Bottom of the Barrel section for Tapastic? Or Related Comic section?

[Doubtcent]

For those that don't have may a subscriber, what if there was a section of Tapastic where the lower subs can be noticed? Many a series can be overlooked, but some down there can be really good. They just need that little bit of a nudge to be noticed.

I propose a Bottom of the Barrel section, a place where starting series or stagnant series can go to be noticed. Of course, creators can't post there themselves, but others who think that they're worthy of notice.

Or just a Related Comic thing somewhere, based on genre, subject matter or by amount of subscribers. That way, comics that are somewhat overlooked can be checked out if they're similar to something else.

Anyone's thoughts on either section?

[Cielle]

I think this is a brilliant idea. Right now, there is this thread in the forum, and I've found a lot of great, under-appreciated comics there! But I do think it would be nice for individuals who don't come to the forum (or don't have time to read through all the replies =+=) to have a way to find comics with a low number of subs.

[gateofselidor]

The threads for under-appreciated comics are a nice idea, but I'm not convinced they actually work very well in practice. The forums are mostly frequented by webcomic creators who, let's be honest, are often more interested in drawing more readers to their own comics than they are in finding something new to read. I've plugged other people's comics in threads, and usually they'll only get one or two clicks each.

I'm not sure how much sense it makes business-wise for Tapastic to plug comics that don't already have a substantial reader base, as it's a lot riskier than plugging something more popular, but there are a number of comics that I read that I would love to see get more attention, that I think are genuinely great comics that simply haven't had the right level of exposure. Something to highlight lesser-known comics would have to be very carefully curated to make it worth diverting time and energy away from plugging comics that have already proven themselves.

I do think the Tapastic site could do more to make it easier to browse comics that aren't featured on their home page. I don't pick up many new comics from there because I've already subscribed to the ones I actually like. The only front-page section worthwhile for me is New and Noteworthy, which is already a way for lesser-known comics to pick up more readers, but I assume they have to reach a particular threshold to be featured there (I know there are some comics there with 2k+ subscribers from already popular creators, but from what I recall as a subscriber, MuayThai had maybe 20-30 subscribers when it got featured there, and now has over 400).

[carloswebcomic]

Continuing the discussion from Bottom of the Barrel section for Tapastic? Or Related Comic section?:

The threads for under-appreciated comics are a nice idea, but I'm not convinced they actually work very well in practice. The forums are mostly frequented by webcomic creators who, let's be honest, are often more interested in drawing more readers to their own comics than they are in finding something new to read. I've plugged other people's comics in threads, and usually they'll only get one or two clicks each.

This.

To get more readers, Taptastic would need to actively encourage readers to visit less popular comics, but frankly, I doubt they'll bother.
Getting anything to change on a website, specially with the amount of work that it would involve, is like pushing a Boeing 747 with your little finger.

[Dranif]

This idea sounds good, but the last time I remember that people suggested something that the lesser known creators could benefit from, the staff (although they didn't exactly say it) seemed to prefer catering to the already popular creators. Has something to do with first impressions with the front page apparently. Not that I have anything against their decisions, (and I know, they'd rather that subscriber gathering being done on the creator's own doing) but I want to see a Bottom of the Barrel section for the obscure.

[ovisrock]

This idea is interesting. Something along the lines of under 100 collection for comics that labor in obscurity would be nice. Many of the current collections are very specific and sometimes random, so I would like to think a collection for underknown comics could be possible. The creators could submit their comic up for review and the staff could put the best out of the bunch in the collection. But idk how much time and effort that would take on their part... it would be nice to see though.

[NagashiKhan]

All of these ideas probably require more staff members on the team for the website. Maybe even part timers would be a good idea, I don't know. Just to keep it fresh.

However, I feel like the hole in the logic that "plugging lesser known comics is risky" is that if you see the comic, you know the creator put a lot of effort into it, telegraphing intentions that are bigger than TWO subscribers and such, picking them to be featured in some small way would almost guarantee revenue/interaction of some sort. Seriously, go look for yourself. You will find comics that are so much better than some of the comics you see in the big scene. Looking at the quality of some of the more popular comics begs the question as to how the hell they got there- it seems almost as if by chance. Or- hell- by the help of FEATURING.

If somebody stops putting up quality work you could just kick them and look for another comic that is looking good but should be doing better. Granted, having more readers on the site helps all of this exponentially, and almost none of this conversation can truly be considered without the help of an increase in staff and readers over creators. However, I really think this idea should definitely work, given the resources. Featuring is a lot more powerful than forums, certainly. Even the small features.

[RayGun]

Hell even just putting a random bar and button on the site would help. something the staff doesn't have to monitor but can leave it to fate the people onthe front page can see different stuff instead of the things they just feature

Also, just a page where people can just see updated stuff (even if you aren't subscribing to it) like a lot of scanalated manga sites do. i find the majority of what i read in these pages. at least they can see whats being updated at the moment