Fully answering this question would take a whole other entry, but I’ll try to keep in shorter. The first thing I’d have to say is that what I might suggest for either site would depend a lot on what sort of goals the site wanted to accomplish. To be more specific, my answer to this question would be very different for, say, the NCMC, depending on what direction it wants to go. Does it want to try and encourage more writers? Does it want to provide more ways for the audience to give feedback on stories? What sorts of “improvements” I might suggest would depend on what sort of direction the site would want to go.
Of course, I could also just speak on what sorts of changes I personally would like to see made to the sites, but these changes would by necessity reflect what I want, and not what those who run the sites might find helpful, and would in general be self-serving. If I in the future ever decide to start up my own collection (probably never gonna happen), then I can worry about what I want, personally.
That said, there are some general issues I have with both sites, that I think should be easy enough to address.
1. The NCMC needs to clarify its submission guidelines to reflect what is *actually* allowed on the site. Just get rid of the ban on superheros and celebrities–it’s never enforced with any sort of rigor, and obviously doesn’t bother the audience–so why keep up appearances? The NCMC, in my mind, doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. If it wants to focus on a particular kind of story, then its submission guidelines should be narrowed to reflect that sort of focus. The community prefers to be exclusive–that’s not a bad thing, I just wish it would be willing to admit it to itself that it is, instead of trying to pose as a place for all stories.
2. I think that the rating system on the NCMC makes no sense. Most of the rated tags are never used anyway, and those that are used are construed so broadly that they mean next to nothing and have no real purpose. They should score stories on a) quality of writing, b) quality of story, and c) did it make you cum. That, I think, would accomplish everything the site wants to do with less pretense and more clarity.
3. I wish that we could get away from surface level fetish tags and institute a set of deeper tags as well, which could be selected by authors. Categories like “Wish Fulfillment,” “Revenge Fantasy,” and “Reality Shift” would all be more informative to readers than surface level tags alone. This does apply to the NCMC, but in reality the site that would be most improved by this addition would be MCStories.
Moving onto the CYOC.
1. The CYOC needs more active moderation to improve the overall quality of content on the site. One change that could make a difference would be allowing other users to edit the stories made by other members. These edited versions could appear either as additional branches off the original story, or could even replace the original chapter altogether. Of course, this sort of editing would require moderation to make sure it isn’t abused, preferably by volunteer moderators. Alternately, people who contribute to the site regularly might gain the privilege of editing and improving chapters submitted by others, which would also cut down on abuse.
2. A reward system for contributing to the interactives would, I think, help boost interest. This could be done with an achievement system or something similar. Again, only more active moderation can make sure the system isn’t abused by people who want to cheat.
3. Keep comments and ratings away from the interactives. It will kill them faster than anything else.
Bracken's Corner 