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Is this site dying?

04 Oct 2015 00:30 #44393 by pithlit
Is this site dying? was created by pithlit
What is going on with the traffic at this site.

There have been no new stories in over a month.

Was there a move to another site that I missed?

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04 Oct 2015 01:03 #44394 by Caylane
Replied by Caylane on topic Is this site dying?
The forums are as active as they've been for awhile now, just a lack of new stories is all, lack of inspiration or real life is calling our talented writers :)

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04 Oct 2015 01:41 #44395 by fats
Replied by fats on topic Is this site dying?
The site is not dying, it's going through a dry period, we've had them in the past and we will have them again in the future.

Caylane is correct the forums are still busy, Once the site is re-uploaded with all the patches in place, I'll post some screen shots of the site stats so that people can see what the numbers are, I thought that the numbers would be very low but they are rock solid.

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04 Oct 2015 03:44 #44399 by TwiceOnThursdays
Replied by TwiceOnThursdays on topic Is this site dying?

pithlit wrote: What is going on with the traffic at this site.

There have been no new stories in over a month.

Was there a move to another site that I missed?


Im going to make the observation that not a single story in the side bar has more than one comment. And only one story has a pithlit comment.
Most artists create to get some kind of feedback from users, and overall, Superwomanmania doesn't seem to do a good job of that. This isn't an an attack on pithlit, it's merely an observation of fact (and I'm so far behind I've not read anything in the sidebar, so I've not commented on anything. I don't have any moral high ground here!)

Comments do seem to go up when a forum post is created, I'm not sure why that is. So maybe if you REALLY like a story,start a forum threat about it.

Personally, I feel I've gotten some awesome feedback from here, so I'm not whining about anything. (Plus it's not a primary motivation factor for me.) It seems rare when a story will get 3-4 comments (I don't include comments from the author).

Having spoken a lot of artists -- they internally translate that as "people hate my work, why should I bother".

So if you find you're missing the stories, and this is for EVERYONE, perhaps you should honor the effort the artists took with a few minutes of your time and make a comment. It takes HOURS and HOURS to write any story. If it gave you pleasure to read it, a few minutes for a comment isn't asking much. PLUS, it's something you can do to encourage MORE STORIES. If you like something COMMENT ON IT.

(I do notice if a forum post is made, people are more likely to comment. I don't know why this is.)
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04 Oct 2015 04:21 #44400 by www1969
Replied by www1969 on topic Is this site dying?

TwiceOnThursdays wrote: (I do notice if a forum post is made, people are more likely to comment. I don't know why this is.)


Intuitively, the forum is the place you go to talk about things, and the library is the place you go to read.

I'm as guilty as anybody about not commenting on the library side of this place, and I imagine I could work a little harder to do so. But frankly, I don't post a lot anyway and I'm not sure why anyone would be all that interested in my opinion. There's also the second issue of posting something negative, or even perceived as negative by a thin-skinned author, and whether that's discouraging to the process.

I think really good stories get the feedback that authors are looking for, but we're not as likely to make a point of giving feedback to the average ones. So yeah, if you want a greater number of stories, you should probably encourage the average ones. And why not? Most of anything is average at best. But you're right, it's something we as a group will have to be proactive about.

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04 Oct 2015 05:01 - 04 Oct 2015 05:07 #44401 by castor
Replied by castor on topic Is this site dying?
As a kinda prolific writer, i have been very busiy on a movie project here and not had the time to get stories up(i actually do have a couple of stories-but there on a hard drive that is in a dead computer that...again not had the time to get spinning) will get back to it and the end of Atomica, and hopefully when the muse comes to rewrite the 20,000 word final chapter of SP(which also got eaten by my computer and can't get back).

Do have two non related stories that i may get up in a bit.

Beyond it i find this site endlessly inspiring to work with and and really am glad for you guys here-it really has helped my writing in genre and non genre stuff and gives me so many ideas to work i am so happy, even though for me its been a kind of rough couple of years.
Last edit: 04 Oct 2015 05:07 by castor.
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04 Oct 2015 09:16 #44402 by Caylane
Replied by Caylane on topic Is this site dying?

TwiceOnThursdays wrote:

pithlit wrote: What is going on with the traffic at this site.

