03 February 2009

So long, and thanks for all the fish

This was my final post on Thisisby.us, a writing site that captured my attention (to say the least) for some time. As of 12:01 a.m. February 1st, TIBU ceased to exist, and I got this in just under the wire. (Actually, I unintentionally saved it as a draft first time around and didn't realize it for a while.) There's nothing particularly remarkable about it, as farewells go, but since I've been asked, I'm reposting it here.

So I never did write my follow-up on Reviewstream, for which I apologize, especially as I did get the 5 bucks for the votes all of you were kind enough to give me. (For the record, I still think it’s a lousy site to write for, and their customer service responders are downright rude.) I guess I just lost steam when I found TIBU was going away, and this coincided with a rather alarming increase in my workload, so I just haven’t been here much in the last couple of months. I regret all I have missed that will, evidently, be lost for good (or at least harder to find) in a matter of hours.

Despite my recent absence, I feel compelled to say a few final words at the graveside, as it were. This site got my writing wheels turning again, for which I am grateful. Though most of what I posted here, poetry-wise, anyway, was mostly old work, it got me putting words on the page again. I’ve forged new friendships with whom I share the love of writing. I am hopeful that these connections will be fruitful and long-lasting.

I also found myself in the midst of contention from time to time, which I don’t necessarily consider a bad thing. Wars of words sometimes make us think, and I certainly found much to think about here.

But most of all, it was just great fun. And grand illusions aside, that may be the best we can wish for from anything.

7 comments:

castlerook said...

Yes, finding the motivation to post on TIBU became very difficult with the knowledge of its impending demise.

This was a good farewell.

Steven Marty Grant said...

Despite its many faults, I have yet to find a site that is as interactive as TIBU. The social aspect could certainly be annoying but it was also a big part of the addiction.

vet said...

TIBU gave me a lot, for which I'm grateful, and I miss it. (Although, incidentally, it never did give me $25 - I think my closing balance was around $23.) But I'm not going to spend much time mourning for it. It was just a Thing, perhaps in the original Icelandic sense of the term, and I can't begin to count the number of Things I've lost in my lifetime.

Thank you for still being here.

Ruby Apolline said...

Ach, lass, I feel like we should be tossing back a few at Rancho Queen Wendy's and spitting into the fire. Well said.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. I clicked on your post to read it and TIBU went down.

Nodressrehearsal said...

I didn't get to see this, either. I wish you guys would cross post over in livejournal... I keep forgetting to check in here.

Anyway, well said, and sentiments echoed.

Eric Lester said...

I'm glad to find this here. I was too late to read it on tibu ... by minutes.

I miss it, but I'll have to do some other stuff instead, and that might be good.

What I will particularly miss is the excellent criticism you generously provided.