More Internet Insanity

There's an old saying, "Nowt as queer as folk!" And if you hang around the internet for long enough you'll find it's no exaggeration.


This week I was tipped off on a writers' forum about a blog post where a self-published author had voiced some opinions on reviewing.  The forum post was clearly a call to arms because when I followed the link I found a dozen or more posts haranguing the poor woman for nothing worse than having an opinion.  How dare you, they cried as one, tell us how to voice our opinions.  Shame it never occurred to the nitwits they were doing the exact same thing.


Because we all have opinions and we all think we're right.  Maybe we are, maybe we aren't.  But unless we're putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to do our will, where's the harm in it?  If you don't like a book or a blog or the colour of someone's hair, so what?  You're entitled to your opinion just as I'm entitled to ignore it.


The internet community is a funny place.  It is an unreal world peopled largely by creatures of our own imagining.  We put faces to these strangers based on the things they post - we begin to feel a connection or a revulsion depending on how well they match up to our own values, and it can feel oddly intimate considering it is nothing more than words over the ethernet.   For some individuals the internet should come with a health warning because that very anonymity brings out the worst in them.  I've blogged before about the groupthink effect on forums, but there are also trolls who no doubt see themselves as crusaders, ridding the internet of injustice, persecuting anyone whose ideas they dislike, stalking and spying in a way only previously found in Le Carre novels.  It's bizarre to the point of insane.  Isn't it enough for these people that they be allowed to voice their opinions?  Apparently not.  


I recently saw a discussion about whether Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler's infamous magnum opus, should be republished in Germany.   I hadn't realised it was banned there until now, but it doesn't surprise me.  We have come to think of Nazism and fascism as synonymous, thanks to several decades of hefty propaganda.  But the fact is fascism is all around us and always has been.  It's in you and me.  Yes it is.  Whenever you want to delete a comment or ban a poster who has said something you don't like, that's fascism in action.  It's a human disease - intolerance.  But really, there is no need to ban or edit or delete anyone.  


Because they're just opinions, people.  They can't hurt you. 

Don't Get Me Started on ....Writers' Forums

The other day someone on one of the bazillion writing forums I belong to asked what everyone thought about An Other writing forum.  Although I belong to An Other forum I didn't reply.  Whenever these sorts of questions crop up it can be a cue for a flame war and I didn't fancy getting involved.


Forums are odd entities.  They tend to bring out territoriality in their members, even though they don't even exist in a physical sense.  The idea that you can belong to a forum is really silly when you think about it.  A group of people post comments on a web page; everything about it is mutable: for a start, the members may not even be real people at all.  Unless you have met them in the flesh how can you know for sure?  Sock puppets and fake IDs are more common than you'd expect.  And if they are real, what is it that binds you to them other than some half baked opinions?


I've been trolling around the Internet for - well, too long.  I've been a member of many writers' forums and I've noticed characteristics they all share, although they invariably claim to be unique and special:

• They all claim to be the best and rubbish the competition.
• They all have cliques even if they strenuously deny it, and they usually do.
• They all have trolls and flamers even if the strenuously deny it, and they usually do.
• They all demand loyalty to the forum and frown on any individualistic behaviour that threatens it, like making negative comments elsewhere online.
• They all have some sort of pecking order despite claiming to be democratic, which they usually do.

It never fails to amaze me what people will put up with for the dubious benefits of belonging to a forum.  Tin pot dictators abound on these boards, self-appointed experts laying down the law as if they had some say over anything, when the reverse is patently the case.  The world of writing and publishing is not some highly organised conglomerate but a melee of competing individuals.  There are no rules other that What You Can Get Away With.  But it doesn't stop some trying to impose their own regulation and others accepting and parroting it in a self-perpetuating cycle of delusion.  


Not only do we buy this, we lap it up - we go looking for it.  Human beings seem to need the discipline of a set order even if it's only illusory.  Perhaps that's the reason we're only too happy to give up our freedom; anything is better than the chaos of reality.


But the worst aspect of forums is the Groupthink, that zombie trance of blind obedience where people act as one monstrous entity.  Somehow the monster grows, feeding off mutual flattery, steered by a few dominant personalities until the members find themselves collaborating in behaviour they wouldn't dream of doing in real life.  Bullying is the most obvious expression of this, but it can take many forms.


