Canine Writing subforum?

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Canine Writing subforum?

Post by -Wolfdog- » Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:17 pm

Ok, so I know we have a wolf writings subforum, and we also had an old, locked "wild canids" subforum. But why do we not have anything for dogs or wolfdogs? What is the point in only allowing wild canids, specifically wolves? What if we want to write about wolves and other canids (e.g., foxes) within the same story? Why be so restrictive on something apparently meant to be a creative outlet?

.... I was planning on writing a story involving wolves, dogs, and wolfdogs but based on the current forum rules, it looks like I'm unable to do that.
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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by Skrillning » Fri Apr 07, 2023 5:47 pm

Oh, I think that subforum would be cool! :D
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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by DaniBeez » Wed Apr 12, 2023 12:15 pm

I can speak to a decent part of the history of the forum in this regard, as I was a big pusher for more creative freedom in the writing and the art boards. It was one of my biggest sticking points actually!

Historically it always came down to the Team's prioritization of the WolfQuest project's overall mission to educate about wild wolves over the forum community's desire for more creative freedom. This prioritization meant there was little room or tolerance in the posted rules for content outside of wild wolves and minimal human-wildlife interactions.

Presently the forum's options have been downsized with the lesser engagement on the forum, the new normal, and I assume also a smaller active moderation team. The traditional method of operating the art and writing areas was moderator-intensive, which was required to maintain the strict realism theme and keep the content centered on wolves/other wild canines when that was an option.

For wolfdogs specifically: even when we had the Wild Canid areas open up, we weren't allowed to make media featuring canines with (relatively speaking) recent domestic influence, like dingoes. I think you totally can have wildlife side characters like foxes though, in Wolf Writings. Dogs and wolfdogs, probably only as brief encounters and not primary or secondary characters.

I've not written creatively in some time, so I'm not sure where else's good right now to write animal fiction.
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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by Koa » Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:34 am

-Wolfdog- wrote:
Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:17 pm
Ok, so I know we have a wolf writings subforum, and we also had an old, locked "wild canids" subforum. But why do we not have anything for dogs or wolfdogs? What is the point in only allowing wild canids, specifically wolves? What if we want to write about wolves and other canids (e.g., foxes) within the same story? Why be so restrictive on something apparently meant to be a creative outlet?

.... I was planning on writing a story involving wolves, dogs, and wolfdogs but based on the current forum rules, it looks like I'm unable to do that.
Wolfdogs and dogs were never allowed in either User Artwork/Wild Canid User Artwork or User Writings/Wild Canid User Writings since the beginning of the forum's creation. DaniBeez is mostly correct but I'll add some additional context. This might not be apparent to newer users on the forums such as yourself, but in the past there was a heavy emphasis on the forums acting as an educational space, particularly given the game's association with the Minnesota Zoo early on. The forums were also administrated by MZ staff members up to a time. This mission to educate was more important than providing members with unbridled spaces for creativity; there were other sites (and still are sites) better suited for this.

Maintaining semi-realistic standards for creative forums necessitated leaving animals like dogs and wolfdogs out and the application of strict rules. At the forum's current activity level, there is no incentive to change this.

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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by DaniBeez » Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:23 am

Koa wrote:
Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:34 am
there were other sites (and still are sites) better suited for this.
Care to share any examples?
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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by -Wolfdog- » Mon Apr 17, 2023 3:37 pm

Koa wrote:
Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:34 am

Maintaining semi-realistic standards for creative forums necessitated leaving animals like dogs and wolfdogs out and the application of strict rules. At the forum's current activity level, there is no incentive to change this.
I mean, it's not like they're hellhounds or magical purple animals. They're dogs and wolves which are real. And since we can talk about our domesticated pets like dogs, why not include them for a change? :-)
DaniBeez wrote:
Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:23 am
Koa wrote:
Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:34 am
there were other sites (and still are sites) better suited for this.
Care to share any examples?
Yes I'm curious to know what these websites are! I'd love to sign up.
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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by Koa » Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:08 pm

DaniBeez wrote:
Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:23 am
Koa wrote:
Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:34 am
there were other sites (and still are sites) better suited for this.
Care to share any examples?
Uh. Just use DeviantArt like you (@DaniBeez) have before (with that zoo-based story >> https://www.deviantart.com/danibeez/art ... -651972008)? I use DeviantArt for my non-WolfQuest friendly poems and felt very supported by the writing community I was briefly involved with and got ~four Daily Deviations out of.

I would think going to a place where there is a potential for more engagement with a story would be more desirable… but that’s just me. As far as “other sites,” poke around on Google. I don’t know what people use nowadays outside of dA (since that’s what I use) but I’m sure they exist and don’t necessitate us changing things here on a dead forum, no less.

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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by Loach » Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:38 pm

DeviantArt. You can post literature. You can make groups to host it with others if you want to collaborate.

Toyhou.se. Characters have a literature section you can post to! It's a pretty popular spot for that stuff. you can create worlds that act as something like forum spaces for others to also collaborate, if DeviantArt is no longer your thing.

Wattpad, fictionpress (if that exists), Archive of Our Own allows personal works, not just fanfic.

Could even make a blog on Tumblr dedicated to canine writings. I know some people have sideblogs dedicated to their wolfquest wolves and their packs. (I have one but have yet to post to it).

But there's plenty of places to post literature of that type to that is not here.
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Re: Canine Writing subforum?

Post by Koa » Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:43 pm

Loach wrote:
Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:38 pm
DeviantArt. You can post literature. You can make groups to host it with others if you want to collaborate.

Toyhou.se. Characters have a literature section you can post to! It's a pretty popular spot for that stuff. you can create worlds that act as something like forum spaces for others to also collaborate, if DeviantArt is no longer your thing.

Wattpad, fictionpress (if that exists), Archive of Our Own allows personal works, not just fanfic.

Could even make a blog on Tumblr dedicated to canine writings. I know some people have sideblogs dedicated to their wolfquest wolves and their packs. (I have one but have yet to post to it).

But there's plenty of places to post literature of that type to that is not here.
This. ^ Thanks.

Gonna lock this because I really don't see a point in leaving this open. I'd be the person moderating these new subforums, if they were to be made, and y'all already know my position on this. (https://wolfquest.org/bb/viewtopic.php? ... 8#p2568353)

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