The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
MODERATOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
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It's a new year, and time for change!
Wow! You've done such amazing work. I hope we find someone to follow in your footsteps
I really hope this group survives! Thank you mods for all your hard work.
Thank you for all your wonderful work on this group. I hope it continues and finds a new life. May your new adventures in reading be thrilling and satisfying.
I also hope the group and challenge continues. A million thanks to you both for all your hard work creating these challenges and keeping the group going for all these years!
I am not able to do it but so many thanks to all who do.
Thanks so much for your hard work on making this challenge so enjoyable. I am not able at this time to take over, but I hope someone else picks up the gauntlet!
Thank you Sandy and Dimrose for all you have done over the years. This was the very first challenge I took on when I joined GR's, and you have been excellent teachers and mentors.
Thank you Sandy and Dlmrose for everything you've done for this group. I hope someone is able to step up, but it can't be me right now.
Mod
It's a hard act to follow, so much time and detail required!
You have both been fantastic mods! I can imagine how much work is involved managing these challenges - thank you for putting up with all of us for so long.
Those are some big boots to fill! I hope the group will be adopted!
This was one of my first challenge groups. A huge shout-out to Sandy, Dlmrose, and Kristina for all the time and effort they put into this group. I hope there is enough interest in potential mod replacements to pass the baton!
I'd be sad to see this group end, but I understand needing to move on. Here's hoping we have some folks eager to take the wheel. I wish I could help, but my plate is so full these days I'm barely participating as it is.
Thank you, Sandy and Dlmrose, for your countless hours spent on this challenge. You have been awesome moderators!
So many heartfelt thanks to the both of you Sandy and DlmRose! You instantly adopted me into this massive enterprise, with all my tons of mistakes, and I so appreciated it, and still do.I, too, hope the challenge will survive, with all its intricacies, but the Sandy/DlmRose touch can never be met. You are the greatest!
Thank you so much for all your hard work. I really hope the challenge will be 'adopted' by someone. It is the best!
Is there some type of "job descriptions" for the three positions that we could peruse in deciding if we could manage the time?
Huge thanks to the mods for keeping the challenge running so smoothly for so long. While I would be sad to see it go, I appreciate the ton of work and effort that goes into running the challenge and the need for a change.
OH NO : ( This is my all time favorite challenge, but totally understand. Thank you both for all the hard work and years of dedication to making this an awesome challenge!!
Mod
There is no set number of moderators, and there is no "job description." If you have participated at all in the SRC, you should have a pretty good idea what it entails - someone has to get the tasks together, keep track of postings, answer lots and lots of questions. The rest is up to the moderators - do you want to leave the rules as they are, revise rules, or throw all the rules out? Do you want to continue with group reads? How do you want to divide tasks? It's up to the moderators.
When Dlmrose, Kristi and I became moderators, we had ZERO idea what this would entail, beyond our experience as participants. The originator of the group ghosted the group in mid-season, and another woman stepped in to negotiate with GR to have them make her a moderator. She then got the three of us to help her, then she also disappeared. We just had to figure out what to do.
We're not going to disappear on you - we'll be available to answer questions for the new mods. But we're also not going to micromanage things. This is an opportunity for a new set of mods to decide what they want to do.
How much time will this take? It will vary enormously, depending on the point in the season (are you just processing posts? are you not the readerboard mod this time?) and your familiarity with the tasks, etc. If it's toward the end or the beginning of the challenge, being a mod will take lots more time - dealing with the last minute mega-posters, contacting task creators for the upcoming season, working on the tasks and getting them posted. It will also vary day to day based on the posts - are there lots of problems to have to write up? Are the posts complete and informative, or the sort that seem to be based on the theory that the least information possible is the way to go? Is there a lot that you have to look up to verify?
Today was a light day - it's a quiet time of the challenge (no new tasks to work on), only 36 new posts since I last worked on it - took me just under an hour. At this time of year, I generally anticipate spending from an hour to an hour and a half each morning.
And, like anything else in life, things go faster as you become more experienced!
Sandy wrote: "In response to the requests for "job descriptions" and time required, we can't give you this. A job description doesn't exist, and the time required will vary enormously."We sure do appreciate all the time and effort you all put in to make this group run smoothly. With number of people participating and the number of tasks involved, the process could be a lot more arduous, but you've got it nailed down pretty tight. Thank you.
Sandy wrote: "In response to the requests for "job descriptions" and time required, we can't give you this. A job description doesn't exist, and the time required will vary enormously.There is no set number of..."
Thanks for sharing some insights into your experiences as moderators. That is helpful when making our own decisions. I've certainly enjoyed participating and would like to see things continue.
In honor of Sandy and DlmRose, I have re-arranged some things so I can take some time to re-read my favorite novel for this challenge -- Beloved by Toni Morrison. -- I know that in posts from the past, I have said that about Absalom, Absalom! AND Slaughterhouse-Five. But it's just as true for Beloved. I intend to read leisurely and post in a few days.
Tipping my hat to you Sandy, I have always considered Beloved a Fantasy, which I believe you have said is your favorite genre. (??)
I will certainly miss you folks as the moderators here.
