If you're not SALT, don't read. · 11:19pm May 5th, 2013
No, seriously. I’m in too melancholic a mood to want to explain things. If SALT or the Archive means nothing to you, then this blog post isn’t for you. I don’t want to be rude and say leave because I love all of you dearly, but kindly do.
It has been shown to you
Are they gone? Good. Let’s talk.
I think I can name everyone notified who should rightly be this far. Cheezesauce, DGDDavidson, FredricktheSaiyan, Nagagon (if he still draws breath), Bombedrumbum and Firebirdbtops.
Oh, and RavensDagger too. Duh.
There’s probably a few others: AugieDog, TheAlmightySage, RTStephens and SunsetReed have all got at least a tangential knowledge of SALT -- or at least, my reviews and their stalking are strangely well timed. I'm... comfortable with you guys being here, but still. You probably won't get most of this.
So. What’s with all the hysterics?
Well, I’m closing SALT down. I don’t think this is a particularly radical thing to do: whilst I still review most things that get turned in to the submission box, there hasn’t been anything new added for a while now. That and all of SALT’s reviewing core’s been absorbed into its successor/illegitimate love child with TWE, WRITE. There’s no reviewers and nothing being submitted for review. I think a post onsite calling time is, if anything, overdue.
The Archive itself has been equally dead. Competitions pass with no entries, and we don’t really talk anymore. I feel a little bit safer shutting this one down because the Archive is my baby, and so I can say it’s outlived its usefulness when I want to. But still. I’m going to miss it.
As for why now, well, two reasons. First is nicely poetic: DGDDavidson’s Forever just got in to the archive, and it’s sorta related to Chronomistress which was a SALT contest entry. It’s followed into the vault by Arcainum’s Five Should Be Enough, which was going to be a SALT contest entry before Arcainum lengthened it. Following him is OtterMatt’s Somepony Else’s Story, which isn’t SALT related but OtterMatt very much is; aside from me, I don’t think there was anyone else who was quite so involved with both SALT as a reviewing site and the Archive (Daggers, perhaps, but still: roll with me here). So. Three in a row. Kinda nice.
Second is that it’s a new month, and I don’t wanna go trawling through Derpibooru for pictures again as well as thinking up prompts that no-one's going to use. Selfish, yes, but still. I don’t want the archive to just drag on without ending; I don’t want SALT to be reduced to a not even haunted ghost town. Both have been too integral to my time within this fandom. As stupid as it is -- as close to losing the game of loose attachment this skims -- both mean something to me. And they deserve an ending over our abandonment.
I'll be following this up with a post on both the Archive and one on SALT actual. From here on out, though, it's just going to be me reminiscing poutly and laying down memories so I've got something to read over when it comes to leaving. Feel entirely free to leave: I'm just structuring my thoughts through writing. Purging, if you will.
Or in other words, this part's for me to remember with.
Dat C.S.Lewis quote
I think I can pinpoint the two most important moments in my formulation as a writer within this community. The first is when Firebirdbtops responded to me with a lengthy pm after we talked on the one-shot that would become End Times. That began a lengthy conversation that’s still happening over a year later. I consider us the best of internet friends, even if in all likelihood we’ll never physically meet.
The second is more relevant: Ravensdagger turfing control over SALT onto my lap. We’d been talking for a while before then, and I’d already set up the Archive, but my main interest was in dealing with the contest side of SALT, not the reviewing aspect. That changed.
At the time, Ravens was moving and needed someone to watch shop whilst he was sans internet. That fell to Cheezesauce and I -- one for the contest, me; and one for the reviewing, Cheezesauce. That didn’t really work: I am very much a fan of the Cheeze, but gods was he a ghost to me back then. I presumed that either he was handling the posting of the fics or that none were being submitted. Given later events, I think he presumed much the same.
In the meantime, I was setting up stuff in the Archive, and that was a lot of fun. We were writing a collaborative project that I don’t think we’ve ever really completed themed around pony SCPs (before the game, us hipsters us). Half my time was spent whizzing pms off to all involved and trying to coordinate it and the other getting involved in some of the most active conversations about madness I’ve ever had on this site.
It was tremendous fun, and I don’t think I was the only one having it either. I made what I consider strong friendships with both Fred and Nags back then. It was good times, and it was good times for around three contests; funnily enough, my only submissions -- Equestria's End and The Snowpony -- came after the good times. I am the decline, it seems.
Anyway, at some point Puppo came forwards with a problem: he’d submitted a fic to SALT that had not been posted, and all of a sudden I realised that no fics had been posted, but fics had been submitted for about a week. There was a comments section to SALT that had all the listed submissions. And I’d missed it.
Whoops.
Then followed the night of god knows how many reviews. Fire kept me company for most of it in Gdocs -- man, I miss collabs on those... screw it, EE’s getting opened up to people: writing’s just more fun with conversations -- but I was shattered by the end of it. I’d posted about two blogger pages of posts and reviewed every one I could.
Thus started my involvement in the reviewing side of SALT. It continued with me updating the submissions process when Daggers came back to something more styled off the EQD process, but inspired more by Demetrius’s work on TTG with the spreadsheet. Either way, though, I got emailed when it updated which was a great timesaver in comparison to just checking the page every day. (For me, at least. Apparently, everyone else got updated when a new comment was filed. Which is huh.)
