Why I donated, and will continue to lurk... [View All]

[planetc]

It was a pitiful donation, first of all, but as my income here in the glorious land of retirement is composed of 89% social security and 11% other, it was all I felt happy throwing in, because the car, although a glorious 23-year-old Volkswagen, will not actually last forever. Although it seems determined to try. Etc., etc.

I donated for two reasons: 1) I spend a lot of time here, browsing other people's work, looking for articles and opinion pieces I would spend hours looking for myself. McCamy Taylor posts here, and n2doc collects toons. The place deserves a contribution on those grounds alone. And 2) Skinner and Mrs. S. produce some of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen. We cannot let him fall into despair--it would be bad for the babies, both of whom are toddling by now.

Why I spend a lot of time lurking is the linguistic atmosphere of the place, and I suspect I'm not alone. I just can't take seriously a discussion board on which almost every other post is titled "Fuck (fill in the blank)." On which assholes and other basic vulgarities are relied upon so heavily. These terms are perfectly valid expressions of emotion, but they turn the air blue, and discourage quieter communication. If, and it is a big if, posters who rely on fucking them to extinction wonder what other expressions might serve the purpose, I would like to remind them that the English language is rich in dismissive terms and idioms. The English language is rich, period. Allow your prose styles to be blessed by the work of dead authors and live writers who rarely fuck their enemies, who instead impale them with logic, facts, and quiet disdain.

Lastly but not leastly, what are the chances of getting the Toons made into a topic forum? It would be easier to find them, and harder to miss a day's batch.