How do you think the AH perceives you?

[UsuallyPresent]

Half is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but I suspect that plenty of people get fed up of my presence here. I'd rather they put me on Ignore than get annoyed at me all the time.

Ya strike me (figuratively, of course) like a literary teddy bear, warm and comforting and righteous about the proper placement of commas. Add on a mildly mischievous sense of humor, detail-oriented, and generally generously genial, and that's my impression.

Me? I dunno! Some like me, and I bite my tongue a goodly bit to avoid annoying too many others. I don't want drama, but it happens, and life goes on. I get lots of fun stimulation, clever ideas, twisty turns, etc - so IMO this place is worth putting up with the relatively calm dramastorms as they crash down.

 

[cw5523729]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone get annoyed with you. Link?

If you reread his post(s) and imagine the surprised kitty's tongue planted firmly in cheek, they might make more sense.

 

[StillStunned]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone get annoyed with you. Link?

If you reread his post(s) and imagine the surprised kitty's tongue planted firmly in cheek, they might make more sense.

Actually, I really wouldn't be surprised if people see yet another Writing Exercise, or see the anti-AI thread floating to the top of the forum again, and think, "FFS!" and click Ignore. Or maybe the "What are we all writing?" thread gives them uncomfortable twinges in their conscience because they haven't written anything for months. (I know it makes me feel guilty.)

 

[cw5523729]

or see the anti-AI thread floating to the top of the forum again, and think, "FFS!" and click Ignore.

Are you kidding? When I see a new post in that thread:

Or maybe the "What are we all writing?" thread gives them uncomfortable twinges in their conscience because they haven't written anything for months. (I know it makes me feel guilty.)

Well, that one might be true. And I do deliberately avoid that one for that exact reason. But I don't place the blame for my laziness on you.

 

[AwkwardMD]

You are widely acknowledged as good at a kind of character-oriented storytelling that I aspire to.

I really appreciated this. I'd much rather be known for my writing than posting, because I put so much more work into the former.

Thank you.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I assume people see me kind of like my avatar, a bespectacled dork with a wink and a smile, who fades into the background and watches the party going on around her because that's what introverts do.

Did you draw your avatar? I love it!

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

Actually, I really wouldn't be surprised if people see yet another Writing Exercise, or see the anti-AI thread floating to the top of the forum again, and think, "FFS!" and click Ignore. Or maybe the "What are we all writing?" thread gives them uncomfortable twinges in their conscience because they haven't written anything for months. (I know it makes me feel guilty.)

Actually, I get really excited to see all of those. Sometimes I can't keep up and no one mocks me for that, but it's been a fun place to hang out, form community, and cheer people on. And I enjoy the exercises. Even if I don't participate, having ideas that I *could* focus on is a lot of fun.

 

[old_prof]

Actually, I really wouldn't be surprised if people see yet another Writing Exercise, or see the anti-AI thread floating to the top of the forum again, and think, "FFS!" and click Ignore. Or maybe the "What are we all writing?" thread gives them uncomfortable twinges in their conscience because they haven't written anything for months. (I know it makes me feel guilty.)

The only reason I would hit ignore on a writing exercise is because they make me feel guilty for not participating actively.

 

[StillStunned]

The only reason I would hit ignore on a writing exercise is because they make me feel guilty for not participating actively.

I should change my title to "The writer's conscience".

 

[Areala-chan]

Did you draw your avatar? I love it!

No, it's Nene from the anime Bubblegum Crisis. I can't draw worth a damn, and I refuse to use AI to pretend I can.

 

[SmilingLez]

Thank you, that's kind.

It's all good, I got my own thang here. Coupla threads, pop off in Poem-A-Week once in awhile.

I respect what writers here do. It takes a fair bit of work to put together a decent short story. I got discouraged by the factors people always bemoan here: broken rating system, trolls, complete indifference from mgmt.

Based on the recent complaints - two-month approval delays, broken AI filters - I don't feel any motivation to try again.

I totally get where you're coming from. I still have a non-erotic story in pending purgatory. I love your poetry in the poetry forum.

It's a shame that stories can't be posted immediately like poetry in the poetry forum

 

[Erozetta]

In all honesty? Same. Id rather hear feedback on my writing than feedback on my AH personality.

But to try and answer the original post:

I get along with most people here and I think they get along with me.

There are several I do NOT get along with very well and I'm pretty sure they don't like me much either.

Thats okay, I don't need everyone to like me. So no, it doesn't bother me.

But overall I think i bring a positive energy to the forum.

I think you're a talented writer and intelligent poster who doesn't always see his own value. You often undercut yourself in a joking way and you shouldn't. You have knowledge, you're an involved reader as well as writer, and your interests are varied, which makes your stories interesting.

Trust your worth as a talented individual.

 

[Erozetta]

View attachment 2578642

I haven't had many interactions with you directly, but you are an incredibly encouraging individual from what I've seen. I think you will be a reason many newer authors stick around.

 

[Erozetta]

As a forum participant, I hope earnest, pleasant, well-intentioned if not always well-calibrated.

As a writer, competent with a particular set of kinks and trying to learn more literary stuff like characterization.

As a reviewer and beta reader, probably kind of negative and maybe a little too interested in verisimilitude, but constructive in my criticism and overall helpful.

I think I fit in but I think that's a pretty low bar. People are pretty accepting here. The ignore list functionality helps, I'm sure. No point getting worked up at people when you can just edit them out of your experience entirely.

I hope I'm positive on net, although I have to admit I haven't been purely positive. The happy lesbians thread was definitely a low point in my AH career and one I still think about when I get the bright idea to dash off a quick post before bed.

Yes and no.

In practical terms, no. I'm not dependent on your good opinion for job security or mutual aid or anything.

