followfriday | Follow Friday 8-30-24

Today's theme is Active Communities on Dreamwidth Summer 2024 J-Z.

here is an active one:

Over at

summerofthe69, Fighting or Fucking 69 is on its last days, while Back End 69 will take us through the, well, back end of the festival. The only theme left is Failed 69, which opens on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile,

moodthemeinayear is in the middle of its fifth break; there's only one major part to go, plus five extra moods, and then we'll be done for the year! Monday (the start of the next part) would also be a great time for anyone who's interested in only making a small mood theme to jump in, since that will start the next Minimal Mood Theme, running parallel to the main mood theme. Complete a mood theme with the absolute minimum number of images (plus an optional three, just to diversify things a bit)!

>> The only theme left is Failed 69, which opens on Sunday evening.<<

It's good to see the topics available.

>> Complete a mood theme with the absolute minimum number of images (plus an optional three, just to diversify things a bit)! <<

I like that it offers the mini-option.

Hmm, maybe I'll link the schedule in my weekly comments next year, give people who don't want to click to the community more of a heads up. (I'm at a point where I'm not entirely sure I'm going to run it again next year, at least in this form, but if I do, that might be helpful. The other option would be for me to just make a Bingo card for the fest proper and stop worrying about posting every week, which would honestly be a lot less work—provided I can come up with enough themes, which should be doable.)

Thanks! Yeah, sometimes a person just isn't interested in making 132 images, even if the work is spread out over a year. I might also start a Medium Mood Theme option next year, where every other Part also has the branch moods running parallel to the main moods, just for even more balance. So it'd go... Minimal Moods every Part, Medium Moods during Parts 2, 4, and 6, and Maximum Moods as scheduled. Hopefully it'd get some more people interested who might not be into going for a full year, but want to do more than the absolute minimum.

>> Hmm, maybe I'll link the schedule in my weekly comments next year, give people who don't want to click to the community more of a heads up. <<

That's a possibility.

>> (I'm at a point where I'm not entirely sure I'm going to run it again next year, at least in this form, but if I do, that might be helpful. <<

I enjoy watching it, and reading some of the entries. Your tentacleporn remains adorable. :D

The weekly prompt format is what makes your fest stand out from others. Bingo fests remain common, but most seasonal fests just have one theme throughout.

Though if you want to run it as a bingo, you're welcome to promote or echo that on

allbingo.

>> Thanks! Yeah, sometimes a person just isn't interested in making 132 images, even if the work is spread out over a year.<<

That is a lot. I doubt that most people need that many, although it can be fun for hobbyists.

>> I might also start a Medium Mood Theme option next year, where every other Part also has the branch moods running parallel to the main moods, just for even more balance. <<

That's a good idea. So how many moods do most people use? I use less than a dozen regularly. Almost everything I tag as Busy, occasionally Accomplished, and beyond that it's just a random thing here and there. So maybe 24 or so, to allow for variety?

>> I enjoy watching it, and reading some of the entries. Your tentacleporn remains adorable. :D

Thanks 🥰 Once I get done with Avery and Zeek, I might look into doing more with Darryl and Icarus 👀

>> The weekly prompt format is what makes your fest stand out from others. Bingo fests remain common, but most seasonal fests just have one theme throughout.

Well shoot, now I'm conflicted! I've been feeling a bit demoralized, since interaction is significantly down from last year, but maybe I just need to look into more community statistics and find out if that's normal. I mean, I'm used to "a big burst of energy at the start that tapers off over time" as an involvement model, but since it's a seasonal fest rather than year round, I thought that might help offset the waning interest problem. The membership and subscribers numbers going up also had me anticipating activity levels at least similar to last year, but this is... IDK, maybe I'm not the only one who's more into the pun than the sexual position? It's just a smidge demoralizing, is all. If this sort of thing is actually normal for fests, I'll probably be able to turn my disappointment train around, but at the moment... yeah. It's kinda rough.

>> That is a lot. I doubt that most people need that many, although it can be fun for hobbyists.

It is so many. I had a blast doing it, but I completely understand not everyone wanting to go that far, which is why I'm trying to make more options available. Spread out the fun a bit, you know?

>> That's a good idea. So how many moods do most people use? I use less than a dozen regularly. Almost everything I tag as Busy, occasionally Accomplished, and beyond that it's just a random thing here and there. So maybe 24 or so, to allow for variety?