A kind of swaggering one-upmanship can come into play.  I've witnessed Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen-style contests on the most bizarre topics, like who was the most abused by a former boss, or who's written the nastiest Amazon review.  At some point you hope they will wake up and have a "what was I thinking?" moment, but I wouldn't bet on it, especially if they've taken the precaution of hiding their true identity to give themselves carte blanche in the bitchiness stakes.


I was warned off writers' forums some years ago by a published author who noted that she didn't know any successful writers who bothered with them.  And it's true, the people who really could give you useful help and advice don't seem to inhabit these enclaves.  These days I do more lurking than posting - some kind of sentimental attachment stops me deleting my accounts altogether, and they are after all a fascinating study in group behaviour and self-delusion.  But I no longer believe in the Rules, the grand sounding promotional material, the self-aggrandisement.  Writers shouldn't belong anywhere if they truly want to have their own voice.

Thank God

Now I'm on hiatus I at last have a chance to catch up with the serious business of social networking.  Don't you just hate the way your writing interrupts all those interesting forum discussions and Liking someone on Facebook?  And now of course there's Google+, not to mention Twitter.  It's a mad whirl of socialising.  If only that pesky writing didn't get in the way.


I struggle with forums, I really do.  For all my intentions to stay off the bloody things I find myself inexorably drawn back.  However much they wind me up with pointless arguments, over developed egos and plainly bad advice every attempt at staying away only results in me joining a few more. And there are lots of them these days.  


So when I do get back to the writing I may disconnect the internet, that great Thief of Time.  But for the moment I'm enjoying my little holiday and wasting time to my heart's content.  It's so interesting to know where minor celebrities buy their underwear.  Don't know how I managed for years without knowing little titbits like that.

Writers Online

The internet has revolutionised communications.  So what does that mean for the aspiring writer?


In the Bad Old Days you'd sit in your draughty garret scratching stories onto parchment with only your own dark thoughts for company.  Nowadays you don't need to be so isolated.  One click gets you onto Facebook, Twitter and the myriad of writers' forums out there.  In the early days it's nice to meet like minded people and get some answers to your newbie questions.  But you can get so involved with this online community you forget why you ended up there. 


These days display sites have eclipsed the standard critique sites.  Display sites, like Authonomy and Book Country (to name but two - there are plenty more) are more about platform and discoverability.  Mutual backslapping is the order of the day, and anything resembling honest, ie. critical, critique is likely to be met with hostility because it is deemed "unsupportive". 


So, is the internet a good place for writers or just another procrastination technique?


I think there are hazards as well as benefits.  The internet is great for instant research and you can pick up lots of advice.  There's bad advice too, of course.  But as long as you're selective and trust your own instincts you shouldn't go far wrong.  The support group and mutual praise is nice in the early days when you're feeling shy and insecure but beware it doesn't become a crutch.  Your work is for the public at large, not just your little clique of mates who never dislike anything you write.


So really, nothing much has changed.  The internet might have made people more accessible, but writing is still a solitary activity and too much company might just blow you off course.

Crit and Chat

Just a quick post to say me and some of my online writer buddies have started a new free-to-join writers' forum. Crit and Chat is for writers who enjoy the company of other writers to..well, crit and chat. More news about this soon.

Yet more internet paranoia

Recent question on a writers' board about how much one should trust internet "friends". Someone was trying to make contact with a potential beta - a person who will swap manuscripts and give you feedback on your WIP - and had encountered some wariness when she raised the issue on a large public forum. Being a trusting soul she couldn't figure this out.

The internet is an odd thing. Considering how vast and multinational it is, it can feel, as you surf in the cosy safety of your room, strangely intimate. In a very short time you can reach a level of trust with complete strangers that would normally take years. I've seen people discuss the most personal and private issues on some boards, to the extent where I've wondered whether the poster is fully aware of just how much they are putting out there for all and sundry to see. Because it's easy to forget how exposed you are on a public forum. And what's worse is not every person you encounter is as honest and well meaning as they might seem.

Put it this way. Would you walk down the street of your local town or city and hand copies of your precious novel - the one you're slaved over for months or even years - to complete strangers? OK, maybe that's a bit extreme, but it's not so very different from what we do when we post our work online. It's not unheard of for short stories and poems to be lifted and sold to magazines abroad without the author's knowledge. Cyber stalking is not unknown either and anyone who gives away too much about their personal life leaves themselves vulnerable to being targeted.

I don't want to sound alarmist, but the fact is there are some weirdos and crooks stalking the internet and we do well to bear that in mind before opening our hearts. I speak as someone who until recently was as guilty of that wide eyed naivete as any school kid. Just remember, anyone can be anything they want behind the mask of a cheeky screen name and avatar. It pays to be cautious.

