Deeker's Message of the Week

But before I make any radical departures from the way things have been handled on this site for its 11-year-plus history, I turn to you, my readers, to vote on what should be done with the Discontinued stories and how such stories should be handled in the future. You will also be asked for your input on other issues and concerns surrounding Discontinued Stories. The results of your responses will be posted in a future MOTW (not necessarily next Sunday, 01/06/08).

Please take a moment to fill out this poll: Your age: ---------- 7 or under 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 Over 60 Gender: ------ Male Female How often do you read the discontinued stories? ----- Frequently Fairly often Sometimes Rarely Never Comments: How often do you read the stories that are "in progress"? ----- Frequently Fairly often Sometimes Rarely Never Comments: Do you think the Discontinued Stories should be individually listed/linked like all the other story groups? ----- Yes No Doesn't matter Comments: If the discontinued stories were removed from the site completely (no zip file) how much would you miss them? ----- Very much Moderately Somewhat Not really Not at all Comments: How do you feel the discontinued stories should be handled? ----- Only have them posted as a zip file (this is the current method) Have them individually listed and linked (like all the other story groups) Do away with them altogether but allow stories to "lapse" first before expiring Only post completed stories No opinion Comments/other ideas: How do you feel the stories "in progress" should be handled? ----- Only accept and post stories that are complete upon initial submission Accept stories that are in progress but only post them once they are completed Post new material as the stories are updated (this is the current method) Comments/other ideas: How would you recommend ways to reduce the number of stories that wind up becoming "discontinued" on the site? Only post completed stories Extend the number of days before declaring a story discontinued Reduce the number of days before declaring a story discontinued Use sound judgement to determine a story's likelihood of completion before posting it Rely on the ratings to determine if a story is worth keeping on the site before 90 days is up Comments/other ideas: Why do you suppose stories wind up discontinued? The author ran out of ideas/writer's block The story was a "flash in the pan" The story was written by the seat of the author's pants (diapers)/no planning or outline in mind The author lost interest in the story The author became too busy with other projects The author's parents/family interfered Illness/injury Mental/emotional or personal issues The author lost interest in/desire for diapers altogether Lack of feedback/response (when sought) Negative feedback/criticism Lack of confidence/fear of criticism Fear of getting caught writing it Fear of someone the author doesn't want reading it finding it online Comments/other reasons: Have you written a story that has become discontinued on this site? ----- Yes No Comments: What were your reasons for your story(ies) to become discontinued? I ran out of ideas/writer's block The story was a "flash in the pan" The story was written by the seat of my pants (diapers)/no planning or outline in mind I lost interest in the story I became too busy with other projects My parents/family interfered Illness/injury Mental/emotional or personal issues I lost interest in/desire for diapers altogether Lack of feedback/response (when sought) Negative feedback/criticism Lack of confidence/fear of criticism Fear of getting caught writing it Fear of someone I don't want reading it finding it online Comments/other reasons: The current time allowed before a story is declared discontinued is 90 days. How many days do you feel should be allowed? ----- 90 days/3 months (leave it as is) Less than 30 days/1 month 30 days/1 month 45 days/6 weeks 60 days/2 months 120 days/4 months 150 days/5 months 180 days/6 months Between 180 days/6 months and 270 days/9 months Between 270 days/9 months and 365 days/1 year More than 1 year Only post completed stories and do away with current method Comments/other ideas: The current time allowed before a discontinued story is no longer listed is 180 days. How many days do you feel should be allowed before a story is removed from listing? ----- 180 days/6 months (leave it as is) Less than 30 days/1 month 30 days/1 month 45 days/6 weeks 60 days/2 months 120 days/4 months 150 days/5 months Between 180 days/6 months and 270 days/9 months Between 270 days/9 months and 365 days/1 year More than 1 year Only post completed stories and do away with current method Comments/other ideas: What advantages do you feel there are with posting stories in progress? The author can guage the initial response before putting forth additional effort The author can pace himself more easily The author can solicit suggestions and continue accordingly Comments/other advantages: What advantages do you feel there are with posting only completed stories? It eliminates the problem of amassing discontinued stories Readers are not left disappointed when a story they like is not finished People who write stories to completion are more likely to be dedicated to the story and thus tend to be better writers Comments/other advantages: Do you perceive overall quality differences in writing/content in completed stories versus stories that are written on the go (whether eventually completed or not)? ----- Significant differences Moderate differences Some differences No overall differences Comments: Do you perceive overall quality differences in writing/content in completed stories versus stories that are declared discontinued? ----- Significant differences Moderate differences Some differences No overall differences Comments: Moving forward, what would you like to see listed on the site as far as discontinued and in-progress stories are concerned? ----- Post completed stories only Post completed and in-progress stories only; delete stories that expire altogether Continue to list discontinued stories as is currently done Make discontinued stories individually available Comments: How would you encourage authors to stick with their stories and write them to completion? Note: If you have written stories for this website please indicate them so as to further establish your credentials as a writer. How would you advise me (Deeker) to encourage and enforce completion of stories before posting? What other advice would you offer to me to get a handle on this problem? Which discontinued stories would you like to see completed? Are you willing to resume work on any discontinued stories on this site? ----- Yes Maybe No Comments: Do you feel that there any ethical or perhaps even legal issues regarding taking someone else's incomplete work and building on it yourself, or do you feel that it's fair game (abandoned intellectual property) if it's not finished? ----- Yes, there are possible legal issues Ethical issues, yes; legal, no I have mixed feelings No, it's fair game if they don't complete it Comments:

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