The End of the Ravishment Academy

[Writers_Bloque]

I missed a month here to things happening. I wanted to participate, but couldn't. I feel bad to hear it is shutting down. I love reading the stories and posting my own. I think I made some friends here. Hopefully things pick up. I want to help keep this board going and lift it up.

[DayDreamNights]

I'm sorry I wasnt as active as I could have been. I was actually working on a story to share and was hoping to become more active but I completely understand your decision

[lint]

Thank you so much for everything you have done. It can be a thankless task running forums like this.

[Blue]

That's not good news.
Yes, hardly any new stories have been posted in the last few weeks, and the contests aren't getting the attention they actually deserve. But I'd like to point out: it's summer vacation everywhere right now. Even loyal readers like me are on vacation with their families, and it's often not easy to read the forum or write new stories in this time.
I myself have just finished a story with almost 15,000 words, which I'd actually like to post in a contest for such long stories. And the sequel is already in the works, so if the topic is fairly general, I could even post two stories.
However, I don't particularly like the current format of the contests, where two opponents always compete against each other. In the current contest, many writers advanced because their opponents were eliminated. In return, there was a duel in which both opponents received the highest ratings so far. Both authors deserved to advance. Instead, stories advanced without a fight or with very few points. That doesn't exactly motivate you to participate in further contests. Let the summer holidays be over before you make a final decision...

[peterfrisk]

Sad News… RA will be missed a lot. I hope you will reconsider your decision or some other person will step up and take the torch. I too have noticed that the traffic here have slowed down but thought it was because of such things as summer holidays but maybe more because the feeling or maybe the phase of a “new cool toy” is over. I still think that it can take off and evolve in to something great but as Vela wrote. Maybe the forum needs to be more forceful in how people get access to the stories or other posts…

Anyway I really hope this isn’t the end of RA and if it is I really want to give my sincere thanks to you for making a platform for us with this kinks and likes. It’s been a pleasant experience for a former forum lurker to talk a little with likeminded people.

[JTCK]

Blue has already anticipated much of what I wanted to write. I also think that the time of year is a major problem—on the one hand because of the summer holidays, and on the other because I generally spend much less time on my phone or PC during this period…

But step by step: yesterday was truly a rollercoaster of emotions for me. First the appointment as a “Pillar,” and then the announcement that the forum would be shut down.
If that really happens, I would find it an absolute pity, because I don’t know of any comparable place on the internet. And that applies both to the quality of the content and to the pleasant tone in the interactions here.

What happened

Personally, I'm very sad to see the Academy end this way. If you are angry because of my decision, please direct that anger at me and not my team.

Anger? No, that wouldn’t be appropriate. After all the work you’ve invested, of course you have every right to end it if you’re not satisfied with the result. But I do feel disappointment — and yes, also a bit of incomprehension. I think your expectations for the forum’s growth are simply not realistic.
Everything new is interesting at first — and once people get used to it, interest (and in our case participation) inevitably decreases again. Like a new toy for children: in the first days there are quarrels because everyone wants it, but soon it gathers dust in a corner.
But the truly valuable toys are the ones that aren’t used every day, but which kids return to again and again —even when the Toys are old and perhaps no longer attractive to others. That’s what you could achieve with this forum. Wouldn’t that be great and enough? To have created something that those who truly value it will always be glad to come back to?

And isn’t the metric you’re using to evaluate the forum perhaps the wrong one? Is the number of posts and ratings really the most important thing? Of course, more is better. But on the other hand, both the quality of the stories and the comments here are really exceptionally good, aren't they? Isn’t that far more important?



Perhaps I’m being naive and underestimating how much work the forum still requires now that it’s up and running. But I wonder — wouldn’t it be an option to reduce your own workload as much as possible, let the forum continue with less of your moderation for now, and see how it develops? Maybe this was the wake-up call we all needed. Besides, new members are joining — even if slowly, they are coming.