If you'll take my advice...

Everybody loves to spout advice, don't they? All you need is a half baked opinion - usually actual knowledge or insight gets in the way and makes the issue too complicated - and you can expatiate to your heart's content.

In the past few years of knocking around the internet in search of helpful nuggets of wisdom I've encountered many self-appointed experts. They tend to be somewhat lower on the food chain than the really successful writers whose opinions might actually be worth listening to if they had the time and could be bothered pontificating. Often they are only wannabes themselves. And many of them are so low down the food chain they are probably less knowledgable and experienced than...well, just about anybody.

I've spoken before about the dangers lurking on message boards. There are fantasists and liars around who aren't too fussy about the deceptions they perpetrate, and one thing they love to do is make themselves out to be something better than they are. It's so easy. Why waste twenty years building a real career in creative writing when you can make one up - and with the anonymity of the Internet no one can deny you.

So my opinion about advice obtained online is be very critical of all of it.

Most of it is rubbish. Even the most well intentioned advice might not be suitable for you at your stage of development. What helps one person may not help another. Sweeping statements are usually hopeless. Nothing is ever that simple and even the most obvious rules have been broken at one time or another.

The best teacher is your own experience and that takes time and hard work. Read a lot and write a lot and be skeptical of anyone coming at you with advice.

Am I Alone In Here..?

Ever had the feeling you've been sleepwalking? That unsettling jolt you get when you walk into a hall of mirrors which is apparently full of people then find you're the only one there?

I've had a kind of epiphany about the true nature of internet forums this past week. Of course I'd always suspected there were fantasists and outright liars on these boards. Many people big themselves up to cover their feelings of inadequacy which is generally harmless in most cases and easily seen through. But what kind of person invents several fake identities for the purpose of manipulating and controlling the board, not for a few weeks or months but several years? Imagine the effort involved in maintaining the pretence. Each character has to be distinct enough to avoid detection. There have to be fake names and email addresses. It's more than a prank - it's seriously disturbed.

Of course sock-puppetry is not new. It has and is used for various reasons and not always with malicious intent, but let's not kid ourselves, it's always deception. The sock puppet is cagey about giving away their real name or anything that could make them verifiable off the board. With the internet it is quite simple to google someone and find them out. And most writers are keen to promote themselves and their work online, so why would a writer want to hide their identity? It's not always easy for the administrators to identify fake accounts. Anyone can hide their real identity by creating a new email account, and their IP address using an IP blocker. And some boards are too loosely moderated for the culprit to be spotted.

So why would anyone do it? This has given me much pause for thought. Creating a new identity and living it online gives a sense of power - the I know something you don't know effect. I would guess the perpetrator is riddled with feelings of inadequacy, like the practical joker getting his kicks from being the only one in on the joke. The fact that they can successfully deceive people gives their ego a huge boost.

In any case, it's opened my eyes to the fact that there are some very sick minds on the internet, and I'll be double checking everyone I encounter from now on.

My Advice To You Is...

Many moons ago when I first lost my soul to the Internet I lapped up all the tips and advice so liberally available. Want to know about how to write a synopsis? - here's my recipe for cracking it. Don't know which agents to approach? Just try this site to put you straight.

All was hunky dory until I faced an unusual quandary regarding a submission I'd made to a well known and respected agency. I posted a query about it on a couple of boards and confidently waited for my new writer friends to wade in with some solid gold advice on how to proceed. What I got back opened my eyes for all time about the quality of advice on offer on the internet, and since then it's made me very careful about taking anyone's word for anything.

The trouble is that, wonderful resource though it is, the internet is full of people who for one reason or another don't know what they're talking about. I'd say the majority of message board posters don't know any more than you do, but rather than say so they have to chuck in their tuppence worth without a thought about the impact their advice might have. Then there are those further up the publishing ladder; surely they know a thing or two? Well, yes. But they probably don't know everything - and I'd hazard a guess they know a lot less than they pretend. One published author told me "This never happens" when it had happened to me, therefore it must happen.

And that's assuming everyone who offers you help online is a kind, well-meaning friendly person. Not all are, and you should be aware of that. There are many embittered and jealous individuals on these sites who have their own agenda. Don't believe everything you read. For a long time I comforted myself with the thought that people would sue if the things said about them were untrue, but that's not always the case. Not everyone has the wherewithal to go to law, and those who do often don't want the bad publicity it would attract.

