Here is a staging site for our mass move.
What's the last thing you ate?
Coffee. Still just coffee.
"Where'd they go?"
"Where'd who go?"
Looks like trouble...
See? Fetch isn't going to happen. It's never gonna happen!
Fletch? I love that movie!
Fletch Lives but it isn't fetch.
I'm just streets behind.
Mass move?
I was wondering that too. Is it the religious kind of cultists or like a doomsday kind?
The forums at www.chuckpalahniuk.net (i.e. "The Cult") have shut down. It was a long running community that, among other things, spawned the workshop system and masterclass model here. When LitReactor started, they moved the workshops and it shifted all of the writerly-focused people over here, while the discussion-focused people stayed, and some few went back and forth.
Now that the forums have shut down, some were contemplating coming here, but I think that unlikely. Though it would be wildly entertaining and interesting, there is a bit of bad blood between the some of the cult community and the literactor community: there is a general distaste in particular for the forum interface that is used here, and there would be some logistical issues; the whole reason for creating litreactor was to have a space focused on writing, and the cultists stayed so that they wouldn't have to, and to collapse the two communities back together wouldn't really benefit either.
You're way off, pal.
The forums at www.chuckpalahniuk.net (i.e. "The Cult") have shut down.
Actually, this is true as of June 1st.... If I recall, about noon EST.
It was a long running community
I believe it started in 1999, though I think the workshop started a couple years later. I'm sure that they list this information at the cult.
that, among other things, spawned the workshop system and masterclass model here. When LitReactor started, they moved the workshops and it shifted all of the writerly-focused people over here, while the discussion-focused people stayed, and some few went back and forth.
This is also true. But rather than have you rely on my personal experience on the matter (having participated in both during the past 10 years) I'll simply quote from the the newsletter that went out at the end of Septemeber 2011:
It was because of this growing non-Palahniuk content, that we first began to seriously consider a stand-alone site. About one year ago we began discussing the creation of a new site dedicated to support this type of content. We discussed the idea with Chuck and he was a full supporter of this decision. If you know anything about Chuck, you know how modest he is. He cares about his fans and fellow authors alike.
[...]
The Workshop featured on this site will be closed for any new submissions and will exist in an archived state for a duration. Anyone who has an active Premium Membership here will be invited to transfer their membership over to LitReactor's workshop. This invite will come via a newsletter sent out to all our Premium Members. So please don't contact us about this. We will contact you. Soon. Those who aren't interested in this, can contact us and be offered a prorated refund.
Chuck has given us permission to move his 36 writing essays, as well as his Q&A fan sessions, to LitReactor where they will not only be easier to locate on the site, but will also be viewable as HTML.
[...]
Not long after LitReactor gets going, we have plans to do some awesome new upgrades to The Cult, which will put tools in place for fans to upload their own content. The site will continue to exist as the largest and most robust author site online, but it will get better, as we streamline it to focus more on all-things-Chuck.
Now that the forums have shut down, some were contemplating coming here, but I think that unlikely.
Well, the existence of this thread is evidence of that, as is my stating it evidence of my thoughts.
Though it would be wildly entertaining and interesting
Well, this is purely conjecture on my part, but I've always found the Cult community to be one of the most consistently creative and interesting communities on the internet.
there is a bit of bad blood between the some of the cult community and the literactor community
Yes, this was a bit of news for me as well, but as it turns out, apparently true. Unfortunately, since the forums there now closed, I can't point you to any evidence, and I don't want to spout hearsay or name particulars, but in the discussion thread on this topic there, some of the cons listed for moving here included that the litreactor community was pretentious and boring, particular names came up that I won't repeat, and there was a general sense that the cultists would not be welcome here.
And though I can't speak for how reflective of reality these opinions are, the life of this thread shows fairly well that the cult community don't feel comfortable here. I was mostly surprised as on the litreactor side of the fence, which is where I've spent much more time over the past couple years, the Cult connection has pretty much disappeared from our common discourse; again, as evidenced by this thread where people don't even know what was going on.
there is a general distaste in particular for the forum interface that is used here
This was actually one of the most common complaints about this site in the early days, when many cultists came over to give litreactor a look-see. It came up again in the discussion thread I mentioned before, and it hasn't changed at all. It is also why I have to do this weird un-notated-quoting-myself format instead of something more sensible. It's passable, but hardly intuitive.
the whole reason for creating litreactor was to have a space focused on writing,
Again, I refer you to the newsletter.
and the cultists stayed so that they wouldn't have to, and to collapse the two communities back together wouldn't really benefit either.
This is probably largely conjecture on my part, but how the two communities diverged since 2011 seems to support this. And I'm sure that each individual had their own reasons for leaving or staying or going back and forth, but the general theme stands.
As for collapsing the two together, there's some benefit for litreactor in the form of a boost in active discussion, but would require more moderation to keep on top of it and there would be legitimate concerns over a huge jump in traffic that doesn't serve the paying parts of the site, namely the workshop and masterclasses. And the Cultists would get a new home, but it would be in a place specifically designed to be not for them. If they have to find a new home anyway, it doesn't do them any good to come to a place already filled with ambiguity at best, and mild hostility at worst.
You're way off, pal.
So was there something specific you wanted to enlighten me on, or were you just being contrary on principle?
I have never noticed any bad blood on this site, whether pertaining to the Cult or to any other site. If there were bad feelings, they were very well hidden from the guy whose job it is to notice such thing (me).