There have been no new stories in over a month.

Was there a move to another site that I missed?


Im going to make the observation that not a single story in the side bar has more than one comment. And only one story has a pithlit comment.
Most artists create to get some kind of feedback from users, and overall, Superwomanmania doesn't seem to do a good job of that. This isn't an an attack on pithlit, it's merely an observation of fact (and I'm so far behind I've not read anything in the sidebar, so I've not commented on anything. I don't have any moral high ground here!)

Comments do seem to go up when a forum post is created, I'm not sure why that is. So maybe if you REALLY like a story,start a forum threat about it.

Personally, I feel I've gotten some awesome feedback from here, so I'm not whining about anything. (Plus it's not a primary motivation factor for me.) It seems rare when a story will get 3-4 comments (I don't include comments from the author).

Having spoken a lot of artists -- they internally translate that as "people hate my work, why should I bother".

So if you find you're missing the stories, and this is for EVERYONE, perhaps you should honor the effort the artists took with a few minutes of your time and make a comment. It takes HOURS and HOURS to write any story. If it gave you pleasure to read it, a few minutes for a comment isn't asking much. PLUS, it's something you can do to encourage MORE STORIES. If you like something COMMENT ON IT.

(I do notice if a forum post is made, people are more likely to comment. I don't know why this is.)


This is something I should have realized awhile ago, I'll definitely comment more!
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04 Oct 2015 10:14 #44403 by Woodclaw
Replied by Woodclaw on topic Is this site dying?

pithlit wrote: What is going on with the traffic at this site.

There have been no new stories in over a month.

Was there a move to another site that I missed?


It's not the first time SWM got a dry run for a month or more, up to two or so years ago this was far less noticeable because the workshops provided a semi-constant supply of stories. It's a thing that happens, especially when a site tries to be selective about what to publish and what not. I have to say that, compared to other sites in the genre, SWM tend to be more selective both before and after the submission.

TwiceOnThursdays wrote: Im going to make the observation that not a single story in the side bar has more than one comment. And only one story has a pithlit comment.
Most artists create to get some kind of feedback from users, and overall, Superwomanmania doesn't seem to do a good job of that. This isn't an an attack on pithlit, it's merely an observation of fact (and I'm so far behind I've not read anything in the sidebar, so I've not commented on anything. I don't have any moral high ground here!)

Comments do seem to go up when a forum post is created, I'm not sure why that is. So maybe if you REALLY like a story,start a forum threat about it.

Personally, I feel I've gotten some awesome feedback from here, so I'm not whining about anything. (Plus it's not a primary motivation factor for me.) It seems rare when a story will get 3-4 comments (I don't include comments from the author).

Having spoken a lot of artists -- they internally translate that as "people hate my work, why should I bother".

So if you find you're missing the stories, and this is for EVERYONE, perhaps you should honor the effort the artists took with a few minutes of your time and make a comment. It takes HOURS and HOURS to write any story. If it gave you pleasure to read it, a few minutes for a comment isn't asking much. PLUS, it's something you can do to encourage MORE STORIES. If you like something COMMENT ON IT.

(I do notice if a forum post is made, people are more likely to comment. I don't know why this is.)


I think that Twice nailed it on the head, in the past we lost some authors (not going to name anyone) because of this. It's normal that after the first chapters of an ongoing series the readers tend to lose interest, especially if the chapters are very spaced, but for an author this can be devastating. Like it or not an author is an ego-driven creature, to what extent might vary, who spend hours trying to conceive something that satisfy his taste, but also is palatable to others, there's nothing more devastating for an author to receive indifference from his readers. Submitting a story is scary because it's like putting a piece of you out in the open, exposed to the critiques of others, but not getting any critique is far worst.

