Early topics included Festivals, Events & Happenings, DV Production, Fundraising, Rights and Clearances, Marketing Through the Internet, Distribution and Shameless Self-Promotion.
[4] Block continues to be a co-host of The D-Word, together with documentary makers Ben Kempas (between 2001–2014); John Burgan (between 2005–2018); Marjan Safinia (from 2009); Erica Ginsberg (from 2011); Niam Itani (from 2013); Heidi Fleisher, Peter Gerard, and Paul Szynol (between 2016–2018).
[2] Members of The D-Word engaged in two collaborative projects, composed of short films themed around Essays on Docs, a reflection on filmmaking, as well as War and Peace, the community's reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Past guests include Anand Patwardhan, Albert Maysles, Sandi Simcha DuBowski, Ross McElwee, Jennifer Fox and Katherine Nolfi.
[5] The D-Word's public discussions have explored topics such as "Reaching a Wider Audience" with Lance Weiler; a conference on the use of social networks by filmmakers; a panel on new online distribution platforms for documentaries, and reactions by broadcasters to the broadband developments.
It partners with Docs in Progress on Peer Pitch, a program held in various U.S. locations for documentary filmmakers with works-in-progress at any stage of development to get feedback.