Attention: Project Resurrection

[Cate]

Okay, lame title. I apologize now. But it was the only thing I could think of. Now that that is over, down to business:

The BoZ want your suggestion and help in bringing Verdigris back to life!

Remember when you used to log in and there would be the little wizard head next to every board? Remember getting news here first and being able to discuss anything without the fear of someone jumping down your throat for your opinion or naivete?

Don't we want that back? I know I do. I enjoyed coming here every hour (a couple of times when not in class) and reading the discussions. I also made many great friends on this board who have become my friends in real life - one lady even remarked at the stage door while I was talking to a fellow BoZ that it sounded like we'd been friends all our life and when she found out we only knew each other through a message board, she was truly floored.

So my question to you all is: What can the BoZ do to help you all start posting again? What can be done to bring Verdigris out of its slump?

Verdigris was always a warm and welcoming board even though it was a little strict. But, as said before, those rules were there for a reason and probably won't change in the near future unless there is a major problem.

To make it that way again, your help is needed. Badly. I can't fill up these boards myself - despite popular belief - and would prefer not to. So, post your ideas here and help revive Verdigris to preserve it for the new generation of Wicked fans who no doubt will come from the tour.

Thanks in advance,
Cate and the BoZ

[ElphieandFiyero]

First Cate, I think it is a great idea to bring verdigris back to life. I still remember the first time I found this board I was so happy! A place to talk about Wicked with people who also love Wicked! I think that the thing is to get old members or new members. If people have websites post links to verdigris, if you belong to another message board (like I do) we could make a banner to come to verdi. I think simple things like that could really make a difference.

[stars in the sky]

I second (or third, whatever) the motion. Definitely advertise, like ElphieandFiyero said-- LiveJournal communities, for instance. Also, if some particularly web-savvy person could set the site's keywords or something, it could get more hits on Google. That's how I found it in the first place.

Edit: I stuck in plugs in the Rent and Defying__Icons LJ communities

[FaeAtShiz]

Speaking of promoting the board, I was thinking that people could put a banner on their website advertising the board (if people have websites). I don't know if that kind of advertising works, but I like putting banners of my favorite things on my website. Something like this perhaps?



I admit, I did copy the banner on the actual board, but I thought that would be a good way for people to know that they got to the right board. And I thought it looked good as an advertising banner.

[DancingElphie]

I agree. We do need to bring Verdigris back to life. FaeatShiz's idea is a good one. We could do something like that, but I'm thinking slightly differently. What if we had a small banner about this size:
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that we would use as an avertisement thing? I've seen them on LJs for other LJ communities, and I'd be happy to make some prototypes or something. I know the kind of board you speak of Cate (I was/am a memeber of one about Dance, and was a very frequent poster for quite a while), and I can tell from reading old posts that that was Verdigris a while back. We need something more than just advertising though. I can't tell you what, but maybe we should welcome new members more. On an old board I was a member of, there was a group of people who would try to scare the new members, and it made them feel included. People also frequently posted on it, welcoming new members, and making them feel at home. From what I see, we have a loyal group (such as all of us posting on this thread) and we are always getting new members, but few stick around. Maybe a welcoming comittee should be set up? Also, I think the website helped bring in members. I know it's defunct now, but would it be possible to bring it back?

I agree with all of the other ideas, but I think we need more than advertising. I know that we have many who join, but few actually get into Verdigris and post all the time. I want old Verdigris back.
DE

[imperfectly_green]

I just saw 10 guests on the board, but the only member was me. What can we do to get y'all to stick around? Do we need live entertainment? Comedy? Free food? *belts TWAI while baking a cake and falling flat on her face in the process.* But seriously, what can we do to encourage you to join? By the way, please join and reply to this post.

[GreenGirl285]

Bringing Verdegris to life is a great idea! I defintily think we should advertise. Xanga would be a great place, a ton of people go there. The more people we can get to join, the more exciting Verdigris will become! Not that isn't exicting already but variety is the spice of life.

[stars in the sky]

Advertising via LiveJournal, Xanga, etc. would probably pull in new people...Is there a way we could get a major fansite like Unexamined Life to advertise for us, too? Also, maybe some of you skilled graphics-makers could concoct a little flier folks going to the show could print out, photocopy, and dish out to fellow theatergoers.

[DancingElphie]

Now this is just a maybe, but waht if we had a new layout? Don't get me wrong, it's cool, but it isn't very... inviting. The text can be hard to read sometimes too. It's just so dark, though I do love it.

[stars in the sky]

Well, if you think about it, the really Wicked-ish colors are black, white, pink, and green, and black and white is just boring, and while pink goes good with green, it's kind of hard on the eyes. Pink on black might look more inviting, but I don't know how much easier it'd be to read. I like this look, I guess. It's Verdigris. And I doubt it's keeping people out.

[galindafiedgirl215]

What if we did a white background, green lettering, and pink details? Also, as far as I can see this website has the most active fan fiction (besides ff.net). We could really push some of our main features out there.

[stars in the sky]

Green lettering on white would be hard to read, unless it were really dark green

[imperfectly_green]

I'm for the green and black. People who come here know Wicked, and these colors are Wicked. I don't find it hard to read. Perhaps that's just me, though. It just doesn't strike me as unwelcoming.

[DancingElphie]

I know those are the wicked colors, and don't get me wrong, I love them, but what if we had a slightly brighter or darker color for the green text? Expecially the navy, beuatiful, but slightly hard to read. The reason I say it's hard to read is that on my first visit here, I couldn't read anything with ease. What if we kept the same basic color scheme and possibly updated the header or something? In fact, to really bring some activity, we could maybe have a layout contest. The BOZ could decide on the best designs for ease of use or something, and then the community would vote. All this would be without the username, to avoid biases. It's just a suggestion though. Take it or leave it.

[imperfectly_green]

I think it's good, but I'm just so used to Verdi this way...