Graeme

Essentially, they said that children are best brought up by a mother and a father, and hence same-sex couples shouldn't be allowed to adopt because it's not an optimal environment for child-raising. They never presented any evidence (that I know of) to support that stance, but the Prime Minister repeated it several times in the national media.

Everyone knows? I thought I was part of "Everyone" and I certainly don't know it. As far as I know, not only do I believe you use cliffhangers, but the majority of GA members (at least those who recently voted) also believe you use cliffhangers. Therefore the "Everyone knows" part of the quoted statement is demonstratably false, and hence invalidates the rest of it (which relies on the "Everyone knows" part as the basic assumption).

While I appreciate what is being suggested, and would personally find it useful, the problem is that there are too many differences between reader perceptions, likes and dislikes. As an example, there is one excellent story (from what I've been told) that I read the first chapter and stopped. I stopped because the author was too good... and the open chapter was a flashback to an episode involving a pedophile predator trying to trap the character. I didn't want to read any further because that opening chapter disturbed me enough. Many other people wouldn't have that problem, though. Codes by themselves are insufficient. If another, less skilled, author had tried that chapter, I probably wouldn't have been as upset. It is not only the subject, but the way it is treated that determines whether I want to read it, or whether I'd prefer not to.

I voted domestic, but that's because I was voting as a gay Australian. The current situation here is that adoption law is a state issue, and some states allow gays to adopt, while others are thinking about it. However, international adoptions fall under federal control, and the last government made it effectively impossible for same-sex couples to adopt from overseas. Unfortunately, I don't see that changing anytime in the near future.

I doubt it Jack has a healthy disrespect for post counts. He thinks anyone with a larger post count than his to be a post whore Congratulations, Sacha! Thank you for contributing so much to the community here

Thank you everyone. I'd like to thank you all personally, but this <expletive deleted> software has a restriction on how many quotes in a single post. And it wouldn't do to have two consecutive posts in this thread -- I don't think it would create a good impression Then I considered doing a 'Bah Humbug' post, just to prove that not all my posts are 'gems' as CJ claimed... but good taste got the better of me. I'd like to quote one of my very early posts. It was in a thread about what this place means to us: Thank you to Myr for setting this place up, Joe for helping to keep it going, and CJ, Dan and Trebs for providing administration assistance. While I might be a major contributor (is now an appropriate time to mention that CJ is fast approaching 6000 posts?), I tend to react rather than initiate conversations. That means other people have to start them -- that's all of your guys and girls Thank YOU for being part of this place, too. As an aside, one of my earlier millennium milestones, I kept CJ waiting for a week before I made that final post I wanted to do the same this time, but people keep having birthdays and I think it's rude not to wish my friends a happy birthday. So you can thank B1ue and captainrick for me reaching my milestone today Yeah, sure. :wacko: You're on! I'll even take a handicap. I'm going to be largely off the air for a month soon as I take the family on a major vacation. That'll give you a chance to catch up to where I am now Have you considered the consequences of spanking an echidna 4000 times?

Boxer briefs for me (if I'm right about the name -- it's not one we use in Australia that I know of). Essentially brief snugness, but with short legs. I always buy ones that include lycra so they stay snug. I've tried boxers and they were okay, but I felt a bit uncomfortable with them -- especially when they started to ride up.

:snork: :snork: Happy Birthday, Rick! :snork: :snork: Have a great, Capt'n!

Happy Birthday, B1ue! Sorry about the late birthday wish. I hope you're having a great day

G'day, PluginMatty! The Australian takeover continues... Seriously, welcome! Hobart's really nice at this time of the year (I've been there many times for work), but I'm afraid you can keep your winters....

I'm a Unix user since the 80s I learnt Unix well before I ever saw an x86 OS. Command line arguments hold no fear for me I'll have a look at these later, when I get a chance. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice It's one of those things I've thought about a few times, but my opportunities to do it are limited. I have to do it when there's no one else around, or you'll hear, "Daddy, what are you doing?" interrupting the story at various times.... Just on a technical note, for anyone else who is thinking of doing this, I just used Microsoft's Sound Recorder and a cheap headset and microphone. Nothing fancy. I then converted the WAV files produced into MP3's using a downloaded WAV to MP3 converter. I haven't found one I like yet, though -- the one I've used has a limited number of "free" conversions before I have to buy it. I'm sure there is a lot better software out there to do this. If someone knows of a free download that makes MP3's off a sound device, I'd be interested

