A Forum Wide Brainstorm Session

[Joan Marie]

For the next few days everyone is invited to participate in a brainstorming session for the Cult of Tarot Forum.

Over these past few months since the Cult of Tarot first made its way into the world Tarot community, it has grown and shaped itself into a little oasis of study and practice and appreciation of all the things we love about tarot.

And now it's time to level-up.

What is the modern Tarot community in the year 2019 looking for in a forum?

How can we support. accommodate and complement all the brilliant people out there with tarot websites and blogs and youtube channels and podcasts?

And what about all the live events happening all over, symposia, conferences and the like? How can we take part in them or at least get some coverage of what went on for those who can't attend in person? Same for ever-growing number of online events.

Are there events we could be initiating?

How can we as a forum give exposure to and exhibit all the art, all the decks being produced and the artists who bring them to us? Same for all the tarot books and magazines being published.

Are there things we could do to make this forum a hub for all this activity? How can we bring together the audience for all this enterprise and energy?

And what about all the new people coming to Tarot? What can we offer them to help bring them into this strange and wonderful community and what beautiful surprises do they have in store for us?

We have the chance now to create the next generation of Tarot Forum while keeping the flame of tradition alive.

And that’s why we are doing this brainstorming session. We need all your ideas about how to reach all the people we have not yet reached and how to create a place they will all want to be part of.

If you have had any ideas, thoughts or comments you’ve wanted to share, now is the time to do it. And if this message is making you think about new ideas, and I hope it does, then please share those.

Every idea has value and every idea has the potential to spark another one, so don’t be shy and don’t hold back. This is how great things get done. Please share your ideas, words of support and constructive criticisms here in this thread. If it really gets going, I may break it into categories for more in-depth discussions.

We’ve built a good thing here so far. Now let’s see how we can make the Cult of Tarot Forum even more appealing, more attractive, more interesting, more inclusive, more useful and more fun!

please see this comment to for more clarity

[jaq]

What is the modern Tarot community in the year 2019 looking for in a forum?

How can we support. accommodate and complement all the brilliant people out there with tarot websites and blogs and youtube channels and podcasts?

We could have an area/posts where we talk about a post/site/etc. that we found helpful. A "toolbox" sort of thing. Reviews maybe? Could we ask them to review us back? I know some people are not into linking out (I think AT was not a big fan of it) but that's sort of how the internet works,

And what about all the live events happening all over, symposia, conferences and the like? How can we take part in them or at least get some coverage of what went on for those who can't attend in person? Same for ever-growing number of online events.

Could we do some sort of Kickstarter thing where we enable a senior CoT participant to participate, bring CoT material, and report back?

Are there things we could do to make this forum a hub for all this activity? How can we bring together the audience for all this enterprise and energy?

In my experience, and having been on the internet since before the world wide web (who remembers bulletin boards?) in order to be sustainable, you need a sense of community, presence, mass, and good moderation. (I'm sure you've read lots of articles like this https://fizzle.co/sparkline/active-community/) It's an enormous amount of work.

And what about all the new people coming to Tarot? What can we offer them to help bring them into this strange and wonderful community and what beautiful surprises do they have in store for us?

What about a buddy system? See if there are older, more experienced members, who would be willing to buddy up with a newer member, guide them a little through the maze of what there is out there, while listening to their needs and ideas, some of which will be new and inspiring.

[jaq]

Oh, and another thing, although I'm sure you looked at it. What does the SEO say? How do people on the internet find us? Take it seriously! When I had my blog, which was a mix of psychology (I'm a counsellor), creativity, spirituality and social justice, early on, after having written a post or two about anorexia, I discovered that there were a whole bunch of people who found my blog through querying "anorexia and sex." I am grateful to this day that I didn't roll my eyes about this and disregard it but took it seriously. Had a post on musing about why people would look for that, which attracted more people looking for anorexia in general, which ended up in writing more posts about anorexia, which led to a nice little forum on my blog for people to talk about their experiences with anorexia.

[Joan Marie]

Thank you jaq for getting this discussion kicked off!

I want to add that we aren't necessarily looking for "solutions" here (though they are welcome if you have them!)

I'm also looking for concepts to work with, like "people new to tarot are concerned about..." or "I'd like to participate in a forum more but I have a blog so I focus my writing there, but I would particpate more if..."

