Writerscafe Call to Arms

Attention all Writerscafe.org Members,

 

I'm fed up with the systematic purging of talent from this once great writers site, I'm fed up with the fact that I even have to use the phrase “once great writers site,” and if you're fed up too, then you need to listen up!

 

This community is failing because writers are now hesitant to interact with the community. Everyone is defensive, everyone has withdrawn into their own haphazard little friends circles, everyone is afraid of either getting a bad review or getting assaulted over PM for giving a bad review. Political correctness has driven out the good writing or made it hard to find.

 

Luckily, there IS a solution. We can alleviate disputes over reviewing standards by determining what kinds of reviews people are actually looking for. We can alleviate the problem of writer/reader conflicts by determining what kind of experience users are looking for on the Cafe and sorting them accordingly. One thing I propose is a Levels system, completely user generated, that users sort THEMSELVES into which determines what caliber of reviews they receive. Some writers want and need to be bashed, other writers take it personally. We need to know who wants what kind of review and who wants to read what kind of writing. How do we place people into levels? Easy, they write it in their bio.

 

We also need a writers version of the Slackers Pledge that sets the groundrules users on this site WILL observe. Writers will circulate it around the Cafe, sign it, and post it in the bio section of their profiles. We WILL NOT INTEACT with anyone who doesn't sign and post up the Pledge.

 

What is “good writing?” That's a never-ending debate. The fact of the matter is that as a rule, most writing is lousy, even published writing. However, I believe this site exists to answer the question “how lousy?” That question is what we can build a community around.

 

To learn more about Levels and to start drafting the Writers Pledge, go to the group "What's Wrong with Writerscafe?"

 

Why save Writerscafe? Because so far this is the best social networking software platform for writers on the web. It's not right that the best social media platform has the worse community. We CAN fix it, but we need every writer and especially every vet writer to come together and put their foot down.

 

This is a call to arms. Pass it on.

 

Please FWD this to everyone in your friends list.

 

Reviews

[Jaclyn]

I think that what this site needs is constructive criticism. I don't need constant praise to make me want to write, but if someone tells me they like something, I want to know why. If I need to improve something, tell me that! If it sucks, why does it suck? I don't want to hear, "This is not my type of story/poem, so I hate it." That is not constructive, and it doesn't do me (or anyone else in this boat) any good. Who cares if it's not your favorite genre? Read it and be honest and fair! I agree with you that people need to be given honest reviews and NOT have smoke blown up their a*s, but we need to keep in mind that we can't go all the way the other way, or reviews will not be any better, and this site would likely crash and burn.

[...]

I am actually working on my short story about my 8 years experience on this website . I came across your writing . I find it here some aspects of this website quite prevail during the 11 years. I find also quite funny people here at comments instead to chose talk about issues their mostly chose defensive positions . Anyway i will go through your each point and make my own comments.


Generally people here still exchanges praises instead of constructive reviews. They are few friend circles who actually never interact with each other. Like this website have few parallel universes . I can feel lot of ignorance and keeping focus on own group. New writers have quiet hard to time to get any response on their writing. If they don't praises some established writers. There is also customs to create fake account to attack someone or pretend to be someone and make few rude comments etc. I can feel people don't like about problems on this website . We don't have forum, we don't have functional moderators, we stalking on each other etc. I wonder if you ever return what you will be write now. Cause on this website are just few active writers and new writers don't stay. Cause the elitism and their self egoistic communication .

[Tony]

As this is from 09, I may be late.
But I do agree that we should be critical if we are asked to be. And kind when we know we want to be. Any of us who are really interested in growing as writers can spot the drama clicks and the perverts and the dope fiends a mile away. Right?
I have a rule, right or wrong, I don't review anything I don't like.
Rule #2: The online writers page is the essence of the cafe.
Order a cup and look around for crying out loud!

[Nicole Hellene]

I want people to tear my writing apart if they don't like it so I can learn what's wrong with it. I'm not looking for sunshine blown up my a*s, but some writers are, we need to know who, what, and where everyone is because they're scattered all over holy hell. This place is like downtown Los Angeles!

[Hedra Helix]

yo! I'm open for a minute, old friend wants to read, remember J thomas Parker?

Look Charlie is revamping! Hit him up!!!! { If you werent the one who pushed him there to the hill;) }

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Hitler would be proud,LOL

[Kathryn Star, Shine!]

"Some writers want and need to be bashed, other writers take it personally"

I don't think anyone wants to be bashed or deserves it. Your level of system is called "hate" and that I will not go with.

[Nicole Hellene]

Hey Hedra I'm having trouble msging you, it's taking me to a closed account, so hopefully this pops up in your update screen. I know this site is at the bottom and it's very nearly hopeless but I've got some ideas for quality control that I really have a good feeling about. Everyone's floating around all over this site, right? So what if we gave everyone a direction to float in? I've got an idea for a level system and a user-generated labeling idea that will only work if everyone participates though. Everyone can label themselves as a serious, semi-serious, or casual writer of x or y kind of writing and it will help x writers find other x writers and y writers find other y writers, because right now x writers and y writers are running head on into each other and getting in serious ebrawls because they can't tell each other apart. I've got a mess load of other ideas that I've got posted on a group on my page that don't even need Charlie, it just needs people to believe it's possible to fix this mess. I haven't even talked to Charlie yet or anything, I don't really know what to say to him yet. I'm just not ready to let this place go yet, one more shot and then I'll split if it's hopeless.

[Nicole Hellene]

Here is the group link:

What's Wrong With Writerscafe?1 Members