Forum / Active workshop subgroup?

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    Ann Bogle
    Jan 13, 04:40am

    Are there any active workshop subgroups on Fictionaut? A friend is considering submitting to Fictionaut and asked if there is workshopping here and I said workshopping may be taking place in subgroups.

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    Barry Basden
    Jan 13, 06:28pm

    David Ackley had a really great one a year or so ago. Don't know if it's still active. Unfortunately I had no time to participate meaningfully, but the critiques I read there were outstanding and would have no doubt helped my work a lot.

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    Ann Bogle
    Jan 13, 06:40pm

    Thanks, Barry! David is a fine reader besides being a fine writer. As are you!

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    Tina Barry
    Jan 13, 07:41pm

    Barry--I think you're referring to The Bear Pit. It's still active but winding down. We could use a few more people posting and commenting.

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    David Ackley
    Jan 13, 07:51pm

    I think the history of workshops on Fictionaut is that interest tends to die down after an initial spurt. I think that's probably going to be true as well of the Bear Pit, but every time it seems to drift off to sleep someone posts some new work and off we go again. As happened recently, so I don't know. Always glad to have new members, which is one way to keep it going.

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    Ann Bogle
    Jan 15, 06:56pm

    Thanks, all. Is there a back door entrance to The Bear Pit, by invitation perhaps. If so, I'd like to request an invitation then invite the newcomer to join the workshop group.

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    Ann Bogle
    Jan 18, 04:15am

    I am hereby flagging roadside technical assistance. The invitation to join Bear Pit was sent twice to me, I believe, and has not arrived. Where besides my email inbox might I look for it? It is an invitation to a shielded (private) group. A near-anagram of private is primate. Another, closer, is VP irate. And then there is Ivy Pirate or I.V.-pirate or Pirate IV (the fourth). Our representatives in D.C. do this in considering our piracy and primacy and one virago mate.

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    Charlotte Hamrick
    Jan 18, 04:34am

    I was sent an invitation to the Bear Pit twice as well but never received either of them. I suspect it's due to the mythical Fictionaut email delivery system which also includes non-delivery of invitations to potential new participants to the site. I decided to pretend such system doesn't exist as I hate living with frustration. :)

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    Letitia Coyne
    Jan 18, 05:31am

    I tried an outside invitation by giving a friend the link : http://fictionaut.com/request-invite , which I reasoned must reach and be processed by the site management. So far there has been no progress on that front.

    I think I too will go on with the belief there is no such function.

    Lxx

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    Sally Houtman
    Jan 18, 09:05pm

    It's dead, Jim.

  • Frankie Saxx
    Jan 19, 09:58pm

    There was a brief interlude where it worked between the last thread on invites not sending & this discussion. (I got a couple notifications.)

    It appears the mail server has since gone to have another lie down.

  • Frankie Saxx
    Jan 19, 09:59pm

    @Ann:

    Any chance it shows up in the list on the "Your Groups" tab of your "You" page?

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    Carol Reid
    Jan 19, 10:46pm

    You know what we could do to circumvent/subvert/mess up a messed-up system in a possibly good way is share our accounts. It could all be very visible, just add someone else's name to your user name, share your password, let people know that your account is being used by someone else. It would take some trust and good will, but it might allow people who really want to be here or really want to be in a private groups a way in.

  • Frankie Saxx
    Jan 19, 11:10pm

    Or take up an abandoned account collection.

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    Carol Reid
    Jan 19, 11:35pm

    Exactly, Frankie! Contact people you invited years ago who never used their account and see if they'll give them over. I bet there are hundreds of them.

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    Sally Houtman
    Jan 20, 02:40am

    In the absence of tribal leadership...

    ...the natives resort to cannibalism.

    Is this what we've become?

    :)

    It may, however, be a very useful and clever means of survival.

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    Tina Barry
    Jan 20, 02:58am

    Has anyone contacted Jurgen and explained the situation?

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    David Ackley
    Jan 20, 03:33am

    I e-mailed Carson and am hoping he can deal with the problem.

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    Sally Houtman
    Jan 22, 06:02am

    Soooooooooooo.......