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04 Oct 2015 11:44 #44404 by SHTL
Replied by SHTL on topic Is this site dying?
agree, many factors contribute, some uberposters have their right hiatus and probably many of us are very focused on this dream of supergirl that is finally true.
SHTL

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04 Oct 2015 13:02 - 07 Oct 2015 12:01 #44405 by Sarge395
Replied by Sarge395 on topic Is this site dying?
I look and see:

Fuerza movie underway
Castors movie project Duo gaining steam
My own costume project and personal photoshoot with Katie going strong
Jessica Jones hype
Wicked City Girls doing well

oh, and all the buzz over a new freaking Supergirl series with Melissa Benoist!

etc.
Last edit: 07 Oct 2015 12:01 by Sarge395.
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05 Oct 2015 16:01 - 05 Oct 2015 16:02 #44410 by brantley
Replied by brantley on topic Is this site dying?
I don't have any new stories here, so as far as that goes I can't complain about lack of feedback. But I rarely get feedback from updates about stories at the Bright Empire either here or at the Aurora Universe Readers Group. And yet people DO read them, according to my stats counter. It could be that the kind of people who used to post comments are now busy with Facebook or Twitter or whatever; if so, the problem surely isn't limited to sites about superwomen.

--Brantley
Last edit: 05 Oct 2015 16:02 by brantley.

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05 Oct 2015 20:42 #44415 by lfan
Replied by lfan on topic Is this site dying?
To the OP's question, the site has been going through a lull of sorts in terms of stories. 'Why' I cannot say, but I share in the OP's disappointment of "no new stuff" in a while, but realize -- as a sometime fiction contributor -- that I am to 'blame' as well since I haven't published anything in a while.

I can only speak fro myself, but inspiration to write strikes me like a bolt of lightning -- about as powerful and unfortunately of late, about as often. Unfortunately, as with many I'm sure, real life takes precedent and my creative endeavours suffer in the backseat. I won't go into the litany of excuses -- some valid, some pathetic -- but, it happens. I'm currently in a desolate creative wasteland with my Priya series on extended hiatus and the second part of Super Tink somewhere in literary limbo. I'm confident I'll get back to them sometime, but I cannot say when.

For me personally, I love to get feedback, but -- if I'm being honest -- it does not drive whether I finish something or not. For me, that has to come from within. I never understood why people take the lack of comments so personally -- as an indictment they people don't like their stuff -- but I know its happened here. I tell authors, especially in this genre, to write something they like, as they are not gonna get a slew of feedback within our genre. Why, I don't know, but it just seems the norm.

How do we make it better? That is the $64K question! I would love to get the feedback and comments that the peril sites or GTS sites get, but it never seems to happen. We get mostly lurkers here, at the rate of about 1000 visits per day (yeah, I know all those aren't unique people), but most do not seem to contribute in the forums or lend comments. I spent a fairly significant time on the boards and try to post a variety of "ubergirl topics" and discussion points, but aside from a handful of posters, it doesn't really pull people out in the open or even lend to lengthy discussions which I find sad sometime.

The purpose of SWM has always been to be a "community" and not just a static repository of stories. Our audience has dwindled over the years with a lot of the more active and vocal mainstays (e.g. Greg, Bully, CF, Yags, Murdough, Argo, etc) slipping into the background, and newer users like Castor and ToT have joined our ranks and been great contributors. I hold hope that the premier of Supergirl (and Jessica Jones) will usher in a new generation of "ubergirl fans" that will find our site and realize they are not alone. :)

ElF
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07 Oct 2015 03:07 #44443 by circes_cup
Replied by circes_cup on topic Is this site dying?
As others have mentioned, writing stories is incredibly time consuming and posting them is a lonely moment ("will anybody like this?"). If we want to see more stories on the site, we can do that by motivating the authors more effectively. And we can better motivate the authors by offering up more robust commentary on their stories.

"More robust" commentary can mean several things. As has been mentioned frequently, one of the best things you can do is simply increase number of comments you offer up. If you liked something about a story, you should say it. You may wonder whether doing so makes a difference. But believe me, it does.

But there is another way to positively impact an author: go beyond a simple "liked it!" and actually engage the author in conversation. Why did you handle the story one way and not the other way? I'm struggling with the fact that you made this character so conflicted; why did you do that? Thoughtful questions are a pleasure to receive because they show that somebody actually read the story carefully rather than just skimmed it for their favorite parts. Thoughtful questions show that the story actually had an impact on the reader, that it stayed with them, that it provoked thoughts and dilemnas. And thoughtful questions lay the groundwork for interesting dialogue that keeps the story alive for the person that wrote it. In short, don't just comment. Engage.

