Inara's case). .

And so on...

Very little decent material in those areas out there in recent years. But I can't speak for the size of the audience except from my personal interest in such themes.

Shadar

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29 Jul 2017 17:42 #55529 by thedoc9
Replied by thedoc9 on topic Where is everyone????
I work two jobs in the spring/summer (office work during the week, guitarist/singer on weekends). Trying to save up for a nice vacation this fall. Nothing about going elsewhere, or any complaints. Just really busy.

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29 Jul 2017 22:38 #55531 by d_k_c
Replied by d_k_c on topic Where is everyone????
I'm surprised that this site doesn't have a dedicated photo gallery. Gotta go to SHQ for that, but I cant imagine it would be terribly hard to do. Or if there's a good reason as to why its not done.

Unlike Ace, I really liked the WS. A story, I had no intention of writing, was written because of Fats list. I had a lot of fun writing it.

That being said, i'm unlikely to participate again. It reminded me of a time when I taped Sunday night football. Had nearly $1000 on the Packers to win. I was So excited to watch the game, got my nacho's made, bowl of salsa and sour cream flanking either side....Turn the game on, and my wife comes downstairs and says "I bet your happy the packers won". I was glad the packers won, but.....now there was no point in watching the game. The thrill of it was gone - I confirmed on my phone that my team won. Even the nacho's didn't taste good anymore.

That's kind of how I felt about this WS. I have no idea how many votes were cast. I have no idea if I was second third or fourth..I have no idea if I got blown away, or if it was close..Just that I lost. Which i'm certainly fine with, but it certainly did put a spear through any competitive spirit. Which unfortunately, is my main drive for the WS.

Other than that, I find that there's no need to log in unless I intend to post something. Everything is available without logging in. I don't know if logging in directly effects the stats.

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29 Jul 2017 23:07 - 29 Jul 2017 23:08 #55532 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Where is everyone????
I also liked the contests better when you could see a running total each time I checked in on the votes leading up to the closing day of the vote. That provided some suspense and even a chance for someone who was a few votes behind to talk up their story a bit.

The visible vote stats were basically just frozen on the vote deadline day. At least it was that way the last time I participated, which has been a while.

The current black-box "winner only" approach leaves me numb. It's also probably intimidating to new writers. One of the most pleasurable things for a new writer is to see people voting for your story, even if you don't win. That says you pleased some folks, and that's gold-plated encouragement for a writer.

I know I've had periods when I was thrilled if a single person enjoyed what I wrote. Just one person who liked it best was all it took to make me happy.

Shadar
Last edit: 29 Jul 2017 23:08 by shadar.
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30 Jul 2017 01:47 #55533 by argonaut
Replied by argonaut on topic Where is everyone????
Fats, are you saying that a third of our members have actively dropped out over the past month? That seems odd. Or are you noting a drop in the number of members who have been posting? I'm not sure that's something to fret about. We've seen dry spells before, followed by flurries of activity. And our "regulars" seem to be posting about as often as usual. I'm guessing any attrition might be among those who join the site, look around, decide that it's not for them, and don't return (or become occasional lurkers).

I was thinking (again) along the same lines as circes_cup. Showcasing artwork as well as stories might draw more members. I recall that Ubergirls Inc (the predecessor of SWM) had several themed galleries, and so did SWM in its early days. I don't know why these were discontinued -- bandwidth issues, maybe? But maybe we could start populating a gallery with the entries from our artwork contests, or TGK's illustrations for "The Supergirl of Smallville," or commissioned pieces that members would be willing to share.

Also: I wonder if we might feature links to related sits on our home page, Sadly, a number of sites in our wheelhouse, such as Heavenly Heroines and Girls of Steele, are no more, but there must be a few still out there catering to our interest. If they'd be willing to reciprocate by linking to us, that might bring in some traffic.

Finally: The thread got a little off-topic here, but I add my voice to those who'd like to see the vote count for the last workshop. Dru's was a well-deserved win, but I'd be curious to see how many votes Team Acenaut's story received -- especially since written feedback was much lighter than it usually is for workshop stories. Knowing that our story got votes might encourage us to write more tales of Super Lana, as a teenager or as an adult.

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30 Jul 2017 03:24 #55535 by ace191
Replied by ace191 on topic Where is everyone????
A couple of additional thoughts. There is no more anticipation or discussion of WW and SG does not start back up for another two and a half months. That could contribute a small part to the drop in numbers. Next question would be is there a seasonal variation to the site?

In Phoenix, the two busiest months for traffic at Sky Harbor are July and December for two very different reasons. In December, people want to go back home for the Holidays or come here to get out of the cold and snow. In July, EVERYONE wants to get out of the heat at least for a little while.

I miss the picture bank that we had in the old days, but I have some idea of the increased complexities that it can add to running the site.

