Etiquitte and Blog Links

[Jason Kottler]

So - is it considered Bad Form here to just post a summary and a link to a blog post? I've been doing that, just to avoid plastering the same articles here and at the blog - but I wondered if I was ticking someone off by not providing the main text here.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Jason,

It's not about ticking anyone off. It's about whether posting the same thing in the two places is serving anyone's needs, including your own. And from my perspective as content moderator here, it's also about whether doing that is really participating at the Forge.

I should also clarify that there isn't any difference between posting the same material twice in full, or posting in the blog and posting a link to it here. The issue isn't about these two options.

The good news is that I think you're mostly on the good side of the thin, judged-by-me-alone line. I do think you should consider altering your strategy a little bit, though.

A blog is you-centric - people go there to be with you, because they either know you or feel as if they do, and to be socially in your space to talk about your game. Whereas the Forge is community-centric - although you may be getting feedback on your own game, you're writing in a discussion environment where readers, not just participants, should benefit. Almost by definition, the two things cannot be treated as mirrors in a useful way. Regardless of your intent, if you either duplicate your blog post or link straight to it as the main content, then you're effectively either expanding your blog bitspace to the Forge's , or shilling for people to come visit your blog.

What I suggest is writing a Forge post which is different from what you post at the blog, not just in tone and phrasing, but in purpose. Your blog is mainly about you and people you play with decompressing a little, and for you to organize your thoughts about the latest playtesting or play experiences. Some of the things you've written may be of wider interest, but they're not the main points.

When you post here, since you have already decompressed and organized your thoughts in the blog, the post should go further. I noticed that at many points, you express some confusion about various terms (indie vs. story, e.g.). There's no reason why, after having played that terrible game session (Fireborn, right?), you couldn't have posted here to get some clarification about that or any other larger-scale question that's come up. Or to stay with your playtesting, you could post at the blog, wait a bit to see where your mind's at afterwards, and then post at the Forge if there's something larger at stake or of interest to you.

If you do that, then linking to the blog post is good manners and reference, but not the same as mirroring. You're not duplicating but extending.

It should also be clear that not every blog post has to yield an extended Forge post, either. Sometimes the decompression and thought-organizing will be enough. I think that's a good thing - to choose to post at the Forge because you think you are either making a real contribution, or gaining a real Forge-only-specific benefit.

Let me know if this makes sense to you.

Best, Ron