Graeme

I'm not sure what I think about this chapter. It felt like everything was on hold. There were things going on, but it's like Toph's life was not progressing, at least not by much. The painting of the bird lady means something -- probably that he's able to make an emotional connection to a stranger, which is certainly a big step for him -- but from Toph's point of view it didn't mean much at all. I actually found his repeating about how much he has to learn annoying. Is that just my frustration with Toph discovering things that I think are obvious (there's always something to learn) or does it mean something more significant? It's that way with the entire chapter. I feel like either I'm missing something, or that there's just not the content here that I was expecting.

That's true for professional photographers and professional authors, but I'm an amateur author and an amateur photographer. I'd like to think my works are equally protected. Legally, they are, but that won't stop them from being 'stolen' if there's a perception that "if it's on the Internet, it's free to be copied." As for the sites you listed, I'm not a member of any of them and I don't know the rules they provide. At worst, I suspect that the site owns the image after you upload them, but that unless the site has rules in place to allow them to be freely copied to other sites, I suspect it's still the same situation -- they own it and they're not giving permission for it be shared outside of their site. Their policy is in place to allow the images to be shared within their site as a way of promoting more use of their site. It's time for me to bow out, too. I've said what I wanted to say and I'll also confess that my hands aren't clean, either. My last novel and the one that's about to start posting both involve real-life people who have not given me explicit permission to be used in my stories. I'm working off the basis that these are public figures, that I have a disclaimer saying that the words are mine and not theirs, and being as careful as possible to ensure that anything I have those public figures do/say is consistent with their real-life actions/statements. But I'm still potentially at risk by doing so.

There's nothing wrong with a portrait of the inspiration. As long as you own the portrait or have permission to use it, then there's not a problem. It's the use of the portrait without permission that is the bridge too far. When it comes to a minor, we then get into the issue of whether they are capable (legally) of giving permission or do we need their parents permission? Taking a different analogy, is it acceptable for someone to post a story by one of our authors here on their own website without permission, even if it's with attribution? I think the almost universal answer would be "no". That's theft. Why, then, would we consider it acceptable to do it for photos? Both are classified as 'creative works'. Why should copying one be acceptable but copying the other not?

I'm looking at this partly from a parent's point of view. Would I want images of my sons used by a group that implies that my son belongs to that group when I know he doesn't, and doesn't want to? (pick the appropriate group of your choice from "Nose Pickers of Australia", "Boys who shave sheep" and "Insect Eaters of the World") I appreciate that there's no malice intent and that the use of the images is intended to be as fictional characters for the sites I've listed above, but what if one of my son's friends saw that image on one of those website and assumed that my son was a member of that group? Since one of my sons has already been bullied in the past, I don't want to give any potential bullies ammunition that they could use against him. As for legalities, there's a difference between being publicly available and in the public domain. Images on the Internet are publicly available, but they're not all in the public domain. Taking an extreme example, cars are publicly available, but they're not free for anyone to use whenever they want. You have to pay to use one -- you can't just take one from the car dealership or from the street. Or, a better analogy, copying movies or games and providing them to your friends is illegal. Just because you have access to a legal copy (such as available through a web browser for an image), does not mean you are free to distribute it (copying that image and putting it up somewhere else on the Internet). A lot of copyright violations are not chased, but that doesn't make it legal. PS: I would love it if this wasn't a problem and that we could post images of how we feel our characters could look like, but I'm aware that things aren't as simple as that. We have to accept that we're a gay website and some people do not like anything associated with homosexuality. We shouldn't be in the position of potentially causing harm to an innocent because we posted an image here without permission.