Things like that would help get thoughts and ideas stirring.

So don't think you have to solve any problems, just raising issues and realities is immensely helpful.

[BlueStar]

How about a resources section - a place to list resources on the web whether they be YouTube channels, websites, blogs, learning sites, events or other things that could be useful to anyone learning or interested in Tarot? As well as being useful for existing members it could also draw new ones - they find the resources pages then find the forum:)

I'm sure there are some great resources out there that get missed just because you don't always stumble upon them.

[Nemia]

I think one problem all post-AT forums have is the fact that none of us can replace AT with its accumulation of knowledge on all levels. People want to board an oceanliner like AT, well-equipped and with an answer to every question and need, and instead they board much smaller vessels where they have to man the oars themselves and get wet I hope my metaphor makes sense.

It's more work to be a member of a smaller, less encyclopedic forum than AT was, and it's not the same feeling. I guess that some new members come, look around, think "that's all you have to offer? where is Thelema? where is Kipper?" etc and move on. There are many forums and blogs and also good commercial websites.

I personally feel it's nice to be active on a newer and smaller forum with a strong individual profile (emphasis on artists and tarot creators, not only "consumers") (no insult meant, I'm a consumer myself!). I hope newcomers don't feel intimidated and everybody can make a real impact.

Over time, we'll grow, too, and the more active members are, the more expertise they bring along, the better we'll become. But we can't hurry that process.

I have no solutions, I only want to encourage everybody to write, to ask, to share their musings, ideas, doubts, questions and certainties with us. Every contribution is valuable.

[Nemia]

How about a resources section - a place to list resources on the web whether they be YouTube channels, websites, blogs, learning sites, events or other things that could be useful to anyone learning or interested in Tarot? As well as being useful for existing members it could also draw new ones - they find the resources pages then find the forum:)

I'm sure there are some great resources out there that get missed just because you don't always stumble upon them.

Very good idea - our Misc. section could be re-organized, there are some threads that would fit into a Resources board.

[Joan Marie]

A resources page is a great idea for so many reasons. I think I have an idea for how to set it up. Right now there are several open threads naming good blogs etc, but a dedicated page, something like this, would be so much better. (I realise the format could be improved).

And I think Nemia's metaphor really addresses something I failed to mention specifically in my original post, which is in addition to attracting people new to tarot, how can we engage people "old " to tarot? And I think she nailed the issue.

After a long leisurely ride on the "H.M.S. Aeclectic", people are finding it hard to find a comfortable cabin on all the little "S.S. Minnows" that popped up like little life rafts and are now floundering in the heavy wake left by AT. (Is it possible to take a good metaphor too far? Clearly I don't think so! )

This needs to be considered seriously. To begin, I think it's important to set proper expectations to subvert the disappointment people might feel at what the forum lacks and develop an appreciation for what it offers. Additionally, I think many of the big contributors at AT have their own blogs and such now.

But everyone is struggling for the audience, which is enormous. I'm wondering if there are ways to set up a kind of "network" that would allow everyone to share their audience and grow it into something more cohesive. A resource page is a really good start, but as jaq mentioned, (and also what I mean by "Network") is it has to go both ways, intertwining links.

Great start everyone! Keep it coming please!

[Joan Marie]

And what about all the live events happening all over, symposia, conferences and the like? How can we take part in them or at least get some coverage of what went on for those who can't attend in person? Same for ever-growing number of online events.

Could we do some sort of Kickstarter thing where we enable a senior CoT participant to participate, bring CoT material, and report back?

Or maybe, at least to begin with, if we could hook up with someone who is already going and ask them to report back, send pics, take it as far as they are able. Do interviews, whatever.

This would have to be someone looking for a platform that we could provide here.

There are also online events. For example, right now is Ethony's "31 days of Tarot" that I've seen several scattered blog posts on.

Last summer there was a "24-hour tarot-a-thon" online. We had a thread about it here but it would have been interesting to follow up on it. Maybe ask the organiser how it went, what else is planned. It had a pretty good turnout and involved a lot of youtube tarot channels.

Again, to the end of sharing and growing audiences. Cross-referencing, intertwining.

[BlueStar]

I'm wondering if there are ways to set up a kind of "network" that would allow everyone to share their audience and grow it into something more cohesive. A resource page is a really good start, but as jaq mentioned, (and also what I mean by "Network") is it has to go both ways, intertwining links.

