Your Antagonist here,

Before I start, I have to say something to the person this pertains: you can't delete this comment thread, but I won't be bashing you

Now, writers, our reader-bases are a precious resource, and should be treated as such. See, the thing is, we had to earn their trust, their favor, their preference, so that they might give us their time and attention in any future endeavors that we might seek to pursue such as furthered story ideas, new directions, and whatever we may so choose to do with our blog. They are not just a number under the following box. They are human beings who have decided that what you have to say is valuable in some way shape or form. Some of them are fanatics who would so choose to hang onto every word you say because they love your existence and have dolls with your avatar picture on them resting underneath their pillow so they can cuddle with it when bed time comes around.

What they aren't are toys. What they aren't is garbage. What they shouldn't be is mistreated. The thing you should never take from them is their ability to trust you. Why? Because you have an obligation to understand that and treat it like a doctor's Hippocratic Oath, like a serviceman's Oath of Enlistment, like a customer service representative's unspoken agreement to help their customer no matter how much of a pain in the ass customers are, and you are pains in our asses. Point is, you have to treat them like gold, which is something stress, and multiple arguments have shown me personally on the site. I've mistreated readers time to time because of my usually arrogant and angry nature, and I've lost readers because of just that. Nothing makes me feel shittier.

As writers we should conduct ourselves above and beyond that. We do not belittle the reader base. We do not draw their moral standing into question. We do not manipulate them for our own self-gratification. We keep them entertained. We keep them happy. We keep them wanting more. That's the position we assume the moment popularity rears its ugly headed in our direction. We are not judges of character. We are writers. We are entertainers. Our personal view of their behavior should equate to not a damn thing. The only reason you should have to say anything negative to the reader is when they've gone full-retard. We're here for them, not the other way around. Don't forget that. Don't abuse that. And as a peer I say fuck you anyways for doing that. I can only hope if your readers have also decided that a unanimous "go fuck yourself" is in order that they won't completely forsake your stories, present or future. Get your shit together, get that apology out, shut up and write.

The above rant was borne of something someone did that just made me so angry as a writer that I had to leave this comment on the article in question:

Well, after coming back on to my account after about a weekish and some change, then reading your earlier blog and then this one, this seems... stupid and petty. Quite frankly, you should be ashamed for fucking around with your audience as you did. What you don't seem to understand is how serious a crime plagiarism is be it professional, academic, or recreational, and it's not just a crime in terms of legality. It's stealing the efforts of someone's brain, their passion, their love for their work and passing it off as an original piece. It's the ultimate offense in the world of prose,  translating loosely into theft with just a hint of rape. It's an abhorrent activity and should be looked upon as such regardless of who does it, because hey, you're told that plagiarism is wrong from grade fucking four, and it's reinforced all throughout your academic life as well. So I applaud your followers for reacting as they did. They should be proud that they stood up for a writer they loved, who in turn decided to treat them like sewage. Did it feel good to flex your moral superiority over the plebeian masses, you self aggrandizing jerk? I hope backlash catches you full force and then some, so you can get your shit and perspectives back together. You're here as a writer and an entertainer, not some all powerful judge of human character. So, that being said, why don't you fucking write instead of dicking your life's blood, huh? For fuck's sake, give a person an audience and they lose their fucking minds...

Loathe,

Your Antagoist