[John Whitworth]

I welcome you too.

[Ann Drysdale]

And so do I.

[Janice D. Soderling]

And so do I welcome you warmly.

But to eliminate future confusion and distress, just want to remind you that though the system counts D&A as a "crit post", it isn't and you aren't actually allowed to "post" until you have done your required number of crit posts. So when the sytem releases you on the basis of the automatic counting, you will still be short of qualifying crits.

Check the guidelines that explain the rules for crit posts and when new members are allowed to post at D& A and elsewhere. Look at the line with orange links atop the Eratosphere logo (above).

That said, I hope you will enjoy participating here and wish you a warm welcome.

[Carolyn Thomas-Coxhead]

Risking breaking the rules -just to say thanks all for the welcome and also "Yikes!" I shall go straight away and read those guidelines, and remain schtum until eligible to do otherwise.

[Brian Allgar]

Welcome, Carolyn.

I don't think Janice meant to suggest that there is anything to stop you from posting as much as you like here, on Drills & Amusements, but rather that any posts here will not count towards the number of "criticism" posts that are required before you can post a poem of your own on the "Metrical" or one of the other "serious" threads.

They can be rather a stern lot over there, but we are all sweetness and light, laughter and sunshine, fun and games, and general bonhomie, except when one or other of us fails to win a competition with an entry that he or she knew to be unbeatable - and then you may hear the sound of teeth being gnashed to a pulp, and hair torn out by the roots.

[Ann Drysdale]

Brian - you just beat me to it. I really thought D & A was a law unto itself with regard to crits etc. I've never noticed any mention of it in the posting rules. Sorry, Carolyn if I'd thought you'd transgressed I'd've tipped you off on the QT.

[Chris O'Carroll]

Carolyn, I don't think Janice meant to say that you were violating any rule by posting a message here before you've posted 15 critiques. My understanding is that you may not post a poem of your own in one of the crit forums until you've paid your dues in that fashion, but you're free to chime in here and in the other chat, discussion, and good-time forums. Janice was simply saying (I think) that your posts here don't count toward the 15-crit score that you have to rack up before you can start workshopping your poems.

Forgive me, Janice, if I've misconstrued your meaning. And some moderator please weigh in with a correction if I've misstated the posting rules.

[Janice D. Soderling]

Indeed the only reason I wrote this publicly was to try to keep the issue unmuddled and clear for other new members who will be thinking, "but when I posted before I did my qualifying crits, I got whacked in the head and what's this special treatment Carolyn is getting?"

It's not scandalous to post before the 15-limit. As I always told members in my moderator days, I did it myself (duh!) and was duly clamped down, i.e. my post locked.

IMO it is better to remind early to eliminate the bewilderment when a "real poem for crit" is locked though the system has released the new member. At least I think so, and I'm not trying to be thought police, I meant the caution kindly to avoid the embarrassment of thread-locking, which is worse IMO than a reminder of the rules.

It is OK to post at D&A or any of the conversational threads prior to the 15 qualifying crit limit. Otherwise post #1 would be blocked. A mod can correct me if I am wrong.

Sorry, for the disruption Wile E. Coyote fans and posters. And again, Carolyn, welcome aboard.

[David Rosenthal]

In Wile E. Eratospherality
I post fifteen crits
all full of picked nits
and then I can post my poeality.

David R.

[Brian Allgar]

What Chris said (which is what I thought I said, but maybe I wasn't clear enough).

I think Janice was somewhat ambiguous when she said "you aren't actually allowed to "post" until you have done your required number of crit posts". A crit post is, after all, a post, and that would logically suggest that you can't even post a "crit post" until you've posted a certain number of "crit posts", which you can't post until ... but that way madness lies.