Graeme

There are, to me, two factors in this topic: the reader's reaction and the writer's reaction. As a writer, I try to avoid these types of situations as much as I can. I will either write about them obliquely (eg. Secrets is about a suicide, but it is completely after the event -- the suicide itself is only ever referred to historically) or I will include a warning to the reader about the topic appearing in the story. One of my fears as an author would be to write a story about a suicide, and then have someone try to implement what I wrote.... Just like with sex scenes, it is possible to set up a situation and cut it short -- leaving it to the reader's imagination to complete the picture. That is the way I would address those situations where being too descriptive is undesirable. The other thing is to make sure the 'disturbing' content is resolved one way or another. Even if it is not resolved positively, I would try to leave some positive notes. Having said that, I don't always follow my own advice. Bad news is not a great example, but it doesn't end in any positives. In my defence, though, that story was written to try to make the reader think about a situation that they may not have thought of before. As a reader, I've started reading some tough stories. What I find 'disturbing' is a personal thing -- I don't find disturbing some things that others do, and vice versa. In one memorable case, I read the first chapter of a story that appeared to be about pedophilia... and stopped. I knew the author and I knew how good they are. The first chapter, which was only introducing the situation, disturbed me enough -- I couldn't bring myself to read past that point. I stopped on another story on child abuse because it was serialised -- I wanted a happy ending, but I didn't know when that was going to happen (if it happened at all), and I couldn't torture myself indefinitely.

It sounds like the officer was lucky. Cornering a kangaroo isn't a smart thing to do. They are easily panicked and if they decide to attack, they roll back on their tail and rake with their hind paws -- causing a LOT of damage. My impression is that somehow the officer got behind the kangaroo -- the only safe way to approach it.

Ah ha! I've finally worked it out (sorry, I'm an Australian. I'm allowed to be slow). CJ keeps making this statement because he knows that, as royalty, the phrase should be "we use cliffhangers" (using the royal "we"). As royalty, using the uncouth "I" immediately makes anything he says unbelievable.

I have a day without access to GA and weird things happen... entertaining, but weird

An excellent suggestion -- goat delivery systems for nuclear weapons. A must have for all modern arms dealers.

An untrue statement, as will be explained below A probably true statement, though even there a case can be made for it to be untrue. I understand and accept this. This means that the number of daily posts reported for a member is always less than or equal to their true total number of posts for that day. Since we have documented evidence that CJ has posted in excess of 70 posts in a single day, he has posted 56 posts in that day (since 70 posts is 56 posts plus extras). Now, CJ may claim that he's never ended a day with 56 posts, but even that statement can be challenged. As I understand the GA software, the "daily posts" is calculated on the previous 24 hours, not on a calendar day. This means that it reports the number of posts in the preceding 24 hours. If, in one 24 hour period, CJ posted 80 posts, then there would have been a point in time when he would have posted 56 posts in the preceding 24 hours. That would be a day in which he ended the day with exactly 56 posts. The fact that he kept on posting so that the 24 hour period ended up with more than 56 posts is irrelevant -- there exists a point in time where he had ended the day (defined as being a 24 hour period) with exactly 56 posts.

Why not have them communicate with humans in a Stephen-Hawking-like manner? Using a machine where they select what they want to say, and it translate it into (crude) human equivalents -- probably on a word-by-word basis and not grammatically. So if their language was like some human languages where there is a formal order for adjectives ( for example ) you could get something like: "That vehicle, car, red, long-wheelbased, rusted who owns?" Communication between them can be "translated" for the reader in narration, if required, though I would lean to not doing that -- keep it so that the humans can only guess what they are saying to each other. I personally have trouble working on more than one novel at once, but I don't mind taking a break from a novel to do a short story. Good luck!

CJ, I made a decision some time ago that it is never my place to out someone without their permission. Even if that guy was happy being "out", he had no right to out you without your permission. Common courtesy means behaving in public in a way that your partner is comfortable with. As a side point, my wife is uncomfortable with me making public displays of affection, including holding hands, so it is, in a non-threatening way, analogous to that situation you listed. The main difference is that it just makes her embarrassed, while in your case it threatened your health -- but in either case the other person should respect the wishes of their partner and behave accordingly (at least most of the time... I do tease her from time to time )

Thanks everyone! Sorry I haven't been joining in, but this is my first chance to log into GA since I made the initial post. I've been looking at the Dell and HP's, so that agrees with what is listed above. My main complaint with the Dell (from their site) is that I can't choose NOT to take some of the software. That means I'm paying for things I don't want. Also, they only come with Vista -- they're not offering XP. The one store I made enquires at also mentioned the Sonys for the long battery life, so that agrees with what Colin said. They also mentioned the higher price.... I'll have to check out the Thinkpad. I've seen the Lenovo's, but I was avoiding the lesser known brands. If they are based on the IBM, I'll looking into them. I haven't looked seriously at the non-Windows options, simply because of the setup required. I'm a Unix person by background (I call myself a Unix bigot) so I can work my around any of the various Unix/Linux flavours with confidence. Where I have no experience is with setting up Unix networks, and wireless networks in particular. That's the main reason I probably won't go ahead with one of them. For tax reasons, I'll be buying the laptop only a few weeks before I fly out (if I buy it within 30 days of travelling, I can claim the tax back as I fly out). That doesn't give me much time for learning a new system -- hence why I'll probably stick with Windows. If I had more money to spare, I'd also look at the Toshiba Portege -- mainly because I know that's going to be my next work laptop. Unfortunately, they are as pricey as the Sony....

