About the QtR fate

Discussions on the Fraternity netbooks

Do we want the QtR series stop?

Yes. It has run it's course
2
5%
Just slow it down a bit so we could have more time to Submit articles and finish our ideas
17
46%
No. The lack of responses for "Frozen Fear" was just a coincidence. Let the Netzine continue as it is.
18
49%
 
Total votes: 37

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Le Noir Faineant
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

:D As soon as I find the time, I'll write reviews of every RL material I came to use until now. That would include some of your contributions to QtR and USS, too. :twisted: *Be prepared* :lol: If I hadn't found them interesting I wouldn't have used them... :wink:
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Post by Wiccy of the Fraternity »

I can't wait to hear what you thought of them and how you used them, I don't get much feedback and any I do get (both positive and negative) is greatly appreciated :)
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

:D Just a short note on this for now: While your material -as everything made by humans - had its ups and downs, I must say that everything sounded really original. AsI posted earlier on some occasion, I personally think a lot of the RL fan stuff, and much of what the Fraternity cooked out, was better than most of the offcially released stuff.

*bows*

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Post by alhoon »

Jason of the Fraternity wrote:We've slowed this down from six issues to only four, but we might be better off going back to only one or two issues a year.
No, please, NO! Perhaps three per year, or two but not just one per year. It already seems much to me to wait three months for the next issue.

Jason of the Fraternity wrote:Again, this is a good point to know. Themes were introduced to help produce creative juices and bring a unifying theme to the netzine. While we certainly allow any type of Ravenloft article to be included, there might be a benefit to removing the concept of theme and merely accept whatever comes to someone's mind.
I also disagree with this. Some people argue that the material is too much, so we can't use it all.
The themes help there. It is far easier for me to say "hmm, I need a couple of good ideas about a desert adventure, let's look on the QtR for the Desert." or "The PCs are on ship, let's make things a bit more interesting with the QtR about the seas."

However I agree that tight themes make things a bit difficult. While themes like Desert, Cold, seas, etc are easy, a theme about the "horror of multiple colored cloaks in the Core" is a bit restraining.
Not that we had any such themes. . .
Wiccy of the Fraternity wrote:I can't wait to hear what you thought of them and how you used them, I don't get much feedback and any I do get (both positive and negative) is greatly appreciated :)
To Wiccy:The article about the Geists in USS was yours, wasn't it? I have used that recently and I'll use it again soon.
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Post by Jason of the Fraternity »

Wiccy of the Fraternity wrote:I hope you enjoy that book and it is never to late to leave feedback if you have any. Just post it in this forum if you feel the need to share any of your thoughts and comments
Everyone is welcome to leave their feedback here, but I would recommend that they actually leave their ideas and opinions on the Fraternity Netbook Feedback board. Since this other board was designed solely for this purpose, authors will be more likely to find reponses to their works in that forum. Thanks! :D
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Post by Jason of the Fraternity »

alhoon wrote:No, please, NO! Perhaps three per year, or two but not just one per year. It already seems much to me to wait three months for the next issue.
While we haven't made any official decisions as of yet, it currently sounds unlikely that we would cut down to only one issue a year at this time. However, the dilemma that we are running into is a matter of supply and demand. Most readers are demanding multiple issues throughout the year, but we only have so many contributions to fit that supply. Less issues per year would help us build articles to fill an issue appropriately.

alhoon wrote:I also disagree with this. Some people argue that the material is too much, so we can't use it all. The themes help there. It is far easier for me to say "hmm, I need a couple of good ideas about a desert adventure, let's look on the QtR for the Desert."
You make a very good point, alhoon, and I hadn't really been viewing it from that perspective. I also like having issues with a common theme, but my preference is to have a similar train of thought for the issue. A common theme would also help make referencing materials much easier as well.

