Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Intermission: Casual Outing, page posted 6/10/15

Page 2 of 2

Author commentary

Oliver: It’s a problem we’ve all faced.

Come back Friday for a short coda to this intermission (can you do that??) and a HUGE weekend-long drawing stream coupled with some major announcements!

But I promised a bombshell today and here it is: this will be the final day of page comments.

After we saw only a small part of BCB’s readership posted comments, we thought about how we could build a bigger, better reader community. We wanted to minimise friction and encourage more of the thoughtful, funny comments we’ve always adored from you guys. Many times I worked on new message boards, imageboards, weird new ideas for user commentary — I have some cool mockups scribbled away — but the answer never seemed to be in a new section of the website.

A lot of internet things Vero and I grew up with (Ezboard, DeviantArt groups, site-specific forums, isolated comments systems) are considered old-hat these days, and as tough as it is to admit it, there are many good reasons why that’s the case. Reader conversations can and should take place in reader-owned spaces — Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, personal blogs and other generalised places of discussion. This is how the web works now, and (we think!) it’s for the better.

We’ll facilitate the process where we can. We’re soon adding a section below each page that’ll help you find conversations and contribute your own. We’ve worked to stimulate discussion over on Tumblr with our blog, we’re looking into doing more on Facebook, and we’re always open to talk to you guys through Twitter. Notably, we plan to highlight reader comments we encounter (we’ll keep reading!) and share them prominently when we find them.

But, ultimately, this is us letting go and handing over the reins to you guys. We believe in you!

A sincere thank you from the two of us for the many years of wonderful comments — don’t stop now!

Reader comments

Comment ID #299872

Today’s page comment already ran way long, but there are some housekeeping issues to attend to. I’m putting them here.

The comment section for this page is a free-for-all. Talk about the comments, exchange details, do whatever you want to do. Just keep it civil, as always.

Policy disagreements — I’ll be here if you want to complain about this decision! I understand it’s a change and change often sucks, especially for those of you who disagree that this is the right path forward. It’s definitely a risk and we might be making a mistake. But we’re gonna give it a shot. Remember, feedback is always welcome and we look forward to hearing what you have to say. Although if you think it’s the sort of thing that might start a war, maybe email me instead. Or chew me out on IRC.

Bittersweet Club International — Yep, you’ve got one fewer place to put your shiny gold name. We’re sorry! There’s still Candybooru! And we’re going to email you about a new benefit on Friday. Of course, if you have any concerns or queries about the effect of this on your membership, email us — we want every person who supports us to know how appreciated they are, and if anyone’s let down we’ll try to make it right.

Personal — There are some colourful personalities we’ll miss, and some commenters who should know they are a big part of my personal motivation to work on this comic. If you lived for the validation of a yellow star, I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted from the task of starring good comments (our lack of time for moderation and curation is a big part of why we were seeking new forms of comment, fwiw.) If I had the time now, I’d do my best to comb through old pages and call out the people who mean a lot to me, but I think you’ll know in your heart if I’m talking about you. Vero and I loved reading the theories and analysis and overreactions and every passionate word you wrote. If I don’t see your posts floating around Tumblr I’m gonna cry.

The future — I’m working hard on a site update to go alongside the comment section changes, and I’m not sure if it’ll be done in time. But on Friday when the stream appears, comments will be disabled, and (maybe) next week the whole site’s comments will go read-only sitewide. And then I’ll try to star the damn things.

That’s it! THANK YOU. I appreciate you spending the time to read all this. Now you can murder me.

SuitCase June 10, 2015, 1:00 PM EDT.

Comment ID #299933

HEY GUYS, DON’T FORGET TO JUMP ON #BCB ON RIZON.NET, IF YOU FEEL YOU’LL MISS THE COMMENT SECTION. YOU CAN DISCUSS THE COMIC WITH THE AUTHOR HERSELF!!!
it’s like a comment section, but faster.
And the people there are always happy to meet new people!
Don’t be afraid, join whenever you can.

Gnukko June 10, 2015, 1:54 PM EDT.

Comment ID #300025

i guess we’re all graduating from comments, like tess is graduating from the comic.

well, i can’t say i posted too much but i’ll miss reading through all of your crazy antics. i guess this is the last i’ll see of you losers.

at least i got first once in my life.

is polo a gay June 10, 2015, 7:17 PM EDT.