What's up?

Hey! What's up?

I have some exciting, small news to share with all you Vocalites! It's nothing big and the news may not be that major to any of you, but it is thrilling for me. I've finally reached a little Vocal milestone and want to share it with all my friends!

I've chosen The White Stripes YouTube video We're Going to Be Friends while I gush about this milestone and my thoughts on Vocal. 🌹

The first thing I want to talk about is that I reached 300 new friends on Vocal! What made it even more exciting was that I could screenshot the moment it happened! I thought I would never attain the mythical 300 subscribers, either! I stayed at 281 for so long that I thought I would statically remain there forever and ever.

I'd get my hopes up when I suddenly gained nine more followers, only to lose ten. It was a never-ending struggle, and an increasingly frustrating one. I never knew why I was losing subscribers: whether because my work offended them, they were deleted by Vocal, or they just followed to see if I would follow them back, to only unfollow afterward.

Sometimes, I wish I would get feedback; other times I don't. It just depends on my mood. Don't get me wrong, I'm never offended if someone unfollows me because my writing isn't for them. I'm not conceited enough to believe my writing is that good. No, not all.

Anyways, on to other topics!

I'm proud of the two top stories I've received since February, but I'm even more proud of the Runner-up and Honorable Mention in two challenges I've gotten this year! It was so very exciting to see my name listed with the other challenge winners' names. If you all could have heard me, you'd have thought Old Mother Combs had gone insane. 🤣

Once again, Vocal has flooded us with Challenges, and I don't know which one I want to enter, or even if I want to enter any of them. Sadly, if they do it like last time, the next batch of challenges will only have two or three listed. Vocal can never do anything by half measures when it comes to challenges, it seems to me. It's either too much or not enough... Maybe I will be wrong. We shall see. 🤷

Speaking of floods... Vocal has once again been bombarded with DDoS attacks, and to prevent the troublemakers' access, Vocal blocked all access, shutting down the site intermittently for approximately two days. Sadly, I'm still suffering through a disruption of my service, having to prove I'm a human every three stories I read, or every ten minutes, whichever comes first. I don't know how much more I can take before I email BI with another support ticket. I'm sure he is getting tired of hearing from me...

Undeclared AI is still rampant on the site. One by one, they are being removed from Vocal, but for every one of them removed, it seems like two more pop up. They are being removed, though, so that is a move in the right direction.

You know, though, there isn't much to complain about Vocal. It's a great site to write on and gather as writers. It's a wonderful place to learn new techniques or to perfect old ones. Above all, it's the best place to make friends with other writers, who understand what it means to write and the troubles that arise from doing what we all love to do.

Because when it comes down to it, we're all here for the same thing. We want to write. We want to put the stories that clutter our minds for others to read. We want to purge the words that fill our souls from our beings, enabling us to touch other people's souls. Because if we don't write, the thoughts in our heads will weigh us down, crushing our spirits, and could cause us to look for addictions outside of writing. For isn't writing an addiction for authors?

Now, as I leave you with that thought, I'd like to thank everyone for being my friend. Without you all, I wouldn't have made the 300 subscriber milestone. You are the ones who made it happen. 💙