Comedy Discussion and Planning Topic

[Voltex]

I dislike that idea - one of the other critics clubs did that, and from my understanding it didn't go as planned.

Unless you guys all think you can take criticism, of course, in which case just say so here.

[MT Zehvor]

Well, obviously you can't go full blown review. Perhaps just pointing out the better parts of the comedy and a few constructive criticisms? It'll probably drive Hubert nuts, but the CCC needs some way to get its name out there. Not only would this accomplish that, but it might also bring some life into a rather quiet comedy forum.

 

Just an idea.

 

Also I'm fine with harsh criticism. Probably won't agree with it, but if you want something to do, feel free to review any of my comedies at any point.

 

-MT

[25K Now!]

If we only point out the good parts, how can people learn which parts of their comedies aren't good and endeavor to improve?

 

Besides, I'm not always harsh when reviewing.

 

Rarity gave lower scores than me.

[MT Zehvor]

If we only point out the good parts, how can people learn which parts of their comedies aren't good and endeavor to improve?

 

Besides, I'm not always harsh when reviewing.

 

Rarity gave lower scores than me.

Several things:

 

A: I never claimed you were harsh.

 

B: The existence of one that performs an action to a greater extreme than another does not absolve the another of performing the action.

 

C: As I stated before, the point of this wouldn't be to give quality feedback. It's to A: Get the CCC's name out there more, and B: To bring some activity back into the comedy forum. Hopefully, the people whom you give a semi review to will request a full blown review later on, at which point you can actually go through and comment on things however you like.

 

I'm not trying to be critical here, but the CCC is pretty much flat out dead. Not only is it dead, but it's going to stay that way unless something changes. This is one suggestion of how to change things. If you don't like it, then by all means, I encourage finding a solution that's more to your liking, but the CCC needs SOMETHING to be done to kickstart it out of the rut it's in.

 

-MT

Edited June 7, 2013 by MT Zehvor

[Voltex]

By extension, the entire Comedies forum needs it too. I do see and understand your points, MT; I am at fault myself. I haven't had the time I would like lately to be on BZPower, and outside of games that take only five minutes to catch up on, my activity has become extremely limited.

 

I'll try and give the idea a shot - however, I also suggest we begin brainstorming some ideas here for a Comedies contest.

[MT Zehvor]

I agree that the entire comedy forum needs it; however, there are very few places where we can actually do anything effectively. I've certainly tried to do it through this topic, via the comedy expos, the comedy of the year awards, but the problem with all of those is that they require that other people make the first move and participate, and we don't have the popularity for those kinds of ideas to work. The Comedy Contests run into the same roadblock.

 

I'm all for doing a contest, but I'd really rather it not end up like the comedy of the year award where only two nominations actually happened and no one wanted to vote. If we can get enough people, say, 5 or so, that are willing to commit to it, then we can move forward, but for the moment this doesn't seem like something too likely to work.

 

-MT

[25K Now!]

The comedies forum is dying.

 

Everyone else heads to epics and short stories, turned away by our reputation.

 

The reputation of being a place for terrible grammar, random jokes, weak plot and bad usage of the script format.

 

Unless we improve our rep, we're gonna crash and burn.

[MT Zehvor]

The comedies forum is dying.

 

Everyone else heads to epics and short stories, turned away by our reputation.

 

The reputation of being a place for terrible grammar, random jokes, weak plot and bad usage of the script format.

 

Unless we improve our rep, we're gonna crash and burn.

The problem isn't really the comedy forum's reputation; the epics' and short stories' forums are doing just as poorly as we are in terms of activity at this point (the epic review club hasn't reviewed a single story since mid May). The entire library's in a pretty bad spot.

 

This is probably a bit more pessimistic than I'd like it to be, but I think the real issue here is that BZP has stayed BZP since Bionicle's "death." More people leaving BZP than are joining it at this time. At this rate, every forum will essentially die out completely, possibly within the next 3 years or so. As Bionicle becomes more and more of a distant memory, less and less people will join to replace those who are leaving. Even fewer of those will be comedy writers.

