HOO-EE there’s a lot to take in here!
Firstly, I want to say that I think a lot of this is fantastic, in terms of us not getting complacent, and really trying to adapt to the ever-changing face of Tolkien fandom. New folks are indeed coming, and we definitely don’t want to get caught with our proverbial trews down, so good on Cimrandir for thinking that way!
Eofor also private-messaged me recently about the ongoing, and perpetually unfinished “Handbook” project, and y’know what, darnit, I’M GONNA FINISH THE THING IF IT KILLS ME. Tarurinor did a great job of banging up what we already had together into a functional document, so at least that version does exist, and is still extremely applicable to what we all do here, but I have a few specific ideas for how I would like my version to be organized, so I’m going to try really hard to hammer it out here ASAP. I’ll probably also be taking some detailed kit pictures to include, and I may even enlist some of you to help me out in that venture by snapping some of your own, if you’re good with it!
Overall, I just REALLY want to have a document that we can all be (mostly) happy with handing to a newcomer and saying “here - this tells you everything you need to know about what we do, and how to get started!”
Cimrandir wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:01 pm
3. Regarding the "Getting Started" forum, I think if we move the various threads around, we could use it as a staging ground for the Kit Guide. First I would lock the sub-forum in general so that things don't get accidently posted there while we are working on things. But my idea is to utilize the sub-forum by breaking down the individual major kit items into their own threads (tunic, water-carriers, shoes, etc.):
This is kind of what I’ve tried to do with the sticky (or “announcement”) newcomer posts in the Misty Mountain Rangers Facebook group. It’s really nice to have a place to point to when someone has questions about basic kit items, instead of re-typing everything every time someone asks.
Cimrandir wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:01 pm
- Second post would be a list of materials and why you would want to choose wool over linen or vice-versa or why chrome-tan isn't really that great, etc.
I’m planning on doing a bit of a write-up about different materials in the appendices of the Handbook, but I’m probably going to keep it relatively brief, because I want it to be easily digestible by total n00bs. Having something here on the forum with a bit more detail would be awesome.
Cimrandir wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:01 pm
- Fourth would be a display of individual's MERF/MERS kit that relates to the topic + links to forum discussions in the past that really delve into the subject.
This sounds a lot like the “complete kits” section of the wiki! It never really got fleshed out though.
Cimrandir wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:01 pm - And then the last post would be a collection of links to where you could buy materials or a list of reputable craftsmen if they didn't want to go that far.
So as for this part, I have debated about this long and hard, but in the end, what I have started doing is totally avoiding links. Links die. Things sell out, companies go out of business, etc. Instead, what I’ve tried to do is to give people a ton of information on keywords and search terms they can use to find information for themselves. In the end, it’s kind of a give a man a fish/teach a man to fish thing. People will eventually need to learn to find resources for themselves. That’s not to say we can’t have a list of links anyway - I love a good link-repository. Just that I’ve been inclined to do this less and less over the years as the internet has changed.
Cimrandir wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:01 pm The thought behind using threads is for easily linking to specifics so if someone is looking for what kind of trousers they need, we can link them directly to a discussion on just that. Of course, with a bit of editing, we can combine all the basic information in the threads into a overall Kit Guide.
Love this idea!
That being said, I would also be happy to just see the wiki fully fleshed out the way we always intended, but never quite achieved. It’s a fair deal of work though, so y’know, I get it.
Cimrandir wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:01 pm - Maybe moving the MERS forum up slightly higher for more attention as there's some great discussions with the newsletter threads.
- Shift the "Review" forum down to the Trading Post with the "For Sale" and "Services" forums.
Yeah, this seems like a good call.
Anyway, good thoughts here, for sure! Gotta get back on that darned Handbook now!