Come one come all! Lets have us a PUF ALS!

We'll start at 6:00 PM Central Sunday Evening February 24th

Who's in?

Shaunesay
Lemonitsa
Ladiibbug
Pepper (probably)
Luckaye (Probably)
Terra57

Sorry folks, we're cancelling - it's just not good right now

Me please, Shaunie! I want to play in my first ALS! :D

:whee: Me too please! :pirate:

Most likely me. :D

I think so, but not sure yet...... :ph34r:

Is this on a Sunday? If so I may not be able to play as I have to pick the kids up from Youth Group at 7:30 EST and I think that would be right in the middle of the swap. :cry:

It is on a Sunday, how long does it take you to get them? ;)

Hmmm.... should I take the fact that I'm not on the list as a sign that I shouldn't play? :unsure:

no one was on the list already except for me, so no, it was NOT a sign or a portent! Nor was it a subliminal message, or the power of suggestion! :P

Probably - I think that is a good time for me :giggle:

About 30 minutes. I will have to think on it. Maybe a solution will present itself. :shrug:

Well, I wanna play, and I already have a book ready.....

I'm just curious....what does PUF stand for?

Paranormal and Urban Fantasy

:runaway:

Me, me, me! Pretty please with sugar on it. :angel:

I'm in! I'll be home with the kids at the time. I have a book here that I can totally use for it! I've never done an ALS, so a Sunday afternoon ought to be a good time to learn about it :grin:

So... it's 10 minute turns or something like that, right?
Meaning I should buy one of those frozen lasagnes that take an hour and a half to cook for that night and I should be in the clear? :rofl:

Ah, you got it! Sounds like you're a natural ALS'er! lol!

Come on Cherie you gotta play. I'm digging out my stiletto's, leather corset and whip right now. All in red just for you my darlin'. :evil: :shedevil: :whip:

Woohoo Terra!!!!! You go girl!!! :wink:


P.S. Post pics.... :peek:

Yes, Cherie, play! I rely on your taste in PUF to direct me! :wub:

It simply wouldn't be the same without you :cry:

Besides, if you don't play, how will I whip you? :whip: :piratewhip: I mean, I could always PM you some TLC, but it's more fun in public! :kinky: :spank:

Mistress Terry :shedevil: will prepare you for some :kinky:. We'll have to :shutup: you before any of the :spank: can begin. To get you in the mood we're going to :flasher: you until you :drool:, or we'll let our :vampire: have his way with you. When you are sufficiently ready to play, we'll all :cheers: to your health, because, in case you didn't know, you're :cherry: and we all love you.



*Lemmy :grin:*

Awww... thanks you guys! :hug:

Unfortunately, there is someone whom I cannot stand to play with who signed up to this swap, despite the fact that I fought tooth and nail to get it for a Sunday night so I could play.

So unless the Bug decides not to play, or Shaunie kicks her out, then I can't stand to be around her and I won't play! :shedevil: Sowwie! :erm:

(I figure I might as well tell it like it is... why hide the truth from you guys, right?)

Cherie, I'm sorry, but I feel that is for the two of you to work out, the only reason I can or will "ban" someone from a future swap is if a. we have determined they are too far behind on mailing, or b. they have breached actual swap etiquette too badly to be allowed to play. My opinion is that the problems the two of you have are independent of the actual game.

I'm sorry, but I'm going through enough stress of my own right now to get caught up in anything like that between players. I do understand the depth of emotion and can appreciate the feelings you're having, and hope you can reconcile it. You're always welcome to play.

If Shaunie kicks her out.. wow!! Thats all I can say really!

:lol: That's so cute, Lemmy!!!

Thanks Rosie! :hug:

It reminded me of the picture books we had in grade school, where we had to learn to read by figuring out the pictures. :P

Ok, count me in too! (maybe)

I didn't want to really talk about it more here, but I realize that from the POV of someone who isn't quite aware of the history that I look quite harsh saying what I did so let me explain.

Some of you may remember the "colluding" thing from the old forum. That's where it started. And then in September, there was the harassment in my Autumn PUF Swap, and then most recently, the insulting PMs sent during the current Mystery Swap. Basically when I play in a swap with her, everything I say is either taken very literally, i.e. just tell me which one of you has a book that's on my wishlist and that's who I'll reveal. :wink: — or else taken completely out of context and misrepresented/misinterpreted and then thrown back in my face (sometimes publicly and sometimes privately).

