Discussion: This comm. What do we want from it? What is possible?

[pink-cass.livejournal.com]

Okay, so it's apparent that frequent updates will be a definite problem here (note: This is a neutrally stated observation, not a complaint. I'm totally including my own nonposting lack of activity in this). However, since jammerlea was so kind to made a sticky post with links to the most important sites to check for updates, plus the fact that the activity in recent update threads was mostly low, I'm not sure if the lack of updates posted directly to the comm is still a problem, or not so much.

In addition to this question, because it got me thinking: What exactly do people expect from or desire for this comm? What would be interesting to most of the members or visitors here? Obviously, one thing this comm is very nice for is fan discussions. We could have more of those. Personally, I like them very much, so if anyone has a good theory or topic for a discussion, please never be afraid of posting it. (I'm not a mod, but I think they would be fine with this. If not, please correct me.)

What else would be interesting for the majority of us? Future events? Should the main comm hold event threads again where chitchat between updates is allowed? There were problems with this in the past, but now that fewer people are around, I think the thread pace could be more managable.
Other ideas? What kind of things do you other members think would be nice to have (and good to create some interaction within the threads)? What do you mods think would be possible, or what do you think might look nice on paper, but actually be a rather bad idea?

Comments

[sealand.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.... I know in other communities they set up group reading or watching events? I recall the live posting was great during events so maybe a rewatch? A weekly FFA for users to post whatever Hetalia-related item they found? Fanart/fanfic/small stuff.

[sammich]

haha.. I just posted an updated post of all the stuff missed. It was hard to keep up since it's the holidays now. Ah well... I'm still gonna try updating here (if no one else does).

Personally I don't mind chitchat in threads. It used to be a problem back when we had massive amounts of fans here, but the Hetalia LJ community is much smaller now. It probably won't overflow.

Discussion threads are probably best for this site anyway since it's a good place have discussions at length unlike Tumblr or other social websites.

I feel like people still visit here, but they're quiet mostly.

[bamboothicket2.livejournal.com]

(This is jammerlea)

The other thing I can think of is maybe having a weekly chit-chat/discussion thread? Could pick a topic or leave it open. But then again it would be awesome if we could consistently post updates and really actually discuss the content there further than just simple comments or thank yous (not that those are bad).

Still open for further ideas.

[turtlelikelemon.livejournal.com]

Hello! Just adding my 2 cents in.

I was thinking maybe someone or a mod here can ask hetascanlations on tumblr to maybe add a link to a discussion thread here to their chapter scanlation post maybe at the end of it or something. Since majority of the fandom has migrated to tumblr, maybe they just needed a reminder that 'hey! this comm's still alive and kickin!' and adding a link to us here will be more accessible for old fans and new fans too instead of them having to look for us because the scanlations posts on tumblr always circulate nonstop. Even if they don't click it at first, at least they know we are here and sooner or later they'll get curious about what's going on coz I know if there's anything we're all excited about and good at, it's the speculation about this and that, etc.

We just start a discussion thread here and then when the comments reach the limit, we'll just ask hetascanlations to use this new discussion thread link and then put a big notice on the previous one that 'DISCUSSION THREAD CONTINUED HERE!' in big bold red letters, just like how the kink meme works. I think this would work instead of making a discussion thread for each chapter since people are lazy and get tired of keeping track of everything. At least with one big one, there's the constant flow of discussion. As for merging the blog updates and world stars chapter discussions, I'm still not sure about that. It's nice to have everyone in the same room, but then these two are completely different things ya know. aaaaah help you guys decide lol. (hmm but then the old rome emperors i have to admit bore me a little SORRY! so that might cause the thread to go downhill a bit so an advantage to have it all in one is that the blog updates really get everyone hyped so the thread will remain active!)

As for the problem of people not having accounts here, I think LJ has already given us the solution. People can use FB, Twitter, OpenID (which I think will be more preferred), and anon too. I think if we keep the thread alive, they'll eventually make a lj account sooner or later. For the time being, maybe someone can make a tutorial about using the openID thing to join the discussions here. Coz the new generation of hetalia fans probably havent heard of lj, we're like ancient rome lol |||Orz

Also, the key is to spread news! We should ask some popular hetalia blogs to spread the word, (yeah they may not be active here tho) but what counts is that thousands of fans follow them and we get exposure, a couple I can think of is owynsama, alfred-f-jones-world-hero, justa-fangirl, iggycat, mochifever, accioharo, aluox, fiveminutemeal (nox), hetaliaandother,kelbora, mano-manu, qichi, sachie-sama, sadisticbrit, seecarrun, zeplerfer, and lots more, i bet rp blogs will support it too! like ya know all we ask is for them to reblog this announcement post of ours of our new discussion thread and tutorial. they love hetalia so im kinda sure they'll be supportive of our efforts to revive and bring that community back.