So the lesson is, take online advice with a large pinch of salt and learn to exercise your own judgment rather than rely on others to lead the way.

But, having said that, here are some great query tips (of the tongue-in-cheek variety). They made me smile.

Internet Slapstick

Why do we laugh when a man carrying a ladder turns suddenly and knocks some poor unsuspecting sod into a man hole? Or when the business man slips on a banana skin and lands ignominiously on his behind? Part of us loves to relish the humiliation of others. Of course it's not at all funny when it happens to us.

This week every writers' board I frequent has been buzzing with talk about the reaction of author Jacqueline Howett to a review of her book The Greek Seaman. I'm not going to post links because if you haven't already heard about this you must be living in a sensory deprivation chamber and if so you can easily Google her name to find it. To summarise, she was less than gracious that the reviewer pointed out spelling/grammar mistakes in her work and after an increasingly bitter row told him to F*ck Off.

Had that been the end of it nothing more need be said. But the ensuing reaction of the writing community was on a scale of Japan's recent tsunami. A flood of self-righteous condemnation, both on the blog and on writers' boards and Twitter, sent this story into the digital stratosphere. It's astonishing that one little book could create such a buzz, and for all the WRONG reasons. No doubt Ms Howett has sold a few more copies of her book as a result, but I'm not really interested in her per se. The reactions of others is far more interesting.

Why on earth were normal decent people mobbing a complete stranger like this? Does it really matter how good/bad/indifferent her book is? With the market awash with books who cares what a reviewer thinks of this one? No, this wasn't about the book. This was pure slapstick. This woman who had the temerity to put her work out there for review then reacted the way all of us would like to react to criticism and made a spectacle of herself. If we'd done it we'd be feeling awful, but this was someone else so it was alright to sneer and snigger. And all that sniggering added up to a tidal wave of indignation.

I can't help wondering how many of those doing the mobbing have even written a book, let alone published one.

Sandra's Guide to the Flora and Fauna of Forums

As you know I'm no stranger to writers' forums and have belonged to many of them in the past few years. They're a good way to make friends with like minded individuals - writing is a lonely business and it doesn't hurt to have a support group you can rely on for advice and sympathy. But there are some who join these groups for other reasons.

Trolls and flamers get their kicks by causing trouble. They're a bit like the internet version of arsonists. They stir things up, cause a huge conflagration then step back to enjoy the show. They're usually easy to spot. Someone new joins the forum and immediately starts making contentious remarks or insulting the members. Some are more intelligent about it than others, and some are so subtle you may not realise at first you are being manipulated. But subtle or not these people are not interested in joining in or contributing anything so they are best ignored however provocative their behaviour. Arguing only encourages them.

The Time Waster is a watered down version of the Troll & Flamer. He doesn't want to actually do harm but he's bored and wants company and to that end he'll derail discussions any way he can to get your attention. So every serious topic gets derailed with silliness. If you're unlucky enough to have a few of them they can successfully kill off every serious attempt at discussion to gossip about soap operas or what their neighbour did.

The Self-Appointed Expert likes to drop in and put everyone straight but doesn't get their hands dirty (they're far too busy with real work anyway) taking part or bothering to get to know anyone on the board. They get their kicks by boasting about their achievements, using what little knowledge (it's usually not as much as they think, and often just opinions) they have to bludgeon the "inferior" members into submission. They patronise and bully, make unsubstantiated claims about their contacts in the industry, and if anyone challenges them flounce off calling the entire membership of the board "clueless amateurs". Thankfully they don't last long because their arrogant attitude guarantees they will be shunned sooner or later by all but the most brainless sycophants.

The Tireless Promoter will do anything, go anywhere, to pimp their blog/book/manuscript appraisal service, whatever. They derail every thread to get in a shameless plug, regardless of the topic. Every comment they make has an agenda of steering members toward whatever they are trying to promote. It really gets boring after quite a short time.

My Name Is Sandra and I'm an Addict...

Okay time to 'fess up, as our American cousins say. I'm addicted. No, not fags or booze or even Nightnurse (although it is great when you're choked with the cold). My particular weakness is writers' forums. Yes. Pathetic, eh?

Like any addict I am in total denial about my addiction. I can handle it, I tell myself. Just a few minutes a day, it's harmless. I can walk away any time...

Ah, if only that were true.

