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issybird · 08-07-2019, 08:13 AM

I think most of the points, pro and con, of opening the book discussion right away have been covered, but I'll put in my 2¢ worth anyway.

The lag that results in the next selection being chosen before a book is discussed was instituted to facilitate library borrowing. It also allows people to plan for a book thus easing differences in reading speeds and other commitments; we all, ideally, at up at the same point on the same day. I'll add a minor benefit that having a set date helps ensure that a book is actually started and finished, rather than put off to some uncertain point in the future.

But that, of course, ignores the essential clash in preferences, whether it's better to be able to post as you go, or whether it's better to promote direct interaction by having a set time. We can't have both, even with spoiler tags. I prefer the latter myself as being more vibrant and I also think it's why we've had such high post counts so far. A high post count isn't a goal in itself, but it can be taken as an indication of interest.

A minor plus is that staggered dates for nominations/polling and discussion help promote always having something going on, which I think is a benefit. It keeps people looking and engaged.

We got to this point by evolution. A little history re the original MobileRead Book Club: the nominations for the next month and discussion for the current month originally started on the same day, which at least eliminated the issue of picking the next book before you've discussed the last. In retrospect, I think that was terrible, as each distracted from the other and it meant that there was a time of doldrums each month. Then the discussion was pushed back a bit because of the library consideration. Then, in fact, when the club was dragging it experimented with starting the discussion right away, pretty much a 180 in terms of policy, to see if that would engage more interest. As it turned out, it was disastrous and after a couple of months, the club went back to the older schedule.

TL; DR and everyone made the points already: the major factors seem to me to be the library issue and whether or not we're better off with direct interaction at a set time or letting people post as they read.

08-07-2019, 08:13 AM	#498
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,351 Karma: 234636059 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	I think most of the points, pro and con, of opening the book discussion right away have been covered, but I'll put in my 2¢ worth anyway. The lag that results in the next selection being chosen before a book is discussed was instituted to facilitate library borrowing. It also allows people to plan for a book thus easing differences in reading speeds and other commitments; we all, ideally, at up at the same point on the same day. I'll add a minor benefit that having a set date helps ensure that a book is actually started and finished, rather than put off to some uncertain point in the future. But that, of course, ignores the essential clash in preferences, whether it's better to be able to post as you go, or whether it's better to promote direct interaction by having a set time. We can't have both, even with spoiler tags. I prefer the latter myself as being more vibrant and I also think it's why we've had such high post counts so far. A high post count isn't a goal in itself, but it can be taken as an indication of interest. A minor plus is that staggered dates for nominations/polling and discussion help promote always having something going on, which I think is a benefit. It keeps people looking and engaged. We got to this point by evolution. A little history re the original MobileRead Book Club: the nominations for the next month and discussion for the current month originally started on the same day, which at least eliminated the issue of picking the next book before you've discussed the last. In retrospect, I think that was terrible, as each distracted from the other and it meant that there was a time of doldrums each month. Then the discussion was pushed back a bit because of the library consideration. Then, in fact, when the club was dragging it experimented with starting the discussion right away, pretty much a 180 in terms of policy, to see if that would engage more interest. As it turned out, it was disastrous and after a couple of months, the club went back to the older schedule. TL; DR and everyone made the points already: the major factors seem to me to be the library issue and whether or not we're better off with direct interaction at a set time or letting people post as they read.