Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Thu Sep 15, 2016 7:08 pm

Hmm, I've had an interesting idea.

How about we give praise to some of the more renowned story writers here by adding them to a special group? Similar to how Admins(red), Mods{green), and Site Contributors(orange) names are specially colored and distinctive, how about we also have a special color for acclaimed writers on the board like Bondagefreak, Jason, XTC, KP, Bondwriter, Jack Roper just to name a few?

Of course, there should be well placed restrictions and rules on who gets these, just to prevent non story writers from writing a single half baked story just to get the recognition. I say there should be certain criteria that a writer will have to accomplish before he/she can obtain this status. One possible criteria should be that writers should have written a certain amount of content to even be considered, such as a certain amount of story content before he/she can even be considered. Also, maybe have a "reference list" of reviewers that consistently review your story to submit a recommendation.

This could also come with the award of setting a one time subtitle change for your account(instead of the usual 'bondage master/expert/lurker/tied up subtitles). Maybe even feature the story from the awarded author at the top of the board for a certain amount of time, maybe a week, month.

Of course, this could all be discussed and revised, as these rules and awards are just suggestions. I would like to hear from you guys, and hope that this at least gets some consideration....
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Re: Story Writers Regnonition

Postby Jason Toddman » Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:29 pm

Sounds good except that mods and admins like xtc and me already have a special color to our names, and i don't know if there is any way to give our names more than one color at a time. of course, we could give writers special titles to reflect that status, since a title can include several terms at once.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby xtc » Fri Sep 16, 2016 3:43 am

Thanks for raising the talking point, Chad, we certainly need to do something. Here's my twopennorth:

I don't approve of a "Sheep & Goats" type of categorisation of members. We need to encourage newcomers and "improvers". Let's face it: very few writers spring fully fledged onto the screen and, taking my own catalogue as an example, there are individual stories that might warrant special recognition but there are certainly some that do not!

I would like to have a proper "Masterworks" section to which stories could be nominated by anybody for inclusion. I don't quite know who should juror (YUK!) the submissions because those accepted would have to reflect all the story categories. Perhaps we could go by page-views but that is fraught with difficulties as popularity is not always a true reflection of quality as a quick perusal of the most popular threads will confirm. Also, multi-part stories would be over represented.

Is the "Masterworks" idea a good one? If it is, how should it work?
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Personal opinion: I would like to see an initial interface with two categories: 1) STORIES, 2) All the other crap (but probably with a less pejorative title!). That is a personal opinion and I don't want to get rid of all the non-story stuff because such sections are obviously what our current membership requires; it simply doesn't interest me in the same way as, I suspect, the stories do not interest other members.
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but little speedos rule!

More by the same author: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22729

Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby RiaTheGaggedGirl » Fri Sep 16, 2016 4:54 am

xtc wrote:Thanks for raising the talking point, Chad, we certainly need to do something. Here's my twopennorth:

I don't approve of a "Sheep & Goats" type of categorisation of members. We need to encourage newcomers and "improvers". Let's face it: very few writers spring fully fledged onto the screen and, taking my own catalogue as an example, there are individual stories that might warrant special recognition but there are certainly some that do not!

I would like to have a proper "Masterworks" section to which stories could be nominated by anybody for inclusion. I don't quite know who should juror (YUK!) the submissions because those accepted would have to reflect all the story categories. Perhaps we could go by page-views but that is fraught with difficulties as popularity is not always a true reflection of quality as a quick perusal of the most popular threads will confirm. Also, multi-part stories would be over represented.

Is the "Masterworks" idea a good one? If it is, how should it work?
========================================================================================

Personal opinion: I would like to see an initial interface with two categories: 1) STORIES, 2) All the other crap (but probably with a less pejorative title!). That is a personal opinion and I don't want to get rid of all the non-story stuff because such sections are obviously what our current membership requires; it simply doesn't interest me in the same way as, I suspect, the stories do not interest other members.

Masterworks is a very good idea. It would be awesome going into a section just full of masterpieces to read through, instead of having to look through ones that are okay but not as good.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby Jason Toddman » Fri Sep 16, 2016 7:24 am