The odd thing is they wind me up something rotten. I've lost count of the times I came perilously close to hurling my computer at the wall out of sheer frustration at some of the pompous, ignorant downright stupid comments made on these boards. And it's pointless to argue - it's like feeding the flames - you then get ten pompous ignorant nitwits jumping on your head instead of one! So I try being mature and ignoring it, only of course you can't really ignore it, can you? It's like a car crash on the motorway, you have to gawp at all the bits of wreckage and bloody remains even if it gives you nightmares for months. And all the time I'm bottling up my indignation until fit to burst, swearing I'll never ever go on there again - until the next time.

Every time I have one of these episodes I end up signing up on yet another board and the whole ghastly cycle starts again.

So what's the cure? Cold turkey? Take up another hobby? Disconnect my computer from the internet? Any and all suggestions welcome.

A word of caution...

The internet is a big place with lots of free resources. I've written before about the benefits and advice we writers can glean but I've also written about taking care where you get your information, and I'd like to repeat that warning.

Always take internet advice with a pinch of salt.

OK, I have some lovely online buddies but let's face it, most of the people we encounter online are strangers who, however well intentioned they claim to be, could be using the net for their own agenda. I'm not saying everyone is, I'm just saying have a care who you listen to until you know you can trust them. Check out their claims. Google the hell out of everyone. Cultivate a healthy skepticism.

Last year I had my eyes opened in a shocking way when a very large and well established writers' board treated an acquaintance of mine in a very shabby way. It made me realise that self-appointed guardians of the writing community may not be all that. It made me wonder if they aren't being entirely honest with us to suit their own purpose.

Next time you are warned off a particular agency or publisher, take a minute to ask yourself whether the person warning you is acting purely out of altruistic motives or could they possibly be getting any benefit for themselves by thinning the competition. Beware of sites which act as judge and jury without giving you their sources and explaining how they arrived at that decision. It's easy for me to sit here and tell you Santa Claus is really just a great big scammer out to get your milk and cookies, but who benefits if that leaves only my chimney for him to drop down next Christmas?

More Internet Paranoia

I love the internet. Don’t laugh, I really do. For all its faults it has revolutionised communications and research. YouTube is brilliant. Where else could you listen to the theme song from Stop The Pigeon after all these misspent years and without paying a penny?

And of course there are the message boards. Now, I’ve written about these before so you’ll know I hang around a good few writers’ boards. They’re useful for picking up tips and bits of news, even getting peer review if that’s what you’re after. But this week I made a sobering discovery I want to share with you.

Unless you set up your own forum where you have editorial control of your posts, you can never be sure they will be left unedited for all eternity.

That’s it. Is it a big deal? Well, let’s just think about it. Suppose you hold a strong viewpoint on something and it differs from the administrators of the message board. Not only can they ban you from the forum, thus denying you the opportunity to delete your posts, they can also edit your posts to reflect what they believe. This isn’t an issue for those of us who hide behind clever usernames – although most people with a modicum of sense can track you down if you post links to your website or blog – but for any honest unsuspecting person who uses their own identity it’s potentially hazardous. Imagine the indignity of coming up in a Google search spouting fascist dogma you don’t even agree with! And it could happen. I’ve seen it happen this week and the implications for writers are far-reaching and troubling.

It came as a shock and made me realise that no forums are actually really free. There’s always a price to pay of some sort, and I wouldn’t like to think it was my integrity. So should we trust writers’ forums? From now on I’ll be taking a much closer look at who’s pulling the strings behind these groups before I post a thing. You can’t be too careful.

Is there something in the air?

I frequent a couple of writers' forums and lately all hell has been breaking out. No one reason for this that I can see, but tempers seem to be fraying even more than usual. Perhaps it's another manifestation of SAD or the credit crunch or the prospect of another Christmas season looming.

A thread will start quite innocently; a question is asked or an observation made, and somehow the responses escalate into an unpleasant fracas out of all proportion to the issue raised. I see it on forums from time to time but just lately it seems to be breaking out everywhere and from the most mild mannered individuals.

The internet somehow promotes this literary road-rage. It brings out the Mr Hyde in us all. I'm not immune to the urge to let fly and in the past I've shed a tear or lain awake because of the turmoil it causes. Somehow, sitting alone at a computer, it's easy to forget they're just opinions. Our egos seem to hang on getting the last word, on scoring a point off some arrogant SOB who has inadvertently trod on our toes.

There's only one cure I know of. The off switch. But then, where's the fun in that?