Name Change: From Young Writers Society to WriterFeed

I am happy for a name change to keep yws going especially since given the growing censorship rules will make yws difficult to exist but opposed to the name ”writerfeed” because simply it sounds so corporate and uninspiring. One of the unique parts of yws is that its active in every level and really inspires personal interaction with others works and that might be lost with the change.

A few people have reasonably asked why WriterFeed is the only alternative under consideration, so I wanted to explain the thinking behind it.

1. I already own WriterFeed.com. That is a major practical consideration. Any name we adopted would need a suitable domain, and most good domains are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

2. I've owned the domain for 15 years. The age itself isn't especially important to search engines, but it does mean WriterFeed isn't starting entirely from scratch. The name and domain already have some history connected to the site.

3. We already use the name for WriterFeed Pad, which has been part of YWS for about 15 years. That gives it a genuine connection to the community rather than making it a completely new name chosen out of nowhere.

4. WriterFeed describes what the site has gradually become. We're still a writing community, but we're no longer exclusively for young writers. The name leaves room for the community to grow without losing its focus on writing and sharing work.

5. Because WriterFeed is already part of YWS, it gives us some continuity during what would otherwise be a fairly significant change. Members may not immediately love the name, but it should become more natural as it becomes associated with the community itself.

6. Realistically, any proposed name would receive some resistance, and opening the process to unlimited alternatives could continue indefinitely. Every name would have drawbacks, domain complications, or people who simply didn't like it. At this stage, I think the useful question is whether WriterFeed is an improvement over Young Writers Society, rather than whether it is the one perfect name everyone would have chosen.

WriterFeed feels very generic and doesn’t scratch the same itch as the OG name does. IMO, I think changing it to The Writers Society would be better for the goal of including all ages while also keeping it recognizable.

For added context to Nate's post on why Writerfeed, "writerssociety.com" as a domain is listed on GoDaddy for $24k. Nate already owning WriterFeed is a big plus in the pro column, in my opinion. Very cost and time effective. Plus, y'all love WriterFeed Pads! This is just an integration of that.

I know it's hard to imagine now, but I truly don't think this will change the site, what it is, or who is welcome and taken care of here. If it does, it will only be for the better, I feel. I hear the concerns of the younger writers who worry about a world where YWS has grown, but I'd like to offer some reassurance in that regard. As far as internet safety goes, the way we moderate and take care of our users has only gotten more intentional as the years have gone on. I'm honestly not sure when I became a mod (2014?) but I do know I've seen maannnyyy iterations of moderating styles, as well as the evolution of the rules and guidelines for all users. Not to mention the cycles of what challenges the moderators are faced with! There was a time when YWS was barely staying alive and had very few active users. It truly almost died. If not for a core group of YWSers, I don't know if we'd even be having this conversation, much less on a beautiful, new, shiny version. Conversely, there was a time when the site had an incredibly active chatroom and private messaging feature - and it basically required active moderation at all times.

I think the administration deeply understands and respects the responsibility of running a site that has a large demographic of young users. Taking that seriously but also being willing to stay, engage, and make genuine connections with others as you get older is a gift I don't think any of us who grew up here have take for granted. There will always be a space for young writers, and I think while that may shift (like Snoink said, a space specifically for you to feel comfortable and open with people your own age), but that it was destined to anyway because of internet safety laws.

Anyway. I think it's important to stay focused on the topic at hand, and I found Nate's comment very helpful as a reminder of why we're voting on WriterFeed and not selecting a name from scratch. In the end, there's an element of realistic business sense we have to respect!

Nate wrote:A few people have reasonably asked why WriterFeed is the only alternative under consideration, so I wanted to explain the thinking behind it.

1. I already own WriterFeed.com. That is a major practical consideration. Any name we adopted would need a suitable domain, and most good domains are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

2. I've owned the domain for 15 years. The age itself isn't especially important to search engines, but it does mean WriterFeed isn't starting entirely from scratch. The name and domain already have some history connected to the site.

