Here I hope to post a series of short essays on life on BZPower and on people and events on BZPower that have moved or affected me. I might as well get a discussion topic going, too. The discussion topic is here.

So here's the first installment:

On the Departure of Kirilin
All Good Things...

My first experience with BZPower was raptly paging over one of the masterfully written epics produced by the fabled Kirilin, Toa of Trees. A near-legendary writer of amazing talent who was one of BZPower's early members, her visits have grown more and more sporadic lately; and finally, a few weeks ago, she announced she was leaving for good.

My only remaining link to those early days of BZPower, before the Hack Attack(as I have melodramatically termed it), is the equally apt Kanohi Akaku and the surviving mods. But he's not the topic of this little essay.

I wanted to discuss my feelings on fame and the passing of good things. When Kirilin departed, I was saddened but not surprised. Her interest in Bionicle had obviously been fading for some time. Entropy claims us all eventually; we all die, and before that quit things that had previously been our favorite activities, like Bionicle.

Kirilin's departure was still heartbreaking. She was a living link to the past, and a masterful writer; and her passing is truly a great loss to us all. Even more tragic is the fact that many new members and growing writers have never heard of her, when she produced arguably the best epics ever written on BZPower.

It is a rare event when you encounter a writer who can bring tears to your eyes with the depiction of a Toa's death, or write action sequences so thrilling that they have you half out of your seat. Kirilin had all this and more, but still she left. She was famous and talented, but still she left. Why?

Because, or so my impression was, her friends had left. BZPower is at its heart a community, built of a huge network of interwoven friendship; and when Kirilin's friends had withdrawn and stopped posting, eventually, so did she. To succeed on BZPower, you must have friends. My own friends, who will each get their own essays later, have kept me plugging away at the keyboard, racking up posts and gradually becoming more and more successful.

Yes, my fame has spread since I joined BZPower, l although I am still a tiny speck in a sea of big sharks. I don't pretend that I am well known, but I am perhaps recognized by a few amongst these thousand. But what has kept me going on BZPower? Not my fame, or the prodigious reviews that my stories receive, but the friends I meet in this process.

More than posting or getting a review on my epic, making friends on BZPower is the most important thing I have done on this amazing site, and it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. Casually chatting with KopakaX about English projects is far more satisfying than paging through theories or gazing at the wondrous epics people come up.

I'm not saying that these things are bad, or even less than terrific. I'm simply saying that friendship is infinitely better than money, or fame, or entertainment. BZPower has taught me this in a dramatic and telling fashion.

So let's draw a lesson from Kirilin; make friends. Her friends made her great and she made her friends great, as I'm sure any of her now-bereaved companions can tell you. Friendship is at the heart of BZPower, and its what keeps this community running. When I joined, I wanted to be famous. I wanted my epics to be known even to mods. I was jealous of those like GaliGee who accomplished that with surprising ease.

And now I've realized that GaliGee and Kirilin grew great not just through spectacular writing, but through the friends this writing brought. My focus has shifted from fame to friendship, and if someone told me that in two years I would be the best-known name on BZPower, my first question would be: How are KopakaX, CI, and the rest of the gang doing? Are they well-known too?

And I wouldn't be happy if they weren't, no matter how famous I was.

So be nice to those new members; they can always use a friend as an anchor while they inch their way up through the ranks. You'll be forming an attachment more important than anything else. Be nice to reviewers, reviewees, model-makers, artists, theorists, and even babbling proto-drainers.

You'll add some meaning to their life.


This is HauNuva, signing off. Hope that wasn't too much babble.
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This post has been edited by HauNuva: Oct 29 2003, 05:39 PM

Inspiring words, HN... but the Library's for fiction, not essays, so I'll be moving this to GD.

NICE................................good job... amen to that

Thanks, Schizo, and thank you for your kind words, BlackFireDragon.

Everyone, please review HERE, since GD topics don't need reviews, I think.

