# I'm thinking of joining a clandestine group



## Plasticweld (Mar 28, 2014)

I was drawn to the glow, the light sucked me in. I wondered if this is how it was when you watched a neighbors house burn in the dark, I could not look away.  I had come here to find others like me, someone who did not question who I was.  I was not sure I would fit in, only that Idid not fit in any place else. 

They had rules, lots of rules. In order to join I had to agree to the rules.  At first I thought I would just agree, how outrageous could they be. I kind of knew what to expect, I am not kid. 

They covered all the things I thought they would, plus a lot more things I that I had not even thought of. Maybe I would just spend some time and observe before joining.  I was worried that this might label me ,people might expect me to act and do things a certain way if I joined. To the members  this is a good thing, they all seemed really proud to belong. One part of me wanted to be like them, common sense said it would never happen.

The exalted one, I guess that’s what you would call him is named Sam. He sounded like a no bullshit kind of guy.  I guess this group needs someone like that.  I did not think any of them by themselves that tough but in a gang they would be something to be feared.  History is full of people like these changing things.   They have intimated and riled the masses, not always for good.  I don’t feel that way, I think people like this are the hope and future.  Their goalis to re-educate them, whipping them into shape, get their mind right.  Technology has brain washed the youth, things that were never acceptable years ago are now common place. I cannot believe the  language or how they say things. They have developed their own short hand, a secret lingo known to their generation.  Sam has come right out and said that in this group” that” would not be tolerated, people after all come here expecting certain things.

I hate to admit it, but I lurked, watched from the shadows.  I did some research into who these people were,  I read the stuff they wrote. 

I agreed to the rules. 

The next step is odd, yet expected. I needed to hide who I really was, I would be a member but yet I would be anonymous all at the same time. All of us would be together yet we would not really know who the other guy was, might even be a gal.  

Covered in my new cloak of anonymity, I went to the next level.

I would need a password, I guess in an organization that hides your true identity a password is to be expected. I even got to choose my own password known only to someone known as Admin. This would let me gain entry into my new world of friends. 

I sat back, bathed by the glow of my computer screen, pushed the enter button, soon I would be a new member of the Writers Forum.


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## Cran (Mar 28, 2014)

Plasticweld said:


> I was drawn to the glow, the light sucked me in. I wondered if this is how it was when you watched a neighbors house burn in the dark, I could not look away.  I had come here to find others like me, someone who did not question who I was.  I was not sure I would fit in, only that Idid[I did] not fit in any place else.
> 
> They had rules, lots of rules. In order to join I had to agree to the rules.  At first I thought I would just agree, how outrageous could they be.[?] I kind of knew what to expect, I am not [a] kid.
> 
> ...



A mildly satirical look at the decision-making process involved in joining the forum, its appeal is partly that of an inside joke, partly a "come in; the water's fine" message to others contemplating the plunge, and lastly to a broader readership who may or may not know or care about online forums. 

This is written in a common conversational tone; compound sentences without conjunctions. For many of these, it's worth knowing that the _semi-colon_ is your friend. 

An exception to the "use a semi-colon, not a comma" is: The exalted one, I guess that’s what you would call him is named Sam. Here, the central clause would be better served by bracketing dashes: The exalted one - I guess that’s what you would call him - is named Sam. or parentheses (brackets). 

  They have intimated [intimidated] and riled the masses ... I'm reasonably confident that "suggested or implied" the masses is not what you were aiming for here, but "bullied, frightened or overawed" the masses does seem a logical partner with riled. 

I needed to hide who I really was... this is not a requirement; it's a personal choice a la "someone who did not question who I was". Some members choose a version of their real names.  

password known only to someone known as Admin...  passwords are not generally known to Admin; they are coded and stored in a database at the server which is a level of authority above Admin. Retrieved passwords requested by Admin are sent directly to the member's email address. The only passwords known to Admin, apart from their own, are those which are manually set by Admin, and if for a member, sent with the advice to change it as soon as possible. 

Writers Forum... if you are going to identify the "exalted one", then for consistency, you should also identify the forum - WritingForums.com


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## InstituteMan (Mar 28, 2014)

Plasticweld said:


> I was drawn to the glow, the light sucked me in. I wondered if this is how it was when you watched a neighbors house burn in the dark, I could not look away.  I had come here to find others like me, someone who did not question who I was.  I was not sure I would fit in, only that *Idid* not fit in any place else.
> 
> They had rules, lots of rules. In order to join I had to agree to the rules.  At first I thought I would just agree, how outrageous could they be. I kind of knew what to expect,* I am not kid*.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the fun, well conceived, and flattering piece!

I bolded some bits above where the spacing is wonky, and one where I think you need an "a" as well. 

Fun read.

