Appreciation for WritingForums.com

[Ralph Rotten]

Firstly, I have to let you all know that I am seeing other forums.
But don't worry, they mean nothing to me, baby!

Really, I have a lot of memberships in forums, discussion groups, and assorted social media. Some under the RR name, others under aliases or other pen names.
I have so many that sometimes I forget that I am already signed up there.

So what is the point of this post? To point out that this is actually a pretty cool forum.
Really, it's a jungle out there. Easily 70% of the other forums out there are absolute shit!
Either the members are all klan members, or the staff are soup nazis.
I even belong to one forum where the staff AND members are all extremists.

Seriously, this forum doesn't freak out if you say shit or ass, as long as you don't use it for a ad hominem attack.
This forum expects members AND staff to be polite.
If you post in the wrong sub category the mods just move it and send you a quick missive.

The other day, in another forum, I got a 2 page warning for starting a thread in the wrong folder.
No soup for you!

I go to one physics forum where they let the gold star members do whatever they want, and if you report them for abuse, you get demerits.
One time I admonished a guy for being rude, and I got a demerit for being rude by pointing out that he was being rude.
Internet Jim Crow.

[-xXx-]

*seconds above*

No soup for you!

*contemplates*
nope.
everybody gets soup.
jussayin'

[escorial]

This place I find is not big on cliques and has been steadfast over the years....often people leave an come back...amazing gaff it is...

[Ralph Rotten]

[Ralph Rotten]

There forums that I only go into with alts. The moderators are all like crooked cops, and the members are all low forms of pond scum.
They are a strange people in that forum, they worship this orange deity, science is limited to the bible, and alternative news is considered fact.
It is said that half of the people you meet have an IQ below 100, and I know which forum they all hang out in.



I was in another forum, a science forum, moderated by Sheldon Cooper apparently. My first post, very first, was an image of the universe. Just posted the link to the picture.
Instead of the mod seeing it was my first post and mentioning "Just FYI, we require copyright attributions on every single picture you post..." the guy gigged me for 2 demerits.


And people wonder why forums have been on the decline. It's because so many of them alienate new members.
So to the staff at WF.com, keep up the good work.
And the rest of you, consider a membership. They cost about as much as a latte.

[-xXx-]

There forums that I only go into with alts. The moderators are all like crooked cops, and the members are all low forms of pond scum.
They are a strange people in that forum, they worship this orange deity, science is limited to the bible, and alternative news is considered fact.
It is said that half of the people you meet have an IQ below 100, and I know which forum they all hang out in.



I was in another forum, a science forum, moderated by Sheldon Cooper apparently. My first post, very first, was an image of the universe. Just posted the link to the picture.
Instead of the mod seeing it was my first post and mentioning "Just FYI, we require copyright attributions on every single picture you post..." the guy gigged me for 2 demerits.


And people wonder why forums have been on the decline. It's because so many of them alienate new members.
So to the staff at WF.com, keep up the good work.
And the rest of you, consider a membership. They cost about as much as a latte.

*places IQ points in different pockets*
*slurps soup*
*wipes mouth on cuff*
*washes bowl*
*connects bowl to WF donations*
*by way of pocket point n-m(e)sh-_subroutine(s)*
you rang?

*considers alien 8 as title*
*dys-cards*

[Princesisto]

Yes, I agree. We should value this forum because so far I have found that it is different.

I have dumped many writers' sites for good reason. One or two, like writingforums.org, dumped me for no reason.

Many forum owners do not understand that they are selling (whether or not paid directly by members) a service to members. Members are not lucky to find their site: their site is lucky to get members. The members are not primary school students who need supervision and strict discipline. The managers of this forum seem to understand that difference and I feel I have received good service and personal care.

Another thing I like about this site is that, as much as I like Americans, many forums are all Americans: here I see British, Australian and other nationalities represented in visible places.

Also, this site doesn't give free members less and less service and privileges to try to push them to become paid members. This isn't a beggar site: there are several famous ones that are.

Yes, many forums are cliquy (is that a word?) or have hierarchies of members who dominate all activity and others who are mostly ignored. I have not seen that here.

Finally, while the site may not have as many bells and whistles as other sites, the technology seems to work efficiently.

As a new member with about one week's experience here, I cannot dare pronounce on the site but I can say that, for me, having had a lot of experience at other sites, this one has created quite an impressive first impression.

May it continue!

[Ralph Rotten]

Yes, I agree. We should value this forum because so far I have found that it is different.

I have dumped many writers' sites for good reason. One or two, like writingforums.org, dumped me for no reason.

Many forum owners do not understand that they are selling (whether or not paid directly by members) a service to members. Members are not lucky to find their site: their site is lucky to get members. The members are not primary school students who need supervision and strict discipline. The managers of this forum seem to understand that difference and I feel I have received good service and personal care.

Another thing I like about this site is that, as much as I like Americans, many forums are all Americans: here I see British, Australian and other nationalities represented in visible places.

Also, this site doesn't give free members less and less service and privileges to try to push them to become paid members. This isn't a beggar site: there are several famous ones that are.

Yes, many forums are cliquy (is that a word?) or have hierarchies of members who dominate all activity and others who are mostly ignored. I have not seen that here.

Finally, while the site may not have as many bells and whistles as other site, the technology seems to work efficiently.

As a new member with about one week's experience here, I cannot dare pronounce on the site but I can say that, for me, having had a lot of experience at other sites, this one has created quite an impressive first impression.

May it continue!

If we were on Twitter, I'd be retweeting the shit outta that post!
Tis good to hear I'm not the only one who finds this forum superior to the rest.

[Amnesiac]

I've had crappy experiences with other forums, too. Hell, I've had bad experiences with face-to-face writing groups! If, like Yours Truly, you happen to write things that are a little offbeat, outside the norm, and have the temerity to actually critique someone else's writings, (in the hopes that someone will do the same in return), they act like you've just crapped yourself in the midst of high mass, or something.

Then, it doesn't matter how lousy, trite, or hackneyed someone's writing is, everyone nods, smiles, and applauds... It's creepy! It's like attending a.. a.. CULT, or something! "Okay, folks! Our volunteers will all be passing out grape FlavorAid. Let's all take a big drink, and we'll have a nice little nap."

/smh

Thank God for this place!

[Ralph Rotten]

People who know me know that I frequently buy other writer's books and post reviews for them.
I do not ask for reciprocal reviews or any of that BS.
I just like to help out other writers, especially for their book launches.
I review books all the time.

So when I reviewed a few on the Absolute Write Water Cooler, I got this:



Yes, they accused me of trying to run a review service???
Funny thing is, the book they hassled me for was the same book I mentioned that was broken when it was released.
The book could not be read, the code in the eBook would only let you see the first 3 pages...yet they racked up 90 reviews during that time.
So apparently absolutewrite.com was part of the review-scam.
Because they blocked me as soon as I pointed it out.


So this is the kind of stuff I am talking about.
This forum is great, and the staff are exceptional.
But those other forums...just avoid 'em.