More Linkage: Platforms for Discussion

Sari chimes in on the discussion about why and how to make sf discussions on the net more lively with a good and thoughtful post. I find myself mostly agreeing with what she is saying: the discussion is inevitably fragmenting to different forums, blogs, etc. and the best strategy is to go with it instead of trying to fight against the current.

I think the only way to get the often-coveted “one really good fandom forum” for all discussion (even if you supposed you could get enough people to agree what “good” in this context means) would be to take away all other means of communication (other forums, blogs, mailing lists, etc.). And since this isn’t happening, it’s probably not very realistic to try to get any central hub for all fandom discussion artificially going. Not that I object people trying, mind you.

Sidenote 1: One possible (technical) solution for merging blogging and more forum-like discussion than just blog comments might be a LiveJournal-type platform where you could set up topics as communities where people could post their thoughts and commenting would work in a bit more structured manner than on the usual blog. (No, I don’t think LiveJournal is going away despite the current panicking about some layoffs in their US office – on the other hand, I would personally prefer something else, since following LiveJournal discussions with the rudimentary tools they give you is a pain.)

So, all the different blogs and forums probably are here to stay at least for now, until someone comes up with something new people will go with. This is not totally unrelated to what’s going on with fanzines. Every now an then some wide-eyed idealist proposes joining forces to produce one big, really good zine. But since doing your own thing the way you like is more fun, people will keep doing that instead. (Yes, I’m doing that too.)

Sidenote 2: You can make your life following discussions going on in blogs much easier by using a RSS feed aggregator. It will collect the posts from the blogs you want to follow and present them to you in one interface, in chronological order. Simple and easy. If you don’t want to experiment with installing new programs and learning to use them, Google Reader is a good option to test drive using feeds without having to install any of the stuff yourself. It’s almost like having your personal forum where the people you want to read write about stuff they think is interesting.

Linkage

A couple of links to interesting discussions:

There’s an active discussion going on on the FSFWA forum about the activities and future of the association. It’s a long thread but Kati’s message might be a good starting point for the current issues being discussed.

Usva is asking for ideas for the future of the zine. If you read the zine and have an opinion on how it should develop further, go pitch in. (If you’re not reading Usva, there’s no better time to start than now.)

What Makes a Short Story

Interesting discussion on Anne’s blog on what makes an award-winning short story, a good short story, and whether these are related.

Atorox Nomination Starting

It’s time again to compile the list of short stories eligible for the Atorox award. The story needs to be Finnish, and published during last year either in Finnish or Swedish.

The current list can be found on the TSFS Atorox web page, and additions and corrections should be sent to the Atorox administrator Katja Rosvall.

The FSFWA forum has a thread for discussing eligible stories.

Sf Writing Course in Tampere Next Spring

Open writing course on writing fantasy and science fiction, tutored by Markku Soikkeli. Once a week, Jan 13–Apr 7. The course is directed to adult writers interested in writing all kinds of science fiction or fantasy.

more

Esa Kauppila Wins Portti Competition

The results of the 23rd annual Portti short story competition were announced yesterday in Tampere. The winner is Esa Kauppila for Lasin läpi rantaan päin (“Through the glass, towards the shore”).

The second place was a tie between Anne Leinonen and Anni Nupponen, and Kirsti Ellilä came third (although I think that should have been fourth, since the second place was tied). Honorable mentions were awarded to Joonas Kallonen, Petri Laine & Anne Leinonen, Mika-Petri Lauronen, Timo Männikkö, Erkka Mykkänen, Olli Rintamäki, Petri Salin, M.G. Soikkeli, and Susi Vaasjoki.

(Info from the “scifi” list)

Update: Anne has more details and a photo. Anne mentions that the winning stories usually are much longer than the average texts in the competition (which is one of the reasons I’m not especially interested in the Portti competition—I have a hard time classifying for example last year’s winner, almost 13 000 words, as a short story any more), and that the theme this year was reaching to the pagan roots of the Finnish people and that there was little science fiction in the awarded stories (leaning towards fantasy and horror).

Year’s Last

A pretty good turnout at the mafia tonight. In the early evening there was a Serious Literary Discussion of many good books. Later on, as more people appeared, the topics became more varied, such as fandom, stupid Internet videos, cameras, tv shows, and the difficulty of Christmas shopping. A fun evening, as usual—see you all again next year!