Friday, September 19, 2008

New Post, New Poll

So, to the question of a forum.

Do I? Don't I?

I shall be running a poll regarding this for the rest of the year. Just so folks know I will be unlikely to be able both blog and moderate a forum, and given the choice I would rather stay with the blogging (I wonder if I will have to eat my hat with that statement later...?) So if a forum did go up it would most likely be moderated by another party, with me appearing a little less frequently.

Looking forward to people's answers.

(And I blame MooseGuy for this... ;)

33 comments:

smudgeon said...

If it has to be one or the other? Keep the blog, I say...It gives us a great insight into the creative process & the chap behind the book, which I think would be lost if you went down the forum track.

I'm sure a fan-based forum will pop up sometime in the not too distant future anyway. (Are the kids still into BBS?)

RottenPocket said...

Yeah, I take back what I said about the Forum earlier. There is only one of you and one is what we want whole. Stick with the Blog.

There are actually a lot of Fan made Forums out there and no doubt -esp' if this Jim Henson thing is true :O -someone's gonna make one up for you.

Plus the name 'Blog' sounds better than 'Forum'...
Yes, yes I do talk some rubbish....

Anonymous said...

I agree. Keep the blog. It's so much easier than a forum.

Anonymous said...

No forum.
*thumbs down*

jfgarnant said...

I totally agree with all. Forums are just too difficult. Besides, we like hearing if from you...not a TPA. But you have to do what you have to do.

Sam Hranac said...

Keep the blog and spend your time writing and drawing and dreaming.

By the way, I read the chapter in Lamplighter where Wormstool gets destroyed last night with my 12-year old son. He was SOOO hopped up after that! It was the best single chapter in any book he's ever heard or read, according to him. He says it was more exciting than a movie - but he is dying to see this story in movies (3 at least).

Rest assured he is telling all his friends.

Anonymous said...

The only reason I keep commenting on this site (no offence intended to the other denizens) is because there's an author who writes what I like to read. Quite simply, forums can get too crowded (in some cases by less than reputable characters) and take a horrendously long time to load. I like the blog. It has acquired a feeling like an old discussion room filled with familiar faces. 'Course I'm the new man but I still like it here.
-Ben.

Anonymous said...

Yah keep with the blog

Anonymous said...

ditto to ben bryddia

portals said...

Yeah . . .
in a forum the topic would move away from the books and become more irrelavant and maybe harsher and meaner.
Im also telling all my friends about foundling and Lamplighter. today i am going to a Jewish celebration and im giving my friend foundling and lamplighter.

MooseGuy said...

Woah, lots of anti-forum sentiment here. Look, as has been said, there will soon be fan-run MBT forums. Hell- I might start one myself. And certainly, no one is asking Mr. Cornish to stop blogging. That would be frankly stupid, and a huge mistake. But I just think forums are more suited for conversations and debates than these unwieldy comments pages. It sounds like a lot of people here have had bad experiences with forums, and sure- a lot are less than nice. But back in my days of Redwall role-playing (don't judge me for what I was) and general forum-going, a lot of the forums I was on were great for discussions and conversations and so on. They don't always have to be filled with flamers and stalkers. And who's to say that comments on a blog can't be as mean or creepy as posts on a forum? I don't want to go on too much about this, but I like to think I have a strong sense of fairness, and some people are not being very fair here.

Look, the issue of whether there should be a forum or not is something of a moot point. It's an inevitability as the books become more and more popular, and to ask Mr. Cornish or his publishers to set one up (albeit implicitly)was just lazy of me.

In summary:
Forums- not always bad
An MBT forum- handy, but not vital
Comments pages- unwieldy, and can have many of the same problems as forums

Femina said...

In terms of ability to comment and track discussions etc I definitely prefer a forum (a well-moderated one). Yes, things go off-topic but they do here too.

However, I agree there'll probably be a fan-run forum soon (let's face it... probably started by one of us) and there's no reason why it needs to be one or the other. I'm happy for the blog to stay as is, but if a (decent) forum starts up I'll join that too. DMC can't be everywhere at once but that's no reason why the fan community can't get together on another site for more in-depth discussions if we want. It wouldn't replace this; it would merely enhance our experience. :)

D.M. Cornish said...

I am very very pleased and excited by your son's response Mr Hranac.

Shalom, portals.

You are most welcome here, ben.

Dear mooseguy, firstly, sorry for "blaming" you in the post, just being cheeky, secondly, I would very happy indeed if some soul as your good self set up a forum. I agree with you to some extent about the unwieldiness of the comments but I have got to be honest (too honest???) and say it gives me a great boost to the ego to see 50+ comments racked up on a single post....

.... due in part sometimes to my recently infrequent posting; sorry guys.

I agree, ENR (I am being very agreeable today, aren't I)blog is a nicer word, btw, does one have to wear a toga to a forum?

Thank you all for comments here and previous, they make my day!

Jack Dixon Ryan said...

Honestly, the blog has become a forum anyway. When we comment, it is usually a conversation one way or another. I would rather continue reading the blog than work a forum, but a forum sounds interesting too.

Anonymous said...

i just don't want THIS place to suddenly become a graveyard. twould be sad.

RottenPocket said...

Tell you what, it'd be compulsory for everyone to wear a Toga if I made a forum myself! More on the topic, the forums I've visited aren't observed on the scales of Good or Bad, but the way they work and how they're monitored. It does seem a little....Cultish -Thus the Togas :D

The difference I see between the Discussions here and the discussions on a Forum are that the Bloger writes on more than just a 'Topic', more or less filled with suggestions, announcements and questions, and we choose to respond to whichever part. The in-depth discussions we take on are based on the varied opinions of the responses. (well, wouldya lookie at what I'm doing)

This does sound related to a Forum, but only because both are classed as Discussion Boards of some kind. Just acknowledge that the characteristics of a Blog are different than a Forum.

