"whats happened here then?"

Inspiration Point was set by Mark Brown this morning Hen.. Got a problem with it?

Not at all. I just thought it was amusing that Fish has been into hiatus for a while and suddenly there's 'Settling the Score' as the Inspiration Point (which Fish usually writes.) Actually...yeah, might as well roast some beef. Some of the inspiration points of late have reminded me of the creative writing question on A Level papers, where you have to write a poem or short story with the title 'A place in the sun' or 'The end of an era' or simply 'Justice.' I think we should go back to the initial run of obscure words. I shall volunteer 'Minion', in honour of my friend Ryan, who suggested 'Minion' as word of the day back in 98, but was disregarded because he couldn't qualify it with a literary quote. Then we should have 'ill-starred wench,' because that's Shakespeare, and he's in the central canon.

Mississippi & Jay You are both spot on there, Fish & Liana Need i say more............

Fish doesnt write it anymore. It was her idea, but she resigned.

No ralph, you need say no more.

Well, I'd heard she resigned from the site in general, but supposed that it was possible to continue providing the inspiration for the inspiration points. You tryin to make me feel guilty?

Well I dont know Hen...I would suppose that if one resigns, then one doesnt continue to do work for some place...? I think that's probably how it works.

I don't think it is as simple as that, Missi. From what Hen told me from his conversation with Tony, the site is low on money and can't really afford to make any big changes. And most good forum software costs, unfortunately.

Sometimes, I suppose it might work like that. Look, Liana - I don't mean to play games with you. I never had anything against Fish personally, but it's very difficult to interpret this manouevre kindly. I find it intolerably childish, and any attempt to grace it with dignity will have to be bloody impressive to stand up to scrutiny. I wouldn't kill for the kind of fame and reverence Fish has on this site, but I'd be thankful for it, and humbled by it, if it ever came my way. Taking everything down and announcing you're through just because someone admits they don't like it and would prefer not to see it flagged up all the time is an act of supreme ingratitude at the very least. I also think it's a spiteful political action, designed to arouse pity and turn knives. You'll no doubt argue against that, and you know her better than I do, but I am singularly unimpressed, and would consider any guilt on my part as a waste of emotion.

What manouvre Hen? Fish got fed up. She resigned. Thats it. Im not about to go into the whys and wherefores, because it's really irrelevant and not my business, but for gods sake, it wasnt merely about someone not liking her work... Yes, its no secret that I am a friend of Fish's, and contrary to probable popular belief, we do have rather larger lives than the type that would singuarly discuss the ins and outs of the forums.... so.. end of story... apart from, I wasnt trying to make you feel guilty. I couldnt, in fact, care less. You made some remark about the inspiration point, which i reacted sharply to, because it irritated me, not unreasonably I think. Now goodnight...

She dint just resign - at least so I heard. She went to the trouble of taking all her writing off the site. That's an act of the pissed off, not the wearied. I'm sure I didn't single-handedly account for her disillusionment but I bet it's me and people like me who made her 'fed up.' Sincerely hope it is end of story. Night.

There's just no fu.cking end to your self obsession and promotion is there?

I have no doubt the site is short of cash Dentalpain, but UKA is even shorter and has only somewhere in the region of 380 members, even less if you discount my eight identities. In anycase I've been told me that the software they use is either free or very cheap. Perhaps if your pals had paid their entrance fee it would have covered it!

This thread ends here. It is getting stupidly personal and it really doesn't help anyone. If you have a point to make about the Inspiration Points, Hen, then the best thing to do is ignore them. Many many people find them useful and stimulating. We have had a terrific response to them.

dear  'A Bored ABC Member' how exactly did you want to be entertained?

*FREDA* Just would be nice to see a post where everyone is not having a snipe at other members!

I showed my support for the inspiration points when Fish asked about them - I agreed that they're a good idea and still do. Liana asked if I had a problem, and it got me thinking, as always, about any problem there might be. It was only a suggestion. Go on though - put 'Minions' on next week.

I would like to apologise to everyone on this site for my obnoxious son Jon, who never knows when to shut his stupid little mouth. Had I known he was going to turn out like this I would have developed a headache. Perhaps those in charge will do the decent thing and ban from the site until he grows up. That would be in about another 100yrs.

Ouch! That's gonna show in the morning. Minions, minions. You know it's right.

Where did Fish say that she was resigning? Where did she have a eppy on forums and storm off? She didn't. She just kept her (not insignificant) gob shut, and left. Now that's dignity. I could understand Hen's fiery little bout of lividity if she had genuinely manipulated the threads to gain sympathy, but she didnt. She obviously has no "beef to roast" with you Hen. So why dont you return the favour and drop it? Nice post Tone. Tone's the man.

