Taking Chances, by E. L. Van Hine and L.H. Nicoll

[louisev]

for you Americans, a Magnum is the dessert equivalent of a Dove Bar.

[louisev]

okay gang...

Fred and I are sitting here looking at each other in chat... why don't some of you gossipy girls click on the red lips and come say hi in the chat room?  Hmmm?

[NavyVet]

   Well.  I'm having one hell of a crappy Sunday.  
I'm trying to get a handle on my PTSD symptoms flaring up and not have an anxiety attack.  I have safety issues and it's not often that I feel confident enough to share my thoughts and opinions.
I thought for sure that because this is the E & E thread, this would be a totally LS friendly zone and therefore safe for me to say things w/o fear of repercussions.  Apparently, I was wrong.  Something that I said HERE to Louise on THIS forum say been taken by someone, copied and posted at a DIFFERENT public location for just anyone and everyone to see.  Worse, the quote is out of context and makes me look bad.  I don't know who would do this or why.  That is more than I bargained for.  What started out as simple exuberance of sharing my love of LS has gotten all twisted and mixed up.  In the process of defending my opinion of LS, I made the mistake of saying that I don't understand why anyone would make remarks against anyone else's story, especially if they hadn't read the whole thing.   It's perfectly fine to not like someone's work, but to say so about a story or an author is just not nice.  But that's just me.  I find negativity a real downer, and prefer to not hear or read about it.
Never at any point did I say that anyone was 'flaming' anyone else, and yet I've been accused of saying that very thing. I didn't want to be dragged into any kind of heated debate and I sure don't wish to drag poor Louise into this either.  She gets enough flack from many directions.  I don't know how she deals.  Must be a stronger person than me.
I sure have learned a lot today.  I'm still freaked out that my words were quoted and discussed at someone else's LJ.  I'm going into full lurker mode.  I will no longer post any recommendations for fic or get involved with discussions about BBM elsewhere.  I'm not sure I even feel safe here anymore.  Maybe this message will be posted somewhere else.   I won't be so naive again.  Any feedback I have for Louise, I'll send to her privately.
This whole mess is stressing me out and I can't talk about it anymore.  I'm done.  All I want to do is find good fic, happy fic, read it, enjoy it, and live my sucky RL vicariously through fictional characters.  I'm not asking a lot, am I?
Sorry to be so depressing.    Though the tears have stopped, I'm still shaking - gotta go take my Lorazepam now.
Thanx for letting me rant.  (Blame it on the PTSD. *snort*)

[opinionista]

 Well.  I'm having one hell of a crappy Sunday.  
I'm trying to get a handle on my PTSD symptoms flaring up and not have an anxiety attack.  I have safety issues and it's not often that I feel confident enough to share my thoughts and opinions.
I thought for sure that because this is the E & E thread, this would be a totally LS friendly zone and therefore safe for me to say things w/o fear of repercussions.  Apparently, I was wrong.  Something that I said HERE to Louise on THIS forum say been taken by someone, copied and posted at a DIFFERENT public location for just anyone and everyone to see.  Worse, the quote is out of context and makes me look bad.  I don't know who would do this or why.  That is more than I bargained for.  What started out as simple exuberance of sharing my love of LS has gotten all twisted and mixed up.  In the process of defending my opinion of LS, I made the mistake of saying that I don't understand why anyone would make remarks against anyone else's story, especially if they hadn't read the whole thing.   It's perfectly fine to not like someone's work, but to say so about a story or an author is just not nice.  But that's just me.  I find negativity a real downer, and prefer to not hear or read about it.
Never at any point did I say that anyone was 'flaming' anyone else, and yet I've been accused of saying that very thing. I didn't want to be dragged into any kind of heated debate and I sure don't wish to drag poor Louise into this either.  She gets enough flack from many directions.  I don't know how she deals.  Must be a stronger person than me.
I sure have learned a lot today.  I'm still freaked out that my words were quoted and discussed at someone else's LJ.  I'm going into full lurker mode.  I will no longer post any recommendations for fic or get involved with discussions about BBM elsewhere.  I'm not sure I even feel safe here anymore.  Maybe this message will be posted somewhere else.   I won't be so naive again.  Any feedback I have for Louise, I'll send to her privately.
This whole mess is stressing me out and I can't talk about it anymore.  I'm done.  All I want to do is find good fic, happy fic, read it, enjoy it, and live my sucky RL vicariously through fictional characters.  I'm not asking a lot, am I?
Sorry to be so depressing.    Though the tears have stopped, I'm still shaking - gotta go take my Lorazepam now.
Thanx for letting me rant.  (Blame it on the PTSD. *snort*)

Navyvet,

We all have been receiving flaming messages from a lot of people just because we happen to be hooked on this story. Louise herself has had her share of attacks. We even had spammers and people coming here to post negative messages about the story. So, my suggestion is that you try your very best not to let those comments get to you, because is not really against you. They just hate this story because Ennis is in love with somebody else, and therefore they hate us because we like the idea and enjoy it. It's all very stupid, so don't take it personal. 

[Bigheart]

Navyvet,

We all have been receiving flaming messages from a lot of people just because we happen to be hooked on this story. Louise herself has had her share of attacks. We even had spammers and people coming here to post negative messages about the story. So, my suggestion is that you try your very best not to let those comments get to you, because is not really against you. They just hate this story because Ennis is in love with somebody else, and therefore they hate us because we like the idea and enjoy it. It's all very stupid, so don't take it personal. 

I'd like to second what Natali says NavyVet 
I know all of this is terribly distressing, believe me when I got my first nasty comments it depressed me too but please don't let it stop you from posting on here and leaving comments on Louise's journal. That would be a real shame. 