Reviewing regularly brought me more into contact with SALT’s main reviewers: Cheezesauce and Burraku_Pansa. They’re a cool duo of guys and I’m glad I got to meet them/am still meeting them, sort of. OtterMatt joined in later on with both Archive and reviewing after I “crushed his dreams and then spat on them”. Apparently, though, that was both for the best and something which he’s been bettered by in the long run, so more dream crushing ahoy!
And... I think that’s it. Anything else would be talking about the decline of SALT, and I don’t really want to talk about that. I enjoyed my time reviewing in WRITE, yes, but there’s not the same ethos to it. At its best, SALT was a group of reviewers working together on a story; at its best, WRITE is a lot of reviewers working on individual stories. It’s a more efficient love-child, yes, but it’s been a less fun one for me. I’ll miss SALT.
Anyway, what are you still here for? Skedaddle! Go write more, you, in whatever fandom you now wander.
And His Neckbeard Shall Follow You To Sleep
Even if I've been, well, not around, I'm still going to miss the thing. We had some good times... SALT was the one time I ever wrote some Fimfic, and I'm still not sure how I feel about that.
I also miss Nagagon. He's been gone for Celestia knows how long. Oh. He logged on two weeks ago? Huh. I wonder how he's doing.
On a less depressing note, ever played Half-Life?
1057334
I've sort of played the first one. Never really got in to any of the others.
And yeah, I miss Nagagon. He was fun guy to be around. I had hoped he might re-emerge after Double Rainboom, but it seems not.
Also, on the topic of conversations, would you be willing to help me out if I open EE up for other people editing? I'm getting nostalgic over the conversations I used to have whilst writtng with people in a gdocs chat as well.
Nostalgia everywhere tonight. Man~
1057349 Yeah, I'd hop on every once in a while. I need to get back onto a regular schedule with Ravens first though. I fell off the map once school got crazy and I want to get caught up with him.
Anyway, yeah, I'd hang out on EE from time to time!
1057360
Sweet.
What was the question about Half-life for, btw? I'm all curious, now.
SALT was an excellent experience, all right. Made me a better writer, made me better able to better writers, even better writers than I. Better.
I've been considering for a bit now, for when WRITE gets the mentoring thing going, seeing if I can finagle the plans so that more than one reviewer can be assigned to a single story in that subgroup. Make it more like SALT was, all interested parties hopping on, proofreading, arguing about corrections, and just talking with one another. That'd certainly be an effective way of giving our less experienced reviewers some training. Maybe that'd rope you back in as an added bonus…
But yes, SALT was wonderful, and I'm sad to see it finally close down, even if I'd been expecting it for months.
1057365 I'm about halfway through Half-Life, so I'm in the middle of an obsession stage, and I remembered that you referenced computer gaming, so I was wondering if you played it at any point. I'm having a great time; it's amazingly immersive.
I have nothing to do with SALT, yet here I am.
Ha!
1057687
That's outrageous!
1057818
Dat name... Wat
1057824
Who are you talking to?
1057825
The fellow with a mustache. Or you, since it's clearly your alt
1057828
>implying my disguise can be seen through
1057828
I don't know what you're talking about
1057839
I've seen through your clever disguise and crushed your head in between my thighs!
...Wait, what?
1057840
Sure you don't.
I'd be a lot more involved if I wasn't working 80 hours a freaking week, but that's life for now. Whatever that means.
Anyways this is/was a fun group to watch, when I had time, I'll probably add a few of you to my watch/stalk list so I can ask/beg for deliciously brutal and honest critiques when I need them. Maybe I'll look up that WRITE group, I dunno.
May you all have pleasant days ahead of you.
I HAVE A FFAAAAAAAAAAAN- *dead*
I don't remember being put in charge of the reviewing section though. Oops, maybe I was but had forgotten about it due to some sudden goldfish memory syndrome. :/
I'm sorry to see it go. I did appreciate the help it gave while it was around, though, and am thankful to the people who kept it going.
1058655
My experience:
WIth you folks at SALT was extremely helpful, and had anyone ever asked me, I would've recommended your services. But I don't frequent a lotta places on the internet--this WRITE that you mention, for instance; where and what is that?--so no one ever asked me...
Mike
1062605
WRITE (The Writers and Reviewers Institute for Technical Excellence) is a group that was formed from the active members of SALT and the more well-behaved and helpful of the members of the TWE (Trainwreck Explorers, now shut down). It's a group composed almost entirely of skilled reviewers, where you can submit fics of yours for an in-depth, helpful review primarily focusing on letting you know how your story/style could be improved.
Turnaround from the review request to the posting of the review averages out to be about a week, and we haven't yet had anyone that really seemed to come away unsatisfied. We'll review anything that's not a trollfic, and membership is open to anyone who passes an application exam. Have a look, if you're interested.
1066094
Thanks!
Y'know, I'd forgotten entirely that this site even had groups attached to it? I think I might be somewhat out-of-touch...
Mike Again