Forum / Dwindling Fictionaut
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David AckleyNov 01, 02:16pmI joined Fictionaut in 2010 and it has been incredibly valuable to me and my writing. But over the years since, many of the writers whose work,commitment and talent were exemplary for me and whose comments helped keep me going have dropped out. Sometimes for reasons of their own, presumably, sometimes because of the invective and pettiness of disputes on this forum. Lately I think because some of us don't want to have our work appear with that of others who take Fictionaut's space as the equivalent of a shithouse where they can write whatever they please on the walls using their own excrement as the preferred medium.
That's as may be, it's a free country, so they say, and this is a free space, but you can see why we might not want to have our work appear alongside of those who imagine themselves provocateurs because they throw shit on the communal walls.
Enjoy it while it lasts, S because before long you're going to be the only one left here.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenNov 01, 03:25pmIt's adolescent behavior and it reminds me of every below-average high school English class I taught. The challenge there was to take the hundreds of "Your mother sucks dead donkey dicks" I heard every week and turn them into more original colorful language. I think the kids were afraid of trying, afraid of failure. It takes courage. Maybe that applies here.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 01, 05:34pmBased on S's posts in the past ten minutes or so, maybe it's best to request user removal? Personally, I find the one referring to David FOSTER Wallace revolting.
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Darryl PriceNov 01, 07:42pmI believe we must unite in our belief that this particular place is for writers who wish to share their writings with other writers in a casual and friendly way that helps with the loneliness and anxiety of being writers in the first place. It should be a safe space, so that no one feels unable to speak. Hogging the platforms is bad form. It doesn't allow for differing opinions or art, it just props up ego and overfeeds it. No one should be allowed to gorge the spotlight over and over in the interest of shock. The more the merrier, and the more the more interesting the reads available to counteract the obvious blockage. Everybody, please, write something new and post it. You will be seen and heard. Be the change you want to see. I am with you. You all deserve to have your work looked at, enjoyed, be read and celebrated. No writer I know isn't also an avid reader. Good luck to all of you in your fabulous efforts.
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eamon byrneNov 01, 08:19pmI messaged Jurgen Fauth and Carson Baker requesting the serial spammer be removed.
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David AckleyNov 01, 08:30pm
I've tried that before, Eamon, to no avail. I hope you have better luck.
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Erika Byrne-LudwigNov 01, 08:46pmSuch writing is quite unpleasant and does not relate to this place at all. S has been here for years. Has he/she ever been criticised directly by us? I don't think so. Perhaps we should have tried. In general, it's up to the administrator to decide whether some member should go.
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David AckleyNov 01, 09:13pm
That's been tried too, Erika, which has quieted him down for a time, I think. But here we are again. As I said, my fear is that Fictionaut will keep losing writers because of his postings until he's all that's left, alone and spouting like a busted sewer pipe in the rubble of a once pleasant home.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 01, 09:14pm
I called him out a number of months ago via IM; he apologized and took a hiatus. But now he's back and seems to have gone quite haywire, to say the least. Personally I am very fed up with the posts.
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Erika Byrne-LudwigNov 01, 09:55pm
Posts I deeply dislike, I only read one once and thereater completely ignore the "writer". If we were a hundred or even twenty here we wouldn't even pay attention to S and he/she would most likely disappear.
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David AckleyNov 01, 10:47pm
Of the 26 or so posts on this page of the forum, 19 have been by the individual in question, the rest by others. This is typical of the way he can overwhelm the forum with useless drivel. Similarly for a great many pages dating back to between a year and two years ago, which seems to coincide with the latest exodus of participants from the site. He may not be the only cause, but he's contributed to those departures and those few of us who've stayed have had about enough.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 02, 11:22am
Hopefully Jurgen and Carson will see our forum posts and take appropriate action.
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Tim G. YoungNov 03, 05:15amI do not read his posts. I figure he just might go away some day. I certainly would not let any one's post drive me away. Let's dig in!
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 09, 11:24pm
The latest S. post draws the line. Please get S. removed. I'm sick of it all, and none of it has any functional place here.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 11, 09:45pm
Has anyone followed up on this?
