That when glancing through the various posts on the site., so many are from people who have disappeared? What has happened to them all? Have they gone on to become world-renowned authors, or have they simply vanished without a trace? Thoughts anyone?
Writing a project to completion can be a very difficult thing to do. Many may give up along the road, some may get busier lives, others may suffer degenerated health. Reasons are plentiful. I don't think it's a shame, I think it's more sad, just imagine all the fantastic worlds that have not been realised. All the potential fading away. Imagine if we could all spend the time we wanted on our dream projects. Imagine the world then!
All discussion boards have some rotation. It happens because of the reasons. You can find my thoughts about that process under this lid, but I strongly advise you not to open it. ©Alan Aspie
Not remotely, no. Closed venues such as this require a flow of citizenry; else, it stagnates into incestuousness. I've been to such forums where it's the same 15 people from the very beginning, all of them curating strange pathologies in the corners of the forum that have taken on the shape of their respective owners.
I notice some members still lurk around, maybe reading other people’s posts but not joining the discussion in an immediate way. Other times people take a long break because the real world takes centre focus then they return and start rejoining the discussions again. Sometimes they don’t come back at all. I also notice this happen in the writing contests too a lot. Of course you can’t make them come back.. yet some rather interesting participation is lost in the process. I’m not “sad” about it, though, because a lot of new membership is gained as well. The site is huuugee.
True. Most of people have to maintain that impossible balance between the day jobs, hobbies, social life and more. We still live in the real world.) I think everyone knows that feeling when you need coffee just to sit in front of the screen and check the messages, and it's not when one's up to writing. Besides, it's nice to be out of the cell, try new stuff, open the mind, push old limits... throw out some trash.) It was a good day and much work, this Sunday.
I can't speak for everyone, but I, personally, disappeared for two fold reasons... #1: Because I realized that I couldn't write here without critiquing others writing. That may sound selfish, but a Writer's ego is a fragile thing. No one knows this more than myself. I am not qualified to critique anyone. My opinions should not influence other writers at all. I don't want the responsibility of having unfiltered access to someone's self-esteem/self-worth/sense of quality to the degree it effects their writing. The only thing I'd be qualified to pronounce is either "I don't like this!" "I like this!" Neither is substantive or overtly helpful, yet they're the only thing I would feel certain of. While it would be nice to be reassured that my opinions might not carry weight or have any effect at all, I could never be guaranteed. Having been on the strange opposite end of this...In the end, as Bartleby said... "I would prefer not to." #2 I disappear from forums usually because my normal life is greedy and crowds me out of things I would like to do. It's sad, but a fact of life and unavoidable. So don't feel too bad. These things happen. People often commit to things that they cannot maintain. -SIN
I'm a believer that anyone who appreciates storytelling can offer helpful feedback, especially if they're the target audience the story is aimed at. I know for a fact I would be thankful for feedback from anyone in my target audience.
Honestly, it depends on why they left. Maybe they got the answers they sought and moved on. Maybe they lost interest. Or they found a writing forum they liked better (TRAITOR!!) and went there instead? Alas, they may have also passed away. We may be authors, but we are all still mortal.
Bone to pick nailed this one - everyone is qualified to critique... i liked this because, i didn't like this because... thats all it takes... you may not feel qualified to rewrite the work to demonstrate what should have been done but tbh unless someone is just starting out and has no clue, that is the least useful sort of critique... most writers don't want a critiquer to rewrite their work... they want to be told which bits suck (or not) so they can take it under advisement when they rewrite/edit
he was a sock puppet - which was why he was asking in the first place... People think they are so original, but we've played this silly game before
In this case, I'm guessing a previously banned member who signs up again using a pseudonym (sock puppet).
Or someone who creates another account under a different email so they can converse with themselves and create the illusion of consensus. Or disagreement, if that suits an agenda.
Most moderators develop a "multi-accounter sense", when they look at a post and think "I've seen this before...". There are tools to help them confirm, but this is one of their super-powers.
This makes me think of The Bloody Board. It's possibly one of the most chilling tales I have ever heard (forum with 40,000 posts and only one user). Hubz told me about it when I said I had joined a forum. I was like b**ch whaaaaa?
