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Help Required for Running Brass Goggles

Dear all,

With recent outages of Brass Goggles and the Steampunk Forum (for which I am sincerely sorry for) and my lack of regular posts in the last few months, I finally admit that while I struggle alone – I could really do with some help.

So I thought I better ask here first – because I know that there are phenomenally talented people both here and on the forum, and no-one knows Steampunk and Brass Goggles better than the readers.

I’ve got two ‘roles’ to fill, you see:

  1. Co-Writer for Brass Goggles.
  2. Technical Aetherweb Assistance.

The co-writer would help me keep the post regularity up here on Brass Goggles – I have no shortage of things to post about, I merely lack real world time to turn them into posts written with care.  If there were someone enthusiastic about Steampunk who could in their own well written style contribute 2-4 posts a week, remembering to stay on the lighter side of Steampunk, I’d very much like to hear from them.  If I get more than one volunteer (as I have one volunteer already – a very kind offer indeed) then I’ll have to make some tough choices, but anyone who offers to help already has my heartfelt thanks.

The technical request is due to my lack of cunning with the more technical side of running this site.  As you may know, Brass Goggles is run on Wordpress (a rather out of date version) and the forum runs on Simple Machines (again, somewhat out of date).  I’m with Fasthosts, mostly due to the fact that I have unlimited bandwidth.  I’m really seeking some occasional assistance to get things up to date, stop the hacking that has been sneaking in (my apologies to anyone who saw the contents of that RSS feed), and generally get this house in order once again.  An occasional hand, really.
The Brass Goggles site is something I run because I love Steampunk (and the people involved in it) and I do not make money from it – that said, I pay for the hosting out of my own pocket and always consider the donations I occasionally get to be ‘extra thanks’ so while I could not pay a co-writer over any length of time, nor could I ‘employ’ an aetherweb advisor, I’d like to give out occasional gifts of thanks from the ‘kitty’ as and when appropriate if I could.

Thank you for your time, and consideration, if you think you could be of assistance, please either comment below with a link to an example of your writing (preferrably to do with Steampunk) if you are interested in co-writing, or with some indication that you have aetherweb muscles AND brains to technically assist.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 2:07 pm by Tinkergirl and is filed under Projects, Uncategorized.

  • nice! [IMG]http://rich-niche.info/cookie/img/smilies/happy.gif[/IMG]
  • Every time i come here I am not dissapointed, nice post
  • Connor MacPhie
    Hello,

    Please allow me to introduce myself…

    I am Connor MacPhie. Late of the US Navy, the SCA and of Amtgard. I am currently between jobs and about to start work on my degree in the IT field

    I am also an amateur writer and an avid reader of fiction and fantasy. I have always been "out of my time", and Steampunk has fallen into my latest out-of-temporal experience (or more accurately, me into it).

    Steampunk is a genre that has had great appeal to me and though I have known about the concept for years (John Carter of Mars being my first introduction, followed by Verne, Wells, Shelly, and later Space 1889), with the release of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and more recently The Golden Compass and Stardust, I have found my interest in Steampunk growing. Recently I have even begun my own works in the Victorian Sci-Fi / Fantasy concept.

    The reason I am writing is that I am offering my services in this particular field. I am currently in the process of reading “Whitechapel Gods” by S.M. Peters and upon completion would be happy to give you a synopsis and review of the work.

    Briefly: Whitechapel Gods is a story set in Victorian London, of the underground rebels trying to overthrow two supernatural entities known as Grandfather Clock (the embodiment of logic and reason) and Mama Engine (the goddess of sentiment and intuition) and their forces. Elements in this story are ash-laden skies, goggle wearing street thugs and a steam powered rifle toting German taking on the black and gold cloaked half-human / half-machine converts to these new gods and even their dreaded Boiler Men (think of a clockwork / steam powered Terminator). To compound the issue, the Clacks, a disease that changes flesh into mechanical facsimiles, is tearing through the citizens of Whitechapel…

    After this I would be more than willing to hit Amazon or my local B&N and Books-a-Million on a regular basis dig up anything else I can find and periodically drop the newest review of the latest Steampunk fiction.

    Very Respectfully,
    Connor MacPhie.

    p.s.

    Writing my letters in Word, then cutting and pasting into the post window saves my phonetically spelling behind almost every time.
  • To Miss Tinkergirl, Esquire, regarding her Post;

    Firstly, I would like to extend my apologies for the tardiness of my reply. My gossamer dirigible was accosted by aetheric winds as I made my way back from my latest expedition. Upon my return, I was taken ill with the bite of an electrogalvanized tsetse fly that one of my jealous scientific rivals released into my cabin upon landing. Once I had properly realigned my magnetic regularity, an associate of mine informed me of your post and bade me to respond with all haste.

    By special appointment to her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Empress of India, I have recently begun an electronically distributed periodical dedicated to my fascination with the modern scientific advances in steamworks, pneumatics, hydraulics, clockwork, &c. It would be my pleasure and my honor if you were to allow me to combine my efforts with yours and contribute to this most excellent publication.

    Yours faithfully,
    Lord Admiral of Her Majesty's Airship Fleet

    P.S. Please excuse the colonial spelling. I am using Messrs. Hyatt and Ross's "Fox of Fire" tool for transelectronic communication.

    OOC I graduated from university with two BAs, one in Literature and one in Philosophy. I write fiction as a hobby and twice won first place in my university's creative writing competition in the fiction category.
  • Hopkins.
    Ms. Tinkergirl:

    I am not familiar with you or with ‘Brass Goggles’. I HAVEover the years, however, slipped quite completely into the Gaslight.
    After writing for editors who clamor for Victorian-style, I am confident in my ability to keep your readers devoted, entertained, and informed.
    As for money, I certainly do not need any. Being a long-time writer, it would be my pleasure to write for the public on a much more personal level than I am used to.
    You will be able to contact me any time you wish at the address I have enclosed, and I DO expect to hear from you soon.

