The Closest You'll Come To Seeing Me Cry

I don't know the specifics, but all I do know is that it makes me incredibly sad. An author named Tribe, gave anyone who had Internet access and wanted to write crime fiction, a little place on the web to showcase their work. All was fine, all was good. I was ecstatic myself. It was the closest I've ever come to being published and for amateurs like myself, it was nice to have a couple of stories right next to published authors.

Something went wrong within the last few weeks and as to what, I'm not entirely sure. I'll let Tribe's own words explain it...

This past week though a submission was posted that led to the Gutter’s very first comment flame war. One commenter took it upon herself to call all the authors there amateurs. She later claimed she was using amateur to describe the fact that no one was paid for a submission, but it was pretty clear that wasn’t the way the term was used initially.

So there was tons of back and forth between commenter known and unknown. I wasn’t paying attention to them all.

Anyway, one thing led to another and out of the blue there’s a request to delete all of certain stories because (evidently) I hadn’t been diligent about deleting certain comments in that comment flame thread that were admittedly improper.

The thing is, the bulk of the stories that were the subject of the request to delete were not only some of my very favorite, they represented a big chunk of the published stories, and they had gone a long way to giving the Gutter the reputation it had.

I felt they almost went to the heart of what Flashing In the Gutter was.

So the request to delete is posed as personal punishment and a lesson to me because I had allowed certain comments to be posted.

Know what? I’m too fucking old to be scolded.

That and I never, ever allow anyone to hold anything over my head. What, I was to beg this person to please not make me delete stories because I wasn’t aware quickly enough that someone else had posted improper comments? Hell, I even suspect now that suspect comments were likely posted under an assumed ID. I didn’t pay that much attention, I didn’t think I had to.

Regardless, I don’t need this. Life is too goddamn short as it is.

I’m not going to name names. Suffice it to say that it stopped being fun.

So when I write “the best way to frustrate a hostage-taker is to shoot the hostage in the head,” I mean it.

There it is ladies and gentlemen. Another good thing and safehaven, gone. Beau-ti-ful...not to mention that what it really comes down to the one person who's trying to do something wonderful for people and improve the lives of many, winds up discouraged.

Hopefully, you won't wind up bitter over this Tribe, you did a great thing for us all, and that's what's really important.