Edit: okay, these are mostly duplicative of Cran's excellent suggestions. Sorry to pile on. Good piece.


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## Plasticweld (Mar 28, 2014)

Thanks Cran for the advice and some much needed advice. I have struggled with a way to ad that pause and break up a sentence and still have it read correctly. 

Instituteman that's for the complements and the advice.  I am having trouble going from word to cutting a pasting to this forum without a lot of my words loosing the space in between. any advice on how to correct would be appreciated. 



The goal was to be able to write something in less than 650 words that had a beginning middle and end. This was more of an action not sure if it counts or not. 


I was really disappointed in now my piece came out for the LM.  I wrote what I thought was a good story first then had to edit down to fit. I ended up ruining the story and the flow to fit the word count.  This was more of an exercise in  in being a little more concise.  It started out with a much darker tone with the idea of having a little more of a surprise ending.  My attempt at satire still needs work. I do love the whole idea of telling a story that has a twist, a level of satire and a inside knowledge to the topic that makes it personal.

  On to the next piece. It means a lot to me  have your insight and editing skills looking over my work.  Thanks again


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## Cran (Mar 28, 2014)

> I am having trouble going from word to cutting a pasting to this forum  without a lot of my words loosing the space in between. any advice on  how to correct would be appreciated.


When pasting from Word, the best way is to use the [Go Advanced] option - bottom right of the dialog box.

Above the Advanced version of the dialog box, you'll find extra options, including the clipboard with W (paste from Word) which tries to incorporate as close as possible the font and formatting of the original Word piece. The standard paste (text only) will miss some format codes as it pastes - lost spaces between words are most likely from text code word wraps to fit the window, which are not carried into the final paste-up.

Below the advanced dialog box, you'll find more options, including [Disable smilies in text] which is very handy if your work includes brackets to avoid things like: 8+) >> 8)


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## qwertyportne (Mar 30, 2014)

That was fun! And surprising because of the twist at the end. I did not see that coming.

I use a program called Text Pad to paste poems, stories and comments into a thread. You might give Notepad a try. Like Text Pad, it's text without any formatting, then follow Cran's advice to add bold and font and so forth.


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## Winston (Apr 1, 2014)

Entertaining piece.  As Cran said, judicious use of commas, colons and parenthesis would help the flow.

I love satire.  Don't stop.  And remember to pay your electric bill; electricity is always handy when posting.

The date and location of the WF "jumping in" ceremony will be PMed to you.  Dress casual.


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## Reichelina (Apr 3, 2016)

Is it just me or I sensed some poetry in there! Lol. 

I liked the flow and the humor in it. 
Thanks for sharing this!  

I think I read somewhere in "Ye Olde Rule Book" about thread bumping. 
I don't think this is bumping, right? Hahaha.  

I plan to comb the whole Non-fiction subforum, I hope that's okay.  ---> which i have been doing the whole weekend. [emoji850]


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## Plasticweld (Apr 3, 2016)

Thanks, just as long as the reader knows this was posted 2287 posts ago and is my very first story after joining the forum.


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## Cran (Apr 3, 2016)

Reichelina said:


> I think I read somewhere in "Ye Olde Rule Book" about thread bumping.
> I don't think this is bumping, right? Hahaha.


No, this is not thread bumping. 

This is what forumites call 'thread necromancy' - raising a buried thread back to life. Some people consider thread necromancy to be one of the black arts, and approach with pitchforks and torches and cries of outrage. Others, myself among them, ask, 'what is the point of keeping old threads if not to revisit them from time to time?'

Thank you for reviving this one.


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## Reichelina (Apr 3, 2016)

Cran said:


> No, this is not thread bumping.
> 
> This is what forumites call 'thread necromancy' - raising a buried thread back to life. Some people consider thread necromancy to be one of the black arts, and approach with pitchforks and torches and cries of outrage. Others, myself among them, ask, 'what is the point of keeping old threads if not to revisit them from time to time?'
> 
> Thank you for reviving this one.



Well, I shall be a witch then, reviving the posts buried in here which deserve a taste of life once again. Or maybe just wake them up because they never died. They just took a nap. Hahaha. *evil laugh

I've been going through posts here in the NF subforum, and I'm like, "why have I not done this sooner?" 

I'm like a kid in a candy store. 

Thanks, Cran!


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## Plasticweld (Apr 4, 2016)

Cran, I still have the note from Potty telling me that my piece was pulled and that I needed to do some explaining before it could be posted.  I can't help but smile at thought of my first work here being pulled and have to explain to the Moderator what it meant.  That does seem many like many smiles ago and reading this again, and remembering my first interaction with staff here, does bring kind of glow to my heart.  It does make me appreciate the WF and all that it has done for me as a writer


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