Problem with that idea is that one person's idea of a masterpiece is another person's idea of pure drivel.
Different stories reflect different tastes, and what xtc or i might find interesting might bore or disgust some other readers, and vice versa. Even xtc and I - who have somewhat similar tastes but definitely not identical ones - would be bound to disagree on some stories, unless we judged purely by writing skill/style alone, and i am unsure that would be an adequate criterion by itself.
I myself rarely read stories here anymore simply because very few people write stories that closely enough match y own particular tastes; most of the few that did having long since stopped writing here themselves. I like xtc's style but find his stories frankly very difficult to follow (multiple characters, many with nicknames used interchangeably with their real ones; minute technical details about bondage situations i find myself unable to visualize, and so on). My own penchant for focusing on boys who are tied up being sat on by other boys probably puts off many people who otherwise would like my own stories. And so on.
In other words it's hard for me to see how any writer's works (especially serials) would be judged unless we also set up major categories with; M/M, F/F, and so on. Then it might work.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Fri Sep 16, 2016 7:27 am

Thanks for bringing this to the forum's attention Chad.

xtc wrote:I don't approve of a "Sheep & Goats" type of categorisation of members.


xtc does make a valid point there.
The Masterworks section seems like something that can be realistically achieved without too much hassle.
As both xtc and Jason point out, the difficulty here would be deciding which stories deserved to go in such a section and which ones wouldn't.
Having your story in a "Masterworks" category is nothing short of a privilege.

Considering the dwindling number of authors still active on the site, it will be interesting to see how much traction this will create.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:03 am

On a sidenote, do any of you remember the discussion we had two years ago about having a category for these "masterwork/classic" stories?
The exact same points were brought up. I don't mean to sour the mood, but we're talking in circles here.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby Jason Toddman » Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:08 am

bondagefreak wrote:On a sidenote, do any of you remember the discussion we had two years ago about having a category for these "masterwork/classic" stories?
The exact same points were brought up. I don't mean to sour the mood, but we're talking in circles here.

Not necessarily; a lot of members here now were not here then and may never have seen the discussion. Also, a lot of other members here then have since left. The dynamics of our current readership may have changed enough in that time to make a all-new discussion quite relevant.
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:38 am

Jason Toddman wrote:
bondagefreak wrote:On a sidenote, do any of you remember the discussion we had two years ago about having a category for these "masterwork/classic" stories?
The exact same points were brought up. I don't mean to sour the mood, but we're talking in circles here.

Not necessarily; a lot of members here now were not here then and may never have seen the discussion. Also, a lot of other members here then have since left. The dynamics of our current readership may have changed enough in that time to make a all-new discussion quite relevant.


I agree with you that the membership has changed since then, but IMO we were better off two years ago when a more significant portion of the membership seemed to care about the story board. A considerable portion of the active members we have now seem unaffected by the story board plight. Many of them are here only for the RP/kik/Skype address threads. The trend will continue to gain momentum as time goes by.

It would be a pleasant surprise for some of the newer members to present us with a fresh perspective.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Fri Sep 16, 2016 10:09 am

To me, the Masterworks idea seems like the Hall of Fame idea that someone brought up a while back, but, like most of the genuinely good ideas, it fell through. If we are going to do that, then we HAVE to have full support from the site admins/mods.

Maybe sorta combine my idea and xtcs? Whoever has one of their stories gets submitted to the Masterworks collection also gets a "Masterworks Writer" title and color change?

But like yall said, we need to discuss rules and regulations on which stories get chosen and which don't. Here is some ideas i think should be considered.

1. The story MUST be coherent, grammatically correct, and well developed. Stories with well defined characters and an obvious plot is required. Also, as with the theme of this board, it must be bondage related. This goes without saying, but the rules of the website MUST be followed.

2. For review, either A) the author of a story, or B) a story reader MUST submit the story for approval. An application should be used to fill out important details about the submission:

1. Name of Story - Link to Story
2. Story Author
3. Description(including content rating, i.e. PG/PG17, Genders Involved, etc.)
4. Keywords(Important keywords people use to find stories that suit their interests)
5. WHY you feel like this story deserves a place in the Masterpiece collection.
--This is where the submitter has a chance to explain why he/she thinks
this story deserves to be in the section.
6. A certain amount of contacts, maybe two? These contacts will be required to
respond why THEY think this story should be included.

This would eliminate some work on the mods/admins part. If applicants/contacts can't make a valid case as to why their story should be featured, then it would be a good indication of it not deserving a place. The description and keywords are mainly used to describe the story for possible submission to the catalog, and to feature at the top of the story to give a good idea of what to expect from this story.


