this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
25 points (93.1% liked)

European Graphic Novels+

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“Bandes dessinée” refers to Franco-Belgian comics, but let's open things up to include all Euro comics, especially GN's. Comics & art from around the world with ‘Euro-stylings' are also welcome. ^^

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I'm frankly discouraged (lemm.ee)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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We're now past the two-month mark, and I've done my level-best to stock up our community with a load of content to be delved into by newcomers and reviewers, both. So far it's been a labor of love.

As such, I typically spend about 1-3 hours per day investigating future stuff that might make for interesting posts, sorting through things, upgrading art, writing notes, then giving it a shot (i.e. posting) every day, balancing the days I miss by posting twice the next day. Also, I usually post in the early mornings, such that our posts begin in Europe.

That said, I don't blame anyone in particular for not liking any particular stuff I decide to post on any particular day. That's just natural.

At the same time-- with 300+ subscribers now, it frankly stings to get a negative reaction like this, upon European artist Brecht Evens' work. After all, we're talking about one of the most awarded, modern, most-legit European comics creators doing their thing when it comes to Evens' work.

So here's a question--

  1. Can you explain why you don't like the Evens' post? Because I'm open to editing / switching things up.

  2. Would you like to post your own material? Because I welcome that.

Me, I'm going to take a break from this sub and think about some things..

EDIT: At the time of posting this, the Brecht Evens' post had a zero score, with more downvotes than upvotes. This was after a full day+, in which I gave the voting time to adjust itself.

EDIT2: Thank you so much to the positive responders. I've read the replies and have commented below.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Dropped in from browsing all, you are complaining because your post only got 3 upvotes? I've been building content on a community for months posting pretty much every day (on a different account) and the majority of my posts either stay at 1 or drop to 0 with pretty much zero engagement in comments bar a couple over my 100+ posts.

You have multiple posts with 20+ votes meaning people are looking at and engaging with what you are posting in some form or another, just because one post sees less engagement suddenly you are throwing your toys out?

I get that it can be some what demoralising over time as I fully know how it feels to constantly be posting and trying to build some content for the future but it is exactly that, for the future. At least you have people actually looking at what you have done so far, as far as I know no one is looking at what I am doing but that isn't why I am doing it.

Take a step back if you feel you need to but I think you need to temper your expectations for what is still a fairly low traffic place, maybe dial back how much time you are putting in. If you are spending that much time do you need to post every single day?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Can you link the community you are trying to build?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

https://lemmy.world/c/dubstep

[email protected]

Has nothing to do with this community and is niche in general not just around Lemmy so I have no expectations of it growing with any speed but I'd like for there to be a representation for it here on Lemmy so hopefully as reddit pushes out more people some may make their way over and find that there is already somewhere they can jump into!

[–] Nacktmull 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm extremely into steppers dub but not really into dubstep. Otherwise I would frequently post in your community. Isn't it crazy, how many sub-sub-genre-niches we have today? Good luck with your community!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Haha that's fair and yes it is true. I am very much more into the "real dubstep" sub division of what is now the wider genre of "dubstep" over the more "brostep" styles but you could sub divide things so many times right now I thought it was best just just generalise in the sub name.

Cheers man! Have a good day :D

[–] Nacktmull 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I am very much more into the “real dubstep” sub division of what is now the wider genre of “dubstep” over the more “brostep” styles

When I get to hear older, more classic dubstep I usually like it a lot because it's just really good bass music to me. "Mid-cracking Brostep" on the other hand I hate with a passion :D

I will subscribe and check out your community. See ya and have a nice sunday!

Edit: You post lots of good stuff there and so much of it! Btw what would be the most important standards of old school dubstep tracks that everyone should know in your opinion?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

I'm probably some what of an outlier in the scene in that I can get along with some more brostep type sounds from around the time dubstep was "blowing up" with the likes of skrillex etc but definitely as time goes on I can't really stand much of the newer stuff in the style as a lot of it just sounds like noise for noise sake with no real direction.

I am definitely not a pureist though and can't stand some conventions of the scene like its obsession with releasing stuff on vinyl only, I just don't understand why people like an inferior, dead medium. I'm all for people playing what makes them happy and they enjoy the most but when it means releases aren't being preserved for the future and getting lost to time I think it is really sad for both the music and the people that enjoy it.

Anyway one of the reasons I love the genre is that it is very diverse within itself. I think the only real important standards that remain are - it is 140bpm, it has a heavy sub bass driving the song and often playa with the space around the music as much as what you are hearing.

There are a lot of people making great music with Indian / Persian / middle eastern style influences such as Bengal Sounds Culture Clash series, Gisaza or Gatnz. You get stuff with a more metal influence behind it such as Distance and things with a heavier hip hop influence such as Cimm or Sepia. You have more grime leaning stuff as well as stuff leaning more towards breakbeat.

It really is a diverse listening experience if you delve into the genre as a whole and if you like bass music in general I think there is something for everyone to enjoy. I'm glad you enjoyed what I have posted so far and thanks for checking it out.

Just about to post a song from Zha that is a bootleg of an old Bollywood song and is probably my favourite track of the year so far so swing by and give that a listen if you get a chance :D

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I really appreciate the effort you're putting in here. To be completely honest, I haven't found the time to scroll through a lot of the content here.

