level of expectation, because I knew that would make the retreat back into obscurity that much more disappointing. Would I be content to simply run my fan forum from a place of anonymity after this? I wasn’t sure.
And if they knew who I really was, was there any way I’d be accepted into their inner sphere like this?
Talking Disaster Forum
Topic: Walking Disaster - Reviews - Horizon - The Rock Paper - Page 9
Di$a$ter wrote:
Testing one, two, three. Is this thing on?
Attention boys and girls. Operation Bollocks is back on. Forward march!
DeadFan wrote:
Did you guys see Pumpkin’s post above?
Di$a$ter wrote:
Check the blog, DF.
DeadFan wrote:
*blushes*
Sorry. I saw this thread lit up and wondered. Carry on.
Insidious wrote:
Ha ha! They don’t validate your email address, so I’ve been spamming the comments with my pithy wisdom all day under a variety of creative monikers.
Di$a$ter wrote:
=D
Walker wrote:
LMFAO Sid. I’m heading over. Doubt it will do much good, but I’ve been spoiling for a fight since I read the word “derivative.”
RobinHood wrote:
Give him hell, guys! *popping popcorn*
Chapter Ten
Wednesday morning, I got ready as quietly as possible, hoping to sneak out without disturbing Jo or Micah. I was starting to feel bad for taking advantage of their hospitality. If they fed me and sent me off to work in a glorified limo again, it would only compound the guilt. I could grab coffee and breakfast on the go.
I hadn’t realized how hard it would be to find a place to live. The sheer number of ads on craiglist overwhelmed me, and I didn’t know the neighborhoods or how to vet potential roommates. I planned to ask around at work and do some intense research. Later.
Once I was out on the street. I woke up my phone to locate a subway stop. The notification light blinked, and I groaned, wondering what Ash wanted so early, but the text was from Shane. With a goofy grin, I clicked through.
Good morning. This is Shane. I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed talking with you last night.
At the corner, I entered the coffee shop and got in line. While I waited, I texted back.
Hi! I tapped the phone, trying to think of something more interesting, but all I could come up with was: I had a nice time, too. Hope to see you again soon.
No response came while I moved up the line. I placed my order then pulled up my own website to see what nonsense had transpired during the night after those two trolls had stirred the pot. But all was quiet.
I clicked on the Private Messages link and opened an administrative request from Adamant to help Scott, aka MetalNation, figure out why he couldn’t log in. Scott’s email address was included. I grumbled in annoyance. I’d instructed everyone in the Admin Info thread to contact Ash about this kind of shit for now.
My order came up. I grabbed the coffee and pastry and moved to a table where I opened Scott’s profile and discovered that his email address on record didn’t match the one they’d sent and updated it. Then I wrote back to say:
Tell Scott to request his password again.
The next message was from some user I’d never heard of: Sandman. The subject of this was: Your blog post.
I sighed.
Sometimes people would contact me to respond personally to an article I’d written or an opinion I’d posted instead of just commenting right on the blog or forum. Stifling a yawn, I opened it.
If you want your band to be respected for their music, you might reconsider sending your army of mouth breathers to infest a well-respected reviewer’s opinion piece. You give the band a bad name.
That put Bon Jovi in my brain, and I hummed “You Give Love a Bad Name” as I hit Reply and set about typing a jaunty rejoinder.
Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion regarding my blog post. Perhaps you’d like to post in the comments section, as that is what they are there for. Unlike the reviewer you refer to, I welcome dissenting points of view.
I actually started out thinking our fans shouldn’t vociferously disagree with a bad review. Then I had a second thought: It’s entirely possibly the reviewer is deaf and/or musically ignorant.
I do appreciate your feedback, but in the future, bear in mind that I have 14,000 registered users and can’t always respond to every private message.
Have a good one.
And send.
That probably would merit a scorching reply, but half