As we build up Masterpiece writers, they in turn can "Pay it forward" and help with these reviews to take some slack off the mods/admins. These are just ideas, though.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby Jason Toddman » Fri Sep 16, 2016 10:24 am

One problem is though that xtc and i are both prolific (and, if i say so myself, excellent) writers but are also mods. Wouldn't suggesting out own stories for consideration be seen as a conflict of interest or an unfair advantage? As in, "Hey xtc, you nominate "What's a Prisoner Among Friends?" and I'll nominate "Sea Scouts versus Land Sailors."
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Fri Sep 16, 2016 10:27 am

Then maybe make a rule Mods/Admins/and whoever else judges these will not be able to submit applications for other mods/admins/etc.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby Sniffmyfeet » Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:05 pm

Although you guys are deserving of praise because of the stories you write, I don't think I personally would make use of a special Masterworks section to browse for stories. I usually head straight for the "new posts" option in the drop down menu or go to the M/M sections and then only read stories that are written by authors that I know I'll appreciate or the titles of which appeal to me. A special section would then (for me) serve no other use then just to honour the author. But that can also be done by just changing the colour of the username, or by granting a custom title.
bondage /'bɒndɪdʒ/ noun & verb. ME.
A The condition of being bound or tied; fig. subjection to authority, constraining force, or obligation. LME.
‣b
spec. Sadomasochism involving binding, handcuffing, etc. M20.

(SOED, 6th ed.)

Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:08 pm

Sniffmyfeet wrote:Although you guys are deserving of praise because of the stories you write, I don't think I personally would make use of a special Masterworks section to browse for stories. I usually head straight for the "new posts" option in the drop down menu or go to the M/M sections and then only read stories that are written by authors that I know I'll appreciate or the titles of which appeal to me. A special section would then (for me) serve no other use then just to honour the author. But that can also be done by just changing the colour of the username, or by granting a custom title.


That was my initial idea. I guess these really need to be discussed so a good solution can be found.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Sat Sep 17, 2016 9:26 pm

So..........any other thoughts on this? I would like to see some more discussion on this.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby Sniffmyfeet » Sun Sep 18, 2016 12:31 am

chadmc90 wrote:So..........any other thoughts on this? I would like to see some more discussion on this.

With writers recognition at an all-time low, I'm not sure whether you'll elicit much of a response from the crowd. Most of the members of this forum would much rather jump in a fire or exchange KIK and Skype addresses than write a story about TUGs. Similarly, it seems they want to slowly starve this site to death, so they can be the last one to post in a certain thread so they can "win". Apparently, that is much more enjoyable than reading a good bondage-related story and writing some nice comments to support the authors that wrote them.
bondage /'bɒndɪdʒ/ noun & verb. ME.
A The condition of being bound or tied; fig. subjection to authority, constraining force, or obligation. LME.
‣b
spec. Sadomasochism involving binding, handcuffing, etc. M20.

(SOED, 6th ed.)

Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:06 am

Sniffmyfeet wrote:
chadmc90 wrote:So..........any other thoughts on this? I would like to see some more discussion on this.

With writers recognition at an all-time low, I'm not sure whether you'll elicit much of a response from the crowd. Most of the members of this forum would much rather jump in a fire or exchange KIK and Skype addresses than write a story about TUGs. Similarly, it seems they want to slowly starve this site to death, so they can be the last one to post in a certain thread so they can "win". Apparently, that is much more enjoyable than reading a good bondage-related story and writing some nice comments to support the authors that wrote them.


Ditto.

It might be interesting to go back and look at some of the similar threads that have been created in the past couple years.
A few interesting ideas have been forwarded.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=27572

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22291

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22726

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26369


There have been several other similar threads, some of them posted in General Chat and in Tugs Talk as well. The above links are just a few of the threads that were started in this section of the forum.

The Hall of Fame Improvements thread was gaining some momentum but died out without being resolved.
Everything that's been said here has already been said there, which is why I stated earlier that we were basically talking in circles.
The only difference I see is that more people seemed to care about this two years ago than they do now.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:31 am

Oh, trust me, I had a feeling it would end up the same way the other story related ideas have ended up. It's funny how that silly AMA thread requesting for its own subforum got more attention than something like this that would actually benefit the site.

But that's the way it goes I guess. SniffMyFeet is right. The rest of the junk that gets posted is obnoxious. I was hoping that there would be something to honor the writers here, but it looks like not enough people care.....
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby xtc » Mon Sep 19, 2016 3:24 am

Does this mean that TiedDancer is putting herself forward as a juror for any future "Masterworks" section?
Anybody else interested on the light of the points she has made?
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but little speedos rule!

More by the same author: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22729

Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am

I agree with TiedDancer that such a section should reflect on the entirety of the board, but how does this fix the viewership issue.
It was already determined two years ago that confining Masterworks to their own section would do those stories more harm than good.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:05 am

I thought I already suggested this, but instead of moving the fI'll work into the masterworks section, make it similar to the story catalogue and maybe color the thread title in regular sections so they'll stand out?
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:16 am

Okay, so how would this Masterworks section work?
Would the section be like a regular story thread with different topics for different stories (but story ads + links) instead of the actual story?
Ex:
Laura's Great Escape (M/F) - PG-17
Paul's Kidnapping (MMM/M)
The Surprise Birthday Party (fff/f)

When you open "Laura's Great Escape" you get the story ad + link to the story location.

