OFFICE HOURS: Ask DC Universe Your Questions Every (UPDATED) TUESDAY Night!

[Applejack]

@AlexanderKnox

Okay, I’ve been talking with a certain dinosaur hunter about the need for a more definitive “Recommended Stories for Character X” thread, and I wanted to share my pitch with you and see what you thought.

You know when a sentence starts with “Okay”, we’re about to dig deep. Let’s do this thing!

@AlexanderKnox

1. The topic would need to appear in ESSENTIAL READING, perhaps pinned to the top. It’s not something that needs to end up buried underneath a thousand other posts.

Yes, I can agree with this.

@AlexanderKnox

2. The first post would introduce the premise of the thread and offer links to every subsequent post in that thread (e.g. a bulleted hyperlink says BATMAN and leads to Post #3, where the recommended Batman stories appear).

Like an index, I’m following. Neat.

@AlexanderKnox

3. The rest of the thread would be restricted to posts offering recommended stories for respective characters. Post #2 would focus on Superman. Post #3 would feature Batman. Etc. No regular discussion posts would be permitted in this thread.

I got a tiny bit lost here. Let’s call “First Post” Index Post. The comments of this post would be only links to other characters, is that right? AKA, don’t post random conversation. I think I got it once I started typing it out.

Is there a reason you wouldn’t want to have all the individual topics in the main post, a la Stories For Hope? If it’s the edit window restriction, one could Wiki/Un-Wiki as needed to edit.

With that being said, I will confess that managing those topics over time become unwieldy given the length of links. I’m sure @Mae can attest to this from her BoP topic.

I have no super strong opinion either way, but as a user I lean towards having them all in the main post; seems easier for at-a-glance browsing.

@AlexanderKnox

4. Each post would follow a strict format: a “Where to Start” section and a “Further Recommendations” section. For Post #3, we might see Batman: Year One and Batman: Zero Year under “Where to Start.” Then “Further Recommendations” might include The Dark Knight Returns and Batman RIP, for example.

5. The featured stories would all have to be comprised of issues that appear in the DC Universe library, and they would be hyperlinked in the posts. Again, each post would follow strict formatting guidelines for uniformity and ease of use by readers.

@AlexanderKnox

6. To avoid the need for submission suggestions, the character-themed posts would be wikis. Stories could be added as needed by members of the community. Regular contributors could monitor the thread to ensure that all updates conform to the standard formatting.

That’s very cool! I can see this approach being very friendly, and a great solution to our “OP Topic becomes unwieldy with too many characters”.

@AlexanderKnox

So here’s the point where I once again seek your feedback on the potential project. It’s not something that should be done sloppily, and it shouldn’t be a thread that regularly gets merged with less regimented threads. Rather, it’s one that we can use as a link when the inevitable “What Green Lantern stories should I read” thread pops up every few months.

I hope you’ve appreciated all my unsolicited feedback on 1-6.
Now, we COULD link to this, and would! My noodling becomes: “Do we convert all What Green Lantern stories should I read?” into DMs, then direct them to the database the journo and the dinosaur hunter have created?

In the event someone requests a more nuanced take on GL stories “Where can I find all the Jessica Cruz GL stories?” “What GL stories do you recommend for Mogo appearances?” etc., would you want to see those redirected, as well?

I do see the joy in having this resource- my challenge is assigning the custodian of this work. I don’t want to assume you and Turok are volunteering, but if that WAS happening, I would be incredibly grateful.

I know it sounds bonkers that the moderation team couldn’t devote themselves to building this database. But even with matters like updating our Official Wallpaper topic, I’ve come to understand these sort of ongoing projects are hard to maintain amidst the popcorn fun we navigate. Not impossible, but it would go in the “would be nice” pile, if that makes sense.