Best Post of the Week

[Nimrodel_9]

Can we nominate a whole thread? Me thinks the Death of Crystal Heart thread would win.

I nominate burrahobbit's post in the Death of Crystal Heart thread. http://69.51.5.41/showpost.php?p=377446&postcount=25

It is rather short, but it was so sudden (and shocking) that I later found it hilarious.

[Bêthberry]

My dear Nimrodel_9, there is indeed a thread to celebrate Best Thread of the Month.

However, one essential criteria is that the thread starter manage it successfully. I wonder if that has happened with The Fate of Crystal Heart thread.

Brevity, thy name is wit, or burra. He rocks, often. And I love him. But Esty still deserves considerable commendation for her work here. Sometimes the size (of a contribution) does matter.

[mark12_30]

Bethberry, Estelyn's faithfulness, thoughtfulness, and stamina is worthy of more honor than any single nomination can give. If only for Esty, there should be another awards ceremony at some point. Alas that I have no organization skills! But for starters, perhaps I shall make it a weekly habit to rep those opening posts.... I haven't seen one yet that wasn't worthy.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Nimrodel_9

Can we nominate a whole thread? Me thinks the Death of Crystal Heart thread would win.

No, you can not nominate the thread. I am the starter of the thread and will not accept a nomination. This situation has never come up before but I am assuming the starter of a thread has the right to decline when he or she feels that a nomination of the thread is little more than an attempt to elicit a laugh at the expense of the people who posted there. I can think of no other reason for nominating that thread.

You might feel differently if you had posted on the original thread. For the past week, my mailbox has been stuffed with notes from people who did post on that thread. A number of these writers were 'philosophical' about what had happened--similar to Mark12_30's excellent post; some were clearly upset by the fact that a poster had unfairly taken advantage of both themselves and others in this way.

We seem to fall into two broad groups: those who find the situation hilarious because they enjoy seeing people duped, and those who feel that there is something wrong when someone tells a lie about death and sits back to laugh at what others say. I'd like to think I'd be in the second group even if I had not started the thread.

Bethberry -

However, one essential criteria is that the thread starter manage it successfully. I wonder if that has happened with The Fate of Crystal Heart thread.

You are correct. I did not manage the thread "successfully". For any interchange or conversation on this site to be "successful", people have to be willing to expose themselves enough to speak with some grain of honesty. This is as true in Mirth as it is in Books. When each of us posts on this site, we do so in the belief that others look at our ideas, whether serious or humorous, as having value. That did not happen here.

I can state with a fair degree of certainty that this situation will never again occur on this site. Moderators and admins will automatically assume that any announcement of serious illness, accident, or death is probably a hoax and will respond with corresponding skepticism. How sad and ironic given the meaning of the books that we are discussing!

[Bêthberry]

Let me step in here immediately with my sincere apologies to Child of the 7th Age. Child certainly knows how to manage a thread successfully. Some of the most successful and informative threads here on the Downs began with Child's thoughts and followed through under her excellent guidance.

When I made the post above stating that the Crystal Heart thread was not worthy of nomination, I was thinking completely in terms of the annoucement from the purported sister of Crystal. I had completely forgotten that Child had started the thread. It was Melissa after all who started things off with her claim about Crystal. That kind of affair certainly has no place in being commemorated for meritorious acclaim.

And I agree wholeheartedly with Child that to offer the event for nomination as best thread is to be completely insensitive to the feelings of those who believe they were taken advantage of. We try to build community here, not create divisions and dischord and bad feelings.

Again, Child, I did not have you in mind. My comments were intended totally towards the perpetrator of the hoax.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Child certainly knows how to manage a thread successfully.

Bethberry -

Well, I don't think I'd go that far but thank you for the positive words. I admit I have been known to go fleeing to the far hills when I get in over my head in a literary or philosophical discussion and leave it to others to finish running the gauntlet.

Like you, I am quite sure that there must be better threads to nominate for an honor other than the particular one under discussion.

To return to the topic of this thread, I want to put in another word on behalf of Esty's most recent chapter-by-chapter post. What amazes me is that she seems completely unflappable, at least on this site. No matter what craziness, she responds with calm assurance. Moreover, it's one thing to do book posts when you are in the "right" frame of mind. I often have a way of slipping in and out of the books forum based partly on my schedule and partly on my mood. It is another thing to do these chapter posts week after week no matter what kind of mood you are in. These chapter discussions get off to a much better start because Esty takes the time to think things through and poses a number of questions for us to begin thinking about in our own reading.

Finally, there have been few mentions of RPG posts on this awards thread, but I mean to change that in the coming weeks and give a tip of the hat to a writer or two who has done a gracious or humorous post. My first nod goes to Amanaduial the Archer for her post in the Green Dragon Inn on the continuing sage of the Innkeeper and that rascal Snaveling. She has done such a clever job with this post by weaving in a number of ongoing subplots and still finding time for a deliciously embarassing moment at the end.

[Bêthberry]

Well, a double nomination from me this week. Here's something to show what standards Middle earth Mirth can achieve:

"A muffin, English or othewise, is still not a patch on a crumpet, really." From the undoubtable Rimbaud on the American Readers (and others) thread

Not to be confused with strumpets, now, mind.