Am I the only site owner that feels guilty when I don't update?

[Peter Paltridge]

You might have noticed nothing showed up today. I thought I'd make it, but it's Monday night and the comic isn't anywhere near complete and neither is part 2 of the MTV thing.

I figure if people are reading, I owe it to them to keep the site as entertaining as possible by updating reliably and putting as much work into the updates as I can. Thus, I feel guilt and hate for myself every time I miss yet another self-imposed deadline. Which, you might have noticed, happens a lot. I've only been able to deliver a new cartoon AND new article each week when I return from summer vacation and have a stockpile of them. All other times, I really do shoot for the deadline of "next week," yet it always ends up days later.

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. But I have to wonder if I'm the only one. Now that I think about it, the only other sites I read that are regularly updated--are the ones whose writers get paid. And sometimes money isn't even enough to get a webmaster moving (H*R's updates have been erratic over the past year). Just look at Cartoons Dammit as a whole--only me and James (the Ellium guy) make a habit of adding new content to our sites. GeoWeasel I'll be a little more forgiving to, as that guy can't really be expected to make a new fully-animated Flash cartoon every week. But everybody else barely does anything, and it makes the conglomeration look bad as a whole.

Why are so many sites updated on such a poor schedule? Are the writers' lives really that busy or do they just not care? Am I the only one that understands making a commitment to my site is important? Why should an audience be expected to come back if the effort to entertain them doesn't show?

Greg, you only update Pop Arena once every lunar eclipse. I guess you should know the answer as well as anyone....

[Greg1]

I'm currently in the process of reinventing my site. I've slightly grown out of the "remember this from the 80s" stage (my I-wanna-be-another-XE stage), and while I still enjoy that, I feel like I need to do more. I'll probably still do that once I get the site redesigned, but coming up with a fresh angle has left me in creative depression, which combined with my work schedule has kept me from updating more often. Not to mention I can't get images off my huge VHS collection right now, so I'm left writing articles from scanned images or from DVDs.

Speaking off, Mars, what do you use for image capture?

As for if I feel bad for it, yeah, a little, but I feel I've lost enough of my readers already that I don't need to worry as much as I used to. And in the end, while it's something I enjoy, it's still just a website.

I can understand why you feel so bad, Mars. If I may be so blunt, it doesn't seem like there's a lot of time put into the updates. I don't mean this as an insult. It's just your articles are usually rather short, with only a few lines for each image or whatever, as opposed to the long essay style I go for. I won't pretend I know a lot about making comics, but it doesn't seem like it would take to long to draw them in your style.

My point is, I understand why you would feel bad, because the updates shouldn't take that long to make. However, from somebody who's never had a steady updating schedule, I wouldn't stress it too much. One week is just one week, every internet deserves time off when they need it. Don't let it get you down.

[Peter Paltridge]

I don't mean this as an insult. It's just your articles are usually rather short, with only a few lines for each image or whatever, as opposed to the long essay style I go for.

Normally, I can only think of something short and funny, as opposed to long and funny, and I'm not interested in writing something that's been artificially extended with padded paragraphs--because I see that kind of thing all over the Web; it looks very obvious and it ruins the humor because it reads like the writer is trying too hard.

So when you see a series of short captions, it has less to do with deadline and more to do with the fact that I think I said enough.

[James]

Some are harder than others. Stripped Bare is a two man collaboration that takes a lot of time than simple news strips. Each script has to be a full, serious story that is then broken down into chapters, worked as breakdowns, approved by both parties, penciled, inked, lettered and coloured.

That is a full time process, and at the moment, my illustration schedule is full up with art clients and Paul's doing some rewrites as well as his own writing and full time work. When Stripped Bare is active, it's as active as anyone elses, however it's dormant because of other commitments and rewrites.

Honestly, I think the question is a rude one being not all strips and cartoons operate under the same circumstances or processes as your own or Ellium. That's not a comment on either, just that non paid products do have to work around people's lives.

You are part of Cartoon's Dammit! community and - more importantly - as part of the creative staff, I would suggest any issues you have with the running of the other sites is worked out privately, because throwing such objectionable opinions out in regards to your "guilt" neither presents the site or yourself in a good light. It's just disrespectful to your staff colleagues and unprofessional.

There is a place for such concerns and it's not a public soapbox.

[veemonjosh]

I feel guilty that I haven't updated my comic in forever.

I mean, I started the third story arc, and then I just kept forgetting to update past the first five strips of it.

Then again, I wonder sometimes if anyone actually READS the damn thing...

So, yeah, I understand how you feel.

[Dynamite XI]

James is right -- staff members most anywhere don't like it when you make certain beefs public. It's essentially what got me fired from the campus newspaper two weeks ago (although they didn't even give me a clear-cut warning and based their decision on assumption...it's a stupid situation I'm caught up in).

As for my own comic, I try to keep it updated as best as I can, and I'm proud to say that I've been doing an okay job; I only missed one Friday for a hiatus.

That being said, though, during a holiday I don't usually draw my strips until the very Friday I'm supposed to upload, and they usually get put online later in the evening. It's tricky.

[J. B. Warner]

You probably shouldn't beat yourself up for missing a deadline on your website. You do have a life, after all, and you can't devote every waking hour to expanding your articles and drawing the next "Mulberry" installment. If something for the site needs to go on the backburner, I'd understand completely.

[Jeff Harris]

I feel guilty.

