2017-03-29 [ DLR: 06-02] Flock of wolves

[MT Hazard]

Someone who hides what they are in public should probably be more understanding regarding anothers doing the same.

Also Yvonne is a part demon which, while I imagine any amount of demonic blood leaves you with certain...tendencies, she seem stable enough that she shouldn't put stock in creature stereotypes.

Consider what we've seen so far the one in the group mostly likely to revel in murder and destruction is a being, and I'm not talking about the accountant.

Looking back there have been a few clues regarding Jason hiding something. The bandage on his arm, the insomnia, the colouration, the fashion sense...

Also, have any of the others figured out what Keller is? Recent strips suggest no.

[Raskahn]

Someone who hides what they are in public should probably be more understanding regarding anothers doing the same.

Also Yvonne is a part demon which, while I imagine any amount of demonic blood leaves you with certain...tendencies, she seem stable enough that she shouldn't put stock in creature stereotypes.

Consider what we've seen so far the one in the group mostly likely to revel in murder and destruction is a being, and I'm not talking about the accountant.

Not much to say about that other than:

[MT Hazard]

All quiet on the forums it seems. Surely project future has enough reader to have a short discussion on each strip, so where are they?

[ZacAttac21]

All quiet on the forums it seems. Surely project future has enough reader to have a short discussion on each strip, so where are they?

Kind of hard to discuss when you already know what's going on.

[Raskahn]

Maybe we've spend so much time with each other that we've lost the will to disagree and the first comment is accepted as is?

[Tapewolf]

Kind of hard to discuss when you already know what's going on.

Didn't help 'To Catch a Demon' any and I kept that one under wraps to see if it would make a difference...

[MT Hazard]

I just find it a little disheartening that you guys put in so much work and there doesn't seem to be much response to it. At least that I can see anyway.

I've seen many webcomics out there that are significantly less compelling/lower quality but seem to have a abundance of fans on their forums. Does that ever bother you?

[ZacAttac21]

Oh don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy Tapewolf's stuff. I just... can't think of anything to say!

You'll notice I don't say much on DMFA either, though. That's just the way I am; I really don't talk much.

I just kind of hang around and watch.

[Tapewolf]

I just find it a little disheartening that you guys put in so much work and there doesn't seem to be much response to it. At least that I can see anyway.
I've seen many webcomics out there that are significantly less compelling/lower quality but seem to have a abundance of fans on their forums. Does that ever bother you?

It varies, but frankly, yes.  They say that with a comic you really have to make it for yourself first and foremost, so there is that aspect to it as well.  I'm used to a lack of response from the music as well and for that matter I don't want to feel like I'm emotionally blackmailing my readers either by bitching about it.

But there are definitely times - especially when I'm under stress from real life as well - when the lack of feedback gets to me.  There have been times when I've made the violence messier to see whether that would provoke a response, though again it feels a bit like I'm blackmailing the readers.  Again, that's usually the sort of thing I might do out of desperation because things are going bad at work too.

As an experiment I started running Epsilon on FA as well, to see whether I would get any comments there.  And for a while I did get quite a lot, though then there was a sudden drop in activity on FA and the other sites in general and it's been quieter since them.  Even so, I still get enough favourites each week and the occasional comments on the FA version of Epsilon to remind me that people do actually give a damn about any of this stuff at all, because honestly, it can be really hard to tell.

(Damn, it reads like the emotional blackmail thing anyway.)

EDIT:
And apologies for those who have been keeping the flame lit.  It felt like there have been months when nothing has been posted but I can't see any gaps quite that big.  Though it's definitely less active than it has been in the past.

[Merlin]

The entire forum is less active, which doesn't help any. But we do what we can.

[Puyon]

Mm. I usually have things I want to say but I'm usually just too anxious to share them. That's partially because I haven't been around this particular community for very long so sometimes I feel silly about asking about certain details I may not get, but I should probably have realized sooner that not saying anything can hurt the content creators a bit. sorry bout that!

If anything, I wish I could bring more people into the forum, or just raise viewership for the content in general. I love DMFA, PF, and DHS, so it'd be awesome if I found a way (other than just bugging my friends to read aforementioned comics) to spread word of the comics around a bit.