It's a natural reaction to want to show people what you think one of your characters looks like. But it can be a legal minefield to use the image of someone who is underage (and since this is a USA-based website, that means anyone under the age of 18). The fact that a lot of stories here include sexual behaviour is another can of worms as it potentially links the person in the image to behaviour that may be illegal where they live, let alone implying sexual conduct that they probably don't do and don't want implied that they do. Throw in the problem of copyright that Cia mentions and... Sorry, because I know that there's no ill-intent in what's been happening, but I agree that it's a concern. It is, however, something that I would prefer the members to police themselves, because there's going to be a lot of grey areas, especially around public figures (ie. actors). Ideally, the members making the post will do some research first to ensure that they're not breaching any laws regarding minors, as well as copyright laws.

It's rare, but it's happened before when an established author who is hosted elsewhere comes to GA. If they're already producing stories at the level required, why hold them back?

Congratulations, Cynus! I knew it was only a matter of time

Coming in late... I knew the family knew based on the reactions at the dinner table. I'm guessing that since Efrain is a sophomore(?) that he hasn't been home enough over the year and a half since he left for college for him to have noticed (surely he's not that obtuse?). As for what happened, yes, I think he's overreacted a bit, I can appreciate why. He's had the issue of his outing as a big thing in his mind for so long, and then to discover that the family treated it as a joke? Another entertaining chapter. Thank you! My favourite line, though, is different to Skinnydragon's. It's from the dinner table conversation: “The Spanish chorizo is a bit different from the Mexican chorizo I got back home. Dryer, less sloppy. I think I prefer it.” The best part is that Cory didn't realise what he was saying...

I've just finished Boy River, and this was the next story I chose. I didn't realize it was the next story in Clay's saga. I knew bad things were going to happen as soon as I read about the counselor telling things to Clay's mother. At least Rush protected Clay's confidences. Clay has a new start, and so does Rush. I hope Ben can find his way to seeing the situation clearly.

Teenagers sometimes don't realize how easily they can be manipulated. Thanks for a great, if disturbing, story. Clay's position still isn't good, given the influence that Garrett's family have

Happy Birthday, Gene! :joe:

This is sad news. My thoughts go out to Miguel's family and friends

An interesting chapter of pure narration, but we still saw a lot of development. Toph is recognising more and more about himself, which is always a good thing. I'm surprised no one has mentioned that kissing at midnight on New Years Eve is a common practise. At least it was when I was younger. I remember watching with amusement one of my drunken friends going around the Rocks in Sydney, trying to score as many kisses from girls as he could get. Since I didn't drink at that stage, I was the designated driver. Steve's kiss could have been relatively innocent (though since he has a boyfriend he really should be kissing him and not some stranger). We'll have to wait and see what Steve has to say for himself.

I remember reading this some time ago. Lighthearted and fun. Definitely worth the time to read. The fact that I know some of the places mentioned doesn't hurt, either

I did say that my list was in confidence order from "not sure" down to "complete guesses"...

Wow...just...wow... Thank you! That's high praise indeed. I enjoy writing short stories, and I love adding twists. Most of the time, it's coming up with a twist that results in a short story that uses that twist.

Thank you!

Complete coincidence, I'm afraid, at least consciously. I needed a four letter first name (I wasn't up to thinking up too many notes, and four letter names are more common, anyway), and the name "John Fitzgerald" sounded natural to me. I think you've pointed out why...

Thank you! Eric and Tony have a chance, since they're starting from a common point (and Tony's just had some extremely good news on the romantic-interest front). As I wrote in another review below, John and Maria will have more challenges ahead if they want anything serious.

Thank you!

Thank you! Tony was the one who described John's sappy smile. After all, he's the gay guy who pays more attention to guys that girls, even if no one else knew it. He didn't have a crush on John, but that didn't stop him from admiring his friend...and his sappy smile

Thank you! As Tony and Eric discussed at the end, John and Maria's relationship has its own challenges, the main ones being how much time they'll have together before they both got to college, and John's lack of experience in long term relationships. I deliberately wrote John as someone who wasn't completely likeable. He has his good points, but he's a player, not a lover.

Thank you!

LOL -- most of my short stories end with a twist, but it wouldn't be a good twist if it was too predictable Thank you!

Thank you!