[NOT official lol] Your thoughts on PoC?

[Melody]

To be honest I can forgive a club owner for being inactive if they at least try to make an effort to be active somewhat. Club owner activity is pretty much irrelevant if nobody else is actually active. I feel like more of the burden shouldn't be on the owners, it should be on the community that they're fostering. Do they take responsibility for that community? Yes. Is it their fault if the community does not keep it active? No. Not entirely anyways. In smaller communities it's almost always true that members are more responsible for their own actions than they would be in a larger group. The accountability cannot be spread that thinly.

 

[Sun]

To be honest I can forgive a club owner for being inactive if they at least try to make an effort to be active somewhat. Club owner activity is pretty much irrelevant if nobody else is actually active. I feel like more of the burden shouldn't be on the owners, it should be on the community that they're fostering. Do they take responsibility for that community? Yes. Is it their fault if the community does not keep it active? No. Not entirely anyways. In smaller communities it's almost always true that members are more responsible for their own actions than they would be in a larger group. The accountability cannot be spread that thinly.

If only they are this understanding. As a club owner, I take my role seriously, perhaps a bit ttoo serious. But it can be tiring and devastating too when the members aren't trying. everything really falls on the owners' shoulders.

 

[Melody]

If only they are this understanding. As a club owner, I take my role seriously, perhaps a bit ttoo serious. But it can be tiring and devastating too when the members aren't trying. everything really falls on the owners' shoulders.

And they should be that understanding at least. Yes it's easy to fall into it and take things a little bit too seriously. But you should also be trying to encourage people to be more into the participating. It is definitely unfair if they try to blame you for everything if they do nothing.

 

[Sun]

And they should be that understanding at least. Yes it's easy to fall into it and take things a little bit too seriously. But you should also be trying to encourage people to be more into the participating. It is definitely unfair if they try to blame you for everything if they do nothing.

Thanks. :') While no one's blaming, it feels bad when the members aren't engaging enough. As Anna said so, the PoC's culture nowadays is: [new topic][answer topic][quiet] which is an awful and unhealthy wash rinse repeat cycle.

A healthy and correct one should be [new topic][discussion]and[subsequent quoting and further discussion][new topic/new activity]. So yeah, that's why I'm asking non-regulars to see what's putting them off, what can lure them in as well as their general view on the whole section. In hopes to sturdy and find a way to improve the whole section and current situation; that unhealthy situation just can't go on, it's heartbreaking and saddening.

Clubs don't really feel like clubs, no unity and no interactions. I recall back in the days, people used to take pride of their clubs they are part of and clubs really felt like real clubs.

 

[Melody]

Thanks. :') While no one's blaming, it feels bad when the members aren't engaging enough. As Anna said so, the PoC's culture nowadays is: [new topic][answer topic][quiet] which is an awful and unhealthy wash rinse repeat cycle.

A healthy and correct one should be [new topic][discussion]and[subsequent quoting and further discussion][new topic/new activity]. So yeah, that's why I'm asking non-regulars to see what's putting them off, what can lure them in as well as their general view on the whole section. In hopes to sturdy and find a way to improve the whole section and current situation; that unhealthy situation just can't go on, it's heartbreaking and saddening.

Clubs don't really feel like clubs, no unity and no interactions. I recall back in the days, people used to take pride of their clubs they are part of and clubs really felt like real clubs.

Yes. Those days were the glory days of Clubs in general. I feel like the subsequent rise and fall of social groups tended to remove the steam from clubs in general, but I liked social groups over clubs as they could foster discussion more easily because they acted like subreddits do on reddit.

The social group feature really made fanclubs flourish in my opinion, as social groups.

 

[Sun]

Yes. Those days were the glory days of Clubs in general. I feel like the subsequent rise and fall of social groups tended to remove the steam from clubs in general, but I liked social groups over clubs as they could foster discussion more easily because they acted like subreddits do on reddit.

The social group feature really made fanclubs flourish in my opinion, as social groups.

Yeah, adding on what Anna and Ben said -- most of the topics can be covered elsewhere and perhaps even better.

I wonder if PoC will simply disappear in the future? Not necessarily saying in the near future... But we'll see if I can advert the whole situation.

I think the answer might be increased interactivity. What makes WoPC so attractive is it's culture, enriched by games and stories that encourage and inspire users to participate and grow the forum.

