Steve, I don’t think you guys are “hyping” the forums, quite the contrary I was sympathetic to your efforts to get more discussions started here and as for the article-specific comment sections, there are a few blog discussions there that go on for over a hundred replies, many of them well off the topic that started the discussion. I think those could be handled (and viewed much easier) here on an actual message board. I mean, look how many the Witches v. Stompers articles have engendered and compare that to Jason Bugg’s attempt to start a thread here about it which died a quick death of neglect.
Speaking of which, why didn’t you include Jason and Alli Marshall and Edgy Mama as staffers when listing those that post here? Are they not considered real staffers and if so, why do some of them get free coffee at your workplace? Also, I am going to go over to the blogs and tell Ken Hanke how you are portraying him as so single-minded that he is not a well-rounded enough individual to have any interests outside of being “that movie guy” and I don’t think he will take it well, because I hear he is cranky.
Brebro: Alli does, on occasion, post on the forums, but since she’s clocked in at a scant 19 posts thus far, I doubt she’d blame me too much for not including her. Edgy Mama and Bugg are both freelancers, not staffers, and, to my knowledge at least, none of them get free coffee. I certainly didn’t sign off on that budget item.
I’m sure Hanke will be furious at me for my horrible and grossly inaccurate depiction of him on these forums. I just hope he doesn’t take away my “Cranky Hanke’s Lil’ Cinemaphile Club Card.”
I personally read the forums first, then the blogs simply because i prefer what Steve calls the ‘casual experience.’ The blogs do have some wonderful and lively discussions, and i read them but rarely contribute to the fray. As discussions they tend to be heavily punctuated by opinion trolls - people with agendas and thin skins anxious to take umbrage at perceived slights - all dressed as informed righteousness. Here it’s comfortable. Much more like people talk at a bar or over a meal - the punctuation is humor and mild diversion, generally orbiting the subject in some vague way. Much more like it used to be at FreakinAsheville before that got bogged down with trollhood. I’m glad Lumina came over. She’s the kind of poster i like - able to be informative and self-deprecating.
And i’d like to get back to what Jason asked about the covers. How do they get decided and who decides how they’re done? What guidelines are the artists given?
I know my neighbor Travis Medford has done a few and he’s even included a photos of mine and that made me (for that week) deliriously happy that i was finally a true ashe-villain.
And i’d like to get back to what Jason asked about the covers. How do they get decided and who decides how they’re done? What guidelines are the artists given?
I’m a little short on time today, but the quick answer is that it’s a collaboration, generally between the cover artist, the editor and the writer. Usually, the writer and editor will come up with a basic theme and supply the images, and the designer will try to the concept into a cover. Other people weigh in as the cover takes its final shape, but that’s the basic process.
The cover stories are decided by the relevant editor (A&E;and News usually alternate weeks), and the theme itself is usually decided a few weeks to a month in advance.
As far as the best and worst go, I’ll have to open that discussion up to the rest of you, because it’s largely a matter of taste. I will say that, in recent memory, the cover I was most excited by was the one for POPAsheville, which I found to be very clever and fun. There are many others, too, but that’s the first that comes to mind.
I accidentally threw out last week’s issue (with the Taxidermy cover story) even though I had wanted to keep it. My question is can a reader get a recent back issue from anywhere in particular, either the Xpress itself or your distribution line and if so, how? Thanks.
Well this thread is certainly all kinds of helpful. Since no one would answer me, I ended up calling the office myself and a nice, helpful woman said they DO have back issues and promptly went and found me the issue I needed when I showed up in person. Thanks very much, front desk person. No thanks to you, though, Steve!
I personally read the forums first, then the blogs simply because i prefer what Steve calls the ‘casual experience.’ The blogs do have some wonderful and lively discussions, and i read them but rarely contribute to the fray. As discussions they tend to be heavily punctuated by opinion trolls - people with agendas and thin skins anxious to take umbrage at perceived slights - all dressed as informed righteousness. Here it’s comfortable…
I agree with you, and I think one of the reasons for some of the troll-like comments on the blogs is that anyone can post there whether a registered member or not. There’re a lot of hit-and-run posters whom no one’s ever heard of before and may not ever again, that is, unless they come up with some different name to use, but then, how would we know? Anonymity generally brings out the worst in people.
On the forums we kind of get to know each other; we recognize people by their usernames, which in some cases are their actual real names. We get used to their personalities, their posting style, and their opinions expressed. We’re kind of like neighbors for the most part, people who I think generally take personal responsibility for what they post, as if we were speaking to one another in person. Many of us do have strong opinions about certain things and will not hesitate to express that opinion where it’s appropriate, but you’re right, it’s comfortable here. I see this forum as a good place where we can discuss and debate a variety of subjects in a friendly and respectful manner, plus there’re plenty of opportunities to be less serious and have a little fun.
Thanks for the info, Kriss. I was in the area anyway, so it wasn’t out of the way, but it’s good to know you can get an issue mailed as well if needed.
Well this thread is certainly all kinds of helpful. Since no one would answer me, I ended up calling the office myself and a nice, helpful woman said they DO have back issues and promptly went and found me the issue I needed when I showed up in person. Thanks very much, front desk person. No thanks to you, though, Steve!
Nothing personal Brebro. For whatever reason, this thread didn’t come up as active when I logged into the forums, and I didn’t realize anyone had posted anything on it. You weren’t being snubbed, just accidentally overlooked.
Nothing personal Brebro. For whatever reason, this thread didn’t come up as active when I logged into the forums, and I didn’t realize anyone had posted anything on it. You weren’t being snubbed, just accidentally overlooked.
I’ve had problems with that feature as well. I posted once about wishing there were a way to see only new posts, and I think it was you that reminded me of the “View New Posts” and the “View Today’s Active Posts” feature. But I’ve found by using these, a lot of posts I’ve actually never seen are not shown, so I can’t really rely on it. So, though it’s sometimes time consuming, from “Forum Home” I usually just scan all the sub-forums looking for current dates or recent times of postings, and that seems to be the only way I can cover all new postings - that is, ones that have been posted since the last time I logged on.
I’ve had problems with that feature as well. I posted once about wishing there were a way to see only new posts, and I think it was you that reminded me of the “View New Posts” and the “View Today’s Active Posts” feature. But I’ve found by using these, a lot of posts I’ve actually never seen are not shown, so I can’t really rely on it. So, though it’s sometimes time consuming, from “Forum Home” I usually just scan all the sub-forums looking for current dates or recent times of postings, and that seems to be the only way I can cover all new postings - that is, ones that have been posted since the last time I logged on.
Maybe there’s some weird glitch or some setting that’s off. I’ll ask the web guy about it.
EDIT & UPDATE: It looks like there was some weird issue with our web host yesterday, which might have had something to do with this. If you keep having the same problems, though, let me know and I’ll follow-up on it. The web guy says that it’s not impossible there’s some glitch, but that it’s far more likely that it’s something to do with the parse time on the host’s side.
