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Due this week5. Haunted. Have you ever been in a house where things go bump in the night? Do you believe that some buildings or places are haunted? Is there one in your town? Tell us a story about it. Make it believable. |
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YWP 3.0 Forum
Submitted by ggevalt on March 8, 2008 - 19:32.
This is a place to offer ideas on how Young Writers Project can improve its site and its project. We will be having digital experts from around the country looking at this site over the next few weeks. Your comments, suggestions and critiques are extremely important. PLEASE be active on this forum and offer ideas -- no idea is too small or too silly or too outlandish. |
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I think...
I think it would be cool to have like a quick chat, when my friends and i are on .. so when we are talking.. we don't have to keep on refreshing the page..
Ummm.
minor other comment.. dosen't the time have to be changed?? i think it is really like 10:00
Um.....
The chat is a really good Idea...
The splitting up of the age groups idea is cool... But when is the cut off, or what happens if your poetry is good for all ages??? Like, it would be weird to put some cute little lovey dovey poem in something for.... older kids.... Or maybe it wouldn't be.... I don't know.... Maybe like a space for general rated "E" for everyone writing, and then have a place where "PG-13" things would go for certain older members that were invited to join... ...
Like... maybe 16 is the cut off age for the older kids.... But... if kids know about that place, then they may lie about their ages to get onto the site... so maybe it's hidden to people until they're invited... Or something.....
*It's so hard to explain what I mean.... *
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Sometimes, I wonder if love is good or bad.... It can make you feel like you're higher than the tallest mountain, or it can make you feel like the lowest person on earth.....
I kinda think I know what
I kinda think I know what Babbit means... basically, there sghould be an option under the blogs to choose what age group we feel should be reading this. Like... -was it awsm?- said, sometimes we're limited to what we can write because of the younger students on the site...
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
Er
In reply to all of this...
I think it's really hard to say by age, because even though I'm 14, there are plenty of kids younger than me that know more "older kid" stuff than me... However, if there was something that somehow was able to do say like, maturity level or something...
Random question... How old is the youngest person on the site?
_______________________________________________________________
Beauty stares back at you in the mirror everyday. If only we could see it.
I think, generally speaking,
I think, generally speaking, that if people are mature enough to join YWP, then their ages shouldn't matter anyway
Also: I think the youngest person is 9. I read an entry by her the other day; it said she was a fourth grader. (It may have been a boy but I think it was a girl.)
It's true we don't have that
It's true we don't have that many younger users blogging, but we have a good amount of elementary school students submitting and getting published. Though, come to think of it, that's usually through a teacher's account.
Who knows??? The youngest
Who knows??? The youngest ACTIVE person is prolly 12 or 13... but still, some of the stuff people wanna write is not really meant for younger than 16 eyes...
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
Haha
Yeah... don't worry, I get it.
Why not write it? Just put up top that if you're under 16 that you shouldn't read it... That's about as far as you could go to stop people, right?
Unless there was some thing that stopped by grade level...
_______________________________________________________________
Beauty stares back at you in the mirror everyday. If only we could see it.
Of course, there's nothing
Of course, there's nothing more enticing to someone under 16 than something that says you have to be older than 16 to read it...
A private application/invitation system might be best if we were really going to do this.
Yeah
That's most certainly the truth. Funny how we work...
_______________________________________________________________
Beauty stares back at you in the mirror everyday. If only we could see it.
I think it should be rated,
I think it should be rated, but that people should use their discretion. Under-16 shouldn't be a blanket category. I started reading grown-up novels when I was about nine.
hmm
Why not have a way of rating your writing so that it is marked "G" or "PG-13", etc.? Like what [pineapple_babbit32] said. At least readers who do not want to read "older" material will be warned, then. For material that is "R" or the equivalent, maybe it could be seen only by registered members, who then state their age. Although then all material would not get equal viewing opportunities, and then there is the the age-faking mentioned earlier...I don't know...
"R"... really?
I wonder, and maybe this is close minded of me, but I wonder if people should even be posting work that would be considered "R" on this site...
you know?
Let's keep it user friendly.
Um, this is waaay late and after the fact. but just thought I'd put my two sense in... and bluedische, this is certainly not directed at you, but I wanted it to be connected to your comment... and I stil don't really understad how to use this, so yeah...
okay.
anyhow, I feel like people could limit their writing they feel they need to post. You know. Keep it readbale for the general audience.
-karlie
"R"... really?
I wonder, and maybe this is close minded of me, but I wonder if people should even be posting work that would be considered "R" on this site...
you know?
Let's keep it user friendly.
Um, this is waaay late and after the fact. but just thought I'd put my two sense in... and bluedische, this is certainly not directed at you, but I wanted it to be connected to your comment... and I stil don't really understad how to use this, so yeah...
okay.
anyhow, I feel like people could limit their writing they feel they need to post. You know. Keep it readbale for the general audience.
