State of Madrona (Cross-post)
Sat, Apr. 6th, 2019 01:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiraliciousHello Madrona Members (and non-members on my LJ flist as I am cross-posting this there)!
This is primarily to update members of the Madrona Project writing community and to ask for feedback. If you are not a member of Madrona and happen to read this post and would like to make suggestions, please do! The more the merrier.
The last two years have been a major transition period for our little writing comm. Most of the changes have been behind the scenes and are still ongoing. This update is to let you all know what has been going on, what changes to expect, and what we need help with. There will also be a lot of opportunities to give feedback.
This post is going to have a lot of information. Please read it very carefully, all the way through, before leaving questions or comments. I am going to try to address all the questions and problems that have come up. Buckle up, its going to be a long, bumpy ride.
One of the most visible changes to the main comm is the change in layout. We have always prided ourselves on the layout changing seasonally. The problem is, since Jen passed, we don't have anyone who knows how to make custom layouts. Our current layout is a placeholder until we can get someone to make us something long term that meets all of our needs.
The newsletter has returned. Who has been in charge of it has been bouncing around. The ball has landed back in its original court and hopefully will go back to being a monthly thing. Check the sticky posts.
We are trying to develop a comprehensive FAQ page. ANY questions you would like to ask, please ask them. You can leave questions on this post, but there will be a post specifically asking for questions at the info comm in the near future.
There has been some recent questions about holidays. Our list of holidays at the comm has never been comprehensive. It has had a note on it since the comm's inception that it is not all the holidays in Madrona and that the comm was looking for suggestions for additional celebrations. Also, you can post to the comm whenever you feel like. We are not a challenge comm. There are no official prompts or posting timelines. (With the exception of member lead events with their own rules or if we do something special like a holiday bingo and those specific rules will be posted at the time of the event.) You can post for a holiday when it's not happening on the calendar. Every land also has its own land specific holidays as well. Expanding the church holidays list has been on the agenda for several years now.
We are trying something new, seasonal challenges. They aren't really challenges, more like extra newsletter posts about the changing seasons. It's just to remind people that you can post about things that have nothing to do with holidays.
While cleaning up posts on the comm, we discovered an issue with the claiming post. For reasons unknown to the rest of us, Jen member locked the post shortly before she passed away. I have tried several ways of unlocking it, but while mods can unlock locked posts on LJ, apparently on DW, mods can only lock members' posts, not unlock them. A further complication, is that Jen also added a link to a secondary map that shows the claims map with the current country borders on it for reference. It's not a perfect map, but its pretty close. The problem is, this link goes back to LJ, despite the fact we had already moved the comm to DW at the time. Because of all of this, we will be making a new claims post. No one is losing their claims or any of the info on the original post.
Speaking of maps, the capital has competing versions of its “official” map with no good link to either version. We are still looking for ways to resolve this. One of the possible solutions is to find someone to draw a new map for us. It's one of those weird things that you wouldn't think would be a problem, but has turned out to be.
I have also recently found the official Madrona timeline of historical events Jen was working on when she passed. It needs some editing and again, none of us know how to make those kinds of graphics, so just know its a thing.
We are also working on a better explanation of the rules and Madrona itself. None of the rules are changing. The problem is that most of the rules aren't written down because most of the members have been in the comm for almost 10 years, so they are just sort of known and it makes it hard for new members.
The one thing we are doing that goes entirely against Jen's wishes, is that we will be pimping the comm, trying to attract new members. Jen always wanted to keep the comm very small, not expanding much past the original 10 active members. The problem is, most of us are gone, and while we have no delusions of the comm becoming massive, we need new blood.
The tags have been cleaned up. We had some serious issues with duplicates and more than one style of tag. Now, only Vexed_Wench can make tags. There will be a “needs a tag” tag to help bring her attention to needed tags. You can also PM her about it.