Note that everything I've mentioned here does not include a reference to "constructive criticism." You might think that your criticism is constructive, but there's no guarantee that I will. Most "constructive" critiques leave me irritated and confused. A well-phrased question, offered from a place of humility rather than judgment, will do more to alert me to the weakness of my story than any critique.

As Larafan said, we're a smaller community than some, and that will always affect the volume of stories on the site. But I think we can get more out of our existing stable of authors if we do a better job of engaging them.

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07 Oct 2015 03:24 #44444 by ace191
Replied by ace191 on topic Is this site dying?
All authors like positive feedback. Negative, not so much. I have a couple of good ideas that I just have been too lazy to act on. I quit worrying about feedback a long time ago. If the " Hitmeter" showed that 500 people or more had read what I had written, then I reasoned that it was more than worth my time to do it.

Marknew made a suggestion to me maybe 10 years ago so I guess it's about time that I get around to it.

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07 Oct 2015 04:59 #44449 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Is this site dying?
I've always thought of positive feedback as stroking the ego, and constructive feedback as feeding the brain. The first is much more pleasant, but the second is far more useful, presuming you are seriously trying to become a better writer.

But SWM isn't a writer's workshop.

I suppose I'm not alone when I praise the stories I like, and say nothing about the one's I don't. There was a time (before SWM) when I spent a lot of time encouraging and editing other people's work -- if they showed rare talent and were truly devoted to improving their craft. That kind of support requires endless hours. I don't have the energy for it anymore.

Anyway, just being frank.

Shadar

ace191 wrote: All authors like positive feedback. Negative, not so much. I have a couple of good ideas that I just have been too lazy to act on. I quit worrying about feedback a long time ago. If the " Hitmeter" showed that 500 people or more had read what I had written, then I reasoned that it was more than worth my time to do it.

Marknew made a suggestion to me maybe 10 years ago so I guess it's about time that I get around to it.

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07 Oct 2015 12:05 #44453 by Woodclaw
Replied by Woodclaw on topic Is this site dying?

shadar wrote: I've always thought of positive feedback as stroking the ego, and constructive feedback as feeding the brain. The first is much more pleasant, but the second is far more useful, presuming you are seriously trying to become a better writer.

But SWM isn't a writer's workshop.

I suppose I'm not alone when I praise the stories I like, and say nothing about the one's I don't. There was a time (before SWM) when I spent a lot of time encouraging and editing other people's work -- if they showed rare talent and were truly devoted to improving their craft. That kind of support requires endless hours. I don't have the energy for it anymore.

Anyway, just being frank.

Shadar

ace191 wrote: All authors like positive feedback. Negative, not so much. I have a couple of good ideas that I just have been too lazy to act on. I quit worrying about feedback a long time ago. If the " Hitmeter" showed that 500 people or more had read what I had written, then I reasoned that it was more than worth my time to do it.

Marknew made a suggestion to me maybe 10 years ago so I guess it's about time that I get around to it.


For me the issue of feedback is that it need to have some structure, otherwise it's worthless. I prefer someone giving me hard time and drilling a new one to my story in an elaborate and constructive way, over someone providing just a "I like it" comment.

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08 Oct 2015 17:50 #44473 by inactive
Replied by inactive on topic Is this site dying?
I've expressed strong opinions on positive versus negative versus constructive feedback in the past. I'm now of the opinion that everything I've ever said on the topic is wrong.

I will solicit feedback from people whose opinions I trust while I'm working on something, and I'm always interested to hear people's perspective on a story - especially if it picks up on something i hadn't intended - but I'm not looking for drive-by critiques of my writing.

Shadar is right that we're not a writer's workshop. Even the workshops aren't - for better or worse - which took me a while to realize.

I don't really have a point, so I'm just going to trail off here...

- GeekSeven

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08 Oct 2015 19:40 #44477 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic Is this site dying?
Best way I've found to improve as an author is to identify a favorite published author, someone whose style you really like. Study and try to break down how that author does things. The kind of dialog they write, Everything.

Then go an write your own story, or at least the first few pages, while trying to emulate that style.