3. We already use the name for WriterFeed Pad, which has been part of YWS for about 15 years. That gives it a genuine connection to the community rather than making it a completely new name chosen out of nowhere.

4. WriterFeed describes what the site has gradually become. We're still a writing community, but we're no longer exclusively for young writers. The name leaves room for the community to grow without losing its focus on writing and sharing work.

5. Because WriterFeed is already part of YWS, it gives us some continuity during what would otherwise be a fairly significant change. Members may not immediately love the name, but it should become more natural as it becomes associated with the community itself.

6. Realistically, any proposed name would receive some resistance, and opening the process to unlimited alternatives could continue indefinitely. Every name would have drawbacks, domain complications, or people who simply didn't like it. At this stage, I think the useful question is whether WriterFeed is an improvement over Young Writers Society, rather than whether it is the one perfect name everyone would have chosen.

Very well-said @LadySpark.

I just want to say here I am so grateful for this community and confident that whatever its name will be, that this place will continue to be the quirky, joyful, supportive place it has always been.

Personally, I will be voting with an enthusiastic "YES" to changing the name to "WriterFeed" - Having been a moderator for 9 years, and having put a substantial amount of time and energy into trying to support the site in those years, I absolutely adore YWS for fostering this hobby of creative-writing to folks throughout the world. I still remember eagerly joining way back in 2012, so I could finally check out what my little sister was writing and try to understand what being a writer was. I had no interest in writing the day I joined and along the way I became a writer and now consider that aspect as an essential facet to my identity all because of this corner of the internet.

However, I'm definitely getting to the age where unless there's a change in the name of the site, I think in all reality I probably will need to age-out too. Which is a pressure I've witnessed a lot of my YWS mentors and favorite writers from years past having went through and subsequently leaving. I think the re-name is a good way to expand the scope of who YWS is for, while still staying true to our history and the purpose of carving out a comfortable place on the internet where young and growing writers can be a part of community sharing in the joy of creative-writing in a space that is family-friendly, warm, and genuinely supportive.

I think Nate has done a great job investigating the possibilities, understanding the legal implications of social media, hearing the concerns, and suggesting a path forward that will hopefully sustain this community into the realities of the future.

I hope folks do take the time to carefully consider and vote in the month ahead, not just fueled by nostalgia, but carefully considering what you would like to see this site be in another 5, 10, or 15 years.

Im not going to lie, I have been unable to find/remember this site for years now, because every time I look it up, ‘young writers competition’ and ‘young writers .org’ always comes up instead. I think the rebrand is a brilliant idea, and will make the site more distinct and much less generic/much easier to find. I only found this site by chance to begin with when I was in college looking for writing sites!

Just wanted to pop in to say that I too will be voting yes!

I first heard about this idea to change the name to WriterFeed quite a while before it was proposed publicly, and I have to say, I had a lot of the same worries and misgivings about the name. I just didn't really like it, thought there could be better options, etc.

But Nate's right. We're not picking the perfect name, because that will take forever and it will never be decided on. We're picking a name that is more reflective of our community/where we would like our community to be. And though I too am fond of the name YWS, I do agree that it has been and will continue to be a roadblock for some people, including myself, to feel comfortable continuing to be active.

Although I think there could be better options, those options are not on the table. And between the two options that are on the table, I think WriterFeed is ultimately the best choice.

I didn't come to that decision right away. I had to take time to sit with the idea. If your knee-jerk reaction to change is to resist it, I'm right there with you (I remember Google changing its logo font and just getting unreasonably angry haha), but I encourage you to sit with the idea of a change for a while and consider the points people are making in this thread.

Change can be scary, and it's human to resist it. But in this case I think it's really important and necessary!

I support a name change given the very legit reasons provided. My only qualm, as with the last time this was proposed, is 'WriterFeed'. 😅

*explores some domain names*

'writerfridge', 'writeroven', and 'writertoast' are all available currently. 👀 I'm leaning towards that last one 'cause alliteration :3 , and the fun vibe is kept. (I went for food-related words 'cause of 'feed'.)

