Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

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Lethe
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Lethe »

Haven't had time to read and comment in the past two months, but catching up now! Yay for so much productivity! I haven't read everything that you've written, especially the plot summaries, but definitely a lot of admiration for how much content you've produced!

I'm amazed your introduction section managed to introduce the series in so many different ways haha. The history behind all of it and the breakdown into different eras is very informative, and I can see people who know the series, know only parts of it, or are looking to get into it finding it very helpful.

Regarding your draft for the history and the list versus paragraph thing: I think I'm more tempted to skip the content if it's a list, because in a list split into years, there's a lot of information and especially DATES that can be offered: It can result in information overload, and I don't know what's important to look at. (A ton of numbers and names can really throw me off.) In paragraph form, you put things under a heading, and it's easier to show which points are connected and relevant. Ultimately, I think it depends on what you're trying to achieve. And some people just naturally like bullet points more than paragraphs, and find them easier to digest. I prefer your paragraph draft. Get other members' input on this though.

Your "Eight Erasure" page is great! I especially like where it's positioned on the shrine, as it clearly builds on the entire history of the series you have written up in the primer, and also the upcoming rants about the movie and the response to it haha. I'm looking forward to those movie write-ups, since the response to it that you've mentioned under "Eight Erasure" has got me curious.

I... love how you've structured "Character Study" wow! It goes from surface introduction to looks to development and then to themes, all within the span of one page. I especially like that last section, and how you present it in a question/answer format. It mixes things up, makes it enjoyable to read, and it feels "interactive" in the sense of the visitor or fan being prompted to pause for a moment and think. I am fairly certain I have seen this similar format on 1-2 other sites of yours - about misconceptions and myths, if I recall correctly. I like this! (Usually, I only see this format on "in defense of" pages, where people defend a character in response to typical phrases you hear from others.)

One thing I noticed was this on the same page:
For the veteran Whovian, Eight seems to have paired Four's energy with Five's heroism, and given it a new, sweet-tempered spirit to round it out.
Are you going to have a page where you compare Eight in relation to other doctors, in personality, role or narrative themes? Things he does better or worse, who he is most similar to in one of the mentioned aspects, etc.? As said, I'm not familiar with the series, but I thought this might be a fun thing to do. (Then again, you said you're also not overly familiar with some parts of it.)
Both despair and ecstasy are part of the elements that compose a person.
Robin
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Robin »

@Lethe: Oooo thank you for all the feedback!! :D I'm glad the site's introductory pages are functioning pretty well thus far.

- I, like you, have a harder time reading lists than I do paragraphs...I'm realllllly leaning more toward the paragraph style of information presentation on those two history articles. I'm waiting on a bit more feedback though--I didn't want to change everything and then have to change it all back xD

- I love doing the "misconceptions and myths" articles for a lot of my sites because many of my shrines' subjects do have some problematic or not-well-understood bits to them. :) I'm glad it's turned out well on this site, too! :D

- Oh yes, there will be MUCH ranting about the TV Movie and how maligned it is. Don't get me wrong, it's very 90s in its cinematography (had to try 3 times to spell that word omg) and has a lottttt of little problems, but it's also utterly enchanting in its way. It doesn't deserve quite all the bad press it gets xD

- I hadn't thought about comparing Eight to the other Doctors, but that would be a natural addition to the site, because sometimes people ask "well what really sets Eight apart, personality-wise, from the others? What makes Eight so likable for you?" etc. Thank you for that insight! I'll need to do some research, but luckily my BF has gone deeper into the Doctor Who lore in general and can probably help me flesh it out :D
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Robin
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Robin »

New features:
- How I Became a Fan
- What Being an Eighth Doctor Fan is Like

(These are both hilarious--I think y'all will enjoy them!!)