Then go back and read a somewhat related passage from your favorite author, then go read your story again. Go back and forth identifying what makes them different and what makes the professional's writing better. Then rewrite yours as many times as you have to, working to make it closer to your favorite author's style.

Alternatively, take a favorite scene from someone else, and without referring to it, write that scene your own way. Then compare those two pieces of work and try to make yours as good as the pro's. By writing the same scene, you get to focus on style and technique as opposed to content.

If you have an open mind and a willingness to work, you can learn a lot by doing this. And it doesn't bruise the ego as easily as trying to get someone else to provide the feedback.

I also often find that if I radically reformat a story, going with very large fonts for instance, and then re-reading it, I can sometimes gain a different perspective. Or as I often do, let it sit for a couple of days, then smoke a joint (legal to do where I live) and reread it. The different perspective can be very revealing and useful.

Other techniques may work as well. Trick is to come at your work from a different angle so you see it fresh (and presumably more like other people will see it), and be able to objectively compare it to something you really like.

Once you get your style and approach and characterization tuned up and working as best you can, then you can write the rest of the story.

Yeah... it's hard work. Damned hard. But so personally rewarding when you get it mostly right.

Shadar

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09 Oct 2015 14:28 #44498 by brantley
Replied by brantley on topic Is this site dying?
Virtually no feedback except on my stats, counter, and while (as usual) Evelyn York's "Fit for a Supergirl" led the pack yesterday, the others in the top 25 are seemingly random; SLEEPING BEAUTY dates back to 2004, and has rarely shown up at all in recent years, but here it is number 2. And it's a great story, thanks in part to Shadar, as I mention in Behind the Stories. I'd been stuck on how to continue the story after the protagonists got into a jam.

<<Then Shadar made a casual remark about the Vendorians. I'd heard about Vendor, the legendary planet of steelmakers and weapons makers that had been destroyed by the Aureans. I'd even heard about the Frau'lisets, their android defenders. But I'd always believed that they were extinct. Oh no, said Shadar, in response to a query about a reference to them in the draft of McCloud's Daughters , they're still out there, a bunch of industrial gypsies roaming from system to system. But he'd never written anything about them; all he could say was that he imagined them as looking a bit like Santa's elves.

Eureka! Suddenly the path was open before me, and I could see where it led, right to the end. I quickly tweaked Shadar's elf image, and all sorts of other things began to spring into my head, beginning with the Vendorians' speech patterns. "RĂ©gime change" came to me the minute Izaht popped through Perry the Rodent's door, and the first scene aboard Izaht's ship quickly followed. Ideas kept coming, not only about the Vendorians and the Vauld (a term Shadar coined on the spot) but other aspects of the story.>>

File Name Number of requests Number of requests in the last 7 days Percentage of bytes transferred in the last 7 days
1. /fit.htm 17,904 23 0.27%
2. /Beauty.html 2,975 18 1.13%
3. /new.htm 47,599 18 1.44%
4. /Awaken.htm 2,834 15 0.52%
5. /Scent.htm 2,015 14 0.06%
6. /Throneofthegods.htm 4,572 14 1.13%
7. /cruel.htm 4,057 14 0.62%
8. /Katie-shop.htm 2,039 14 0.59%
9. /ShoreLeave1.htm 1,968 14 2.03%
10. /Katie-orders.htm 4,248 13 0.42%
11. /Asylum.htm 1,717 13 0.12%
12. /Aurora-2.htm 1,511 13 1.49%
13. /Aftermath.pdf 1,225 13 2.42%
14. /jordantaylor/Obsolete.html 1,664 13 0.16%
15. /Aurora-1.htm 3,404 13 1.87%
16. /whats.htm 2,273 13 0.15%
17. /OV_1.htm 2,820 12 0.30%
18. /Harvest.html 1,249 12 0.09%
19. /OV_5.htm 1,930 12 0.49%
20. /Peril.htm 12,402 12 0.12%
21. /Feline.htm 2,188 12 0.23%
22. /Pictures.html 2,320 12 0.33%
23. /OV_4.htm 1,884 12 0.14%
24. /OV_3.htm 2,844 12 0.34%
25. /EvilDays.htm 1,644 12 0.19%

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