[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon I

[Gossamer]

. Rudeness and Newbies I hate it when I start to feel apathetic about things. I really do. I normally love to feel everything passionately like the redhead I am. I love and hate with a profusion of emotion and am definitely one of these people that burn white hot or ice cold depending. I am quick to anger, and really really quick to get over it. I'm not manic depressive though. Before age thirty, I had never been depressed a day in my life. I still don't think I suffer much from being down. I get cranky when I'm tired, and tend to bitch a lot. It's interesting, because the people that really know me here often scold me off to bed when I'm being bitchy and promise to 'talk about it' after I've slept in regards to anything that's been bothering me. It usually is better in the morning. But regardless, there's really no middle ground in my life. And while people like me are reported to live shorter lives, I'm fine with that because truthfully that life is well worth living. I don't get bored. I don't wade through the days and wonder what I did all week because I can't remember. No. I can tell you ever second of every day, and what happened therein - especially if it was recent. But .... Saying that, I've grown apathetic about some of the quality of newbies we've been attracting. I know I complain about this at times, but really when people ask me if they can have a fox tail and furry fox ears, I really am not interested in giving them any more of my time. Recently, we've had a HUGE rash of help desk tickets where the denials have been flying. And truthfully, those that have been getting denied have been throwing a fuss. And what for? Nothing in particular. Seriously. Look. It's really simple. I don't intend to be mean when I say "no". I don't want to deny you the world when you ask for it. But THREATENING to leave... well it is frankly no skin off my nose. Calling our rules stiffing of creativity? That doesn't bother me much either. I know we are creative here and original. We have a TON of players that all enjoy our rules and seem to have no problems following the Starting Guide and Starting Package wiki pages to create their characters. So you can't have your 75/100 starting skill? Don't be stupid. This just tells me you haven't read the lore. If you won't take the time to read it, I won't take the time to do anything but to disapprove your PC in a very visual way. Post a vampire PC? You are warned and it's CS is either disapproved or gone. That's something that is completely clear to me needs to be done. If you start a fight in the Help Desk, the thread is going to be closed immediately and locked. We aren't here to argue. We aren't here to debate. We're here to write and have fun. If you infringe on that, you'd best look elsewhere to play. As of right now, I have a noted lack of tolerance. I don't need my limits tested. I don't need my buttons pushed. I am not a tyrant, but if I have to play one on the net because I've been dealing with a bunch of completely unreasonable dill-heads over and over, then I'll definitely will do it. This doesn't include the occasional folks that make mistakes in their CS's and get pms about it. Mistakes happen. Even I myself (believe it or not) looses count and applies points wrong. It's about being human. But please... just READ the LORE? Read the Starting Guide and Starting Packages ... then if you mess up, fair enough. But if you can't bother to be reading any of it, we can't honestly be bothered to let you play here. Fair's fair. And if you think this post is about you - it probably is.

[Dhanya]

Wooooo!

That's about it really.

[Gossamer]

. Stress I didn't post a single thing for my PC over my two day weekend because I've been so stressed out. Why? Someone suggested I was a piss poor storyteller. And of course, once they even hinted at it, I started to pay attention to what people said. There's an awful lot of hinting, complaining, and a lot of people that just don't seem to want to be remotely nice to others if they don't post rapidly for them. I saw it in complete strangers in chat. I saw it in AIMs, and I even saw it in the forums and ooc conversations in such places as the Matchmaker forum. They bashed people that were officially on vacation: Storytellers like Charon and Dusk. They bashed people that were here but incredibly busy like Tarot and Gillar. And they bashed me. Openly... in front of my face. I feel incredibly pressured to the point where I'm seriously not having any fun. I've seen the opposite too... the direct reversal of the open bash. Its the praise for those that have posted tactic. I see a lot of people judging other people and making comments like 'You've posted the most for me this week - you're great!' thus implying that others aren't doing so well or aren't so great because they haven't. So I spent the weekend finishing off my mod postings and getting caught up. I've had no less than ten people apply pressure to me for various writeups that I can't do if I'm A. Mod posting. B. PC posting or C. Working. Then those same people get frustrated that I haven't posted for them as a PC and a Mod. I have one thing to say about that. What the hell? Don't you guys have some things you do in real life too? Work? Friends? Social lives? I spend an incredible amount of time on here mostly answering PMs... but secondarily answering HD Tickets and reviewing CS's as well as running a city. I got up at 8am this morning, and I've been answering PM's since. Its now almost 9am. I still have more to do. And guys, before you go complaining to me about people posting or not posting for you... listen. They don't for me far more than they don't for you. That was namely what pissed me off all weekend. I'm totally sick and tired of the whining. If they don't post for you, don't use them as a storyteller next time. Don't ask them to review your threads for XP. Don't bog them down with questions and requests. Seriously. And if your doing all this complaining or making snide comments that imply your going to go do something else because no one posted for you.... save it. Just go do that other thing you're going to do and save the remarks. Just spare me from it okay? When all my PC's posts are caught up by all the mods that constantly back burner or shelve them (sometimes for months)... then you can whine at me. That's going to be never though, okay? NEVER. There's no bigger hurt than to see a mod start your thread, post ever so often to it, then start an almost identical thread for someone else and FINISH it, while still leaving yours undone and hanging. It's not fair, its not right, but it happens all the time to me. So suck it up people. I do. I understand its because the other person is more interesting, more non-understanding, or they flirt with you more. I can deal with it. Why can't you guys? I'm seriously working normally 6 days a week anywhere from 8-10 hours a day. I get Sundays off but I have a lovely mother who just lost her husband of 40+ years so she needs some company on that one day off. I can't be here all the time. I can be here in the mornings. I can be here late late at night. But I can't be here 24/7 to do all the things you need me to do. And, truthfully, I can't listen to all the shit I have been listening too. Go be productive and stop whining. My god, is it soo frigging hard? Seriously? It's making me crazy and driving me nuts. It's equally frustrating if it comes from someone who does not have a storyteller account. Oh, and if your a newbie and start this whining, which a few have recently... think twice about it. Learn the game. Volunteer some of your time for it. Don't just sit there and bitch and bitch and bitch. There are quite a few people I will be avoiding, talking too in a bare minimum way, or altogether ignoring for a while until I calm down and get a chance to catch up threads, life, and unearth my sanity.