Updated Features
- Revamped Eighth Doctor Dreams into its own little section instead of one super hella long page xD
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Robin
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Robin »

FINALLY working on this again! Currently compiling the Companions article--wrote the part about Grace and am now working on Chang Lee (which I keep typing as "Change Lee" LOLOLOLOL #brainfart). I'll upload it once I have at least some small summaries for the audio and comic companions as well :)
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Robin
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Robin »

ARTICLES LEFT TO WRITE/COMPILE AS OF 7/29/16

Legend
- Articles in purple are possible articles or are still sketchy on details
- Articles in green are definite articles to be written
- Articles in pink may be switched around between sections

SECTION: DOCTOR WHO PRIMER
- The 14 Doctors: A Quick Summary

SECTION: ALL ABOUT EIGHT
- Eight's Companions
- Eight Compared with The Other Doctors
- Similar Characters
- The (Wonderful) Actor: Paul McGann

SECTION: COLLECTED ESSAYS
- Problems with the TV Movie
- Why the TV Movie Doesn't ACTUALLY Suck
- A Wacky Theory about the TV Movie
- How Night of the Doctor Fits In with Day of the Doctor
- How Eight Changes as a Character (And Why It Matters)
- More Beautiful Broken: The Eighth Doctor and the Art Form of Kintsugi
- Eighth Doctor Tropes

SECTION: MEDIA
- Eighth Doctor Fanmix
- Image Gallery
- Today, I Am the Eighth Doctor. FML
- Eight in Other Geeky Fandoms
- Further Resources from the Eighth Doctor Fandom
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Destinie
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Destinie »

You're inspiring me to work on mine! Great going, Robin! Your momentum is amazing!!
Robin
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Robin »

Destinie wrote:You're inspiring me to work on mine! Great going, Robin! Your momentum is amazing!!
Thank you!! I'm really looking forward to completing some of these articles very very soon, and hopefully will get more mental oomph to finish the whole thing by fall xD
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Robin
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Robin »

HOLY CRAP I FINALLY GOT OOMPH

Rumbles of Trouble and Wilderness Years are now in prose form instead of list form, making them SO MUCH EASIER to read, at least in my view!

(omg why did I not do this like 3 months ago orz orz orz)

Check them out, and let me know if I've missed anything or if sentences don't make sense (it's rather late/early here and I just randomly got a surge of energy to do this, so there's no telling xD).

Ahead, I'm working on a set of fanmixes for my media section. My main question is: how do y'all usually like fanmixes to work? Do you prefer embedded videos from, say, Youtube (the easiest way for me by far), or should I get some kind of software thing (or use 8tracks) and make it more like a clickable embedded playlist? Open to any suggestions or ideas--I really want this page to work better and be approachable even to people who usually don't like fanmixes. xD
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Lethe
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Lethe »

Good job converting the list to paragraphs (that probably was a tedious task =x), I definitely like it better this way, especially for a personal dedication. I've only skimmed them so far, but the headings breaking things up are definitely great. :>

I hadn't checked out your new pages from a few months back! "How I Became a Fan" is adorable, and such a great way to record those first memories. ;_; The page actually takes me back to early fansite days where people would fill their pages exactly with this kind of free and unrestrained personal rambling. LOL I'd love seeing those make a return, whether in form of text walls, reaction gifs, screencap spam, chat logs or otherwise.
Both despair and ecstasy are part of the elements that compose a person.
Robin
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Re: Absentia: The Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who)

Post by Robin »

Lethe wrote:Good job converting the list to paragraphs (that probably was a tedious task =x), I definitely like it better this way, especially for a personal dedication. I've only skimmed them so far, but the headings breaking things up are definitely great. :>

I hadn't checked out your new pages from a few months back! "How I Became a Fan" is adorable, and such a great way to record those first memories. ;_; The page actually takes me back to early fansite days where people would fill their pages exactly with this kind of free and unrestrained personal rambling. LOL I'd love seeing those make a return, whether in form of text walls, reaction gifs, screencap spam, chat logs or otherwise.
YAY I'm glad those pages read better now. Glad I finally was able to do something--this health scare with my mom has been roughhhh on my focus and concentration x_x

Also, yes, that "How I Became a Fan" page is one of my favorites! I still need to work on the organization, though, especially the bottom list of "things I have shouted at my screen during the TV Movie" since it has also fallen victim to the "long sentences in list format" pitfall. Why do I keep doing that??? askjdfkajsdfsdf

I'm wondering if I ought not to make the individual sayings into text images and just arrange them a little more neatly or something...xD look at me making more work for myself xD

Lastly, if you liked that page, you'll probably love What Being an Eighth Doctor Fan is Like--lots of reaction gifs! And I am still laughing at this page 3 months after making it because ACCURATE XD
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