"About Dreamwidth" posts to make

[soc_puppet]

Well, Dreamwidth post organizing didn't really happen today, but I did post an updated version of "What to post about on Dreamwidth" a few places!

I also thought of a couple more About Dreamwidth posts I want to make, with some points I want to touch on:

Commenting on Dreamwidth, and specifically how the comment section is where our "Yes, And" stuff happens on "silly" posts.

Icons on Dreamwidth, and specifically the comparison I made to reaction images. Information on where to get icons and/or how to make icons is a must (I only know the most basic of basics myself, so I'll have some looking up to do!), but I also plan to cover the fun that can be had with icon keywords.

Both of these I'd say fall under the "Dreamwidth Culture" umbrella, with the icons post potentially also covering "How To" basics.

Comments

[kittypet]

im quite excited to try out and play with the ideas and suggestions youve been posting. im mainly focusing on a daily journal type but im itching to post all sorts of different stuff! its real appreciated :) ill be sure to reblog your posts about what to post too! <3

[soc_puppet]

Thank you so much 🥰 Honestly, even veteran Dreamwidth users can struggle with figuring out what to post sometimes, so I'm hoping my "What to post about on Dreamwidth" post will inspire some of them, too ^_^v

I'm an inveterate not-poster

[jesse_the_k]

...I compose 88% of a post and then never finish it, so I've got a couple icon resources to share.

For inspiration I visit https://www.freepik.com/author/freepik/icons

nicosilang asked for resources back in 2018 and laceblade's outstanding comment includes more than 15 icon-comms

https://nicosilang.dreamwidth.org/1932.html?thread=9356#cmt9356

plus there are a dozen other suggestions in that thread.

Re: I'm an inveterate not-poster

[soc_puppet]

Hey, some people are better at posting, and some are better at commenting; some are good at both, and some are lurkers—and I appreciate all of them 😘 I tend to be better at posting, but without people who comment on my posts, I feel like I'm shouting into the void, you know? And it's one thing if you know that going in and aren't expecting any response, but it's quite another if you're straining to hear someone shouting back. So thanks for shouting back to me 🥰

Thank you so much for the links! Looks like I've got some good stuff to work with there 😃

Re: I'm an inveterate not-poster

[jesse_the_k]

...and I just learned that some folks post icons on the AO3

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Banners%20*a*%20Icons/works

Who wouldn't want 65 100x100 icons of Julie Newmar being Catwoman in glorious black and white?

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Commenting on Dreamwidth, and specifically how the comment section is where our "Yes, And" stuff happens on "silly" posts.<<

I don't think we've got a "comments" instruction post on newcomers yet, and that would be super useful.

>>Icons on Dreamwidth, and specifically the comparison I made to reaction images. <<

There is a general post on images that mentions icons, but not a specific post about icons. This would be a useful topic too.

There are many communities that specialize in icons. They appear in places like:

Follow Friday 3-31-23: Art
Follow Friday 7-15-22: Graphics
Follow Friday 4-11-25: Graphic Design

>> Information on where to get icons and/or how to make icons is a must (I only know the most basic of basics myself, so I'll have some looking up to do!), but I also plan to cover the fun that can be had with icon keywords.<<

See above communities. There used to be a website called El Jay Icon Maker that made creation very easy, but now you either have to kludge it through a site really meant for different things, or use software on your own computer. :/

Re: Thoughts

[soc_puppet]

Commenting is a vital part of any social media site. It's impossible to have comments without posts, but for a lot of people, comments are what make posts worth making in the first place! Also, it can be just plain fun 😛 Or on Serious Business posts, comments can delve into the nitty-gritty in a way that posts might gloss over for simplicity's sake (etc). I'm pretty sure that Tumblr users will get it if I compare comments to reblogs, since their function is not entirely dissimilar.

The "why" of icons is also important, IMO; a lot of us talk about having a lot of icons, and loving icons, but that doesn't mean a lot to Tumblr users. If you contextualize icons as built-in reaction images/gifs, I think that a lot of Tumblr users will understand the idea better. And that means that they'll want to get in on the fun and find out where to get/how to make their own, so thank you for the links! I should have everything I need now to be able to point future icon-lovers in the right direction...

Edit: BTW, I submitted a link to your Newcomers "Find your Tumblr mutuals" post to radiofreemonday; they cross-post to both Tumblr and the Fediverse and get a fair amount of attention, so hopefully we'll get some more(?) people checking in there!

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Commenting is a vital part of any social media site. <<

Agreed.

>> It's impossible to have comments without posts, but for a lot of people, comments are what make posts worth making in the first place! Also, it can be just plain fun <<

"How to Hack the Snowflake Challenge" has a list of comments on fanfic that almost everyone loves.

>> Or on Serious Business posts, comments can delve into the nitty-gritty in a way that posts might gloss over for simplicity's sake (etc).<<

My Philosophical Questions posts are specifically designed to encourage discussion.

>> I'm pretty sure that Tumblr users will get it if I compare comments to reblogs, since their function is not entirely dissimilar.<<

That's exactly the kind of comparison that we need, and I can't do.


>> The "why" of icons is also important, IMO; a lot of us talk about having a lot of icons, and loving icons, but that doesn't mean a lot to Tumblr users. <<

Some people use them differently. Popular uses include as larger mood images, and to mark specific types of content. Frex, some of my series have their own icon.

>> If you contextualize icons as built-in reaction images/gifs, I think that a lot of Tumblr users will understand the idea better. <<

Another very useful comparison.

>> And that means that they'll want to get in on the fun and find out where to get/how to make their own, so thank you for the links! I should have everything I need now to be able to point future icon-lovers in the right direction... <<

I'm happy I could help.

>> BTW, I submitted a link to your Newcomers "Find your Tumblr mutuals" post <<

Thank you! I hope that helps attract more attention.

[grayestofghosts]

I definitely feel like we lost something when we moved to all this social media that only allows for one user icon... and I'm also kind of embarassed to realize that icons purchases are only $1 per additional icon apparently.