User blogs

[ChibiHime]

Ah... this may seem like a lame idea.. since I actually don't know that much about blogs (other than they are pretty much like a web"diary"???) But ummm since we don't have blogs and it sounds like it's a lot of trouble implementing (bandwith, cost and prbly even manpower wise, since it's like making another section that will prbly also need moding maintenance etc) why don't ppl, who would like to have a blog just start a thread in the fiction corner with a link in their personal profile/sig that leads to their "blog/diary" thread? Maybe orangewillow could even add a "blog section" in the writer's lounge? Because from what I understand about blogging, it's basically like writing a dairy, (your thoughts on whatever topic you feel like) right? So it could easily be interpreted as free style poetry or something like that? ^^ And I assume adding a section/thread would be a lot less difficult than making a replica of VMing for blogging

Of course this is my small suggestion based on the very minimal knowledge I have on blogging >.<;; So if my idea is way out there please go easy on me ^^; XDD

[cronomage389]

I like the idea, and there's someone on aarin that writes about his life...sorta xD dm.su has his thread about his love life...or normal life, not sure which it is anymore.

[Demeter]

Well, could you elaborate what you mean? The Chit Chat is for interacting with other people, isn't not? I don't see the similarity between the Chit Chat section and having your own blog. If you could connect the two, I may be convinced.

It's true that the chit chat section is first, as its name says, for chat, interact with people. But I'm sorry to answer this way, I think it's better to re-use your own words >///<

What I am saying is the forum is also a community. Within a community are its members. Its members, in my opinion, should be given the opportunity to express themselves better -- people should be able to vocalize their thoughts to an AF audience beyond just a simple profile page that lists only interests.(I myself am more than just a list of my interests. So are you, and everyone here.) To have members who express themselves better creates a more fulfilling forum.

--> I think the chit chat section, looking at all the new threads everyday, is also used for that.

Your opinion is right about the forum being for interaction - a forum is for interacting with others. However, a forum is also for being able to create your own identity too. An AF user blog is a great way to do exactly that, and to do it within an AF community. It's building your identity within your community to a more fulfilling extent. The more of yourself you can express on a forum, the more fulfilling the community and the more you invest in it, don't you think?

I'm really sorry, but I don't understand why the fact to write about yourself everyday would improve the forum... but I guess it must be me, as I'm not a blog kind of person >_<
"Building your identity within your community", yes of course I'm all for, but where is the "community" part if the forumers can't talk about it with you? I really don't understand, writing a blog is a self-centered action, I don't say it in a negative way at all, but it is. For me, each function, each thread, each upload on aarin is motivated by the relation to the other. You upload because someone will download, you download because someone uploaded, you write and read threads that will be read and are written by other forumers. Why do you want to write your blog? For a cathartic purpose? You can do that in a real blog. To let people know who you really are? The chit chat section can be used this way, and if you want to let people know, then you must accept the receiving part, not only the giving part, at least in a forum.

I liked ChibiHime's idea. But if it happens, you'll have to deal with people interacting with you. Like in the writer's lounge or the artwork gallery.

And cronomage389 is right, I forgot about dm.su's thread. And if I remember well, it was in the chit chat section, but once again, forumers could react to what he wrote.

Whaaa I hope what I wanted to say was clearly expressed, I don't always know how to exactly say what I think >_<;;

[Gizmo]

I'm really sorry, but I don't understand why the fact to write about yourself everyday would improve the forum... but I guess it must be me, as I'm not a blog kind of person >_<
"Building your identity within your community", yes of course I'm all for, but where is the "community" part if the forumers can't talk about it with you? I really don't understand, writing a blog is a self-centered action, I don't say it in a negative way at all, but it is.

For me, each function, each thread, each upload on aarin is motivated by the relation to the other. You upload because someone will download, you download because someone uploaded, you write and read threads that will be read and are written by other forumers. Why do you want to write your blog? For a cathartic purpose? You can do that in a real blog. To let people know who you really are? The chit chat section can be used this way, and if you want to let people know, then you must accept the receiving part, not only the giving part, at least in a forum.

You can argue it either way you want, but an AF blog wouldn't simply be for "just writing about yourself everyday." It's a kind of investment -- meaning you invest your thoughts and personal expressions to a more elaborate, personal extent than what the Chit Chat section is currently for. What the Chit Chat section has currently are insufficient, single-thread topical posts that barely scratch the surface of who someone really is.

A blog is an independent tool. It's continuously a product of the forum user. And it's not supposed to be directly for the community. It indirectly improves the community by gradually building a more richer one. It's a means of the community (meaning it's a tool made by the forum) that facilitates your own individual interest in it. By investing your forum identity to a more personal, self-created extent into AF, the more you appreciate AF. So, by way of your own investment, it improves the AF community by getting people to care more about their AF forum identities. It assists in building a genuine online persona that contributes to the overall functioning of the AF forum.

