Hey, I just remembered, I am an Editor here and for all I know I’m writing this to myself.
Anyways, I feel the need to chime in.
When I first arrived here at E2 over 10 years ago I was as they say, like a lost puppy. My first couple of posts got deleted pretty quickly and rather than get discouraged I decided to put my nose to the grindstone and suffer the slings and arrows of those that were in charge. I’d look at the user base then and wonder what it would take to climb to the top of the ladder and see my user name appear with other noders who were much more accomplished than me when it came to writing.
As time passed and my skills (hopefully) improved I slowly, methodically saw my name inching up the users list and for some reason this encouraged me to write even more. What I thought at the time was “harsh feedback” was soon replaced with the knowledge that it was more like tough love and for me to earn the respect of my peers became a personal challenge. For what it’s worth, the feeling I got when I got a Ching! from what I thought was one of my harshest critics was one of the more rewarding experiences I’ve had during my stay here. As a matter of fact I wish I had a snapshot of the day I was finally sandwiched between jessicapierce and witchiepoo on that list and even though that took years, I felt like I had finally “arrived”. (Apologies in advance to Jet-poop and dannye but when I got sandwiched between them it just wasn’t the same.)
Remember, back in the day, if memory serves me correct, we’d average about 50 to 60 names on the users list at any given time and to see my name slowing rising up said list gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment. Maybe that’s because I have a somewhat competitive streak or maybe it’s because I’m still an adherent to the “Earn your bullshit” school of thought.
As I read the previous write ups here I’m advised that “Any suggestions should focus on the how and the why, and should not focus on changing things back to the way they were in the hopes that everything will be just exactly the way it was.” and “Don't rest on your laurels”.
No disrespect intended to the previous authors in this w/u but I’m calling bullshit on that. And here’s why.
First of all, I was taught from an early age that respect has to be earned. It’s not a birthright to be served on a first come first serve basis. To put it in more practical terms, just because I showed up at work, logged onto the system and did my job, I wouldn’t expect to see my name emblazoned on the door nor promoted to CEO after my first day on the job.
Second of all, E2 wouldn’t be what it is (or isn't?) today without the sweat and labor of those who toiled here in the early days. Like I said, I’m still in awe of many, if not most of the users who broke ground here and have, for whatever reasons, decided to stop writing entirely or moved on to greener pastures. I have many of them to thank for both entertaining and educating me along the way.
Besides, it gave me something to shoot for and probably contributed to my longevity here. After all, when the doors finally do close and the lights go out I’d rather be remembered for that than to be considered a one hit wonder.
This one goes out to all of the noders, past, present and future who either took the time or will take the time through either their feedback or example to help me become a better writer and improve not only my skills but the content of the site itself.
In closing, I’m sure that we all work hard here and those that continue to contribute in the form of writing or comments usually have the best interest of the site in mind. It is also not meant to be an indictment of the current policies or procedures when it comes to how the users list should be ordered or structured. If you’re looking for answers from me all I can say is that I don’t have any.
But, if you take a quick look in the mirror and see the number of quality writers and people that the site has attracted and subsequently lost over the years then yeah , I guess I’m for the so called good old days when one was judged by the body of their work rather than a smattering of efforts randomly submitted that change the order of things on a day to day basis..
Respectfully submitted and thanks for listening,
borgo