As I think about what might change with Typetrigger in the coming months, I am also considering what should not change. Here are a few things, in no particular order, that I really consider fundamental to this tool and community. This is not a complete list, but some things that strike me as central this week.
Your Writing
Typetrigger is nothing without the writing that everyone has shared here. Rest assured, we will not be removing any of it in any updates. Whether you have written somewhat recently or way back when we started, no one’s going to delete your stuff but you. I am considering the possibility down the line of making it easier to export your work in bulk in case you want a backup for peace of mind.
The Possibility of Anonymity
I started Typetrigger because I wanted a way to practice writing for an audience without putting my name out there or having to publicize my stuff amongst my friends. (That backfired entirely, of course, since I did write on TT under my real name and picture so that the community could understand that I am really invested). I think it is important that people be able to write without sharing too much about themselves, as long as they follow our community guidelines.
Minimalism
It’s time for a visual cleanup of Typetrigger, but the plan is to keep things basic. The focus should be on the writing, with few flashy distractions. This includes the basic social interactions: following (Reading) and liking. While I am thinking of more ways to facilitate discussion amongst writers who want to share thoughts on writing and reading practices, I will not add commenting to the site. I think it makes people more self-conscious and prone to explain their writing. I also am not interested in moderating comments or setting standards for what is appropriate to say. The direct message feature allows everyone to engage in longer conversation, and I think the one-on-one nature of it sets a higher standard for mutual respect. The point on Typetrigger is to get the words out and let them stand on their own. In this age of crazy and inscrutable newsfeed algorithms, I also plan to keep Typetrigger basic, with a priority on chronological display of the trigger responses of those writers who you follow. There might be some other interesting approaches for browsing other writing later on, but it’s not a priority. What are your favorite features or aspects of Typetrigger? I know that Typetrigger has been a beloved and effective tool for many people but I’m not exactly sure what makes it so special for each of you. I would love to hear from you about what you don’t want to see change, as well as what features you’ve been quietly hoping for. Comment or drop a line via the contact form, or let me know on Twitter or Facebook.
One thing I enjoy about this site has to be the genres we can tag our works with. A lot of my works on TT are actually fan fiction so I mostly use them to just tag the fandom so I can find my own writing later on, and I love that I can do that, haha.
One thing I’ll ask about is whether or not you will be reusing certain triggers? Some of them I really enjoy but never got to write for it because I missed the trigger when it was up. Or maybe if there was a way to save a trigger and submit writing for it later? That might be complicated though,, as it is, I’m perfectly happy with the old site’s features and look forward to these new ones!
I’m definitely considering reposting old triggers! There are some technical challenges to doing so in the current configuration, but there have been some good ones that didn’t get many (or any) responses.
Why did you bother to bring TT back, only to abandon it again so soon?
Hello! We did not abandon it again but ran into some challenges we are working on resolving. Things seem to be back on track now and we hope progress remains smooth.