Subject: I donÂ’t think I belong here
Author:
Posted on: 2018-03-01 20:47:00 UTC
I don’t really think I belong here, it seems that most of the things I do here either aren’t noticed or more often shunted to talking about the PPC. And honestly, the series is something I’m not interested in, it dragged me out after the 5th lord of the rings story. And the fact that I can’t even stay updated on current events make me feel even worse.
Just so you guys know, the author name of this reply is the account of hellomrbassman/ninny4370. I don’t know why there are other accounts with my name, apparently they are come from the same IP address but there’s no proof of that as of yet. Hopefully this doesn’t happen again.
I've checked the board archives, and I can't find any posts by you. Who are you?
You’ll find me under Ninny more than bassman as the PPC Board. Unless those archives were purged.
It's pretty hard (or impossible?) to search the Board archives in the Board for usernames, but searching 'Ninny' got me to some mentions back in March and April of 2017. That does give at least a little context, though--I don't remember that screen name very well, but I do remember seeing it. Bassman or Bass man is completely unfamiliar, I'm afraid.
Generally, it's helpful to have only one PPC screen name, even if you're on both the Board and the Discord--it really, really helps eliminate confusion. Changing screen names is fine--I did it myself, back in January of last year* (...time flies)--but usually that comes with an announcement so people know. This, again, helps eliminate confusion.
~Z
*I was DawnFire
I’ll remember that for next time. Seems to be the same with my discord name as well.
I don't recognize your screen name. Do we know you?
And I have to ask, if you're not interested in the PPC, what on Earth brought you to the PPC Posting Board in the first place?
~Neshomeh
You as well? Maybe that’s because I’ve been inactive the past few months. Need to fix that. The reason I was interested was because of story writing. Then when I kept looking in the PPC I saw how much there is in terms of writing, I would have to catch up on years of writing to be updated. And with my life now, it’s nearly impossible.
Also, I do remember you though.
I, for one, haven't done so.
While, yes I do know that I don’t have to read everything there is about the PPC (i’m Not that psychotic yet). But that’s mostly what people talk about, and with the aforementioned issues regarding me catching up on it, I mostly get pulled out of conversations and end up giving up on trying to join again. It make me feel more stupid than the rest of you that I don’t know much about it.
We're not going to stop talking about the thing this Board exists to talk about. {= )
Mostly what we talk about is our own spin-offs and characters, though, I think. (Unless that's just me. >.> ) You don't have to know the Original Series to get to know other spin-offs, and you definitely don't have to know everyone's characters to participate in discussion of general concepts.
Also, we do actually want new people to be able to follow along and join in as easily as possible. That's why we have a wiki: so you can look up all the stuff you don't understand and find the most relevant things to read to get a handle on it. There's even a Current Events page, though I think Iximaz is the only person who's bothered to update it recently. (We should all fix that...)
But, if you don't actually care about the PPC setting at all... we're not gonna change who we are and what we're about, so yeah, this may not be the best writing community for you, and there's nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of other groups out there. Maybe someone can recommend some?
~Neshomeh
Honestly, this is the best place I have in terms of an active writing community. Others I've been to are too toxic, inactive, or just plain uninteresting to follow. I even think there was a group that only had one admin and a bunch of sock puppet accounts. I know the basic premise of the PPC, and I would love to follow it. But I can't do it right now. Like I said before, I'm having trouble just catching up on them, let alone dig through the wikia in search of plot points and references.
I feel like an attention whore right now. I really don't want to come across like that.
There's a really cool thing that's been going on the last few months, which is that every two weeks on a Thursday, Novastorme posts a writing prompt, and whoever feels like it responds with a short scene. (I've been hitting about 1.5-2 pages, nothing huge; nothing I can't bang out in a couple of hours, and I'm slow.) It doesn't have to be about the PPC (Nova has made a point of making the prompts open enough for any setting), it's pretty informal, and it's a great way to develop characters and get some feedback. I'd recommend jumping in there.
It is polite to comment on other people's prompt pieces, especially if they comment on yours, but you shouldn't have to read any missions or backstories to be able to follow little one-shot character vignettes. Not saying it wouldn't help, of course, but it shouldn't be necessary. And hey, maybe reading some very short works will introduce you to some characters you like enough to follow in their spin-off, and you can get to know the PPC better that way. Each spin-off is pretty self-contained, so there's really no wrong place to start. There's a saying in comics: "Every issue is someone's first." I figure that can go for PPC stories, too.
If even that seems like too much, I don't know what else to tell you. I don't know what in your life is holding you back, but like anything else, you're only going to get out of the PPC community what you're willing and able to put into it. At some point, you gotta make an effort.
~Neshomeh
Uh... yeah. Basically. I mean, I don't think anyone here has read every spinoff. Heck, I don't think anyone here has even read all the "must-read" spinoffs. I know I haven't. I read TOS, Pads and Trojie, and Tales from DOGA, originally. And while I've read more than that now, there is a MASSIVE list of spinoffs I haven't read. Here's a short list:
-Wobbles & The Notary
-Illraen and Supernumery
-Gall and Derik (Yes, really. It's humiliating and terrible and I need to fix it)
-Ix and Charlotte
-The Aviator and Zeb
-Suicide, Diocletian, and Ithalond
-...And those are just the famous ones.
So don't feel bad about not knowing everything and not reading it all.
You either drift away, or live long enough to see yourself become famous. ~Albert Einstein Sun Tzu Spock, probably
hS
It just seems unwarranted to be mentioned in the same breath as you and Nesh. I mean, you basically built huge portions of the shared universe from the ground up, Nesh did the Wiki, and I... made... clowns... happen? Also sometimes a pointy fish in a fetching shade of neon pink. And povs, I suppose. And corsets for everyone. But besides that, I don't rank alongside the big names in the community.
I feel like the Time-Grump has been influential far beyond the scope of her missions. She was in the Continuity Council, which was probably the biggest extended crossover generator in the PPC's history (think of how many Time Lord teamup stories we've had since then!), and of the founding members, you, Zing, and I are the only ones left.
But also... look around you. Who are the most prominent posters on the Board? Checking the second page (to avoid the Shipfest), I count these posts:
-Neshomeh: 40 (sweet Nienna)
-doctorlit: 31
-Thoth: 23
-Scapegrace: 20
-Iximaz: 17
-Tomash: 13
-Huinesoron: 9
Okay, it's been a quiet time for me, but you still said more than Iximaz or Tomash; you're pretty prominent around here.
hS
Sometimes I forget about the rather disproportionate influence of the Lonely Sod, the Time Lord Inglorious, she who Daleks named the Oncoming Form. But hey, again, not complaining, just surprised.
I'm just... well, I'm not convinced I'm good enough to warrant being PPC-famous. Sure, I can string a sentence together and tell a decent joke, but the oldbies are better than me at that and have far more of a coherent, long-term storyline built up with their agents. And they get more done. I have at least one more mission to get through before my massive crossover involving all my teams, and I keep getting bogged down. We can't all be Ix, yeah, but it feels like I'm letting the side down a bit if I'm not uploading something. That's part of why I've been so active on the prompts threads; they're short enough that I can get them finished before my brain starts screaming at me about how useless the story is.
Thank you for the kind words, though. I appreciate it. =]