Consider: right now, AF currently has over 100,000+ members, but only about 10&#37; are actually active. Who are the rest of the 90%? A part of the reason why this is is what AF uses currently to increase forum participation is purely surface-level and rather superficial. We have topics in the Chit Chat section posted by someone without a face to them, and others with anonymous identities reply. Who are these people? Granted, the minority of users (the 10%) actually do invest in their forum. But what would make a better forum is one that provokes more of the uncaring 90% to invest in it. Investing in a blog, or providing means for getting forum users to build more of themselves into their online identities, is a great way to do this.

An another example to illustrate my point further: say someone writes a fanfic and posts it in the fanfic section. Like a blog entry, a fanfic is a personal work that you upload and post for the community to read. Releasing your personal work unto a public audience is a kind of investment of yourself you place into the forum. You are placing a product of your self-creative capacity into your online identity. In other words, your online identity is no longer a faceless anonymous. It becomes an identity that wrote that fanfic--an author and a creative person that's more than just its username. Whatever features are written in the fanfic, the audiences judges it as a part of the author. This is akin to writing in a blog. The audience of the blog--members of the AF community--is reading into the genuine aspects of who this username's identity is.

With that, writing a fanfic is also an independent process. People write fanfics mostly for themselves, and he or she posts it online for others to read so they can receive feedback -- meaning, finding which parts of their work is in need of rewriting or clarity, or if their story is interesting/not interesting, etc. I don't know many people who write fanfics for purely the sake of others unless their satisfaction benefits himself/herself. Blogs also involve this type of interaction and communication. Audiences of blogs interpret and judge the blogger. Bloggers write about themselves, but as a part of the AF community fabric. Blogging is not just a cathartic, self-centered enterprise. It requires an audience who, in return of the author's blogging, becomes to know the identity better.

Replies/comments to entries and responses by the blog's readers surely could be a way for readers to respond. If there is no feature that could be installed to do this for each blog entry, then readers could reply by way of the Visitor's Message page, could they not?

... if you want to let people know, then you must accept the receiving part, not only the giving part, at least in a forum.

This relates to what I wrote earlier. A blog needs an audience. A blog within the AF community requires an AF audiences. People who write blogs read blogs. Having an AF blog would not make people suddenly stop caring about the forum. That would be the opposite of what I think would happen: more people do start to care, because more of their individual thoughts they invest into their forum personas. And the audience aren't just those without blogs, but people also with blogs and with their own forum identities. This allows more genuine connections to be made with others, it allows connections with their identities and not with "usernames." And by way of this, the more the forum's participation increases. The more people involved in the forum means more forum interaction (giving and receiving). Does that make sense?

Furthermore, I doubt there are many people with an interest in fanfics who only write them and never read any. However, for the few exceptions, doesn't their posting their fanfic online be considered a contribution to the forum? The same would go for blog entries too - even if the blogger doesn't care to read others' blogs, their own blog entires contribute to the benefit of the audience. Because they are still giving to the forum by way of their personal thoughts and ideas. You can say it doesn't matter or that you don't care, but even so, it is still engaging the blogger within the AF forum.

And cronomage389 is right, I forgot about dm.su's thread. And if I remember well, it was in the chit chat section, but once again, forumers could react to what he wrote.

If the Chit Chat section really is for our personal blogging, then could you image if everyone who wanted to blog posted all their blog entries in it? It wouldn't be a "Chit Chat" section no longer for general topics. It'd be "everyone's Blog" section. The Chit Chat section does not sufficiently serve as an adequate outlet for individual bloggers.



Also, one more thing. Installing an actual blog for every AF member is close to impossible with this many users and limited resources. However, I think an AF mini-blog for every user could fulfill the objectives I wrote above with the reasons that I've explained.

Sorry for the super long response, but I wanted to make my points as detailed as possible.

[Demeter]

@Gizmo:

I understand what you mean. I’m not convinced (at all, especially about the indirect improvement of the community) but I understand your point.
But let me be sceptical about one thing: I think, I’m pretty sure in fact, that the blog function will not raise the number of active forumers. The non active forumers are usually downloaders, they registered and visit aarin only to download. Why would they suddenly feel like doing anything else? O_o;; When you look at the forumers’ “about me” section, you notice that there are only very few (comparing to the number of forumers) who actually bother to write something substantial. So I guess only very few people would be regular bloggers (which means that your idea is maybe do-able btw).

The fiction and artworks sections are a little bit different, as there is feedback. People write to say what they think about the work, and the posters are waiting for them to do that (interaction).