At the moment, things that could be discussed in clubs are discussed elsewhere, because there is no unique aspect to the clubs. To be successful, clubs need to have more interactivity, more stuff to encourage users to really participate!

For an example, what if the shiny club had a game? A shiny collecting game. It won't be the whole point of the club, but it'll encourage people to be more active and talk about the game as well as other experiences. Just an idea.

Thanks, but let's be honest (and I don't wanna play the blame game and not trying to), the club members need to be more engage, instead of waiting for a new topic and answer then repeat the process.

I organized an event for the whole section, but I admit it's a bit too late -- I organized it when the whole section's drought has already reached a harsh level. A friend told me though, it's lively during the spring time. We shall see if that's real. :) (Hopefully, it is.)

 

[Hikamaru]

I may technically be a regular, but I see so many good points brought up in there. I do feel the section has been suffering from inactive club owners as of late, and also Sun's unfortunate timing of organizing an event when a lot of members are busy with school and stuff. It was a nice concept of an event, but if it was organized elsewhere in the year it would have been more active.

While some topics in the clubs may get stagnant, knowing Sun I'm sure he's planning a new way to discuss in the section.

 

[Sun]

I may technically be a regular, but I see so many good points brought up in there. I do feel the section has been suffering from inactive club owners as of late, and also Sun's unfortunate timing of organizing an event when a lot of members are busy with school and stuff. It was a nice concept of an event, but if it was organized elsewhere in the year it would have been more active.

While some topics in the clubs may get stagnant, knowing Sun I'm sure he's planning a new way to discuss in the section.

You are a regular, hahaha. Don't forget you're part of the Elite Four. ;) I know you're feeling the pain I'm going through as well. As a regular, as a fellow club owner we can only keep on doing our best. :') Once we began it, we can't just kick the bucket.

Failure's completely on my miscalculation, I'm willing to take the complete responsibility for that. Having said that, I hope my wrong timing doesn't discourage Alex from organizing any future events!

Speaking of new ways, Janna and I thought that merging similar clubs for example like a Steel, Rock and Ground-types in one club would be good. It's beneficial for wider topics to discuss and possibly more events for that merged club. But in the long run, it isn't gonna be helpful if the unhealthy club culture remains the same. Keep in mind, that wasn't any official suggestions or real confirmation, just a talk between friends. :)

 

[Lycanthropy]

I think the main problem indeed lies in the lack of club spirit and the post-and-go atmosphere it has instead. I've been trying to counter it with quoting posts and forcing some conversation for a while in the clubs I'm active in, but it's not completely working if others still don't have the interest to do more than replying to the topics. It regularly happened I'm actually getting the spirit I want to see, but am just talking with one person, while in the meanwhile others pop in and out and disappear again.

Problem is, you can't have club conversation when not enough members are active and you probably won't get much more activity back if the club spirit doesn't return. Question is, how can that circle be broken? Pokémon Clubs covers the field of Pokémon General, Gaming Central and Battling and Team Building mostly, with the difference that's it focused in more detail on the specific element (which covers most of the clubs). This is probably what withholds most people from joining a club. If you're going to post-and-go anyway, that's a lot easier in Pokémon General for example, as it doesn't require a sign-up. Yet I don't think that's a good reason to delete the section.
Also the overlap makes it a lot more difficult to organize a global PoC event. But truth is, this shouldn't even be necessary. Ideally, each club should feel like a "subforum" on its own and have its own group of events and regulars.

 

[Sun]

I think the main problem indeed lies in the lack of club spirit and the post-and-go atmosphere it has instead. I've been trying to counter it with quoting posts and forcing some conversation for a while in the clubs I'm active in, but it's not completely working if others still don't have the interest to do more than replying to the topics. It regularly happened I'm actually getting the spirit I want to see, but am just talking with one person, while in the meanwhile others pop in and out and disappear again.

Problem is, you can't have club conversation when not enough members are active and you probably won't get much more activity back if the club spirit doesn't return. Question is, how can that circle be broken? Pokémon Clubs covers the field of Pokémon General, Gaming Central and Battling and Team Building mostly, with the difference that's it focused in more detail on the specific element (which covers most of the clubs). This is probably what withholds most people from joining a club. If you're going to post-and-go anyway, that's a lot easier in Pokémon General for example, as it doesn't require a sign-up. Yet I don't think that's a good reason to delete the section.
Also the overlap makes it a lot more difficult to organize a global PoC event. But truth is, this shouldn't even be necessary. Ideally, each club should feel like a "subforum" on its own and have its own group of events and regulars.

