I'm leaving the boards today

Sean D. Schaffer

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Hi everyone,

I'm leaving the boards today because I want to get entirely off the Internet. The stress caused by arguments I get into has been too much for me to handle. I'm not going to unregister my account this time; I'm just leaving. My writing has been worse-off ever since I began attending on-line sites. I need to get my writing back to where it belongs.

So I'll quickly change my signature and my profile to reflect this, and this post will most likely be my last one here.


I hope you all have a good weekend ahead, and maybe, someday, I'll talk to you all later.


Sean


ETA:

I posted this below, but I'll mention this here too.

This was not intended as an April Fool's Joke by any stretch of the imagination. I seriously was going to leave.

However, my ISP requires some two hundred dollars to disconnect early -- it's a DSL contract deal -- and therefore it would not be good for me to get rid of the Internet entirely like I had planned.

So I guess this is my roundabout way of saying I'll probably be here a while longer. Also, I'm re-thinking some of my extreme beliefs concerning getting rid of the 'Net entirely, and thinking maybe, instead, I'll just restrict my web forum use like I was before.

I hope you'll all forgive my wishy-washy ways. I have been very stressed by a lot of things lately, and I think it's clouding my thought processes and my reasoning ability is pretty well shot at the moment.

I apologize for starting this thread now, because I realize I wasn't thinking properly when I wrote the OP. I feel, frankly, like an idiot.


Now I'm off: I have to help a friend choose a laptop to buy today, and I need to get ready. He'll be here pretty quickly. I hope you all will forgive my stupidity and my rash actions. I'll talk to you all later, and I hope you enjoy this beautiful day.


Sean
 
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Little Red Barn

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Good luck Sean and wishing only the best for you.
hugs
kimmi
 

Siddow

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Sean, I don't know if you'll read this, but good luck to you. I wish I had the strength to give up the Internet.

And as a girl, I have to say that I'd be a bit uncomfortable being in a relationship with a man who wrote erotica, but that would be more about me than him. Just saying, ain't prying into your business.
 

Cassiopeia

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Sean, I fully understand your decision. Should the time come that you are needing a break from writing, do drop in and say hello. I would tell you to ignore those who wish to cause contention but I would be a fraud in doing so because I fail miserably at that.

Thanks however for the chats you and I have had. Best wishes.
 

Susie

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Sean, I think you're a really nice fellow and sorry to see you go. Come back soon and hope everything gets straightened out. :Hug2:
 

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Sean, I'm so sorry to see you go. I'll miss the thought-provoking exchanges, and I think you added a lot to these boards. I'm sorry you're going through the present stresses, though, and can understand the need to be away. I just hope it turns out not to be for good...the welcome mat will always be out. :)
 

Akuma

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Hope everything turns out all right.
 

robeiae

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Sean, I'm so sorry to see you go. I'll miss the thought-provoking exchanges, and I think you added a lot to these boards. I'm sorry you're going through the present stresses, though, and can understand the need to be away. I just hope it turns out not to be for good...the welcome mat will always be out. :)
Ditto. I couldn't say it any better, so I'm quoting Pat.

Rob :)
 

Leah J. Utas

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Sorry to see you go. You were very thoughtful and kind in giving me a rep point early.
I appreciate that and I won't forget it.
Best of everything to you.
 

Alan Yee

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Sorry, Sean, to see you go. I--or really, all of us-- will miss you. Thanks for all the kind rep comments and public encouragements in various threads. You really don't know how much I appreciate all of that.

I hope you have a good time away to concentrate on other things that are clearly important to you. Just remember, like Jean Marie said, you can pop in and say hi whenever you feel up to it.

Alan
 

aruna

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You're one of the nicest people here - so I too am sorry to see you go. I do hope that you'll be back one day, but even if not, I wish you strength and success on your future path.
 

Sean D. Schaffer

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Hi everyone,

It looks as though I might just be staying a while. My DSL contract doesn't end for another few months, and I really have nowhere else to go to on the 'Net. I don't feel right having the Internet and not using it, so I feel like I should post at least once or twice here while I'm waiting for the contract to end.

I am leaving; this is not an April Fool's Joke. I didn't even think about April Fool's Day until this morning reading that thing in the Mod Squad Command Center while not logged in. Only then did I put two and two together where April 1st is concerned. But I will be leaving soon, probably in July or August, as my contract is a year in length. I can't afford the hundred or two hundred dollar fee if I disconnect early, so I have nothing to do but wait for that date to show up.

So I guess I'll be here for another few months. But I'll be doing all I can not to post here all that much, because I do wish to lessen my presence on the Web.