I have NOT been in a good place emotionally, and I said this in the mystery thread, but obviously not everyone there saw it so do I start up a separate thread and explain, no I don't really want to draw that much attention to myself and my own personal issues. But needless to say, I really couldn't take all the hassling I was getting. I broke down again, started crying, then getting angry, and then I just felt like bashing someone's face in for making me feel that way. :fight: My sanity teetering on a tip here and I don't need to be harassed and insulted by my enemy, simply for posting an update while she was taking her turn. Yes, I'm usually a much stronger person than that, but right now, I'm not. Sorry... my emotional state is very fragile.

Rather than blow up, cry, scream, whatever, on the forum, I figured the best thing to do was walk away, get away from a bad situation which is causing me distress. Easier said than done when you're in a swap where your book's already been revealed, so I've been plugging along doing the best I can, not talking or participating much in that swap, and so was looking forward to this one when lo and behold, I see she's signed up for this swap too and thus why I made the comment I did.

Perhaps in the quick time frame of an ALS we can ignore each other sufficiently that she won't upset me. At least in this case I won't be accidentally updating while she's actually doing so, thus earning me further insults.


I wasn't even going to say anything here, but I realized after Nursie's comment that several people probably didn't realize where that was coming from, and why I said that, and probably thought I was just one huge bitch myself. :shrug:

So that's the story... I may still try to play. I'll think about it. But I'll be starting a thread in the mod forum, collecting all the stuff she's done to me so that I can back up all my actions and feelings towards her.

And as someone else said to me, try not to let her get to you like that, and you know what? They're right! I'm giving her exactly what she wants by running away, letting her play in swaps that I wanted to play in too, so here I am! Speaking from the heart.... if you feel the need to rip apart what I say, please try not to be too hateful towards me. As I've already expressed above, I really can't take it right now!

Cherie I feel for you but I have to agree with Shaunesay. This thing between you and ladiibbug is something that should be kept out of the public forums. It is not really fair to all of the rest of us to have to be pulled into the middle of something that has nothing to do with any of us. I want to try to play in this swap, but I do not want to have to deal with this stuff between the two of you. It just has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of us. There are always two sides to every story and I am sure that ladiibbug feels that she is in the right, whereas you feel that you are. It is not really fair to ask us to take sides or have to deal with it when it really does not affect any of us. I am sure that is not your intention, but that is how it will play out.

So big hugs to both of you. I would hope that the two of you could work this out between yourselves as it is not really fair to either of you to feel like you are forced to miss out on swaps, etc, just because the other is participating. I would really hate to see this thing become a public fiasco that causes more rift among the members of this board. People have been backing off participation all around lately because they have become uncomfortable with things going on here, I hope this does not become another thing that people back off because of.

I'm not trying to put anybody in the middle. BUT I don't think the whole thing should be kept "behind the scenes" either. So that when I made the comment I did, people are wondering where it's coming from.

If I were trying to pulll people in the middle, I would've posted her nasty PMs to me when I accidentally updated during her turn during the Mystery Swap, not realizing she was still online and doing so.

I'm not posting opinions or anything here, just facts. I'm not asking anyone to be in the middle or take sides so please don't interpret it that way.

However, I feel that since I made a comment about not being able to play with her and Nursie's all like, whoa where did that come from, I had to explain the history.

And I guess I don't count here???

I've already backed off from the current Mystery Swap and haven't been participating because of the nasty PMs she initiated with me, and decided not to play in the US swap I was considering this month because of the harassment I get from her "behind the scenes". Is it not time for me to say something about it, or do I have to continue to suffer in silence until I simply have nothing to do with this site anymore?? :unsure:

This is getting ridiculous. I'm considering cancelling this swap, because I for one have too much going on in my life to try to moderate under these circumstances.

You two need to work it out. Period. I've tried to be nice. I'm done. I don't want my swap turned into a platform for this discussion.

Thoughts from other participants, because I've about had it.

Don't.... nevermind. I'm out!