 

That's why it's critical for us to give SOME feedback, or at least some sense of acknowledgement, to anyone who comes onto the forum and tries to write a comedy. New comedy writers are going to be very few and far between, and we need as many of them to stick around as possible for this forum to survive for any extended period of time. At the moment, I think there are, what, twelve or so active comedy writers on the forum? We don't have many numbers to lose.

 

I'll definitely spend some time doing this myself; the comedy forum has essentially been my "home" on BZP since I joined in 2007, and I'd love for it to last as long as possible.

 

TL;DR version, plan looks something similar to this:

 

Post on people's comedies whenever the chance arises. Preferably something positive to encourage them to keep writing.

Hopefully, this will keep the people on at the moment from leaving, and will keep new comedy writers here as well.

As time goes on, we can draw in more and more people, and perhaps this can lead to increased popularity in other facets of the comedy forum (CCC, this topic, contests, etc.)

 

EDIT: I realize this has the potential, should it succeed (which I'm not incredibly optimistic about in the first place) of dragging the comedy forum's reputation down again. For the moment, that's acceptable to me. In time, if we can get more writers on here and raise the forum back to a decent level of popularity, then we can worry about bringing the quality back up to standards, but at the moment, we're dealing with the very real possibility of a dead forum. And I would much rather prefer a forum with a bad rep for some period of time than a dead forum that will stay activity-less forever.

 

-MT

Edited June 9, 2013 by MT Zehvor

[25K Now!]

Huh ... looks like we'll have to get to work, giving some feedback.

[Phovos]

You know what always makes the comedy contests done in this thread bad? We're trying to nominate old threads and not starting anything new.

 

What we need is a contest with a predetermined theme, one that is fairly simple yet has some nice little ideas behind it. And we need to get the comedy writers to all write something new, to stay away from their comedies.*

 

I'm particularly at fault here. I write my BKR topic and that's it. I don't try and do something else (although that's partly because no one ever reads the different stuff I write and when I asked for a review on one of my stories, I got 1/10 for pretty much no reason what so ever. I always disliked Rarity's reviews, they seemed too self-righteous and hateful.) and that makes me stale. That continues on and makes everything else stale too.

 

Doesn't help that I'm busy on other forums elsewhere. Because, let's face it, it's been a long time. And even the twilight years weren't so good.

 

* Also, prizes help. Doesn't even have to be a good prize.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Phovos the Raptor

[- JL -]

More one shots?

 

 

That could help. If I'm reading it right, we're at the stage where we simply need more activity, more comedies and more writers. While a full on series is definitely interesting, one shots provide a way for people to test out ideas yet also be writing comedies.

 

Also, about Phovos' "themed" writing, I'm interested. Which makes me think about an idea of multiple writers on one story.

[MT Zehvor]

Didn't we do a themed contest last summer? As I recall...it didn't get very far...I don't even remember the results being announced.

 

But I could be wrong on that account so correct me if I am.

 

And more one shots...sure. I'd go for that. I'll have to put that off for a few days until I get back from Texas, but once that's done, sure.

 

-MT

[Voltex]

iBrow just had an amazing contest idea, possibly for the entire library. I might pm it to HH, or I'll post it here AND pm it. Or I'll keep the idea for myself.

[MT Zehvor]

iBrow just had an amazing contest idea, possibly for the entire library. I might pm it to HH, or I'll post it here AND pm it. Or I'll keep the idea for myself.

Whenever iBrow feels like reverting back to referring to himself in first person, I'd like to hear what he has to say.

[Voltex]

...oops? xDAnyway. Moving on, the idea was: apocalypse. But only if it occurs after August, that way I can participate too.

[25K Now!]

What, a tragic ballad about the apocalyptic death of the Comedies forum, and the struggles of the authors who wish to survive the collapse of an entire section of the Library?

[MT Zehvor]

Uh...I suppose if you want...

 

-MT

[Voltex]

I meant more like the end of the world sort of apocalypse, actually.

[- JL -]

So....

 

Everybody writes a story about the apocalypse.....?

[MT Zehvor]

I meant more like the end of the world sort of apocalypse, actually.

 

I dunno. The end of the BZP comedy forum sounds pretty close to the world ending.

 

So....

 

Everybody writes a story about the apocalypse.....?

