It just strikes me that the main function of Pedia has become that of a news aggregator where the readers are the information relays (or, the bloggers, if you'd like) . Which is great, and I think is a natural evolution given the new format, It makes a lot of sense.
But even if the idea of the webcomics online zine that is Comixpedia is still alive, wouldn't it be an idea to at least update the Magazine Articles list to reflect that a new cover art has been up for a while now?
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I came to the game late
I came to the game late here, when the site was in flux and the old way of doing things was being changed over to the current format, so I don't have an emotional attachment to the magazine way of doing things. I think maintaining the site as an active forum of webcomic creators and (I assume) fans is a noble pursuit.Â
I will say that the current configuration of forum/blog/story seems a little strange to me. The way the site is built, I'm not really sure what the difference is really between blog and forum entries. Yes, the blogs are tied to the individual user's names, and the forum entries are tied to forum headings, but that's about it.Â
Still, I think the world of this site, and it's one of my top daily destinations.
http://www.graphicsmash.com/comics/johnnysaturn.php
Blogs v Forums
I would use blogs for more self-promotional posts or for timely news posts. Forum posts seem to work better as general topics for discussion.  Not a rule really - just a suggestion.Â
We used to have readers submit stories and they wouldn't appear anywhere until editors reviewed and approved. Switching to the "blog" system gave us a way to let users post immediately and more often. I think it's been a very good thing for site and made it more interesting.Â
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Xaviar Xerexes
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Gnaw.
dont bother, I say
Honestly, "webcomic journalism" is the field of narrow focused fanboys now. The idea is damaged beyond saving and I cant see the work you or anyone here would have to put into to it as being worth the effort.
The current apporach works, and I think it works well. I honestly think you should push in that direction. with more of a focus on user posts
Still Working On it
I don't have large blocks of time for Comixpedia anymore so that's part of the slowdown on longer pieces. I think we'd like to continue the magazine like stuff but those articles never dropped out of the sky into my lap - we always had to recruit and work with people to get articles done.
I think we'll see some of that start up this month - hopefully a bit more next month. But I think you're right that the site has evolved into a more open/community focus and may continue to evolve in that direction - it's very labor-intensive to follow the traditional magazine/journalism format and without any real prospects for a profitable business model it's just not a very sustainable project (you'll notice Comixpedia is not the only webcomics news site to have cut back on longer articles this year).
Providing a platform for people to connect and exchange news and support other webcomics-related efforts & events, however seems to be something that can work over the longer haul.Â
In any event I'm not shouting about it every week but people can contact me about writing for the site if they're interested - I still need to get the archives back in shape (the back issues) too.Â
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Xaviar Xerexes
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Gnaw.