Scientiae Carnival
Scientiae's future?
Published by skookumchick on Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 10:32 AMFolks, with your help and support, Scientiae has been going on since March of 2007. That works out to 36 carnivals on all sorts of topics, with a host of hosts and contributors.
But the number of posts submitted to each call for posts has fallen off dramatically, it seems, and we've been having lots of problems with hosts getting carnivals posted on time (and much of this is due to my forgetting to pass the torch in good time each month).
So the question arises: is there still value to having Scientiae? Or should we shut it down as a great community-building tool whose time has come to be let go?
What say you, netizens? Please share your thoughts in the comments, or on your blogs (and leave us a link here). Pass the word that we're trying to assess what the continuing value of Scientiae is, if anything.
I hope to hear from you soon. :-)
Posted by skookumchick
Labels: discussion
I have to admit though, I'm never quite sure if Scientiae is reserved for "harder" sciences than mine (psychology) so I've never submitted anything.
It sounds like it is time to step up and volunteer to host sometime.
My schedule is so crazy and Scientiae varies in topic so much- sometimes I can sit and dash off a post on the spot as soon as I see the topic, other times I have to think hard for a week.
If I forget to check the topic, it's usually too late when I see the call for posts randomly while reading blogs. So that is my excuse. @Psycgirl, personally I think it's not just for "hard" sciences- most of the topics are about the culture of science as work, anyway.
Perhaps some other bloggers could make similar pledges. The number of contributions could vary based on how often you blog and how insane your schedule is this year... whatever you feel comfortable with. (Hmm, I'm starting to sound like the NPR pledge week... sorry about that :P )
I had a great time hosting last year and would certainly do it again. Sometimes it feels like you need to put a lot of thought into submitting posts, but most of us can fulfill the topic even with something in our archives. renew, reuse, recycle!
I promise to be better this year though. And contribute since I have enjoyed reading and getting enthusiasm from the community at large :)
Regarding topics: people may be more likely to contribute if the topics are less narrow, less specific, more evocative. The Feminist Carnival does not, I think, have topics - they just collect submissions and then organize them around emerging themes. A possibility.