How do other AHers perceive us?

[AwkwardMD]

Sure, why not? It's not like anyone is going to say something to make be more neurotic.

A fucking rock star

 

[SimonDoom]

I must have reached a new chapter in my life, or at the least reconciled myself to whatever this chapter is that I've been in for a while, because Penny referred to my brain as "old" and I wasn't offended.

I've been in this forum for nine years now. I guess I'm an old-timer. It went by fast. I'm keenly aware that there are many newer and much younger participants in this forum. That's not a bad thing.

 

[iwatchus]

I must have reached a new chapter in my life, or at the least reconciled myself to whatever this chapter is that I've been in for a while, because Penny referred to my brain as "old" and I wasn't offended.

I've been in this forum for nine years now. I guess I'm an old-timer. It went by fast. I'm keenly aware that there are many newer and much younger participants in this forum. That's not a bad thing.

and some newer and older

 

[DEFCOM5]

After involuntarily insulting two great authors who spent a lot of free time trying to help me and coming out as a little whinner, I expect my reputation here to be as close to the bottom as it can be.
Lesson learned.
I will try to regain a little more positive reputation in 2026.

 

[iwatchus]

After involuntarily insulting two great authors who spent a lot of free time trying to help me and coming out as a little whinner, I expect my reputation here to be as close to the bottom as it can be.
Lesson learned.
I will try to regain a little more positive reputation in 2026.

You had a rough time. It's hard to hear things about a story you care about. I'll admit your reaction was frustrating, but I still have faith in you.

 

[Off_base]

After involuntarily insulting two great authors who spent a lot of free time trying to help me and coming out as a little whinner, I expect my reputation here to be as close to the bottom as it can be.
Lesson learned.
I will try to regain a little more positive reputation in 2026.

I show my ass often here in AH, as do most others on occasion. You're judging yourself harder than others are, I suspect. It will all be forgotten by next week. Happy Thanksgiving if it applies.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Thanks. I think that is fair and kind and not even a little bit Stacnashy.

I bow to your attitude. Seriously.

The guy called you the best storyteller on the site, which is a preposterous and 100% Stacnash-like claim (because that's what she called Altissimuss, more or less), because neither of them could have read more than a hundred authors here, or two hundred, doesn't matter, yet there are like 10k+ authors on the site, at least.

And you called that fair. You wear your vanity like a second skin. That's a great ability, one I wish I possessed. Truly.

 

[AlexBailey]

@AG31 - a true gem of the AH. Always digging into curiosities and inspiring introspection.

@StillStunned - always prompting thoughtful writing exercises and crunchy food for thought.

@SimonDoom - I love how you marvel at your calling to write. It’s great to see how someone can find new unexpected talents and pursuits that can become such a rewarding experience. I guess I’m trying to say something about an old dog learning new tricks without calling you old or a K9.

@MillieDynamite - you’re a smart hot talented lesbian that reminds me of the fun crew I hung out with in my college years.

@alohadave - I’ve appreciated your cool head during some of the heated AH discussions.

@PennyThompson - I appreciate your combination of open mindedness, general kindness, and impressive writing talent.

@MelissaBaby - I admire the authenticity and sincerity of your writing and forum engagement.

…. There are more I’ll have to get to later.


I’m in. Why not?

 

[StillStunned]

I find @StillStunned knowledgeable, creative, friendly, and helpful, a writer with whom I was quite pleased to share a chain story.

By the way, I'm in.

@StillStunned - always prompting thoughtful writing exercises and food for thought.

While I appreciate the positive words, I should point out that I haven't said I'm in for this thread. I got enough compliments in the other version, and like I noted there I assume that any posters who are likely to say negative things about me probably have me on Ignore anyway.

 

[lovecraft68]

I must have reached a new chapter in my life, or at the least reconciled myself to whatever this chapter is that I've been in for a while, because Penny referred to my brain as "old" and I wasn't offended.

Sometimes you have to look at the source. When someone has decided that all of a certain type of person is a certain way, the opinion is no longer valid.

 

[AlexBailey]

While I appreciate the positive words, I should point out that I haven't said I'm in for this thread. I got enough compliments in the other version, and like I noted there I assume that any posters who are likely to say negative things about me probably have me on Ignore anyway.