[Stitch]

Just a hug to brighten your day. <3

[Malia]

As long as there are still people who love and respect you here ... it's okay.

And there are more than enough people who love and respect you and admire the amount of work you do daily. You're the goddess of Mizahar. Don't let those people dictate your day. There are more who appreciate every single post from you.

And here's a queen of hearts because that's maybe the position that describes you best: Your reputation frightens the ones who don't know you, but the title is best understood literally ...

[Gossamer]

I'm the Queen of Wands in Tarot. I always have been. I've tried to shake it for years, but its just not ever going to change.

"Queen of Wands

They light up a room when they enter; they radiate warmth and energy, humor and spirit. Very often they're in entertainment, as actresses or singers. They can also be leaders and activists. Men and often other women hover round them like moths to a flame, and can certainly be burned by their hot, passionate, restless natures. Not that these women can't be gentle; they love children and are almost over-active participants in the lives of their kids, making costumes for plays, coaching teams, etc. These are very creative women, with boundless energy to make, do, travel, entertain. The problem, of course, is that these Queens have trouble stepping out of the spotlight. They can overwhelm or intimidate, be bossy and overbearing. At their best, however, they are an inspiration to their family and friends, and often to admiring strangers as well. "

[Tarot]

I know how that feels, Jen. It's a combination of greedy human nature, young demographics (compared to us oldies ), and the anonymity of the internet making people far bolder and less restrained than they would be face-to-face. My coping strategy is: ignore, post at your own pace, and do the things you enjoy. It shouldn't be a job for any staff member, no matter how much or how little time they'd like to volunteer. I enforce the following rules:

1. I know I owe you posts, no need to remind me. If I'm not posting, no amount of prodding is going to change that.
2. A polite poke is acceptable, though usually ineffective as per #1
3. A rude poke will push you further down the list due to loss of inspiration
4. If you poke me when I'm about to post for you, your post is delayed by a day or two, just so I don't look like a pushover.
5. By starting a thread with me, you agree to receive slow moderation. I will not be held liable for any direct, indirect or consequential boredom resulting from our threads. Some jurisdictions do not allow this clause: yours is not one of them.

I have always thought of myself as the Hermit, by the way!

[Gossamer]

