@ Jax: Yeah, it's been about 15 years since I joined, so this place has a lot of memories
for me too.

It sounds like you've done a lot to help revive this place too! Going through the
members list is a big job! I was going through the member's list the other day
trying to find an old friend...I didn't realize that A-U had THAT many members! I
went past a thousand pages just to hit the T's.

This really was a good place to meet other Tolkien fans. I know there are a lot
of people, even now, who would be happy to be here. We just have to find them.

I am going to go on Yahooanswers and see if I can find anymore Tolkien fans that
way. I am just gonna do anything I can think of!

@ Marida: Thank you so much for helping on tumblr!!!
I don't know if you follow either of these blogs but I think you might like
them.
http://tlotrgifs.tumblr.com/
http://thehobbit-battleofthefivearmies.tumblr.com/

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https://arwen-undomiel-official.blogspot.com/

Synariel Yeah, I know there has got to be more people who would love to be here.

Lol... yeah the member list to me the better part of the day/evening. Though, there were many members who had no website or way to contact them so I didn't really get in contact with very many and have only had 4-5 responses. Some say they would like to, others say no... most say they would like to but they are too busy.


What about getting ahold of the mods and seeing about doing a new layout. Another member had mentioned that might help drive in some trafic. Any ideas which mods are still active?

Hm... yahoo answers is a good idea.



Just wondering, what do you say in your messages to people when you mention AU and how is a good way to initiate that kind of a conversation without seeming intrusive or spammy?

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Visit The Varsian Kingdom!

I think a new layout would definitely be good. As far as I know,
Arwen is the only one with control over that though. :/ I don't know
if she ever checks in these days.

I recently messaged a couple of moderators and I have heard nothing back.
I don't think any of our mods are active right now. I keep looking at the names
of recent posters to see any of the mods have been on and, nope. :/

Oh sorry I didn't answer that question last time, I didn't realize you were asking
me (thought you were asking Marida). But ok, so I do different things in different
places.

-On tumblr, I made a blog (link in my sig) and I tried messaging bloggers
just by saying "Hi, I'm from Arwen-Undomiel.com and were are trying to revive
our forum! If you would like to discuss Tolkien books or movies with us please
come by the forum and join in our discussions! Thank you!"
That's not verbatim, but basically it was like that. I heard NOTHING back from
anyone, so maybe they found that message annoying???

-After that, I tried messaging people and asking them to check out my blog
with no mention of AU. Just "Hi if you have time can you please check out
lotr my blog? Thanks if you can!" And suddenly I started getting some
responses. I figure with this approach, as I get more followers, I can make
several posts with content from AU and hopefully that will lead people here.
People usually respond very nicely to a simple request to check out your blog.

-On yahooanswers, I ask a bunch of questions like "What are some good LOTR
discussions sites?" and then in details I add "I know about arwen-undomiel.com
which is great! But I would like to know about more too, so please list them below."
This way I can put in a good word for AU without anyone realizing I'm trying to
promote it. So far answers have been polite and no one seems to suspect. ^^
Also, I figure it may be a good way to find affiliate websites, so I am interested in the answers
given.

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Cool! No worries Synariel.

Thanks! That gives me a good idea to work with, that's all I was wanting.


Yeah... I messaged Arwen the webmaster through a personal website of hers that I think she is still active through... she never emailed back. It was a website for her work, however, so no telling if she got it.

I will look through the mods now and again too and maybe if I ever catch one that has logged on I will message them.

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No problem!

Ok, sounds good.

What was Arwen's website? I didn't know she had a website for her
work.

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https://arwen-undomiel-official.blogspot.com/

Oh... gosh... let me go look it up again. lol


EDIT:


Ok, here is her tumblr taken from an old topic way back. http://annagorin.tumblr.com/

On there she has links to multiple other websites and social media stuff.

Her personal website is http://www.annagorin.com/

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I wouldn't recommend emailing her on her personal email. She is quite busy and made a point of stepping back entirely years ago when she handed the reins over to the community because she no longer had the time to commit to maintaining this website/forum.