I hope you all have a good day today, and I hope to talk to you all again soon.
 

just_a_girl

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I kind of understand what he's saying to the extent that internet boards can be a big source of procrastination.

Hi everyone,

I'm leaving the boards today because I want to get entirely off the Internet. The stress caused by arguments I get into has been too much for me to handle. I'm not going to unregister my account this time; I'm just leaving. My writing has been worse-off ever since I began attending on-line sites. I need to get my writing back to where it belongs.

So I'll quickly change my signature and my profile to reflect this, and this post will most likely be my last one here.


I hope you all have a good weekend ahead, and maybe, someday, I'll talk to you all later.


Sean
 

brokenfingers

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I kind of understand what he's saying to the extent that internet boards can be a big source of procrastination.
just_a_girl, please hand in your membership card. It's obvious you're not cut out for this line of work.
 

Maryn

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Sean, I'm going to be the dissenting voice here. If you leave us entirely, be it now or in the summer, yeah, we'll miss you. But you will miss us.

Oh, sure, you'll miss joking banter and funny posts and the few people you feel are your friends. Anyone would. But what you'll really be missing is the chance to improve your writing. I'm not alone in remembering your former signature line about how many years you've invested in writing. Why would you no longer seek to write better and better, using every resource you have?

I really hope you'll reconsider. Might you change the way you use the internet rather than swearing off it? Sure, let the DSL contract go. It could be that dial-up suits your needs and makes sense financially.

I know how frustrating it is to see another day or evening frittered away pointlessly when you could have been writing, accomplishing something. Maybe what will work for you is avoiding the sites (or pages/threads/boards within a site) where your time is eaten alive to no purpose. For me, that would be anyplace where the main activity is spirited debate about social and political issues, or Q&A about any field of expertise I have. For you, maybe it's something else.

For you, researching agents or markets, and getting and giving critique, may remain valid and valuable uses of the internet. Perhaps it's still useful as step one of research every writer needs to write good fiction. (It certainly beats the hell out of six or seven trips to the library every day to look up or double-check one fact at a time.)

So Sean, I hope you'll give serious thought to both scaling back and modifying the way you use the internet rather than ditching it altogether.

Maryn, who'll understand whatever decision you make
 

Cassiopeia

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If you could see me do a standing ovation I would give it to you Maryn. You are spot on here. I hadn't really thought about it this way. But you are absolutely right. This board has a great deal to offer. It takes time to learn how to ignore the nonsense and glean the good that is to be found here, but it can be done.

Sean this is a very important tool for you. Don't let a few misunderstandings stand in your way. If need be make use of the ignore feature on the forum for those people who you feel more easily provoked by.

I have also been concerned about the amount of time I am seeing consumed on the boards each day by me. And yet, I am learning so much that my writing has completely changed and I believe it is for the better. I have a far greater likelihood of being published again and I am grateful for it. So, if you would like to stay here are some suggestions I have for you.

1. Set limits for yourself and follow them.

2. If you find yourself online too much and not getting work done then adopt the rule I have of work first. Don't even click on the forums if you haven't done anything towards your writing goals that day.

3. Take everything people say here with a grain of salt. Consider their input and consider the source. Either you respect them or you don't.

4. Remember in the end it is your voice, your work and you decide what to do.

5. Reread what Maryn has to say here. She is one smart cookie. :)

Casi

Sean, I'm going to be the dissenting voice here. If you leave us entirely, be it now or in the summer, yeah, we'll miss you. But you will miss us.

Oh, sure, you'll miss joking banter and funny posts and the few people you feel are your friends. Anyone would. But what you'll really be missing is the chance to improve your writing. I'm not alone in remembering your former signature line about how many years you've invested in writing. Why would you no longer seek to write better and better, using every resource you have?

I really hope you'll reconsider. Might you change the way you use the internet rather than swearing off it? Sure, let the DSL contract go. It could be that dial-up suits your needs and makes sense financially.

I know how frustrating it is to see another day or evening frittered away pointlessly when you could have been writing, accomplishing something. Maybe what will work for you is avoiding the sites (or pages/threads/boards within a site) where your time is eaten alive to no purpose. For me, that would be anyplace where the main activity is spirited debate about social and political issues, or Q&A about any field of expertise I have. For you, maybe it's something else.

For you, researching agents or markets, and getting and giving critique, may remain valid and valuable uses of the internet. Perhaps it's still useful as step one of research every writer needs to write good fiction. (It certainly beats the hell out of six or seven trips to the library every day to look up or double-check one fact at a time.)

So Sean, I hope you'll give serious thought to both scaling back and modifying the way you use the internet rather than ditching it altogether.

Maryn, who'll understand whatever decision you make
 
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