I agree that 300 subscribers seems like a lot but it's actually not because people are subscribed to a bunch of other communities at the same time. I mod [email protected] and we have like 5k subscribers and you can see that the weekly community challenges only get like 10 upvotes. I found it a little bit discouraging at first, but even if it's just a few people participating or appreciating the content, I've realized that it's equally rewarding.

I think the 90/9/1 rule is pretty accurate; on average, 90% of users/subscribers are lurkers that don't participate. Don't beat yourself up, it's not on you at all, there just aren't enough people in this community quite yet.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting 5 points 9 months ago

These things take time. We're all just sorta tending our little campfires on the fediverse. I decided to chip in and moderate a writing sub, and we have some people posting, even though sometimes I feel awkward being one of the only regular posters. I think the trick is to build 1:1 relationships first, and hope those accumulate naturally into a small community. Wishing you luck.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

Lemmy is having some growth pains. I think there’s a litany of issues that are ultimately harmful to the reducers and are preventing natural user growth.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Just going to chip in, I saw the post you mention. I neither commented nor voted either way on it because TBH it reminded me of an art history class, and the chosen first image without context made me think the subject matter was probably sexist (unfair perhaps, but just the vibe it gave me).

I love some comics that mix up art styles, but I'm generally looking at them in the same way that I look at how movies are directed, I want the kind of thoughtfulness where sometimes just a few lines can tell you so much more than any text. If the art is playing off the story I can enjoy it, but without that the art has to stand on it's own; in this case it didn't evoke anything positive or curious for me, so I would didn't delve further.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Thank you! That is very helpful feedback for me. ^^

[–] Cabeza2000 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If I helps I think you are doing great things for this community. I may not always comment or make posts of my own but from time to time I always check the community and go over all the new posts I have not read.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

I greatly appreciate that, señor. ^^

I also like your contributions here, as well. They help me and the community out, a lot.

[–] Nacktmull 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I understand that you are disappointed but you are focusing on that one post way too much. Actually you get lots of upvotes all the time, often even more than my Moebius posts ;) I think Evens might just be a little too artsy for some but I liked the post.

You should only put as much time into this community as feels good for you my dude. Take a break when you need one.

At some point our users will start posting material too. Obviously the community won't get very far with just the two of us posting content and I am sure our users have a lot of great stuff to post. Lurkers rise up!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I appreciate that, matey, and to be clear-- when I made that post, the Evens' post had more downvotes than upvotes (zero score) after a full day+.

It was the first time that happened here, and something kind of snapped for me, considering how much positive energy I'd been putting in to the project. I mean-- you don't have to like the content I post, but downvoting it to negative status really hurts.

Pretty clearly though, my goal of posting new content daily is... well, I don't know that it's wise or sustainable.

To be clear, part of why I'd been doing that is because I had a goal to get this sub going as quickly as possible to provide an alternative to people at r/bandedessinee. You know, while there's still "fuck you Reddit" energy in the air. I was also (still am, really), planning on introducing this sub at various places around the internet, and I want there to be adequate content available.

Ah, desire and attachment, desire and attachment... I sort of failed the internal Buddha, I guess. *half-serious, half-joking*

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Thank you folks, i.e. the ones who gave understanding and helpful advice. :-)

Perhaps they’d be better appreciated if they were posted to a general comics community? - @[email protected]

It's an interesting idea that might be worth doing in future. After all, there's a lot of wonderful Euro comics that no doubt plenty of comics readers aren't aware of. Actually, I welcome anyone to crosspost our content to other comics subs. In terms of active, thriving communities, looks like [email protected] would be the first choice.

Lemmy is having some growth pains. I think there’s a litany of issues that are ultimately harmful to the reducers and are preventing natural user growth. --@[email protected]

For sure, and I agree that contributors need to be mindful of such. At the same time, I feel very fortunate right now, because due to the slow flow of new content in general, content posted here and at other communities has a much higher chance of being seen in the 'ALL' stream, something which is near-impossible on Reddit unless it catches a wave, so to speak.

I mod [email protected] and we have like 5k subscribers and you can see that the weekly community challenges only get like 10 upvotes. I found it a little bit discouraging at first, but even if it’s just a few people participating or appreciating the content, I’ve realized that it’s equally rewarding. -- @[email protected]

Thanks for the context, and to be clear-- I'm perfectly fine with only a few upvotes. That's just how it is sometimes, and the world certainly doesn't revolve around me. It was the fact that there were more downvotes than upvotes, giving the Even's post a negative score, that really discouraged me. Anyway, thanks for mentioning your sub. Looks cool, and I'm subscribed now. ^^

I think the trick is to build 1:1 relationships first, and hope those accumulate naturally into a small community. Wishing you luck. --@[email protected]

Interesting. Can you give me a successful example of such? Btw, I've subscribed to your world building community; thanks for mentioning it!

you are complaining because your post only got 3 upvotes? ... just because one post sees less engagement suddenly you are throwing your toys out? -- @[email protected]

I don't feel I'm 'complaining,' here. My first thought was simply to take a break and disappear for a while. Then I thought better of it, and decided to try to communicate in an honest, respectful way, and I believe I made the right choice based on the body of responses. Which is why I don't appreciate you mischaracterising the situation and needlessly insulting me.

Again, after a full day, the post which had been days in the making had a zero score with more negs than upvotes. Also, this is a different community than yours, with a different level of engagement and voting style, so your comparison between the two really doesn't help, sorry. Overall, I can appreciate the bit of helpful advice that you offered, but frankly, it was stated more usefully by others.