Coming Soon: The Talking Dead: An Ask Comedy...with ZOMBIES.

 

-MT

[25K Now!]

Well it ends with the migration of all the authors to Short Stories.

 

Obviously.

[ToaKapura1234]

Never.

[MT Zehvor]

Well it ends with the migration of all the authors to Short Stories.

 

Obviously.

 

iBrow, you mentioned that you can't do this until after August. When exactly are you free?

 

-MT

[Voltex]

Well... after August. I leave on Saturday for two months, and I am unplugged during that time period.

[MT Zehvor]

So immediately after August? Like, September the 1st?

 

-MT

Edited June 20, 2013 by MT Zehvor

[MT Zehvor]

iBrow hates answering my questions.

 

Here's something that I thought of to potentially boost activity, and it wouldn't take a whole lot of effort; somewhat similar to the part of the review topic where comedies used to be bolded if they were recommended. What if we (either on a new topic or here) went around the forum, maybe once a month or so, and found new comedies that did something right, and simply posted about it?

 

Wouldn't take a lot of effort, there's no chance for potential backlash, and it'd only be around once a month. Might do a lot, but it'd a good step in the right direction.

 

Thoughts? Comments?

 

-MT

[25K Now!]

So let me get this straight; we're going to just repeatedly reference good comedies everywhere?

[MT Zehvor]

So let me get this straight; we're going to just repeatedly reference good comedies everywhere?

Get rid of the "repeatedly" and "everywhere," and you've got a good start. I wouldn't suggest recognizing the same comedy more than once in perhaps a 12 month span, and I wouldn't recommend recognizing comedies that are already fairly well established as "good" comedies. Perhaps the comedy being recognized wouldn't even have to necessarily be good; just there's something good about it that deserves mention.

 

For the place...we'll eventually work that out if the idea gets enough approval. It'll be in one topic for sure, although whether that's here or somewhere else remains to be decided.

[- JL -]

What if we had a single comedy with not just two or three writers but as many as possible?

[25K Now!]

That'd be incredibly stupid and would not work at all.

 

The idea will absolutely fail.

[MT Zehvor]

What if we had a single comedy with not just two or three writers but as many as possible?

I wouldn't put it quite as bluntly as Hubert did, but I don't think it'd work out. Something similar once happened with the TBTTRAH series back when Aftermath was just getting started where essentially everyone who was a fan of the series at the time co-authored a story about a group of characters that got stuck in a hotel during the time period of (insert long explanation of lore here). The problem was that each author had a different vision for where the comedy would end up, and before it got through 20 chapters, people were screaming at each other for messing up what they wanted, authors were retconning events written by someone else a mere chapter after they were written, and a bunch of Gremlins were running all over the comedy. I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on.

 

Now, obviously...relationships are probably a bit better here, so I wouldn't expect there to be yelling or consistent retconning, but the main problem remains. We'd have to get everyone together and plan everything out to the last detail so that the comedy doesn't take drastic turns that no one else expects, and...well, that's kind of difficult to do and even more difficult to ensure that everyone will stick to it.

 

iBrow and I did something similar a while back, and it was hard enough with only 2 people. More than that would be crazy.

 

-MT

[25K Now!]

And sometimes, you'll end up leaving out people because they have no time.

[TinkerTech]

To add to Zehvor's statement, (and to simplify) Too many cooks spoil the broth.

 

In theory, it's a good idea-authors working together to make a funny story. Unfortunately, most authors don't agree on where a story should go, and when the authors disagree, they fight, and the story derails. If one was ever to attempt such a feat, they would need to:

 

A. Gather the authors (not just anyone, rather a select group)

B. Agree on the story. (It doesn't need to be down to the last detail; it's fun to write a story when someone throws a curveball or two. But a general story does need to be agreed on before starting)

C. Make sure everyone gets a turn (something similar to the way the CCC was set up; everyone has a review [or in this case, a chapter] but if someone misses their deadline, another author takes the chapter.)

D. have a "Head" (the lead person on the project, usually has a final say on everything.)

 

It's a plausible (and fun) Idea, but it would need plenty of work. And possibly permission from the admins, because I think such an endeavor was against the rules at one point. I would need to refresh my memory.

