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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 1405 Views
This is the only place. - 10/11/2013 04:26:22 PM 1123 Views
Maybe, but I'm a bit skeptical - 11/11/2013 12:14:36 AM 1060 Views
If you want to attract NEW readers, the site needs to be reworked from scratch - 13/11/2013 01:06:41 PM 986 Views
Preaching to the choir here - 14/11/2013 07:55:56 AM 1137 Views
Re: If you want to attract NEW readers, the site needs to be reworked from scratch - 21/11/2013 09:24:22 PM 1063 Views
That might be swimming upstream against a strong current - 22/11/2013 08:41:15 AM 1034 Views
Quite - 22/11/2013 03:34:50 PM 921 Views
io9 - 10/11/2013 07:32:41 PM 1345 Views
Locus Online also has good lists of upcoming/new SF/F releases - 11/11/2013 12:16:18 AM 1036 Views
The Economist, NYT, and WSJ - 11/11/2013 01:05:36 PM 997 Views
Very true - 14/11/2013 07:57:14 AM 1041 Views
I'm skeptical of the Economist. - 16/11/2013 05:02:47 PM 998 Views
Which books were those? - 19/11/2013 03:19:59 PM 1004 Views
There were at least four or five bad reviews. - 30/11/2013 05:41:45 PM 1004 Views
I remember reading that book. I don't recall being impressed by it. *NM* - 05/12/2013 03:37:59 PM 546 Views
I've essentially stopped reading - 11/11/2013 12:36:51 AM 1164 Views
I don't think very highly of the discussions on r/fantasy - 11/11/2013 08:25:54 AM 1179 Views
I've never even been to r/fantasy - 11/11/2013 08:31:11 AM 1015 Views
I'd say this place is still the most influential for me. - 11/11/2013 10:29:19 AM 1015 Views
For some odd reason, I distrust Goodreads - 14/11/2013 07:58:29 AM 1135 Views
"Distrust"? Interesting word choice. - 14/11/2013 09:32:35 PM 1121 Views
Call me old fashioned... - 11/11/2013 02:47:37 PM 967 Views
Old fashioned! - 14/11/2013 07:59:43 AM 1007 Views
I second that suggestion. - 14/11/2013 09:35:51 PM 933 Views
Re: I second that suggestion. - 16/11/2013 02:10:10 AM 838 Views
Here mostly, Goodreads, io9 - 11/11/2013 09:40:41 PM 1084 Views
Interesting - 14/11/2013 08:01:05 AM 964 Views
Typically new is "New to me" - 14/11/2013 08:36:09 AM 1219 Views
Ah, I understand a bit more now. Thanks. - 22/11/2013 08:50:26 AM 959 Views
Here mostly too. And bookshops over here. - 12/11/2013 06:54:05 PM 961 Views
I have list of things to read longer than I have time to read - 13/11/2013 05:39:59 PM 942 Views
So true - 14/11/2013 08:03:16 AM 974 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 904 Views
Quick, cozy comfort zone reads, more or less? - 22/11/2013 08:52:37 AM 835 Views
It depends on what is happening at the time - 30/11/2013 12:15:55 AM 802 Views
I don't really care to learn about new books. - 21/11/2013 08:58:44 PM 956 Views
I'm all BELE - 29/11/2013 07:12:03 PM 909 Views
Book recommendations can come from the oddest places... - 07/12/2013 04:36:26 AM 923 Views

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