[louisev]

The Internet is like Pandora's box:  it contains just about anything.  In the free-speech concept of Livejournal, anyone can create a free account, and post whatever that want.  I learned after the Laramie Saga was parodied without my permission that there isn't a darn thing I can do about it.  Livejournal allows people to post that they hate your guts, don't like your story, and they can horselaugh up a storm at your expense... and that is perfectly acceptable according to the Livejournal terms of use.

Individual forums, like Bettermost, do not allow personal attacks upon other users, and our overweening policy here is to refrain from making negative commentary about other communities.  It is an unfortunate reality that when people are free to post opinions, they will disagree, feel bad, and sometimes - call each other names.  I feel very proud and happy that in the feedback I have gotten from those outside my own reader community, the fans of the Laramie Saga have by and large conducted themselves with dignity, grace, and a positive, tolerant outlook, and that has been wonderful feedback to get.

There is nothing at all I can do, or say, about other Livejournal communities or individual blogs:  everyone is entitled to their own opinions of whatever sort.  It is mildly flattering and a bit unnerving to know that large volumes of lurkers hang on my words, quote them out of context, parody them, and snicker over the lengths of my stories - but it is in the long run, a measure of success when one is so closely observed.

Just for the record, all of you lurkers, critics, commenters, and dissenters in the blog world at large:  I don't publish or publicize the spam I delete, and I don't publish the list of bans I have made from my LJ.  Most of the regular readers of the Laramie Saga know about the super-spammer who was banned recently from my LJ and from Bettermost, and the problem has been resolved.  However, it has left many readers here, who just want to enjoy some good BBM fan fic stories, feeling invaded, tricked, disoriented and paranoid.  The spammer was not a member of any communities, forums, or BBM fan sites to my knowledge, so we aren't talking about YOU.

On the positive side, NavyVet, my tracking software lists 8 new readers of "Taking Chances" after you posted your rec on Yahoo.  I thank you for that positive recommendation!

[louisev]

Update to "The Long Way Home"

http://louisev.livejournal.com/120527.html  "Chapter 66:  A Widow and a Wife"

[NavyVet]

Thanks, Louise.
Been involved with fanfic for years, and I ain't NEVER seen anything like the controversy surrounding LS.
I don't think I'll ever get used to or understand how people can say such hurtful and nasty things to other people.  I must still be a little naive, somehow.  I mean I know there is a lot of hate and mean people in the world, but I sure try to avoid any confrontation.  I have to avoid stress, or I risk a relapse, so I try hard to keep my life very simple and safe.
Part of my PTSD is panic disorder, agoraphobia, hyper-vigilance, etc.  So, yeah, I tend to get a little paranoid sometimes.  (For 27 years now, I still check my door locks repeatedly and tend to avoid places where people can sneak up on me or going out alone after dark.)  Yep, feeling safe real big issue for me.
The Internet is literally my window to the world - I spend major portions of every day at my computer.  I love the escape that fiction gives me.  LS in particular has given me a sense of hope that the original BBM did not.  It has affected me like no other, and I am so grateful for that.
Thank you.  I'm feeling better now.   
 

[louisev]

I think everything is fine.  The controversy about the Laramie Saga started about two weeks after I began writing it.  You didn't cause it, and you can't cure it, as they say in a well known 12 step program.  Rest assured that I am getting used to the idea of being scrutinized - it gets out the kinks, so to speak.  You haven't done anything wrong, and in my opinion, you let people know how you feel and what you think, and no one should ever be afraid to do that.

You can rest assured that our policies keep Bettermost free of personal attack, and our Fan Fiction statement of purpose is to steer away from making Bettermost's Fan Fic area a "critic's corner."  It isn't. It is a place for sharing the responses and results of our interaction with BBM, movie and story, in a free and tolerant atmosphere.

However,  while the Internet is quite free, it is often not too tolerant, and we have to pick and choose who we rub up against on the Information Superhighway, or we could end up as "roadkill."  For myself, all publicity seems to be translating to more readers.  And since I consider my story a positive rather than a negative experience, this can only be an ultimately positive thing, even if the feedback or comments are negative.

Cheers,  bedtime for me!

[NavyVet]

I'd like to second what Natali says NavyVet 
I know all of this is terribly distressing, believe me when I got my first nasty comments it depressed me too but please don't let it stop you from posting on here and leaving comments on Louise's journal. That would be a real shame. 

Thanx. 
Believe it or not, it got worse.  One of my innocent feedback comments to Louise was actually displayed and poked fun of on an LJ in a way that was made to make me feel like an idiot.  I wanted to curl up and die with humiliation.  Just no call for that atall.  I was also told LJ's are 'not public'.  Huh.  A person can write whatever and with a simple mouse click, anyone and everyone in the whole world can read what they post.  Well, that's pretty damn public, doesn't get much more public than that, does it. 
However, I am putting it all in perspective now (medication helps) and like Ennis, I'm movin' on.  It's just not worth worrying about anymore.  I've come to a decision and taken steps to protect myself from any further distress of situations I have no control over.  I'm going to be a lot more careful about every word I post, coz ya never know when it can get used against ya.  I've removed myself from certain BBM discussion forums and will steer clear of of reading LJ comments.  They can say whatever they want about me, I won't care if I don't know about it.  I'll have to give up certain WIP's I've been following, but that's okay, I'll find others elsewhere I'm sure.  Guess I'll never know how they end.  Actually, I've been trying to read everything out there, since there's too many, I think I need to get a little more particular and drop the less interesting ones.  A few AU's are really getting out there anyway.
There's more than enough great fics to keep me busy.  I'm just gonna consentrate on reading and enjoying the stories.

Anyhoo, can't believe I'm up this late, gotta crash.  I believe things will look better in the morning.