red_satin_doll: (Chosen One - purple)
red_satin_doll ([personal profile] red_satin_doll) wrote2014-02-05 03:38 pm

Tsunami of Polls #1 : Any interest in a comm devoted to Buffy and the women of the Buffyverse?

#1 - Thank you to whomever gifted me with a temporary paid account last month. Now I can create polls! Oh wonderful Anonymous Benefactor, you have no idea what you have unleashed upon this fandom.
#2 - Thanks also the the lovely [livejournal.com profile] velvetwhip for coming up with the insanely awesome title/tag phrase "tsunami of polls" and allowing me to snag it.

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The other day I was having a conversation with [livejournal.com profile] wickedbish in which I may have mentioned that most fandoms and fandom activity, in my experience, are focused primarily on the male characters. I assumed this was common knowledge. Except that he didn't know that. Because, you see, Ryan's favorite character is Willow (see #2 in his list of "13 Witches I Fucking Love"); he still mourns Tara (as do I; shared grief is comforting) and Buffy is one of his heros. The Gift has convinced him to not commit suicide "so many times". He's all about the ladies, bless.

You know what they say about "assuming".

Oops.

 Then [livejournal.com profile] clockwork_hart1 (Lucy) popped into the conversation and in her brilliant, enthusiastic way suggested the idea of a comm dedicated to Buffy, the other women in the 'verse and their interrelationships - complete with a name (Summers Blood) and a banner (she's working on it - is there no end to the young woman's talents?) and three-part harmony. What that might actually look like or what interest there would actually be in such a thing was a matter of conjecture. So I'm channeling my inner Willow (Research Gal) for my very first poll.

What say you, Gentle Reader? Based just on the title of this post, you probably know who you are and how you stand.

(And as this is my first poll, please let me know if it functions ok. And I apologize for the wonky formatting. The LJ instructions for poll-making are vague and confusing at best. So says I.)

[Poll #1955410][Poll #1955410]

[identity profile] red-satin-doll.livejournal.com 2014-02-05 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
This is very good information thank you! I'm actually thinking about making that a separate post "What's involved in running a comm? Any advice? etc" I've been a moderator on a message board/forum (in another fandom) that a friend of mine still runs but LJ is another bird.

I'm definitely under the impression that posting constantly and consistently is important, as with blogs.

People are generally passive until there is momentum, however much they say its a great idea at the start,

Definitely true - even in "real life" groups. And I've been in situations where I've thrown out ideas and no one is interested at the time in participating (or there is a lack of resources etc) then later on down the road soneone else comes up with the same ideas or runs with the ball - perhaps someone who is better at organizing or mobilizing, or has more energy/ambition.... it can be frustrating at times.

[identity profile] bogwitch.livejournal.com 2014-02-05 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooh Servalan! Now there's a woman!

I've been a mod of a number of comms, some successful, some not. I think the key is keeping it in people's thoughts. Fag Ends is good that way because it has a posting structure that ensures we have to keep posting to it. Discussion posts and competitive challenges I've found are the best for getting people involved and the rest should come because people will post to somewhere that they know is active, though there is no guarantees given the LJ drop off - I tried to launch a Vampire Diaries sister comm to Fag Ends and that tanked.

If you want to ask me anything specific, feel free although the cat is telling me I will have to go to bed soon.

[identity profile] red-satin-doll.livejournal.com 2014-02-06 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
I snagged that icon from [livejournal.com profile] debris4spike isn't it gorgeous? She does tons of Blakes7 icons along with Star Trek Voyager, Buffyverse, etc. I haven't seen the series since college in two decades but when I saw her Servalan icons I had to have one. (That woman's VOICE, dear god....The perfect voice. Will croon and sing and put you to sleep right before snapping your neck.)

(Of course Netflix doesn't carry Blakes7 *pout*)

Fag Ends is good that way because it has a posting structure that ensures we have to keep posting to it.

Fag Ends is probably one of my main templates in my head for a successful comm; obviously there is a lot of work involved in coming up with those prompts. (in a way my other template is My buffyholism is showing, even though that wasn't a comm, but it had some qualities I'm interested in - mix of topics but still focused in specific areas, regular updates etc.)

I tried to launch a Vampire Diaries sister comm to Fag Ends and that tanked.

Is most of TVD activity elsewhere (such as DW?)

[identity profile] bogwitch.livejournal.com 2014-02-07 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
The colour is good for such an old show. I haven't seen most of it (I have a couple of eps) for about 20 years either. I used to be in the fanclub.

A lot of gossiping goes into the FE prompts as well! I think a weekly discussion posts and maybe weeks dedicated to certain characters might work.

Most of TVD seems to be on Tumblr. It appears to be in the middle of a vicious ship war.

[identity profile] red-satin-doll.livejournal.com 2014-02-07 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
The colour is good for such an old show

Deb does some wonderful icons but the clarity and quality of this one in particular is just superb. (My template shrinks everything slightly so it doesn't quite do it justice):


I think a weekly discussion posts and maybe weeks dedicated to certain characters might work.

I was actually thinking of something along those lines. It's interesting to look at the poll results re: which characters are people interested in discussing because the answers are pretty well-spread out across the board. (As opposed to the "favorite character" responses.)

It appears to be in the middle of a vicious ship war.

*brandishes cross and holy water* I remember when I first got into this fandom hearing phrases like "shipper wars" and wondering WTF? Oh to be that innocent again....