It would be sad to see it go,but on the other hand I can't put in the amount of time that would be required and I would want to put into it without becoming burnt out and spending my precious reading time to managing the readathon.I tip my hat to all the hard work you guys put in it over the seasons to get it to a successful readathon.
Ohhh this is such sad news.I am very thankful to you three. You have re-ignited my love for reading like I remember it from when I was a kid. I really can't thank you enough for this, and for all the time and effort you put in.
This would be just the perfect task for my past self to get into, but with my chronic illnesses, my energy is severely limited. :(
I'm keeping my fingers crossed very tightly in the hopes that others will be willing and able to continue the SRC...
If not, I think I will hop over to the dutch group with yearly challenge. I think. It won't be the same though...
Again. My biggest thanks.
Mod
Three of our members - Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy-Bookworm - have stepped up to adopt this group! Right now, Dlmrose and I are working with them, to try to make the transition as uncomplicated as possible.
I'm still the readerboard mod for Winter, and Dlmrose will be the readerboard mod for Spring, but we'll be working closely with the new mods to show them how we do things and to answer questions, provide tips, explain why we do what we do, and so on.
The new mods will take over completely starting with the Summer challenge! I am sure that they will do a great job, and that all of you will do your best to help them as they begin a new era in the SRC!!
Fabulous news! Thanks to the volunteers, for saving the group, and obviously to Sandy, Dlmrose (and Kristina) for running it so well for so long :)
That's fantastic news! Thanks so much for adopting the group Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy-Bookworm
Ohhhhh I'm so glad to hear it!Thank you and cheers to a hopefully fun and smooth transition...
Oh I'm so happy to hear this! Thanks Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy - I'm sure we'll all be ready to help you out any way we can!
Thank you! Thank you, Jayne, JennRenee and Lucy this was great news to see!
Thanks to you all! I know there are other challenge groups but none seem as well organized and varied as this one.
Thank you Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy! Such good news!
Thank you all -- both outgoing and incoming mods! This one really makes me read outside of my comfort zone more than any other challenge.
I am very grateful to all the current mods for welcoming me so long ago to this group. It was the first GR group that I found and joined and really helped me get back into reading. It also helped me find that love of looking and finding just the right book!However, time has moved on and much as I am glad that three new mods have stepped up, I am taking this opportunity to leave GR. Thanks so much for all you have done to help me reignite my love of books. Winter will be my last challenge here.
Robin P wrote: "Thanks to you all! I know there are other challenge groups but none seem as well organized and varied as this one."Ditto. This group is the BEST!
Thank you for all you have done! And thank you to those who are taking over. I knew no other group would be as good as this.
That is fabulous news!!! Thank you for stepping up to the plate!
Much appreciation to Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy-Bookworm for stepping up to take on this fabulous challenge and continued gratitude to the current mods for smoothly overseeing the transition!
Thank you all for the devotion you have had to this job, especially when those that want to fit a round object into a square hole in order to read what they want, My patience would have lasted about a week. Good luck to the upcoming moderators . You are braver than I would ever be.
I'm so glad to hear this! Thank you to all the incoming and outgoing mods
Such great news! Thanks to the incoming mods for stepping up to the plate.
That is great news! Thank you Jayne, JennRenee and Lucy-Bookworm for stepping up.
Bea wrote: "I am very grateful to all the current mods for welcoming me so long ago to this group. It was the first GR group that I found and joined and really helped me get back into reading. It also helped m..."Sorry to see you go Bea, it has been a pleasure reading with you
I want to thank Dlmrose, Sandy and Kristi for all the work they did with this group. I started with the Season Reading Challenges back when it as part of another group and watched it morph into it's own group. I didn't participate in a few challenges but if my records are correct, Winter 2022/2023 is my 47th challenge. This group has been here for me during lots of life changes and sometimes it is what gets me motivated to read. I've read some stellar books and I've read some real stinkers but this challenge always allows me to go beyond my normal boundaries. I am so glad that Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy-Bookworm have stepped up. I'm looking forward to see what they will bring to the future challenges.
Joanne wrote: "Bea wrote: "I am very grateful to all the current mods for welcoming me so long ago to this group. It was the first GR group that I found and joined and really helped me get back into reading. It a..."Thank you, Joanne. Perhaps, sometime in future, I will wander back this way.
Lauren wrote: "That's fantastic news! Thanks so much for adopting the group Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy-Bookworm"Hurrah! Thanks Jayne, JennRenee, and Lucy-Bookworm!
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Beloved (other topics)Absalom, Absalom! (other topics)
Slaughterhouse-Five (other topics)
After more than 10 years moderating this group, we've decided it's time for a change, for us and for the group. Our plan at this point is to put the SRC up for adoption. We'll continue through the spring challenge, to help out the new moderators as they make their plans, and will turn the group over to the new mods as of the beginning of the summer challenge.
From experience, we suggest that things go more smoothly if you have at least 3 mods - that allows a lot more flexibility!
If you are interested in taking over the SRC, please send a private message to Dlmrose or to Sandy. If no one has contacted us by February 10 about taking over the SRC, we'll go ahead and close it down at the end of the winter challenge.
It's been fun, but it's time to move on!
Dlmrose and Sandy