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stephen hastings-kingNov 12, 06:07pmLately I've found myself demoralized by the moral catastrophe that is the world in which we find ourselves, watching Gaza and the West Bank & the idiot sectarianism that has allowed and enabled it to happen and still does so. I've found myself watching the manufacture of consent for an asymmetrical military action, dressing up as a war what is in fact nothing but a massacre. I don't want to watch it, but I do. I want to get away from it, but I can't.
What matters what doesn't.
I've seen people up in arms about Israeli bombing of hospitals who were silent when the Assad regime was doing the same, when its Russian pals were double-tapping the same.
I've seen footage from overnight of what it means when hospitals in Gaza run out of fuel to generate electrcity to keep treating people, sick and wounded people, to keep treating kids, little kids with legs blown off...
What matters what doesn't.
We seem stuck in a period of deep ethical and political confusion. Incoherence. When he was visiting recently, a Syrian comrade was talking about a spritual crisis and wondering how best to approach its description. I thought Durkheim's Suicide b/c the crisis, if that's the word even (I don't know) seems to be unfolding at a macro-level, at a social level and the problem with that is our frames of reference are socio-cognitive and our adaptive functions, semi- to-unconsciously, move those frames of reference with the macro-formation they reflect/repeat/participate in. Durkheim thought spikes in suicide rates were indicative that such a thing might be happening, and came up with a name for what might explain that spike (anomie) and an etiology (social pathology). The curious thing about it is that no-one would experience anomie. But doing so was possible once it had a name.
What matters what doesn't.
Hamas and Likud with its settler right pals are of a piece, locked in a dance of keeping each other in power. Hamas doesn't give a shit about civilian lives, Palestinian or Israeli. The Israeli Right doesn't recognize Palestinian civilians at all. Hamas is a guerilla organization, Israel a regional military super-power.
Meanwhile Bibi does the rounds of US talk shows talking his tedious threadbare Huntington Thesis shit and the US center/right political establishment cheers him on while also worrying about the body count because they are having increasing trouble with framing.
You get a sense of what that framing trouble translates into when you consider, if you do, how Harvard's new president went from having a Native American spokesperson recite a litany of land occupation on inauguration to shutting down Jewish Voices for Peace on campus. A student organization opposed to war. Meanwhile, rightwing shitbag libertarian FIRE has been sending mobile electronic billboards to Cambridge in order to doxx students who sign letters of protest against the massacre in Gaza (same at Columbia, same at Brown, same at Penn).
Meanwhilethe sociopaths of finance talk about tracking those names and never hiring them (Head of Citadel, head of Apollo).
In France today there was a march against anti-Semitism, and there is no doubt a lot of it and the upsurge in incidents attributed to it in France is real and concerning--but the people in the march included Marine Le Pen. Like a friend of mine observed, that along indicates people there seem to have lost the plot.
What matters, what doesnt.
I don't know.
Does this? I don't know how Fictionaut is run as a community at this point. My sense is that its been cut adrift by the founders (but I may be wrong) and floats without a way for members to act as a collective or a community in order to establish or enforce rules, take decisions and act on them. Maybe it's time to consider such a move, to make Fictionaut a kind of autonomous collective governed by its members (and controlled by them). I say this because the problem here seems less about wanting to do something than it is about having procedures in place to do that thing.
Maybe doing such a thing would help the space in multiple ways that go beyond excising a nimrod.
But I don't know.
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Smiley McGrouchpants, Jr-Esq-IIINov 13, 10:20amAw hey geez you sound like U of C'est criticizing 'Naked Lunch':
("Excrement" ... ?? My word! You know, if DeLillo's gonna die — he's probably got as much time as Pynchon, or Scorsese, but Cormac McCarthy has already passed since Noah Baumbach released his "I couldn't come up with 4 hours ... " cursory, film-version of 'White Noise' — then more power to him if he just wants to let it go, his 380+ page, genre-bending, semiotics-of-the-time-CONSISTENT, career-establishing, non-inacessible MASTERPIECE well, then ... more power *to* him. As far as it goes, and I know this may seem *shocking*, but, William Gibson's said he's "always been [up for, interested in, something] a movie version of 'Neuromancer'" — which is about as unfilmable as you can *get*, considering the dream sequence where Case meets the Lil' Devil and all, with Linda Lee present from her tragic death from and overdose and walking *around* again ... *conveying* that, I mean. 'S far as it *goes*, I've opined on "Cyberpunk Godfather" John Shirley's Facebook page, when he was on and *bothering* with the thing — lest we think this appeal is falling on deaf ears, or ill-aimed, or not to a "friend-of-a-FRIEND" — that, if it was going to happen, the only person who could do it would be David Fincher. So.