As I’ve already said, I can’t realistically assess the amount of work you have at all. So please don’t take my words as criticism—just as my opinion on the subject. And after all, you did say you wanted comments

[Blue]

...
And isn’t the metric you’re using to evaluate the forum perhaps the wrong one? Is the number of posts and ratings really the most important thing? Of course, more is better. But on the other hand, both the quality of the stories and the comments here are really exceptionally good, aren't they? Isn’t that far more important?

I also think there's some truth in what JTK wrote.

@Claire : You started with a lot of commitment, and together with your moderators, you've created something amazing in a very short time. No one would have believed it would work like that.

But weren't your expectations of yourself a bit too high for a start?
You introduced a rating system that's probably rarely seen elsewhere. And you expected almost everyone who reads a story to rate it.
Well, I think you realized yourself that this approach didn't really work. Many people just want only to read stories and not to rate them. Or even write comments on them.

The same applies to the competitions you started. Very good ideas, but unfortunately, some of them also failed. Partly due to too short time limits, partly due to a lack of interest from people here in the forum.

Why don't you just keep the forum running for a while? Every now and then, but please not constantly, remind people that stories can be rated and that comments are welcome. But it's not a must!

One technical thing I noticed: I usually always check the "new posts" section to see if there's anything new in the forum. But this page is behaving very strangely: when I look on my lnotebook, I usually see the most recent new posts. On the other hand, when I look on my smartphone, the posts are usually a day old. This makes me think there are no new topics, even though many other posts may have been posted in the meantime.
And from some forum sections, no posts at all seem to be displayed in the "News." News in the "Book Club," for example, rarely appears. So every now and then I have to make the effort to check the homepage and then the threads to see what's new. Perhaps that's also a problem, because many people then think there's nothing new to read.

Please don't let this forum die, but give it at least another 6 months!

[Vela Nanashi]

The thing is for Claire and me, the comments on stories and ratings on stories are required for us to invest time into the forum, we can't accept just passive readers who never say anything, sure that is the natural way most people are used to handling stories. But it is not the goal here, we want something different, something more, the lurkers and guests who do not register or comment, they are wasting resources of the forum and are useless, if they want there to be a place to read stories they have to pay for that with interaction, or the time to run the place will not be worth it anymore. I am not sure if there is a chance for Claire to change her mind, but I know that will require a consistent change. Also for all of you who write stories and engage with the stories of your fellow authors and with those who comment on your stories, thank you and I am sorry you were not sufficient in numbers to make things work.

I hope we have a burst of activity that when it fades still is sufficient to make the forum feel worth it, and that Claire will change her mind if that happens. Or that someone else can take over from her.

There is also a reason why Claire can't just vanish and let the site coast without her, she is responsible for things following the rules here, that means she has to moderate, to make sure nothing bad happens, that will then be put on her shoulders, and then obviously if that is just all work and no play, since this place lacks the feedback culture she needs (and I), well it is then not something that feels worth it. I am not sure if I fully captured all the reasons clearly enough, so correct me if I am wrong, but I think that it is close to the truth at least, but filtered through my flawed understanding.

Anyway I hope this place keeps going and gets to the point it feels worth it.

[Lucius]

I hope we have a burst of activity that when it fades still is sufficient to make the forum feel worth it, and that Claire will change her mind if that happens. Or that someone else can take over from her.
...
Anyway I hope this place keeps going and gets to the point it feels worth it.

Thank you, @Vela Nanashi! I hope the users will give it a try.

[Blue]

@Vela Nanashi
Regarding the feedback culture:
Yes, I openly admit that I only give feedback when a story has captivated me. Or if it's a completely negative example.

There are many stories that I've read from the first letter to the last. And those usually get either a positive vote or a positive comment. Or both...

But there are also many stories where I know after just a few paragraphs that I can't relate to them. So why should I read them to the end? And maybe even rate or comment?
Very few authors like to read negative comments because they hope to improve. So why should I upset authors just because I personally don't like their style of writing a story?

I think many visitors to this site will argue this way when asked why they don't leave a comment or a rating. And you should accept that.

Because: too many negative comments will discourage authors from posting more stories. Therefore, it's better to have fewer comments, but write them in such a way that the author can actually learn something from them.

Simply writing "like" or "dislike" won't help the forum survive either.

My2Cents
Blue