Help I am suffering withdraw. The last update to stories I have is the 3 Dec Is this just me????????????
I hope everything is OK myself down under, I and some others have some stories in and waiting for publication. It is a busy time of year for all of us however, and I can only imagine that running a site like this one might make one wish for some time off now and again, so in the short term we will have to be patient, perhaps this being a good time to read some of the oldies from the archives.
Happy new year, Jackie.
Happy New Year everyone,
Perusing the archives of older stories is always time well spent, but there have been new stories posted to the forum since the last official update by Steve Spandex, ElectroPainLover and myself in the Bound, Trash and Machine sections. So if you're in the market for something new check them out.
64Fordman
Hi JAR, welcome to the Forum!
What Jackie said is about right. Gromet is a one-man operation and he has a busy life outside the Plaza. I also understand he's working on some sort of mammoth upgrade which no doubt takes a lot of time and effort. These mini-droughts happen now and then and are a good time to dip into the archives.
That said, I must admit I'm jonesing for some new tales too.
Max
Yupper! Been checking the site everyday. NADA! NYET! NUTTIN! i am in withdrawel too. :-[
May I recommend, doing some archive diving into your favorite genres. We have plenty of stories that you probably haven't read yet. ;)
Your recommendation is spot on Loras Pa. Now that all the stories are back on the Forum, browsing for stories in any particular genre can be done directly from the Forum. Searching by title, author, and story-codes can pull up stories folks haven't found before or overlooked on the Story Pages. In the future, it will even be easier...but that is something to come when Gromet has time to finish it.
Folks, please, use the search function to find your favorite authors and/or story codes with the search function under the genre of your interest. There are roughly 8,000 stories on the site, and, in all honesty, I believe Gromet to be the only person to read them all over the last 11 or so years.
Dana
Maybe you do not realise but here 'down under' Dec/Jan is the main school holiday period (from Dec 10 - Jan 23 in this state) with many people on family holidays during this period so this could be one of the reasons no updates have been posted recently.
No new stories since 3 December. When are new ones going to be posted? Thanks
Welcome to the forums!
You may have noticed the topic with the same exact title as yours. The long and short of it is that Gromet is a busy man with a day job and he doesn't always have time to add new stories to the site (which he has to do manually).
Hey All.
I spoke to Gromet today by email and he is doing fine. He has taken a bit of an extend Holiday this year. He has been running the Plaza and Forum for 20 years, by himself, and only within the last few months promoted Lobo de la Sombra and MsBehavin to Administrators and 64Fordman and myself to Moderators to help allow him a little time to spend with his family. I know it is frustrating when updates are not done regularly, but it is also frustrating to Gromet to have to schedule his Holiday's and vacations around the Plaza. Twenty years is a long time without a somewhat substantial break. Besides the fact that last years Holidays were a real mess for him with the crash of the Forum.
Let's all be patient, read through some of the stories you may have missed in your favorite genres, and, take up some conversations of the Forum until Gromet tears himself away from his family and begins to do updates again. Think about it. Wearing a ball and chain three to four days per week for 20 years can really start to bite at ones ankle. We need to support him for what he has done, not bitch about him taking a short break from it. You may not see it as a short break...but think about only having a couple of months of time off in twenty years from your job. A job his only pay from is your gratification and entertainment. Let's show him a little patients and understanding while he enjoys himself a little.
In the meanwhile, think of some polls to post or conversations to start or engage in. As members, anyone can start a poll or conversation and reply to those that others start. I have started several polls that seemed to get some fairly mediocre attention. Granted, they may not be straight down your area of interest, but there is nothing wrong with starting one that is. Or conversation for that matter. The Plaza is where you read the stories...the Forum is where you interact with others about them.
Thanks,
Dana
Hello,
Very rarely post here but have spent many years reading stories here. Just wanted to say Thank You to Gromet and all new moderators for helping with a great site. Also Thank You to all authors!
I thoroughly enjoy this site and all the stories that have come here over the many years. Please keep up the good and a lot of times thankless work.
Trayok
This entire website is a fantastic resource, and I've discovered the vast majority of my favorite authors and stories on here. I hope Gromet understands the gratitude we have for him.
Hi Dana!
Thanks for the update from Gromet! I myself was mostly worried that he was unwell or that something had happened, given the lack of notice or news. I totally understand the need for a break!
Cheers!
Many Thanks for the update. I am Glad to here the Gromet is well and having a well deserved holiday/rest. I did not intend to appear demanding but was concerned as normally Gromet posts a note to say he is away for a period.
I suppose that when you have something so good that you miss it all the more when its not there.
Happy New Year to every one and a big thanks to Gromet for all his hard work over the years. Best of luck to the new team over the coming years as we all grow old with joy at the fantastic stories we will be reading into to our dotage.
I'm just glad to hear he is okay. Taking time off makes total sense but Gromet is usually pretty good about putting a notice on the main page. When I didn't see an update or notice all this time my mind wandered and I started getting concerned that something happened to him. I don't know Gromet personally but this site has given me so much joy ever since I discovered it in college.
Anyway glad to know all is well. In the meantime I will happily continue to re-read Smart Duct Tape 3 alternative edition while I wait for updates. :)
You are very welcome for the update on Gromet Anansi & JAR.
I'm sorry for coming off a little brash in my previous post. I too had been quite worried about him as, like you said JAR, he normally will inform us of an extended holiday. However, like Gromet says in his story submission information, sometimes he forgets.