ChibiHime’s idea was good, but after a little reflection, I don’t know if the Writer’s Lounge is really the right place, as I’m not sure writing blog-like can be considered as artistic (I’m not a specialist , so I might say a really big stupidity >_<)

All in all, as we can say what we think about your suggestion, I don’t think I’d be interested by a blog function. I’m not really into talking about my everyday life and I don’t have time anyway >__<;;
But once again, if forumers are really into this, I wish you the best of luck ^___^

Ps: thank you Gizmo for your patience, your explanations, your arguments, the discussion was very interesting m(_ _)m

[Gizmo]

@Gizmo:
But let me be sceptical about one thing: I think, I’m pretty sure in fact, that the blog function will not raise the number of active forumers. The non active forumers are usually downloaders, they registered and visit aarin only to download. Why would they suddenly feel like doing anything else? O_o;;

There is a possibility forum interaction won't be changed. However, in spite of that, even considering just the few active members, it'd still bring more depth into their forum identities -- still contribute to the better development of the individual member's forum identity by making it more genuine than what we have currently -- wouldn't it?

I think that is adequate for giving this option a try. A testing, at least.

The fiction and artworks sections are a little bit different, as there is feedback. People write to say what they think about the work, and the posters are waiting for them to do that (interaction).

Couldn't we achieve a similar level of interaction with a comments/responses feature for blog entries?

Ps: thank you Gizmo for your patience, your explanations, your arguments, the discussion was very interesting m(_ _)m

As to you, thanks for your interest in the matter and your comments! Though, I hope the discussion's far from over -- I'd still like to know what others have to say about it!

[Artemis Moonsong]

Again, I kind of agree with Demeter (I think ... wow, long posts, guys ) I don't see why we would need blogs; I have a myspace and facebook, but that's for my real life friends, I don't really feel the need to talk about myself to strangers, haha

Yeah I was thinking of the chit chat thread, too, it's funny that it was brought up ... people start all kinds of weird threads there; it's a free for all, so if you want people to know more about you, I think you could just post a thread titled "A little about me" LOL

omg I love ChibiHime's idea; at least that way it would be interactive, and by the way, wasn't it Shiggy who was/is chronicling the misadventures of his college life?!

[synnesai]

sounds pretty cool....((I was actually thinking about this before I came back ahhaha!))

but after reading some comments....I think it would be trouble some - besides, isn't that why we put inks in our sigs liking back to our own blogs?? ^^;; I think....if people wanna see what's up in my life, just hit me up on my livejournal, I talk about myself there....plus like what demeter said......a lot of ppl just lurk around the download place >.o

unless we start linking download links in our blogs - I doubt they will be interested in that function xD

but it would be pretty peachy keen if we did have blogs xD

[Gizmo]

Again, I kind of agree with Demeter (I think ... wow, long posts, guys ) I don't see why we would need blogs; I have a myspace and facebook, but that's for my real life friends, I don't really feel the need to talk about myself to strangers, haha

That's the problem I've been trying to address with this suggestion. People wouldn't be "strangers" if they invested more of their ideas and expressions within their AF identities.

Yeah I was thinking of the chit chat thread, too, it's funny that it was brought up ... people start all kinds of weird threads there; it's a free for all, so if you want people to know more about you, I think you could just post a thread titled "A little about me" LOL

But could you imagine if the Chit Chat section really was for our personal blogging? It wouldn't be a "Chit Chat" section no longer for general/free-for-all topics. It'd be "everyone's Blog" section.

The Chit Chat section is not an equivalent or even an adequate substitute for user blogs - the kind that I've mentioned. The Chit Chat section does not sufficiently serve as an adequate outlet for individual bloggers, it has its own purpose.

[Artemis Moonsong]

That's the problem I've been trying to address with this suggestion. People wouldn't be "strangers" if they invested more of their ideas and expressions within their AF identities.

Well, I mean strangers in a sense that you will never meet anybody here, so, like, how invested do you expect people you've never met to be in your day-to-day life

But could you imagine if the Chit Chat section really was for our personal blogging? It wouldn't be a "Chit Chat" section no longer for general/free-for-all topics. It'd be "everyone's Blog" section.

The Chit Chat section is not an equivalent or even an adequate substitute for user blogs - the kind that I've mentioned. The Chit Chat section does not sufficiently serve as an adequate outlet for individual bloggers, it has its own purpose.

The chat section is unmoderated ... haha, you can really put anything there if you want As long as it doesn't break the rules.

I dunno, still seems like it's using up unnecessary resources ... and just more work for Dai-kun to set up and maintain, and he's not even finished fixing the pre-existing problems. I still say that a blog is a personal website, and this here is a public forum ... wait does "this here" make me sound like a hick?!