However, what are your (and anybody else's) thoughts on themes if we do cut down to only two or three issues a year? When we had six issues, themes helped differentiate them. If we only have two, would themes still help very much?
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

Definitely, to put themes on the books would make them more interesting.
Got to be realists, you write this stuff mostly for the Fraternity, so if you want your work not only to be appreciated, but to be USED, you got to take the needs of the people into consideration.

*I however, liked every issue so far*

What about making a bit more *publicity* for those books?

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Post by Jason of the Fraternity »

Desdichado wrote:What about making a bit more *publicity* for those books?
We do tend to promote them a fair amount on our own boards, and there are other message boards that we post announcements and advertisements for the netbooks. However, what exactly did you have in mind as "publicity"?
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Post by alhoon »

Jason of the Fraternity wrote:
However, what are your (and anybody else's) thoughts on themes if we do cut down to only two or three issues a year? When we had six issues, themes helped differentiate them. If we only have two, would themes still help very much?
Two themes per issue, of course. . . :wink:
I'm not joking here. If you believe (and you're probably right) that a single theme is restraining, then why not have two in a single theme?

As you probably remember, the "Shadow Fey/aberration etc" theme was a favorite second theme for many polls.
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

Definitely, the theme idea is absolutely necessary.

Two suggestions:

1. Do *theme* anthologies using revised material from you earlier works; maybe you can even use stuff from the old Kargatane netbooks.

2. I don't know ifit has already been done, but it would help to detail the themes in the download section, so everyone knows where to look for what.

But, keep theme-related writing, please!

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Post by Wiccy of the Fraternity »

alhoon wrote:[To Wiccy:The article about the Geists in USS was yours, wasn't it? I have used that recently and I'll use it again soon.
Yep, Traumatized Spirits was my baby, I'm happy you found use for it :) WOW! That was all the way back in USS 2002! :shock:
Desdichado wrote:What about making a bit more *publicity* for those books?
The books are advenrtised on this site, Live Journal, EZ-Board, My Space, Dead Journal, Vampire Freaks, various other message board, the SSS and WotC forums, etc. We do advertise them and I also sometimes remember to put out a call for articles wit ha link to the submission guidelines ;)
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Post by ScS of the Fraternity »

Desdichado wrote:But, keep theme-related writing, please!
Aye, there's the rub!
If we switch to a biannunal publication system, then themes become unreasonable. Themes aren't good for a 6 month long wait - they only stay interesting for a short period. When they hit that kind of a span, they become more cumbersome than inspiring.

As for multiple themes, that seems right out. The themes were never really enforced to begin with - they were little more than suggestions. If we were going to have multiple themes, we might as well just produce multiple issues.
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Post by Le Noir Faineant »

:evil: Why did you cancel QtR 12?!

The articles now published as *Chilling Encounters* are all great!
This would easily have filled a new issue!!!

:) Don't give up!

We Ravenloftlers rely on you!

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Post by Jason of the Fraternity »

Desdichado wrote:Why did you cancel QtR 12?! The articles now published as *Chilling Encounters* are all great! This would easily have filled a new issue!
It was a judgment call, and a decision needed to be made. Due to the general lack of submissions, we figured that it would have been better to not create an issue of Quoth the Raven for the issue. In retrospect, we probably could have still made the netbook into an issue (despite the extremely small size of it).

Live and learn... :roll:
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Post by Wiccy of the Fraternity »

The site, the netbooks, etc are all part of a learning vurve, one that we are getting to understand in time. We make judgement calls now and then, like with the Chilling Encounters mini-netbook, sometimes they prove to be well educated and work out fine, sometimes they are controvertial buit accepted and at others, disliked by the majority. Each experience offers us a new education and a better understand of what the punters like and how to present things to them.

I am in agreement with ScS over the subject of themes, 2 issues a year wouldn't work to well with the idea and multiple themes in a single issue may as well warrent several issues, or several mini-netbooks at the very least.

In the future you never know what may happen or where the USS will head as it is reserved now for special books we will release (it may not be as profific as it once was, but there is yet undeath in its rattlin bones). So themed ideas may appear, no one knows for certain, not even us.
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