Great start everyone! Keep it coming please!

Perhaps there is a way to set up some kind of blog/website network ring - I don't know how this would be done lol, I just remember seeing a network ring on a different site years ago where you could list your website/blog/whatever and it would be shown along with other peoples and everyone include some links of the other members sites to share on your their own site, so it's helping others too (at least I think that's roughly how it was done). I vaguely remember seeing something in a sidebar with a banner or pic saying network ring and maybe listing the sites included.

It might not be a good idea, I don't know, just throwing it out there:)

[Nemia]

That would be wonderful. I know that in other forums, they also do the seasonal readings (solstices and equinoxes). I'd love to link them all together so we can have a feeling of a larger community.

If everybody here is okay with it, I'll contact other forums before the vernal equinox reading in March, and we'll link to each other. That's only a small step, of course - having something like a blog ring would be great.

[Eva4]

You'll want to somehow influence how you show up in Google search results. Will you be the first one on the list? Also, I think people were attracted to AT because it had something unique but basic that stood out: a library of tarot decks and their sample images. I realize, of course, the internet has changed a lot and now most people can go anywhere to find out about a deck. But I don't know about browsing through them in one place anymore. Anyway, I hope this helps. I would also change the look of the website, but you'll probably need some designers or other more skilled people to give you ideas here. No offense! Well, I hope this helps. Thank you for inviting me!

[Joan Marie]

Also, I think people were attracted to AT because it had something unique but basic that stood out: a library of tarot decks and their sample images.

Thanks for your comments!

We are in the process of building a Library of Decks, picking up where AT left off. (no sense in trying to replace what they already did) Hundreds of decks have been published since AT closed and hundreds more were never added. It's a huge undertaking but we are working on exactly that.

The link is in the menu bar up top, left side. or here

[Monica]

Perhaps a direct chat section where you can chat with members directly

[PamelaSteele]

There're lots of new spreads being developed as well as old favorites. Do we have a spot for those?

[Charlie Brown]

The link is in the menu bar up top, left side. or here

I will say that I think it isn't very easy to find or clear that there's that kind of a growing resource available. Thinking of a better way to advertise the new library should probably be a top priority for growing the site.

[Joan Marie]

The link is in the menu bar up top, left side. or here

I will say that I think it isn't very easy to find or clear that there's that kind of a growing resource available. Thinking of a better way to advertise the new library should probably be a top priority for growing the site.

I think you are right about that. And as we consider adding other similar resources, this needs to be addressed for sure. It's not very feasible to have info boxes all over the home page pointing to everything. There's already a lot of them to highlight current things. I could put them on the left side as well as the right but I really think that would make the home page too busy and hectic looking.

It's possible I could create a kind of "Quick reference" page with direct links to popular parts of the forum. I'm starting to figure out that not everybody has the patience or will to really look through all the selections we have and see what's even here. It needs to be made easier to find certain things.

By the way everybody, I'm reading all your comments, I'm just not able to respond to everything right away but I will. I appreciate all your input so much.

[Paula Millet]

What would interest me, and hopefully others, is to have an organized way to sort through the topics and postings: a general directory. Nothing too granular: many of the topics overlap. Just an index for sorting though all the information.
-Paula Millet

[greycats]

A couple if pedestrian pieces of advice to attract and hold new members:

1. First and foremost make entering and leaving the forum as simple as possible. Sounds unexciting but it's why I quit most of the initial post-Aeclectic sites within the first month.

2. For some people, hey for a lot of people, decks are the thing. They put their search engines to work looking for "Tarot Decks," (but maybe not for"library." ) Aeclectic's deck section is large, but it was never complete even when the site was live. Moreover it featured decks that were very unfinished; many have remained so. So, the Cult can compete. Get those illustrated decks out there. Are they published and where can one buy them are other bits deck lovers want to know. Deck collectors will check every week, even every day, for new information if the site is 1) growing and 2) reliable.

[Joan Marie]

1. First and foremost make entering and leaving the forum as simple as possible. Sounds unexciting but it's why I quit most of the initial post-Aeclectic sites within the first month.

Thank you so much greycats. These are really good points. How to best present/promote the Deck Library/List here is becoming a theme of this thread. Definitely an area in need of attention.