Sometimes when people don't like something they just quietly vote with their feet. It can be hard to figure out what you did wrong, or didn't do right that led to the departure.

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30 Jul 2017 12:16 #55541 by kikass2014
Replied by kikass2014 on topic Where is everyone????

There is no more anticipation or discussion of WW and SG does not start back up for another two and a half months.


For me, this is the reason I'm probably not as active during this time (still pop in to check things, but not really post).

Atm there isn't anything out that hasn't been discussed, And there isn't anything coming out for a couple of months (SG, Flash, Justice League, Thor, etc). At least stuff I am interested in discussing.

So I'm just kicking back, drinking a bud and enjoying the summer B)

In the immortal words of Arnie though:

"I'll be back"

:p

Peace.

/K

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30 Jul 2017 14:58 #55543 by argonaut
Replied by argonaut on topic Where is everyone????
Another suggestion: Add a few lines of text under the banner on the home page, welcoming visitors, explaining that the site is for aficionados of super-powerful women in all media, and inviting newcomers to browse the Library and join the discussions on the forum.

We used to have a sub-forum ("Who are we?") where members could introduce themselves and say a few words about their particular interests. Maybe it's still there (I haven't checked), but if so it's been dormant for a long time. Maybe we could highlight that feature more.

As an independent-school teacher, I know that recruitment is just as important as retention.

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30 Jul 2017 15:32 #55544 by luchodemeyer
Replied by luchodemeyer on topic Where is everyone????
In my concern, I'm just on hollydays for 1 month without computer and poor internet conectivity..
I'll ne back later :)

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31 Jul 2017 09:33 #55559 by jdrock24
Replied by jdrock24 on topic Where is everyone????
The reason I haven't been very active lately on here is really because of the constant negativity.

For example, I remember going on Greg's Ubergirls about a decade ago and chatting for hours about how great a big budget Wonder Woman movie would be. Lo and behold, we finally get one and all it seems anyone can do is shit on it. This, despite it being critically acclaimed, financially successful, and containing a number of the greatest "girl power" scenes ever put to film; a real game changer for our little sub genre.

I mean, what happened? How did we get like this?

Honestly, I just don't see the need to frequent this place if all I'm going to see when I visit is hate posts. My philosophy on the internet has always been to ignore those things that I dislike not crap on it constantly. For example, I've only visited the Supergirl forum a couple of times in the past year because I gave up on the show due to its poor writing. I don't go in there on a daily basis to remind everyone how much I dislike it. That would be insane.

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31 Jul 2017 11:49 - 31 Jul 2017 11:53 #55564 by kikass2014
Replied by kikass2014 on topic Where is everyone????

For example, I remember going on Greg's Ubergirls about a decade ago and chatting for hours about how great a big budget Wonder Woman movie would be. Lo and behold, we finally get one and all it seems anyone can do is shit on it.


I don't know, maybe because some of us expected way better? \shrug/

Honestly, I just don't see the need to frequent this place if all I'm going to see when I visit is hate posts. My philosophy on the internet has always been to ignore those things that I dislike not crap on it constantly. For example, I've only visited the Supergirl forum a couple of times in the past year because I gave up on the show due to its poor writing. I don't go in there on a daily basis to remind everyone how much I dislike it. That would be insane.


What you see as "crap on it constantly" is misunderstood imo. If we take the Supergirl forums as an example, there are many times when the episode is good it gets praised. When its poor, it rightly gets critisicsed. I would go so far as to say that a lot of the criticism Supergirl took this season from posters, actually HELPED it get better. That's the sign of good discussion.

I don't want to go to a forum where its just a circle-jerk. Where everyone is "Gee WW was awesome!" JUST because its WW on the big screen with money thrown at it. I prefer to discuss things and critique them. However, if you prefer to not to, that ofc is your prerogative. I would much prefer if you did though. If you genuinely believe what you feel about, for example WW, then lay out an argument and defend it. Who knows, by doing so, maybe like Supergirl, the second and consecutive ones will be an improvement.

Just my 2 cents.

Peace.

/K
Last edit: 31 Jul 2017 11:53 by kikass2014.
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31 Jul 2017 15:29 #55567 by Mynn
Replied by Mynn on topic Where is everyone????
Could be just summer and not many mainstream powerful women flicks and stuff coming out or any events happening that's worth talking about.

I was on Nixalfia the past week and went with my husband to sizecon this past weekend which was why I wasn't around. Did ya miss me? ;)

(OOC: I really did go to Sizecon this past weekend and was very busy the past week as well. I wouldn't panic depending on your website goals, I'd imagine you do get dips and spikes once in a while.)