Of course, it's all okay when I'm the one being harassed because I'm a mod and I'm supposed to just suck it up and take it! But if anyone else were getting this kind of treatment....

Never said you don't count. You choose not to participate because of this thing between the two of you. That is a lot different than someone being made to feel uncomfortable because of stuff that they are not involved in. Does that make sense?

In life we can never make everyone happy or get along with everyone. There are always going to be some who we dislike for one reason or another or who do not like us for one reason or another. We just have to learn to deal with it. We avoid those folks when possible, and if choosing to skip a swap she is in, is one way that you choose to handle it, then that is your choice.

I don't think you should have to suffer at all. I think the two of you should deal with it like adults behind the scenes on your own. It has absolutely nothing to do with anyone else, so you two are the only ones who can resolve it, however you see fit.

Nursie reacted to the fact that you basically asked Shaunesay to kick someone out of a swap for your own personal reasons, whatever they might be. I don't blame her.

Looking at it from an unbiased POV it is not pleasant and not something I care to have to worry about when I am trying to enjoy a swap. That was my only point. Please don't take offense, as none was meant.

Shaunie please don't cancel this swap. I've been a good girl! :angel:

:huh:
:shrug:

Shaunie, I don't want you to cancel the swap. :pat:

It's Oscar Night, too, and we can all place bets on the winners! :P

(trying to be diplomatic 'cause I've been through a thingy like this recently)

No, I'm going to have to go with Cherie on this one. If there is a case of ongoing public and private harassment on this board, it ought to be dealt with. If Cherie has attempted to stop it privately and it hasn't worked, then that is where the mods are meant to step in. Isn't it in the rules that harassment is forbidden? Even if you feel it's not a bannable offense, there should be notification that continuance of the harassing behaviour is unacceptable. It's no fun to be attacked. It's especially un-fun to be attacked and the perpetrator feel they're getting away with it, or that they are somehow in the right because they have not been informed otherwise.

Whatever the case, I'll be withdrawing from this swap. Shaunie, I hope your ALS goes well, you're a good hostess. Perhaps I'll join in some other time. Have fun, ladies.

You are of course entitled to your opinion. I was not choosing sides, I was merely asking for this swap to not be a battleground in a long standing fued between people. It is for them to work out, it is not for me to ban people. that is for the forums moderator group as a whole to decide.

While I agree that any harassment needs to be dealt with, it isn't the place of a SWAP moderator to do so, unless it is taking place in that particular swap thread.

Same goes for VBB's and their "moderators"

I think there may be some confusion here about Swap/VBB moderators and the Forum moderators. Anyone can be a swap/VBB moderator - they just have to start one up (and maintain it in the case of a VBB). There are specific people who have special powers on the boards (and whose names appear in blue at the bottom) who are the FORUM moderators.

They're the right people to deal with a situation like this - and the place to do it isn't in one of the swaps.

I absolutely agree. I am not a forum moderator and if I just start randomly refusing to let people play based on things I was not involved in, can you imagine the ruckus that would ensue?

If there is harassment, and I am not making a judgement on if there was or was not, Cherie should absolutely discuss with the forum mods and THEY will decide what the status of the person should be. If you have any questions on who those people are, their names are the ones that show up in blue at the bottom of the screen when it show's who is in the page. I am not one.

I believe Cherie was appealing to me in that way because I AM aware of some of the history of this issue, but it was an emotional appeal, not a reasonable one. While I am not unsympathetic to her feelings, I don't feel that it was something I could comply with and maintain my neutrality as a swap mod, and I hope in time Cherie can come to appreciate this. I also talked with her through PM about whether or not playing in this swap was a good decision based on her feelings, but left the decision up to her. I have not told anyone they cannot play. She is absolutely welcome to change her mind and come back if she wishes. All I have asked for is for the matter to not be an issue during my swap.

I asked if I should cancel the swap because I don't want everyone's experience to be bad, and if we all cannot have a good time without this issue affecting us, then we shouldn't do it right now. I myself have a hard time disassociating an event from the feelings surrounding it.

Anyone is welcome to disagree with the decisions/actions I made, my only defense is that in my mind it was the right thing to do, and that's the best gauge I have since I'm only human. I'm very sorry to everyone that has hurt feelings and offer a :hug: , but that's the best I can do.