My Inexplicable Unedited Post

Ha, Tom. I'm wrong all the time, in this forum & out. Hope we dont have to agree on everything to be pals.

There's a group mentality in every group. There just is. It's the glue, for better or worse. Usually, to me, it's worse. I dont trust groups, never have, never will. Yet I'm in a couple groups, here & off, and give back as much as I get, I believe. Every group brings a struggle, conformity & individuality. I see most people leaning to the conform side of the room, even writers. It's something to witness.

I dont like mean individuals. This Klazart truly, to me, seems like a gentle soul, manipulative, slippery morally & all. It's just my take. It's more important to me who somebody is, and how they are, than whether theyre a trickster. I have a little trickster in me, too, I hope. His book itself needs so much editing it's hard for me to tell what's there, but then I'm real hard to please, and easily distracted.

There's also a group purpose. The group purpose on Authonomy is writerly & twofold: get new perspectives to improve the work, and get published. As I understand, no top rated novel's been published there. Meaning, far as writing goes, the purpose is get new takes to better the writing. If your book is getting bettered, it's good. If somebody makes friends with somebodies at the same time, that's added good.

Far as the "community of individuals" go, I enter mysteryland. I try hard to treat everybody like an individual more than as part of a community, starting with me. The community is there, to me, when it's good, so that the individual can develop. Develop into what? A writer, in this case, and a better person. So, I agree, it's bad, if Authonomy is damaged. But is it? Time will tell. I bet not. Ive read threads there & it looks resilient. There are a lot of people taking it all in stride, with much humor & some stoicism, which surprised & gladdened me, and also bodes good for the future of the place. Official Authonomy's response is heartening to me too. Sounds like there's problems there that this mess has drug into the light to be tinkered with. But overall, naw, I dont think it'll hurt anybody or anything. I dont get the ratings much, it's over my head, and I could well be dead wrong, but if new eyes are shedding new light on a book in progress, it's good.

As a person, I try to be a humble part of the groups I'm a part of, and be of service quietly, set some kind of odd example. But as a writer, it's all individual to me. Not in terms of dog eat dog, because I've never had much ambition, better or worse. I'm like an alien turtle in this game. Writing, seeing, voicing what I see, to me, that's all individual, on here or off. That's why I question all groups, from that outlaw in a rocking chair take. If Klazart was a mean fella, I'd likely feel different about this, or not piped up at all. It was him getting branded as a bad rotten person that stuck in my craw. He might well be, but I dont see it. I could be wrong, but I dont think him or this mess'll hurt Authonomy nor anybody in it that keeps their eyes on the prize.