I submitted this to the Buzz Bugle feature on buzzComix. Don’t know if it’ll be accepted, so I’m posting it here:

The Recent Immigration to buzzComix

A note for all the smaller comics observing this migration:

TWC goes kaput. Now, buzzComix is the premier top list for webcomics. With the directions both top lists had been taken, one could argue that it was inevitable that this would happen. The wish for buzzComix to be number 1 has certainly been expressed before. So, what does all this mean, and what happens next?

The change has brought in many more successful webcomics to buzzComix. Some are upset by this. Their rankings have dropped considerably since the change, and they express their anger towards the bigger webcomics. However, there are only so many big comics; they couldn’t have made our rankings drop so much.

I say the cause is actually the influx of middle-sized and small comics. Let’s say someone got 5 votes before, early on in the month and sat pretty comfortably on the list. Now, there are perhaps twenty other comics with the same number of votes. There are also more people with 1 more vote than the original person, and more people with 2 votes more, and so on. We’ve been crowded out of the list.

Yet, I don’t mean to blame it all on the smaller comics which are new to bCx. On the contrary, it means there are more people just like you. Shouldn’t we embrace each other, rather than be mad at other comics who are struggling just as we are? We should understand that webcomics are different from traditional products. If I’m buying one brand of paper towels, that probably means I’m not buying other brands. With webcomics, if you decide to read a new comic, you usually don’t quit reading the original comic. If one comic links to another, it doesn’t take away readership.

This means reach out and link each other. Have you seen the Dayfree Press thing on Ctrl-Alt-Del and other comics? Do something similar. Form webrings. Form clubs. Communicate. Share.

Just because buzzComix has gained the comics that used to be on TWC doesn’t mean it will become TWC. What it becomes is what we, all the members of bCx, choose for it to become. bCx can be a more friendly, inclusive community, but only if we choose for it to be such.”