OctaviaButler.net A fan blog for Octavia E. Butler, writer.

*Problems:  1.  Too much for me to manage on my own.  besides,webmaster approach doesn't really match with a community orientation.  2.  People send me stuff, and I don't process it in a timely way.  3.  Lack of conversation-ability, because no comments.

*Barriers:  1.  ego -- this was my web site.  2.  Concerns about security and managing spam.  3.  Lack of models.  4.  Technical complexity.

*New site vision: a place where Octavia Butler fans can share OEB works, news, media, reflections.  Ultimately, would be great if became a place of fan art, such as fan fiction and fan visual, audio, and video works.

1. visitors--can view and comment unmoderated.

2. members -- can post stories and images,and edit their stories and images, moderated.

3.  Shapers -- all of the above and moderate, vision, plan, involve, initiate celebrations.

4.  Administrators-- all of the above and technical site development and general stewardship.

*Notes:

Making changes is taking an extremely long time. is there a way to transition incrementally?

I like office tally because it has multiple contributors and is very participatory, are there other models? it looks like it would be a full-time job to maintain.  I like black science-fiction society because it looks cool and is really intimate, but I want more accessibility for visitors.

I don't want to replicate someone else's work but I don't any other web sites that can do this... either they don't have the architecture or they don't have the leadership.  Also, I want to use as many third-party tools as possible, this way won't replicate work and have access to more features and a larger community.

this site needs to be financially self-supporting so it won't die out because of that.  How many of our organizations have we lost because of funds?

I need a regular backup schedule ASAP.

congratulations on getting CAPTCHA to work!

there seem to be several types of communication: essays, reviews/links to content, brief comments about OEB, site kudos, unique or reprinted content.  the brief comments and site kudos don't fit with a blog, they are more guestbook or forum. many sites add a forum but then community gets separated from content.  Maybe a guestbook with limited posting characters, and encouraging those who have more to write to write a story.  participants then would have four ways of interacting with the site: read/view/listen/download content, post a story or image, comment on an existing story or image, post a brief comment in the guestbook, e-mail me.

*to do

1. figure out how to back up the site and the database to off-line storage

2.  fix categories to be more descriptive

3.  transition from the old web site to the new one: turn off the new features, rename the folder and edit where Octavia Butler.net points, delete old FTP files and old databases.

4.  Post current essays and comments as stories.

5.  check that subscriptions are active, then open up for comments.

6.  add guestbook

7.  monetize

8.  develop member role