I'd absolutely welcome any and all individuals who want to join the forums, and invite them to come check it out. Any questions or suggestions for making this place more accommodating can be entertained as well. I can't guarantee that I can change the forum setup, and I know from experience how difficult it can be to adjust to a new forum format after getting used to another, but I always do my best to represent any and all requests to the higher-ups in the best possible light.
As for being pretentious... I'm not sure how to address that, since we aren't the ones criticizing a site based on forum layout. :) I can say that we have a lot of different personalities and skill, and like any community, there will be some dorks in the bunch.
Honestly, it doesn't affect my day one way or the other if the Cultists don't want to migrate here. But I would encourage them to come spend a week or so checking the place out before writing us off. Chuck seems to like us well enough.
@Nathan - It all kind of died out a long time ago, before you started here, but I've read a few post like that myself. I wasn't very active on The Cult, mostly just a lurker.
Ain't nobody got time for that.
@Nathan:
Yeah, as Dwayne pointed out, this would all involve stuff from a few years ago. And this community has grown considerably from the initial cult-transfer pool we started with, and many of those are no longer frequent contributors. In any event, I agree that there is not any general sense of bad feelings about the cult here and I'm sure we'd be just a friendly and welcoming as we are with all new members.
As for being pretentious... how you address that is to own it. We're writers. We put words into a particular order for a living (or at least I assume, hope to.) And even more, this whole site was set up so that we can rate each other on how well we put words into particular orders, as though it were important, and we had grounds to judge such things. And it's true, that's why we're all here, because we do think it is important. Because it is important! But it is an inherent aspect of what we do, and the only thing more pretentious would be to pretend we don't care, or that it doesn't matter what order we put words into.
But that's a whole separate matter; one thing I would say is that the way not to address it would be to say, "... but they're the pretentious ones..." which your remark strikes me a bit as saying. At least a little contradictory to the whole open welcoming vibe I think you were going for. I mean, I like a snide comment as much (and probably way more) than the next guy... but you never know how people will take things :)
And also remember that many of the people that would have moved over here were already here when the site launched. Many of them still have accounts here that they never use. They checked us out years ago and wrote us off then. I agree that it's a shame, but there's hardly anything we can do about it. If they were going to move here en masse, then they would have done so two and a half weeks ago (or indeed 3 and a half years ago.) But if they do come by, it'd be good too.
Let me say it this way, then.
I don't get paid by the head, and recruiting is maybe 10% of my job here. We aren't hurting for members, so I primarily focus on maintaining the community we have. There isn't a whole lot of drama here, and the forums don't require almost any moderation whatsoever, and that's kind of nice. Feathers get ruffled and feelings get hurt, but most people can handle their own issues without me having to get involved. It leaves me time to work on fun things.
So when I hear about a possible large new influx of members who are allegedly throwing around words like "bad blood," "mild hostility," and "pretentious," I feel a couple of red flags come up. It's not a big enough deal for me to worry about "keeping an eye" on Cultist members or anything, but I did feel the need to preface my welcome to them based on the comments you made, since I'm assuming that your statements are accurate.
I very much welcome any and all Cultists who want to make this a temporary or permenant home. We're happy to share the space. Recreate some popular threads here if you'd like. Doesn't matter to me. We'd love to have you. If the Cultists decide that this isn't the place of them, that's fine too. My day doesn't really change either way.
However, any bad attitudes or preconceived notions of the relationship between these two sites probably needs to get left at the old site. The Cult is rarely brought up around here, and even then in a historical context referring to LitReactor's origins, so I highly doubt anyone here is going to express anything but the regular LitReactor welcome of challenging each other to a writing contest.
Sincerely, I mean this in the most welcoming, but not pandering, way I can. Hope that clears it up.
I have to point out the old addage about attitude reflecting leadership - and with that, I've been quite impressed with how true it is. Nathan's stewardship has been noticeably drama-free, and I imagine that has a LOT to do with the trickle-down laid-backness he's introduced to the forums (yeah, not a real thing, but you get the ghist). So, I imagine all will go well no matter how few or how many people pop up, so long as no one (old or new) brings in what isn't here.
Seeing how it can easily go the other direction, I'm quite pleased with the overall tone of things around here lately. Sure, I miss the old days with the more raunchy yet good-natured ribbing between friends, but since so many people so often take that sort of shit the wrong way, I'm happy with calmer waters. I say let's all just enjoy the fucking swim, eh?
Any idea why they closed the forum?
You don't feel red flags come up, you see red flags come up.
Any idea why they closed the forum?
Too many forums. That's my guess.
Hi, all! Was in town on business and saw a thread with familiar names so I popped in. Nice to see everyone!
Hells yeah it's nice! Everyone rocks!!! *gives thumbs-up to everyone in the whole bloody world, even the dead ones*
As for the forum thing, I imagine it could be any number of reasons. This is the web Sometimes the numbers just fizzle out over time. Other times, administration drives people away for whatever reason. I was worried this place was fading, but it has been gratifying to see all the new blood from top to bottom prove that I was wrong to worry.
Like old home week!
Avery/Jessica!
So good to see you :)
As a former cultist and active memeber here I'd welcome anyone. I personally liked litreactor better and made the switch but my focus has always been more on the workshopping side of things.
Does this site even HAVE a quote function
Also, I'm going to try to explore around here for a while. I don't write often though, so I would also welcome people over to booyou.freeforums.net to continue the good natured hostility which is unrelated to writing.
I'm just kidding, the new forum is a lovefest and that sucks, right?
Quote functions are in the comment box
The bar might not be visible if you have the arrow clicking to the left in the upper right-hand corner of the comment box.