I mean, yeah, I wrote over 250 articles in a course of almost a decade at the site. Many, many pages without pictures and such. A lot of history. A lot of opinions. I have a big mouth.

TXB's a one-man-operation. Has been that way since day one.

But sometimes, I feel that people don't really care what I have to say or write at the site. At times, I feel as if I'm a bird trying to teach fish how to fly.

The site is a diversion from the reality that is life. I'm a college graduate with a BFA who spends his days and nights taking care of his sick grandfather, which I've done every day since I graduated from college almost five years ago. I wash, clothe, and feed him every day and night. It's a thankless job, but somebody has to do it. It depresses me, and that's why I feel that I need a place to be creative. Of course, the original inspiration for the site has disappointed me in recent years, and I felt I had to move on.

Now, I'm writing more. I'm actually making a quartet of comics. I'm finding myself more immersed in comics as well as animation a little more. But, that's another story.

I do feel guilty at times. But then, I have amassed a lot of articles over the years, and I have a lot of years to go before I get truly bored.

[Frozen]

As the writer of Stripped Bare "Paul L. mathews" is my pen-name, I feel qualified to answer your question, MI.

No, I don't feel guilty. Jaes and I have a good six months worth of material ready to be translated to the screen. If James can't make that happen then I know that's because he's snowed under with paying work. In that case, I think "Good for him!"

Sure, I'd love to be more regular, but it's not practical. As a retired artist, I know how important payed gigs are, and I don't begrudge James for taking what lucrative jobs come his way. If it meant SB never appeared again because Jimmy was too busy, I'd be very, very happy.

Do not confuse Stripped Bare's irregularity with a lack of commitment. Nothing is further from the truth. Also, don't start pointing fingers at people, however "subtle" (not) you think you may be...

Oh, and "Yes, my life is that busy." It's busy writing Stripped Bare, short (published) fiction, (published) artwork, writing the Valentine Chronicles, raising and providing for a family, and holding down a full-time job.

Don't confuse that with a lack of commitment, becasue that's just insulting.

[Dynamite XI]

What I'm getting out of this thread are arguements for the work's quality. <rhetorical>Should you impose deadlines or should you take your time?</rhetorical>

Some of my best work, for example, is done in desperation under a looming deadline. I usually manage to squeek out a gag that my friends think is brilliant, and I usually come up with my gags on the fly.

Other artists/authors might think of their work under a looming deadline as hack work, and may prefer all the time in the world to make the story right. "War and Peace" wasn't written in a day, after all.

It depends on how your creative processes work, and how you make them work.

[James]

What I'm getting out of this thread are arguements for the work's quality. <rhetorical>Should you impose deadlines or should you take your time?</rhetorical>

Some of my best work, for example, is done in desperation under a looming deadline. I usually manage to squeek out a gag that my friends think is brilliant, and I usually come up with my gags on the fly.

Other artists/authors might think of their work under a looming deadline as hack work, and may prefer all the time in the world to make the story right. "War and Peace" wasn't written in a day, after all.

It depends on how your creative processes work, and how you make them work.

It all depends on priorities. They do - as you've said - differ. Stripped Bare isn't - unfortunately - a priority. It's still being worked on, plans for a website update, script revisions and story developments are underway, but I'm just in the middle of a couple of career projects and so it takes a back burner. That's the way life goes, you prioritise to what's relevant.

The only other aspect worth mentioning is personal ideology. I was working on a fast deadline for a client and still hadn't finished the last story. I personally felt that the SB story shouldn't have a gap while I was trapped on two, two month projects, so I worked heavily to finish that final page so I could move away from Stripped Bare, leaving what was on the site, complete. Again, it's personal ideology and the ability to prioritise to that ideology. I put all social contact/leisure time aside for two evenings to finish that strip.

But I'm not going to chastise people who don't. Until they are under financial or legal obligation to churn work out, you can't chastise people's commitments, because you don't know their legal and moral priorities. Until you know that, and the actual difficulties of their project - as the post above mentioned - you can't throw that first stone.

As for Stripped Bare, I would prefer it stands with breaks as complete stories with no updates and have a certain quality I'm comfortable with, than I would see it rushed to meet a non existent deadlines based on expectations that do not hold and moral or financial obligations. Quality over quantity. In my opinion, that's what I would like to see Cartoons Dammit! be really about. Not updates, but a collection of decent cartoons and animations. Some are regularly updated, some are housed and work for stand alone viewing.

This is a far more complicated issue than this thread implies, and if this was a TZ forum, I'd have closed it. It's not, so I offer wisdom rather than a heavy hand. I hope we might all learn something from it, particularly about being too judgmental on others or ourselves.

[Brendon45]

And for my opinion, I do think its rude to state what you feel about the other staff members commitments. Honestly, I think its better to be left with questions because it leaves you wanting more. And clearly your topic askes am "I" the only site owner who feels guilty, etc.

[Kury Wagner]

I believe I have a website somewhere out there. >.> Haven't touched her in ages, though... I'm a deadbeat webmistress, that's for sure. I feel awful about it, yeah, but more and more I've convinced myself that it's no big deal.

[unknown hero]

Its tough to find time to make and continue a web presence, especially if its about something you enjoy working on. The best advice I can give would be to have moderation; have an interest in it, but don't obsess about pageviews or deadlines.

[Chris]

I haven't missed one Sunday since I started my strip back on 4/16/06. Too bad nobody reads it. D'you wanna read it?
Then click here.
I also regularly update www.atari2600land.com, and by 'regularly,' I mean about every week or so.