Death of Fiction?

[Cainanite (imported)]

I get when people are upset. I don't want them to be.

As a volunteer effort though, we have our limitations. We try hard, but we can only do what we can do.

I admit, I burnt myself out trying to edit up all the old stories for transfer, and have not been back to it in many many months. I will try and find some time to work on it.

For me, because I am also an author of EA stories, I had to choose, do I want to write my own stuff, and focus on new entries. Or, should I spend that time editing old stuff that can just as easily be read from the Wayback Machine. I chose to focus on the new, and write. I'll try and find a better balance, but the new stuff will always take priority for me.

I love this community, and I want the fiction to continue. When I and others see the severe dropoff in story submissions though, we need to look at the reasons why.

I admit, I am giving serious thought to the idea of taking the stories off of the secure login. I don't know what would be involved, but I am sure there is a way to do it that would still protect this community.

I see the stories and the forums as going hand-in-glove. You have to have one AND the other for both to thrive.

I really think there is a way.

[Paolo]

I mean don't get me wrong, I enjoy coming here, but as with most sites I visit, I don't sit around thinking about all the work that went into the site I am. I don't feel sorry for the coder who did not get enough sleep, when a sites navigation is difficult to use. I don't feel like I owe the site anything. I was never told I would be scolded by an administrator for not being thankful enough for his/her sacrifices to the site.

And therein lies the problem.

You may not have any feelings over any of it, just take it for granted that the things you like will always be there, but then (and not necessarily YOU) turn around and bitch about it when it doesn't meet your expectations.

I just have to ask, are you this big of a bitch everywhere you go?!

And NO, my anger is NOT pent up. I let it out - daily. Loudly. Violently.

In 2012, I have gone through 3 monitors, 21 keyboards, 18 cell phones, 14 mice, 3 windows in my office (now a sheet of plywood), 2 televisions, 4 sets of ball joints in the truck, 1 control arm, 1 set of tires, 2 cameras, 3 lenses, 1 flash unit, 2 monitors at work, God only knows how many mice and keyboards (I buy them in bulk), 4 inkjet printers, and who knows what else that I've smashed.

Not to mention several thousand dollars in paying cops to look the other way when someone crossed me.

I have no problem letting it out.

[cheetaking243 (imported)]

^Then please, for the sake of people like me's sanity, please don't get angry and smash the fiction archive.

I'll take it in any form I can get it, and be damned grateful for the opportunity. It is the thing that allowed me, for the first time in my life, to be honest about myself and to actually share my thoughts in a place where not only did others understand, they actually enjoyed hearing what I had to say about it.

Please, it's not a matter of pride, and a matter of either being perfect or not worth it at all. In any form, it is a vital resource that needs to be kept alive and preserved even if it is frustrating at times. I'm sure there are many people like me who would be absolutely crushed if anything was to happen to the fiction archive.

[janekane (imported)]

Circumstances allowed me to get to the 2011 and 2012 MoMs, and I was able to directly observe the arduous work being done to keep the Archive Stories and associated Eunuch Archive activities available. I happen to be past the age when many people retire, but, being self-employed and being aghast at the thought of firing an employee, am imprisoned in the freedom of doing the work I prefer to do, as an engineer and as a person. Not everyone lives close enough to the MoM "mothership," as I do, so that getting there is inexpensive and easy.

I do not find fault with the Archive administrators because I have met them in person, for real, and understand that they are real people, by which I hope to convey that, like all real people, the administrators have real problems in the events of living that are present in diverse ways in the lives of all real people.

I am much enamored of mercy and kindness.

I find it merciful and kind to allow that the frustrations of real living may jangle almost anyone, and that a jumbled jangle of frustrations can push anyone into the land of crying, in one or another, or yet another, way, "Ouch!!!"

So, when one or more members who was/were unable to get to the past two MoMs do not have the awareness of the sort of effort the administrators make to keep the Archive up and running as it is, I regard that as a simple result of those members not having had the achievable opportunity to get to one or more MoMs to meet the administrators and, thereby, understand why complaining may be harmful to all of us who find the Archive valuable.

However, my sense of mercy and kindness disallow my finding someone crying, "Ouch!!!" to be someone complaining.

So, perhaps as a character defect caused by my being autistic, I do not find cries of, "Ouch!!!" to be scolding, nor am I willing to scold anyone for feeling scolded. I never learned to "think in words," and the way people often use words routinely flummoxes me as though I have been put on a whirlygig on a ferris wheel on a roller coaster in a tornado.

Perhaps I am not alone in finding words to be an aspect of human communication difficulties. I have been reading a book, publication date December 12, 2012,

Richard Elkins, "The Nature of Legislative Intent," Oxford University Press.

From page 196, under the section titled, "III The Underdetermination Thesis," I find:

"It may seem that implicature or figurative or non-literal meanings, while possible, are exceptions to the norm, which is that the speaker means in uttering a sentence is just the literal meaning of that sentence. This is not the case. The semantic content of a sentence underdetermines what a speaker may mean, and indeed what he is likely to mean, in uttering that sentence."

Yikes!

So, the sentences used underdetermine what anyone who uses sentences in Archive stores or in Archive message board posts intended to mean?