Oops! Sorry to you and anyone else I mentioned who might not have opted in.

(There are several people I didn’t mention because I was paying some attention.)

 

[DEFCOM5]

You had a rough time. It's hard to hear things about a story you care about. I'll admit your reaction was frustrating, but I still have faith in you.

The good news is that I am way closer to hitting bottom that reaching my peak so things should improve.

Thank for forgiving me and I am really sorry I came out as an ingrateful, frustrating, blaming other person.

The issues are mine and mine alone. It was never my intentions.
I know I have apologized before but I am still very sad that I made you and @TheRedLantern feel that way.

 

[DEFCOM5]

I show my ass often here in AH, as do most others on occasion. You're judging yourself harder than others are, I suspect. It will all be forgotten by next week. Happy Thanksgiving if it applies.

Maybe other will forget but I will not. I don't want to hurt anyone feelings, especially not people who tried to help me.
At one point, I might forgive myself, but I will not forget. I will just try to make a better mistake tomorrow!
Happy Turkey Day to you too!

 

[lovecraft68]

I bow to your attitude. Seriously.

The guy called you the best storyteller on the site, which is a preposterous and 100% Stacnash-like claim (because that's what she called Altissimuss, more or less), because neither of them could have read more than a hundred authors here, or two hundred, doesn't matter, yet there are like 10k+ authors on the site, at least.

And you called that fair. You wear your vanity like a second skin. That's a great ability, one I wish I possessed. Truly.

Stacnash has me on their do not read list because I'm a bad writer.

How seriously should the opinion of one person be taken?



That's how seriously.

The readers are who we came here to showcase our work to, all the readers and they outnumber the folks here countless to one.

It's nice to get support from your peers, it's nice when your peers enjoy your work and think highly of you.

But you can't be hyper focused on a handful of people, many of whom are being disingenuously gushing to play nice and get the same in return. I've lost track of how many times someone has asked for 'real feedback' gotten some that they don't like-and well put and not insulting, just not fawning, and they've gotten upset. So being upfront and honest comes with a price, and a lot of folks just don't need that headache.

Stacnash thinks highly of some authors but for all their long winded praise-or insults-they're one person.

I'll see what the masses have to say and generally, and in spite of all the bitching here, the majority of votes are positives and other than LW most comments decent.

I'll take 1k votes on a story over five likes on a post here.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I'll take 1k votes on a story over five likes on a post here.

It's time for every conservative cis het white male's favorite game show! Check! Your! Privilege!!!!

How common do you think 1k votes is? Out of the (recently hashed) 169 semi-frequent AH participants, how many do you think have achieved this? You, Simon, the Copycat. Primarily T/I writers. Who else? I've got exactly one, one of my few T/I submissions, and after that you've gotta start adding 2 or 3 (or more) of my stories to get close to that level. I'm no slouch, but 1000 votes?!

Who else? How many? Are there even ten?

It's easy for you to dismiss peer interaction and support for reasons that have nothing to do with your (admittedly great) writing talent. Not all of us have that option.

 

[PennyThompson]

It's time for every conservative cis het white male's favorite game show! Check! Your! Privilege!!!!

How common do you think 1k votes is? Out of the (recently hashed) 169 semi-frequent AH participants, how many do you think have achieved this? You, Simon, the Copycat. Primarily T/I writers. Who else? I've got exactly one, one of my few T/I submissions, and after that you've gotta start adding 2 or 3 (or more) of my stories to get close to that level. I'm no slouch, but 1000 votes?!

Who else? How many? Are there even ten?

It's easy for you to dismiss peer interaction and support for reasons that have nothing to do with your (admittedly great) writing talent. Not all of us have that option.

@Actingup and I got ~2,000 votes on It Just Ain't Going To Happen

But also I think we should all get to eat a cookie every time LC posts a clout screenshot of his follow count or of his story with "1 millions views"

 

[AwkwardMD]

L/W and T/I are unique beasts. Meanwhile, my last three submissions have 2700, 2700, and 1100 views.

EDIT: I'm not complaining. I knew they'd get low views in Sci-Fi. It is what it is.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It's time for every conservative cis het white male's favorite game show! Check! Your! Privilege!!!!

