A New Direction

Post by **peter** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:16 pm

Ok. This might be contentious idea, but given the circumstances in respect of SRD having finished the Chrons, and the very broad base of posting here on the Watch, might it not be time to consider a ...... 'rebranding' (for want of a better word) ...... of the site. Much more intimate than Facebook, with much better prospects for establishing deeper relationships and a more selective admissions criteria, would it not now be apposite to open our doors to a wider audience by moving away from a 'Chrons only' membership to a more general base of participation. Before I get lynched, of course the Chrons will always figure large here - but if we are to survive and grow is this not a course worthy of consideration?

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:52 pm

Post by **I'm Murrin** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 3:57 pm

What possible draw would this site have for new users without the "place for SRD fans" thing?

Post by **Wosbald** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:11 pm

+JMJ+

Post by **kevinswatch** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:45 am

High Lord Tolkien wrote:No.

Haha!

Seriously, not sure how much room for growth the Watch has. The internet is a whole difference place than it was 15 years ago when we started it.

Personally, I think it's best to keep doing what we do best, which is foster membership for those who share a passion for SRD's works. We may not be large, but at least we share a unique part of the internet.

I'm open to ideas though. Not that I have too much time with all of those poopy diapers.

-jay

Post by **Avatar** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 4:27 am

Yeah, nice as the idea might be, Murrin and Jay are both right. We are what we are. Trying to change that probably wouldn't help...or work I'm afraid.

--A

Post by **peter** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 8:04 am

Ok - it clearly isn't a popular idea [but it's possibly the best response to a thread I've posted for a good while

].

I think the watch has something very special going for it. The community here has a much more personal feel than the 'likes and dislikes' superficiality of Facebook and Twitter. The posting system is easier and more rewarding - and the relationships you can form have a deeper and more lasting impact. Just wanted to see if this could not be built on.

Post by **Avatar** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 4:21 am

We appreciate your intentions Peter.

Thing is, the personal feel is largely the result of years of talking to and arguing with each other, from a very specific common foundation.

Take that away, and bring new members flooding in (assuming it were possible) and we'd likely stomp around muttering how it wasn't personal any more.

Sorry as I am for the current hiatus we're undergoing, it's not unexpected, (given the Chrons are over). And 3 years is apparently considered an exceptionally long lifespan for a forum. We've been going for 16.

Old fans and new devotees of the Chrons will continue to find us, some small portion of them will stick around.

It's one of the reasons it's important to maintain some activity...keeps people checking back, and some of them will start posting.

SRD's new books might bring a new generation of Watchers too.

My advice is keep on keeping on. You can't force these things.

--A

Post by **peter** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 8:11 am

Was that a 'Tangled up in blues' quote there Av?

Of course I'll keep with it: there are few things in life I like better than the sound of my own voice!

One of the problems as I see it is that I just don't think there are that many new fans developing. SRD does not have the benefit of a film to boost him back into the top league of 'cultural awareness' as was the case for TLOTR. I've tried to get numerous young people to read the Chrons and have found it to be a waste of time - even amongst existing 'fantasy fans'. LFB takes stamina, and in an age where peoples attention spans are in the main limited to that which they will apply to a newly visited web-site, the Chrons are a hard ask. There is a real risk that this 'hiatus' will morph into a terminal decline, and if so, so be it - but it would be a shame. The Watch has real qualities totally distinct from it's Chrons association; how often do we all post in the Chrons topics compared to the non-Chrons ones. We may come here for the Chrons in the first place - but we keep coming for many other reasons beyond them.

Post by **Avatar** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 4:31 am

If it was, it was by accident.

Oh, I agree about why we stay, certainly. And the fact is, a terminal decline is a real possibility. And it would be very sad.

But technically, as long as a few of us manage to stick around, we'll be going. and you never know...maybe movies will actually happen one day.

(They'll ruin the Chros you realise.

)

You can't make people like the Chrons...but the people who do like it...well...we're special.

We'll trickle in over time, and as long as something is still happening here...well, it's good enough for as long as it lasts. Every great civilisation declines eventually.

--A

Post by **peter** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:25 am

Amen to that!

Post by **Avatar** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:25 am

Not to mention that every new member is a potential stayer.

