Morgan Hudson wrote:
I agree with Jason Liao on this.
What we need to do is get our name out there again. Back in the "old days"
(Lurk's right - it's about that time for some of us), we had people like
Elsa Bibat working their tails off to make the FFML hum. Remember the weekly
summaries? The Long, Strange, Walks? How about the FFML Hall of Fame? Or the
Chicken Ball Awards?
Do the Synopses List, of which I was the maintainer, not rate a mention?
Boo-hoo-hoo... :)
I think that's how to revive the FFML. Start doing things that will generate
interest again. Give people a simple webpage that has some important info
and a registration form. Let the writers and the readers know that we're
the place to go if they want all killer, no filler. Serious C&C. Polished
fics. And always eager to help out new kids by giving them friendly
suggestions and advice.
I think you're exactly right about exposure.
At this stage of the game, I think that expanding the range of source
material that the list will accept is akin to rearranging the deck
chairs on the Titanic. I think that _somebody_ will need to step
forward and do a little advertising. If they don't know about it, you
can bet that they won't come.
For reference, the Fanfiction section of www.shoujoai.com easily has 10
times the amount of traffic as the FFML. If that one small niche of the
fandom universe has that level of traffic, then I'm sure that the FFML
could have at least as much if it were properly advertised.
However, I think you're slightly off the mark about something else: The
list has to be fun. I know that I threw in the towel with the Synopses
Lists because preparing them started to become more like work than
anything else. So be careful with the 'all killer, no filler' stuff. I
think that the 'filler' is more important than some people realise.