[Erik Olson]

Excuse me, you speak as though I were trying to get away with something, which I am not. I didn't read I was not allowed to post anything remotely poetic in the Drills and Amusements section. And this is not something I was trying to slip through, as you say "lurking in the dark". Why such amplification? I saw other New members had done the drill, read nowhere I could not in this section, and so was mistaken, not willfully doing something immoral. I am willing to submit to reprimanded for what was an honest mistake, yet the severity of the "scowl" is hardly encouraging to one who is new, means well and hopes to contribute as best I can. Why must you speak to me like some pest. It is quite severe. I accept I made a mistake and am sorry for it. I am not trying to do any thing wrong here. I'm not some immoral pest that conspires to slip thought the net by a system glitch to put it in your words. I respectfully acknowledge my mistake, what else can I say. I hope you will not look on me thus hateful and disparagingly, as I aspire to contribute, by no means to ruffle your feathers. I am sorry for this breach, so sorry, I did it out of total ignorance, not willingness to get away with something.

[Janice D. Soderling]

Spheroid police lurk everywhere, writing tickets and admonishing the young with lectures dripping of morals and heavy sighs.

I thought this would signal friendly humor. Alas, I will never make it as a stand-up comedienne.

First of all, greetings from the Eratosphere community and thank you for joining us! We're very happy you've found The 'Sphere!

You are most welcome, Erik. If other new members have "done the drill" before giving the required crits, I would appreciate having the rules officially reworded to that effect.

Perhaps a little sticky to that effect would clarify that anyone new member can dive right in without paying attention to the usual requirement to post 15 crits.

Hopefully we will get some guidance from the moderator staff in this sticky matter. (Yoke, yoke.)

[Ann Drysdale]

I'm just smiling to myself as Olson faces Soderling on Bifröst... Ragnarök!


(Yoke!)

.

[Allen Tice]

May they both come back intact from the island.

[Shaun J. Russell]

This thread has been reported a couple of times now, and, after discussing it amongst ourselves in mod Valhalla, we're letting it stand as is. D&A is a separate entity from the workshop forums, so the "15 posts" requirement does not apply. As for the "resurrecting old threads" aspect, the language in the guidelines is open to a thread bump

if the post contains substantive critique or reaction to critique.

That language is clearly written with workshop threads in mind, but I suspect the same grain applies to D&A. There has to be a reason to bump a thread. But further to that language is the following sentence, emphasis mine:

But once a thread has become inactive for several days, it’s best to use PM if there isn’t something quite significant still to say.

In the context of D&A, I think reading an old "drills" thread that inspires a poem is, frankly, "something quite significant." I wouldn't want to see it happen all the time, and I acknowledge that there is the possibility of a slippery slope here...but since this seems to be the first time it has happened in several years, I'm not too worried about it. If it does become an issue, then we'll deal with it accordingly, but as of now, I don't think it's an issue, nor do any of the mods who chimed in over the last couple of days in the mod forum. Including Jayne, one of this forum's co-mods.

In other words, carry on!

[Roger Slater]

Good resolution. I still don't see what the issue could have been, since the rules simply states that a new member must "offer a minimum number of substantive critiques before starting a thread of your own," but Erik did not start this thread, he merely contributed to it.

Welcome, Erik. I enjoyed your poem and I think you'll like it here.

[Janice D. Soderling]

Actually Roger, it doesn't just say "minimum", it says 15 for poetry, 3 for fiction (and I believe 3 for translations.

As a new Member, you have to undergo a small apprenticeship before posting your own works for critique on the Metrical, Non-Metrical, and Fiction Forums: you must wait at least one week following your Membership approval and offer a minimum number of substantive critiques before starting a thread of your own. The minimum number of critiques for poetry is fifteen on the Metrical, Deep End, and Non-Metrical Forums combined. For the Fiction Forum, the minimum is three.Note, however, that the new-post privileges are no longer enabled automatically. Thus, as a new member, once you think you've achieved the required fifteen critiques, you'll need to contact the moderator of the forum where you intend to post to, and s/he will verify that you've indeed made fifteen substantive critiques, and if so, your new-post privileges will be enabled.

But probably no new member contacts the moderators for permission to post.

Does this mean that posting at D&A a few times is a free pass to post poems without crit? Or does the 15 / 3 / 3 crit still apply. It's good if we all know what rules (guidelines) apply once the new member moves to a workshop board?

There were several reasons for the rule, or so I was inculcated in the distant past, but perhaps those reasons are no longer valid.

I believe that the "starting new thread" means "do not post poems until you have done your crits". In the sticky above each forum, this is clearly states. (Boldfaced as in original.)

NEW MEMBERS may respond to existing poetry threads but may not start any new ones of their own until they have offered at least 15 critiques, AND until at least one week following membership approval, unless by special permission from any Eratosphere moderator. This limitation is part of the registration agreement for all registrants who signed up after January 21, 2004, and applies to all critical forums.

I'm not bucking the moderator authority, just giving the thinking behind my (humorously intended) post to Erik--who I do not doubt acted with enthusiasm.

May I suggest that the rules and guidelines are clarified where appropriate?

[Martin Parker]

Yawn!
This thread no longer seems to be a Drill or an Amusement.

Would anybody like to compose a limerick to capture its tedious fatuity and to recapture the spirit of D and A?

[Jayne Osborn]

D & A is a fun, happy board,
and while problems must not be ignored,
let's move on from this now...
...Time to show Erik how
we don't argue - we're of one accord!

Will that do, Martin?

Welcome to the Sphere, Erik; this is my advice: Don't bust a gut to start your own thread with a poem on Metrical or The Deep End (but, as we've just established, it's OK to post on Drills & Amusements)... count your substantive crits on others' poems [separately] and make it more than 15, so that you're home and dry. That's what I did. I didn't rush it as I was so nervous about starting my first thread anyway...

The 15 crit rule is only to prevent vanity posting.

"Does this mean that posting at D&A a few times is a free pass to post poems without crit?"

No, Janice, it doesn't mean that. A bit of common sense needs to be applied here. New members can post at D & A if they wish, but they must also give 15 crits before starting their own thread. That's clear enough, I think.

Jayne

[Janice D. Soderling]

Thanks, Jayne, for clarification. I fully support that modus operandi and like Grendel's mother will now shuffle back to my gripy lair.

The Grandeur That Was Rome

It's the same old cyclical story:
idea, devotion and glory.
A structure, a fall,
then nothing at all
but an echo: a posteriori.