LJ Idol Presents:

Not to take away from the utter horror of the already-mentioned stories, this (http://cnnews3.com/hiv-virus-detected-walmart-bananas-10-year-old-boy-contracts-virus/) story is also making the rounds. It's not true, of course, but the fact that some people believe it and then post it on Facebook...

I weep for humanity.

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If we did have the "10th anniversary" celebration with topics - would anyone come? Because these last few threads are saying that maybe I should let it pass.

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Honestly?

I'm torn on your behalf because I know you want to celebrate.

it's the wrong time of the year. Right now is the annual Northern hemisphere-it's-summer-don't-wanna-be-online thing but it's much more prominent because LJ's so quiet. I think holding it over until fall, maybe --let's say a precursor to next season -- would be more prudent.

That said...

I can't speak for everybody but sometimes I think you're insisting on banging your head against the proverbial wall because YOU don't want to abandon your baby. That's totally, undeniably understandable. Your friends, whether Idolers or not, don't want to disappoint you and don't want to see you banging your head. Ergo, we're still here.

It's not the same, Gary. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. We've ha GRs devoted to it this mini season.

I haven't seen the dastardly-want-to-kill-him-twist-and-turn Gary in awhile, and at least for me, that part of you is what made Idol so hair-splittingly fun to play and/or watch. I understand why you're keeping him under wraps; OTOH, maybe his time has come and gone, I don't know.

It's painful, at least for me, "going through the motions", which is partly why I dropped this time around. I wouldn't be surprised if others feel the same but are too reticent to admit it. Sometimes I got the feeling you were also "going through the motions". Anything long-running tends to meet that rut sooner or later. More important -- and this is what I think the root of the issue is -- it's difficult to get out of that rut if there isn't any enthusiasm to continue.

That's where Idol is right now, IMO.

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There's a lot of food for thought in here, so I'm going to skim through it and come back later. Or maybe not at all, but it's definitely going to be in my thoughts.

- "it's the wrong time of the year" Yeah, summer is *always* rough. "IN the heyday" of LJ, we probably could have powered through it, but even then it would be rough. After all, I got 9 people to do it the first season (and some of them ended up dropping out. ;D)

- " think holding it over until fall, maybe --let's say a precursor to next season -- would be more prudent."

Maybe celebrate Season 2's 10th anniversary. ;)

"I can't speak for everybody but sometimes I think you're insisting on banging your head against the proverbial wall because YOU don't want to abandon your baby."

That's a fair point. I don't. For all the frustration, and the headaches, it still gives me something - and I see it giving something to the new people who come into Idol. I also see the growth from people who "find something new" inside of themselves during the process, and that excites me. That makes me want to do more.

Honestly, I think if LJ were as active as it was "back in the day" that Idol would be *gigantic* right now.

But it's not, and IMO that's the frame work that colors everything.

"That's totally, undeniably understandable. Your friends, whether Idolers or not, don't want to disappoint you and don't want to see you banging your head. Ergo, we're still here."

I very much appreciate that, and I hope you all know that.

"It's not the same, Gary. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. We've ha GRs devoted to it this mini season."

We're not the same. You. Me. Grab a person at random and they aren't the same as they used to be... that part is natural. I do know what you are saying, and again - I think that a lot of that is what happened with Livejournal and the growth of social media, and I think it's how people have decided to use it - and yeah, I think part of it is me.

"I haven't seen the dastardly-want-to-kill-him-twist-and-turn Gary in awhile, and at least for me, that part of you is what made Idol so hair-splittingly fun to play and/or watch. I understand why you're keeping him under wraps; OTOH, maybe his time has come and gone, I don't know."

There were a series of "wake up calls" for me that the "room had changed". One was "lame gate", but the bigger one was when I pulled out a rather (IMO) tame twist and had people threatening to quit over it.

That made me take a step back and go "The people have changed. What they want is different." I adjusted my twists accordingly. Which of course makes other people upset because they want the "in your face" Gary.