-karlie
Why?
Why?
Sorry, nothing towards you, but I feel that, as artists, we should be able to post anything we want to here.
Or maybe that's just because I read and write "R" pieces.
Ugh, it is late.
Good night.
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"Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives." -William Dement
I agree...
I think that people should have a right to post any piece of writing that they feel is good and want others to read. Most people are old enough to bve able to handle that type of writing, but there should still be a restriction.
However, I do understand what karlie means, but I still think that people should be able to post whatever they please.
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You can lead a heart to love, but you can't make it fall. ~Self Quoted
I think it'll prolly be
I think it'll prolly be something like awsm's idea... or we'll have to do a grade sort... cuz we don't have to state our age...
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
Great points...
This is the kind of idea that takes time to think out...And then, of course, it'll take time to execute.
I agree that there should be an area where folks can unleash a bit more. I agree that there should be some way to isolate that writing. One worry I have with this -- and with the idea of "chat" rooms is that the purpose of the site -- to help develop your writing -- becomes eroded by conversation and chatting. I'm all for chatting, but I still want the emphasis of the site to be about sharing writing, improving it, giving and receiving feedback and then, eventually, publishing that work in other venues.
I don't think we should segregate the entire site by age.
Where my little brain has been noodling is this... What if we began organizing the site by genre, with some areas for certain ages -- forums set up for certain types of discussion by age -- and then we had "organic" groups where you could set up a group to write about a certain topic but people could only enter the group if they're invited. We could set up a system to allow people to ask to be invited in (and, of course, we'd have to set up some rules to ensure that people weren't unfairly blocked.) We could also just have groups that were totally hidden. (The downside of this is that some of you might spend all your time there and we'd miss your presence on the public site.) But if we did these groups, I would be inclined to think we should assign one or two of you to be a particular group's organizer/coordinator and, dare I say it, monitor... (The other phenomenon, sometimes, by closed groups is that they get a little nasty.)
Am I making sense? (I'm still exhausted.)
One thing to do on this is to keep thinking about it. And here's some framing question: What is it you want? And why? Do you want a place where you can freely write about individuals who are driving you crazy? (If so, I don't think we could really accommodate that.) Do you want a place to talk about subjects that are just not suitable for a 12-year old. (The youngest users, by the way, are in fifth grade. Anyone under 13 needs and gets parental permission to be on the site.)
By the way I had a lot of fun with all of you on Saturday. We'll do another one ....
gg
Ello!
We should. ^_^
Anywho, I like your version of the idea, but what, may I ask, would a moniter do? Would they say that we are:
A. Talking too much,
B. Getting too "hard core" on the subject matter,
C. Throw us out of that group or
D. All of the above?
Thank you!
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Sometimes, I wonder if love is good or bad.... It can make you feel like you're higher than the tallest mountain, or it can make you feel like the lowest person on earth.....
Good question
Maybe monitor is the wrong word. Let's think of it as a "leader."
And a leader wouldn't be a censor but a guide, someone who ensured that the conversation was respectful, civil and inclusive. I don't really care about "A" providing folks remember that this is a site about writing. "B" is a little trickier; I'm not big on censorship but I also think that you often forget that it is NOT always a good idea to reveal all in a public space. "C" Can't imagine that we'd throw anyone out of a group but it would be my responsibility -- a leader might first ask the group to talk about a person's behavior and then, if everyone decided there was a problem, to contact me.
I would emphasize that this site is about writing. So I would encourage folks to share and discuss writing rather than engage in chats.
But those are just my ideas... How would you handle a closed group?
Hope that helps.
gg
See-saw opinion....
That works... Um... I don't know how I would handle a closed group... I don't really have anything that I write that needs to be in a closed group...but if I was the head of a group, it would probibly be something.... cute maybe, but that wouldn't really need to be closed because all of my poetry is "G" or "PG"... nothing more... That I know of.... Or would something about a kiss be PG-13???
Anywho...
I know it's not good to throw your life story out, but I sort of meant if it was fake... Like, theres some kids that I know that write some stuff that I would condemn "unsuitible" for anyone ages 18 or under on their free time and put it up on other sites... Not sure which ones, but they talk about it all of the time.... *apples knows what I'm talking about... fanfiction....* I mean, if it's fake, then the only thing it could do is scar the minds out of the people that read it, and the person who wrote it wouldn't care because it is fake and they have nothing really to lose.........
But it's all cool to me if they want to do that... Whatever floats their boats... as long as it's in a closed group... But I do believe that it is important for the closed groups to form because people do need to express themselves, and say somethings that other places won't let them say, or erase you for saying things like that...
I do want YWP to keep the high level of class that it has because this is the only writing place of it's kind that actually cares about what people put on, and isn't all about fanfiction and writing like fanfiction and such...
