Okay, Time to Put on the Brakes

[the_gneech]

I asked Hikaru if he had any filler strips I could run this week, and he sent me a "no pants" joke. When I asked him if he had any "squeaky clean" gags I could run instead, he (correctly) pointed out that I myself had made a "no pants" joke just two weeks ago.

Well yeah, I did. That should be enough to cover the strip's naughtiness quotient for six months. I'm a little bit worried that instead, that type of material is becoming "expected." The forum is getting a bit ugly, with people posting R-rated material that I then have to expunge, or making jokes about murdering each other.

It's time to nip this in the bud.

I've probably set myself up for this to some degree ... the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" theory of "mature themes" suggests that the moment Drezzer planted that first smooch on Conrad, a snowball was immediately sent rolling that will, if unchecked, knock over my metaphorical house. So I'm pulling out the orbital laser cannon and melting that sucker.

Well, sorta.

"When Wally Met Mikey" is going to continue through to its conclusion; after that, I'm going to move away from such, er, "cutting edge" stuff for a while. It might force me to put some storylines on hold, but that's okay. I need for SJ to be just fun for a while, and more importantly, I need for SJ to be something that I continue to want to read for my own enjoyment. Most of my favorite current strips are astoundingly light-hearted compared to a lot of the other content on the web; so it's time for some silly, friendly stuff.

However, before I do any of that, I'm going to run some sketches and guest strips this week. I need a break.

-The Gneech

Comments

[makovette.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but...

From what I can see in the forum, you got maybe 5 perhaps 6 excessively prolific posters tossing silly nonsense. The fact they are doing that is not because of SJ, it's because they are silly nonsensical people.

Put that half dozen people in perspective of the total number of readers you have. Please don't let that tiny tail wag the dog^H^H^H tiger and tweak the strip.

Lock the out of bounds threads with out comment is my advice - the participants will get the message and life will move on once again.

CYa!
Mako

[tahamaki.livejournal.com]

Hey now! That's my orbital laser platform thingy! ;)

Although I did have an idea for the character Q&A, to bring the whole "dover's computer getting melted" thing full circle... but...naah. ;)

Seriously tho, it's your strip. You do it your way.

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

First and foremost, do what you want to do. You're not doing Suburban Jungle for the money.

Second, the "When Wally Met Mikey" storyline is hardly naughty. It might set off some ultraconservatives, but it wouldn't even cause people to blink on network television.

Third, silly, friendly stuff is always welcome!

[katayamma.livejournal.com]

Sorry. Didn't mean to add to the stress levels. I think that Mako's right, though. What you have are a few individuals who need to have some ice-water poured on em to calm things down a bit. Once they settle down, the overall tone of the forums will relax too.

Unfortunately, one of the things that you have to accept as a forum moderator is that not only do you make the rules, but you also have to enforce the rules. If you have people posting inappropriate stuff, then you need to delete/edit the post and/or lock the thread stating that it's inappropriate. I know that you don't want to be the bad guy or anything (which is why I offered to be the official board-nazi) but sometimes a lion's gotta do what a lion's gotta do.

As for the strip I sent you, don't sweat it. Tomorrow I'll play around with some other concepts for C&P and toss 'em in your direction for filler. Hell, maybe I'll presser Miguel to do another pocket SJ for you. ^_-

Cheers

sore wa omoshiroi

[nekomimikun.livejournal.com]

I've probably set myself up for this to some degree ... the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" theory of "mature themes" suggests that the moment Drezzer planted that first smooch on Conrad, a snowball was immediately sent rolling that will, if unchecked, knock over my metaphorical house. So I'm pulling out the orbital laser cannon and melting that sucker.

That's an interesting observation there. It seems to be pretty close to my senses on the subject. I dunno how I would get out of it myself, but then again, I'm not as talented. =P

or making jokes about murdering each other

Sorry. I have problems with sarcasm going too far. I just found that particular situation to be yakamashii-sugiru (excessively irritating).

Maybe you need multiple moderators. That way, you can have a more effective way of keeping track of these things. Since you can't and shouldn't have to be there 24/7. Maybe you can get Hikaru to co-moderate. (I've seen forums with up to 3 moderators before, so I think it's possible...) With a board that is growing as much as yours, it might become necessary within a year or even months. 0_0

[kelloggs2066.livejournal.com]

Sheesh, Boss,

If you wanted guest strips, it'd be easier if you'd lemme know
in advance! ;)

Naw, seriously. You gotta keep it fun, and you gotta keep it
to what you're comfortable with. The key to doing these strips
for free, without much compensation other than a forum fulla
happy folks is sustainability. You gotta do it for you. So,
you gotta do what You find fun.

Trust me. What you find fun, everybody else will find fun too.
Heck, you've been going on that formula for years and it works
pretty darn good.

Scott (I'll see what I can do 'bout some guest art. In the meantime, sit back and watch the happy dancing lions) Kellogg

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

If you wanted guest strips, it'd be easier if you'd lemme know in advance! ;)

I thought about asking you, actually, but your LJ post about how tired you were made me decide against it. I'm just as happy to do sketches of my own; the only reason I even brought up the topic with Hikaru is because he gets pouty if I don't get filler strips from him first. ;)

-The Gneech

[the-lizard-rat.livejournal.com]

*finally gets back online*

On the subject of the forums, yeah, I've noticed things going in that direction too. I think the snoball has already whammed against the house once or twice, though. Call it a hunch. *shrug*

Do what you need to do strip wise :) I'd say more but I'd just parrot what other people have said.

More pocket SJ! :)

Lizard Rat out.

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Heh... Andrick tries ice water in the Umlaut House forum... all it does is turn the forum into a cold, wet, furry mess and usually the posters get evenmore excited...

-=TK

[katayamma.livejournal.com]

Or if you don't at least ask me first, which you did.