Where did Hatta get to?
Was he like Superman - you never saw him when Clark Kent was around?

He was a she. Funny that you should make the same mistake that I made when I first got to know her. I think it's because she is just who she is with no over sentimentality but a liking for fun. Why those shouldn't be feminine characteristics, I've no idea...

I think Hatt has a busy career and has come and gone before. She probably looks in, like very many ex WOLers do. I hope she comes back one day too.

Can I second that please.

O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a
message, just start talking at the sound of the tone.
Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you
coming home?
Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me,
but I know you.
And I've got a message to give to you.
Here come the planes.

Ah! Ms Anderson I presume?

Hi Graham, yes. Thought it suited the conversation and Hatta would love this. Win x

Hatta was/is lovely, but the right things have to be happening on the site and for her personally for her to alight for a bit. Let's hope she reads this and feels it is the right time to visit for a while

I'm sure she'll be blushing but . . I love Hatta too!

And where's Alvin Guinnessberg?

Or Antony Owen?

I miss Rev 2Sheds! And Thaumaturgically Charged (or whatever he was called - will always be Thermo to me!)

Rev 2Sheds! I was only thinking about him the other day ...

Just click on the poets list and see how many have disappeared after registering here. What's the point of adding one's name and then becoming invisible.

I know of at least two friends who have registered on here but have never blogged poems because of a kind of stagefright, Graham. A third friend has become a regular, and enjoys it. We may not think twice about it, but putting up your poems to be commented on or not is a big deal for a lot of people.

I do think that some people start off with such high hopes - they'll post a poem or their profile and their world will change - BOOM!!! But it ain't like that. I guess they get disillusioned and drift away. Would it help the site seem less overloaded if, after a poet has not contributed to the site for say a year, they get sent an email asking them to renew their profile if they want to stay on WOL?

I only miss the ones who made an intelligent or witty contribution to the site - the ones who put back in via comments or discussion. Putting back into any society is so important. Without that element of selflessness we might as well all just flush our poetry down the toilet - or send to the GPO along with a letter to Father Christmas...

Ah! WOL! So much like real life - and yet - not quite!

That's a really interesting comment Steve. When I feel I have the time I feel I can be fair in my "outlay" of comments. When time runs short, one does tend to pay more attention to work by poets that you are familiar with. But, if new poets to the site would "dare" to comment, thay would be more likely to get feedback I am sure.

Hello. Just want to say that I'm looking foward to making an honest contribution to the community. I realise that requires taking the time and having something intelligent to say about the work of others. In return, I would hope for some sort of payment in kind, if you will. Quid pro quo. I don't expect to be throwing my knickers at anyone's work - unless I think they're bloody good. Likewise, I don't expect be pulling Y-fronts off my own face!
What you give is what you get, I reckon. Critting isn't my forte, but I recognise the need to do it, in order to receive comments on my own work. I think there is a tendency, on some poetry sites, for the longstanding members to become a self-affirming, self-sustaining clique. I hope that's not the case here. We'll see...

I'm genuinely very excited to be here and looking foward to sharing with you all.

Cheers

Keith (a.k.a. shadwell smith)

Hello Keith - welcome to WOL. You've touched on a lot of interesting points there. It is human nature to want to comment on your friends stuff - an act of support if you like and I don't see anything wrong with it. I suppose it only gets a bit grinding if we get too cliquey and fail to recognise anyone else. For my part I stop wanting to comment on poets who don't comment on anyone else - you start to question why you are bothering if they aren't. This question comes up regularly. The conclusion for me is that the site fulfills different purposes for different poets. Some people want to just post their stuff somewhere, to maybe read a little but without leaving their pawmark - maybe cos they are time pressured or don't know what to say. I suppose each to their own - it's a case of acknowledging that we are all different.

I think many of us go through cycles of being positive and negative about the site and the community in general - poets are a moody bunch.

All the best anyway. x

But Mr Shadwell Smith - you don't appear on the list of poets yet - look forward to meeting you on here!