I think *I* have changed as well, as a result of that "change in the room" in that while "clauderainsrm" still has a presence, I try not to take up as much room, I try to listen more. I think that's closer to who I am as Gary, but when what used to be a clearly satirical, over-the-top caricature from "back then" could be dropped into current political discourse without missing a beat, it's probably time to go in a slightly different direction with it. ;)

"It's painful, at least for me, "going through the motions", which is partly why I dropped this time around. I wouldn't be surprised if others feel the same but are too reticent to admit it"

I've seen people burn out on it. My hope is that they will eventually come back. :)

The newbies, the ones who have found Idol in the last couple of years, do seem to be enjoying what they find, and the potential for it to be more. Which gives me hope that maybe it's not time to take it out back and shoot it.

"Sometimes I got the feeling you were also "going through the motions". "

There have been weeks. This mini season wasn't my idea. So I'll admit, I don't have the same level of passion that I usually do. It was suggested, and I wanted to be more open to taking suggestions - I hope more of it "worked" than "didn't". But it was definitely an interesting experiment. What I have, so far, for Season 10 has me *a lot* more excited. And yes, I'm taking the "we want more twists" crowd into consideration. Still working out a couple of those twists, but when I can't stop cackling, that's usually a good sign.

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And BTW -- the fact that Kate and I are the only two who've replied to you, I think, speaks volumes.

I'm not saying it's good nor bad, but it is interesting.

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Here at least.

I had 3 other people email me. 1 was solicited, the other 2 unsolicited, they just didn't feel comfortable commenting. Those opinions are definitely interesting, when taken into the bigger picture.

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What I think is interesting is that somehow the GR has (d)evolved into a place where people "don't feel comfortable" expressing an opinion about something that isn't at all controversial.

Maybe we should find out when/why that happened and work on that.

I mean, I'm way less likely to wade into the comment-baiting subjects you throw out in here than I used to be, but FFS, "If we did have the '10th anniversary' celebration with topics - would anyone come?" is pretty freaking tame, as subjects go.

Would you be comfortable giving the content of their comments without naming them?

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I have to get ready for work in a few minutes, so I'm not going to reply to this until after I return except for:

We're not the same. You. Me. Grab a person at random and they aren't the same as they used to be... that part is natural. I do know what you are saying, and again - I think that a lot of that is what happened with Livejournal and the growth of social media, and I think it's how people have decided to use it - and yeah, I think part of it is me.

Nothing is static.

Idol-As-We-Know-It fit the old LJ model very well.

Social media has changed all that.

But because Idol-As-We=Know-It fit the old LJ model so well, it's been a struggle remodeling it to the remodeled LJ.

It doesnt' wholly fit. I think that's partly why you're banging your head and why those of us who adored Idol-As-We-Knew-It are also banging our heads. Because, really, I can understand why people would use LJ as their writing journal, but a writing-only journal doesn't jibe with Idol-As-A-Game.

...and here we go with the old argument again :headdesk: I also think we're beating around the bush, but that's a whole other conversation.

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This happens at the end of e.v.e.r.y. s.e.a.s.o.n.

You can go back right now and look at the end-of-season GRs for the past few years, and you'll see a comment from me that says pretty much exactly this.

I think the people who have loved Idol over the years would do a one-week celebratory thing. It would be entirely different than the fumes of end-of-season coasting over the finish line because it's almost done and we think we can get there.

Some people would write something. Most people would probably visit/comment in the GR. People might get into something like picking their favorite Idol post from whatever season they participated in.

Theirs and/or someone else's.

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(1) Yeah, and I ask the question every season so you can answer it. :)

(2) I think that's probably true. People would turn up. If I already had the graphics, I wouldn't even bother to put it out there. But I don't right now and I don't know if they are coming. So I'm putting it out there. I had bigger plans, but they've been getting paired down. I think the smaller option is probably the better one.

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1. Well then, happy anniversary. ::kicks you::

2. Small is probably good. Call it a Homecoming party. We'll wear carnations and pompom mums.

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I *really* like the "Homecoming" idea. I'm totally stealing that. :)

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It's yours.

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