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paranoidwriter waves hello
03:33 / 15.07.05
[Moderators: I checked the archives before starting this thread, but my meagre research skills could find none that dealt with my specific question(s), and although the excellent Wiki covers much related ground, it also doesn't deal with starting threads in the way I'm trying to here. However, of course, please feel free to delete this if you believe I'm wrong and / or it isn't necessary.]

Let me start this thread by typing that I often get so stimulated here on Barbelith that I feel like a six year old on a Spring day, a child who really should have a nap and stop annoying the grown-ups with incessant questions: "Why?", "But how come?", "What's enlightenment?", and so on and so forth. Indeed, at night (or morning) when I retire to my pit with my notebook and guitar, it's not just "Concepts", "Story-Ideas", "Things to research", "Song Lyrics", "NB's", and "Shopping and Chore Lists" I end up writing. No, nowadays I have another avenue to make notes about: "Thread Ideas for Barbelith". And boy, do I have some ideas (even if they are crap or unoriginal)?

e.g.

1) "The Art of Appraisee versus Our Quick Fix Culture; the future of art and entertainment."

As with technology and computer memory (etc), is our art and other forms of communication being condensed into ever smaller chunks for us to easilly digest in a hurry? Is this natural and / or is this a bad thing? i.e. think synopses, Mnemonics, text-speak, football highlights, soap operas sending episodic text updates to those who've missed a show, etc.

2) "Inventive Swearing: the art of bad language."

When, how, if we should ever swear. Does swearing always show a diction deficiency on the user's part? Examples of new swear words and the art of usage, and when not using profanities can be more affective than just calling someone a "f**king cockc**t".

3) "Anonymous Artists' Anonymous."

"High my name's paranoidwriter, and I'm an anonymous artist." The Cult of Celebrity and the Fame Game are evil and can deter attention away from an artist's work. Personally, I like anonymity and think it's the way forward. Imagine if every artist in every medium were like Banksy or Slipknot; would their work count for more than their vibrant personalities? Would you rather no-one knows who you are, or would you milk all the sex, drugs, and gratis you can get as a "Star"? When it comes to being an Anonymous Artist, do the pros outweigh the cons?


I have plenty more where they came from, and I could go on, but thankfully I won't. My point is that there are many new threads I'd like to start, but as a newbreed I'm often unsure or not confident enough to do so. I mean, do you ever get frozen by indecision before posting on Barbelith? Do you ever suddenly find yourself considering the fact that as well as hundreds of active members, there may be thousands of other lurkers reading your words and groaning in unison? Maybe, similar to Craig in TV's 'Big Brother' (UK), an innumerable number of people online think you're a complete tit and you have little or no idea about it. Of course, as in life there's no point worrying too much about what others think of you, but only an arrogant fool would never consider the opinions of their peers.

So, to cut a long post shorter (sorry about the length of this), how do you deal with starting new threads? Do you think "What the hey, I'm going to start another thread anyway"? Do you spend far too much time slavishly checking the archives to make sure your topic hasn't been covered before? When a question is bugging you and Google can't help you find the answer, do you think "Well, I could go to the library or the shops and hunt down a relevant text, but which book?..."

Come on, don't be shy, what experiences and advice can you y'all offer the nervous or inexperienced thread-starter? (And please don't just type: "keep it brief!")

(BTW, like with the "posting limit", are there any New Thread Limits for members? Like I typed at the head of this post, I've tried looking in the archives and the Wiki, but to no avail; and although I'm sure nobody here would want to go thread-happy and bombard Barbelith with new threads, I was curious nonetheless.)
 
 
Benny the Ball
05:58 / 15.07.05
I think the thread limit is 50, not sure if it changes or not.

For lewlings I think it's more a case of finding your feet on the board. When I first started posting here I had no idea of the etiquette and was often posting things with bad summary, stuff already posted and just general inanity, then wondering why a thread dropped from the page in no time. The board can feel very clichey at times, but I think it's a case of posting and finding your voice, and being generally aware of the tone of each topic centre - you can get away with stuff in Conversation, for example. Also, don't insult anyone, don't post angry, and don't take Haus personally.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
08:23 / 15.07.05
Yeah, I think it's fifty- it pops up when you hit your posting limit (also 50) which I did a couple of days ago.

When I first joined, I tended to start new threads almost exclusively in the Conversation, as I was never quite sure whether they were too fluffy to go anywhere else. I suppose I figured that if they were more appropriate for somewhere else they'd get moved, but on reflection, I don't think it was the best course of action, as I probably missed out on some interesting debate that could have occurred if I'd had more confidence in a thread's ability to be taken seriously.
 
 
Alex's Grandma
08:42 / 15.07.05
The board can feel very cliquey(?) at times

The best way of dealing with this is to buy established board members (to be on the safe side, at least two years and up,) drinks until they fall over, I've found.
 
 
Benny the Ball
09:13 / 15.07.05
yeah, and don't take it personally that you never get a barbquote, huggles, barbcrush, rescued, written about, talked too, referred, etc &c.

