Forum restructuring!

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Thu Sep 11, 2003 12:40 pm

I've renamed some of the forums and added a couple new ones. Everything should still be self-explanitory.

This is in part due to a suggestion from Scott McCloud, who was wondering if the Reinventing Comics forums had served their purpose, since the reality is now catching up with the theories presented in his book the forums took their name from. And it is true that is the case. I think there is still lots of stuff to be discovered, discussed and reinvented further, but he's correct that tying the identity of the discussion to the title of a book that is fast becoming reality may be misleading. It could, in fact, stymie the conversation if we only think in terms of Scott's theories when we should be (re)inventing our own.

The R.C. fourms were a good idea three years ago, but there are now many more places to discuss the same issues (like the TalkAboutComics forums, for example) and this forum is generally fairly quiet in comparison, but I'm not going to take it down any time soon. Rather, I decided to simply rename a couple forums and add a couple new ones and we'll just see how everything develops.

Thanks for reading and posting in these forums over the last few years and making it my pleasure to keep them running.

Greg

losttoy · Post by **losttoy** » Thu Sep 11, 2003 3:13 pm

Frankly, the Talk About Comics forum is a nice place to go, but you really don't get the cozy feelinng you get here. Kind of like Cheers where everybody knows your name. I have said it before and I will say it again, I really agree with what you did with the place. Certant posts that are in the wrong place get on my nerves and now this structure has more clearly defined roles. Thanks.

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 12:39 pm

I love this forum.

I'm still unsure how the status naming is done. I went from "crazy idiot" to "king of the supermarket sausage" and then back to "forgoten dog" all in one day!

Now I noticed I have moved from "Reinvents Comics" to "Understands Reinventing", which seems like a step down to me. Did I do something wrong? Can I redeem myself?

No, just kidding. "It's all good," to quote whoever always says that sort of thing. Whatever you want to do is fine by me, Greg. And even if it wasn't, who cares, right? Certainly not "the unspoken equation", which was, I believe, my status last Thursday.

But, yeah, just out of pure curiousity, I was kind of wondering if there was any sort of level chart or something. Just cause I am an absolute old school Gygax number chart freak. (for those of you not "in the know", Gary Gygax is the freak who created AD&D, and also is known for going to the trouble of creating a chart for women you might encounter in a D&D style town. The chart had the entry "saucy tart" in it, for crying out loud. What an obsesive compulsive that Gygax was/is/will be!!)

Yeah..... so..... that is what I have been wondering about on and off.

Hey, if this is like Cheers, which one am I? Rebecca?

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 1:27 pm

To answer your question, I used to have "Understands Comics" and "Reinvents Comics", but then I noticed there was a need for ranks higher than those as more people make more posts, so I added a couple. I didn't want to change the ones that have come before, so I decided to make variations on the theme. If you have better ideas, post 'em.

Here are the rankings as they stand:

0 - 19 posts: Forum Member
20-49 posts: Regular Poster
50-99 posts: Frequent Poster
100-199 posts: Understands Comics
200-299 posts: Reinvents Comics
300-499 posts: Understands Reinventing
500-(infinity): Reinvents Understanding

There's not yet a need for a rank above that, but I'm open to suggestions as to what such a rank might be. It should probably kick in about 700 or 750, I'm thinking.

Scott McCloud has a special ranking which used to be "that Understanding Comics guy" but is temporarily "Is the walrus" for reasons which should be obvious today, but in time will become obscure.

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 7:16 pm

My personal opinion is that "Reinvents Comics" is the highest compliment you could ever pay a cartoonist. I noticed that some of the more famous members of the board had their own personal rankings, like cat and Mr. McCloud. That is fun too. But as far as "the masses" go, I would place "Reinvents Comics" at the top...

Kris Lachowski · Post by **Kris Lachowski** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 1:29 am

I don't know if this is an option, but what if after a person surpases the reinventing comics point that person get's notified and can choose their own tag-line?

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 1:00 pm

Kris: Nice idea, but that would require work on my part!

Gaz: The way I see it, one can reinvent something without understanding what they're doing, so the next step to true enlightenment is to understand the reinvention (in order to enable futher reinvention or to teach others), followed by ... well, the "reinvents understanding" was a stretch on my part, because I just liked how it sounded and don't have any rationale for it other than being a simple play on/with words. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Plus, I don't know where to go from there.

I'm still open to discussion and suggestions.

gazorenzoku · Post by **gazorenzoku** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 10:19 pm

Interesting. I understand your line of thought. I was thinking of understanding in terms of someone who studies something and understands it, but may or may not be able to actually do it. But, if you are talking about a step up from simply doing to understanding what you are doing, then that is a different story. I don't know if, in real life, I have achieved that actual stage yet. I often rely on that weird, obscured part of myself for inspiration and guidance. Actually, sometimes I wonder if not understanding with the conscious mind is actually better for creation. I see too many painters going after their themes with logical ideas, and not enough spontineity. At least in the art schools I have been to. Maybe among so-called real painters there is more subconsious dream state painting going on?....

But, if you define "understanding" not only in terms of comprehending something with the waking brain, but also allowing the dream-brain its half (or more than half) of the job, then I am all for the term "understanding".

And even though it started with word play, I think the next step up is pretty solid. After someone reinvents, then understands reinventing with the whole of their brain, the only place to go from there is to reinvent methods of understanding. And if we take understanding to be not just passively comprehending what is done by others but a sort of application of knowledge, meaning actual comics creation, then that is truely a noble title.

For example, looking at someone who uses light in a certain way in their paintings, you can say, "so-and-so understands that certain way of light usage," right? Is that the kind of understanding we are talking about here?

Here are some of my suggestions for new titles, in no particular order:

Comic Ceaser
Comic Master
Reinvention Master
Master of Reinventing
Online Inventor
Comic Inventor
Master Inventor
Comics Genius
Genius Inventor
Genius Reinventor
Master Genius
Online Ceaser
Online Genius
Tells it Like it Is
Forum Junkie
Gratuitous Forumist