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This post has been edited by HauNuva: Oct 29 2003, 05:45 PM

That's just... a great idea. I can agree with you on many things, I've met one of my best friends on here, he helped me from the beginning, was the first to guest star in my comidy, which was my very first post on BZP, heck, we've even started our own forum site together! I have cried a good deal in the epics forum, the best stories in the world aren't things like "Lord of the rings", "Harry Potter", and "Boring history made easy". The best stories in the world are in the epics, short stories, and comidies of good ol' BZPower. BZP also started helping me treat bionicle as real, important things instead of toys. 3 cheers for BZPower! Again, that's really awesome, I bet that this stays popular for a long time, it sure should!
-Tnf

*nods*
Friends are what's kept me on BZP during the times I felt like leaving, the times I just didn't care...
In fact, though I don't want to sound mushy, joining BZPower (or community, as it was) is one of the best things I ever did. It gained me many friends. I could share you a bit of statistic, if you like.
MSN Messenger:
Friends from off BZ: 12
Friends from BZ: 56
AIM:
off BZ: 2
on BZ: 55

Many of the friends I've made here have escalated past "casual online contacts" into people I really truly care about. For me, BZP isn't about Bionicle, it's about the people who make up the community, who make the stories I read and who make the mocs I enjoy. Even the rule enforcers.
When I think of all the things I've done that would never of happened without BZP... I'm sure glad I joined.

What kinda saddens me is that I knew of Kirilin and never got a chance to talk to her... oh well, her stories will keep her name alive here for a long time.

Wow, I feel like I've sinned by not reading Kirillin yet...

But you're right, HN, and I'm glad you got to post this so soon. Your philosophy is as great as your writing, without doubt. Write essays like this in school, and you'll be the best writer in class (as if you already weren't).

Lol, English projects. Few, but when they arise (like this very week), they consume our lives, which is why lately I've had non-homework time on the computer anywhere from 0-5 minutes in the past days.

Post. More. Please? And why isn't this a hot topic yet? Logic points to the idea that it should be 1 by now.

Wow
thats really true
Ive made a couple of friedns here and they support me too
i agree with you that friendship matteres more than popularity and sucsess
why, with out freinds, i bet alot of sucsessful peeps out there now whouldnt be there at all

Hey, I'm glad I joined BZPower too. Before I had a life, and that didn't work out too well.

Your words are true, friends are basically the make-up of the community. Although, sadly, the friends I had before I met the staff have all left. If not for my promotions and my fellow mods and STs I would've left a long time ago.

Yeah, my BZP social skills probably need work.

::: NN :::

Maybe Kirilin has not left, she is online right now...

Speaking from someone who never had, dosen`t, and most likely never will have a social life, I can say that BZP has been a good outlet and that I have a place to talk about stuff I like without fear of people putting it down and making fun of me for it. IRL I am too scared to talk about things I like because of that reason, so, as I said before, I`m glad I have BZP.

I honestly don`t know what I would do without it. It is just really nice to have a place to talk without the fear of being put down.

EDIT: I just want to add that this is why I detest flaming above all things. The internet is the one place for people like me to express their feelings without the fear of being hurt emotionally or physically. No one has any right to do that to other people here. So whatever you do, don`t get caught flaming in one of my forums, or else I can gaurantee your proto will be knocked down several pegs.

This post has been edited by Raptordx1: Oct 30 2003, 12:50 AM

Beutiful Hau Nuva, absolutely beutiful. Thats has to be the greatest self essay I have ever seen in my life. I absolutely love it.

I agree Raptor, Bzpower has given me someplace where I can talk to other with the same passion as me. I have thought about leaving once, but when my friends on BZP encouraged me I decided to stay. So I have to admit that without my BZP friends I probably wouldn't be here.

Plus without BZP I wouldn't have anything to do with my life, and without it my computer would go to waste, and I hate seeing something go to waste. So BZP has given me everything: friends, a place to talk, and a place to learn about my favorite hobbie. So for that I thank BZP for everything you've ever given me!

Thank you for your feedback, everyone. I'm glad my nonfiction has proven to be readable. Replies like these really help me keep writing. I'm flattered to notice several high-ranking members in here...did I spot a Moderator?

