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Preaching to the choir here Larry Send a noteboard - 14/11/2013 07:55:56 AM

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RAFO was created as a Wotmania nostalgia exercise, which is fine for the purposes of ensuring continuity from the old Wotmania board. However, newcomers (and some old hands) will be put off by the website looking like it's still in 1998.

So that discussion goes to the heart of what RAFO is for and what it will be in the future. If it's to be more of a literary review site (and 'Read and Find Out' is a fine title even separated from its WoT origins), it needs some serious and heavy work. If it's to remain a WoTmania fansite, it can stay as it is and probably die of obscurity in a few years time.

Harsh, possibly, but I think also accurate seeing what's happened to many other sites.


It's way too late to do this, but something akin to Tor.com's approach of taking several prominent SF/F bloggers and giving them space for columns and re-read discussion threads would have kept things from decaying too much, so soon. It's something I would have liked for OF years ago, as a matter of fact - there were some proposals, if I recall, for databases of author/book information as well as reviews (suggested before Wikipedia became big, around 10-11 years ago).

But I fear that ship has sailed. I doubt anyone would be asked (after all, those who did provide much of the content for OF were pretty much given the cold shoulder when this site started, to be honest) to contribute to such a thing, but certainly having a splash page-like portal contain links to blog-like reviews and related discussions would be better than the current thing.

Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie

Je suis méchant.
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To whom do you turn when you want to learn more about new books? - 10/11/2013 06:17:07 AM 1395 Views
This is the only place. - 10/11/2013 04:26:22 PM 1112 Views
Maybe, but I'm a bit skeptical - 11/11/2013 12:14:36 AM 1048 Views
If you want to attract NEW readers, the site needs to be reworked from scratch - 13/11/2013 01:06:41 PM 976 Views
Preaching to the choir here - 14/11/2013 07:55:56 AM 1125 Views
Re: If you want to attract NEW readers, the site needs to be reworked from scratch - 21/11/2013 09:24:22 PM 1052 Views
That might be swimming upstream against a strong current - 22/11/2013 08:41:15 AM 1021 Views
Quite - 22/11/2013 03:34:50 PM 912 Views
io9 - 10/11/2013 07:32:41 PM 1335 Views
Locus Online also has good lists of upcoming/new SF/F releases - 11/11/2013 12:16:18 AM 1022 Views
The Economist, NYT, and WSJ - 11/11/2013 01:05:36 PM 987 Views
Very true - 14/11/2013 07:57:14 AM 1028 Views
I'm skeptical of the Economist. - 16/11/2013 05:02:47 PM 989 Views
Which books were those? - 19/11/2013 03:19:59 PM 994 Views
There were at least four or five bad reviews. - 30/11/2013 05:41:45 PM 993 Views
I remember reading that book. I don't recall being impressed by it. *NM* - 05/12/2013 03:37:59 PM 542 Views
I've essentially stopped reading - 11/11/2013 12:36:51 AM 1153 Views
I don't think very highly of the discussions on r/fantasy - 11/11/2013 08:25:54 AM 1154 Views
I've never even been to r/fantasy - 11/11/2013 08:31:11 AM 1005 Views
I'd say this place is still the most influential for me. - 11/11/2013 10:29:19 AM 1005 Views
For some odd reason, I distrust Goodreads - 14/11/2013 07:58:29 AM 1123 Views
"Distrust"? Interesting word choice. - 14/11/2013 09:32:35 PM 1110 Views
Call me old fashioned... - 11/11/2013 02:47:37 PM 958 Views
Old fashioned! - 14/11/2013 07:59:43 AM 996 Views
I second that suggestion. - 14/11/2013 09:35:51 PM 924 Views
Re: I second that suggestion. - 16/11/2013 02:10:10 AM 828 Views
Here mostly, Goodreads, io9 - 11/11/2013 09:40:41 PM 1068 Views
Interesting - 14/11/2013 08:01:05 AM 953 Views
Typically new is "New to me" - 14/11/2013 08:36:09 AM 1207 Views
Ah, I understand a bit more now. Thanks. - 22/11/2013 08:50:26 AM 949 Views
Here mostly too. And bookshops over here. - 12/11/2013 06:54:05 PM 950 Views
I have list of things to read longer than I have time to read - 13/11/2013 05:39:59 PM 934 Views
So true - 14/11/2013 08:03:16 AM 965 Views
here, mostly, but i also have less time to read (sort of) and a lot to read... - 19/11/2013 03:49:15 PM 893 Views
Quick, cozy comfort zone reads, more or less? - 22/11/2013 08:52:37 AM 824 Views
It depends on what is happening at the time - 30/11/2013 12:15:55 AM 790 Views
I don't really care to learn about new books. - 21/11/2013 08:58:44 PM 947 Views
I'm all BELE - 29/11/2013 07:12:03 PM 899 Views
Book recommendations can come from the oddest places... - 07/12/2013 04:36:26 AM 912 Views

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