--A

Post by **Wosbald** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 12:43 pm

+JMJ+

peter wrote:Was that a 'Tangled up in blues' quote there Av?

Of course I'll keep with it: there are few things in life I like better than the sound of my own voice!

One of the problems as I see it is that I just don't think there are that many new fans developing. SRD does not have the benefit of a film to boost him back into the top league of 'cultural awareness' as was the case for TLOTR. I've tried to get numerous young people to read the Chrons and have found it to be a waste of time - even amongst existing 'fantasy fans'. LFB takes stamina, and in an age where peoples attention spans are in the main limited to that which they will apply to a newly visited web-site, the Chrons are a hard ask. There is a real risk that this 'hiatus' will morph into a terminal decline, and if so, so be it - but it would be a shame. The Watch has real qualities totally distinct from it's Chrons association; how often do we all post in the Chrons topics compared to the non-Chrons ones. We may come here for the Chrons in the first place - but we keep coming for many other reasons beyond them.

Yer overthinking things, methinks.

Imagine if a hypothetical "Lovecraft Enthusiasts of 'Murica" of 40 yrs ago had changed themselves to "The Loose Association of Groovy Guys, Some of Whom May Occasionally and Accidentally Enjoy Lovecraft as a Lark".

They'd be no more, methinks.

40 years ago, a group like this might have met - in person - locally and intermittently. And, over the course of a few hours at a pub or a lounge or a den, almost all that they would have discussed would have been Lovecraft.

But if, instead, they had met - in virtuality - quasi-globally at every minute of every day, you can bet yer sweet bippy they would have been talking about a lot more "other stuff" than Lovecraft.

Talking about "other stuff", even a proportionally overwhelming amount of "other stuff", is not a direct function of SRD obsolescence.

Post by **Avatar** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 4:29 am

Not to mention that, talking so frequently, you eventually have said all that you care to or can about SRD.

(Good grief Wos...you've been here for more than a year now.

Did I miss your anniversary? Or just forget about it? Congrats.

)

--A

Post by **Cord Hurn** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:44 pm

What attracted me to this website was that it was for discussing Stephen R. Donaldson's works, and it's still what makes me come here, mostly. I love the website just the way it is, myself!

Post by **Wosbald** » Sat Apr 16, 2016 1:34 am

+JMJ+

Avatar wrote:Not to mention that, talking so frequently, you eventually have said all that you care to or can about SRD.

I could probably say more about SRD (in fact, I haven't said all-that-much about his work since I've been here), but the kairos would have to be right. It's not something that I could just summon up at will.

What SRD's work really needs is philosophico-theological criticism, much like LOTR received in the years before its "great resurgence". Garnering academic interest in the material would be the biggest hurdle.

---------------------------------------

Avatar wrote:(Good grief Wos...you've been here for more than a year now. Did I miss your anniversary? Or just forget about it? Congrats. )

Thanx!

Post by **Avatar** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:32 am

Wosbald wrote:I could probably say more about SRD (in fact, I haven't said all-that-much about his work since I've been here), but the kairos would have to be right. It's not something that I could just summon up at will.

Well, start doing whatever it is you have to do to align the kairos.

Cord Hurn wrote:What attracted me to this website was that it was for discussing Stephen R. Donaldson's works, and it's still what makes me come here, mostly. I love the website just the way it is, myself!

So do I, because it's for far more than that.

(I barely darken the threshold of the SRD forums these days myself.)

--A

Post by **peter** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:02 pm

The last Chrons polarised opinion to an extent that it became actually quite hard to discuss them in the way the first two sets of books had been. It is to be hoped that in a period, when the dust has [to a degree] settled, there are some really good topics yet to be mined.

Post by **Avatar** » Wed Apr 20, 2016 4:22 am

Interesting thought...what difference did the fact that we read along with them, while discussing them, make to the conversation. After all, all the other books were long finished when this forum started.

--A

Post by **peter** » Wed Apr 20, 2016 4:15 pm

I think the debate was more ....... fractious, than it would be even now. It was all much more 'knee-jerk', more heated and apt to get a bit personal when people had differing views on the works.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

A New Direction

A New Direction