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By Patrick Hurley Jan. 12, 2007 As a writer, it is a great personal joy to me to be able to use my words at Useless Knowledge. I love expressing myself in humorous and personal pieces that flow out of my heart to reach those who are out there in need of a smile from time to time. If writing were my main passion, I would never consider moving on from this creative website which offers so much to those who have a desire to tell the world their story. As a human being, I feel a deeper commitment to be a part of this place. As much as I love humorously tweaking the realities of life, I want to see others succeed as writers even more. It hurts me to see a young talent or a fragile one, try their hand at literature or journalism and either feel unappreciated or overly criticized by rebuttalists in here discouraging them and their thoughts as if they were seasoned authors. The charm of Useless Knowledge is in its invitation that all writers are welcome of any experience, age, ability or mindset. Most websites which feature writers are exclusive and selective. They do not accept most submissions because of grammar, content or syntax and they limit their stable of authors to a select few which usually fits their political or cultural viewpoint. This is not the case here. A young man, Jack Leiparz, can send in articles as a high school student and within a year be named, Co-Writer of the Year in UK. His counterpart, Brooks Mick, who has had years and years of experience as a medical doctor, explorer, Vietnam veteran and political consultant, is just as worthy in here. Our writers come in all shapes and sizes, so to speak. You like colorful geographical insights? Thomas Keyes is your man! You want poetry and grace? Brian Barbeito will ring your chimes. You want logic on just about any subject? Thomas Paine. You want passion for the underdog? Meri Ulrich. You want classy short essays on any topic? Judy Ransook. You want to feel the heart of America? Michael McCrae. You want to understand civil rights and the justice it needs to succeed? Read Timothy Stelly. You love sports? Claxton Graham is your man. If you are looking for a guy who has been around for a long time and cares about people you can't go wrong with Allen Robinski or Ken Hughes. How about a well-written article on the intricacies of golf? Steve Dayton will take you through your swing and beyond. I could go on and on, but the point is there are no thoroughbred writers here, just a bunch of charming mutts who get an idea and throw it on the monitor and become a part of this website that welcomes anyone and everyone no matter what their level of literary experience. We are the Statue of Liberty of the writing world. We don't turn any immigrants away. That was Matt's dream and it will always be his goal. But, a lot of people have gotten hurt along the way and that is why I could no longer write in here. I have plenty of literary outlets for my work, but I am concerned about those who do want to see their works in public and so I am offering suggestions to ensure that everyone who writes in here feel honored and safe. Hear me out, please. The following rules are fair and right for everyone involved. They will also improve the quality of writing in here and attract new talent if they are adhered to by all of us. 1. No articles mentioning the names of other writers should be published in the main forum. This includes compliments or criticism. We are not a school newspaper. We are endeavoring to be a legitimate writing site. So, no more "in-house" references. If you want to agree or disagree with another writer, do so with a nameless follow up article or use the rebuttal area to make your point. I know several talented writers who have left UK will return if this policy is enforced from now on. 2. Only writers who agree to be criticized in the Rebuttal section may sign up as such. If a writer does not wish to be criticized, they are off limits for rebuttal. Why is this important? Because there are a number of people who are either new writers or have fragile egos and they cannot handle the kind of fire that comes with the Rebuttal section. If they do not want to be blasted right now, that's fine. We want writers to feel welcome in here. This is not a professional writing site. Let's cut the newbies and the sweet ones some slack. I will be the first to volunteer as someone who will allow myself to be criticized in Rebuttal. There needs to be a list posted of writers who are willing to be challenged in there so the debaters will know who is fair game and who is not. If someone has not signed up to be rebutted and they are mentioned in Rebuttal, the post will be deleted. This policy will bring back several good writers who just want to write and not debate, which is important to our site. 3. Once a thread has been started in Rebuttal, no duplicate threads. If this is continually abused, the poster will be banned from Rebuttal for a period of time to cool off. 4. Rebuttal posts should be limited to a maximum of 500 words. If you can't say it in that word frame, you are not going to get your point across anyway. 5. No personal attacks or demeaning insults. Keep your rebuttals to the content of the article. If this is continually a problem for any rebuttalist, there will be a cooling off period here, too. The purpose of these suggestions is to point out that Useless Knowledge is bigger and more significant than any of its writers, both individually and as a whole. It has already been proven that we all know how to attack someone or be personally attacked. So, let's start over and stay on topic and be wiling to let new writers come into our site and feel a sense of encouragement when it comes to their writing. Everyone believes they are the holder of ultimate truth. The reality is just the opposite. Everyone is right and wrong about something, no matter what the topic. So, let's back off and debate only when it is truly important to us. Under those conditions, because I truly do love this crazy place and I have made many friends here, I am willing to keep writing and making an effort to get along with anyone in here. I do not believe everything I write is accurate or factually true, but like any of us in here, I try my best. I am willing to let today be the first day of my time in here and extend my hand out to anyone I have offended or has been offensive to me in the past. I believe, with the suggestions I made, the strong and the weak are equally served and the ultimate beneficiary is Useless Knowledge and Matt's vision for it. If we create an atmosphere of genuine encouragement and fair discussions on the issues, this place could really take on a great atmosphere of literary and journalistic excellence. That would be wonderful. ------------ About the author: Pat Hurley has won three Emmy awards for writing, hosting and producing television shows. He resides in Southern California. Email: coolhumor@sbcglobal.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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