I do have a question about your comment I quoted above here.
Could you tell me a little bit more about what you mean by "entering and leaving the forum as simple as possible?"

I did make an effort to make registration as easy as possible while still thwarting the bots that tried to plague us early on. I too don't much care for a complex registration process. But I'm not sure that's what you meant.

If you could tell me more about what you mean by entering and leaving, I'd really like to address that. Thank you!

[Joan Marie]

Perhaps a direct chat section where you can chat with members directly

This is a topic I really want to address because it has something to do with my overall "vision" if you will, for this forum. I really appreciate Monica bringing it up and giving me the chance to explain.

I know that people are split on this topic of having a "general chat" area on the forum. Having one would, no doubt, increase "traffic" here. But I think that would come with a cost.

The very nature of what we do here lends to a lot of personal discussion. We talk about relationships, family, jobs, money problems, health, successes, failures, beliefs, faith, doubts, plans, goals, dreams, ideas, opinions. And we discuss and consider all those things, together, through the prism of Tarot. We consider the human condition by studying it's individual parts, it's archetypes and many shades to understand it better, to know it better. To learn and to help each other learn.

Introducing a "general chat" area diffuses that focus, that intention that makes this forum the place that it is. On smaller forums like this one, "general chat" areas, even if it's only one or two little sub-forums, tend to acquire a dominanting presence. They also tend to feed one of the pitfalls many forums fall victim to and that is a proliferation of "inside-y" culture or cliques. I know it isn't meant that way. People are just chatting and enjoying each other, but to anyone outside of that group that forms, (and a group always forms) it feels uninviting. One of my intentions with this forum is that it remain inclusive, always, of all kinds of people and all kinds of voices. I realised early that it's not enough to just say that, steps need to be taken to insure it, to create the right environment for it.

And that is why I have made the decision to not have "general chat" here. We discuss our lives in exchanges, in My Planetary Week, in reading circles, in the Tarot for Self-Discovery & Exploration, section. There are places to discuss our spiritual paths and related interests. We get to know each other and engage in great conversations in these areas. Fun conversations, complex ones, challenging ones. And hardly ever do hear anyone mention their avocado toast, unless they spilled it on their tarot cards.

I just feel like keeping our conversations going through the "tarot prism" as much as possible, we keep this place, this forum, this community an oasis for the experience of the "tarot life".

I really hope I have explained this well. It goes to the heart of why I built The Cult of Tarot and, I hope, what people come to understand and appreciate about it.

[Joan Marie]

Perhaps there is a way to set up some kind of blog/website network ring - I don't know how this would be done lol, I just remember seeing a network ring on a different site years ago where you could list your website/blog/whatever and it would be shown along with other peoples and everyone include some links of the other members sites to share on your their own site, so it's helping others too (at least I think that's roughly how it was done). I vaguely remember seeing something in a sidebar with a banner or pic saying network ring and maybe listing the sites included.

That would be wonderful. I know that in other forums, they also do the seasonal readings (solstices and equinoxes). I'd love to link them all together so we can have a feeling of a larger community.

If everybody here is okay with it, I'll contact other forums before the vernal equinox reading in March, and we'll link to each other. That's only a small step, of course - having something like a blog ring would be great.

I'm not sure the blog ring, at least as it was done in the past, is available anymore. I did a little searching into it and everything turned up that this was a thing from the 90's and early 2000's and that the tech for it died off. Seems it was a victim of modern search engine improvements.

This could probably be a concept taken in by the "Resource Pages" we've talked about. That is if we could get the others to list us on their sites.

Nemia, your idea is good to link up the seasonal readings. I like the idea of the communities joining together for the same activity. Maybe we could just use simple links, or maybe we can come up with an even more clever way to do it. We should be able to figure something out by the March and have a go at it.

[SaturnCeleste]

Hello! I'd like to join in this conversation. I've owned a gaming website for over 16 years now and it's hard to get traffic!! But it can be done. I happen to really like this site. I am an admin at Tarot Tea & Me but I still enjoy getting to the other tarot forums and jumping in conversations. I've been watching this site and it is full of personality but I just don't know why you don't have more members. I think one of the things is how active everyone is here. I've been lucky to have a few people reply to my posts here but not as many that would reply at TT&M. Replying to your members is crucial. It really makes them feel at home. But you have one thread for newcomers so that does not make it easy. I suggest you make an actual Introductions section and allow your new members to make their own threads. This way all moderators and even admins can welcome them and get to know the members better. When other non staff members see the staff participating, they will jump in and welcome also. You really want to bring members into this site so they can call it their own and having their own introduction thread is a great way to kick that off.