(Fuck Noah Baumbach! And fuck Greta Gerwig too. I have *had* it with them.
(Did you not notice "Barbie™" everywhere ... ?? Her pretending she could be gracious it was a hit, 'PG-13' rating to appeal to people seeing it for camp value AND innocent teenagers notwithstanding, was the last straw.
(I saw 'Hannah Takes the Stairs' in mostly-empty theater where Joe Swanberg communicated via Skype to people in Portland, OR about it — a sort of "Director's TALK" thing, but, you know, via CYBERSPACE™ — and I even kidded to Helen Rogers about it via her then-accessible public e-mail address about it, since it was like the part she played in 'V/H/S' (no response). I saw 'Nights and Weekends' and sent a copy of that and other mumblecore DVDs to the Austin Psych Ward (under the name "Smiley McGrouchpants" — you can *check* with them) like 'Jeff, Who Lives at Home' and 'Touchy-Feely' because I thought it would *help* those people (
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Smiley McGrouchpants, Jr-Esq-IIINov 13, 10:27am
or should I say *those* people ... ??). I care. I truly do!
(But.
(Adam Wingard, another mumblecore vet, and collaborator of Swanberg's, made 'Godzilla vs. Kong' recently like he's given up the ghost of mumblecore, too — and nobody NOTICED!!! It's another property like Barbie™!!!
(So fuck mumblecore. And fuck Greta. And fuck Noah BAUMBACH — that's for goddamned *sure*.)
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest — just trying to be contemporary, and Fictionaut's helped me more than I can say. Plus, people aren't posting STORIES ... !!! I'm getting impatient. Plus, I've only got three (3) stories to go, so ...
I'll stop the forum postings in this vein.
Sorry for any CONFUSION (as opposed to ANARCHY — that's be more *willfull*, ha-ha, and include *everybody* ... ).
Really.
Thanks for all yer's PATIENCE ... !!!
;)
#WINK
#andimOUT
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David AckleyNov 14, 03:43pm
Nobody, I think, including me, really wants to boot anybody else off Fictionaut. We'd just like the bullshit to cease, and for a stop to hogging the space on the Forum with simple-minded postings that are evidently only meant to satisfy the urge to spit on the wall.
To Stephen: I concur with your feelings, and am glad they found expression here, a good place to say them. As to community, I think we have the makings here, if we could, for a start establish a few basics.
1) Stop slagging each other on the forum.
2) Honor each other's work, by reading and commenting,
3) Start thinking about ways that you could contribute to improvement of the site as a whole and if you can, volunteer some time and effort.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 14, 06:56pm
I agree as well, David.
re #3: As you know, the two admins control the site; so they would have to relinquish that control to someone else -- which likely would never happen. If I misread your post, my apologies.
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eamon byrneNov 14, 08:46pm
It's important not to confuse antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government, or islamophobia with criticism of Hamas. Jewish people are fine. Muslim people are fine. But both the above-mentioned regimes are not fine at all. On the contrary. In my view the basis of this conflict, as in most historical wars, lies in a toxic mix of nationalism and religion. The first impels regimes towards territorial expansion, the latter gives false moral cover for anything that goes. Those pushing such crimes are, as always, a relatively few individuals at the top of the pyramid. The people below, the common citizenry, do not matter at all: they are expendable to the greater cause. In the broad context of history, human life has little value. That is the reality. I fear for the hostages. I fear for the children of Gaza.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 28, 01:51pm
It appears that Fictionaut has become irrelevant. But maybe it has been for a much longer time than I had thought. When I joined in 2009, it was vibrant and meaningful -- and remained that way for many years. Sadly, this is no longer true. It is also sad (at least to me) that there is seemingly a presence of cliques. For a site that I am sure requires untold server fees to be paid in order to keep it active, one would think that the administrators would be more involved; I haven't seen much, if any, of that. My desire to post anything here has now waned. In fact, it appears that I as a (former) Fictionauter am also irrelevant. Maybe that's because I am not part of any clique.