Is it clichey, or clichee?

Oh anotherthing, if you are new try some of the lesser visited boards, people are often just greatful for any new thread, just don't sit there refreshing for a day. Games thread needs love too, you know.
 
 
Psych Safeling
09:31 / 15.07.05
I'm far too scared for conversation. Well done for eschewing my strategy of sneaking in the back door and then bustling about in the main room, slapping people slightly too hard on the back as if you've known them for years.

I started my first thread in Books. (It's going to be a good few years before I hit my limit.)

I have been thinking a lot lately about the special paranoia of joining a new web group. All the inputs seem extra sharp - the pleasure of being referenced; the empathetic agony of seeing your post sitting there, unnoticed, a lone morris dancer in an LA hip hop class.

[As an incredibly astute person once wrote on a leaving card for Mr Safeling:

Just love me!]
 
 
Scrambled Password Bogus Email
10:11 / 15.07.05
Why not have a secret little game of keeping your fingers crossed to eventually be the poster with the highest reecord of thread kills and Zero Responses?

That'll alleviate your insecurities. Make it a challenge. Rebuke moderators for engaging with your threads when you were hoping for the speediest fall off the front page in the history of the board. PM other posters insisting they don't respond to threads directly referencing their ficsuit. That type of thing.
 
 
paranoidwriter waves hello
16:13 / 15.07.05
So there's no EASY answer then?....

Great...fine...S'OK.....all those words wasted...but.....y'know....(Damn it, I knew I should have done that AAA thread instead!)...doesn't matter....I can handle it.....
 
 
Olulabelle
19:47 / 15.07.05
I start threads about things. I might be likely to avoid starting threads about starting threads.

This thread is quite sweet though, in a PW-lots-of-words kind of way.

If you want to write so much you feel you're swamping things, why don't you write everything down in a text file, and then pick the best bits out?
 
 
paranoidwriter waves hello
20:10 / 15.07.05
Cheers Olulabelle. I did that already, couldn't you tell? Plus I'm tired and enjoyed it.
 
 
paranoidwriter waves hello
20:17 / 15.07.05
And I was thinking of the "others", of course: the silent ones and those who have yet to come... (OK, I'm going to have another bash at sleeping now, I promise. G'night!)
 
 
paranoidwriter waves hello
23:12 / 15.07.05
I was going to leave most of this message till tomorrow, but I've just learned that I'm not to be around for a little while because of Life (etc). So, sorry for bumping and threadrotting and triple posting and what-not (sincerely). I assure you, nothing I type is ever meant offensively to anyone, unless I've had enough of being prodded and poked (which hasn't really happened to me here, yet). I know I can go on a bit, but this is often an attempt to make sure I'm not misinterpreted, which (as well all know) is a diffult task with text.

Just love me. I liked that a lot. At first I thought, "I'm going to add that to my list of signatures" and for a while it came close to toppling "Excelsior!" from the tip of the top five. But I was slow to realise your point (I think), for one has to use this phrase VERY sparingly, no? Indeed, I imagined trying to make it work in an E-mail to the hardest person I know (a sure-fire test), and when I started giggling I knew this was a dangerous device. So, Monsieur Safeling, may I ask about the full circumstances of how you came by this device? What were the other colleagues like at your work? Did the astute person smile wryly like a fox when (s)he saw you reading it, surrounded by awkward strangers who knew little about you, and yet probably still do miss you, strangely?

BTW, I suppose as well as asking the questions I've asked in this thread, I was trying to open a window to encourage any "shy" others to post, or maybe even join Barbelith. After all, "it's the quiet ones you wanna watch." Not that it's any of my responsibility to think of such matters; as a newbreed I'm still learning the territory. But as I was genuinely interested in this aspect of an online community, I thought I'd have a go at killing two birds with one stone and try to enjoy it in the process. I hope I haven't failed too badly. Poor little birdies didn't feel a thing,.. Did they? George?

Read y'all when I get back. Until next time:

Just love me
 
 
Tryphena Absent
00:29 / 16.07.05
I think the most important thing when starting or contributing to a thread is self-editing and the more you do that the more confident and better received you become. If you let your nerves overtake you then you lose the ability to ask the right questions about your subject or refer to things that actually really matter to your post. So basically my advice to anyone who's worried about starting a thread is to ask what's necessary and to slow down. I always second guess myself before starting a thread.
 
 
Olulabelle
00:50 / 16.07.05
PW, you are obviously talented and love writing.

Here's my advice: if someone hasn't replied to something you've written, adding another post won't help. You need to lighten up a bit or clarify what you've said by editing it. We are reading your posts, we're just a bit unsure about them, or what is left to reply to.

Have you tried replying to the Headshop threads? They're good for making you really think about what you write, and for making you censure yourself.

Barbelith isn't a notebook - or at least I don't think it is. I love to read the conversation and there are quite often threads to reply to but unless I actually have a point to make I generally don't reply. Replying to threads because it's late and you still want to write isn't sensible and is wasting your talent.

Put it in a book or in Lateshift.
 
  
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