    With all due respect,
    Hopkins.
  • You're correct on "an" vrs. "a". But then again, I'm not selling myself as a possible writer - just a grouch who complains about grammar and spelling. :-)
  • Chase
    That would be "AN editor that has spell checking..."
  • Wow! This is just my teeny two cents worth, but geez guys. Part of writing is spelling and stuff, you know? I keep a little paperback dictionary next to my monitor and my most misspelled words on a yellow sticky on the monitor. If you're trying to talk the owner into letting you write for him, at least have the sense to do some basic spell-checking before you post. Hint: try doing your writing in a editor that has spell checking then cut/paste into the text block.

    Sorry, but spelling and grammar is one of my pet peeves. BTW, I went to my dictionary three times for this little post.
  • Chase
    Hello,

    I'm a semi-professional journalist with a background in web writing that includes gaming articles for Gamasutra.com and The Escapist, as well as blog posts for Gamasutra's sister site, gamesetwatch.com. I have little in the way of steampunk writing currently, but it has always been a fascination of mine and I would love to delve deeper. I currently work a non-writing related job that leaves me plenty of browsing time, and my content aggregation skills are second-to-none. I look forward to an opportunity to speak with you further on this matter.

    Cordially yours,

    Chase M, Esq.
  • Peter
    I would like to help in capacity necessary. I've been active in journalism since High School and now in a University setting. I am also currently employed as an IT Coordinator at a Nation Wide Environmental Consulting firm. Above all else, I am a great fan of both the website and Steampunk in general.

    Cheers!
  • Also,
    With regards to examples, please contact me at the e-mail address included with this post. I am able to send you a steampunk related Doctor Steel article however it includes exclusive content and must only be viewed by yourself as it will go to print in the coming months.

    Although somewhat not of a blog nature and more of an art/critic view point, I hope you see it as a way of looking at the level of journalism I do. In summary, please don't view it as content that I think would be suitable for this site but rather an introduction to my level of writing and presentation.

    Best Regards,
    Leo
  • Hi,
    I'm an avid lover of steam punk and all things related.
    At present I've just completed an article on the life and work of Doctor Steel for Clutter magazine, a major designer and vinyl toy magazine in the industry.

    I'd gladly act as a co-writer.

    Another steam punk artist in my industry is Doktor A who I've spoke to and quoted in doing the particular steam punk related article I've just completed, as such I could source various people who are doing things in steampunk culture for various news if you'd like.

    I'm sure I could spare the odd intelligent blog/topic each day atleast!

    Best regards and all the best to everyone offering their help,
    Leo
  • Phil
    I would love to assist in your writing needs however I do not currently have anything up that I could easily point to however I have kept Wordpress blogs for sometime now. I imagine the list of people who want to assist is fairly long but if you are still looking for candidates I would be happy to send you something by email. Good luck.
  • I wish I could help - I really do, but I'm afraid I'd probably make maters worse!! Especially over on the forum.....

    Do let me know if I can help and I'll see what I can do.
  • klockwork kobbler
    while i'm not a fantastic whizz with tech, nor a great writer, i'd be willing to help where needed, even if its just a dogsbody.
    yours,
    ~Kai
  • I'd be glad to throw in my skills on writing posts. You can see samples of my work at...http://frogblog.bullfrogmusic.com.

    Keep up the good work.

    Regards,
    Jeremiah Sutherland
  • Jarbilong
    dear writer,
    over the years I have become fasinated by steampunk and the main reason for this fixation is because I stumbled upon your website, and I could think of no better way to return the favour other than volunteer for the Co-Writer position, as I have much free time on my hands and an extensive knowledge of steampunk. And I know its completely off the topic but do you know who will be directing "Larklight"?

    Jarbilong
  • markf
    Ms T - here's a possible alternative pathway to fix the problem. I truly enjoy the Steampunk Forum/Brass Goggles and would have no qualms at all about voluntarily contributing a yearly amount of money. If you had a 'Contribute Here' button somewhere on the homepage you might be surprised how many loyal SG/BG members would contribute in recognition of your good work - perhaps enough to hire a part time employee to help out with the automation chores or get a more experienced person from this long list of volunteers who could be paid on a monthly or work product basis. markf
  • I wish to volunteer to help, by offering you an opportunity to allow me to run a Miss-Manners-like Advice Column for Brass Goggles.

    My alter-ego's pen name is Katarina Glockenspiel, and she would be delighted to offer help to the lovelorn, the costume-challenged, the mad scientists struggling with staffing issues, and even hostesses who are hoping to give gorgeous tea parties, but need assistance with etiquette for such an endeavor.

    Miss Glockenspiel will cheerfully and tactfully answer any question; or at least direct readers to the appropriate links.

    I do not have very many steampunk essays on the internet for you to see, however I did begin a community on LiveJournal devoted to steampunk gatherings in the St. Louis area. This is the website to which I have directed you above. I also ran an advice column in my regular journal but the flavor of that piece was based upon Star Trek mythology, and is therefore not a good example of steampunk-related essay skills.

    If you are interested in allowing me to run a steampunk advice column, please send me a reply.

    Thank you for your consideration,
    Katarina Glockenspiel
    (Tricia Overkamp)
  • My Evil Manservant Jeebes informs me that you have an opening through which I might like to insinuiate myself. Hence, this missive.
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