That said, ultimately, I also do not want Nate to spend more than he should, so I will not push for a different name if it is not to be considered.

Well, I think that a name change would be awesome. I seriously figured I should stop posting awhile ago, partly because of my frankly despicable conduct on here at times, but mostly because it kinda felt like every community I was a part of like ten years ago was telling me I needed to stop showing up to youth group events.

Which I did, don't get me wrong. I was like twenty.

Point being, I like that there's more of an explicit statement that older writers aren't being excluded.

I think writer feed is a good name though I will miss calling the site yewis. I feel that the community should continue to be as it is after the name change. And that all the fond memories of the old name are worth giving the new name a chance especially if it will benifit the site

Amd as an avid part of the writerfeedpad using community onsite i love it.

Make it All Writers Society and you only have to change the logo a little bit



ETA: I'll vote yes on the name change, as all the reasoning is very sound and I'd love to see yewis continue to flourish

Personally, and this might sound a bit contrarian or even a bit naïve, I believe that we should keep YWS just as it is because:

1. 24 being the mean age on the site now isn't exactly a sufficient cause for changing the prefix 'Young'. Like, when someone says that somebody is 'young', it doesn't necessarily mean that someone is a child (not an adult). It often refers to young adults as well. Like, even Ancient Romans would scoff at you if one were to say that a 25-year-old man isn't young. Also, you can be a 90-year-old man and participate in YWS and call yourself young at heart, there's nothing wrong with that. We are all forever young.

2. I personally dislike the name 'WriterFeed' because it doesn't exactly sound as friendly as Young Writers Society. I would personally trust the latter over the former if I were looking for a friendly community where I could find new friends who'd help me with my work, especially as a young adult or even millennials and older.

While I respect Nate and the administration's decision, I do not exactly see any particularly good reason as to why the name change is needed except for the conversation around the average age of users in YWS. If the name changes to WriterFeed (and it seems like it will, since I presume most votes have already been cast by now and most people are in favour), I will welcome it with an open heart -- especially with the new updates and the fact that the site's UI looks a lot more modern.

Oh well, at the end of the day, as new users join in and the site becomes more accessible (as WriterFeed sounds more formal than YWS), eventually most users wouldn't remember the name Young Writers Society or YWS and only us will remember it in nostalgia. Will I be happy with that personally as long as there's not much change in the dynamics of the website? Sure. Do I feel like we need to change it? Not really.

I voted yes to the name change... but originally, I was planning on voting no.

At first, the choice seemed like an obvious no to me, because of my memories and positive associations with the name, but after thinking about it a lot, here are my thoughts: I am willing to sacrifice my familiarity for positive growth. When the changes started happening to the site, it overwhelmed me because I thought I was losing something. And in a way, we have, but what we have been given has grown on me and feels like home again.

The people are still here, and that is enough for me.

I think many of us who joined YWS as young teens or in our teens, who have stayed into our 20s (and later) have experienced a moment where we begin to feel... old. And despite that, we stayed at the 'young' writers society, because of the community, not the name. The name change will feel weird and uncomfortable for a bit, but I know, at least for myself, that it will help us build a community where no one will feel left out of, because it will not be limited by age. We are shaping this into a place where everyone can stay, forever or for as long as they want to be here. And imagine how wonderful it will be to gain so much, without losing anything that we have already (our friends, our works, our memories).

We are the ones who get to create the new era of YWS! This place won't just be 'writerfeed', but it will be whatever community we shape it to be. We have the chance now to experience the most growth and improvement that this place has seen since it was created (before many of us were even born). Whether you vote yes or no, I fully respect your decision, because ultimately, we all just want to keep this place as the home it is to us. I encourage you to think about the growth and expansion connected to the name change.

If it does not happen this time, it will have to happen eventually, so why not now?