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Thank you Aredhel for the tip. ^^ Is there any other particular person she left charge?
Did she appoint a new webmaster?

And thank you Jax!!! I've never actually seen her face before and I've never seen
her photography either. It was really cool to get to see all of that! She's quite
good at what she does.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, I have another idea. If we can get everyone to pitch in, it will hopefully be
effective.

I think part of the reason people don't want to join here, or don't do anything after
signing up is because most of the boards are obviously inactive. Obviously this would
deter a person and make our site look boring. But maybe if we fake activity, it would
encourage more people to join and post!

I'm thinking we could do this by getting our most active members to post in each main
board everyday. That way, when people check out our forum, all of the boards
will say "Today...." as the latest update, thus making us look way more active than we
actually are. If people think this place is bumpin' they will be more excited about it. And
doing this shouldn't be a bucket load of work either, as we wouldn't need to post on several
threads, just one in every board.

Thoughts? Anyone want to volunteer to keep up with certain boards?

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https://arwen-undomiel-official.blogspot.com/

As far as I know, we don't have a new webmaster. Instead, it's just being run by the few mods we currently have.

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And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

I did think of that Aredhel, but I had no idea how else to contact her. I started off with an apology about using her professional e-mail to contact her.

She actually did respond, though, and she said it was no problem! She said she would be willing to help in what ways she can. She (as expected) is very busy and can't do just a ton but she said we would have her support. So that's a pluss. Have not heard back from her since then, but I let her know all our ideas.

Synariel, I actually have thought the same thing. That is one reason I am posting all over the place so much. I figure if people see a decent amount of activity they will be more likely to join in. I have actually been PMing another member about that idea and she says she is game and will start posting more regularly to get activity up.

I am always up with keeping either or both RP boards up. I love to RP. I do a lot of poetry so I can post poems but it might be good to have other people post some fan fics now and then.

Misc. Randomness is easy to keep up on...

The ones I don't do so much in are the movie/book discussions and actors threads etc...

Gersemi, do you know what mods are active? I have not found any.

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Unfortunately, we have over 25 current listed mods and most of them are inactive. Many are old members that have moved on. The only mods right now that I've seen active are Lhunardaien and Eä. I think we're in need of some new mods.

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And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

Yeah, I realized there are a ton of mods... most of which have not been on in a LONG time.

Eä is still active? Cool, didn't realize that! I'll PM her and see if she would have any ideas.

But yeah I think it would be good to have some new mods that would be around a little more.

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Yeah, she's still around. She pops in sometimes. She doesn't post much these days, but still logs in.

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And as he looked into her eyes
Within the auburn of her hair
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored bright and fair

♥In a poly relationship with Kili and Tauriel♥

Not long ago, I looked up all of our listed
Moderators and checked on their last login.
Only about 3 had actually logged in this year.
I messaged a couple and got a response from
1, and then never got another reply.

I agree new mods out of active members
would be a big help.

I actually have noticed your name on quite a few
boards Jax. You're doing amazing work! ^^
But I don't really see many other members
Posting as frequently in as many places. I'm glad
You've got someone else willing to help with
that.
I can work work more on the movie and book
Boards. And I am messaging all newly joined
Members to help them feel extra welcome &
Excited!

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https://arwen-undomiel-official.blogspot.com/

Zandain also gets online once in a while.

I think the current ratio of active mods and members is pretty balanced. I don't believe that having a bunch of new mods is the answer. What would that achieve? It's not like the handful of us are running amok.

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Haha, no. We may not be running amok, but mods do more than just crowd control.

Our website needs things like, updates, new graphics, new layouts, etc. Those of us who
are willing and able to do these things, have no power to help. Our website would be so much
more attractive if people could see that it was regularly updated. And as we get more members,
knowing that there are active mods, would give the new members security. If any of them have
trouble registering or if any other problems should arise, it helps to know that there is actually
someone around who can help.

Since we are small right now, I agree a whole slew of new mods isn't necassary. But at least one
or two more out of active members would be helpful.

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