Folks,
We are 10 days on from Heath's death. As I look at messages all over this forum, I can see that we are all in different places with respect to grief, and we are all processing things in different ways. I have read so many statements. Some have made me happy, some have made me sad, some have surprised me, some have dismayed me, and yes, a few have made me angry. I've been a pretty active discussant myself and I have probably made people happy, sad, mad, and everything in between. My point is, we are all human individuals and we are all processing this our own way--and trying to find the best way--so let's just all keep that in mind and try to give everyone some slack.
Back to the topic at hand, RPS. Reading this thread, it is apparent that people have very strong feelings on this topic. That's good. The other thing that I have come to realize is that probably no one person is going to change any other person's mind. That's okay, too. For the record, we have had threads for RPS stories, with links to where they are posted on LJ. These threads have been here since I have taken over as fanfic moderator. I don't anticipate that that will change, ie, they'll be deleted. How active they are depends on how active the readers are and their interest in discussing the story.
Just to clarify: Louise and I have never viewed this board as being a comprehensive listing of all fanfic, RPS and other writing endeavors that exist in the BBM fandom. We've always taken the approach that if an author or reader wants to start a thread to promote a story and discuss it, fine. I guess you could call it a selective reading list that reflects the taste of the Bettermost community. RPS has never been a dominant theme in our threads, but I know some stories have been posted in the past, and can be posted in the future. As I said, I don't anticipate any changes in that regard.
At the same time, I think Heath's death has cast the whole issue of RPS in a new light, which was why this particular thread was started in the first place. What the discussions here have done for me is to help me think through some of these issues, evaluate my own feelings and beliefs, and become more clear in what I think and believe. That's a good thing. So my suggestion to all as we more forward in this discussion: don't try to pitch your comments with a goal of changing someone's mind. That is not likely to happen. Instead, share information, your thoughts, your feelings, so that we can all understand multiple points of view, and use that understanding to enhance our relationships with each other and our community.
Thanks for listening,
Leslie
Moderator, Fanfic and Creative Writers