Some of our members have expressed interest in having theme threads or theme months here on HoF. We (the founders) thought we should throw this out to all members for discussion as to how you would like to do it, because a couple ideas have been suggested and we'd like to run with one of them but not all of them.
1. You may have noticed that none of the HoF founders are famous for their photoshopping skills.
As we querried one another about this topic, we realized that none of us had really participated in MoME or the monthly threads that revolved around funny pictures. At least, we didn't participate by posting funny pictures. So we really need input from those of you who enjoy 'picture threads' to tell us what makes a great thread or a great theme for this kind of thing. Ethel has already agreed to do some thinking on our behalf in this department, and we invite suggestions from everyone.2. We'd really like to do with a 'picture thread' the same thing we're trying to do with conversation threads - that is, challenge people's creativity and not just have spammy stuff. Parody - yes; vulgarity for its own sake - no. We're thinking that picking the right theme - something that fits our site - will be key to getting .... oh gosh, I want to say 'high brow humor' but I know everyone's brow will go up when I say that
... we'd like to get, say, something well to the north of South Park. Fair enough?[This just occured to me while typing, but I'm almost tempted to name this project "thedaimonlucifer memorial thread project" because lucy was such a perfect example of how parody can be riotous, creative, sink to the cruelest depths and still make even its victims laugh at themselves (sometimes) and also touch the most poignant heights.]
Anyway, the point is that I have nothing against irreverance as long as it demonstrates some wit. I know most of the posters here fairly well and I can say that without exception we boast our fair share of wit. So please don't take this as a plea for stuffiness or an injunction against self-parody ... I guess, what we should be doing here is throwing out all ideas and sifting through them, so don't be afraid to make suggestions.
3. There seems to be a sort of consensus among our founders that a new theme every month might be a bit phrenetic for this site. Would you all be just as happy with a new theme every other month? Or even a theme per quarter? Would that encourage you to pick topics that have more staying power, or would it just require more attention span than the internet usually generates?
4. Something along the lines of MoME was suggested, but not so grand with judges and everything, and done more frequently than once a year, like maybe four times a year. It would be like MoME in the sense that there would be a backstory, and a setting, and space for people to participate with narrative only if they're not so good at photoshopping.
In fact, we're sort of looking at points three and four as Alternatives #1 and #2, where Alternative #1 would be a monthly theme thread and Alternative #2 would be something more elaborate, more like MoME, and would happen less frequently. Anyone who envisions different possibilities, though, is welcome to say so.
5. We like the idea of prizes, but not 'competition' per se ... so, prizes along the lines of the Lutefisk Festival (which was great fun for me) where everyone gets rewarded for what they do, and the game is to figure out what award is most appropriate to that person's offering, rather than deciding who gets a limited amount of preconceived awards. Should we include a team that hunts up awards and bestows them on participants?
6. another possibility is just to go with something that appeals to us right now and see what comes of it, instead of trying to impose a structure in advance. So if someone has an idea for a monthly theme, we could perhaps start with that ... or if someone has an idea for some kind of 'script' that would last us , say two months, we could go with that and see how it turns out.
Um ... other founders should jump in if I've left out any part of our discussion ... and I'd like to open this up to everyone at this point for your ideas.
I guess ... it might sound funny to require planning for something that has arisen spontaneously everywhere else that it's been done, but I think what we're trying to do here is keep the spam attraction to a minimum. There are other boards where people can be spammy and we specifically don't want to be in competition with that but would like to find our own character without sacrificing things that other people find to be great fun.
So ... I'll shut up now and open the thread to the floor.
Jn
I would love to be able to see how creative people can get with pictures and themes, and challenge my own creativity as well. I think a new theme every other month would be best, that way people wouldn't feel as though they were having to change themes too often but still won't get bored with the new topic. I'm not sure if I'd be interested in anything more in-depth, though, along the lines of the MoME (I just wouldn't want picture themes to overshadow the rest of the discussion that goes on here). One of those annually is fine, but I think four per year might get a little overwhelming even if they weren't nearly as grand as the MoME. If other people want to involve points, that's fine with me, but I honestly feel as though it shouldn't get too complex. Just my opinion though, and admittedly I certainly don't visit this site as often as many of the other posters here do. 
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