Who's Your Oldest/Best Friend on the Forum?

Actually, she offered all of her services for free, which, if true, was kind of her.

 

I was just thinking that myself.

 

It's not about her motives. It's about her effect on writing members. Go to any university gym. Go to the sports studio section where they do the yoga and martial arts classes. Go in when the studio is free, sit down and wait. If you wait long enough , here's what you're going to see. Some pudgy kid with boxing mitts and a puffed up chest, "training " his friend. Of course, this kid has no more idea than the friend he is training, and I guarantee you no one is being charged anything, nor is anyone learning anything except incorrect form, regardless of whether the kid is trying to be helpful or trying to boost his own ego. People like this exist in all activities. You can't offer your "writing services" when they are dubious at best. That's not kind. It's detrimental. Young, inexperienced, and influential aspiring writers are going to take your advice as gospel. Now , some of your advice is going to be spot on, but some of it isn't, and that's not good enough, when treated like gospel. That's not helpful. And that's what Maia did.

 

I'm going to take the opportunity now, before this particular train of conversation goes any further, to say let's get back on track. We none us are perfect. We all us have our flaws. For each of us there is someone somewhere ready to write an essay about those flaws. This thread has flipped and it needs to flip back.

 

Getting this thread back on track. I have to say, some of the newer members are giving me hope. Especially the ones who have started posting in the last few months. They seem like bright, reasonable, intelligent new members who I welcome heartily and with open arms. If you think this applies to you, it most likely does.

 

I'll start. While I can't consider him a friend (just yet), Wreybies has been super helpful. He answers all your questions with great detail so that you understand, and for a new member like me, is understanding when you make a mistake.

 

Sorry Wreybies, it was my fault for asking what happened when it could of possibly started a conniption from someone whose had more direct contact with her than I. That's on me.

 

Does anyone else remember @art? Where has that guy gone? I used to love his literary conversations.

 

No worries. One thing I learned long ago is that we are each a different person to different people. The bane of my existence may be thought of as daddy to someone else, or beloved husband to yet another person. A person whose company I enjoy may be the very definition of "getting on my tits" to someone else. The person who our parents know is not the same person our spouse knows or our children or or friends or our coworkers.

That's just life.

 

I rather liked Jazzabel when I first came to the forum. Bummed she's not around anymore.

 

I like Jazzabel too - it's too bad she left.

 

What happened to Jazzabel? Anyone know?

 

I think she crossed swords with @GingerCoffee one too many times. She isn't banned; she just doesn't show up anymore.

 

That's a shame. It was nice to have a cultured socialist around the forum. :/

 

That's right, blame me.

She agreed to ignore me, then broke that agreement repeatedly.

 

Like Wreybies so eloquently said, just because you had a good interaction with someone, doesn't necessarily mean everyone did.

The cool thing about WF is that, even though members come and go, WF as a whole is slowly progressing and I can see it. Less snobbery, less fall back on blanket statements that essentially boil down to worshipping the subjective and eliminating standards, and most importantly, more harmony. There are less fights, less personal attacks, less thread closures, and, I'm willing to bet, less reported posts (although the mods can feel free to correct me on that last one.) And so while, it's nice to miss certain members, even those who've been banned or left because they felt they deserved special treatment, it's important to remember that the forum environment is improving.

 

That's very true. Well put, mate.

Sorry to all the people I've annoyed. Just want to take this opportunity to say that.

 

You always get nice again after your bouts.

 

I didn't blame you. She's gone on her own accord.

 

Thanks.

 

I do think it has improved dramatically since i joined in 2011. The website also holds up a lot more smoothly then it did before, which is nice.

 

I'm sensitive. I get blamed for arguments challenging information people dispense and she dispensed challengeable information.

 

You guys are giving me whiplash. What happened to all the "those were the good old days" talk from a few pages back?

(Possibly I hallucinated that, but... I don't think so...)

 

Blame the drinking, right?

 

That was like... old, old days. See the great days were back in 2009 and 2010 (and earlier I suppose, but I wasn't around then) and then people left and it sucked. And now it's getting better again.