fandomsecrets | (no subject)

The new commenting system on LJ sucks, I think we can all agree (and all the other prospective design changes seem to be speeding it down the path of no return). Knowing LJ, it's probably not going to change no matter how much anybody complains, and as this comm is heavily based on user comments, it's probably time to consider moving. Dreamwidth is the closest to LJ's old format and has a large fandom base, and seems the best alternative for now.

So -

[Poll #1804842]

Other thoughts?

(As a note, I'm completely willing to either stay or move. Updating the comm is easy enough for me either way.)

ETA - It's not only about subject lines. Others have written up potential problems better than I could:
http://lj-releases.livejournal.com/71858.html?thread=7005874#t7005874
http://lj-releases.livejournal.com/71858.html?thread=6261682#t6261682
ETA 4 - http://lj-releases.livejournal.com/71858.html?thread=7952050#t7952050

ETA 2 - For those worried about possibly needing to make DW accounts to comment, if a move happens: you don't need one! OpenID will let you comment as an LJ user (in the same way Facebook users can comment on LJ).

ETA 3 - For those worried about missing updates: I can crosspost to LJ to let you know a post is up, I don't mind that (it's like a minute of extra work, no problem) - if the DW move happens though, the comments would be over there.

ETA 5 - Apparently, this is what we're getting next year.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've already moved craptons of stuff over to DW. I have no problem with moving more... Also, if F!S moves over there, maybe there will actually be a decent amount of fandom over there that isn't an exclusive "we write about SJ issues in fandom" club. I don't have a problem with that, but DW fandom is really...limiting.

I mean the biggest problem for me aside from the subject lines is that this layout fucks over if I'm trying to use my tiny netbook on anything with more than a few comments. Sorry I don't have a big gaming pc to use all the time, bros :|

Yes, that's why I find it tough to move there completely. It just doesn't seem active enough at all.

The activity there is just so... focused. Like, this fanfic is about women's issues, this fanfic pointedly includes POC, this fanfic deals with the classism inherent in Harry Potter, this fanfic rewrites Transformers acknowledging the male gaze, etc., which I think is cool and great! I just feel like a heel bringing my durrhurrslashbuttsextiemz into that and then being sad when I don't get feedback and stuff.

I've never actually known where people are seeing all the issuefic on DW. Is it, like, Stargate fandom or something, where I think a lot of the earliest DW adopters were hanging out?

I'll admit my fandom's pretty dead over there, but I think that's largely because of fannish inertia and because DW didn't allow mods/maintainers to import entire comms, so even the comms full of folks who wanted to move, couldn't do it without having to start all over.

Now that they're about to open up imports for communities, I think fandom is going to get a lot more active on DW and the ratio of Important Issues to Happy Funtimez is going to shift in a hurry. FS would be part of that shift.

New layout, by the way, lags on my new computer with my nice broadband connection; makes my eyes burn; makes reading long threads damn near intolerable. S2 custom comment pages fix some things and are nice in my quiet personal journal but horrible on busy comms with huge threads because
after a while the
comments compress
down to one
side of
the
page
and
it
suc
ks
.

Yeah, this. Sometimes Tumblr feels like that for me. I just want to be all DID YOU SEE THIS AWESOME THING ON THIS SHOW I LIKE!! PUPPIES!! and some of the people I follow are all SERIOUS ISSUES SERIOUS ISSUES SERIOUS ISSUES LIKE WHAT YOU WANT BUT YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD ABOUT XYANDZ.

See that I don't get at all when people talk about hipstr being so super serious. The people I follow are all lol squids lol fish lol puppies lol askblogs lol crazy insects. It's lovely. Sometimes the serious stuff pops up, but I sometimes just don't reblog it. Tumblr is so nice for me because I can destress from my hectic job.

I think if at least a few big fandom communities up and moved there, the rest would eventually follow suit ... but it's hard to pull off something like that and you'd definitely lose members :/

and you'd definitely lose members :/

that's what happened to scans_daily. it used to be much more active when it was on lj. (the move had nothing to do with lj issues, tho, just ftr.)

i think the only really high traffic community that has ever made a successful move from lj was fandom_wank. it's dying now, but it thrived for years after the move.