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David AckleyNov 28, 02:47pm
Even though I authored this thread as a comment on the obvious, I'd hate to see it become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The easiest way to reverse this trend of less and less participation is for more people to post their work, and for others to read and comment on it. Although I understand some people have soured on the site for some of the reasons cited above, in the end I don't see why so many have abandoned what is by all odds the most accessible, and welcoming place to show their work that has existed on the internet. I have to say how grateful I am that Jurgen and Carson have continued to make it available to us and I would very much hate to see it disappear.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoNov 28, 03:43pm
The number of 'regular contributors' -- at least since August -- is around 6 or 7 (not counting myself), and it appears that estimate is true in general. And because one has to wait until one's post falls off the main page, that slows everything down. I personally don't like just removing my posts in order to post something new, and thus get ahead of everyone else who chooses to wait. (I have been known to do this and soon thought better of it; that smacks of showboating, in my opinion; but then again there are only one or two here who comment on my stuff anyway, and I guess that's understandable since evidently it doesn't fit the Fictionaut cliquish 'standard'.) When Fictionaut was in its heyday -- and that was many years ago -- one could post something and just in a few days post again without having to wait for the cycle to complete itself. The bottom line is, again, that the site is now virtually useless and lacks relevance, except for only a few. What I find very strange, however, is that there are literally hundreds of 'views' on many posts, which of course means that hundreds of people out there are 'reading' Fictionaut posts and saying/doing nothing. But maybe that isn't so strange, since it supports my theory that the site is truly meaningful to 6 or 7. Yes, the site is 'available' but to what real end (or new beginning)? I don't see one at this point. (However -- and I am not tooting any personal horn here, only reminding -- on two separate occasions I tried to liven things up on the Forum in a very positive and civil manner with what I considered interesting topics for discussion: the first attempt resulted in an ego-filled debacle by various responders; the second was, in essence, ignored.) I guess a question now is: What if Fictionaut 'disappeared'? Who, and how many, would really miss it, and why?
Question as to commenting on posts: If a particular post is not to the personal liking of a registered reader/contributor, are only 'positive and non-constructively critical' comments allowed? To be transparent, if I don't care for a certain post, I refrain from commenting -- even constructively -- in fear that the writer may take offense. I have asked for clarification on a few posts, however, but rarely see any response. So it's best to 'play it safe' and not ruffle feathers, lest an ego gets damaged or threatened. A 'no-comment' comment is better than the alternative, I suppose.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenNov 28, 05:18pm
I imagine most of the people reading are not members and can't comment.
People take down old work and put up new to keep the site going. It's not showboating.
I don't know about cliques and I don't care. I told myself years ago that if I started worrying about who faved me and who didn't I would quit Fictionaut. Whether or not I read or comment about someone's work has more to do with time.
Fictionaut continues to have meaning for me. That's all I can control. I shouldn't have to say this, but everyone gets to decide for themselves what has meaning and what doesn't. It's absurd to think otherwise.
I think Fictionaut is a treasure and I treat it accordingly.
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Tim G. YoungNov 28, 08:00pm
Yes! I am in total agreement with Dianne's post. I believe those of us who have been here for a long time know exactly what a treasure Fictionaut is.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 01, 02:49pm
Don't get me wrong -- I once treasured it, too. But now the site has become stagnant, with only a handful of regular contributors. I remember when the main page cycled in just a few days; now it's several months. The newest members are from around March 2017 -- going on seven years. I reached out to Carson a couple months ago, asking why the invite function doesn't work. He informed me that it's disabled and he didn't know if it would ever be active again. So no one can invite anyone to join and help liven up the site with new members. That is definitely counterproductive, which makes no sense at all.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 01, 03:19pm
Six or seven people is a good size for a writers' group. Years ago there were too many stories posted and people complained about that.
Hundreds of people are still reading. I leave my stories up and the numbers increase every day.
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David AckleyDec 01, 03:45pm
Yeah, it's weird. People ( not bots, I hope) seem to read your backlist on Fictionaut, and it's like, who are these people and how did they find my stuff? Nice to have them for sure, though I liked knowing who they were when it was actual Fictionaut members making comments.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 01, 04:45pm
Oh, I hadn't thought of bots. Shit.
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David AckleyDec 01, 05:34pm
Hah! AI paranoia. On the other hand why would a bot want to read our stuff?