But psychologically, yes. I'm not very forthcoming about many topics here, but what I do say is all true, and on certain topics (ahem) I say more here than I do anywhere else. So in that way my interactions here are real, and rejection here would feel like real rejection.

Also, more generally I like to think I'm a nice guy, so it'd bother me to find out I was widely regarded anywhere as not that.

I find you kind and knowledgeable on many aspects of writing and kink. No one else I know gets sewing terms and clothing styles as accurate as you do and I think that might be because we share a hobby, or at least an interest in corsetry and some other types of fetish wear.

You don't speak up or make posts often, but when you do, they pack in a lot of knowledge and curiosities and you shouldn't apologize for them going off the rails. You like what you like and you have questions about what you don't like. That's learning, that's a major aspect of writing and more of us should take that leap to try to understand things that we don't. And not only that, but we should take such posts in good faith and help each other understand things from our perspective. Shared knowledge is a powerful tool in writing.

Also, I love that you are actually willing to learn when you feel you've taken a misstep with a thread. No defensiveness, no bitterness, just genuine "Help me understand where I went wrong." And you seem to take that information into account going forward. That is a commendable trait in a person and something more of us would benefit from learning how to do without letting pride or hubris get in the way.

 

[MillieDynamite]

An entrepreneur is an individual who organizes and manages a business venture, taking on the associated risks in the hope of generating profit. In AH, I'm sure that people see me as more of an entremanure, a person who facilitates the mass spreading of BullShit, with an expertise that is fascinating.

 

[Erozetta]

I think you're a really good writer! I want to say you used to have a story about a detached eyeball or something. It was super novel.

And you have a real skill for building community if your blue sky and discord server are any indication.

I have no memory of this, but it absolutely sounds like something I would write.

 

[Erozetta]

Mouthy.

An endless repository of knowledge of all things geeky, including writing. Also very understanding, kind, and quite brilliant.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

An entrepreneur is an individual who organizes and manages a business venture, taking on the associated risks in the hope of generating profit. In AH, I'm sure that people see me as more of an entremanure, a person who facilitates the mass spreading of BullShit, with an expertise that is fascinating.

Frankly, I find you and StillStunned pretty hilarious. The injections of humor, sometimes where they're delivered in a thread, always get a chuckle out of me.

 

[Erozetta]

An entrepreneur is an individual who organizes and manages a business venture, taking on the associated risks in the hope of generating profit. In AH, I'm sure that people see me as more of an entremanure, a person who facilitates the mass spreading of BullShit, with an expertise that is fascinating.

In my experience with you, you're brilliant and funny with a real sense of life that can only be learned through living it the hard way.

More people should listen to what you have to say, because it's a perspective that many aren't privy to. Your ability to adapt to situations outside of your control is a trait that so few people possess but adds a dimension to your writing that's not easily found in most stories. It makes your words resonate differently and your prose packs so many subtleties that go over the heads of many. People underestimate you and they really shouldn't. There's a lot to your style of writing that we could all learn from to improve the emotional impact on our readers.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I really have no words that express how you made me feel. But it's an excellent feeling.

In my experience with you, you're brilliant and funny with a real sense of life that can only be learned through living it the hard way.

More people should listen to what you have to say, because it's a perspective that many aren't privy to. Your ability to adapt to situations outside of your control is a trait that so few people possess but adds a dimension to your writing that's not easily found in most stories. It makes your words resonate differently and your prose packs so many subtleties that go over the heads of many. People underestimate you and they really shouldn't. There's a lot to your style of writing that we could all learn from to improve the emotional impact on our readers.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've been following this thread since it came out a couple of days ago, and being in Oz, when I first read it (first thing in the morning) it had already gone into joke stage, so I didn't bother responding. Also, that would involve self-cogitation and too much thinking before breakfast.

And then I thought, I really can't answer it, because I suspect I am a multiplicity of things, different for many people: a prick or a smart-ass to some, a fount of knowledge to others, a repository of wisdom and bullshit equally combined, someone who likes the read of his own words, someone who's humour and wit is seen by some, but I suspect not by all, especially not those who don't understand sarcasm and irony.

I'm not someone who goes through life particularly bothered by what people think of me, because the psych tests I've done say I have a particularly high resilience against self-doubt and negativity, a very high psychological robustness (but I didn't actually know that for a long time). I'm an introvert but most people in the workplace are surprised by that. I'm also a typical Leo, so there's that.

Tl:dr: I don't much care how people perceive me, except for those people whose opinions I value, who I hold in esteem. Suffice to say, there are quite a few of those people here - far more than I have on Ignore, of which there are a smaller few.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'd say "fingery". I imagine you typing with a cigarette in your mouth like those fast-talking journalist gals in 40's movies

Cigarettes are a "visceral revulsion" thing for me but I could chew on a pencil or a carrot stick.

 

[Actingup]

I haven't had many interactions with you directly, but you are an incredibly encouraging individual from what I've seen. I think you will be a reason many newer authors stick around.

Thanks, Erozetta - I sincerely appreciate you saying that. I'm still a 'newer author' from my perspective of course!

 

[Bramblethorn]

Actually, I really wouldn't be surprised if people see yet another Writing Exercise, or see the anti-AI thread floating to the top of the forum again, and think, "FFS!" and click Ignore.

You think you're the only one boosting that thread?

Or maybe the "What are we all writing?" thread gives them uncomfortable twinges in their conscience because they haven't written anything for months. (I know it makes me feel guilty.)

For months, you say?

 

[Djmac1031]

I think you're a talented writer and intelligent poster who doesn't always see his own value. You often undercut yourself in a joking way and you shouldn't. You have knowledge, you're an involved reader as well as writer, and your interests are varied, which makes your stories interesting.

Trust your worth as a talented individual.

That's very kind of you to say, thank you.