Gromet really has deserved this break from the Plaza and Forum. He has been at it a long time and has rarely had the ability to take so much time for himself and his family. Lobo de la Sombra and MsBehavin were his only Moderators since the crash of the Forum. Their abilities on managing the Forum where a bit limited for him to be able to step back and get a decent break. Once he promoted them to Administrators and 64Fordman and myself to Moderators, he finally had the ability to take a break. Believe me, it takes a lot of trust on Gromet's part to allow people the power of an Administrator on his Forum; they wield the same power as he does and can ruin it if they so deemed. He has placed a lot of trust in us to help manage what he has built over so many years, and, that level of trust is difficult to give though I know it has not been misplaced.
As for approving stories however, Gromet still maintains being the only one to approve and post them. It is strictly due to his licensing agreement with the hosting service and not wanting to have possible violations of the agreement. This is one of the reasons I hesitate to post my stories here, directly to the Forum. I feel as if I am trying to thwart his need to moderate each story by doing so.
Looking at my signature box below you should know that I am stretching myself a bit, but, I do love Gromet's Plaza and Forum as I do a family member. I feel we are a family, if not a little strange and estranged, and I will do anything I can to help our family.
Again, I am sorry if I seemed a bit harsh in my previous post. I need to remember that I have a standard to live up to as a Moderator.
Thank you for your understanding and support of Gromet and his years of hard work.
Dana
Thank you Wannabestuck. I too was worried about him. I was very pleased when he answered my email and informed me that he was fine and just taking time for himself and his family. I wish I could give everyone a date of his return, but, he didn't tell me so. I was just relieved that nothing terrible had happened to him or his family over the holidays. Enjoy the reread of Smart Duct Tape.
Dana
He's back!!
And now...to wait for him to get to my story, and others. I'm sure there's a hell of a backlog to get through...godspeed, Gromet. And don't wear yourself out.
Quote from: superdude103194 on January 28, 2017, 05:17:08 PM
He's back!!
Yes...Gromet is back! And with a vengeance so it may seem. I am sure he has only scratched the surface of stories he has received over his holiday, so please be patient as he gets through the pile of stories. Remember, he reads every word of each one, then, has to prep it for publishing. If you are waiting for your story to appear, please give him time to read through them. Gromet will eventually get to it. In the meanwhile, enjoy all the new stories he as posted...there are quite a few!
Thank you all for your patients.
Dana
Thanks everyone, it's good to be back.
Yes I do read every story that get's posted to the site, so that takes some time to do, especially the serials. What you can do as an author to speed things up and generally help me in posting your stories is:
Spell check your stories: I know that some words will slip through but I no longer edit the stories for spelling, it takes too much time for me to re-write your story for you.
Sentences: You need to break down your story into manageable sentences, having an incredibly long sentence or in some cases just the whole story as one sentence makes it much harder and takes time to edit.
Storycodes: The future version of the site will have the ability to search via storycodes, it'll enable you to find what you're looking for easier. So if authors could take the time to include the storycodes it helps me, you know the story better than I do, so choose from the storycode page on the site. http://www.grometsplaza.net/pages/storycodes.html
The storycodes are very similar to the ones posted on Alt.Sex.Stories.Moderated (http://www.asstr.org/~Uther_Pendragon/code/scfr-sub.htm) and you can use them if you want to post on other sites too.
Which area do you want the story posted? If you can include this in your email that you want the story in ie: selfbondage; mummification or bondage, many times I've gone through the story getting ready to post then find it doesn't fit the area I'm updating that day.
Writer's Guide: Check out what the site allow and doesn't allow to be posted, no point sending me an underage story, it's not going to get posted. http://www.grometsplaza.net/pages/writers.html
Hope that this helps :)
Hi Gromet. are you still accepting new stories as I have had no response to my latest story submitted dec 2016.
Regards, Dave Martin
Hello Dave,
Yes, Gromet is still accepting stories. He took an extended holiday this year and is just getting back into the swing of things. He has a massive stack of email and numerous stories to get through. Be patient and he will get to yours. Thanks for contributing to Gromet's Plaza as a writer.
Dana
Hi Dana,
Many thanks for your reply,
I am pleased that Gromet is now back, after his well deserved break
I am sure it will be worth waiting for the many good stories that Gromet will be releasing shortly
Best Regards. Dave Martin
You are very welcome Dave. We are glad to have Gromet back in our midst. However, he deserved the break he took. A lot of work behind the scenes.
Talk to ya soon,
Dana
The site's sponsors must be very patient and the desire to attract more must be low.
Quote from: bindme on February 05, 2017, 11:47:04 PM
The site's sponsors must be very patient and the desire to attract more must be low.
Actually, Gromet's Plaza and Forum has been around for 20 years and has been run by the same person, with great dedication, for the entire time. He has always maintained it as a single owner, without a staff. Only recently has Gromet brought on staffing which could allow himself such a break.
Now, if 5 updates resulting in 34 new stories being posted in the last week isn't enough...I really do not understand what you are wanting. I could understand if you had wrote this reply a week ago, while Gromet was still out on holiday, but now?! I don't quite get it.
As for the site's sponsorship...that is something for Gromet to worry about, not its members. Twenty years...I really do not believe he has much to worry about in the area of 'how to run a successful website'.
However, if you have any suggestions on how to make it better...there is a place for that. Hmmm...maybe in the Suggestions section under General Category.
In my experience, a person who criticizes without offering a solution is not of any help. A person who critiques and offers advice, is.
Thank you for your kind remarks,
Dana