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 01, 05:57pm
"Bots don't have subjective opinions," is what a bot told me the other day. So if a bot could comment here it could only say "I read it" or "it was read." Do bots use first person? I guess it could it say "good data," or just, "data," which is very close to the most common first word of human babies. Hmm.
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David AckleyDec 01, 07:27pm
Dada is also, of course, an artistic movement/moment which here, in the so-called "post-modern," composts a thousand mutations. But why not "Ma-ma?"
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 01, 08:10pm
I read "da" is usually the first sound babies make. Must be the easiest. But one would think sheer gratitude would elicit a "ma" first. I've always wished I could remember more about being a baby. My one memory is being in a crib and crying because I was terrified of the moon shining in the window. Nobody ever figured out it was the moon and they kept coming in to hold me and comfort me and then put me back in the crib.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 02, 01:37pm
Let me get this straight. It's better for Fictionaut to be exclusive of new members? I am sure there are lots of folks reading the site who are also writers. And some of them might want to join and contribute. But they can't because there is simply no means to do so. Currently the site states that it is in the invite-only stage, but that doesn't work either, strangely enough. So what are we saying? It seems to me it's "Stay out. No one else is welcome here." Please tell me if I am misinterpreting this. Also, I personally don't think that Fictionaut was ever meant to be a writers group for less than 10 people.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 02, 03:19pm
Jeffrey, sometimes in life there are circumstances beyond our control. If you don't like it here then leave, I guess. Go work on your writing. If you want huge numbers of readers try to improve enough to get in TNY or some place like that. Get an agent. Why spend time complaining about things you can't change?
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 02, 03:30pm
Dianne, it is obvious you are missing my point. I never stated that I want more readers for myself, nor for the site. What I said was that I feel the site needs more writers/contributors. This has nothing to do with me or my writing, either here or anywhere else. And whoever said anything about TNY or getting an agent. All I am wanting is for the site to improve from its current status. In 2013, there were 160+ new members; 36 in 2014, 5 in 2015, 2 in 2016, and 10 in 2017. Zero since. Why is that a good thing? It's not about more readers. There are hundreds of those, even now. What is wrong with allowing/welcoming new members?
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 02, 03:51pm
If Carson Baker told you it's not likely the invite system will return, then accept it. Go start another site if you want. Or find a place more suited to your needs. That's all I'm saying.
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David AckleyDec 02, 03:56pm
Mavbe this focuses on the wrong question, not whether Fictionaut can or should invite new members, but what happened to all the old ones? Why did they leave and is there anything that might induce them to return and start posting their own work?
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 02, 04:00pm
Well, as David mentioned on this forum topic -- Stop slagging each other on the forum. There really is no need for condescension. It would be awesome if we could all get together and petition Jurgen/Carson to re-activate the invite option, or at least change the language about it in the FAQ. But I sense that's not what is wanted, which now has created a very stagnant writing site. It's a real shame Fictionaut has dwindled, and will continue doing so. I also miss the Blog, which was abandoned in 2016. It makes me wonder exactly why you are taking this stance. Is it that returning to the influx of new members is threatening? And that's all I am saying.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 02, 04:08pm
I seem to remember a controversy here years ago about members using fictionaut to promote their books. Some people didn't like that. I don't know who. Am I remembering correctly? I've thought maybe that's the reason some people left. It seems like when somebody publishes a new book, they're gone. Could be coincidences, IDK. I personally don't have a problem with members promoting their books here.
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Erika Byrne-LudwigDec 02, 05:24pm
I remember a poem of a once reasonably frequent writer here, a poem I myself found exquisitely delicate. I told the poet so. I couldn't understand why noone could find it in themselves to say a word of praise or appreciation. Regretfully, in my opinion, that writer has not returned so far.
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David AckleyDec 02, 07:02pm
I think I'll take a very informal poll of people whose presence I miss here, just to get an idea
if there's any common thread among those who've dropped out. Assuming anyone responds, I'll post the results here( assuming I can reach them through the messaging system.) -
Erika Byrne-LudwigDec 02, 07:06pm
This is a good idea, David.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 02, 07:10pm
Yes, good idea.
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eamon byrneDec 03, 03:12am
David, we'll be very interested if your attempts at messaging archived members bears any fruit.