And add the current disscusson link on the sticky note you already made with all the links. I know there's also the hetaarchive, etc. the unofficial official hetalia blogs if that makes sense, they can spread the word on tumblr too!. hmmm what did i miss... Of course, we make the discussion threads public too!


~~~

Okay, I know all that I wrote is really really REALLY ambitious and too hopeful but I swear guys if we really pull this off and just don't give up, it'll work. especially now that updates are coming at a steady rate, touch it while it iron is hot? or something

I want our fandom's future thinking to be like, 'hey i just read the new scanlated chapter on tumblr, ooh here's the link to discussion thread, CLICK!, let's see what people are saying and i'll join in too!' VOILA! WE JUST CONNECTED TO WORLDS, THE PAST AND THE PRESENT!

[icelilly]

I think going the way with discussions is a great idea and would breath new life into the community. I was much too shy back in the day to partake in them (still sort of am /sobs), but it is something I miss from those days. Despite the fact Tumblr is a blogging community, its format is not fit for discussions in the same way LJ, DW, and even good old-fashioned forums are. Comments come in left, right, and center, and it's hard to keep track of, not to mention things tend to get a bit hostile at times.

I wouldn't mind seeing some topics focused on sharing fic and art recs either. Perhaps there can even be threads between authors and artists to share ideas and collaborate on projects?

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

I don't usually add my two cents in, but after looking at the comments, I decided to. XD

I LIKE that someone at least is keeping up with the new chapter posts, which is very much appreciated!! So is corralling the important links into a sticky.

As for fanworks... I used to post post here, but after getting little to know feedback, it felt like a waste of time. I don't know if anyone else who posts fanworks here feels that way or not; I can only speak for myself. That said, I'd love to see fanworks here! Beautiful art is always welcome & so are well written fics, especially fics that aren't readers. 90% of the stuff over at DA in the Hetalia comms that is written are Character Y x Reader or Character Y x Reader x Character Z. I don't know any anyone here, but as much as I love the character Prussia, I have no desire to read a fic that pairs him up with me. o.0 So I despair of ever seeing a normal fanfic anymore. If we can entice authors here & offer feedback, that'd be awesome.

Maybe having some sort of fest, where everyone either writes or creates artwork based on a theme would attract creative people as well as those who appreciate art & literature. DW is running a SuFin fest at the moment & it was a lot of fun. Or give each character a month & people just submit anything creative as long as that character is the main focus. For example December could be Japan month, so people submit fanart of Japan, whether it's 1p, 2P, neko, or nyo! Stories can be about Japan or one's favorite Japan pairing; all's welcome.

Discussing the latest chapter woudl be nice too. As someone ho doesn't have tumblr, nor do I want it, I missed the whole "Prussia is dying" uproar over there, but I heard it got ugly. ^^; *is glad I missed it* I find that rarely, if ever, happens over here[LJ].

That's all I can think of. Just know that even if people only lurk, or come out with the odd thank you on something of interest, they're there in the shadows. *is one of those lurkers*

[natcat5.livejournal.com]

I would really, really love a general big bang.
I mean, there are tons of pairing specific gift exchanges, but I haven't found evidence of a huge fandom-wide hetalia big bang since 2011.
Basically, what a Bang is authors sign up to write a long fic, generally 5,000-15,000 words over anywhere from a couple of months to a year. After a certain amount of time, they'll post a summary of the fic, maybe a snippet, and then artists will sign up and claim the work of the author they want to work with. It's a first come first serve basis for artist's claims. Then the author and the artist work together for the remainder of the time to come up with a writing+art piece that's posted together.
It's a lot of work to coordinate, but the end results are always fantastic. The Teen Wolf fandom is littered with Big Bangs and I always have fun participating in them or just reading the results.
I really, really want to do a Hetalia big bang. I just don't have experience running one.

[pink-cass.livejournal.com]

Okay, so one suggestion is that we could have a general update discussion thread, where people could come to discuss updates of any kind.
This would mean we could start commenting on updates as soon as they appear - without having to wait until someone can translate and post them.
I think this could work.

Questions:
-Should and could this thread be linked to from Hetascanlations or other major tumblr blogs?
-Should and could it be stickied?
-If not, should we have a new special tag for these kind of threads, and what should it be?

[heyyl0.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree with hosting events here again. That's what drew me to the comm in the first place. It's nice to chitchat with other fans while reacting to updates and whatnot together, and I'm sure there are plenty of tumblr people who would love to join in and have discussions about the events alongside making/reblogging posts.

And traffic isn't as heavy as it used to be, so hopefully event threads wouldn't flood the comm.

[salmagundi-fic.livejournal.com]

Discussions and events would be nice. I'm not very active on LJ because it's been pretty dead for me lately, but I'd love to get back into things more and talk to new people!