. Help Me Help You. So recently I've been getting a flood of PMs filled with problems that people are having with one another on the site. Most of these PMs are by younger people (early teens) who consider themselves victims of being picked on or unfairness in regards to how Admins have dealt with these sorts of squabbles on the site (ie - repeated warnings and then boots from chat). But truthfully, I'm having a little bit of a hard time being much help to these folks. And in trying to help, which truthfully I'd really like too, I'm finding myself spending copious amounts of time questioning the people involved to find out what exactly happened and what exactly the person asking for help is needing. So, in that light I really need you to help me if you'd like me to help you. I do not want to spend a lot of time questioning everyone involved just to initially find out what the problem is or get a clearer picture of what happened. I'd instead rather spend my time working to resolve these issues so everyone is happier. That makes sense to you, doesn't it? We're trying to be productive here, minimize problems, and attempt to get solutions out there so we can all get back to writing blissfully. So.. what can you do to help? Its easy. Send me logs! Don't start out your PMs with "It's so UNFAIR!". I can honestly make those sorts of conclusions myself. What I really need from you folks when you have an issue with another is just a few simple lines of fact first and foremost. Here is what I need from you... lets take an example from real life shall we? 1. When did this happen? 2. What was the situation (provide a complete log or links to posts) 3. What do you suggest is a good solution? 4. Any additional information you might want to add (this is where you can get emotional and rage at me). I'd also consider you taking an hour or two after the situation to pm me. Sometimes you need to calm down a little before you can send a coherent PM. So that example I mentioned... 1. May 18th, 1980 2. Day turned to night and the air became choked with ash. The ground shook, there was thunder and lightening, and a huge flood came down all the rivers bringing houses and mud and semi-trucks and whole forests with it. 3. I'm not sure, but can we move or not have any more volcano's erupting in our lifetimes? 4. IT FREAKED ME THE HELL OUT! I WAS SO DAMN SCARED I DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO! I RAN AROUND CRAZY LIKE! Okay.. so see the point? I was clued in as to what the PM was about and what you wanted me to do about it BEFORE all the emotional upheaval and screaming writing and drama. Now, Mizahar will never have a real life volcano blowing and killing a lot of people and doing a lot of property damage, but we will have conflict. Lots of it. Hopefully most if it will stay IC, but if it spills over to OOC, lets try to be a little reasonable at first okay? We expect everyone to follow the rules first and foremost. If you see someone not doing so, feel free to clue us in on it via the help desk or a PM. And if someone is harassing you, let us know. We don't tolerate that at all. But please don't make us take your word over theirs. Please provide some good solid evidence for it. I've been getting a lot of PMs lately that just have a tiny slice of the story or omit when the sender did something to provoke a situation. Don't be provocative. Avoid chat if you don't like conflict or don't want people to talk about you openly or discuss your writing, your threads, your PC or any part of your life you were silly enough to talk about in chat. It's just that simple! We are all here to write. We don't want any conflicts. But with communities they always do occur no matter how hard you try to avoid them. Lets keep them to a minimum, and when you do need an Admin's help like mine... please keep in mind what I've said here. Be factual first and foremost, provide proof, then tack on anything else you want me to know. Thanks. Seriously. It will help a great deal in getting yourself helped out sooner and more effectively.

[Gossamer]

. August Is My Favorite Month Why? Magic happens in August. This wonderful event usually unfolds in the Pacific Northwest where the clouds part, a strangely glowing orb appears in the heavens, and suddenly we realize the sky has a thousand hues of blue to it - not the reported and thus far experienced gray of the remainder of the year. It's a time we spend outside. We garden. We plant. We grow food. We talk to neighbors and dream about projects that are incredibly fun to participate in. August is the time in the Pacific Northwest where you realize you only have thirty days of summer left and you've not started any of your plans. You panic, get started, and wonder why it took you all year to get to the stage where you are blissfully creating. As most of you know, I'm home sick today. I'm not feeling well at all, so I'm trapped indoors. This doesn't sadden me however. Not in the least. Its in the high nineties today and its really too hot to go outside. Pacific Northwesterners melt in extreme heat. We're far better at our balmy seventy degrees with slightly overcast skies than we ever were dealing with extreme temps. You'll find this funny if you live in a hot climate : I've stayed bundled up inside and hung out with cats and dogs, watching the horses through the window. And I've been fine with that. We had a man come out earlier, a super nice one, and take some measurements for new siding, fascia, and a new deck on our front porch. The work will start the first or second week in September, so that has me pretty excited. I've always wanted a deck out front and a proper sitting porch. This will give me some place to hang out on warmer days even if it is raining, because this one will be covered. I'll have to post before and after pictures as well to give some idea of how the work will look. I love the patio area I have now and think its pretty cool, but its uncovered and I have a feeling this new one will get used more with having a cover and some other neat things to go along with it. Its fun how home improvement really cheers up a sick person. Another thing that cheers up a sick person is scrapbooking. I don't mean the kind here either. I have a passion for collecting and reading gardening magazines, but I never actually keep the magazines because I have a mother who was a horder of such things. She lost whole rooms to her house to her cookbook and stay at home wife topical magazines. So rather than keep gardening magazines laying around, I cut the pictures out of them that inspire me. I also remove articles that are helpful ... anything from 'what soil is what and what its used for' to 'how to bring outdoor plants indoors and overwinter them'. I also cut out nifty looking plants and and put them in the book under my 'plant wishlist'. Then, like the geek I am whenever I get a project done or collect a plant from my wishlist.. I put a sticker by it. My gardening scrapbook is small - just a small college ruled three ring binder - but its almost full. I'm going to start one each year from here on out and see how my tastes and the trends go. It's interesting though.. in gardening and in life. The things I liked last year seem to still be the things I like this year. I always have and always will, for example, love Westeria. I will not, however, ever love bell bottoms. Westeria, thankfully, is available from year to year. Bell bottoms come and go with trends. All and all, this makes me think Gardening is a far better more rewarding more stable and fufilling hobby than say fashion. I can't eat my clothing.

[Gossamer]

. Cell Phones & Cell Phone Numbers I got this email. I thought I'd pass it on. Finally the government sends me some propoganda I really want to read. REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month. REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. .... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number. HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON .. It takes about 20 seconds. Enjoy. I registered all our numbers.