AWWW YAYA ONE OF MY FAVE PICS RN. THAT WILL CHANGE BY TOMORROW THO LOL.

IDK IF WE NEED TO SEPARATE NEWS FROM DISCUSSION CUZ MOST OFTEN, NEWS INSPIRES DISCUSSION.

I don't know what the best way to do it is, but my gut says that news leads to discussion and if it's all together more people might join in.

I'm not sure why Hoopla evolved into bscly only a news links comm, altho it has been super handy when I'm busy and just want to catch up. But I remember massive tour posts and lots of fun in the past, I think we could go back to stuff like that and to having discussion in the comments once things get busy again, as long as people are aware it's okay to talk. And if there are people around to talk to LOL.

I haven't posted here in awhile, but that's mostly because with Adam in the studio there just hasn't been that much going on. But once he kicks into promo mode again, I hope this comm gets more active!

IA, I BIN BUSY WITH MEDIA STUFF, BUT I NEED TO START PUTTING LINKS HERE AS WELL INSTEAD OF JUST TWATTER. I LIKE HAVING A PERMANENT PLACE TO PUT STUFF AND KNOW I CAN COME BACK AND FIND IT LATER. PLUS I LIKE SQUEEING WITH PEOPLE OVER STUFF THAT WE'VE POSTED OR LINKED TO.

I MISS DISCUSSION SO MUCH. I LIKE IT HERE CUZ ITS NOT SHIPPY AND NOT HATE-Y, BUT IT HAS EVOLVED INTO ONLY NEWS. I THINK WE CAN CHANGE THAT.

I LIKE THAT MEMBERSHIP IS NOW OPEN, I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT. BUT ITS NOT VERY DIFFICULT TO JOIN NOW.

yeah, IA

I agree in suggesting to keep the discussion with the news

In the two-ish years [formally kellys_muse] I've been a member these are the things I've heard people say:

- We're too clichy/elitist. The two ways to become a member turn people off.
- Posting access by only a few takes away from people feeling involved. I know that works against current news compiling format. Adds to the in crowd people VS not in crowd feeling.
- When people do comment they feel ignored and/or unwelcomed.
- Worry they maybe to flaily or worry they may stray too far in [insert] ship flail.

This place is my favorite Adam news community but of late it has lost fun feel. People need to join in, make conversation, have some fun. Am always appreciative of those who bring media over from other sites. I live on twitter these days but it's always nice to come here and catch the stuff I may have missed.

I think having the media posts public is great, people stopping by can see what's posted and how members interact with each other. Though with the current format do they know to go to the last page for the latest news? Maybe more frequent updates would help and/or a note telling people to check the last page of comments for the latest news.

Hope that helps!

Too flaily isn't gonna happen and shipping has it's own comms. As for screening members, that's negotiable.

Just relaying what other people have said.
Seeing people have fun, feeling included invites lurkers to join in.
I completely understand keeping it Adam only/no ship talk.
People can create multiple accounts so screening in some cases may not keep trollish behavior out.

Yeah, I know.

It doesn't help that there's a media lull. Other comms/boards seem to be getting by with OT topics so it stands to reason since this is news centric it's a bit quiet.
Hopefully it picks up once album two drops! :-)

I've been wondering why the mods aren't coming to HM more often. I see them tweeting news/links and talking about Adam on twitter all the time but they rarely bring them to their own comm.

I want this comm to continue so I try posting here as much as I can and when I find or upload something exclusive, I only post them here (other than twitter) and it's really discouraging to find @hooplamagnet tweet them as from some other blogs.

I might be responsible for having turned this comm into an archive, because what I do is just leaving items here, without commenting or anything. I wish I could start or participate in discussion but my English is just not up to it. I think if the mods come back and start to comment here and there people would think HM is active again and regulars would come back and more may come now that the posts are unlocked.

I'm sorry, it's just been so dead that I barely check in except to drop news. I should start posting more thanks to news.

Aw I love all the work you do to keep things updated! You are much appreciated!!

I see your point, mods do drive & set the tone for a community.
Tweeting back to HM news posts and bit of community promotion would generate traffic.
Never worry about your English! It's fine. One of the things I love about the web - it's global. :-)
I don't think people have to be super social all the time, we're all busy with our own lives. But just thanking posters occasionally can go along way in making people's efforts feel appreciated/welcome.

IA WITH MOST OF YOUR POINTS. I THINK SHIPPING IS FOR ELSEWHERE AND PEOPLE WOULD ENJOY THAT MORE ELSEWHERE ANYWAY. TOO FLAILY, IS THERE SUCH A THING? IDK

I agree and I appreciate not seeing shipping wars here. But I think there's confusion as to what can be said. During GNT could people have said 'omg that kiss was sooo hot!' probably not. For some that takes the fun away.
I just learned current bf is on topic, though I assume Adam has to be involved in the photo/article.
I don't think there's such a think as too much flail. IMO the point is to have fun, get excited, squeee with your fellow fans. :-P

I DONT THINK 'THAT KISS WAS SO HOT' WOULD BE IN ANY WAY OFF TOPIC SINCE ADAM WAS KISSING SOMEONE. IT WAS NEVER REALLY THAT DIFFICULT IN THE PAST TO KNOW WHEN SOMETHING SHOULD MOVE TO A SHIPPING COMM OR ELSEWHERE SO I DONT THINK IT WOULD BE THAT HARD NOW. JMO.

