What if we tried it once in the current Lit thread to actually see what kind of havoc it caused? Then we'd have proof to satisfy the anti-proliferationists. Jessica brings up a good point about the drabbles. They've worked fine in-thread.

What about an agreed-on post heading to distinguish Book Club posts from ordinary Lit thread posts. Something to flag non-club members on by while skimming? Likewise, there could be a post heading for Lit-thread posts, so Club members could bypass, if they're only keeping up with Club posts. Maybe color-coded eye-cues? Everyone would have to agree and remember to use them, though.

Actually, I think it's a rather silly idea, and I think the Book Club thread is the simplest way to go. I think a coda to close the thread for lack of activity is overkill, too. Start it, if it doesn't get traffic, close it.

On a slightly related note, after more thought, I do think that the Book Club could be integrated successfully with the existing Literary thread, in the same way that the drabbles work within GWW and the Foamies (used to) work within movies. The more I think about it, the more it feels like a project than a new thread.

I don't know what the drabbles are, and IIRC the Foamies were a once-a-year thing. Which leads me to...

But I'm wondering what you (and/or Heather) had in mind. Are you thinking of a once a period (month, week, whatever) conversation, only after all the participants are all done with a given book, or an ongoing and weekly-to-daily type of conversation, as we progress through the book?

I can't speak for Heather. What I envisioned was a continuing discussion of a specific work which would mean, for the most part, on any given day there would be a book under discussion as well as a book or books assigned for reading for the next discussion. I don't think the Literary folk would appreciate their thread being hijacked just to hammer out the details of book club, much less, to actually hold book club on a regular basis.

I don't know what the drabbles are

Every week, Teppy suggests a theme to be drabbled (one-hundred-word pieces), and we drabble. The drabbles get drabbled, and regular GWW discussion has gone on unimpaired.

I am aware that this is a rather tactless question, and that it will likely raise some heckles. But I want to know the answer, so I'm going to ask it anyway. If there are any flames, they can fall on me.

The Book Club idea was first floated in the midst of a heated kerfuffle in the Literary thread. It seemed, to me, to be a proposal intended to give each side of the kerfuffle its own discussion space.

What I'm still unclear on is, to put it as bluntly as possible, which side goes where? Did people want to move the litcrit to the Book Club thread and leave Literary to the anti-intellectuals, or the other way around?

It seemed, to me, to be a proposal intended to give each side of the kerfuffle its own discussion space.

I didn't see it that way at all. I saw it as a sidebar to the kerfuffle.

I didn't see it that way at all. I saw it as a sidebar to the kerfuffle.

The WGA would give it an "Inspired by" credit.

The Book Club idea was first floated in the midst of a heated kerfuffle in the Literary thread. It seemed, to me, to be a proposal intended to give each side of the kerfuffle its own discussion space.

First of all, the proposal in book club was made by Heather as a way for her to benefit from a discussion of literature. It was never meant to give "each side" it's own thread. As if there were two distinct sides.

Secondly, this proposal is not intended to solve the problems recently aired in Literary. It is a proposal based on a lot of interest expressed in Literary from people on different sides of the kerfuffle, and it is geared to the general Buffista public, not just the Literary folk.

What I'm still unclear on is, to put it as bluntly as possible, which side goes where? Did people want to move the litcrit to the Book Club thread and leave Literary to the anti-intellectuals, or the other way around?

The answer is neither.

Fine. I withdraw the question.

Regarding kerfluffles -- I wasn't in on any in Literary, because I don't hang out there. I love the idea of a book club and had even been thinking about floating the idea. Main reason? Having some common material to discuss again on a regular basis other than (much as I enjoy it) SG in Boxed Set. Kerfluffleage enters not into it for me.

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More and more, I think a separate thread is the way to go. I think it could get to be frustrating for both participants and non-participants in the Book Club to sift through posts in Literary.

It's one thing to skim a thread to see if anything is of interest ... hit or miss, no harm, no foul. For example, skimming Boxed Set to see if there's any Farscape discussion happening when you've got some free time to check it out. It's another thing to know there's discussion you want to participate in and for which you've done some work/reading and not be able to find it, or have to sift through a number of other conversations to pull out the relevant posts. I think that could get unwieldy and tiresome.

Conversely, if I didn't participate in the book club, I might get tired of trying to pick through to find recs or whatever else (I don't hang out in Literary, so I don't know the usual content, though I have read a bit recently to see whether I thought a book club could work within its cofines) amongst all the book club discussions. Or I might dread the monthly onslaught. Or I might feel like I couldn't just jump in with something non-related if a hot-n-heavy book club discussion was in progress.

If we can support a separate thread, which it seems we can at the moment, I think that's the way to go.