That's a perfect spot on. I knew I chose the perfect person to co-lead the Flying-type Club. ^^ Yes, I've been seeing your constant effort, despite the busy schedule. Back to the topic, one of my strategies in the Psychic-type Club was multi-quoting and mixing their replies in one post. {XD} The problem with Flying-type is a bit special, compare to my other two current club (and plus two more former club) -- it felt like we're getting close, like it's getting right there then it just stops like that.

Sad thing is, that's the actual current situation of PoC now -- it has turned into a one-off thing when it wasn't suppose to be that way. I've been trying to strengthen the bond of my own club members, however, there was only a mild success with the Psychic-type Club and failure to the other existing clubs.

Bonding reminded me, how much it saddens me personally when I couldn't see most club members/club owners taking part the Club Feedback thread. I don't wanna make it sound so serious, forcing and heavy, but I truly believe it's our obligation to take part in every Feedback and Suggesting sessions. :/

Yeah, the difficulty of organizing an event is one thing too, Alex had to talk to Azazel before organizing the Amazing Race. Fortunately it was quick, but nonetheless it's still a hassle.

 

[Aquacorde]

1) really dont think forum-wide events tend to work in PoC. each club is more like its own subforum. the amazing race was cool but very complicated actually? and postathons aint ****

2) im seeing a lot of lament that members dont post. seems a bit blame-y :x people got **** to do. imo it's the club owner that needs to take full responsibility until the club has an active and self-sustaining culture. throw all sorts of ideas at your club. advertise. get ya friends in on it. just keep talking. it's how you revive a dead section and it's how you revive a dead club.

3) what do you talk about in these general clubs? do you come up with topics that are interesting for people to discuss, or do you just throw topic after topic in? how do you do it? are you just like "well ok new topic" and say a thing? do you lead with your own experiences and a question relevant to them? do you share your experiences?

4) do you look for inspiration outside of your club? do you pick up ideas from other sections, other websites? do you search for things that are relevant that would be fun to share? do you share art, comics, fics?

5) do you talk about very specific subsets of your topic? like, flying club, how much do you speculate on skyla's character in particular? do you debate the relative merits of the starting birds, rather than just ask for favs? do you talk about how you overcome flying weaknesses or which pokemon causes your fliers the most pain? do you debate the relative difficulty of flying gym leaders?

6) do you put everything you have into developing a club, or do you just like to be in charge/just want to make as many as possible? is the club always in the back of your mind, or do you have to think "i should do a thing for my club" and go off to figure it out?

7) activities. do more. feature member stuff on OP. figure out what your members like and their strengths. are they storytellers? fic contest. artists? art contests. graphic designers? banners. css-happy people? masterpost css design. breeders&shiny hunters? exchanges & giveaways. theme collabs. whatever interests people.

8) lol such srs biz lighten up have fun the major thing to do is constantly talk in a way that does not patronize or obviously force discussion like. a lot of times i see people replying in order to foster discussion like they would talk to a toddler- "oh thats's really interesting! what do you think would happen if you did __ instead?" like god nobody wants to talk to you if you pull that **** its obvious and terrible

lol off to work bye chew on that food for thought i guess

 

[Sun]

Sorry, I used the wrong term. I'm supposed to say 'responsibility' which is a free thing to do, whilst 'obligation' means it's a must. But I didn't mean anything compulsory, I apologize for my wording mistake.

EDIT: I will reply your post later, Anna. My net connection is completely off, I'm using a phone connection in case you're wondering.

EDIT 2: I do not want this thread to be overread as dissing Alex. While none has been said and/or hinted, I believe it's the correct move for me to discontinue this thread before it turns into something ugly. Despite explicitly saying it's nothing official from the very beginning, I truly believe it's for the best if we leave things like this. Furthermore, I had not asked for Alex's permission before making this thread, I don't wanna mislabeled as disrespecting. So cased closed.