[Raskahn]

As with any product, in this case comics (and music), the amount of feedback depends on the target audience and where said audience can or will reply to your work.
With the uprising of facebook, twitter and instagram I believe the traditional internet forum has taken a beating. People migrated to new platforms to vent their opinions and new potential fans might A - not see the comic due to them not frequenting sites where it's promoted or B - not want to bother with "outdated" things like forums.

It's been roughly 9 years since it all started and the social internet has evolved. This is not disastrous as we've already established there's a core keeping things going but, it might be food for thought for the future.

[Tapewolf]

Mm. I usually have things I want to say but I'm usually just too anxious to share them. That's partially because I haven't been around this particular community for very long so sometimes I feel silly about asking about certain details I may not get, but I should probably have realized sooner that not saying anything can hurt the content creators a bit. sorry bout that!

Well, with details the way to learn is often to ask.  As for finding it hard to think of something to say that has been a problem with my own commenting on Merlin's stuff sometimes.

With the uprising of facebook, twitter and instagram I believe the traditional internet forum has taken a beating. People migrated to new platforms to vent their opinions and new potential fans might A - not see the comic due to them not frequenting sites where it's promoted or B - not want to bother with "outdated" things like forums.

Yes, and I think that's why the forum numbers dropped off in general, it wasn't just a CMF thing.  I post announcements about the comics on Twitter.  Don't often get replies or discussion about them though.  Not sure whether I should consider posting the image as well as the link... in some cases the comic is more violent than I'd want to post directly anyway. And I have the problem that different people are following me for different things - music, games, comics, and some people who are probably very confused.
I might look into Instagram sometime, but Facebook creeps me out.  Last I saw it doesn't have a way to keep the furry stuff separate from family or co-workers.

[Raskahn]

With the uprising of facebook, twitter and instagram I believe the traditional internet forum has taken a beating. People migrated to new platforms to vent their opinions and new potential fans might A - not see the comic due to them not frequenting sites where it's promoted or B - not want to bother with "outdated" things like forums.

Yes, and I think that's why the forum numbers dropped off in general, it wasn't just a CMF thing.  I post announcements about the comics on Twitter.  Don't often get replies or discussion about them though.  Not sure whether I should consider posting the image as well as the link... in some cases the comic is more violent than I'd want to post directly anyway. And I have the problem that different people are following me for different things - music, games, comics, and some people who are probably very confused.
I might look into Instagram sometime, but Facebook creeps me out.  Last I saw it doesn't have a way to keep the furry stuff separate from family or co-workers.

"Damn facebooker, internet was nice and lazy until you came along..."

[Ellian]

I pretty much support what Lone_Wolf said. Probably younger audiences are not as accustomed to the idea of a forum in general. Maybe because something you have to sign up for isn't instant enough. Of course they are missing out on a lot of the community experience in return.

It is not that easy to make an estimate about the actual popularity of a webcomic, but I guess pageviews probably count more than forum posts - even though the latter, of course, provide creators with important feedback.

Still, it seems as if a lot of readers prefer making quick comments about a comic page, and I've seen that comics which do not have a forum often use Disqus for that. There are a lot of examples (for comics that allow comments, but don't have a forum) almost independently from the size of their fanbase, like Blindsprings, Chirault, White Noise (both of them, actually), Title Unrelated, and many more.
In contrast to that, Inhuman does have a forum, but there is relatively little activity despite the fact that the comic does have its share of loyal fans (as visible on Patreon).
And, even if you take a "heavyweight" like Gunnerkrigg Court, which has both a forum and comments for individual pages, it is obvious that the ratio of comments to forum posts about a single installment is, roughly estimated, about five to one at best.

What I'm actually wanting to say here is: Please don't be disheartened if people are too shy to leave a comment, or because a significant part of your audience is possibly to young to appreciate the benefits of a forum. This doesn't mean that they don't appreiate your work. Others do have similar problems. You could consider setting up a comment system, but while this will provide more feedback, it may weaken the forum further.

I hope this solace doesn't come across all wrong, but actually, I think you're doing still well in the changing internet landscape.  I've seen once-popular roleplaying forums die, many times, and mailing lists before that. Once they drop below a critical mass, it's over (at least in most cases). Jayhawk HQ (also The Clockwork mansion as a whole) is far from that, but of course, this is also owed to the healthy community here. May it stay that way for a long time, or even get better.