May 2012 – Mythical Type

Are Fringe and Community breaking the fourth wall?

This is how Wikipedia defines the “fourth wall”:

The fourth wall is the imaginary “wall” at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. […] Speaking directly to or otherwise acknowledging the audience through the camera in a film or television program, or through this imaginary wall in a play, is referred to as “breaking the fourth wall” and is considered a technique of metafiction, as it deconstructs the boundaries normally set up by works of fiction. [source]

I noticed something related, but slightly different, going on in the Fringe and Community finales. Spoilers for both after the cut.

First Fringe. In “Brave New World Part 2,” Olivia and Jessica talk while Peter hooks up wires and checks monitors in preparation for interrogating Jessica. The show breaks for commercial and when it comes back, Peter says they’re all set to go and the interrogation starts. Time passes in the lab while the audience watches commercials.

Community. In “Introduction to Finality,” Greendale has a court trial to decide a business matter between Shirley and Pierce. Dean Pelton acts as judge and when he calls for a recess, the show goes to commercial. Then it comes back and the trial continues. The commercial break doubles as the court recess for the characters.

Both of these examples show an awareness for television format. Most shows have scenes built to fit between commercial breaks, but these are the first episodes I noticed where the characters’ actions and dialogue trigger commercial breaks.

24 did stuff like this all the time because of the real-time nature of the show, but Fringe and Community don’t have to follow the same sort of timing restraints.

I’m not sure if these examples count as breaking the fourth wall since they don’t address the audience. Instead, the writers and editors are acknowledging the medium and creating a connection between the fictional and real worlds. That’s what makes me think about the fourth wall concept, but I wonder if there’s another term for this.

11 Ways to Improve Your Online Forums

May 10, 2012 / Catchall / forums

Low activity, growing pains, inactive staff…these are all problems that online forums face. Here are a few tips to improve your members’ experience on your site. Everything here is based on my experience as an administrator in the Supernatural.tv Forums.

1. Welcome new members. People want to join active communities. They want your forums to be worth their time. The least you can do is say hi after they sign up.

2. Add more content. Start discussions. Contribute to current topics. Keep the conversations going.

3. Clean up your policies. Update your rules and revise them as necessary. Be sure they are clear and concise.

4. Buckle down on the rule breakers. It’s one thing to give second chances. Another to let a member break the rules over and over. Ban members who don’t respect your forum policies. Otherwise, they’ll keep disrupting your community.

5. Promote your site. Use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and blogs to attract new members. Be smart about it—promote in relevant places and do not spam. The more ways you reach out to people, the more people can interact with you and discover your site.

6. Redesign the site. Or at least freshen up the banner at the top.

7. Reorganize. How can you improve the navigation of your forums? Do you need to add new sections? Clear out old, dead discussion topics—either delete them or move them to an archive section.

8. Encourage the staff to interact with members. Your staff should talk to members—not be aloof.

9. Add or replace mods. If some of your staff members have become inactive, replace them. If your membership has grown, maybe you need to add moderators to your staff. Different people on your team gives your site a different kind of energy. Be sure the staff members are passionate and have the same goals as you do for the forums.

10. Plan activities or incentives to keep people interested in your forum. Fan of the month. A competition or a contest. Special areas for long-time members. Think about what’s relevant for your community and what will encourage people to stick around, and then do it.

11. Ask for feedback. Your members may suggest something you haven’t thought about. You won’t know what they’re thinking unless you ask.