Wow... It sounds like my mind is on a see-saw... I actually lost what I was getting at....
Well, you sort of get my point, right?
________________________________
Sometimes, I wonder if love is good or bad.... It can make you feel like you're higher than the tallest mountain, or it can make you feel like the lowest person on earth.....
I do ...
Pineapple_babbit,
I do get your point. Absolutely. And I agree. I have tried to be gentle on this site; nothing worse than a bearded old fart who comes in and hurrumphs around... But I also want the site to be a place where you can really develop your ideas into powerful written expressions be they personal or fiction, be they poetry or prose. I want to see you guys get published. I want to see you guys show the world that writing is cool and power rests in those that can use words. Just ask Gandhi. Or Martin Luther King, Jr. Or, for that matter, Sen. Obama.
Words matter.
This is not an easy concept. I have some ideas and it'll take me time to execute them (some actually should be shot!) I am beginning the work for a major rebuild of the site come August. I would love some of you to help; I don't need computer coders as much as suggestions. Maybe we'll have a Web brainstorming session -- small group and I WILL bring pizza this time.
Any takers?
gg
I am a taker! I also think
I am a taker!
I also think your pun
is really hilarious...
I'm in!!!!!
I'm in!!!!!
________________________________________________
Sometimes, I wonder if love is good or bad.... It can make you feel like you're higher than the tallest mountain, or it can make you feel like the lowest person on earth.....
I'll so do
I'll so do it!!!
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
Oh yes.
Oh yes.
I think that it would be a
I think that it would be a good idea if users had to log in in order to see comments. That way there wouldn't be strange people looking at comments, which are sometimes very detailed.
I don't know about you, but I know quite alot about people just from comments, and I wouldn't want sketchy people to use this in a bad way.
ML
That's hard...
Actually, that's a hard thing to do... We can turn off the visibility of ALL comments for those who just look at the site, but that would include comments on the writing as well as the college mentors' comments.
One of the things I am looking into is whether we can create closed groups where all that is written is visible only to those who are in the groups. And I still have to "noodle" this out, as they say, both in terms of how to do it and in terms of how we can have these groups still focus on writing rather than chats....
cheers
gg
I kind of agree with misilover
But I'm not really certain- it might be good to let only members see the comments. That way, we could be a little more open and relaxed.
my thoughts...
I am not very sure about all this...
maybe I am unclear about exactly what some people want... but I guess I dont think that some stuff is even appropriate at all on this site, like talking about sex, if that was one thing people wanted.... again I don't know exactly what it is that people want... just my views
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer
Well, some people who are
Well, some people who are potentially interested in joining the site are, like Babbit said, very... R-rated. Maybe even X-rated. Some of this person's work scars ME, never mind anyone else. Having something like that closed off to only older students would be a better idea because it might drive away some younger users...
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
hmmm
though as mentioned before... such obscenity might only encourage more young people... and i still don't know.... isolating it might cause people to focus specifically on that stuff. anyway... I really don't mind just as long as people are writing- and responding- in a mature manner. as long as people aren't being immature, than there isn't much harm... although the age level is still an issue. I do however feel that there is still some stuff that should just never be put on this sight, and I think all of us are capable of judging what is and isn't appropriate for a public school writing website. anyone any thoughts?
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer
I know what ya mean
I know what ya mean squeejay....
I just don't want my mind to scarred beyond belief... its hard enough to have as clean a mind as mine in a highschool such as mine...
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Sometimes, I wonder if love is good or bad.... It can make you feel like you're higher than the tallest mountain, or it can make you feel like the lowest person on earth.....
I am not sure how that works..
I think.. this is a really hard subject to talk about.. because you could always filter the bad words but people have ways of getting around that.. I think a good idea might to be able to initiate all the chatrooms when gg gets on... but that brings the issue of how long he will stay on... cause he could browse the rooms at the same time...
Or....
There could be an invite button... and people invited can be on with other people...
All good points and issues....
Appreciate the dialogue.
Just to poke the bear as they say, what about other things on the site....besides more secluded spots... Are there things you wish this site had or didn't have? Is it hard to see all that's here? Do some things not work right?
For instance, do any of you use the Newsblog section? Is it important or interesting to write about the news?
What about writing for audio? I notice no one really has taken up the opportunity to do podcasting. Why?
What about the group books? Too hard to figure out? Not interested in writing a story with others?
Do you wish we had more college mentors wandering around the main site?
Should we segment by genre? Do you wish the search was improved? How? Do you wish you could create profiles or do you like NOT having them? Do you wish we had forums that interacted with authors?
How can we draw more students onto the site?
whew....
And I only had one cup of coffee today...
gg
I
I have a question.
Is there a way for us to download the podcasts that people put on here?
Just wondering.
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It's not reality that counts; it's perception. ~Self-Quoted
some answers....
