["Poll"] Community Input on the Magazine
A couple updates!
Currently our microblog pulls in anything tagged with #fanfiction. Not even when it is posted, as everyone might have noticed the recent additions from much longer than a week ago. (This is a Kbin thing. I don't know how Lemmy or others see this.)
I have asked how to keep this from happening, but haven't gotten an answer yet. Kbin is new and I think for most magazines this isn't an issue.
The only way this becomes an issue is when the posts go against our rules. I prefer to ask people to change things, rather than just delete stuff. However, if people didn't post to here in the first place, it's just confusing for everyone.
Does it matter to you if the microblog does this?
The biggest issue so far are the few posts which go against the self-promotion rule. The reason we have this rule is because a lot of communities which allow for this tend to become people only posting about their own work and little response. We could still hold the microblog section up to the other rules, but allow it to have personal links.
As it is separate from threads, it might not be as big an issue in this community as it is for others.
Second matter of business:
Do people want an icon?
I'll admit I'm not the most visual person, so this didn't even occur to me. But if people wanted to submit ideas for an icon for this new community, I'd love to see what we decide on!
UPDATE
I will update the rules about the microblog section. Mods will now only remove posts if they are against our being good to each other rule or no bashing/witch hunts to authors.
My most immediate thoughts are as follows...
The microblog may be best treated as a separate space until/unless it's possible to tailor it more. I think it's fair to say that while we can moderate the threads, the microblog space is all-encompassing/topical and is not subject to our rules, which also means we can't speak to what experience someone will have if they choose to use it. I think we can make this clear in the rules post, along with a note that we have not vetted and do not in any way endorse any of the sites people may be promoting on that microblog. (This is just to say that they may be totally legitimate and safe, but we aren't going to check every link in the fediverse for you!)
Recently someone did a series of unofficial KBin logo poll options and honestly, I think it's a fun idea. I enjoy visuals and I would love to see what people come up with. Could be a fun thing to vote on if the community wants to submit ideas? I'm more inclined to working with non-digital materials so I'm probably the last person who should be speaking to this, however. XD
Very true. I still think I would like us to delete any microblog posts if they include bashing of anyone specific. Or anything that's obviously more bad faith. Just so those against "being nice to each other" in general have less of a foothold and the community doesn't have to deal with it.
I enjoy visuals too! Just don't think of it in text-based settings a lot of the time. If no one says anything about it this time, we should still revisit the topic when we have more interaction here.
Thanks for the feedback!
Hmm...I wonder if it's possible to block those users at the magazine level so their comments don't show up in the microblog feed through the community? It's definitely an important consideration.
Also, we can include instructions for people on how to block users/instances/domains in the meantime as many people are still learning the ropes.
I kind of like the idea that kbin pulls from other federated spaces based on hashtag. It means I don't need a Mastodon account to be able to keep an eye on fanfiction news there. Maybe more relevant if AO3 Status moved over from Twitter to Mastodon but still...
That said, I can totally see it having an impact on moderation. I think if anything was pulled into the microblog list that's obviously uncool, we should be able to report it & get that blocked. And if it's a personal preference thing, instructions for how individuals can block would be very useful.
Re self promotion, I don't mind that so much that I think it needs to be moderated in the microblogs.
Yeah, the ability to remove/block things like hate-speech is always a plus. I think as these various communities on the fediverse develop further, we'll likely get more solutions to these types of things.
In the immediate sense, obviously, report any instances of harassment. If the report feature doesn't seem to be working, direct message is fine!
More broadly, if you are on kbin and need to block an instance or a domain because it's making your feed unbearable: https://kbin.social/d/[domain.com] or [instance.instancename] will bring you to that instance's front page where you can select the block button next to subscribe.
There are guides that touch on this posted on the site, and they may provide better examples and more explanation. Still, it's great to be able to just remove entire instances from my feed that I don't personally want to see or which I find blatantly offensive.
Preface
please excuse Grammar and organization, but still point out mistakes.
I have no experience with these kinds of things, and this community is probably too small for my suggestion, but keep this in mind if the community grows. Also sorry if I commented too late, and I really hope I get a reply, even if it's just "that's way too much work.".
the Icon
I think we should periodically elect a fandom, and style the icon off of it. This is a fandom of fandoms, what else would it be, a caligaph of the ligature "ff"‽
If you elect these often, as I will soon suggest, than they wouldn't have to be extravagant. they could be an asset rip, cropped image, "ff" in a font, etc. or you could host an art competition, with the with the winner getting credited in the magazine's description if nothing else.
Beyond the Icon
Somewhat related, I think we should have these kinds of elections for other things to. Like top [Genre] fan-fiction, top OC, top dialog, etc. Mods would post the criteria, and users would reply with nominations, then mods pick a number of works(might require some kind of script), and put it up to vote. these would help consumers find works, and help artists get found.
you could have different brackets based on views, hits, etc. this would give the smaller works a chance.
Not a Popularity Contest
All these elections could make the community too competitive. you don't want to moderate a community of people clawing for approval, and resenting those who beat them, do you? The point of the elections is to lift the community up, not pit it against one another.
You'd want to host them often, and have no prizes. this would mean the reward of winning is short lived, and there will be ample opportunities to win. they will be more accessible and less prestigious. Furthermore state explicitly that they're not to be taken too seriously.
I like those ideas! Admittedly (and like you said) the community is currently too small for most of this to work. But I would like to introduce some of these, or something like these ideas, when/if we get a lot more activity. It would be nice to promote more aspects of the fanfiction community with these ideas.
I shall put a pin in this for later. Thank you so much for sharing!
I forgot to mention that a calligraph of the ligature "ff" is actually my 2nd choice.
I agree complete with Avividtale on the microblog. It's a liminal space between our magazine focus and to kbin's thing at large. I personally don't have issue with self promotion in general. But especially since it's a small space that is meant for chiller chat (if any). I would report any microblog that looks like its trying a witchhunt or similar because that breaks overall site rules though.
As a very visual person I deeply desire an icon and perhaps a (not too distracting) background. I haven't a clue on what I'd decide as the icon though!