Potentially Renaming the Site

Nate · 2024-10-25T20:59:06Z

In a few short weeks, the Young Writers Society will be celebrating its 20th birthday, which is incredible. I never imagined that YWS would last this long, and indeed, it almost didn't a few times. In fact, there was even a two-month period back in 2006 when it didn’t exist at all! However, it's come a long way, and it's still doing well with about 250,000 paegviews and 17,000 visits a month. The community has changed a lot over the years. In some ways, of course, it's still the same. It's still a very welcoming site, and it still does a great job at its core mission: promoting creative writing as a favorite pastime. But it’s also evolved. Back in 2005, the average YWSer was around 15 years old, and it stayed that way for a few years. By 2010, the average age started to creep up, and it’s been rising steadily ever since. Today, the average YWSer was born in early 2001, making the typical member 23 years old. For a site originally aimed at ages 13-21, that’s a big shift. Simply put, it’s not the Young Writers Society anymore. This brings us to a dilemma: What happens to a site targeted to young writers when the average member isn’t a young writer? It’s a question I’ve been pondering for over a year, and I’ve had many discussions with the mods about it. After considering several viewpoints, I’d like to propose the following changes: Rename the current site to WriterFeed. Keep YWS as a sub-site of WriterFeed. Renaming the Current Site to WriterFeed? You’re likely familiar with the name WriterFeed because of WriterFeedPad, which was meant to be part of a broader site I started working on back in 2010/11. It didn’t come to fruition then, mainly because it was too much work, but the name has remained associated with YWS for over a decade. This proposed name change isn’t about transforming the site. It’s about recognizing the current reality rather than creating a new one. The site rules, guidelines, and overall community feel would remain the same. We’ve already been operating with a broader appeal than the name YWS suggests, and this change would reflect that. The new name would also help address some existing issues. We often get questions from members in their 20s or 30s, wondering if they’re still welcome, and this change would help clear up any confusion. Additionally, new regulations may come into effect in the next several years that could impact platforms like ours. These rules aim to protect kids and teens from some of the harmful aspects of social media, and it’s something we need to prepare for. Keeping YWS as a Sub-Site? Initially, I thought about simply renaming the site and leaving it at that, while keeping YWS for specific projects like the Young Writers Literary Journal, which I hope to relaunch next year. However, after more discussion, making YWS a sub-site would address many concerns and even create new opportunities. Under this concept, YWS would have its own section within the larger WriterFeed platform, similar to existing areas like Forums and Roleplays. The YWS domain would direct members straight to this area, creating a mini-YWS with dedicated spaces for chatting, sharing literary work, and kicking back. All members could view it, but only those 17 and younger would be able to post, making it a space specifically for younger writers while still keeping the broader community together. Technically, this will be challenging, but I think it should work. Younger members would have access to all areas of the site still -- it's only older members who would have some restrictions. This would give young writers the option to share their work either in the YWS literary area or in the broader WriterFeed site. When Would This Happen? This idea has been on my mind for quite some time. Initially, I considered making the change in 2023, then early 2024, and most recently, I shared with the mods a tentative date of January 1, 2025. However, there’s no hard deadline. It certainly won’t happen before January 2025, and it will likely be sometime in the first few months of the year -- if it happens at all. Nothing is set in stone yet. I believe this shift is necessary, but it won’t work unless the community supports it. I can’t just declare it into being. A Community Vote Will Decide Before anything changes, there will be a vote. Every member will have the opportunity to voice their opinion, and the change won’t go forward without clear community support. Personally, I’d prefer a super-majority of at least 60%, as a narrow margin doesn’t feel right for such a significant decision. The voting method will be discussed further, but one option is to have votes submitted as posts to ensure fairness and avoid any issues with online poll manipulation. Voting won’t begin until there’s been plenty of time for discussion. Ideally, I’d like to start on December 1, but there’s no rush -- if we need more time, we’ll take it. Closing Thoughts Please use this thread to share your thoughts, concerns, and to discuss it further.

Rook

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Fri Dec 06, 2024 2:32 am

Rook says... · Fri Dec 06, 2024 2:32 am

@skyvibes I think this change is about more than the various laws and age restrictions going on. I think it's also about accurately representing the people who are already using yws (the average age is older than 18 I believe).
That said, I personally consider both YWS and reddit to be social media. I think any online platform where there is ability for users to talk to each other and post their own content is social media. That's my own definition though and the laws will have their own definition. Either way, I think it's smart to be safe about the laws. Nobody wants YWS to get into legal trouble!

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Nate

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Thu Dec 19, 2024 5:37 pm

Nate says... · Thu Dec 19, 2024 5:37 pm

I've been (slowly) putting together the coding necessary to do the voting, and while it's now all set to go, I've decided to hold off until January 2. As a consequence, voting will be open through February 2. I think doing it outside of the holiday season will allow for more participation.

On YWS as social media, @Rook is correct. All of these pieces of legislation that are regulating social media tend to define it as any platform that allows for discussion. In the United States, there's a piece of pending legislation called the Kids Online Safety Act, and here's the definition it uses:

The term “online platform” means any public-facing website, online service, online application, or mobile application that predominantly provides a community forum for user generated content, such as sharing videos, images, games, audio files, or other content, including a social media service, social network, or virtual reality environment.

That very plainly fits YWS. When these bills first started coming out, they usually limited their applicability by restricting it to platforms with more than one million users, but for whatever reason, that language no longer shows up.

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NovemberCrow

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Sat Jan 11, 2025 9:32 pm

NovemberCrow says... · Sat Jan 11, 2025 9:32 pm

I just wanted to ask: how does it look with voting? If I remember correctly, it was said that voting we go from beginning of January to some point in February, so I just wanted to ask if it’s already going on

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Messenger

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Sat Jan 11, 2025 10:51 pm

Messenger says... · Sat Jan 11, 2025 10:51 pm

I haven't even received my link to vote :/

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Snoink

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Sun Jan 12, 2025 12:49 am

Snoink says... · Sun Jan 12, 2025 12:49 am

I think @Nate got busy... he'll let us know when the link will be up! You haven't missed it.

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