Baden

Not to worry. I shouldn't take trans-atlantic translatability for granted when it comes to British and Irish slang :up:

:clap: Most people who write for the first time tend to write in quite a clichéd way where the influences are obvious. I didn't sense that at all from...

There's a lot to unpack re the riot; how much of a threat it was, who or what exactly was it a threat to, how it's been used by various elements in bo...

This: is a mischaracterization. The video @"Michael" posted (along with thousands of others) is proof that it's a mischaracterization, and a fairly eg...

And I just got to add as someone who probably respects your general point of view more than 99% of posters around here that at least half of your poli...

No, what's pathetic is you completely mischaracterizing it to make a political point. You need to dial back the bullshit a bit. As if this is the whol...

We speak loosely of our thoughts. But what else are we? I'm not trying to be all mystical here or anything. Just that the way we talk about subjects i...

So, the more physical attacks we have on government buildings, the further away from anarchy we get? And vice versa?

It's not quite Mad Max yet, dude.

Most of the carnivals I've been to haven't involved heavy weaponry and people getting shot. That's a bit beyond "rowdy" isn't it? You can be as cynica...

To a degree, stories are like Rorschach tests; readers project their own psychology into them and derive a part of themselves. As for the authors: Tha...

Does feel like it sometimes. :death: :sweat:

I like some of the descriptive language here. I agree with @"Paul" though that the story appears a bit disjointed. It opens like a traditional mystery...

:cool: :up:

Me too. The amount of effort she put in has been phenomenal.

Like the comic/absurd/tragic style. The appetites triumph and the higher qualities get eviscerated and consumed but in a bizzare and engaging rather t...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGo9z_tB9pE Or... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yi-mV0T7eI Whaddya think?

Current schedule: voting ends at 12am UTC on Sunday; we guess the authors and then hopefully the authors can spend some time responding to the comment...

Appreciated it as an inversion of the stalker narrative; the protagonist self-stalking by proxy as a form of therapy. Something very psychologically a...

It was a joke not an insult.

Yeah, Saint Takethepiss more like.

Oh, and after voting closes we'll do a bit of "Guess the author". :party:

So hard to write like this with not a word wasted. It's what you don't say too... I like a lot of the stories in one way or another but this is the wo...

I don't think strawmanning is evil. It happens all the time. That's part of the point. As are misunderstandings (I took your question to be rhetorical...

You're free too to not listen to a mod on anything other than moderation, to accuse them of things they didn't say etc and they'll just have to put on...

Now, you're strawmanning me. The way I deal with it is to challenge you to quote me where I said that rather than whine about it. And to point out >>

Ok, if you can't handle other posters criticizing you not listening to you, misunderstanding you, and/or strawmanning you, you're in the wrong place. ...

Promotion of your works here is generally considered advertising and not allowed. Posters can discuss the ideas in their works, of course. But directi...

Glad to see comments still far outweighing votes. Going to wrap this up on the weekend. Much appreciate the participation.

Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

That sounds like having an argument, not being moderated. Being moderated is where we edit or delete your posts. If you're saying you can't handle bei...

:love: Ah, le terrible infini nous consume tous. Les chèvres et les cochons mâchent les restes.

Meh, as mentioned, didn't fancy the happy ending. Much Hollywood. Like mine darker and Frencher. Marco should have lived and spoke French more.

Very funny... But why then did I reject fdrake's story for being too short (in the previous competition). Last time I looked he's a mod too (and even ...

Strictly speaking, yes, I'm a proponent of the death of the author. The story is what it's interpreted to be. From that perspective, it doesn't matter...

The author was just having a laugh and it's not his fault I didn't notice the word count, but we should probably tar and feather him anyway to take th...

I could always put a note on "The Ballad of Marco". But at least the author wrote it in good faith and wasn't trying to troll the competition. Maybe b...

It was a mod, but I didn't notice it was a bit under. I wasnt being super strict about the word count. Though I did reject a mod story the last time r...

I just put a note at the start so everyone immediately knows it's garbage and doesn't bother commenting on it. @"Leghorn" You're banned from this even...

That wasn't my story, you silly little man.

Happy New Year y'all :party: :party: :party:

Your shack and animals are nice. I envy the rustic simplicity of your existence.

Um, yeah, if you worship chocolate, I guess.

:halo: I could always remove it now that we know it's essentially empty garbage?

:up: Which is one good reason to generally rely on the good faith of authors rather than presuming their characters reflect their views.

I still think this is kind of funny/stupid with a reasonably good cadence to the writing that draws the reader in. @"Leghorn" though, who has outed hi...

Oh, and I can only ask that entrants into the competition, as a matter of basic courtesy, offer a genuine piece of work that they stand behind, and no...

:lol: The protagonist comes across as an idiotically comic figure and as much an object of ridicule as some of the PC stuff satirised. As for the rest...

Et tu, Doofus? :cry:

Why? I bought my significant other cosmic latte whiteout. It's the same average colour as the universe. It reflects my belief in her absolute averagen...