I mean, maybe? I'm not saying it's not possible, but it'd be complicated to organize. I'd want a tool that users can use to find the moods they use most often for their individual accounts; otherwise, I'd probably just stick with the format that I have, which is based on the mood hierarchy tree (pretty easy to see in Chasy's Animexpress). Right now, the Minimal Mood Theme is "These are the fifteen moods that don't inherit their images from any other moods, plus the three in-between moods that have the most moods that inherit images from them" (18 total); a Medium Mood Theme would be that plus all of the other in-between moods, for 34 images, IIRC. So both of those are much more doable, and allow for a pretty good variety, even if they don't cover what specific moods people use most often.

>> Thanks 🥰 Once I get done with Avery and Zeek, I might look into doing more with Darryl and Icarus 👀 <<

Cool. :D

>> Well shoot, now I'm conflicted! I've been feeling a bit demoralized, since interaction is significantly down from last year, but maybe I just need to look into more community statistics and find out if that's normal.<<

Far more communities die out than keep going. The ones that survive tend to be either ultrapopular topics (e.g. Harry Potter), gatherums (e.g. calendars), things that fill a need (e.g. Allbingo), or supported by one or a few really passionate people. It's hard to keep a community going. There are several that I'm largely carrying myself.

So on the one hand, think about whether you're happy doing this just for you and whoever else feels like playing this round, or if you'd rather try to find some other folks who are really into it to help you. We've lost some of the great kink communities and smut communities, so there may well be folks looking for other activities to join.

>> The membership and subscribers numbers going up also had me anticipating activity levels at least similar to last year, but this is... <<

Another option would be to reach out to the members personally. People like to be asked. More often than not, I have to ask people to manage the categories in the Rose & Bay Awards; if I'm lucky, I'll get a few helpers.

>> IDK, maybe I'm not the only one who's more into the pun than the sexual position?<<

It's not my favorite position to write about. It's okay, but not something I'd do a lot of.

>> It is so many. I had a blast doing it, but I completely understand not everyone wanting to go that far, which is why I'm trying to make more options available. Spread out the fun a bit, you know? <<

Spreading the fun is good. The more options there are, the more people will find one that fits. Over on

allbingo we have a Bingo Card Generator that goes from 1x1 to 7x7 and almost all the cards people play are 5x5 or 3x3, with a handful of folks who really like 2x2. So you can choose how much work you want. I usually play 5x5 but I don't blackout very often.

>>I'd want a tool that users can use to find the moods they use most often for their individual accounts<<

Useful, but probably hard to find. I can list my top 2 easily, but beyond that I'm not sure.

>>Right now, the Minimal Mood Theme is "These are the fifteen moods that don't inherit their images from any other moods, plus the three in-between moods that have the most moods that inherit images from them" (18 total); a Medium Mood Theme would be that plus all of the other in-between moods, for 34 images, IIRC. So both of those are much more doable, and allow for a pretty good variety, even if they don't cover what specific moods people use most often.<<

Those are logical choices.

I'm a little bit floof-brained after work today, and I want to put something together still for Sot69 tonight if I can manage it, but I did want to say before I put it off too long and felt unneccessarily awkward about replying: Thanks for helping me get a better perspective on community running and activity. Thinking about it and getting my expectations in order, I'm pretty sure I'm good for another year, but I might also reach out for help, and/or drop the weekly-ish roundups in favor of just the final roundup.

>>I'm a little bit floof-brained after work today, and I want to put something together still for Sot69 tonight if I can manage it, but I did want to say before I put it off too long and felt unneccessarily awkward about replying: Thanks for helping me get a better perspective on community running and activity. <<

I'm happy I could help. It's a complicated process.

I may not have mentioned it before, but I've got a post on running an event here:
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/14235243.html

>> Thinking about it and getting my expectations in order, I'm pretty sure I'm good for another year, <<

Yay!

>> but I might also reach out for help, <<

That's an excellent idea. It is MUCH easier to run a community or event with 2+ people than alone.

>> and/or drop the weekly-ish roundups in favor of just the final roundup.<<

That's an option. You might also take a page from other events and ask if anyone wants to host a theme, so you don't have to do them all yourself.

Still fluff-brained, but thank you ♥ I will explore your comment more in depth later.

On a related note, I finished the thing I wanted to have done tonight, yay! I now have the silly theme mini-essays written up for all of the new-to-this-year suggestions that didn't get a winning slot in the theme poll. You, and anyone else who wants to, can check 'em out here (including "69 By the Book" and "Educational 69" 👀)

>> On a related note, I finished the thing I wanted to have done tonight, yay! <<

Go you! I have posted about this in my blog.

Follow Friday 8-30-24

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