There's no doubt that fictionaut is a pale shadow of what it used to be. When I joined it was brimming with writers .. good writers .. and posts .. good posts. The quality hasn't diminished -- only the quantity has.
Does quantity matter?
That seems to be the question being posed here.
In my opinion it does. Writers want some validation for their work. Writers want readers. I mean beyond the several wonderful people left here.
There is no easy answer to fictionaut's current malaise. The site is clearly not being maintained by its originators. And attempts to contact them have proven fruitless from what I am aware.
Personally, I lost motivation to post new work in recent years partly because of the points raised by others above. Perhaps fictionaut should reinvent itself on a new platform, although the name might have to be changed.
There are a few blogging platforms available which provide good commenting and forum capabilities. I've started one on ghost (https://writoro.ghost.io) to get some idea of what is possible.
If fictionaut was to be reinvented, there would be a responsibility to maintain it (easy) and moderate it (more time consuming). One shouldn't underestimate the work that Jurgen and Carson had to do to keep fictionaut going in the early years.
There was a half-baked attempt at one stage to introduce advertising to support the site. But that came to nothing. I can imagine the founders growing despondent after that.
I owe a lot to fictionaut. It pushed me to write seriously at a time when I could have just continued to be a reader of books only. I've never really wanted to be a published author for any material gain (definitely more money in plumbing), but the knowledge that there were quality writers reading my work was always a buzz.
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David AckleyDec 03, 05:16pm
Thanks, Eamon. I agree with all that you said. If anyone on this thread would care to help, by contacting writers whose work you miss seeing here it would be much appreciated.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 03, 08:04pm
I'll be more than happy to.
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eamon byrneDec 04, 05:07am
Don't know if fictionaut supports bulk messaging, which would help in messaging everyone. Other issue is what you can offer old subscribers to entice them back. Mobile devices are dominant now, and fictionaut doesn't show well on phones. I think the site might need a revamp to make it hum again.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 04, 01:05pm
I just messaged a number of former contributors on my contacts list. Is anyone else going to assist David and myself? If you're intent on trying to revitalize this site, you should.
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David AckleyDec 04, 03:32pm
Thanks Jeffrey-- You're doing better than I since I've ony messaged one person and haven't heard back. but will try to do more today.
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strannikovDec 04, 04:09pmAny fellow Fictionauts familiar with my work know that I have left most of the work I've posted here on my contributor page: all of that work remains accessible to the internet public at large, and I have been happy to be able to rely on Fictionaut (thanks again, Jurgen, thanks again, Carson) as a showcase for work that has appeared in more-or-less chronological order over the past decade and slightly more (almost twelve years now, with renewed thanks to Christopher Allen, formerly of Metazen, for the initial invitation).
As a measure of comparatively recent Fictionaut activity that contributors have already noted in this thread: permit me to cite my own meagre statistics for the pre-plague, plague, and post-plague period. (I may have deleted some few posts in any year for whatever reason, but most of what has appeared @ Fictionaut is still here.)
2018: I posted 23 titled pieces (prose and verse).
2019: 12 titled contributions.
2020: 21 titled contribution.
2021: 10 titled contributions.
2022: 6 titled contributions.
2023: 4 titled contributions.
Across this period, my rate of output has remained more or less static, though across this period I did begin (however tardily) to begin sending more material out to journals and online venues, even (gasp) print publications. Since 2020, I would say, the reduction in posting numbers reflects the drop-off in contributions to the site overall by all Fictionaut contributors and the slow turnover in the Fictionaut submission queue.
It should surprise none of us that the plague gave us all cause for pause, and no doubt many (former) Fictionaut contributors of regular habits began dispatching work to sites other than Fictionaut. We are also mindful that some of our Fictionaut confreres have predeceased us.
I continue to prize Fictionaut for the "relative" immediacy it offers in terms of being able to forego six-month and more periods of editorial review with conventional publication venues, and some of what I've posted at Fictionaut over the past three or four years, let's say, are pieces that I seem to've been unable to place with other sites or publications.
Let us not fail also to consider "internet reality". That Fictionaut has endured, thriving across much of its life, across fifteen-plus years is either quite a feat or almost normal. Many publishing venues that I have tried to send work to (courtesy of Submittable and Poets & Writers portals, et cetera) have gone belly up by the time anyone gets around to notifying me of contribution status: internet sites die the death every year, every month, every day.