In any case, the next essay should be up tonight. I was going to post it now, but I'm at school and a bunch of other kids are reading over my shoulder....

EDIT: The next essay wasn't up last night, and won't be up tonight, as tonight is Halloween. Expect it soon. The topic is BZPower as a Model for World Peace.

I'd kinda like to make it in a new 'post' because it is a new topic, so I hope someone either posts in here, or I can create a new post, cut and paste the contents of this post into that one along with the story, and call this one a DP. (Just kidding.) Seriously, I would like to do this in a new post, so if someone could just insert one more review, I'd be obliged....

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This post has been edited by HauNuva: Oct 31 2003, 06:08 AM

Wow! You've really put the power of words to good use, HauNuva. That essay was beautiful! I can't wait to be able to read more!

I had no idea Kirilin left. Then again, I didn't really know her, just knew about her. My life here on BZP is proof of what Hau Nuva said. If I was here for fame, I'd be gone a LONG time ago. I'm not going for recognition. I met xccj and TahuFrozen because of my epic, BIONICLE. They were the ones that kept me going. I was ready to quit, but they liked it enough to encourage me not to quit. Today, becuase of them, I restarted that epic for the fourth time. Not giving up because it was spammed the last three times. My epic may not be recognized, but I'm just fine with that as long as I have friends here. No, I'm not leaving. What good would it do? I'll just make more friends on here if they leave(and I doubt they will). Though they'll never replace the other friends I had, it'll keep me coming back to this site. Very well said Hau Nuva. I agree with you completely.

IQ/Danny

*sigh* I barely knew Kirilin at all. I remember just seeing a few posts from her in GG's story topic. And you've taught a valuable lesson here, HN. I've some great friends here that I never would've been able to meet in real life . I agree with IQKid42; I was just about ready to forget about anyone really staying committed to reading TI until you came along. Inspiring words. I eagerly await your next essay .

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This post has been edited by CrypticIdentity: Nov 1 2003, 04:43 PM

Sometimes my BZP friends are the only thing that keep me in BZP.

Sometimes it's not them but me. Inspiring words, HauNuva.

-Rah

Thank you for your feedback, everyone. I was about to post the next chapter but my dad wants me off, so I'm afraid it's been delayed...again.

I'm glad people are enjoying my humble little essay. It's a rewarding feeling to think that people got something out of my writing.

Look for more tomorrow (Monday.)

EDIT: Once more, Monday morning or night should be when I post it.
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This post has been edited by HauNuva: Nov 2 2003, 08:47 PM

Wise words, HN. When I first came to BZ I thought that the only way to make friends is to get them to review eveything you do. But then I learned that it was the other way around. Anyway, this is your thread, not mine, so I'll sign off. Looking forward to the next instalment!

As I sit here in my chair now, I must say that I just can't wait to hear your next essay. I come and veiw this topic everytime I see and look for the next one, so I really hope it gets up soon today! And once again, very nice words Hau Nuva, you do write the best BZP essays.

Your words are well inspiring. If I slow down and read it, I might be able to relate.

Well, here it is...I don't know if they're as good as the first one, but I posted two to make up for the lack of quality. Enjoy!

BZPower as a Model for World Peace
Think Before You Act…

Who knows how many wars, arguments, disagreements, and disruptions in the world have been caused by rash words? And how many communities in the world enjoy complete harmony between almost all of their members?

The answers are, respectively, a lot and a few. The world is plague by ill-advised words and the conflicts that result from them. In Roman and Greek legends, generation-long wars were started as a result of one man insulting another. Even in the modern day, an ill-considered remark is enough to get a Senate Majority Leader dismissed from office.

And between neighbors? Who knows how many people across the world don’t get along with their neighbors and community members and constantly trade barbs, as a result of bad first impressions. This kind of disharmony is really rather tragic, especially in the light of such examples as our own BZPower.

Contrast the example of feuding neighbors with our online nation. How many inter-personal conflicts are there? Few. How many insults do we see traded in discussion threads? Practically none.