Posts should also be cleaned up as well. When the comm was first being switched entirely to DW, instead of just being mirrored there, there were two major screw ups. One, something glitched and doubled all the old posts. Two, someone (me) accidentally imported the info comm into the main comm. All of that should be cleared up now though. If you see something, let a mod know.
There has been a change in the division of labor. Originally, Jen was head mod a the main comm and Vexed was the head mod at the info comm. Vexed is now the head mod at the main comm and I (Katt/Spiralicious) am in charge of the info comm. Poke with issues accordingly.
We are still keeping our old policy of the comm is a success as long as it gets one post a month. To this end, we have been trying to work on monthly post series, aside from the newsletter. Other ideas we have had have been a sort of tabloidy thing about the royal family and there was something with the nuns or the school kids. Needless to say, these didn't work out, so if you have suggestions, we want to hear them.
Starting next year, there will be a new holiday honoring Jen. It's taken a long time to come up with something and honestly, its not really fleshed out, but we decided we would be doing something on appreciate a dragon day. By the time we thought of it this year, it was too late to do anything. Jen loved dragons more than almost anything and they are a thing that gets mentioned in Madrona. Ideas and thoughts, we need them.
Land quick guides will be a thing. No one is allowed to play in your land without your express permission and you never have to play in the capital, but since all of these lands exist in a shared kingdom/world, it is allowed to make references to or talk about other people's lands and basic knowledge of other lands is reasonable and could be expected. So what it is going to be is basically a page at the info comm with the name of each land, who owns it, and a paragraph describing it. I will be bugging people for info.
On the topic of land guides, individual land guide will never be mandatory, but they are helpful for other members to reference or for you yourself to have to reference. Jen just assumed everyone would just make one for themselves, which is why she had me do one years ago for an example. The problem was not everyone is as intensely into world building as I am, so people just saw mine and balked. Because of that, we've been working on a form for people to fill out and use as a land guide, if they want to.
We're also working on a basic info guide for the capital and Madrona in general. It sort of goes against Jen's wishes. A big problem we have when new people join is they want to know how things work in the capital, but no one knows. Jen decided in the beginning that things in the capital would be decided by people writing fics and making things up and then it would be canon. The reality is that people don't want to touch it. They don't want to be responsible for making up how things work for everyone. So we have been figuring out for the capital, (again, your land, your rules), things like how does mail get delivered? What is their version of the police force? Etc. This one of those things if you have questions or feedback, we need to hear them.
Did you know there is something like 20 known religions on the kingdom of Madrona? Neither did I until I started working on the guide to Madrona. It will have its own quick guide, that will basically be the name of the religion, what lands commonly practice it, and a paragraph or so describing it. When it comes to making up religions for your lands and putting guides to them on the info comm, you are on your own.
Character guides are something we've also always had at the info comm and they have always been and will continue to be voluntary. Our form for them kind of sucks though. You are always free to make your own, but we are also making up a new one that is, hopefully, better than the one we have, but not as complicated as the ones we keep finding.
All of the holidays in Madrona are based on real life celebrations. Last year, I was supposed to do info comm posts explaining the inspiration for each one to help people figure out how to celebrate them, but I didn't get to. They are happening though.
We are also working on a ghosting policy. Basically, we'll be coming up with a policy on what to do with lands that have been abandoned and we will get back to you when we have more on that.
If I do cross-post something (like this post) to my LJ (or my personal DW) for visibility, please comment at the post at the info comm on DW, if possible. Its a “housekeeping” issue for me. I am the one who has to keep track of all the feedback and it is a lot easier for me to do so if it is all in one place. LJ also has issues with me sharing outside links, so there will most likely not be a link to the relevant DW post on the cross-post on LJ. If I am cross-posting to LJ, chances are I literally just posted it to the info comm, making it the very first post. If you are having trouble finding the post, all current members of Madrona have the chat and/or email info for myself, Vexed, and Kira. Please find one of us that way to ask for the link.
