by angstorm » Mon Aug 09, 2004 3:14 pm
Hmm, this is more complex than I'd thought. I see two major alternatives:
(1) Sketchbook Sessions *IS* The Drawing Board. The board and the LA sketching crew are one and the same. The SBS site exists to promote the LA crew and its products. The site already refers to the drawing board as its forum. A vanity domain can be bought to redirect traffic, but it may be easier to advertise "sketchbooksessions.com" and have people find the forum link there because all links go to "sketchbooksessions.com". The URL is modified to remove "shane" to finalize the change of ownership. The forum is the last link on the second page of the SBS site, and under this scheme, the forum remains a minor part of it.
(2) Sketchbook Sessions *ISN'T* The Drawing Board -- the board and the LA crew are separate political entities. A domain called "drawingboard.org" is bought and all board stuff is moved there. Under this scheme, the drawing board site is totally separate from the SBS site, other than the "courtesy of" links. Each site can grow and evolve to meet its group's needs.
I prefer the second option. We have two groups with different agendas and leaders. Sketchbook Sessions is a group of LA artists meeting at Shane Corn's house which have a printed portfolio used to solicit work. The board is an international contingent where most of the admins aren't part of the LA sketching crew. As each group grows larger, there's a greater chance for problems because what's good for one group is not always good for the other. I obviously have much respect for Rick, Rob and the SBS -- I'm just trying to point out that the path we've been on isn't necessarily the best one for both groups.