And why? Probably because, unlike real life, we have time to consider what we say before spouting it out. If we see something that angers us, we have a while to cool down before we actually finish our replies. If someone does get out of hand, then they’re branded as a flamer. This is a mark of shame, and unlike the real world, yelling people and making fun of others is actually universally frowned upon on BZPower.

How did this come about? Scholars in the real world frown upon the ‘planned community,’ yet BZPower is just that. It has a strict set of laws, and everyone obeys them. It’s amazing how this simple codex of guidelines (no flam or spam, and so on) leads to such a great place. We have no wars, no fighting, very little flame, and no personal insults.

This is truly astonishing. We have here a nearly utopian community of acquaintances, linked by the common bond of Bionicle (or past interest in it,) ruled by a society of omnipotent dictators, in the best sense of the word, and it is truly a home away from home.

When I return from a difficult day at school, where I’m branded as a nerd and sometimes teased, I know I can find sympathy and warmth on BZPower. I can hardly post a complaint about teasing at school without receiving a deluge of sympathetic replies, sharing their own stories of teasing or problems.

And after a while, I realized that it was impossible for everyone to be teased like me at school, because they were a nerd or a social outcast. No, everyone, no matter how different, had at one point been made to feel bad in the real world by another person. We all shared that common bond, no matter how different, and I think that if you went to any person in the world and complained about teasing or shunning, they would have a sympathetic story.

So we’re not all that different after all. Maybe that’s why BZPower works out so well. The filter of the Internet allows all our brightest parts to shine through, while concealing our darkest personality quirks and cruelest traits, which everyone has. Only the best of us reaches BZPower. This astonishing community is simply a network of the best that we can find in ourselves.

This is HauNuva, signing off.



Well, that one wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t great. So I wrote another…

The Difficulty of Being a Moderator
Being a Good Dictator

What is a Moderator? To us, mods are near godlike, the beings who drift through the clouds above us, occasionally clearing up an issue or ‘smiting’ a spammer or flamer. We can look up to them and envy them for their capabilities. Occasionally we get angry at them for closing a topic, or even furious for a proto loss.

But do we ever truly consider how hard it must be to actually moderate a forum?

To begin with, there’s the sheer quantity of information out there. The mods have to handle 13,000 users and all the posts they produce. And yet, I have never once seen a really flame- or spam-filled topic escape. This is truly amazing. The mods must be people with great work ethics (or good search engines) to filter out such a huge percentage of BZP’s junk.

Second, think about being a Moderator and running into a genuinely thoughtful topic…but one that has suffered from flame, spam, and revival. What do you do? Should it be closed? This is probably a tremendous dilemma. Is the content of the topic worth more than consistent enforcement of the rules?

I am happy to say that our mods consistently come down on the side of the law. At one point I revived a six-page theory I had started to respond to some comments. MakutaMaster saw that I had revived the topic, and to my anger at the time, closed it. Later I realized what a good thing this was. This Moderator, like all the others I have seen, was so fair that no matter how good (or bad) a topic was, he followed the rules and closed what needed to be closed. He even seemed somewhat regretful, but he never made it seem like he was apologizing. MakutaMaster made it clear that I was the one who had made the mistake, and he was right.

This firm but fair-handed treatment of everything makes our mods seem all the more amazing. Consider what might happen if they allowed ‘good’ topics to stay open, despite rules violations. Soon everyone would be clamoring that their closed topic was in fact ‘good’, and the forums would dissolve into chaos. Whoever established this fair system was truly wise; but perhaps it was simply by common consensus.

Next we have to consider the amount of simple junk a Moderator has to wade through. A typical Moderator probably gets tons of junk PMs, requests, and other wastes of their precious time every day. Yet they manage to sort the important stuff out of all this, another amazing feat.

All of us want to be mods, or at least a sizable majority of it. But do we really want to be these all-powerful dictators? Do we deserve to be? I would say no. Few people have the capacity to have ultimate power on BZP, and yet not abuse it or even use it in a positive way. Only those carefully selected few who Moderator, and a few more candidates, know how to wield this power fairly and without bias.