Any feedback, suggestion, thoughts should remain here. Thank you very much for all the constructive feedback and helpful thoughts, they are truly appreciated! Have a nice day, everyone! Thanks again for the words.

 

[moon]

I agree that a club has to DO something in order to thrive. The Doctor Who and Homestuck clubs have their fandoms with series/comic to follow and discuss, for example. For pokemon clubs, I suppose you need to find some activity like hunting shinies, following monotype runs in games or discussing Ash's interactions with certain pokemon in the anime maybe? Or making fanart or stories or roleplay - but somehow connect it with the club as a fanhub.

 

[Aquacorde]

disclaimer: all of my posts are using the general "you" unless specified otherwise

in addition, club owners- do you know your members individually? do you remember who said what previously? do you engage with them both inside and outside of club? are they three-dimensional people or just replies to skim/postcount for your club?

 

[Aquacorde]

some clubs i found that may inspire

these weirdos talked exclusively about the snivy line for 40 pages/6 months. key points: chatter, personalities, weirdness

22 pages covering a year of Cilan spam. key points: me heading the club ;D nah jk. influx of content, stans, crack theories.

the wolves' hideout is what i consider the epitome of clubs tbh. it had four versions and it was beautiful. never was a member but wow. key points: COMMUNITY

let's be real- what i've done is search PoC for threads with 300+ replies. that's 15 pages- very respectable number. could expand that to any number for research purposes. but scanning through a lot of those older clubs, there's a ton more discussion, theorizing, bickering over criteria (what counts as a dragon-inspired pokemon? what pokemon are canines?). there's more clubs focused on a KIND of pokemon rather than elemental TYPE. And there's little to no "topics", none of that bolded question to answer sorta nonsense. There's the initial SU form and then banter and fun and showing each other cool things.

 

[Sun]

A friend and I have noticed that there were no highlighted topics before. Therefore I'm please to say that, Flying-type Club will be the first club to annul 'Topics'.

I wonder if Nichole still wants her Fairy-Club, if not anymore I'm seriously thinking of merging it with the Psychic-Club for the sake of wider topics (not to be mistaken with Topics). Lol

I'll check those clubs when the net isn't acting like a sht. :D

 

[Aquacorde]

wait you're not a mod...

im going to say it again, and again- i really, REALLY advise against merging clubs. especially since they're really? not the same? why would you merge them? psychic/fairies only make up 6/37 fairy types. that's 16.2%. there's so little in common there- and fairies are a hugely interesting set of lore that needs its own category of exploration.

do not merge any clubs. that makes literally zero sense. like i said earlier that would completely erase what identity and community there is. work on them for now- it's a busy time of year in the real world anyway. just keep truckin. if they close, whatever! that's life! try something different! but do not confuse people and erase progress by merging. that's silly.

tbh sun you really are actin like you're the sole person in control of PoC? and the one person who knows everything about it? that's kinda weird bro.

 

[Sun]

Lool that's why I wanted this thread to be left alone as people are over reading my actions. Which I do not appreciate a lot, I feel attacked and very unappreciated.

I do not run the show; I'm just the hermit crab of that lovely section. Ask Alex, Nichole and every single regular over there if you don't believe my words. I can proudly tell ya that 80-90% of my activity is around PoC and no doubt I love the place a lot, as I find solace and peace overthere.

I simply expressed a wish on merging the Fairy and Psychic, as Nichole told me there a very obvious decline on her club. Just because you are against of it, doesn't mean everyone thinks the same, in fact there are club regulars who are supportive of this decision, albeit they are discussed publicly. Fyi, I wasn't the one who first suggested the merge, I was even personally skeptical of it, until I saw with it with my own eyes how serious the condition of the Fairy Club is. Merging is better than shutting the pink club, in case you aren't aware, the pink club is nearly shutting down because of the lack of activity. My best friend has put a lot of efforts on it, I do not want every bits of it to be gone. She worked for the club after inheriting it. If you are that against of it, why not join those said clubs to help pump the activity? {XD}

 

[Klippy]

The attitudes I've seen here are counterproductive to discussions and positive discourse. Members are entitled to give feedback and provide suggestions of any kind, even if nobody agrees with it and acting as has been displayed here is not helpful in any way, whether or not another person is acting any better or worse.

This thread has clearly run its course with the way things are going.

Closing this upon request.