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31 Jul 2017 15:47 #55568 by jdrock24
Replied by jdrock24 on topic Where is everyone????

kikass2014 wrote:

For example, I remember going on Greg's Ubergirls about a decade ago and chatting for hours about how great a big budget Wonder Woman movie would be. Lo and behold, we finally get one and all it seems anyone can do is shit on it.


I don't know, maybe because some of us expected way better? \shrug/

Honestly, I just don't see the need to frequent this place if all I'm going to see when I visit is hate posts. My philosophy on the internet has always been to ignore those things that I dislike not crap on it constantly. For example, I've only visited the Supergirl forum a couple of times in the past year because I gave up on the show due to its poor writing. I don't go in there on a daily basis to remind everyone how much I dislike it. That would be insane.


What you see as "crap on it constantly" is misunderstood imo. If we take the Supergirl forums as an example, there are many times when the episode is good it gets praised. When its poor, it rightly gets critisicsed. I would go so far as to say that a lot of the criticism Supergirl took this season from posters, actually HELPED it get better. That's the sign of good discussion.

I don't want to go to a forum where its just a circle-jerk. Where everyone is "Gee WW was awesome!" JUST because its WW on the big screen with money thrown at it. I prefer to discuss things and critique them. However, if you prefer to not to, that ofc is your prerogative. I would much prefer if you did though. If you genuinely believe what you feel about, for example WW, then lay out an argument and defend it. Who knows, by doing so, maybe like Supergirl, the second and consecutive ones will be an improvement.

Just my 2 cents.

Peace.

/K


Exhibit A of why I'm not around very much anymore....

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31 Jul 2017 16:19 - 31 Jul 2017 18:43 #55569 by Agent00Soul
Replied by Agent00Soul on topic Where is everyone????

Mynn wrote: Could be just summer and not many mainstream powerful women flicks and stuff coming out or any events happening that's worth talking about.

I was on Nixalfia the past week and went with my husband to sizecon this past weekend which was why I wasn't around. Did ya miss me? ;)

(OOC: I really did go to Sizecon this past weekend and was very busy the past week as well. I wouldn't panic depending on your website goals, I'd imagine you do get dips and spikes once in a while.)


I went to Sizecon too on Sat morning/afternoon. I didn't really visit the VR room and left before the cosplay, but I did attend the panels that morning, which was what I came for.
Last edit: 31 Jul 2017 18:43 by Agent00Soul.

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01 Aug 2017 03:12 #55582 by Sarge395
Replied by Sarge395 on topic Where is everyone????
I challenge everyone to post at least one reply to one of their favorite stories. Or one image or a comment. Stir some of the old coals up. It will catch fire again.
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01 Aug 2017 14:17 #55592 by fats
Replied by fats on topic Where is everyone????
I've deleted a post that stepped over the acceptable lines of discussion, I'm working with the other admins to review the other posts.

I started this thread to find out why the numbers had dropped from the site, i thought that there was another site that was taking people away from here, or maybe people were on holiday, but what is obvious is that there is a thread of negativity running through the site, an element of that should always be there as this is not some happy clappy place where everyone loves everything, but I think that the level of negativity has increased to a point that it could tip over and kill the site, I know of one of the admins who has reduced his visits to the site because of that, and I know that another admin is thinking of leaving. because of the negative vibes, the site is giving off.

In a previous post people talked about the site not being a visual site and that we should have galleries, well we did and I'm working on getting them restored, the problem I'm having is that some of the images have no owners so trying to find out who owns what is proving hard, also G7 has a lot of gallery images and he has requested that they be deleted so I'm having to sort through that.

I am working to make this site better in terms of the tech site but now I'm going to be the lead person in making this place a better place to be from a social side.

Fats
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01 Aug 2017 16:34 #55594 by kikass2014
Replied by kikass2014 on topic Where is everyone????

but what is obvious is that there is a thread of negativity running through the site, an element of that should always be there as this is not some happy clappy place where everyone loves everything, but I think that the level of negativity has increased to a point that it could tip over and kill the site


Going out on a limb here, as I am genuinely curious. Could you please elaborate on this ? The reason I ask is I generally don't see this negativity tbh. Especially one so bad that it could "kill the site". Are we talking personal attacks? Vicious slurs not related to a topic? For sure those need to be curbed, there is no need for things like that in civilized discussion.

But I genuinely have not come across that in any of the threads I jump in to. Which is why I am curious.

The tech side of the site is great if I am honest. The addition of a gallery that is easily accessible would be a pretty cool addition. I look forward to seeing that.

Peace.

/K

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01 Aug 2017 17:02 #55595 by fats
Replied by fats on topic Where is everyone????
There is not one post or one thread that I can point to and say that this is the negative element, it's a general trend that seems to have crept up on the site over the last few years.

