Complex Numbers

Nineteen

PROMPT September 1st

Celebrate 19 years of Writing.Com by writing a thank you letter to someone on WDC or a thank you letter to the website itself. Then, visit "Writing.Com Party Central 2023!"  (the item will be locked until the wee morning hours of Sept 1st) and tell us what Birthday-related fun you are most excited for.

What do you want me to do, get mushy? I don't do mushy.

But let's give this "thank you" thing a shot.

Dear The StoryMaster and The StoryMistress :

19 years, huh? Funny, it only feels like 15. Oh, that's right, I've "only" been here for 15 of those years. Sometimes I still feel like a newbie, but that's because there's so much to do here I still haven't exhausted all the possibilities - a testament to all the good work you've put in to keep things interesting.

19 years is, as you know, a long time in cyberspace. I can't think of too many websites that have been around, without fundamental changes, for longer than that. True, my Amazon account is older, but when I signed my life over to Bezos, it was still "Earth's Biggest Bookstore." The streaming video that sucks away even more of what could be writing time didn't come until later.

A noteworthy accomplishment. But there's more.

See, I've been noodling around on the internet for a long time, way longer than 19 years, and it can be a real shithole. Trolls, scammers, assholes, racists... people who are there to tear you down, pounce on your inadequacies, splatter you with sewage.

But not here. At least not for very long. And that's remarkable.

You've created a community that, for the most part, works. Sure, there's friction - can't avoid that - and it's impossible to please everyone, but you have, for the most part, built a network of relationships based on mutual courtesy and respect.

Because of Writing.Com, I feel like I've grown: as a writer and as a person. More than that, though, I've made friends here - lifetime friends. I've traveled to places I might never have otherwise seen, met people from all over the world both online and in person, had pleasant conversations with people very different from me. This has been my cyberhome for a few days shy of 15 years, and even when I don't write, rare is the day that I don't at least visit, check in, see what's going on.

I'm glad to be here; I'm proud to support the site; I'm honored to be a part of this community.

So.

Simply:

Thank you.

Okay, enough of that.

On to the next part of today's mission. I'll just click on the Party Central link and...

Holy forking shotballs! That's a lot of stuff. Looks like there's something there for everyone.

But one activity stands out for me. See, when I first got here 15 years ago, most of what I stuffed into my port was written for one contest. It's been around longer than I have, obviously, and I have the honor of being involved with it to this day - as a judge, but also sometimes as a contestant as well. In addition to the "contest" aspect, it's just a terrific writing exercise. Yes, of course I am talking about

FORUM

The Writer's Cramp  (13+) Write the best story or poem in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPs! #333655 by Sophy

So that's what I'm most excited about, if only because I'm a part of it. But I'll be checking out other things as well.