How common do you think 1k votes is? Out of the (recently hashed) 169 semi-frequent AH participants, how many do you think have achieved this? You, Simon, the Copycat. Primarily T/I writers. Who else? I've got exactly one, one of my few T/I submissions, and after that you've gotta start adding 2 or 3 (or more) of my stories to get close to that level. I'm no slouch, but 1000 votes?!

I agree, 1k votes is a lot. I also think this would be an interesting topic to discuss in its own thread. We rarely truly discuss the readers' mentality on a large scale. Also, I'd really like to compare our notes in various categories.

It's clearly not JUST about category and tropes.

 

[Britva415]

After involuntarily insulting two great authors who spent a lot of free time trying to help me and coming out as a little whinner, I expect my reputation here to be as close to the bottom as it can be.
Lesson learned.
I will try to regain a little more positive reputation in 2026.

You have been gracious about recovering from that and making apologies. That counts for a hell of a lot in 2025.

I mean, it always did, but, so few people have the class, integrity, humility, self-awareness and empathy for that anymore.

Way to set a good example.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

@DEFCOM5 Your name makes me anxious because I use the DEFCON levels as a way to classify my moments of anxiety. At least it's 5 and not 1. Sounds like a mild roast, but it isn't. Still, humility is a rare trait to which I struggle with a lot of times, so I admire that.

@StillStunned 50% of people will hate your guts no matter what. The number is realistically much lower.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm honored... it'll be just between you and me.

Oh, you're also another Lit girl crush I have!

 

[AG31]

I’m in. Why not?

I can't think of a quality that's more attractive to me than self acceptance, and you have demonstrated it in numerous ways.

And you have understood me. There's nothing more gratifying.

You have a great common-sensical approach to all kinds of issues.

I'm really glad to have made your acquaintance!

 

[Actingup]

But also I think we should all get to eat a cookie every time LC posts a clout screenshot of his follow count or of his story with "1 millions views"

That seems reasonable!

I would imagine that many of the more popular authors (with readers) here would get over 1K votes reasonably often. But the category point is completely fair. I’m a relative newbie and I was lulled into a false sense of security when my third posted story got over the 1K mark in LW. I’ve got four of those in LW now, including the most recent one with Penny, but in other categories the highest vote numbers are around the 700 mark in Romance, for stories that are higher-rated.

This is all tangential though to the thread topic. Internal AH perceptions of authors are much more likely to be based on their cookie baking skills, their generosity in sharing said cookies (and in other acts of support and kindness), their gracefulness and wit in banter, and the quality of their insights. The popularity of their writing seems less important to me.

 

[DEFCOM5]

@DEFCOM5 Your name makes me anxious because I use the DEFCON levels as a way to classify my moments of anxiety. At least it's 5 and not 1. Sounds like a mild roast, but it isn't. Still, humility is a rare trait to which I struggle with a lot of times, so I admire that.

It is a (bad) pun. DEFCON5 means all good. I used a M for COM (i.e. communication i.e. writing), so DEFCOM5 means my writing is all good. If only. I knew my writing is a DEFCOM0 right now!

 

[Statius]

Stacnash has me on their do not read list because I'm a bad writer.

How seriously should the opinion of one person be taken?

View attachment 2580239

That's how seriously.

The readers are who we came here to showcase our work to, all the readers and they outnumber the folks here countless to one.

It's nice to get support from your peers, it's nice when your peers enjoy your work and think highly of you.

But you can't be hyper focused on a handful of people, many of whom are being disingenuously gushing to play nice and get the same in return. I've lost track of how many times someone has asked for 'real feedback' gotten some that they don't like-and well put and not insulting, just not fawning, and they've gotten upset. So being upfront and honest comes with a price, and a lot of folks just don't need that headache.

Stacnash thinks highly of some authors but for all their long winded praise-or insults-they're one person.

I'll see what the masses have to say and generally, and in spite of all the bitching here, the majority of votes are positives and other than LW most comments decent.

I'll take 1k votes on a story over five likes on a post here.

Smart, observant, with the ability to be concise and cut through the noise of most everything here. And no BS.