Plaza guides?

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Some might think that, given my recent confusion as to up and down and east and west, my policy on plaza admin matters would best be silence. And they would have a point. But this is a gentle nudge to both plaza admins and plaza folk in general.

as for new members - I definitely do see it as being hard for a new person to get involved, but it is also on them to take the initiative to do so, or to ask questions. Seeing more new people would be fantastic!

So of recent months we have enjoyed an active new member, @Ephtariat. And he has taken the initiative. And yet I am sure I speak for you as well, Aiks, when I say that my eyeballs feel split when I discover myself in media adaptations discussing Ephtariat's doctoral dissertation. So I step into Riddles in the Dark seeking the usual Dwarvish medicine and @Romeran and Ephtariat are discussing whether imaginary fairies are discovered or invented - a discussion that culminates in a suggestion by an ex-admin that a really good discussion, rather than take place in the right place on the plaza, be taken out of the plaza onto discord!!!! (I nearly choked.)

And so Aiks and myself and maybe others may find ourselves irritated with Ephtariat, who has done nothing but show enthusiasm and initiative. And those who read his many posts may find themselves taken to his website, where we find such jewels as this:

Notes: The following is my loose retelling of the 14th century alliterative Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the narrative of which was reworked by me under the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord Dunsany, and G.R.R. Martin in order to make it coherent with another medieval poem of the Gawain cycle, The Marriage of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, so to fictitiously restore what scholars J.R. Hulbert and Jessie Weston reconstructed to have been the original Gawain narrative, i.e. a Fairy Mistress story.

And Ephtariat does not know that he should be linking to his story on the plaza because nobody has shown him to the Cottage of Lost Play.

Lail, I do not agree with your characterization of the situation regarding new members. It seems to me partial.

[Ephtariat]

@Hill Why, I'm flattered!
*blushing
But what should I say?
Thank you!

[Chrysophylax Dives]

But what should I say?

By the way, when you quote someone then they get mentioned (so one need not mention them).

On Sir Gawain and the Princess of Elfland may I request that you edit the Original Post, putting near the top (under the picture!!!) maybe in bold italics or such like what you wish as rules of engagement: are people invited to comment here, elsewhere, not at all?

One thing I like about posting images on the plaza is they often look bigger and so clearer than on other websites. Gawain's expression on your painting is priceless.

[Ephtariat]

@Hill Sure!

[Ephtariat]

@Hill There's this separate post for comments now!

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Just look at all your embedded links!

So, to return to the OP, maybe those of you who are older and better established members of the Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza could consider that not all of us are born with an innate knowledge of how the plaza works outside of Lore?

Meanwhile, in Undertowers we are striving to make visiting a friendly experience for (unarmed/disarmed) Outsiders, who may conclude their tower climb with food and drink, served next to the Undertowers Gift and Souvenir Stall (we accept buttons of all kinds).

[Aikári Salmarinian]

Sure, Chrys, I did read everything on the dissertation of Eph. Irritated I am not, but I have not figured out yet what to say? The guide is okay and we are around to help each other. That is a signature of our community.

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Sure, Chrys, I did read everything on the dissertation of Eph. Irritated I am not, but I have not figured out yet what to say? The guide is okay and we are around to help each other. That is a signature of our community.

Aiks, I was not canvasing your opinion, nice as it is to hear it. I was trying to politely suggest that oldtime members, such as yourself, might take a little innitiative in showing @Ephtariat around.

[Aikári Salmarinian]

If I came across something I will post and explain. Don't you worry about that. Everyone does it as far I know.

[Romeran]

To be clear I mostly suggested that the riddles thread wasn’t perhaps the best place to have a conversation that was largely me asking @Ephtariat clarifying questions on their perspective and merely suggested that if I was to persist in questioning that it could happen elsewhere. I was just trying to avoid spamming a thread with an unrelated conversation initiated on my behalf. And I didn’t do so from any place of authority…

[Ephtariat]

I have absolutely no problem with discussions taking place anywhere. I'm enjoying the Plaza a lot!

[Romeran]

If either @Hill or @Ephtariat would like to discuss this further somewhere on the plaza please feel free to do so. The only reason I suggested elsewhere was because I felt that it was only me asking @Ephtariat questions on their personal beliefs and that Riddles in the Dark was an inappropriate venue for me to be asking such questions.

[Arnyn]

You don't need to defend your stance any further, @Romeran. We all feel better when a thread stays on topic - it's in most humans' nature to try and bring some kind of order to things, so we can understand them better and also feel safe within that order. (Maybe the way is my own opinion and interpretation, based on my own experiences/insight. But regardless of the why, the fact that most people like some degree of order and consistency is a fact. So my understanding of 'why' can be entirely false, the fact remains the same.) So personally I think you chose the right time to redirect the topic you and @Ephtariat had moved onto, elsewhere. You happened to suggest discord. There was no demand on your part. And @Ephtariat responded with countersuggestions, which is also perfectly fine.
There was no problem with any of that. Either of you might have suggested a different, on-topic thread for it as well. Which also would have been fine.