So let’s give a hand to our mods, who keep this place running and orderly. I’m not sure what we’d do without them, and I don’t really want to contemplate not having them around.


This is HauNuva, signing off.


How was that? Not as inspired as my first one, but I thought they were fun to write…

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Wow, HN, I really like your essays, very detailed. Your first one shows some of the important things about BZP, the friendship amists the chatting...
Very touching, however...

There is one thing you seem to be unaware of, many connections to the "time before time" (lol, in the ye 'ol days) still exist, many members (such as myself) joined during that time, but are not as active as others who have risen to higher power (aka: STs, MODs, Admins), or have other things to do besides BZPing (EG: Homework, athletics, friends from school).
Although we are not as active or well known, we still retain or origanal Emails of Joinage (from BZCommunty.com) and we wear our Vahi's and Avohkiis proudly!

I understand that, but for many members (such as me) these 'living links' aren't very well-known to us; that is, they aren't personal friends, people we can interact with. By reading Kirilin's stories, I feel like I'm meeting her in person; it's more 'personal' than simply paging over old posts.

But I appreciate the tip. Thanks! I fully intend to be a member five years from now...
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Those last two essays were extremely well thought out, Haunuva. When I first arrived on BZ, one of my only goals was to become a moderator. But then I saw the light and realised how tough it was for them, and you've probably spread the message across the entire board. Respect your elders! (Or mods, in this case. )

This post has been edited by Kumata Nuva: Nov 4 2003, 12:15 PM

About your second essay:

Thanks for the kind words, HN, we do appreciate it. But it`s not just the mods. It`s the cumulative effort of everyone on BZP. without the ST, OSBZPC, or helpful members who report violations, things would not work out nearly as well as they do now.

Mods are the end result of helpful members and ST`s reporting topics. I already psoted in this topic my feelings on flaming, and it is one of the strongest reasons why I wanted to be a moderator, to stop those wretched excuses for human beings called flamers and trolls. Anyone can be a spammer,a nd spam is more often than not accidental, so I usually don`t take proto from them unless it is extremely excessive. (Once, someone posted the same topic 14 times, and I had no choice).

Thank you so much for the kind words, HN. It`s members like you that make BZP the place you describe it to be.

Once again, great job, HN. I semi-noticed how hard a Mods job is until I read your essay. And the first connected in with it pretty well. You're right; I might get worked up about something someone said, start to type, and then realize that maybe I wasn't taking the time to look at the other side of the story.

Once again, great job. You have a way with words that I'll never have.

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Thank you all. I need to do an essay on reviewing, and why people often think it's a waste of time, and how important it really is.

In fact, that ought to be my next topic, as a sort of 'thank you' to all of you. Look for it in a couple days.

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I can easily say without BZPower, my life would still be whole. Quite whole, I had, and still have, another life. But your first essay is quite true Hau Nuva. Without friends, organic or digital, your life is meaningless. Money, riches, etc. can only last a while, while good friends stay. I know people who have no friends, and they mope around, doing nothing but wallow in their grief. They think their lives are meaningless, because they have no friends, and that therefore destroys what hope they have for the future. So your statement is true, friends are required for happy survival. I may not have many friends on BZPower, but I have lots of organic ones, which is good.

BMKopaka

This post has been edited by Black Metal Kopaka: Nov 5 2003, 08:01 PM

*reads second essay*
*sniff* true... so true...
on the subject of moderators, I believe most people want to be them simply because (I'd take a chunk of my monologue to RZ here, but I can't really find it...) a fact of BZP is that its filled with kids who just think the higher in rank they are, the better they are, and the more well known they are, the cooler they are. That's all thats really important with kids, whereas the ones who really deserve to be mods end up being people who are old enough to understand you don't have to be well known to be a good part of a community. True, some people who would make excellent mods do fit in the category of well-known, but they usually don't try to be off the bat.

That seemed oddly incomplete...

Oh well, heh, thats my piece of mind on the situation, and great essay HN!