Hi All, Mr Shadwell Smith's profile is incomplete and is awaiting acceptance in the new members area. Winston Admin (Membership)

He is of course right that the more you put into something. the more (hopefully) you get in return, I would like to think that this is the case on this site.

For me personally, if I'm happy in myself I'm happy with WOL. If I'm feeling fed up and "got at" - well, it's all WOL's fault naturally! But that's just me :)

Which funnily enough brings me back to Hatta, and the start of this thread. She was never negative, elusive maybe, but always gave a lightness and brightness to the site. And she was not in the least self-engrossed. She was a sprite!

I have some sympathy with the idea that for every poem posted on the blogs there should be a protocol whereby posters should post three or so comments in return. Unfortunately it would probably be quite difficult to regulate.

I have learned from experience that some posters often don't want "critical" comments, therefore it might be an idea to specify in their blog entry their choice of the level of comment they wish to receive. Say an "O" (Open) for all levels of comment/critique, "R" (Restricted) for general/positive comments only and "D" (Detailed) comments/critique. This might prevent a few of the fits of pique/misunderstandings that occur from time to time.

Regards,
A.E.

Ah, but what's a comment? A lovely creature recently appeared - wrote "Loved it hun!" on everything then disappeared. Would this count as a comment? I guess so - and I ain't getting at her, she seemed lovely.

Hatta and the future of WOL? why do people leave? are we too cliquey?
These questions are amongst those that keep me awake at night.
One theory is that there is an optimum group size for a community such as this, and that as some folk leave others join. Could be something in it. There is the Dunbar number thingy: "...there is a cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships."
In my case it is often less than one but, joking aside, I do think that it is correct, though I know of no work on this in relation to a website like this. It is slightly ironic that this has arisen on this discussion as I have been thinking about this issue in relation to the notion of having group profiles on the site. For example, to what extent could this "group", the one under discussion here, be considered one of a possible plethora of groups on the site? Instead of thinking about this question as one of whether comments are appropriate or not, could/should we think about the question of whether this grouping is appropriate for some people more than others.
We have not actually set any specifc criteria for membership of this 'group'; it has been largely self-organising, a fact reinforced by Dave picking up the competition baton. Perhaps, my question goes, if we encouraged the setting up of other groups with different interests or approaches to critique, ones that make clear their criteria and raisons d'être, we might have more people using the site and benefiting from it? That was also one of the reasons for deciding to offer groups a facility to have discussions and blogs closed to all but that group's membership.
Of course, we have not yet got that fully working for a range of reasons connected to the fact that nobody gets paid here and our technical team have both suddenly had life events overtake them for the moment, and I am still trying to balance working on Write Out Loud and sort myself somewhere to live, having been homeless for 9 months.
One key question I am asking myself is, instead of taking any responsibility for these blogs, should you take over this grouping of blogs yourselves, as an online group given greater control by us over membership and rules (taking over the asylum?)?
Finally, Hatta is a very dear friend who has a busy writing life creating work for BBC Radio 4. I am sure she will be back when it is appropriate for her. I shall let her know offline of this discussion.

Forgot to say also, that I wanted to respond to Steve's point about the site being about poetry performance; I am not sure we can still say that with any conviction precisely because the area of the site under discussion kind of denies that, as does the fact that there are increasing numbers of events being posted that are not open-mic but formal readings or launches or workshops, etc. And increasing numbers of people who first read with Write Out Loud now are published or writing plays, or otherwise engaging in writing.
So, what is the site? What do you want it to be? I am a fairly disorganised person, as you will have gathered, but I will try to get back to sort out those discussion points on these questions.
There is also a grouping of site users not currenlty catered for as a group and that is the hundreds of gig (or should we start calling them events?) organisers/impresarios. It's all getting a bit big really, for something that was basically the result of a discussion over a pint. Still onwards and downwards, eh?

Ann, back to your comments comment. I am never quick to dismiss the brief 'nice poem' or 'loved this' comment. A little positive affirmation and the knowlege that you have left an impression is always welcome. Win

So you were summond like a genie and did appear! Magic! xx