Congratulations on 5043 posts, CJ! I don't believe I've read all of them, but I've always enjoyed the ones I have read. The next question is will you get to 6000 posts before your 2nd anniversary of joining GA You managed 3000 in your first year -- can you do it in your second year, too? No, that's not a challenge, just a question

Can I stir the pot some more by asking if Shadowgod is the King, does that not automatically grant him the power to determine who is the Queen? And hasn't Shadowgod specified that that Queen is CJ? Therefore, unless Shadowgod is not the King, the issue of who is the Queen has been settled once and for all!

Don't worry about Logic isn't a requirement when you're involved...

I personally prefer "active member" or "good participator" as more accurate reflections of what we do....

I'm considering getting a personal laptop (my current laptop belongs to work, not me). One major reason is that I'm taking the family on a long vacation next year (a month in the USA) and I wanted to take a laptop for internet access, digital photo storage, and maybe a game or two for the boys (simple stuff, nothing requiring a 'gaming' machine). Longer term, I'll probably make it my main writing machine. Because it'll be going on lots of plane trips with me (I won't be putting it in my checked in luggage), I'm looking at a lightweight machine that has a long battery life. CPU grunt isn't a priority. I'd prefer it to be less than AUD$2000 (less than USD$1500 allowing for exchange rates and the fact that they always charge more in Australia). I've found a few models that look promising, but I thought I'd ask if anyone had any recommendations. I've even looked at the Eee PC from Asus which is very tempting (except that the boys favourite games won't run on it since it's Linux based). Any suggestions?

I'm celebrating being back online (at least for a short time). My laptop died this morning which meant I had to go to the office to work instead of working from home (my original idea).

If this is in relation to your friend -- just be a good friend and give them a chance to open up to you. It will take time, because (as you identified), they'll be very cautious about saying anything. Finding ways of telling him that you're gay friendly (the best way to encourage them to come out to you that doesn't require you to tell them that you're gay first) isn't going to be easy at your age. You have to balance the obligatory "macho" image with the idea of being accepting of differences. Maybe some of the other teenage members can offer suggestions on how you can show you're gay friendly without revealing too much yourself.

I was expecting that response I'll take you through the logic carefully.... The poll decreed that you're not a lurker. As such, when observing the average daily rate at which you post (by dividing the number of posts you've made by the number of days you've been a member), you are by far the most prolific poster at GA. Even on absolutes -- total number of posts -- you're the most prolific poster at GA. So, your award as the most prolific poster is the direct consequence of the poll that had the GA members agree that you're not a lurker. As for the issue of GA staff members, that only applied to the position of second-most-prolific poster. It wasn't relevant for the top position Happy now? ... Hmm... probably not, but are you satisfied with the answer, even if you dislike the result?

You need a beta reader like what I've got. One of my beta readers tends to fall asleep during boring bits. His boyfriend tells me anytime that happens The system is working well

And in another 4842 posts, you can call yourself a shy lurker Congratulations! As several people will say, post counts aren't that important. Posting/contributing and being involved are the important parts and you've certainly contributed significantly here

LOL -- true, very true. Here's a thread from last year in the Teens forum: https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6422 and a couple from the Lounge from earlier this year: https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=15176 https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10846 and a couple from previous years ago that I haven't read yet, either: https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4544 https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3153 Happy reading!

I think there's enough empirical evidence to suggest that some people can sense some gay people. As for how, there are lots of theories. The general idea is that they are picking up on subtle clues/hints that the person is giving out (usually subconsciously). For example, while at a train station I have sometimes looked around and found a guy who held eye contact for just a bit longer than would be normal. Were they gay? I've got no idea, but I believe it is little things like that that makes up gaydar. The more out the other person is, the easier, I believe, it is to detect them. The more experience you have being around gay guys, the easier it is for you to sense others. Other than that, I can't say. I've never tested any of my 'guesses' so I don't know if I've been misjudging people or not.

I'm now trying to work out if that mean you're smart enough to be good boyfriend material for someone... or if you've just insulted all the great teenagers out there Sorry, Vic -- I just had to smile when I read it. As for Viv's post, I'm not going to quote it because I don't think it's necessary. I'll just say... Thanks, Viv, for a fantastic post

Yeah, yeah. Sure. We believe you... A sensible approach. The danger of emulation is one that you have to be careful with. It's why I'm very cautious to approach the issue of suicide in my stories, too -- I would hate for someone to read one and decide it sounded like a good idea

In BeaStKid's defence, a single day isn't indicative of overall posting habits....

I've encountered a number of people who say that they'll fall in love with a person. While they may expect them to be of a particular gender, they are still open to the possibility that the person they love is of the other gender. In other words, they will love a person, not a gender. It can happen, but, as with any relationship, there are two people involved and both have to work to keep the relationship going. If one person fails to support it, either actively or through indifference, the relationship is unlikely to continue. After giving this topic careful thought, I have to say that I think it's probably a nonsense question. The typical definition is that a bisexual is happy with a sexual relationship with either gender. However, since a person can usually be only one gender at a time, the bi-sexual person can only experience one at a time. The only way to interpret the question that doesn't have a single obvious answer would be to read it as asking "While you are open to having sex with a guy, would you want an emotional relationship with one?" That question starts to move into the area of what makes a relationship, which is a very large and complex area.