CURRENT BOYFRIEND TO ME SEEMS ON TOPIC CUZ WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW HE IS INTERACTING WITH ADAM. IDK IF ITS ON TOPIC THO IF ITS ONLY ABOUT SAULI WITH NO REFERENCE AT ALL ABOUT ADAM.

Trying again...
Fair enough.
I assume no reference to Adam is off topic. But it is good to know were the on topic/off topic lines are drawn.

right on sistah!

I APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO BABY. I'M HOPING YOU NEVER STOP ARCHIVING <333

I don't have much suggestion (sorry, I know it's not what you guys want to hear), but your comm is so neat! Sometimes it feels like not much can be added, any comment would be inadequate, you know? But I appreciate your comm, as a person who work long hours and have a lot RL shit to deal with, a wank-free comm is exactly what I need, I love that it's shipping free too, thank you.

And I think separate discussion from news is a big no. What we usually discuss are what happens in Adam's career, they're news, to post discussion on another thread is inconvenient for members. And thank god for new theme, please no black background.

Ok, thanks!

I think things will pick up again as new material and promo starts happening, Lots of people haven't been as active during this phase. I stepped back because there was little news and in the boredom fandom became mostly rival ships and groups of fans slagging each other off all the time, I hope this will improve when there are other things to discuss.

I would leave it is as of now but when we become more active again maybe review then.

Ah--just went to the rules for the first time and finally understood where the name hooplamagnet came from! I tend to comment when the mods are clearly engaging comments. I can't think of an example right now...but I do love it when there are discussions about the news and Adam. For example, I would have been all over a discussion about what Adam might have done at Burning Man. I think the spirit has to move you--but go ahead and say something flaily or provocative--we'll comment back. Also would be fun to have polls about his music when he has some new stuff come out---or reviews.

Thanks for all the work you put into this. One thing I'm not sure about with the rules...I get not wanting to engage in ship discussions, but does this mean that it's not ok to comment about Adam's relationship with Sauli? Or does that count as news?

No, shipping refers to fic, not boyfriends.

Lurker here. :) I love this comm. It is a fantastic source for news, especially when days get busy and it gets hard to keep on top of all the real-time feeds.

Getting discussions going again would be fabulous - it's just not the same on twitter, and most other comms are oriented to a ship or some specific aspect - but also like others have mentioned that will probably just naturally pick up again when Adam's album drops and he's doing promos. Especially if the comm has open membership now..?

It makes sense to not discuss ships here, but also that might not be avoidable when there's discussion and lots of flailing. (Though I agree there are better places to flail ships.) It's sort of natural, yeah? Especially since a lot of ships are people Adam has legit dated. Where's the cut-off between referencing/discussing exes and/or boyfriend in relation to Adam (a lot of "news" is Adam going to places with Sauli!) and inappropriate shipping? Or am I reading too much into things/missing a basic, logical rule here? Just curious. :)

Totes excited!

*headdesk* Just saw the last comment. So shipping is strictly referring to fic, not to boyfriend discussion?

Current bf only, aka gushing over pix.

TY! Yay gushing! :D Totes always a good thing.

i've been a member since the beginning, but i've only commented a few times. somehow i've always been intimidated by the posts here. when i did comment it was because someone on twitter was excited about a particular thread.

somehow the no drama identity of the comm morphed into news archive only tho.

Yeah we need to link back to the comm more frequently.

YES

I don't have much constructive criticism, other than to say that I love the no wank no shipping policy. While I would love to read more discussion, I know that, personally, I wouldn't have time to contribute to discussion since I generally catch up late at night, and most discussions have run their course by then. For purely selfish reasons, I prefer LJ to twitter because I'm rarely around when things happen, so I miss the majority of the discussion on twitter, while here, I can read the discussion and flail even hours after.

Adding discussions would encourage people like me to start posting. I know that I don't have the time to go out and look for news and tidbits on twitter, and even if I did, it would probably be after 10 other people have already found it. if we had discussions, I'm sure more people would feel encouraged to post, even if it's just to flail or make a comment on a news item.

Whatever ends up happening to hoopla, the mods,news posters, and all people that have brought in news have my gratitude and respect for all the work they have put into it. I know it can take hours to look for news every day, and to assemble a news post, so thank you!

You're welcome.

