Legends of SWM announcement

Hi all,

Today I would like to announce something new and exciting.

Over the last number of years there have been a number of changes to the site, there have been features added and features withdrawn, we have gained staff and lost staff, but there has been one thing that has remained the same and has never changed, the quality of the writing, artistry and the most important element of the site, the people.

To celebrate the people who have made this site what it is I would like to announce the creation of a new rank for the site that shows our appreciation.

I’ve been looking at some time on how we celebrate the people on the site, I wanted to show what the site and more importantly the people mean to me.

So on the 30th of September of every year I will be announcing the new Legends of the site to get the ball rolling i’m announcing six people to be the first batch of Legends of SWM.

The people who I feel have made the biggest contribution to the site are:-

• Conceptfan
• Marknew742
• Shadar
• Dru1076
• GeekSeven
• Julievelor aka AK

These six people in my mind deserve to be recognised in a way that shows the excellence that can be achieved in our little corner of the genre. The new rank has a few things, one a new rank image, a new rank title and lastly extra powers, the biggest one is the ability to automatically publish stories without admin approval. There will be other powers added when new features come online.

I’m making this announcement a day early as the 30th is my birthday, and I will not be around much.

On a personal note I would like to thank everyone on the site, this year has been a very difficult one with the lost of my wife it has been a very trying year, and I would like to extend my sincere thanks to one and all for their friendship this year.

Fats

Happy birthday Fats. And may there be many more to come.

I'm not sure I'm worthy, but to be included in such an illustrious list is quite flattering.

Thank you, mate

Dru

First of all happy birthday to Fats.

On second count I think that there are a lot more people out there that are worthy of the Legend rank, but I have to agree that all of the current nominees deserve it.

Now, back to your keyboards and keep writing

HBD, Fats and congrats to all the Legends recipients.....well deserved to all!

ElF

SCOTT R wrote: All outstanding writers. The creme de la creme. It's to bad DKC isn't on the list though. His stories kick serious butt too. Btw, happy birthday Fats and thanks for this fantastic site!

sphinx wrote: Cool! i didnt realize that Julie, marknew and concept were still contributing to the site! Are they using a different handleWas this a vote among among just the swm admin or did i miss a poll? cause clearly you forgot to include the good Dr. mutton

While Marknew hasn't contributed a story in quite some time he's still around and occasionally pops in, AK and Cf have dropped out of the radar a few years ago. Anyway the legend rank is meant to recognize contribution both past and present to the site. As I said above there are many more authors that deserve the legend rank, but Fats decided to limit the nmbernof nominees for this first batch to six to prevent an overflow that woukd make much harder to choose for the following years.

d_k_c wrote: Ultimately, I don’t know how these selections were made…Perhaps selected as the Admins faves? But Imo, a legend should be someone who pioneered this genre. Who started something for the rest of us to follow and enjoy.

And I know, I’m not one of those guys, not even close…. That being said. I can’t help but wonder why Geek 7’s name is there. He’s a good writer don’t get me wrong….But Legend? Cmon…

Well, since I was the one who put forward G7 name I think that it deserve an explanation. A few years back (2008-2009 if memory serve me well) there was a major creative crisis around here. No author was able to submit content for quite some time, a lot of old authors were on the verge of leaving or left around that time (I think that it was the last time we saw AK and Cf), overall the site was quite in bad shape and there were rumors of it closing soon. G7 arrived around that time and its contribution was like a shot in the arm, his stories gave some people the boost they needed to get back writing. While he's a comaratively new contributor (at least if measured up to Shadar and the rest) I think he deserve some praise for saving our bacon.

Others on the list Dru, Marknew, shadar, AK and Concept 100% spot on….I remember reading these guys when I was in my late teens, thinking this is great…I want to try that! Seems so long ago and considering I’m now in my 30’s….I suppose, It was a long time ago.

The only other person I would have thought should be on this list is LFAN…..And I would refrain from adding more legends. It’ll take away from the status…just my, usually offensive =), Opinion…..Good job guys!

About LFan ... well he's technically the boss around here, so I don't think that giving him the rank will be fair (since he's the one who ultimatly have to approve what is going online and what not).

geekseven wrote: What with traveling and being sick, I've had a lot of time to think about this, but it's taken me a while to put this into words. I hope I am not reopening any wounds by commenting on this thread, and I don't want to come across as ungrateful.

While very honored to have been included in this list of "legends", I really don't feel comfortable with it. I won't go over my self-perceived shortcomings, I would prefer to dwell on the positive contributions of someone else.

anon credits me with giving the site "a shot in the arm" when it was needed, but I would not have been able to do that without the help of somebody that I consider a true legend of the genre. When I stopped lurking and began contributing, argonaut was a huge source of support, encouragement, and advice for me. He has been incredibly generous with his time and energy over the years, and I am sure I am not the only one that he has helped. All of that is aside from his own writings, which began long before mine, but I want to acknowledge that the great stories he has published over the years only cover part of the contribution that I feel he has made to the site and to the genre.

I don't think I should have been recognized for my contributions before someone that I regard as a mentor: argonaut.

If it is possible to renounce my "legend" status, I would like to do so. Maybe I will be ready for it later, after argo has been recognized.

I'm not in charge of this part of the site administration, but I think that it should be possible to reliquish your position, you'll have to ask Fats or LFan about that.

ace191 wrote: I think it is really nice of you to relinquish your tittle. I too was once a fledgling author who was taken under Argo's wing and to tell you the truth, I was stunned when I saw the list and that his name was not there. It's not my site or my call, but if it had been, his name would have been right up at the top just below Marknew and CF. And I could give you 100,000 reasons why, as he did the final rewrite on virtually every word of TSOS which was a time consuming and tedious en devour. And the two of us are not the only authors he has helped get started on this site.

Just my 2 cents

Ace

I have to put myself among those people that Argo helped. When I submitted my first workshop entry, many years ago, he was kind ebough to provide some major feedback and he was my first beta-reader. In all fairness, he helped me to understand a lot about how to write a decent story and how to enjoy just writing, without the burden of expecting people to like my stuff.

I don't think it should be necessary for G7 to give up his rank. He wouldn't have been given it without serious consideration. I don't think he's being ungrateful...but humble. Humility is the sign of a true legend, if you ask me.

If it counts for anything, I'd also like to nominate Argo. I don't know the guy, but anyone who goes out of their way to help others is legend in my book.

i would like to stress something here, when i came up with the names of the six people to become legends i had a list of nearly 30 names that was whittled down to the six chosen, argonaut was on that list, and he and others will be looked at and from that the next legends will be chosen.

G7 has pm'ed me and i would like to say here that i would like for him to reconsider his decision, legends are people in my mind who have made a contribution to the site that cant be measured in forum posts or number of stories, it's about what they did that made the place better, to put it in another way they have to have the x factor and i feel that G7 has that in spades.

Fats