I continue to celebrate Fictionaut as long as it endures and I wish it many more years. Encouraging existing members to post work seems the only option at present for stimulating activity here, until or unless the site is reconfigured somehow. (I have long wondered about the extent to which the listed "Board of Advisors" have been active in Fictionaut operations and/or in promoting the site: one or two or three have participated however regularly, but I don't recall now that most or many ever did, at least not here at the site.)
LONG LIVE FICTIONAUT!
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eamon byrneDec 04, 08:42pm
Excellent post Edward. The covid epidemic must certainly have played a part. I will message some of the fictionaut members today.
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David AckleyDec 05, 12:11am
One benefit not much mentioned of posting on Fictionaut is that of leaving your work on display on your home page where it's easily available. As Dianne alluded to above, work from years ago still gets views, in sometimes surprising spurts. I suspect it's a kind of word of mouth effect, but even if I have no idea who's reading the work, the fact that it's still being read at all is gratifying. Participation may be down but there still seems to be a public out there for the work we post.
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eamon byrneDec 05, 09:07am
Been trolling through old messages looking for posters' websites. Sent emails to these:
Ethel Rohan, Robert Kloss, Christopher Bowen, Marc Lowe. -
Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 05, 04:27pm
When I'm not writing I like to read and make an effort to understand and appreciate someone else's work. To me, that's the next best thing to writing. I like trying to figure out how they did what they did, how they broke my heart or made me laugh or whatever.
On Fictionaut I am frequently moved by the writers I read and I get to tell them so. Great plus.
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David AckleyDec 06, 02:49pm
Bill Yarrow is back!
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 06, 03:34pm
Yarrow rocks.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 06, 04:52pm
Welcome back Chris and Bill! And Joani too!
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David AckleyDec 08, 03:34am
It was great to see some old/new faces come back. but I hope we can continue to contact other inactive fictionaut members because reviving the site is going to take more than a couple of posting. It does show that it can be very worthwhile to keep going.
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Bill YarrowDec 08, 04:20amI try not to post on the Forum (too toxic for me), but I wanted to share my thoughts on Fictionaut. I've been here since 2010 and through the site, I have met many wonderful people, virtually and then happily some in person at conferences and readings. Fictionaut has so many memories for me--mostly positive, but not all positive. I relish the authentic friendships that have grown out of commenting on each other's work. I mourn the losses of people I admired--Jack Swenson, Ann Bogle, David James, JLD, Matt Paust....
Anyway, now that I'm retired from teaching, I have the time and mental energy to read and comment once again. Thanks, David, Jeff, and Diane for your comments above welcoming me back. I'm happy to be again in your good company. -
Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 08, 01:18pm
Yes very good to have you back, Bill.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 08, 01:21pm
It's also good to see that there is more participation lately. But it's rather troubling that there are some who don't acknowledge positive comments on their posts. I think it's important to express appreciation for those who take the time to read and comment. A simple "thanks" will do, if nothing more.
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Dianne McKnight-WarrenDec 08, 03:42pm
Then you should make sure you "express appreciation" etc. Don't dictate what others should do. People can do whatever they want, thank, not thank, thank privately, etc.
We don't need a boss and we don't need people gunning for other people.
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Jeffrey S. CallicoDec 08, 03:52pm
I most certainly "express appreciation" every time when someone comments on my posts. Not sure why you think otherwise. This is about basic etiquette, Dianne. And no one is trying to be a "boss" here. I really don't understand why you are so condescending.
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Tim G. YoungDec 09, 07:05pm
Welcome back, Bill Yarrow!
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Bill YarrowDec 09, 10:07pm
Thanks, Tim!
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W. Scott BowlinDec 17, 03:02pmI posted a story after reading this thread and have another one in queue to post.
I remember requesting membership years ago and waiting patiently to the point of forgetting about it until getting my invite. I have not used the site as much as I should have, being a reader more than anything, but I intend to become pro-active going forward.
Any posts on this site by anyone are subjective, and become graffiti on a bridge or Rembrandt or just spilled ink.
Ultimately we are only responsible for being the best version of you
You only get one ride on the merry-go-round. -
David AckleyDec 17, 04:22pm
Welcome back, Scott !
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W. Scott BowlinDec 17, 04:49pm
Thanks, David!
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