I look at the little news things on the side sometimes.... but I don't trust myself to write about them. I'm worried I'll say something without knowing the whole story that people might get offended or something.... I don't know. I'm not good with touchy subjects
I haven't done a podcast because I don't know how to do it and upload it.... if I knew how I would. Well, actually we did one in school but I forgot how to upload it. So if there were instructions or something i would definitely do another one.
When I was a really new member under a name that I think got deleted because I didn't understand the 24 hour posting thing, I poked around trying to figure out how to make a blog entry and I stumbled on them but I never really understood it or knew how to find it again. I think it's a great idea, though.
Yeah, the college mentor thing is pretty cool. I got a comment from one of them, and it was nice, the suggestions and what he liked about my poem. It's a good idea, doing that.
I like being anonymous on here. I think two people know who I am on here, and they're my friends who go to school with me, so that's okay.
I did a search on my school on here.... I was getting paranoid about people knowing who I was and it came up with a lot of their posts and I haven't seen any of them on here since that one post (it was an assignment from our teacher). I think I'm one of maybe three people who has made more than just one post since then, and I think all we can do is spread the word.
I hope that answered some of those....
-emotive.eleven
Wow... Really long comment....
And I have had Multiple cups of tea.... mmmmm... good tea...
anywho,
What about a quotes section where people on here make up quotes and put them in here... We all love quotes, thats why we have them as a signature, so why not create a section just to keep quotes... that would be fun...
I love the news section that links to the science news. All of that science news is amazing and really interesting.
Pod casting.... hmmm.... Well... I wouldn't know what to write about... Are there any specific prompts for it? It may make life easier if there was...
I don't think that genres would be way to important because then not everyone's writing may get seen. I mean, I myself may skip over a sad category, and just go strait to the love/ happiness category... Others would skip over that and such... with it the way it is, I read everything pretty much... and others read most of it too... I'm fine with it the way it is...
More college mentors would be cool. They only come on like once every so often, and they could help us more because they are usually more in detail when they comment... Probibly because they are in college...
Why not have a colabrative newspaper sort of thing, where people can write articles and then at the end of a month, you can make it a front page thing or even a page of it's own on the site.... Sort of like a school newspaper; it will have the articles that are meaningful to us, and we are the one's that write it. It may even have pictures that we take to go with the articles.... I think that would be cool..... And I would like to write for it. ^_^
Ok, I think I'm talked out now.... lol. ^_^
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I don't know what makes me fall more, my feet or my heart... - Self Quoted
I know it's small...
I know that it's small but it has been bugging me. I cannot find any way to change my user name, and i was thinking that maybe there could be a user name you use to log in, and then there could be a display name, the name that shows up when you post and stuff? I just dont want it to say Emily_Jane when i post something.
Interesting...
That's an interesting idea and I think it could be done.
And it raises another issue which is that some of you post on the blogs and do so "relatively" anonymously....but then when one of your pieces is chosen for publication, we put your real name on it.
Does that bother people?
gg
Not really... most of the
Not really... most of the people that are published are the people who come on here all the time, and pretty much everyone knows their real name anyways...
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
Well...
I don't want my real name used, at least not yet.
nothing is "chosen for publication" unless the person submits it for that purpose, is it?
I don't really get how that works, and it would be nice to know.
Maybe a way to see how often
Maybe a way to see how often a blog entry is viewed? Just to give you an idea on how often a specific piece is read...
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
really good idea
sometimes i wonder if anyone reads anything i write...
The counts....
I've not been a big fan of posting number of reads. I honestly think that having a piece read by ONE person who gives a useful comment that tells what he/she liked about the piece and, perhaps, some piece of advice on how to make that piece better is of far more importance than the number of reads....
Suffice it to say that this site averages about 500 visitors a day -- that does NOT include robots and other sundry computer-generated sweepers that drastically inflate the number of readers on ALL sites.
It is also important to note that the AVERAGE amount of time a visitor spends on this site is 15 minutes and that visitor looks at an AVERAGE of 15 pages per visit. That is ASTRONOMICAL in the world of Web sites. So you are getting read and you are getting read closely.
To me the more meaningful improvement to this site will come when we can get, as squeejay suggests, much deeper commenting by everyone so that you feel not only you are being read but you are getting good suggestions on how to improve your writing.
Now how we do that remains an open question. Thoughts?
gg
friends?
maybe there could be a way to have a 'buddy list' or something where you had shortcuts to your friends' blogs? so you didn't have to search for them.
That is, but isn't a good
That is, but isn't a good idea. The whole link to a specific persons blog thing is a great idea, but a buddy list might encourage more chatting and less writing...
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The crimson tears of slaughter flow eternally through the sands of time... ~Self Quoted
good point
I think you are right. And as several mentioned in the conference, it would be really good if folks provided meaningful comment on blogs of people they do NOT know.
cheers
gg