OR

Would the section be just one page (like the catalogue) and feature a list of the story ads that were elected?
Like a story catalogue, but only for Masterwork tales.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:23 am

I guess either could work. I was thinking more of the lines of the catalog design but an all in one thread would be fine too.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:38 am

Isn't the catalogue design and all-in-one thread already?
I'm lost.

The current Hall of Fame is a good example of what I meant with the first option.
When you open the HOF, you're faced with several subsections: Mason's stories, Doug's stories...etc

A MW section could potentially work the same way, with several subsections to represent the different stories that are on the board.
Ex: M/F, F/M, M/M, F/F, mixed...etc

Each section would contain the WM stories that we're elected to go inside, only that it would be link or ads instead of stories.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:44 am

Ohh, sorry. I thought you meant all in one post. Lol. My bad.

In that case the water the Hall of Fame section would be better.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 3:54 pm

I agree, the community should come together for this. Not just to make it easier on the mods and admins, but also to have a diverse and less bias judgement.
Last edited by chadmc90 on Mon Sep 19, 2016 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby chadmc90 » Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:43 am

Here's a summary of the ideas:

1. Have a distinctive group for acclaimed writers that have proven themselves on the website. This group would have it's own color, and members of that group will have colored usernames, such as the mods(green), admins(red), and site contributors(orange). This will show up in all posts and such. As an award, they also get their own title.

2. This idea has been revisited in other forms, but has NEVER taken off due to suggested issues with details. The idea is that there will be a Story Hall of Fame or Master Works section that features acclaimed stories that have been published on the site over the years. Rather than giving direct redirection to the author, their stories would be featured in the Masterworks section rather than in regular story sections.

3. A hybrid of one and two. Stories are submitted for review by the author or a reviewer. If a story is approved for the Masterworks section, then it will be added to Master Works section. The author of said story will also be added to the MasterWorks group to have a color change, similar to 1. They also get own title as an award.

*For the masterworks sections, entries will have to undergo a review process by submitting application to the mods and admins. These applications can be reviewed by mods/admins OR Masterworks Writers. Once approved, stories will be added by admins/mods.

*also, some decision of how stories are featured in the Masterworks section must be considered. One idea is that the story threads will be moved into the masterworks directly. However, there are concerns about readership falling. An answer to that is to setup the MasterWorks section similarly to the Story Catalog section, which will both highlight the story and preserve its place in the regular sections. The title of the story thread may also be changed to a different color to highlight these stories in regular sections over other sections, which may or may not be possible with threads.


Is there anything I left out? I was thinking a poll might help in getting feedback, idk.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby xtc » Tue Sep 20, 2016 9:37 am

Am I the only one who thinks that if a story is considered (by whatever process we decide) to be a "Masterwork", colouring the title of that specific story would make it stand out as such without consigning it to what some people, with certain justification, would consider to be a ghetto?

I'm not very techie. Does anybody know whether that would be possible?
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby Jason Toddman » Tue Sep 20, 2016 9:56 am

xtc wrote:Am I the only one who thinks that if a story is considered (by whatever process we decide) to be a "Masterwork", colouring the title of that specific story would make it stand out as such without consigning it to what some people, with certain justification, would consider to be a ghetto?

I'm not very techie. Does anybody know whether that would be possible?

I think only Zanev would know how to do that. I don't even know how to do that with usernames, even though we know that can be done.
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Re: Story Writers Recognition

Postby bondagefreak » Tue Sep 20, 2016 9:58 am

Thanks for summarising the ideas that were voiced so far, Chad.


xtc wrote:Am I the only one who thinks that if a story is considered (by whatever process we decide) to be a "Masterwork", colouring the title of that specific story would make it stand out as such without consigning it to what some people, with certain justification, would consider to be a ghetto?

I'm not very techie. Does anybody know whether that would be possible?


That would indeed be the EASIEST and BEST option, IMHO. Chad, TiedDancer, Jason, Sniffmyfeet, what do you think?



I use to co-administrate a forum of similar size to this one a few years ago.
If memory serves, colouring a topic title is quite doable and requires a small amount of technical expertise, nothing Zanev can't handle.

The MOD can easily be obtained on the phpbb3 site.
The option to colour topic titles can then be installed on the forum and can be restricted to staff members only.
Installing such a mod on the board and fixing up the proper group permissions should take about 5 minutes.
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