schmevil

I'm sad because it means at least the temporary loss of a vibrant community.

We're never going to be able to control every website and every poster and we shouldn't even really be trying. If a particular set of scans is troublesome, I believe asking the SD mods would have solved the problem.

If we're GOING to have communities like this, and we are, how much better is it to have one like scans-daily, where both the mods and posters are aware of the concerns of creators and publishers and make a genuine effort to accommodate them? Where they not only established strict posting guidelines to prevent whole issues from being posted but also enforced them quite diligently?

The truth is, there are only a handful of comics websites that aren't run (and sometimes very heavily edited) by vested interests, like a publisher, where a sizable number of comics readers can go and share their enthusiasm about a title with a large enough audience to actually make a difference. There was a lot of dedication there, a lot of fascinating material. Yes, there was snark. Yes, some issues were panned. Who cares? The site was very heavily weighted towards books the posters really enjoyed, and served as a sample taste for many new readers. I myself have ended up buying several Marvel books in particular that I otherwise wouldn't have even stopped to look at.

I sympathize with any creators who felt their work was spoiled. I JUST this week had the ending of my latest issue of Wonder Woman spoiled. But I don't believe there was any malice. Quite the opposite, I believe that the poster intended only positive things and meant only to spread the word. I find that to be the motive there again and again. "Hey, I liked this book...take a look at this cool stuff in it!"

Do we really want to try to stop that instinct?

I propose a potential solution. I think, if S-D rebuilds, and I hope they do, I suggest that they make it part of the rules that if a creator or publisher objects to a particular post as being too spoiler-y, that the poster be given the choice to either modify or delete the offending posts. I would be very surprised if more than a tiny handful of creators took advantage of such a resource, but it would certainly show goodwill and I'm sure many skeptical creators would appreciate it. They might be brought more into the process. It's not Draconian, it's merely good faith cooperation. A creator might ask for a page to be removed. Surely that's better than having the site nuked over a single post?

I have spoken with some S-D mods and the thing that I felt is undeniable is that they DO respect the creators and sincerely believe that what they are doing isn't hurtful. That they self-imposed their own ethical guidelines and rigorously enforce them speaks volumes.

These people are not the enemy. They're the good guys, and the alternative is SO much worse. You think what S-D is bad?

Watch and see what pops up in its place.


I hope that S-D regroups and continues to promote good comics. They will have my support, such as it is, when they do so.

Gail, I know I speak for everyone when I say thanks for your support.

If you had said that a week ago, I'd have made a little banner saying "Scans_daily: Better than the alternative" :D

Did you get my thank you note in your inbox?

Yes, thank you. You can always be counted upon to be a class act Ms. Simone.

I believe that the poster intended only positive things and meant only to spread the word.

This was exactly what I intended. I love X-Factor - I wanted to spread the love :P

Gail,

I have... plans. I won't be posting any more stuff at Livejournal. But I have... plans.

I'm not giving up.

Thank you, Gail, for the support and kind words for the community. I agree with what you say here and the suggestion is a good one.

Scans_Daily actually introduced me to you (always fun and/or enlightening comments) and some of your work which I have bought and still thouroughly enjoy (Secret Six and Villains United especially). :)

Take care. Hope to see you again on the next SD!

Thank you, Gail. I hope you end up at wherever S_D settles down...there are a lot of alternatives already, but I'm going with noscans_daily - much less crying about the death of S_D and much more SO HEY HOW ABOUT THOSE RECENT COMICS?

Or at least a good start on one.

Thank you Ms. Simone, for your words and your support.

SD was a much beloved corner of the internet for comic book enthusiasts and it is a terrible shame to see it go. Hopefully, given how many former members have found several ways to band together after the death of the community, we can still expect to see the same people, even perhaps new people, doing the same thing they were doing before in spite of recent events-- keep the discussion on comics, comic characters, writers and artists (whether it be to profess our love for them, or to scorn them) alive.

I doubt anyone here thinks of this as the end and it is encouraging to hear that you feel the same as well. We can only hope that the matter will be fully resolved soon, and that we, as a community, can continue to move forward with what we love to do best.

Gail, thank you. THANK YOU. A million times, thank you. ♥

This is a wonderfully mature way of looking at this, and I am so glad it was you that said it. As usual, you are a Class Act. *applause*

At least someone out there still loves us.

Thanks, Gail.

We will return... someday, somehow, we will return.

We're down, but not out. What does not kill us makes us stronger. And no way in hell we're dead yet.

Thank you, Ms. Simone.

I'm pretty sad about this whole thing. I know in the past I've helped to turn several readers onto books like Astro City and Love & Rockets by pimping pages and pointing to trades. And in turn I've been turned onto comics, new and old (available in trade or in some cases, only back issues) and learned a lot more about a medium I'm fond of.

Also, s_d was the only comics community I knew of that was not only female-friendly but also LGBT friendly, a rare thing.

I'm sure you've already heard this enough though you are made of awesome and win. This is why we love you. Hopefully someday s_d will be able to return to what it once was.

Thank you. Just- thank you.

Will quote and redistribute, if you don't mind.

Thanks so much for saying this. It's nice to know that as a creator you are aware that we really aern't trying to steal from you!

Thank you so much for this.

This is beautifully put, Gail, and I appreciate the advice. We're definitely talking about putting your ideas into play wherever the new community ends up.

I suggest that they make it part of the rules that if a creator or publisher objects to a particular post as being too spoiler-y, that the poster be given the choice to either modify or delete the offending posts.

I don't think this even needs to be a rule - it's just common courtesy. (On the other hand, making it a rule would at least cut down on wrangling about whether it's really fair for the creator to do so.)

(On the other hand, this is the internet...where common respect for the people you're interacting with needs to be made a rule, so...)

As a side effect of this, I can see another good thing coming about - possibly getting more creators involved - you and Warren being around has been awesome - having you give insight into your stuff, hype new stuff, or just hanging around being folk...it's all good for the community...not just s_d, but comics fans, in general.

It might reign in the snark a bit, but it could create more reasoned critiques.

Thank you, Ms. Simone.

I had... so much to say.

But others... had already said it, and in ways that are more clear and concise than I ever could.

All I can say is... Thank you.

Thank you, for believing in us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We *will* rebuild it. We can rebuild this comm. Better, stronger, faster! (whirring noise in background)

Seriously, thank you for your kind words of support! Hopefully we'll see you return to visit us on the new noscans_daily LJ comm, and InsaneJounal's scans_daily!