Beware the quiet exit. Now, vote for minions. 'Power' is getting there, but we're looking for more 'lack of power.' Still, still. We're in the zone.

*waves placard* *Free the fish one*

Hey fi...i mean...mrs stone...i thought you were staying away from the forums... make your mind up woman

I don't think that IS Fish.. you are not a very good sleuth at all really are you?

"personal abuse posted by smug egoists (sic) who think they know everything." you really could make a dog laugh sometimes, mississippi...count the pots and the kettles...this coming from the man who calls someone an "insufferable tosser" for expressing an opinion about writing style...you *do* surprise me when you say you don't believe in censorship...you'd never be allowed on the fu.cking forums if that were the case. i seem to remember you bullying a first-time poster recently but i suppose thats ok, s'long as the sacred cow...who can fight her own battles...of abc is not "personally abused" on the forums...ie. informed that someone doesn't like the latter half of one of her poems...we all know you'd like to bone the ivory fish, but you're not really telling the full story are you...just remember the old argument wheeled out everytime someone makes a stand against the institutionalised bullying of rafe on here...it's just as much his fault...do some mathematics... still let's hope she's back soon...then the forums will be so brilliant again...

the space where something ought to be (fish's a r s e) sometimes filled (by everyone's head...not to mention her own)

My names at the top of my posts, nameless tossers like you do not deserve to be read. What's more you have no idea about my sexual predilection.

If you had looked in on us more often you would know were they all are on this special night...

unfortunately, very few actually turned up to the do...nonetheless the 20 or so people who did turn up, had a good night...

i wasn't talking about tonight! im talking about the posts in general! the last couple of weeks, the threads have lost their humour, now there all boring!!!!!!! zzzzz.........................

i suffer prediliction failure. it's okay to talk about it, right? as for the forums being boring, well they are just forums, they are not supposed to be that important are they? as for the petty wars that take place in the forums, i actually enjoy them, they have a certain tang to them, i just wish that they were staged with more elan, were darker and that the authors would wear their intolerance, prejudices and corruption with more pride...at least then we'd get some kind of dynamic going here...sheesh... xxx

you're being a boring troll......zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

You know ... that's what we are always saying. What happened to the forums? I, for one, think they're doing OK. :P

I can remember when the forums were nowt but fields ...

....and we lived in 'oles in the ground....got up before we went to bed... *heads for monty python land*

if you find it dull maybe you could start an interesting thread rather than this rather dull one?

One more bloody 'sheesh' faithless and you'll be lifeless!

You wanna know why the threads are boring? *This is a big secret, guys* Once upon a time, threads were full of intruige, romance and humour. Then, one day, the Thread Monster woke up from its sleep of millenia and checked out what was happening on this new world of threads. Needing lots of food after his long hibernation, he sucked away all the interesting topics of conversation and ate them all up. He replaced them with his own topics, which were all dull because he is stupid. The Thread Monster will continue to eat all the interesting threads until his monstrous appetite is filled and he can sleep once more! That answer your question?

no, wait, that was the dream I had last night. Knew I shouldnt've eaten all those damn mushrooms.

Well the bloody forums ARE brilliant when Fish is here.

The reason the threads are shite these days is partly because most of the interesting characters have been driven away by inane threads and personal abuse posted by smug egoists who think they know everything. That isn't a remark aimed at anyone in particular but if you felt a twinge as you read it then you are in the frame. I feel obliged to mention Ivoryfishbone as being one such character forced to go elsewhere by persistent sniping. Liana has had to take a lot of unfair stick too. It's been suggested that perhaps some form of control is necessary on the forums but I for one would be very disappointed to see them crippled by any kind of censorship. In the main they have worked very well since their inception and what makes them so popular is the freedom to say what you like. I admire Tony immensely for refusing thus far to wag a big stick. There is one other factor that I believe has affected the forums in the last year, and that is there are so many threads started now that they fall off the bottom of the page before many have a chance to develop. Karl used to make regular requests for the format to be changed so that when a new post is added to a thread it goes to the top of the list. Nothing has ever been done about this and the lack of change is killing threads prematurely. UKauthors has just instituted a new forum format that looks suspiciously like this one, but they DO promote new posts to the top of the list, and it's proving very popular. So it CAN be done. Are we going to fall by the wayside for want of an upgrade?

Don't worry about Fish, guys. Check out the inspiration point on the front page. It's like Skeletor coming up from the lava at the end of 'Masters of the Universe.'

Missi I sent an e-mail to Liana only yesterday asking where had Fish got to as I missed her on here but had no idea that she might have been driven away. What a great shame is it to late do you think to try and get her back and I certainly don't want Liana to go. I must admit I am a bit blind to whats going on here sometimes...