Thank, Jack! It would be even better if I own shares in a cheese factory, but, alas, I don't... Oh, dear. Is this spreading? I didn't realise this problem was contagious. First C James, and now wildone.... I think it's getting close to declaring a GA emergency and having the area quarantined until we identify a vaccine for this condition Cute, yes. Smart, no. Kangaroos are not the brightest animals on this planet -- not by a long way. I see them all the time (since I live on a rural property). They're often on the driveway when I'm heading off to work, but instead of jumping over the side fence (these are rural fences -- four strands of wire, of which none are barbed) they just hop down the driveway in front of me.... all the way to the end. :wacko: What have you been drinking/smoking, and is it possible to obtain it legally?

Drake Hunter's stories are off the Internet at the moment. He's disappeared, though I've received word that he's still around. I don't recognise the name you've used, so it may be a different author, but Drake Hunter's stories are amongst the best I've read. I'm still trying to get to his standard of writing. He had his own website and his stories didn't appear anywhere else (with one exception). When he disappeared, his site got hacked, and then fell out of registration. Some friends paid the registration on his behalf, but he hasn't resurfaced. Only two of his stories are still around, and that's because he allowed The Mail Crew guys to host two of them (one was written especially for their site): You can find them on their Stories page, but the direct links are: A Yule Tale Through Different Eyes

When talking about taboos, the logical continuation is to analyse where those taboos come from. Many, if not all, come from religious teachings, though I suspect that some of those were also a codification of things that people had learnt they shouldn't do (such as the incest taboo probably came around because learnt that babies from closely-related couples were more likely to be deformed, stillborn, or otherwise unhealthy).

A lot will also depend on the quality of the recording. Most of us don't have access to professional studios to do the reading in, nor are many of us professional speakers. Having said that, I've record three of my short stories which are available from my home site. They are the first three stories under the heading "Short Stories". In each of those stories, there's a "play" icon on the page to allow the story to be heard. However, I've had several people tell me that it's easier to read while listening, because of my accent.... There's another site, Codey's World, that also has the first two recordings available as MP3 downloads. Having gone through that exercise, the idea of recording a novel, or even one of my longer short stories is... daunting. Even those short stories (not much more than a page in length) took me a long time to record, as I mispronouced words, stumbled with incorrect words, used the wrong emphasis, etc. I don't listen to audio books, but I'll admit that maybe I'm missing out on something by not giving them ago. It would have to be a labour of love to create them, though, because it's a lot of effort.....

Welcome, Tris! As an author, I'd suggest email Joe (joe@gayauthors.org) or PM him (JSmith) and ask to be added to the author group It will give you access to some of the other forums here that you might like. If you've got any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or the other moderators/admins. We're here to help Mostly

Congratulations, TL. You're a great contributor to the community that's GA, and I'm very happy to have you here. It's not often I see such enthusiasm, and it's really refreshing Graeme :mace:

Did we forget something? Congratulations, L0st Cause! A truly justified award. It's a great short story.

I just don't like reading spoilers. C James has this idea that if he issues a spoiler, I'm going to stick him full of sharp spines, and that's why he's so adverse to giving hints about what's to come....

Happy 20th Birthday! Since this is the end of your teenagerhood, you have my permission to start your celebration from the Australian timezone (ie. now) until it's no longer your birthday in Hawaii....

Just for the record, C James's title has been reviewed by another select committee, consisting of: Two site admins A moderator An author A beta-reader This select committee has reviewed the evidence and unanimously and enthusiastically declared the reader choice award result to be well deserved and accurate. All hail the new King of Cliffhangers! Graeme :mace:

Don't be too sure. One of my online friends was raised as a Mormon and is out to his parents, with whom he still maintains a good relationship. He's also recently managed to acquire a boyfriend However, I agree it can be bad. There was a show on Australian TV last year about a gay married Mormon who ended up dying from AIDS. The documentary talked about the impact when he was excommunicated from the church, and the reactions of his wife and sons. It was tough watching in parts, but overall it showed that those who knew him still loved him in the end. I didn't see a lot of it -- only the end when my wife called me into the room to watch it.

I hope not We don't need any more kangaroos... there are enough wild ones

Congratulations! That's so cool -- so you started going out when you were 15? Wow! Well done and I hope your relationship continues for a long, long time