On that note, please join the info comm. It has never been a requirement, but it is an excellent resource for the community. If someone hosts an event at the main comm and there are instruction that have to be given out of character, they will be at the info comm. Character guides, land guides, information about anything in Madrona, if the information exists, it will be at the info comm. It is also a place for members to post information they think would be helpful for other members, such as links to language guides/dictionaries, video tutorials on historical hairstyles, info on cultures that are similar to Madrona for inspiration, etc. Also, if I make any posts asking for feedback about the comm, that post will be at the info comm.
Thank you for making it this far. I look forward to hearing from you.
Katt & the Mods
This is primarily to update members of the Madrona Project writing community and to ask for feedback. If you are not a member of Madrona and happen to read this post and would like to make suggestions, please do! The more the merrier.
The last two years have been a major transition period for our little writing comm. Most of the changes have been behind the scenes and are still ongoing. This update is to let you all know what has been going on, what changes to expect, and what we need help with. There will also be a lot of opportunities to give feedback.
This post is going to have a lot of information. Please read it very carefully, all the way through, before leaving questions or comments. I am going to try to address all the questions and problems that have come up. Buckle up, its going to be a long, bumpy ride.
One of the most visible changes to the main comm is the change in layout. We have always prided ourselves on the layout changing seasonally. The problem is, since Jen passed, we don't have anyone who knows how to make custom layouts. Our current layout is a placeholder until we can get someone to make us something long term that meets all of our needs.
The newsletter has returned. Who has been in charge of it has been bouncing around. The ball has landed back in its original court and hopefully will go back to being a monthly thing. Check the sticky posts.
We are trying to develop a comprehensive FAQ page. ANY questions you would like to ask, please ask them. You can leave questions on this post, but there will be a post specifically asking for questions at the info comm in the near future.
There has been some recent questions about holidays. Our list of holidays at the comm has never been comprehensive. It has had a note on it since the comm's inception that it is not all the holidays in Madrona and that the comm was looking for suggestions for additional celebrations. Also, you can post to the comm whenever you feel like. We are not a challenge comm. There are no official prompts or posting timelines. (With the exception of member lead events with their own rules or if we do something special like a holiday bingo and those specific rules will be posted at the time of the event.) You can post for a holiday when it's not happening on the calendar. Every land also has its own land specific holidays as well. Expanding the church holidays list has been on the agenda for several years now.
We are trying something new, seasonal challenges. They aren't really challenges, more like extra newsletter posts about the changing seasons. It's just to remind people that you can post about things that have nothing to do with holidays.
While cleaning up posts on the comm, we discovered an issue with the claiming post. For reasons unknown to the rest of us, Jen member locked the post shortly before she passed away. I have tried several ways of unlocking it, but while mods can unlock locked posts on LJ, apparently on DW, mods can only lock members' posts, not unlock them. A further complication, is that Jen also added a link to a secondary map that shows the claims map with the current country borders on it for reference. It's not a perfect map, but its pretty close. The problem is, this link goes back to LJ, despite the fact we had already moved the comm to DW at the time. Because of all of this, we will be making a new claims post. No one is losing their claims or any of the info on the original post.
Speaking of maps, the capital has competing versions of its “official” map with no good link to either version. We are still looking for ways to resolve this. One of the possible solutions is to find someone to draw a new map for us. It's one of those weird things that you wouldn't think would be a problem, but has turned out to be.
I have also recently found the official Madrona timeline of historical events Jen was working on when she passed. It needs some editing and again, none of us know how to make those kinds of graphics, so just know its a thing.
We are also working on a better explanation of the rules and Madrona itself. None of the rules are changing. The problem is that most of the rules aren't written down because most of the members have been in the comm for almost 10 years, so they are just sort of known and it makes it hard for new members.
The one thing we are doing that goes entirely against Jen's wishes, is that we will be pimping the comm, trying to attract new members. Jen always wanted to keep the comm very small, not expanding much past the original 10 active members. The problem is, most of us are gone, and while we have no delusions of the comm becoming massive, we need new blood.
