News

We almost took the guestbook down once. Then we thought, that taking down the guestbook would be sort of punishing the nice, reasonable people along with the rude and mean-spirited. So we tried to reward the people who left reasonable messages, by talking about the nice stuff, and ignoring the mean stuff. Reward good behavior, ignore bad. It worked for awhile then we got a new moderator on the fan message board. There were getting to be so many messages and so much other work that Darla was overwhelmed and needed some help. All you guys that thought Darla was mean, didn’t know what hit you when Bete Noir rode into town. The fans have named her snipermod, because she doesn’t take the time that Darla did and delete the offending passages and leave the rest, nope. Bete Noir kills the whole message if any part of it goes over the edge. Now all the people that were complaining about Darla, and even calling her names, are crying on her shoulder asking to be saved from Bete Noir’s terrible swift keyboard. Some of you didn’t appreciate how much work Darla put into moderating the board, well, now there’s a new sheriff in town. Enjoy.
Unfortunately, those that were kicked off, or chased off the moderated board decided to come to the guest book on the blog. There’s no moderator. There’s no one to slap their hands, and since this was one of the few ways you, the fans, could actually contact Jon and I, we read some of the guestbook. Jon more than me, but I did read some. I never visit the board. So the guestbook was your only way of contacting me directly. I say, was, because it is no more. The people that left, or were kicked off the board, brought their nastiness to our guestbook. Some really awful things have been posted. Personal attacks on us. People trying to be funny and just managing to be stupid and cruel. Cruel is not witty. Mean is not witty. You can be cruel and witty, or mean and witty, but most of you failed to be anything but mean and petty.
If we said anything half as awful to the fans as you’ve said to us, some even in person, you, the fans, would be outraged. And rightly so. But we’ve behaved ourselves. We’ve been grown-ups.
I am sorry to all of you fans who have been nice, helpful, tried to share your lives with us as we did with you. Sorry that your only way of reaching us directly is gone. But Jon and I have had enough. You can thank some of your fellow fans for the loss of the guestbook. Though I don’t understand why they would still be fans if they hate me, the books, my characters, so badly. Some people don’t love themselves so they try to hurt other people. Some people are jealous of anyone that succeeds or has things they do not. Bullies. The anonymous nature of the internet makes it possible for people to say things they would never dream of saying in person, or in any context where they would have to ‘fess up to having said it. Some will read this and think, I want them to know what I said about you. Fine tell the other fans what you wrote, what you said, but be honest. Tell them what you really wrote, what you really said. Don’t whitewash it. Then see how many of the other fans are shocked that you would say such things to anybody.
Sigh. There will follow two posts in the next few days. One, Jon wrote recently, the other I wrote a few months back. The last time we thought we’d have to get rid of the guestbook. Jon has already disabled the link. The guestbook is gone and you have a few petty, evil-minded people to thank for it.