Deeker's Message of the Week
January 26, 2003
January 26, 2003
This is where you come in. If you attempt to access a site that does not come up or if it leads to something unexpected, please use the form I linked above and indicate which site no longer works. I'm not expecting anyone to go through all the links for me and report all the dead links. It is intended for people who are just casually browsing. By receiving reports on which links are no longer working, this will help me to maintain the list and feel more motivated to list the new links submitted to me.
To make it easier to keep the URL of the dead link in question open on your screen, I reconstructed the page so that clicking on a link will open a new window and retain the window in which the Links page appears. This will also enable you to visit the other sites in the links without having to exit this site.
I have often asked myself the same question-- why in the name of all that is holy do I waste my precious time visiting a message board whose content has yielded so little for me? A few years ago I was introduced to the board by one of my story contributors who also frequents the Bravenet board (but is also exempt from the people whom I so bitterly despise on that board; this guy's pretty cool). There's hardly ever a story there which I deem worthy of keeping and putting on my site (which is why the Archived Stories page has not been updated since November!) Some of the stories on the Bravenet board are well-written, but they just don't interest me. The rest of the stories are utter cack! It's like panning for gold from a sewer main. Every once in awhile I extract a few gems from that otherwise swirling pool of dreck, but lately it's been mighty slim pickin's.
Even in spite of the board's shortcomings I have checked it out a couple times daily just to see what's been posted, hoping on the outside chance whose odds approach those of winning the Powerball lottery, that something semi-decent and semi-worthy of lighting up the phosphor on my monitor, would appear. When I did see something I liked I would post a short, polite note to let the author know that I liked his story and would like to include it on my site, partly because content on the Bravenet board is only retained (usually for only a few days) until it is pushed off the bottom of the list by newer posts. Overall I've never been an active participant there, namely because the vast majority of the stories and other banter posted there do not hold my interest, so I'm mostly a lurker. Still, the people there have recognized my cameo presence.
Over the past few months the environment there has become increasingly hostile. Much of this decline can be blamed on Lil Vickie herself, who seems to dominate the board and consequently thinks that her shit don't stink while she disses anyone and everyone who dares to argue with her. She criticizes not only me, but she also criticizes many of the authors who post there, and she's quite the nit-picker, too. Most people resent criticism, especially when it is unsolicited (some people do ask for comments but probably only expect positive replies). I am not singling out Lil Vickie in this case as there are others who are harshly critical of other people's stories, though they are usually more diplomatic in their approach. Some people are well-meaning in their criticism, but it still belittles the author. Still, regardless of who the instigator is, the result is a long drawn-out flame war which degenerates to a name-calling, finger-pointing bitch session. Both established and new, aspiring writers alike, are discouraged from continuing their stories lest someone rip apart their work, however good it may be.
Now, I'm not saying that their criticisms and nit-picks against the stories are entirely without merit. Some of their critical points are valid, namely that the stories being submitted are too short and/or are poorly written (numerous spelling errors, lacking capitalization, punctuation, proper grammar, etc.) I deal with these problems myself all the time while reviewing stories submitted for my own site and I've turned down many a story for these very reasons, among others. Still, I don't jump down the throats of these people when they submit something I don't wish to use. I will take the time to correct the most glaring, obvious mistakes if I feel the story's content is otherwise worthy for inclusion on my site. If I must point out flaws to the person I will try to put a positive spin on my remarks to reduce the impact of the negativity.
So let's get back to the topic that inspired me to write all of this in the first place, explaining my affiliation with a message/story board in which I have little reason to have any interest. You might be wondering how much it concerns me to see all these problems going on with this message board. The truth is, I don't give a flying fuck with what happens there. I just go there to grab the few stories that interest me, of which there has been none in the past couple months. Any stories I pick up from there is just a bonus, something I don't expect to see but am pleasantly surprised when I do. Knowing that many of the participants there hate me, I consider it my own personal entertainment to watch them bicker and quibble over everything. It's fun to see them pick fights and exchange scathing remarks with one another. Even better is when the trolls come along to spew their opinions about the Bible and religion in general, as well as other off- topics in which many people hold deeply personal feelings deemed worthy of defense. Sometimes someone will come along and wipe the board clean, obliterating several stories and flame-fests in progress with a bunch of blank or nonsense posts. In fact, someone performed this good deed shortly after some disparaging and threatening remarks were posted about me on January 12. I say, God bless this heroic individual, whoever he is, whether or not it was his intent to erase the messages that had been posted about me. Most of the flaming never involves me or my site, however, and even when it does involve me or my site I always just blissfully ignore it all and I don't even bother reading any of the posts directed at me. I just consider myself to be a spectator there with a ringside seat. I'm not rooting for anybody and I'm just sitting back and enjoying the all-out slugfest. I have no emotional stake whatsoever in the eventual fate of this board, and if it falls to ruin one day and ceases to exist I will feel no sense of loss. I have several ways to be entertained, after all.
Before I close, I should recognize that my detractors on the Bravenet board may not be entirely bad people. After all, as long as they keep fighting amongst themselves and warding off would-be shitty story- writers this keeps potential garbage from ever being generated and distributed around the Internet, and it also keeps them away from working on their own stories.
As for whether or not I will post there again, I won't say. I still check it a few times a week, but that's it. I don't want to say that I won't ever be back (this is an immature response, and such people often do return anyway, even if just to lurk), but if I happen to see a good story that I want on my site I'll probably just maintain my silence and hope that the author will continue his writing and have no objections to my including it on my site.
| Rank | Title | Section | Hits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mykal and Jamie  | Contributed Stories | 1854 |
| 2 | Tommy  | Contributed Stories | 919 |
| 3 | KG Wil | True Accounts | 867 |
| 4 | Forever in Diapers: Part 101 | Deeker's Stories | 288 |
| 5 | The Baby | Contributed Stories | 265 |
| 6 | Saturday is Diaper Day | Contributed Stories | 255 |
| 7 | Mike's Accident | Archived Stories | 209 |
| 8 | Caught in the Diaper | Contributed Stories | 203 |
| 9 | Aaron | True Accounts | 194 |
| 10 | Steve's Diaper Discipline | True Accounts | 174 |