I still say Blog sounds better....

Sam Hranac said...

The most important thing is for DM Cornish to spend his time writing. This is harder than it sounds with all the distractions out there. I LOVE that he keeps this blog up, but if Forums are important, then I hope they are fan run and don't take up ANY of his time. I can see what a fine lot his fans are. I'm sure someone could run a civil forum with only occasional outbursts.

Jack Dixon Ryan said...

I agree. The books brought this into being, and they are definitely top priority.

--Because they're great--

Anonymous said...

Aye, sir Cornish,
Keep the blog, its handy indeed. Forum, nah! However, let me raise the question of a wiki? *raises brow* post info of the books, characters, drawings and random little tidbits. Oh,I was also wondering, how does the grackle sense the world around him? I don't see antannae or others of the sort. Don't tell me he's got giant eyes on his back (or do, I really don't care!)Er, I would also like to state that your books drew my attention almost instantly due to the sketches of the charecters and such. Being an artist myself they really do me pleasure.
Keep on creatin'!
Mindless

portals said...

Yeah, the pictures are really good ... my favourite would have to be either Rossamund in Lamplighter, Licurius, or the Herdebog Trought.
I much prefer a blog to a forum.

P.S. Mr Cornish Im not jewish, but the synagogue was interesting.

Anonymous said...

I personally would love a forum, but would rather have a blog -- Hopefully a fan-based forum will pop up.

-LotR reader

MooseGuy said...

To Mr. Cornish: No need to apologise. I s'pose it might've sounded I was sticking up for myself before, but I was honestly just sticking up for the poor defenceless forums, as I am about to do once more...

To Mr. Reinmuth:
1) Cultish forums? Well, I suppose we must move in different circles, so to speak. I can certainly see that happening, though I have never seen it myself. I doubt an MBT forum, if it was populated by the same sort of people that comment here, would become like that.

2) The word is 'blogger'. Only one 'g' would make a soft sound (like a 'j'), would it not?

Anonymous said...

Please keep the blog going!
This is the first online media I discovered that takes the reader through the 'process' of writing a book and getting it published.
As I've told Mr Cornish before - it helps the writer to write when he is gaining inspiration from another.
Who knew talk of 'word counts', release dates and seeing concept sketches would provide so much...
Thanks Dave

emoone said...

I really enjoy this blog. The wonderful little details you give here really 'flesh out' the novels, and I really enjoy the artwork. I have to vote to keep the blog.

Anonymous said...

Hmm... togas. What about the Ionic columns? Any good Greek or Roman architecture needs Ionic columns! Or perhaps Corinthian, but never Dorian.

Portals.
I like the Hebrew tongue. So many lovely ways not to write a sentence correctly... 'Shalom le ishah'. Is that transliterated correctly?

Cornish.
Watch that ego. You know what they say about pride coming before a fall. But just betwixt we twain, I have the same problem with getting' to big for me boots. The Internet has not made things any better.

I must ask though, aside from the existence of numerous labeled threads for individual discussion, moderators and the overabundance of personalizable paraphernalia, what makes a forum so different from what we do here?
-Ben.

RottenPocket said...

I'd just like to point out that I'm Female, 17 and a little eccentric, and because of that I'm bound to make a few spelling mistakes here and there...

portals said...

Hi Mr Cornish,
I have a question about the H/C. So far all the Haacobin Empire's armies seem to all be made up of foot soldiers and suchlike. from what I know about history, cavalry always seems to be a great asset to any army, so why does the Empire have none.
Sorry if they do have some, but with the definition for the Armies of the Empire, the Battle of the Gates, and the different city states in the Explicarium, nothing was mentioned about cavalry.
Ben Bryddia-
I'M NOT JEWISH!

MooseGuy said...

...Um...

Gee...

Incredible apologies to you, Ms. Reinmuth. I honestly have no explanation for immediately thinking you were male, aside from my inherent sexism in thinking that most people with ambiguous names are male. No offence intended.

Slight said...

Hullo everyone :) i have been looking at this site (MBT being my favourite book series) and finally decided to join up! So.. i'm condensing everything i have to say in one short post..

Loving the Grackle (:D) Hope to soon see more nadderer's(sp?) in the near future.

The Inheritance Cycle... I like it,, simple fluff that I can read without thinking :D Also, I liek the way he uses dragons >.> Big fan of Star Wars, and fantasy, so i like that I can relate to both... :p

I probably see myself as Rossamund... we both have different ways of seeing the world.

I think, maybe a forum AND a blog? obviously you (Mr. Cornish)wouldn't organise the Forum, but you could still blog (y).

May 2010?? Oh noes!! i will be out of school by then :S what a strange feeling... But I can wait :) take as long as you need.

And a question, How long do you guesstimate the word count to be? If it is long enough, I see myself buying a hardcover AND a paperback, simply because of the sheer weight that hardcover "Lamplighter" was to carry around. :D

Best of luck Mr. Cornish :D These truly are the best works of literature i have read in a while >.>

Anonymous said...

velcome, bastien. grab yr safety vest and dive in

hey, who says females can't be ambiguous? we define ambiguousity, dude :)

RottenPocket said...

Monday-
Damn straight!

D.M. Cornish said...

You people are freakin' me out...!

D.M. Cornish said...

...oh, and thank you so much, bastien (I'm digging the fact that you share the name of a race and place in the H-c!)

And, to all on a house keeping kind of note: please refrain from spelling correction digs - I happen to be one of the worst; you should see my 1st drafts come back all marked with red (well, blue actually). Cheers.