Dark Dimensions #4

@GradyRichards Spotlight is done, review is done and I did not start the poll yet :/ I can't believe how busy this month has been. Don't worry though, I've got it covered.

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@GradyRichards Is the Japanese vs American Horror approved? I can do something else if it's too boring.

Also, have you considered doing another Short Horror Story Smackdown? The judges could be the staff of the magazine and we could either have a big contest (20+ contestants) or a small one (10-15). It could also be a little bit more organized, like how the Forbidden Planet runs their smackdowns.

Since the last one seemed to go so well, maybe I could post an advertisement in the next issue? I wouldn't mind hosting it. :)

Ack, sorry if these ideas seem extremely lame. Just trying to spice things up a little.

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@XliveItUpO Good stuff. And yeah, this month is flying by. I've hardly done anything but work and I can't believe the deadline is already creeping up.

@Anahlynn Sure, if that's what you want to do.

And I love the idea of us throwing a Smackdown, however I'm a little discouraged in that arena, at the moment. The one in which I participated seemed like two thirds of the contestants just dropped out without a word. Only a few of us turned in our stories every week and there was a noted lack of enthusiasm. Because of that, I don't know how well another Smackdown would go down at this time.

If you want, you can hit the Horror Club and see if there's any enthusiasm out there--particularly the kind of enthusiasm that lasts; not just a momentary thing. If there are enough people out there that REALLY want to participate, we can definitely do that.

And no idea is lame, because even an iffy idea can inspire a brilliant one. Don't ever hold a thought back :)

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@GradyRichards @Anahlynn I would be game for the smack down... Last time I didn't know about it until it had begun and next month should be more lenient for me anyway.

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@GradyRichards Well I was apart of the original short story smackdown (gosh that was so long ago) and the way we kept the excitement up was banter, a little trash talk, and lot of grumpy (he knew how to throw a party).

Also, there was a shorter amount of time (about 72 hours), so people couldn't grow bored, or slack on their story.

Ha, I think you can tell I'm excited about this. I'll put up some threads around wattpad and see if they catch anyone's eye and I'll pm you some ideas for how the smackdown could go. :)

@KimFry Well that's one contestant.

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@Anahlynn Well people in the Horror Club are nowhere near as sociable as Pubbers. For the most part, our contestants were people who hadn't logged in for weeks, joined the contest, and left again. I think we had three people just drop out each round, until the last one. It's hard to banter with people who don't want to join in.

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@GradyRichards We could bring the Horror Club to the Pubbers, or maybe the Pubbers to the Horror Club.

The Horror Club in general is kind of dead. Which is why we could post threads in other clubs directing them to the Horror Club

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@GradyRichards - sorry to butt in, XD But I do recall being asked to refrain from small talk on the horror smackdown thread.

Don't worry, though, Grady. The fantasy one has all sorts of banter, and we still had more people drop out than we were going to eliminate for the first round. It's still a good challenge and a fun idea.

I hope you get plenty of people joining next time around. Aim for the summer, so you've got all those college/high school kids home and bored.

Alright. I'll leave all of you alone and go back to my stalking.

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@Anahlynn The Pub has been pretty dead itself, lately. The only forums which have been really thriving are the usual teeny suspects. And posting about a horror Smackdown in other clubs really toes the line. On the one hand, it will be suggested any horror-related thread be redirected to the Horror Club, or--being a contest-- it will be removed from other clubs as per the new Contest Guidelines.

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@dreamingthought The issue that I spoke against was the one which involved one user being repeatedly offensive toward another user without provocation, every time she spoke. Yes, it was done in jest, but it was infantile and I asked that small-talk be "more professional."

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@GradyRichards I think that once summer starts, the Pub will be more active. It started dying once school/college/work started, so I suspect that's the problem.

And if it's too much of a bother, I can keep the threads to either Horror or the Pub.

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@GradyRichards - if they're still garnering interest I'm quite happy to do 'em. Had a couple of entries in now, but still not too much traffic on it.

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@GradyRichards @TheOrangutan @KimFry @Anahlynn @ArkhamsHorror @GenXblogger

Due to my forgetfulness (and slight procrastination) I'm afraid we will need a plan b for this month and save the poll for next issue. Any ideas?

The review and spotlight are done, so no worries there.

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@XliveItUpO Nothing's coming to mind right now, but I'm fresh home from work and totally brain dead.

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@XliveItUpO - how about a film review? Or is that already being done as part of the mag? Can't remember.

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@TheOrangutan It's not being done at the moment, and we did talk about the possibility in the beginning, but Grumpy thought it was better to keep film out of it. I still kind of agree, but an occasional film review couldn't hurt. Horror is horror, after all. I'm in.

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@XliveItUpO @GradyRichards Did this get figured out? I know it's short notice, but I was out of town on job training, which concludes my hectic month. If nothing has been done, let me know and I can try to throw a movie review together or something like that. I'm currently just waiting on my interviewee to reply to my questions and then a quick edit and I'm done. And, I've got the next few interviewees in line and so I just need to email the questions - I try to throw a few personalized ones in there for each person.

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@KimFry I don't have a clue what's going on with this issue. I've been working like crazy and haven't really been in contact with anyone. And the deadline's coming up this Wednesday, I believe. Anyway, everyone has a bit of autonomy in their projects this month. Just get them to me and I'll put them together.

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@GradyRichards Well, if we need more content I can put something together. Just let me know. I myself have been a little distant this month with all the personal things life throws, but my stuff is all done now.

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Okay, guys and dolls. We're past the deadline and we're publishing day after tomorrow. I still need content from @XliveItUpO @TheOrangutan @Anahlynn and whoever was doing the other book review. I apologize for not being more on top of things this month.

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@KimFry Can you still throw a movie review together? One which is publishable tomorrow? I know it's impossibly short notice, but I just got home from two days on the road for work and I haven't received much content, despite the fact that we're supposed to publish today. Sorry for any inconvenience and I understand if it isn't possible.

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@GradyRichards Yes, I will have it by first thing in the morning at latest.

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@KimFry Thanks so much.

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@GradyRichards It has been sent; ignore the first email, I edited a couple of things and resent. :)

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@KimFry Thanks for burning the midnight oil to pick up the slack :)

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