Goodbye SWM

After about three years of activity on this site, I have decided to leave SWM. The site and its community has been a big part of my life given that I had been lurking pretty much ever since it started all those years ago. During those last three years I had a lot of fun here in this community and I want to thank all those I that were involved in that.

But all good things come to an end. Truth be told, I feel like I've been overstaying my welcome for quite some time now. And while a part of me wishes to elaborate about the series of events that brought me to this conclusion I think I'm doing everybody a favor by not doing so. All I'll say is that there were certain issues that were left unresolved and kept eating at me over a long time. The more time passed, the worse it became for me up to the point where my own behavior became overly negative and snarky on the site and in the chatroom. I know that this isn't the right way to behave but at the same time I still see myself in the right when it comes to the original issues. But instead of making any progress in resolving anything, I only managed to estrange those close to me in this community. And to those, I have to apologize. By now it's quite obvious that things won't get resolved at all, and with myself being unable to leave things be, I do the closest thing to taking the high road that I can do. And that is leaving the site and community.

Once I figured out how, I'll park my IRC bouncer somewhere outside the SWM Chatroom, hopefully allowing this little place to see some more activity without my negative presence. As for the stories I contributed, I am not going to have them removed as I considered at some point – they aren't that great after all. Despite that, I intent to continue writing, but like my latest installment, I won't submit it or advertise it on SWM anymore.

Well, I think that is all I wanted to say. There are some people I have to thank, others to apologize to. I won't say any names, but I hope you accept it nonetheless.

Goodbye,

Njae

Goodbye Njae, and thank you for your contributions to the library, the forum, and the chatroom. I never found you a negative presence and I'll miss your presence here, but when you feel like you need to leave, it's best to leave. Good fortune wherever you go, and I'll see you on your DA page.

I'm sorry to see you go as well, Njae. Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. And not to step on anyone's toes or insult anyone, I've also been planning a similar course of action for a while, so trust me, and all here who understand and love you and your work (which is all of us), you're not alone.

You wrote my one of my favorite stories here. Good luck.

njae wrote: As for the stories I contributed, I am not going to have them removed as I considered at some point – they aren't that great after all. Despite that, I intent to continue writing, but like my latest installment, I won't submit it or advertise it on SWM anymore.

Nonsense! MMM is a fantastic read, and I certainly hope that you continue it somewhere....

- AlG

Since I'm only reading here almost without any contributions of myself I have no idea what has happened. And I don't have to care. But just wanted to say that I loved most of your stories, you're a great writer! Hope you'll keep doing so. And I wouldn't mind at all if - at any time - you'd tell the SVM-Community where to find your new contributions. Good luck with your future
P.S. Glad you changed your mind about keeping the storys here!

Just wanted to say Goodbye, though i haven't a clue of what has gone on within the community. i will say it's sad to see such a talented writer go, i loved the Michelle's Meteor Memento series, thank you!

Sad . Like a lot of people, I don't post much but I've really enjoyed a lot of your work. From the old interactive stories on Bearchive.com to your recent MMM saga here on SWM.

I will certainly keep on reading your stories on Brawna or Deviantart if you continue to write.

Thanks for all the work you've shared with us. Farewell !

Very sad to see you go, but I understand why. As they say at motel six, we will leave the light on for you. Hope to see you back here sometime.

Koopa hints at a very strong point: the importance of positive feedback to contributors. Without it, it is easier for any negative impressions to outweigh the good vibes that others on the site have.

I hope everyone stays here.

I gotta say I'm moved at the posts here and I'm glad that there are some people following my stories. For those who look for them, koopa already mentioned that I published them on Deviantart and Brawna.

Since the topic came up, I just want to make one thing clear. While it is true that I am a very feedback-oriented person that hates to see other authors receive way more feedback than myself, but I know it's my own fault for being jealous in these situations. What I want to say here is that the lack of positive feedback is not why I'm leaving the site. Truth be told I expect there to be much less feedback at the new places than I received here, so I appreciate the positive comments here.

As for the possibility to see me returning I'm not going to deny this possibility. After all, never say never. But what I have to say here is that this is beyond my power. I tried to sort out the issues right away but they weren't even recognized as a problem by the other party - which in turn left me convinced that this other party hates me and wants me gone. I tried waiting it out too, but this didn't work out for me at all. Returning after a while would mean facing these unresolved issues again which is what I want to avoid after all.

PS: Finally managed to tell my BNC to leave the IRC channel.

njae wrote: I gotta say I'm moved at the posts here and I'm glad that there are some people following my stories. For those who look for them, koopa already mentioned that I published them on Deviantart and Brawna.

Since the topic came up, I just want to make one thing clear. While it is true that I am a very feedback-oriented person that hates to see other authors receive way more feedback than myself, but I know it's my own fault for being jealous in these situations. What I want to say here is that the lack of positive feedback is not why I'm leaving the site. Truth be told I expect there to be much less feedback at the new places than I received here, so I appreciate the positive comments here.

As for the possibility to see me returning I'm not going to deny this possibility. After all, never say never. But what I have to say here is that this is beyond my power. I tried to sort out the issues right away but they weren't even recognized as a problem by the other party - which in turn left me convinced that this other party hates me and wants me gone. I tried waiting it out too, but this didn't work out for me at all. Returning after a while would mean facing these unresolved issues again which is what I want to avoid after all.

PS: Finally managed to tell my BNC to leave the IRC channel.

Technically, we have all left the old site. So... you really don't have to go anywhere! [and everyone has saved face!]

algae2k wrote: Technically, we have all left the old site. So... you really don't have to go anywhere! [and everyone has saved face!]

You may want to be funny here, but it really just comes of as a giant insult. I am not the only one who considered leaving the site when the issues took a turn for the worse and of those I'm not even the first one to actually leave. So please don't make jokes about stuff that really hurt me to the point where I can no longer be part of this community.