Ron

This is my assessment as well. I thought the safe sex conversation was well done.

Wow! Just wow! No one mentioned bacon gravy. So sad.

Well… Yeah!

I forgot about gravy. Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to go and get some.

I have a suggestion. Going forward might authors suggest at the end of their story or each chapter something like this: "If you like my story please feel free to comment. If you're not a member please consider joining Gay Authors, it's free." It's not too long a blurb and it reminds those who are not members that membership is a no-cost option. Authors could even include the link page for joining up as I did.

Hear, hear! I lurked (not a member) for about two years before joining up and my joining had a lot to do with the people on here (some who are, sadly, not with us anymore) and how they treated one another. Through the interaction of the membership, I've had the pleasure of experiencing so much of what you mention in the quoted text. Of course, this had/has a lot to do with the GA administrators. And I wanted to comment on what I was reading, too, because there are stories which are richly, emotionally moving, some are in fact enlightening, and others are well... darn amusing. There are some fine story tellers to be found here for sure and great community and it has been a rewarding experience for me.

I just watched the trailer for Season 2 and it seems like we’re in for a dynamic season.

This is a problem. Are gay people supposed to announce themselves with fanfare every time they meet someone new or use a service, or should they wear pink triangles sown into their clothing or carry around a flag for everyone? Might a chant work, "I'm here, I'm queer, get over it!" Who gets to define what a normal gay couple is?

Oh goodness, but you are judging and your every comment reads as judgment regardless of your statement otherwise. I think we all need reminding every now and again that our opinions are our own, and we need not always express them fully. Because, after all, opinions are subjective and not necessarily facts—and usually not factual at all.

Oliver Smith - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Smith_(designer)

John Ashbury

It's not necessary to publicly reach out. You can private message (PM) the author, or any other member, by utilizing the envelope up on the righthand corner of the page near your name. It's quick, easy, and you only need to be mindful of the limited storage you're allowed for messages.

This is better, yes. I'm guessing my memo about cats, dogs and goldfish was not clear. I didn't mention punctuation, I should have mentioned punctuation to AUTHORS.

Twelve words and a meme. Is it possible that the rules are confusing?

OR… Alien… green scales… I love it! See what just a slight change of wording can do?

No it is not! How about something on this order… Scorpion or soprano? It sang heavenly. OR Arachnid or spider? Doesn’t matter—ouch!

This is a Sci-Fi project authors. Skip the usual like cats and dogs or gold fish (unless they’re from Zebulon 4 and you can get make that clear in six words). Reach out with your imaginations and go all top-of-your-science-class nerdy. @W_L gave us a good play on the movie and character E.T. I offered a pet with an odd name and an odd diet which tells us this pet is not of this world. These are examples of how science fiction can be playful and strange. I encourage authors to be strange, imaginative, playful, dark, and just plain weird. Go for it!

Unusual certainly but how does two statements separated by a comma describe your new pet? More authorship is needed from this classy author.

This seems fishier than science-fictionier.

I do believe that a lack of education is a root cause of many of the ills of sexual relationships. Some people don't consider oral sex to be an act of having sex and some don't define anal penetration as having sex either. Unless all you're doing is kissing and/or heavy petting, I find no distinction myself between the other acts and penetration of the vagina - sex is sex. And if you're only doing it for the feeling that may well lead to multiple partners and what some consider promiscuity. But if one is otherwise educated, it is then possible to make a more informed decision when pursuing one's sexual life. I'd like to add this, as reported in the Boston Globe: On Wednesday Massachusetts Govenor Maura Healey unveiled a draft proposal to update the state's health and physical education framework for the first time since 1999 to incorporate a "modern understanding" of health and wellness into the curriculum. In a press release, Healey's administration said the bill is "LGBTQ+ inclusive, medically accurate, and developmentally and age appropriate" and covers LGBTQ+ health and wellness, mental and emotional health, personal safety, bodily autonomy, dating safety, violence prevention, physical health and hygiene, nutritionally balanced eating, physical activity, substance use disorder, and public, community, and environmental health. "All of our students benefit when they learn from the up-to-date, evidence-based material grounded in science," Healey said in a statement Wednesday morning. I might note for those who aren't aware that my state's governor is lesbian. It makes all the difference in the world, I believe.

It’s such a weird experience to unexpectedly lose someone you didn’t know but that you understood and respected. Carlos’ death is both real and remote at the same time for me. It’s something that is hard to process. Carlos was a vibrant and opinionated man and there’s no saying otherwise. Oh, my. He is going to be missed by so many of us.

@ReaderPaul Without going into details that’s exactly what I meant when I wrote I was all for sex education. Thanks for fleshing it out.

I see this as a false equivalency. It operates under the presumption that with each sexual partner a person will end up contracting something or other from that partner which will then be passed along followed by the assumption that every partner is diseased. That's a stretch. This is true - less likely but not without risk. But this is written differently from your initial statement. Let's consider policies under Covid 19, that didn't go well. I'm not a law maker but I think that most of the HIV/STI laws are punishment for deliberate transmission (so therefore judgmental) and not a preventative measure. Prevention is always better, that's why we have PREP and DoxyPEP (for those not familiar this is taking daily doses of doxycycline to prevent bacterial STIs). I am all for sex education in public schools. Young adults should be informed about the ins and outs of unprotected sex and what the options are if they make a mistake. They should also learn about forming healthy relationships of every kind. I looked forward to young gay people living in a world where relationships and sex between consenting partners were the norm. And not like when I grew up and those things needed to happen in secret, without the knowledge we have available today, where the chances of making a mistake were all too easy to make. That happy thinking looks like a mirage now.

Here's a snappy little ditty. I'm liking it.

I see this as a false equivalency. It operates under the presumption that with each sexual partner a person will end up contracting something or other from that partner which will then be passed along followed by the assumption that every partner is diseased. That's a stretch. This is, of course, a personal judgement call. We each make these calls in our heads and about many subjects all the time, but we don't get to make decisions globally for the few or the many that fall into the frequent-sex category, nor should we.