Your library is excellent! I've been following it and you guys are doing a terrific job!! I am really impressed and hope this does improve your traffic here. Your site is vibrant, I love the little fun things you have posted on your right hand panel. The colors pop and move and give the site life, keep that up!! I also advise to not get a chat. That will kill your forum very fast. We have a shoutbox for subscribers only but it is not used that much. It is the posts that get you into google. The more posts you have create more pages to your site and therefore more pages in google. That's where you want to be, with google pages! Because I have had my URL for SO many years, I have tens of thousands of pages built up and if you can keep this site going, you will too!

Don't be afraid to get out to other forums. Look around and see what they are doing, you might get some ideas. I'd like to see us all participate in each others forums. Make sure you have a signature linking to your main forum and if you have a website post in the promo sections, most of the other forums have it. At this point Cartomancy is still the biggest since AT. TT&M is next, and then this forum followed by TarotSphere and last is Eclectic. If you comment more on member's posts and have an Introduction section you might find a little more activity. Keep working on your Library, it's really excellent! And get out and post on all of the forums, when members see intelligent and friendly posting and if you have a signature, they will click on it and come here. I often go to all of the forums I listed above and post. Not only to draw attention to my website (Saturn Reads Tarot) but just because I like to get out and participate in other forums. We were all one big family on AT. When we lost that we all went different ways but you know what? We're still all one big family of tarot readers and tarot lovers.

Good luck to you Joan Marie, I truly mean that. And if you ever want to contact me, just send a PM, I'll be around.

[Joan Marie]

Good luck to you Joan Marie, I truly mean that. And if you ever want to contact me, just send a PM, I'll be around.

This is all great advice. Thank you so much SaturnCeleste!

What you say about people responding to posts is so true and I hope all of us here take it to heart. This is a place where we can all contribute.

I would add that people seem reluctant to comment on other people's reading exchanges or self reading (My Planetary Week for instance) maybe thinking that would be intrusive or something, but it's not, I don't think. It's a forum right, and we do these readings in public to help each other.

I really think we should encourage more comment on these readings. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

One thing I am on the fence about, I do absolutely see your point about the "welcome threads."

The idea with the single thread was to avoid the, forgive me for saying so, kind of typical repetitive intro and the "usual suspects welcome wagon" that results in a long string of dead threads. (There isn't much to say after, "Glad you joined us.") and replace it with asking people, via an automatically generated welcome letter they receive when they register, to tell a story about themselves and their tarot life and creating a kind of tapestry of the people here. I have to say, the result has been a lot of really interesting and thoughtful stories, each one completely different from the rest. I do personally write each person who shares a tarot story a PM and thank them for telling their story and explain not to be disappointed there isn't a direct response to it in the thread because of the way we are doing it.

The single thread is actually a good read with few interruptions between stories. People are not so likely to open an individual introduction thread very long after it's been posted. The single thread is a kind of living document of our membership.

All that said though I do see your point. Your talking about an ice-breaker kind of thing which I can see is very important. I will think on this and am open to suggestions.

Thanks again for you post and great suggestions. It really is an eye-opener.

[SaturnCeleste]

You're welcome Joan Marie! Make a template form for your newcomers to fill out. Members love to do that kind of thing! And if you want to keep a single thread (which I still advise not to) they will fill out all sorts of things for the forum to share. And yes, the welcome wagon is a thing but not to the new member, it is one of the first things they see when they join. As for old threads, you can do a purge on the really old ones in a year or so but I don't recommend doing any purges on such a new site. You WANT all the pages you can get so keep them hanging around for awhile. So maybe think about a form with questions they can fill out in the introduction section.

Transparency is a good thing for forums; it builds trust in the staff with members. Many admins don't even realize how important their position is! When an admin posts on the boards, members tend to follow on that topic. It stimulates the boards. I'm not going to lie, Joan Marie, it's really hard to keep a board going at first but you have a lot of personality here and I do feel you'll keep expanding.