    Howz that fix coming along, fellas?

    (taps foot, drums fingers on desk)

    :)

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    David Ackley
    Jan 22, 01:36pm

    Nothing.

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    whatwouldbukowskido
    Jan 22, 02:02pm

    I'm beginning to think "Carson" was a

    figa-men-tation of our ig-magin-ation

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    Ann Bogle
    Jan 23, 05:02am

    @Frankie, I checked the "my groups" list and did not see Bear Pit there.

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    Jürgen Fauth
    Jan 24, 11:22am

    I'll investigate, guys. Carson is real (as far as I can tell), but we've both been a little distracted lately. Is it "just" the invite system to the site that's not working properly, or the invites to the groups as well?

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    David Ackley
    Jan 24, 02:14pm

    Hi Jurgen,

    Thanks for checking this out. The invites to the groups (e.g. Bear Pit) aren't working, with presently 3 potential invitees to that one waiting. If I'm typical, messages on the Fictionaut message system, along with comments on stories no longer arrive at our home e-mails. Not to heap so much onto your and Carson's plates, just so's you'll know.

    Glitches notwithstanding we're all eternally grateful to you and your partners for providing this congenial home for our work.

    best

    david

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    whatwouldbukowskido
    Jan 24, 05:01pm

    "grateful to you and your partners for providing this congenial home"

    Hear! Hear!

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    Sally Houtman
    Jan 24, 11:01pm

    Thanks Jurgen.

    Yeah, invites to the site. Invites to the groups. And all e-mail notifications. All broken.

    About 5 - 6 weeks ago the e-mail notifications started arriving (erratically) for about two days and then stopped again.

    Just grateful for this place, but glitch fixes make us feel warmer and fuzzier.

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    whatwouldbukowskido
    Jan 24, 11:19pm

    That's true.

    As someone said:

    Attention must be paid.

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    Jürgen Fauth
    Jan 25, 04:06pm

    Thanks guys. We'll look into it. Stay tuned...

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    David Ackley
    Feb 03, 05:22pm

    ?

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    Sally Houtman
    Feb 03, 11:49pm

    Yep.

    ?
    ?

  • Tinabarry.thumb
    Tina Barry
    Feb 04, 03:16pm

    Would it be easier to start a new group: Bear Pit 2?

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    David Ackley
    Feb 04, 03:46pm

    That's a thought, Tina, but I'm afraid if we tried, none of the invitations would go out. As far as I can tell neither invitations to Fictionaut nor those to groups are getting to intended recipients. This may be related to the breakdown of the whole Fictionaut message system--but maybe not. I don't know reasons in technical matters only the results. At least those presently in the Bear Pit can use it, though regrettably none who've recently said they'd like to join.

  • Frankie Saxx
    Feb 04, 04:43pm

    Still nada?

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    Tina Barry
    Feb 04, 06:19pm

    I've missed you, Frankie! Come back to the Bear Pit.

  • Letitia_coyne.thumb
    Letitia Coyne
    Feb 06, 06:20am

    I left a query on Jürgen's facebook line.

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    whatwouldbukowskido
    Feb 14, 07:06pm

    No attention is being paid to any of the concerns posted here.

    "Or take up an abandoned account collection."

    I think that's the only way to get new members at this point.

    So many new members joined over the last year but never interacted, never posted a story/poem.

    Why not contact them and see if they'd give up their membership to someone willing/eager to participate?

  • Frankie Saxx
    Feb 15, 02:32am

    I just did that & scored one.

    Be gentle. She's new.

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    whatwouldbukowskido
    Feb 15, 04:05am

    Actually, that's how I got back on.

    ;-)

    (but seriously... there's been 30-40-50-80 new members over the past year or so...who have never posted a single piece of work. And with there being no ability to send out new invites...

    (let alone the complete loss of formatting/email notifications, etc.)

    I think it's time to cannibalize unused accounts!

  • Frankie Saxx
    Feb 16, 12:02am

    We could start messaging the people that have never used them. Of course, if they don't log in, they won't get the messages because no mail delivery...