 

Also, I agree with the "Recommend Idea" thing. Maybe once every two weeks rather than once a month, but every round we would choose a comedy and give positive reviews and feedback. Another possibility is working with the other Library forums to have a once-a-month "reccomended read" that highlights either a Comedy, a Short Story, or an Epic (taking turns, of course) That would be highlighted on the main BZP page. *Cue epic beatdown of idea due to old rivalries with the other library forums*

[MT Zehvor]

Another possibility is working with the other Library forums to have a once-a-month "reccomended read" that highlights either a Comedy, a Short Story, or an Epic (taking turns, of course) That would be highlighted on the main BZP page. *Cue epic beatdown of idea due to old rivalries with the other library forums*

That's actually a really good idea. Personally...I think it might work better if the "Recommended Read" had a story from each section of the library each month...but of course that runs the potential risk of people only reading the work from their forum. And perhaps it'd be too large to fit on the front page.

 

-MT

Edited July 7, 2013 by MT Zehvor

[TinkerTech]

Not the whole story; just a brief synopsis, why the curators thought it was cool, and a link to the topic. And by including the other forums, the entire library section benefits; it's like the local Library having a particular book on display at the front desk.

[MT Zehvor]

Not the whole story; just a brief synopsis, why the curators thought it was cool, and a link to the topic. And by including the other forums, the entire library section benefits; it's like the local Library having a particular book on display at the front desk.

I wouldn't suggest putting the entire story there, just a link and an evaluation. I have no problems including the other forums, I was simply suggesting having a comedy, epic, and short story chosen each month as opposed to switching months for the highlighted forum.

 

-MT

[TinkerTech]

That would work too; we would need to discuss this with the other forums and the admins to see what they would think, though. Then, of course, there would be how we would choose the "recommended read" for each month. There are two ways this could work:

 

1.There is a committee (Probably just the three critics clubs working together) that chooses 2 or three topics from each section. The members go around and read each one, then vote on their favorites. The top ones in each category are the highlights for the month.

 

2. (and probably the favorite) each critics club chooses a topic from their section, and votes, then puts them together for the "recommended reads" article.

 

The first one allows greater control over what's chosen as a "RR" for the month (and ensures certain authors aren't favored over others, even if accidentally), while the second allows more freedom over how long it takes, and requires fewer people and less time. Like I said, if this ever does become a thing, we would need to work with the other forums and the admins.

[MT Zehvor]

That would work too; we would need to discuss this with the other forums and the admins to see what they would think, though. Then, of course, there would be how we would choose the "recommended read" for each month. There are two ways this could work:

 

1.There is a committee (Probably just the three critics clubs working together) that chooses 2 or three topics from each section. The members go around and read each one, then vote on their favorites. The top ones in each category are the highlights for the month.

 

2. (and probably the favorite) each critics club chooses a topic from their section, and votes, then puts them together for the "recommended reads" article.

 

The first one allows greater control over what's chosen as a "RR" for the month (and ensures certain authors aren't favored over others, even if accidentally), while the second allows more freedom over how long it takes, and requires fewer people and less time. Like I said, if this ever does become a thing, we would need to work with the other forums and the admins.

I'd certainly love to talk it over. I'll ask HH about this, and if I can get some general approval, we'll go from there.

 

-MT

[TinkerTech]

Sweet. I'm wondering whether or not we should take this to the other critic clubs now, or wait until we have approval. (It would probably help if all three clubs were behind the decision...) But we could post and say "Hey, we're thinking about doing this Featured Read thing for the library, we're getting approval now, are you interested in participating?"

 

What do you think?

[MT Zehvor]

Sweet. I'm wondering whether or not we should take this to the other critic clubs now, or wait until we have approval. (It would probably help if all three clubs were behind the decision...) But we could post and say "Hey, we're thinking about doing this Featured Read thing for the library, we're getting approval now, are you interested in participating?"

 

What do you think?

Well, I already sent the PM...so it probably wouldn't delay things too much to wait.

 

At this point I think we might as well just wait around for the hopeful go signal, and then approach the other forums with an already approved idea. There's not a whole lot we lose by waiting for a day or so.

 

-MT