Dave Cake:
> So, where exactly SHOULD questions like this be discussed?
> Should someone have to set up a special 'glorantha-community' list to
> discuss questions that concern us as a community? Like it or not, the
> Digest is the heart of the Glorantha community.
> I've been on the Digest or its predecessors for more than a
> decade, and most attempts to suppress discussion along these lines
> have been a mistake. All they have managed to do is to stir up
> resentment.
I've been discussing the topic of Gloranthan lists privately with a few folk over the last month or so.
First up, I love the Digest, and I support and appreciate the Hero Wars lists. I think that Digest and list moderators past and present have done an excellent job. Through the combined lists, we've build an sustained a creative and positive community spirit, and the present moderation has rid us of some of the more obsessive/personal flame wars of yesteryear. (Though I realise that there are alternative views to this issue :) ).
But as Dave has noted, there are still a few unresolved issues and blank spots.
Since the establishment of the Hero Wars and Hero Wars Rules lists a year or so ago, there has been a bit of confusion about roles and boundaries between various lists, and only a few discussions deemed 'out of place' on the Hero Wars lists (frr instance) have successfully transplanted to the Digest. Moves to the Rules list seem to work well, however. There's confusion and a degree of arbitrariness about the place for some types of postings - songs, poems and myths frr instance, that traditionally been at home on the Digest seem to have largely migrated to the HW list.
There's little place on any of the present lists for community/personal talk, weird, high-strangeness, OT or philosophical rants, negative, questioning or sustained criticism (welcome, productive or not), or creative flame-wars (personally I've little time for them, but I accept can be entertaining/valuable). There is no obvious present home for specialised topics that while important to Glorantha and the community are only of interest to a few: things like poetry and myth creation, lit-crit, 3D and virtual modelling, Gloranthan art and design, longer short stories and campaign writeups.
The *number* of lists in itself doesn't seem to be a problem: I was surprised when I counted up how many Glorantha lists I am actually on, once I included the various convention/announcement/magazine lists, campaign lists (Voroni Rulz! Drum the Thunder!) discussion lists, and continuing email group discussions. They all end up in a few folders on my desktop, where I read them at leisure.
My personal interest is that I've been thinking of starting a Gloranthan poetry/myth/arts/design /literary electronic newsletter, where people would submit stories and mini-articles. It would be an electronic magazine more than a list, coming out every few weeks or once a month, with discussion being referred back to the Digest or relevant HW list. I'm proceeding tentatively, and would obviously prefer that there is community consensus and interest before proceeding.
There certainly seems potential for a community/personal/ freezone type list for weird and marginal stuff, rants and flame wars- a sort of 'Geo's Duck Inn'. There was a recent attempt at such a list, though the motivation seemed exceedingly personal, and its failure (the list is moribund) demonstrates how hard a moderator's job actually is. I still think there's a place for a properly conceived 'open area'.
And I'm still concerned about the very steep learning curve for new players, and the lack of a beginners HW list. It's always been a challenge for Glorantha, and at times its seemed that the very complexity and richness of the Lozenge was turning us into a creative ghetto. The HW lists have partially solved this issue, but (especially with the release of Mark's Adventurers Book) there may be a case for the creation of a beginner's list for clear archived!) explanations and step by step examples, where you can ask questions like 'What is a Humakt?' or 'I don't understand missile fire' without being overwhelmed by Glorantha or rules esoteria. (Heaven knows I'd use it - I may be comfortable with Heortling esoteria but extended contests still give me the willies :))
These are just a few random thoughts on my part. I'd be interested in what other folk think.
Cheers
John
I shall sing now of the heroes
I shall chant the praise of high ones,
Those who wear the blue-bright iron
Those who heft the rune-carved blade!
Men who know the ways of power
Women wise and rich in magic,
Keepers of the herds and plantings
Staunch defenders of our lands!
Those who quest the runes eternal
Those who walk the Godtime pathways,
Knowers of the sacred stories
Keepers of the Sacred Way.
End of The Glorantha Digest V8 #370
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