The tags have been cleaned up. We had some serious issues with duplicates and more than one style of tag. Now, only Vexed_Wench can make tags. There will be a “needs a tag” tag to help bring her attention to needed tags. You can also PM her about it.
Posts should also be cleaned up as well. When the comm was first being switched entirely to DW, instead of just being mirrored there, there were two major screw ups. One, something glitched and doubled all the old posts. Two, someone (me) accidentally imported the info comm into the main comm. All of that should be cleared up now though. If you see something, let a mod know.
There has been a change in the division of labor. Originally, Jen was head mod a the main comm and Vexed was the head mod at the info comm. Vexed is now the head mod at the main comm and I (Katt/Spiralicious) am in charge of the info comm. Poke with issues accordingly.
We are still keeping our old policy of the comm is a success as long as it gets one post a month. To this end, we have been trying to work on monthly post series, aside from the newsletter. Other ideas we have had have been a sort of tabloidy thing about the royal family and there was something with the nuns or the school kids. Needless to say, these didn't work out, so if you have suggestions, we want to hear them.
Starting next year, there will be a new holiday honoring Jen. It's taken a long time to come up with something and honestly, its not really fleshed out, but we decided we would be doing something on appreciate a dragon day. By the time we thought of it this year, it was too late to do anything. Jen loved dragons more than almost anything and they are a thing that gets mentioned in Madrona. Ideas and thoughts, we need them.
Land quick guides will be a thing. No one is allowed to play in your land without your express permission and you never have to play in the capital, but since all of these lands exist in a shared kingdom/world, it is allowed to make references to or talk about other people's lands and basic knowledge of other lands is reasonable and could be expected. So what it is going to be is basically a page at the info comm with the name of each land, who owns it, and a paragraph describing it. I will be bugging people for info.
On the topic of land guides, individual land guide will never be mandatory, but they are helpful for other members to reference or for you yourself to have to reference. Jen just assumed everyone would just make one for themselves, which is why she had me do one years ago for an example. The problem was not everyone is as intensely into world building as I am, so people just saw mine and balked. Because of that, we've been working on a form for people to fill out and use as a land guide, if they want to.
We're also working on a basic info guide for the capital and Madrona in general. It sort of goes against Jen's wishes. A big problem we have when new people join is they want to know how things work in the capital, but no one knows. Jen decided in the beginning that things in the capital would be decided by people writing fics and making things up and then it would be canon. The reality is that people don't want to touch it. They don't want to be responsible for making up how things work for everyone. So we have been figuring out for the capital, (again, your land, your rules), things like how does mail get delivered? What is their version of the police force? Etc. This one of those things if you have questions or feedback, we need to hear them.
Did you know there is something like 20 known religions on the kingdom of Madrona? Neither did I until I started working on the guide to Madrona. It will have its own quick guide, that will basically be the name of the religion, what lands commonly practice it, and a paragraph or so describing it. When it comes to making up religions for your lands and putting guides to them on the info comm, you are on your own.
Character guides are something we've also always had at the info comm and they have always been and will continue to be voluntary. Our form for them kind of sucks though. You are always free to make your own, but we are also making up a new one that is, hopefully, better than the one we have, but not as complicated as the ones we keep finding.
All of the holidays in Madrona are based on real life celebrations. Last year, I was supposed to do info comm posts explaining the inspiration for each one to help people figure out how to celebrate them, but I didn't get to. They are happening though.
We are also working on a ghosting policy. Basically, we'll be coming up with a policy on what to do with lands that have been abandoned and we will get back to you when we have more on that.