Alex

Thank you, you two. It's incredibly rewarding to think that people got something out of what I wrote.

The next essay will be up tonight or tomorrow. For now, its subject is:

On Reviews and Feedback
Promoting Unselfishness..

However, I'm not that happy with that topic. Does anyone have suggestions for a topic?
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That's what I was when I finished reading all these essays. Wonderful writing, it really says what BZP is. Yes, BZP is surely controlled well, if you're bad, you get banned and can't come back. And about your next essay, reviewing, you excel at that, and thankyou for doing that, it really helped to up my spirit when none of my stories were being read. I met you and KotT (King of the Toa) because of my epic-writing. when I first joined, all I wanted to do was to write an epic (to start) and by the end of my first week of joining, it was finished (written). With the help of many members and friends, I have made my writing much better! Without BZP and its members, my writing talent would not be the same as it is today. Beautiful words HN, beautiful.

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Those are very heart-warming HN, I think that you deserve an honor like no other here on BZP. And I seriously mean that, I mean you've shown members the hardships of being a member of BZP, and not only that, but you've also shown how, even though we all want to be popular and great, it takes alot of work. And many never come out the right way.

Excellent work HauNuva, I just can't wait for your other essays. And I really wish that you get something... Something that will recognize you for what you've done. You've inspired members, told great stories, and even showed us that being a member takes work, and won't be easy. Thanks...

QUOTE (HauNuva @ Nov 3 2003, 07:54 PM)

1 And why? Probably because, unlike real life, we have time to consider what we say before spouting it out. If we see something that angers us, we have a while to cool down before we actually finish our replies. If someone does get out of hand, then they’re branded as a flamer. This is a mark of shame, and unlike the real world, yelling people and making fun of others is actually universally frowned upon on BZPower. 2 And after a while, I realized that it was impossible for everyone to be teased like me at school, because they were a nerd or a social outcast. No, everyone, no matter how different, had at one point been made to feel bad in the real world by another person. We all shared that common bond, no matter how different, and I think that if you went to any person in the world and complained about teasing or shunning, they would have a sympathetic story. 3 And yet, I have never once seen a really flame- or spam-filled topic escape. This is truly amazing. The mods must be people with great work ethics (or good search engines) to filter out such a huge percentage of BZP’s junk. 4: At one point I revived a six-page theory I had started to respond to some comments. MakutaMaster saw that I had revived the topic, and to my anger at the time, closed it. Later I realized what a good thing this was. This Moderator, like all the others I have seen, was so fair that no matter how good (or bad) a topic was, he followed the rules and closed what needed to be closed. He even seemed somewhat regretful, but he never made it seem like he was apologizing. MakutaMaster made it clear that I was the one who had made the mistake, and he was right.

The Moderator and the World peice were just... beutiful. I quoted the parts I really loved. Here's the numbery-system answers:

1: Yes, I say that all the time. I love BZP for that. More then often, I get in trouble with my mom for saying something I don't mean. Sadly, in real life, there is not a backspace OR a edit button.
2: I will admit, I am not roughly attractive in real life. But on BZP, that means nothing. People judge you by your PERSONALITY, which is what REALLY matters. You could be an elf, and a genuis, but laughed at.
3: Yep, you nailed that one. I really want to be a Moderator, not to be looked on as a amazing god-like figure, but just to help keep this GREAT forum spam-free, or at least relitivly.
4: I've had an simelar experience, when I started my first comidy, GG said that I should keep it above 300 words (which it wasn't, and GG was a Moderator at the time). I felt mad at her for a moment, seeing I was a newb, and I felt like killing the GG's stories topic, since mine didn't get NEARLY as many posts. I felt hatrid every time I saw the word "GaliGee". But after a while, I cooled down, read one of her AWESOME stories, and now she's my role model. (In stories, anyway. Tahu will forever be my life role model. Now to find that flame thrower. )
I can't wait for On Reviews and Feedback
Promoting Unselfishness..
That sounds good! And I agree with Mata Rua, these ARE really heart warming. BZPower is the best thing online, if not the entire world.
Raptordx1, that's one of the reasons I wanna be a Moderator. I hate flamers... I once worked REALLY hard on a SS, and just because it had a bit of romance between Gali and Tahu, someone STREACHED THE SCREEN with "GRRRRRRRR..." It's my dream to help new members realize that if one thing messes up, it's not that bad. There will ALWAYS be members that flame people for what they think, and that's just not right. If someone posts a GREAT story about Gali and Tahu loving eachother, and a Kopaka fan keeps DP and TPing saying horrible things, and it gets closed, I have a cold pit feeling inside my stoumach. Anyway, I'll say it again, GREAT topic HauNuva! I hope you don't mind me posting what I think, and my shorter veiws on BZP. I wonder if someone can change your rank to "Inspiring BZ citizen" or something...
-Tnf