[Arnyn]

And yet I am sure I speak for you as well, Aiks, when I say that my eyeballs feel split when I discover myself in media adaptations discussing Ephtariat's doctoral dissertation.

Aiks, I was not canvasing your opinion, nice as it is to hear it. I was trying to politely suggest that oldtime members, such as yourself, might take a little innitiative in showing @Ephtariat around.

@Hill , You were saying you were speaking for @Aikári Salmarinian. Let us all agree it is only fair she offers her opinion on you being sure you are speaking on her behalf. Because as it turns out, you were not, or at the very least not completely.

[Arnyn]

@Ephtariat, if you ever have any questions or where people would expect something the most or any other kind of question, feel free to ask in OOME, Admin messages or off site if you prefer. It's all the same to us! It might just be that by the answer in your book announcement thread, you know enough for now. If not, just ask! We are all happy to help, both admins and other members.

@Hill, if you would like a guide for new members, then there would need to be guidelines. The guidelines would apply to all members. If the guide were to stipulate that all personal writing and artwork of members, who want to share that writing and artwork with visitors to the site, were to belong in the Cottage, the guide would also stipulate that all lore-related discussions would belong in Lore. That is me speaking from a purely analytical and factual point of view.

[Ephtariat]

@Arnyn I think it's @Hill who worries too much. He's a dear friend who did it out of concern for me, but it really was not necessary. @Silky Gooseness said it was ok as it was (before your intervention, with my book announcement in Adaptations) and I actually preferred it that way. But it's ok to know that publications and writings are meant to be in the Cottage, and Adaptations is just for adaptations. I thought Adaptations was used for scholarship because I had seen another scholarly book announced there.

@Hill, I really appreciate that you were doing it for me, but I'm a very flexible person. I famously started translating Jonathan McIntosh's "The Flame Imperishable" on a napkin. So, as long as we can have wonderful chats as we've been having for a while, I don't care at all where we have them. I hope this doesn't read as presumption on my part, because I am writing in friendship and kindness.

[Arnyn]

@Ephtariat Good to know. If you'd prefer me to put the book thing back, I can!

[Ephtariat]

@Arnyn Oh, really?
Thanks, that would be nice!

[Aikári Salmarinian]

Arnyn: It is okay, I clear sometimes things a bit out on my behalf, when they are (slightly) incorrect. Even my neighbours next door thought to know my personality, what I enlightened in a post in my Little Corner earlier this week. I have still to share this anekdote...

My neighbour asked desperate: "Why do the birds chose the birch and the cherrytree in your frontgarden?"
Me: "You have to ask the birds."

IfI can say, it is rather chaotic with Lore related threads all over the Plaza that only in Lore? The kingdoms are just for light games or roleplay? Or can have the thirteen Undertower threads perhaps get a different forum, where they are alltogether and better recognisable, and the forum suggestively could be called: "The Undertower Dwelling" for example? I feel it would do more right to what I think is a rather big project.

[Ephtariat]

Aiks:

My neighbour asked desperate: "Why do the birds chose the birch and the cherrytree in your frontgarden?"
Me: "You have to ask the birds."

That's the same point I was trying to make with @Romeran. He said that my character in my novel guessed the riddle nobody can solve in the Shire kingdom because I knew the solution. I pointed out that I'm not my character, and if I don't tell her she has no clue, but Romeran doesn't believe me. Now, let me see if I can make it straight for everybody. Tolkien knew the solution to Bilbo's Ring-in-the-pocket riddle. Gollum is a Tolkien character. Following Romeran's line of thinking, Gollum knew the solution. And yet he didn't solve Bilbo's riddle. How about that?

[Arnyn]

@Aikári Salmarinian The Undertowers project is not technically against any rules. And it is enlivening an overall pretty quiet kingdom. And making Hill and Saranna happy. I understand it can feel off, because we weren't used to this sort of thing in the past. It feels kinda off to me too. But, again, it doesn't go against any rules. The threads are clearly marked. It doesn't hinder any of the existing threads - games or rp - in the shire kingdom, which have mostly been quiet apart from the riddle threads anyway. The separate forum for 'lore' matters, would be lore. We're not about to make another just because one or two members decided they don't like the lore forum anymore.
If it gets completely out of hand, the current admin response might change. When a new team is chosen, the admin response might also change. I have no crystal bowl. Rivvy, Sil and I atm still choose to have confidence in the maturity of everyone involved: both the thread creators and the people just reading and not participating. We're all sensible adults. This site is meant to be fun. Let's build off that.

[Aikári Salmarinian]

Arnyn: I didn't say it is against the rules. Just a thought to have better oversight. But it is just me maybe. In my case if I had a project like this, I would prefer a separate forum for it, to clear out my idea. I pack all my own stuff (unless it is a tale of me) in a single thread. If it doesn't bother further, it is okay as it is right now. True, it livens up a pretty quiet kingdom, I know.

Romeran: I noticed and made a guess.