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    Charlotte Hamrick
    Feb 16, 12:49am

    I wonder about people who join but don't participate. I'm really curious why they don't. *inquiring minds* and all that.....

  • Frankie Saxx
    Feb 16, 12:55am

    My password manager is full of logins for vacant accounts. Reddit. Issuu. 500px. I've got an address there but nobody's home.

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    whatwouldbukowskido
    Feb 16, 03:08am

    "Of course, if they don't log in, they won't get the messages because no mail delivery..."

    I was thinking the same thing last night.

    Unless there are new members it's just the same fourteen people hunkered down in a FEMA tent.

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    Sally Houtman
    Feb 16, 03:32am

    Had that thought as well.

    Probably the only thing that would work is for members who invited people who never participated, and who have alternate means of communicating with them other than the broken Fnaut messaging system, to ask if they'd be willing to surrender their accounts.

    Anyone know any of these?

    No new members in...six months?

    The stream will eventually run dry.

  • Frankie Saxx
    Feb 16, 01:29pm

    As soon as the mail system comes back up, I'm sending all my invites to myself so I've got 'em, in case the mail goes down again. XD

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    Nonnie Augustine
    Feb 18, 04:54pm

    Huh. Well, if anything does something again regarding a subgroup workshop and everything will someone invite me to whatever happens?

  • Rebel.thumb
    Sally Houtman
    Mar 03, 03:35am

    "Stay tuned..."

    Um, am I on the right channel?

    Still nothing...

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    James Lloyd Davis
    Mar 03, 01:48pm

    Nothing.

    Nada...

    "Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada..."

    EH

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    whatwouldbukowskido
    Mar 04, 04:08am

    I've taken to memorizing, reciting, that poem/prayer as I drive around town.

    It's perfect.
    I love perfection.

    (and ALWAYS say Holy Ghost, for the record).

    Could you imagine creating this space and then walking away?

    It's god-like, eh?

  • Rebel.thumb
    Sally Houtman
    Mar 19, 10:24am

    Still nothing?
    *
    *
    *
    Anyone?
    *
    *
    *
    *

    *
    *
    *
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73tGe3JE5IU

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    David Ackley
    Mar 19, 05:45pm

    Waiting for Godot.

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    Carol Reid
    Mar 19, 07:16pm

    ESTRAGON: How long have we been together all the time now?
    VLADIMIR: I don't know. Fifty years maybe. ESTRAGON: Do you remember the day I threw myself into the Rhone?
    VLADIMIR: We were grape harvesting.
    ESTRAGON: You fished me out.
    VLADIMIR: That's all dead and buried. ESTRAGON: My clothes dried in the sun. VLADIMIR: There's no good harking back on that. Come on. (He draws him after him. As before.)
    ESTRAGON: Wait!
    VLADIMIR: I'm cold!
    ESTRAGON: Wait! (He moves away from Vladimir.) I sometimes wonder if we wouldn't have been better off alone, each one for himself. (He crosses the stage and sits down on the mound.) We weren't made for the same road.
    VLADIMIR: (without anger). It's not certain. ESTRAGON: No, nothing is certain. Vladimir slowly crosses the stage and sits down beside Estragon. #
    VLADIMIR: We can still part, if you think it would be better.
    ESTRAGON: It's not worthwhile now.
    (Silence.)
    VLADIMIR: No, it's not worthwhile now.
    (Silence.)
    ESTRAGON: Well, shall we go?
    VLADIMIR: Yes, let's go.

    (They do not move.)

    So different reading this now than when I was 19!

  • Wince_cover2.thumb
    Barry Basden
    Mar 19, 07:38pm

    Can Anybody Juggle?

    I hardly recognized that guy in last night's movie. He looked weary, just hanging in. What was that film in the '80s with him so cynical, so beautifully stoned?

    Stoned--a lovely way to endure these streets melting in the dark, empty but for the neighbor's yowling cats. Not at all what I expected.

    Time for another late show: Busby Berkeley this time, colorized by Turner. Orchestra in tails. Syncopated ladies in drag. Acrobats. A magician perhaps, something new up his sleeve for a change.

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