(sniff) (sniff)

I'm...really touched. Thank you all. I understand that you might want to shower awards on me, no matter how undeserving I would be, and so I decided to write a short essay on that right now...

On Awards
Staying Humble..

Several readers here in this topic have suggested changing my rank to 'inspiring BZP citizen' or something like that. While I don't think they meant it seriously, here is why I would have to refuse.

It would be an incredible, incredible honor to be given a rank like that. It would be the kind of thing I wished for when I joined BZP. But would I want it? Could I accept it?

No.

Because then I would be different. When I wrote essays, people would think, 'how can he claim to understand us, when he's given his own rank?' I wouldn't be a person anymore, I would be elevated, a sort of 'leader.' And while this would be a great honor, it would take away my connection to BZP.

Community, not rank, is what matters in BZP. If I was granted an honor, I would be torn out of BZP, made 'higher', ripped away from my roots. I like to think my friends would treat me the same, but would they? I can't run the risk that they wouldn't.

Consider GaliGee. She was an outstanding citizen, and she quickly became a Moderator. Before her 'promotion, ' I imagine that many people considered her a passionate friend who they could talk to about anything. But after she was promoted, I would guess that these people felt less comfortable around her. Not because she had changed, but for the same reason you don't make jokes about speeding around a police officer; you are worried that something could happen.

The community of BZP is more important to me than anything else. The greatest reward I could accept for these essays (and I'm not saying I expect one) is maybe having it be pinned. I don't expect this to ever happen. In fact, it won't. I truly appreciate what everyone here is suggesting, and I am honored and flattered that you would suggest this.

But an even greater reward for me is to talk to all of you, and to experience the feeling of knowing that I'm part of a 13,000 person community, all of whom are my friends. I hope you all share that feeling.

This is HauNuva, signing off.

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This post has been edited by HauNuva: Nov 7 2003, 08:08 PM

It's amazing how you can take a subject like that and write such a great, deep, and true essay. I won't talk about an award but just keep doing what you're doing. I'll make sure I check in on this occasionally. Keep up the good work.

Wow!Very elequent and touching.I really enjoy your work.Do more!

Thank you both. With a moderator or two in here, I figured it was inevitable my sig would be 'deleted', so I've now repaired that (the image was blurry, anyway.)

I should have the next essay up tomorrow morning or night, that is, Sunday. I'm not sure if the topic I chose is a good one; I may make a last-minute change.

EDIT: I just spoke with a friend of Kirilins, who said they loved the first essay. (dances) This makes me happy beyond description. This is exactly what I set out to do; philosophize, talk, and show my respect for Kirilin and this forum.

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This post has been edited by HauNuva: Nov 8 2003, 08:50 PM

Very interesting last essay, HN. I understand what you mean, I've seen a lot of members acting 'afraid' around mods, as if mods can't share jokes as well. In a way, it's another form of disrespect.
As always, well done. My most sincere thanks are in order.

Very inspiring HN, I now see why you wouldn't except it, and its a very good reason. And nice use of GaliGee's predicament, back when she became a Moderator, and then turned it down! I really look forward to reading more of your essays, and I know you don't think it will get pinned, but I really do hope it does.