Fats
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01 Aug 2017 17:37 #55596 by LustMonster
Replied by LustMonster on topic Where is everyone????

fats wrote: There is not one post or one thread that I can point to and say that this is the negative element, it's a general trend that seems to have crept up on the site over the last few years.

Fats


Frankly, I'd say this trend has crept up on the entire Internet over the past few years. I'd be really surprised if you could point to a publicly-accessible website that hasn't been touched by it.
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01 Aug 2017 17:38 #55597 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Where is everyone????
Interesting discussion.

For my part, I think SWM is one of the most positive sites around, with just enough intelligent and critical discussion to be interesting. The discussions about negativity don't match my perceptions at all.

God help us if we became like the Supergirl TV forum that was syrupy sweet and dull beyond salvation. It's always so refreshing to come here and read posts from people with adult brains and experience within the genre. And with experience and critical thinking comes critique, which is the best part of discussion.

That's why I'm here and active. If that were to end, I'd have to find some place else to feed my brain. I can't live on Fruit Loops forever.

Shadar
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01 Aug 2017 17:55 #55598 by Agent00Soul
Replied by Agent00Soul on topic Where is everyone????

LustMonster wrote:

fats wrote: There is not one post or one thread that I can point to and say that this is the negative element, it's a general trend that seems to have crept up on the site over the last few years.

Fats


Frankly, I'd say this trend has crept up on the entire Internet over the past few years. I'd be really surprised if you could point to a publicly-accessible website that hasn't been touched by it.


I watched a conference about this a few months ago. A lot of the older sites are experiencing this. It seems the crux of the matter is this: when sites this old were founded, the Internet was considered a new forum for community, bringing together fans of somewhat obscure stuff in a safe environment. But in the last few years, basically since the domination of social media, the whole thing has become more of a space for venting negativity, Not saying that's correct, but it's what the online conference was about.

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01 Aug 2017 18:20 #55599 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Where is everyone????

Agent00Soul wrote:

LustMonster wrote:

fats wrote: There is not one post or one thread that I can point to and say that this is the negative element, it's a general trend that seems to have crept up on the site over the last few years.

Fats


Frankly, I'd say this trend has crept up on the entire Internet over the past few years. I'd be really surprised if you could point to a publicly-accessible website that hasn't been touched by it.


I watched a conference about this a few months ago. A lot of the older sites are experiencing this. It seems the crux of the matter is this: when sites this old were founded, the Internet was considered a new forum for community, bringing together fans of somewhat obscure stuff in a safe environment. But in the last few years, basically since the domination of social media, the whole thing has become more of a space for venting negativity, Not saying that's correct, but it's what the online conference was about.


Interesting point. I remember well when the promise of virtual communities were the stuff of SF realized. Finally, everyone could have a voice, and not just the voices that came through letters to the editor or defined news media. I was fortunate enough to be on the leading edge and lived through that period.

That promise seemed to last for a glorious ten years, and then trolls and an influx of people who had nothing good to say arrived.

But I still don't think that applies here. People bring in knowledge and ideas and cool things they have found, and are generally well regarded for it. Sure, we critique published material and movies/TV, but the tradition of critiquing plays and other "performance art" goes back centuries. Shakespeare had his critics.

I can't think of a single active contributor here who is truly negative. But many are critical of things for reasons that are generally rational and explained and usually personal, but they have good things to say when things please them. Happiness is very individual. An intelligent critique of a movie makes me a lot happier than some saccharine-coated accolade.

Like it or not, comic book themes are now mainstream, and that means that every kind of opinion is being expressed. We're not kids sitting in the corner smiling insanely over some beloved comic book anymore, lost in our own imagination. Now we're part of the larger world.

Or so I see it...

Shadar
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01 Aug 2017 20:54 #55602 by kikass2014
Replied by kikass2014 on topic Where is everyone????

God help us if we became like the Supergirl TV forum that was syrupy sweet and dull beyond salvation. It's always so refreshing to come here and read posts from people with adult brains and experience within the genre. And with experience and critical thinking comes critique, which is the best part of discussion.

An intelligent critique of a movie makes me a lot happier than some saccharine-coated accolade.


My sentiments exactly. Couldn't have said it better myself Shadar :)

Peace.

/K

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01 Aug 2017 22:32 #55603 by Esteban
Replied by Esteban on topic Where is everyone????

LustMonster wrote:

fats wrote: There is not one post or one thread that I can point to and say that this is the negative element, it's a general trend that seems to have crept up on the site over the last few years.

Fats


Frankly, I'd say this trend has crept up on the entire Internet over the past few years. I'd be really surprised if you could point to a publicly-accessible website that hasn't been touched by it.


That doesn't mean that Fats doesn't have a point, though. A few pages back in this thread, someone used "pretty strong" words to describe his feelings towards the peril-content that's being promoted by some posters on this forum.

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