As I learned long ago, long ago in terms of my own life, that is, to some extent, I usually misunderstand what other people say or write. Hence, I never believe that my understanding of what someone else said or wrote is accurate enough to become critical of the person or the person's writings or sayings.

Also, as a person who sought, and got, an orchiectomy as prophylaxis for undue cancer risk, I owe a debt of gratitude for those who put together and continue to keep going, the Eunuch Archive. My reason(s) for getting a bilateral orchiectomy are no more worthy than the reason(s) anyone else has.

I have yet to find a better way to relate to my life and to the lives of others than with mercy and kindness.

So, while I do mess up from time to time (who doesn't?), I also endorse the effort I make to improve in being merciful and kind, to myself as to everyone else.

Was there a story I heard years ago about the folly of throwing glasses in brick houses? Or, did I get that story backwards?

[kristoff]

I admit, I am giving serious thought to the idea of taking the stories off of the secure login. I don't know what would be involved, but I am sure there is a way to do it that would still protect this community.

I see the stories and the forums as going hand-in-glove. You have to have one AND the other for both to thrive.

I really think there is a way.

For what it is worth, what we went through getting shut down, the threats we've had from various sources, and so on, and what it took to get back up, the archive will not go public again, especially not with my name all over it.

I agree that the archive and the forums are highly attached, needing one another for sustenance. But all the bitching about stories not being moved to the new board won't help, and in fact hinders progress. We did edit about 5,000 stories; there are 6,000 left to be done. We are fried having tried to get as many done as we could as fast as we could. The edit was and is essential, and the new system is here to stay. We will NOT be going back to the old system - period. If one does not like what we have done so far, go to the wayback machine.

The work that has gone into re-building and maintaining this site has been immense. I don't care that you appreciate it or not - just don't be offensive, insulting, and arrogant about it. The place is what it is. We have many times debated the prospect of shutting this site down, but keep coming to the conclusion that it is too important to keep it open for those yet to arrive, and those still here and wondering. For now, we plan to keep things in place. But everyone will have to deal with it as it is. If it doesn't suit your fancy, you can always leave - there will be many more discovering your place in the lot. I don't invite you to leave, but I wouldn't stop you.

This thread is closed.

[Riverwind (imported)]

WOW I thought the political forum gets wild some times, this was just so over the top. I realize the thread is closed but I need to add my 2cents worth.

This is a volunteer site, nobody here is paid and we are not here for your instant gratification.

River

[Cainanite (imported)]

I need to add my two cents as well.

I know this is a topic than can get heated. We are all clearly very passionate about this. I think we all want the stories to succeed.

I for one, do care very much what the users of these forums think and feel. Please let me know about any concerns you may have. I will do what I can to address them.

Send me a PM, or email me at cainanite@live.com

I promise, your concerns matter to me.

The last thing I want is to see authors decide not to post their stories, especially after a heated dialog like this one. If you are worried about anything, If you are concerned that we will not be respectful of your privacy, or your effort, that is the furthest thing from what we actually want.

Contact me.

Your story is both important, and essential. All our members, whether they are an author or an admin, are deserving of respect and recognition for their hard work.

Thank-you.

[JesusA (imported)]

I’m also going to get a final comment in here.

This thread has been a good reminder of the importance of the Fiction Archive. It is therapeutic for both readers and writers, though more feedback would certainly entice some of the writers to submit more stories, which would be of great help to those who find therapy in the reading.

The Bulletin Board here can be read by anyone, EA member or not. It’s open to anyone on the Internet to read, though registration is required in order to post. When the Fiction Archive was open to anyone who wanted to read it, regardless of whether or not they registered, the Eunuch Archive had a stable registered membership of about 3,000. As soon as the Fiction Archive required registration in order to read, the membership jumped to about 14,000. While I’m certain that we lost a lot of readers who are afraid to register (even though they could do so through an anonymous Hotmail or Yahoo account), there are still nearly 11,000 who have registered BECAUSE of the fiction.

I suspect that few of those who have registered primarily for the stories ever read much of the Bulletin Boards. This thread, for example, has been read by only 90 registered members. That’s only 0.65% of the membership!

Less than 10% of the registered members (n=1344) have made even a single post on the Bulletin Boards. Fewer than 500 of our 13,788 registered members have made as many as 10 posts and only 140 members (1.02%) have hit the 100 post mark.

With all of the “Anonymous” and occasional changing of Archive Names, there’s no way to properly count the number of story authors, but my guess is that it’s not much different from the number who post on the Bulletin Boards. A very few have done much of the writing and posting of fiction.

Before the Fiction Archive went down and needed to be completely reformatted, there were 10,560 stories posted. These have been gradually edited line-by-line by a small and dedicated group (though primarily Cainanite) and there are now 6,923 (65.56%) of them back up and available for readers. It is a massive amount of work and an on-going project that will probably require at least another year to complete. This is in addition to the new stories that are being accepted and added to the collection.

The Eunuch Archive, both the Bulletin Boards and the Fiction Archive, are clearly important for a lot of people. If you are either a story author or post comments on the Bulletin Boards, your efforts here are greatly appreciated.

THANK YOU!

[talula]

I just cleared a blockage in the indexing and submitted a batch of stories so that count is now 7201 stories edited line-by-line then re-proofed before eventual submission to the general indexes.