If I do cross-post something (like this post) to my LJ (or my personal DW) for visibility, please comment at the post at the info comm on DW, if possible. Its a “housekeeping” issue for me. I am the one who has to keep track of all the feedback and it is a lot easier for me to do so if it is all in one place. LJ also has issues with me sharing outside links, so there will most likely not be a link to the relevant DW post on the cross-post on LJ. If I am cross-posting to LJ, chances are I literally just posted it to the info comm, making it the very first post. If you are having trouble finding the post, all current members of Madrona have the chat and/or email info for myself, Vexed, and Kira. Please find one of us that way to ask for the link.
On that note, please join the info comm. It has never been a requirement, but it is an excellent resource for the community. If someone hosts an event at the main comm and there are instruction that have to be given out of character, they will be at the info comm. Character guides, land guides, information about anything in Madrona, if the information exists, it will be at the info comm. It is also a place for members to post information they think would be helpful for other members, such as links to language guides/dictionaries, video tutorials on historical hairstyles, info on cultures that are similar to Madrona for inspiration, etc. Also, if I make any posts asking for feedback about the comm, that post will be at the info comm.
Thank you for making it this far. I look forward to hearing from you.
Katt & the Mods
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-06 08:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-24 06:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-06 02:24 pm (UTC)Character name: Pashmina
Occupation: Kitten(courtesan/high class prositute/mistress)
Family: Grande Duke Alexander Saint-Germain, who is his patron
World: Alex's palace/chateau in the Duchy of Saint-Germaine
Backstory: Pashmina was sold as a little boy to sex slavers where he wound up as a curiosity in a brothel. He cross-dresses, having grown up doing it. Flirtatious and outgoing, he's very cheeky to Alex, who adores him.They met years ago at a Vinefest celebration in the capital.
Character name: Adelina
Occupation: Princess
Family: King Maximilian, Queen Margarita, Prince Julian, Princess Princess Carmina Infantanta, Diego della Vega
World: Alex's palace/chateau in the Duchy of Saint-Germaine
Backstory: Middle child in the royal family, unmarried. Prefers the company of her ladies to that of men/male suitors.
Character name: Ashok Chandrasehka
Occupation: Spice merchant
Family: Brother Shankar, wife Sitara, brother-in-law Luke Dick, 2 daughters Gita and Jyoti
Roseburg
Backstory: Younger of 2 children, he's slow, yet amiable. Estranged along with his brother from his family in the capital.
Character name: Soaring Eagle
Occupation: Elf (a group of people who live off the land and are one with nature. they are named for the mythical magical people in stories.) in charge of the younger boys/men of the tribe
Family: none
Backstory: Bit of a fool, he lusts after the Elf known as Rabbit as well as various girls in their tribe. Also tries to hang out with Black Dog. Fancies himself an "elder statesman/big brother" to the younger boys, like Black Dog, who actually fills that role.
I'm thinking it's short & sweet & gives the basics of the character. We could also include links to the stories they've appeared in, if anyone wanted more info. This way if someone wanted to write about an Elf they created, if that Elf went to see Flaming Arrow for some sickness, it would add to the atmosphere of the story if they passed FLP giving Rabbit instructions on how to take care of baby Storm Chaser, or if they mentioned Black Dog in passing.
Hope that helps! :D
(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-09 01:30 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-09 01:36 am (UTC)It was a thought, and you're right, one could simply click on a character's tag to find all the stories about them. So then we need to standardize the tags & make sure everything is tagged, so all the stories can be found.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-09 01:39 am (UTC)Yeah, looking at tags, Black Dog is tagged in 30 fics, FLP in 38, Flaming Arrow 15, Rabbit 29, etc. It would be a bit much XD. As I said in the post above all the tags have been standardized (have been for a long time), and as far as we know, everything is tagged.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-09 02:22 am (UTC)Having looked around the comm, I think I got the tagging under control. XD Now all I need to do is start writing again. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-19 01:01 am (UTC)Yup.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-19 02:16 am (UTC)*nods*
(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-24 05:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-04-24 05:48 pm (UTC)Okay, that works & would be helpful for new members. :D