I love this place. It's the most organized, with all the news, and all in one place. Usually I don't even scroll through most of the comments, but when I do, it's nice not to have to read a bunch of opinion-stuff that's been posted in the other comms, just to find new bits of info. And I'm assuming that if you're a member here, you're a fan....so there won't be many negative comments....I'm not interested in reading those.
Also, when Adam's career really took off, little did we know that there would be so much info to post. Now that we know, I think we're all trying to think ahead a bit, and be more organized before his new album comes out.
AND, last of all, a HUGE thank you to everyone for all your efforts to keep us informed. :-)

I mostly lurk now, but I guess it depends on what you want the comm to be?

I'm fine with it being mainly news posts and not much discussion, as well as deader when not much Adam-wise is happening. I know there's probably less sense of community without discussion though (and maybe less incentive for people to post news?). I know it's also hard to get the right balance of free discussion vs wankfree, and everyone has their own pref.

Just my own selfish personal pref, I wish there were more small news posts with less stuff than fewer larger ones (ie daily vs weekly). There could still be weekly roundup posts. The amount of stuff in each news post is just sometimes overwhelming. I know it's a bunch of work to make them, though, so I'm still grateful if things stay as is!

That's what we're trying to figure out, is how often.

If it is not too much extra work work for mods, I would lean toward smaller more frequent ones. xo!

I understand the reason why for the separate news and discussion posts, and I actually kind of like that idea. The only problem is, unless you whack me upside the head with a ginormous, sparkly, and descriptive link to the discussion post, I'm not going to know where to go to discuss something. That's why I just come here to drop off things and be on with my day since I wasn't even aware there are discussion posts outside of the one for album #2 and if others exist, I feel dumb because I had no idea. Heh. I think if you inserted a link to a discussion post at the beginning, every level, and the end of the news post (not a different discussion post for every level, just a general one saying "go here to discuss" or something of the like) you'd probably have more discussion occurring. It would probably help, too, if you encouraged people to link to the discussion post when they post news.

Basically, I'm saying you need a general discussion post and I think that it would generate more activity.

Of course, that would increase the load on the mods and there might be need for more, if only for the sake of timezone diversity. I think the no shipping/drama rule should stand. Period. Full-stop. The End. Additionally, making the discussion members only could potentially cause unintentional drama/feelings if the discussion is copied elsewhere, but making it members only also means it's not viewable to the general public so there can be discussion that doesn't get directly linked to, say, Adam or his management, which really isn't a big deal UNLESS someone starts, say, sharing files and personal information before the mods can delete it all. This is also the reason why I agree with the no anonymous comments rule. We're not shipping or wanking, here, so being responsible for your comments should not be that big of a deal.

As for allowing new members, I think people should be let in and allowed to post comments regardless of when the journal was created, how many posts/icons they have, or where or not they have a referral. I think the post making should be left up to the mods for sanity's sake. I like for things to be consolidated. What I would propose to use instead of screening people is to use a 3 strike/warning process. What constitutes a strike/warning? Well, that's up to the mods, but some things to consider would be SPAM and commenting conduct towards other members. Discussion does mean there's going to be subjectivity getting tossed around, though, and there should probably be a warning that if people can't handle it, they should just stick to reading the news posts. Granted, let's not allow this to become a place to go off-topic because that could lead to huge, drama llama problems. If you want more activity, please, allow us to have a place to talk about Adam. People can talk about non-shipping/wank things in relation to Adam, too, but the focus should still be Adam and his music career. Some people do care about who he's dating or where he takes a piss and that's fine, but there are other communities for that sort of discussion and I'd prefer if it wasn't here.

/two cents

...Anyway. Discussion posts = yes. Separate posts for news and discussion = yes. New members = yes.

I'm not sure that discussion posts will happen, but maybe more discussion amongst the news.

I really liked having news and discussion posts together., we used to discuss the news! I haven't been around since not much is going on but I'll be back. I love this com. I like that we can all get along here

I wanted to add something positive. People know this place as the go to place for drama free news and a news twitter that posts the news but isn't spammy about it.
Hopefully once the inbetween albums lull is over this community will pick up again. It may not go back to what it was, but maybe something different and equally good.
If the current owners/maintainers/mods have lost interest, maybe put the word out and ask interested members if they'd like to take on a bigger task.

I like the casting couch photo. ;-P
/shallow

Oh yummmm, me too. Signed, Proudly Shallow

lol \o :-D

I prefer having the news and discussion together. When the single and album drop, separate posts would be great. I haven't posted in forever, but I will def contribute more with the new music and hopefully tour. Thanks for all your hard work!

When I joined I think Hoopla was billed as "all things Adam." I LOVE having one complete source for every pic/article/tweet/vid/etc related to Adam. But...I also love discussion and irreverent fun, it just adds to the awesomeness that is Hoopla, for me.

If things blow up again (c'mon, Adam Storm II), I can see that you may decide to limit the sheer number of posts by focusing on news only again. Hoopla is indispensable for that and is an important complete archive of Adam's journey.

But, if you think it is feasible, I would love to see discussion too, it's fun as hell and informative too.

You guys are doing the work though, so I respect your decision. xo Dawn

Dearest Mods, never doubt that you are loved and respected. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!