State of the Clan: 2018

It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again.

No seriously, where did 2017 go?  It seemed like yesterday I was working on last year’s State of the Clan Post.

So a quick recap.

We had a lot of things going on here at the Manor.

Major updates to the Wiki. *eyes Bob* who still is tossing ideas and characters our way.  No seriously, you can stop now.

Bob: *wicked chuckle and runs off*

That isn’t going to end well for me.

There was Ernesto Olivetti Appreciation Week.  When we ended up having to do major adjustments in Roads Untravelled (we had no idea it would be THAT many adjustments or TAKE that long to do it) we decided to make an event around the new updated version.  I was honestly only planning something small … but it’s Ernesto so it was go big or go home.

We then ended up with Pirate Appreciation Day.  Warrick is still wondering how he ended up with one day, shared with all the other pirates.

We had great stories showcasing our wide variety of characters, awesome artwork, and some inspiring videos.

As a reminder.

Sylum is a safe place.

This will always be a place where all are welcome.

I know there are still many of you who are worried about what’s going on, not just here in the US, but around the world, and need a place to be … well … just be.  Sylum is a place where you can leave the world behind.  There will be no talk about politics, and we will not tolerate bigotry in any form.

Sylum is about one thing: Love your Neighbor.

Which means our doors are open.

So come on in, grab a drink and head out to the Veranda – Thomas has snacks, the dogs are playing in the back, Nick’s got the bbq going, and Warrick is running the tables.

So with that in mind, we have a full schedule of events in store for 2018.

So I’m sure the first question still on everyone’s mind.

When is Clan War going to be finished!?!?!!?

*pointedly looks at Ernesto*

Yeah, there’s a reason why Clan War got derailed – so to speak.  The best I can tell you is … we’re working on it.  There is so much going on, not just on Clan War, but also new stories, and behind the scenes on the Wiki, Blog, and Website.

Plus.

RL hit all the Sylum Writers hard this year.  Between health conditions, natural disasters, and everything else you can think of – it hasn’t been an easy year.

For me personally, I’ve had a major upheaval in my professional life (unfortunately I can’t work on Sylum full time … I wish, but still need to pay the bills).  Without getting into too much detail, my professional career has been thrown for a wild loop.  Good news is, I still have a job, but it has halted my ability to work on Sylum as much as I used to.

But that doesn’t mean Sylum is coming to a halt!!

Far from it!  *eyes Speed*

We have many things planned for this year!

Starting with our normal yearly Sylum Events!

Spring Fling: Sign ups have already been posted, and the event will begin April 1st.

Seven Days of Summer: Sign ups will be in May, and posting will start July 1st.

Sylum Advent: Sign ups will be in October, and posting will start December 1st.

If you’re interested in participating in any of the Events, please sign up!  We’re always looking for new artists and writers.  There are 1015 … 1037 (1015 was so last year) characters in the Sylum Wiki, only about a 200 have been used for stories.  There are a lot of lonely character who would love some attention.

In between Sylum Events, we’ll always make sure there is something from Sylum in your inbox every day!

• Sylum Inspiration – these tie into our Monthly Calendars.  This year we’re showcasing a different set of characters each month.  A few of the themes to look forward to: Medical Personal, Woman Only, Hackers etc.
• Sylum Information – Last year we had ‘Sylum Location’, that showcased cities from each of the Clans, we highlighted.  This year we’ll give you ‘Sylum Information’ that will coordinate with the earlier ‘Sylum Inspiration’ post.
• Throwback Thursdays – to highlight old stories, artwork, videos, and even old posts.
• Coffee House Friday – I encourage everyone to comment on all posts!  But Coffee House Friday is designed for members to have an open discussion!
• Random Posts – Inspiration for Sylum, showcasing pets, cars, locations, basically anything is fair game!
• International and Religious Holidays – As this is an International Community we want to highlight Holidays from around the world, and from all Religions.
• Teasers/Snippets – When we feel like being evil *cackles*

Plus …

Sylum Wiki Image Updates: We’re constantly updating the images for the bios in the Sylum Wiki.  Sylum’s Resident Artist: taibhrigh, has done an amazing job over the past year, providing us with over 25o images.  Despite us tossing around *calculates* almost 100 new characters that have either been added to the Wiki or will be coming soon.

Sylum Appreciation Days: We’ve got two special ‘Sylum Appreciation’ events planned for this year.

Nicolaus Weekend: March 1st (Nico’s Birthday) through March 4th.

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Fassbender Fortnight:  August (Dates: TBA)

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Okay, now for the Big Announcement!  

We’re working on a new Sylum Archive!!

The software being used for the Archive, at this moment, has been discontinued.  They are no longer supporting it, and hasn’t been updated in years.  It’s starting to fail.

So we decided before it fails completely, and our screams could be heard around the world, to build a new one in a more stable environment.

This new archive will only be for Sylum Canon Stories!  Stories that will be moved into this Archive, will be edited to fit Sylum’s updated version.  This will be an ongoing process, and old versions will be deleted in time.

We WILL announce when it is opened, and you WILL be informed of new stories being uploaded, so you will not miss anything.

At the moment, any stories from recent Events will be staying on the Blog until they are transferred to the new Archive.

If you’re a Sylum writer, I’ll be contacting you with login information and what you will need to edit for your stories, before uploading.

If you are simply a Sylum reader, watch for announcements.

Any stories that were AU/Non-Canon will not be transferred over.

The old Archive will not be going way any time soon, as all of this will be a slow process.  But to warn you now, if there is a favorite AU/Non-Canon story that you just can’t do without in your life, go grab it.

What should you expect to see story wise in 2018?

At this moment, Bob alone knows.

There are stories in the works, re-writes being done, characters weaseling their way into EVERYTHING!

What can you do to help us?

Feedback!  Feedback!  Feedback!  I can’t stress this enough – Feedback!

Take the five extra seconds and reply to a fic/art post and leave a comment, especially during Sylum Events.  It doesn’t have to be a 1000 word essay, but a few words will go a long way.  The writers and artists don’t get paid for any of this, so a simple note makes the world of difference!

Donations:

It now costs $150 a year to host sylumclan.com, this includes the main site, the Blog, and the Wiki.  On top of that, we pay for data backup, data security, and spam protection.  All donations for the website go directly to Dreamhost – we don’t see any of it.  Donate Here.

The Hosting Fees are just a small portion of what goes into building and maintaining Sylum.  I do this because I love the characters, the ‘fandom’, the people, and even the Bobs *shifty eyes*.  And as Sylum has grown and expanded beyond anything I ever imagined, I can say, hand on heart, that all your help is appreciated.

Sylum Vault, is now past it’s two year mark.  We’ve evolved more into creating unique items from your ‘Favorite Fandoms’.  Plus, we’ve recently added Bookmarks as a new category, perfect gifts for yourself or others.

Nicholas J. Finch:

Coming this year.

A website dedicated to my published work.

At this moment it’s in the construction stage, but in time it will have links to everywhere that you can find my work.  Plus, there will be updates and posts about upcoming stories.

Two books are being worked on.

An anthology for First Dates.

Secret Service Agent.

An announcement will be made when this website is opened for the public.  In the meantime you can always check out this Page here on the Blog.

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In conclusion.

Be kind.

Be courteous.

Be good to each other.

Sincerely,

The General

And Bob

And to leave you with one final thought…

… in one year, we’ll hit our 15th Anniversary!