The Story of the Mother Confessor
Date Friday, March 29, 2024 - 06:13 AM PST
Topic This Website


Let me tell you a story...

Once upon a time, long, long, ago, I, yes I, Schizo, Mother Confessor, was once a newbie. A dismal little wide-eyed, wet-behind-the-ears, nervous little newbie. This was back in the days when Shmeng was bran-spankin-new, and most people stuck to the older Gothic Enlightenment (like Bettie X, who was one of the last to succumb!)
I wandered through the dark halls, I took the goth test, I read the words and I looked at the pictures, every single one of them. I made a couple posts, but mostly I stayed fairly quiet. I got to know these people before they got to know me.

Then, there came a troll. A big, bad, nasty troll. Even worse, a religious troll, who thought it was his duty to bring these evil, suicidal goths out of their misery and into the light of God. And it pissed me off. Because he never bothered to find out if these people were evil or suicidal in the first place. He just saw the colors and the make-up and jumped to a million conclusions, just like any know-it-all fanatic. I saw red.

Well, I raked that bastard up one side and down the other. I was raised to be a super-christian, and I knew that man's Book better than he did. I turned his attention to myself, and told him just what I thought of someone who judges someone else without getting to know them first. I told him a lot of things he didn't want to hear. And finally he left.

This is how I gained the attentions of the powers that be. Who was it back then, anyway? Devin, Ickgirl, Vampcourt, Callei, Bettie, I know I'm missing some people. I gained their attention and their approval. Even though I was a Christian, and didn't hide the fact, even though several of them have gone through horrors at the hands of those who called themselves Christians. I became their exception to the rule, their example of what a Christian should be.

Shortly thereafter, the cult of Devin was born, and I received my title and duties. Why? Because I took the time to educate myself on the ways of the site before trying to get attention, and because I gained attention by doing something exceptional, intelligent, and cool. I projected my persona in a way that benefitted the existing members of the website. And I also showed myself willing to learn.

I've had my trials by fire, too. Anyone who doesn't think so can read "A Resident Christian's Personal Rant". But those trials were gained by a daring and thought-out presentation of an unpopular stance. You agreed with it, or you didn't, but you definitly thought about it.

I've mellowed out since then, and no longer even claim the title of Christian, although it still seems to cling to me. But I've survived years, and tumult, and months without computers, and personal upheavals, and I'm still around and kicking, and submitting articles when I have the time.

Why are the great ones great? How do the personalities separate themselves from the newbies? It is not through numbers of posts, or through amount of time spent on Shmeng. It is through developing a personality that attracts others, stimulating people's minds, adding beauty and intelligence to the website, helping others grow, learning from other people, and above all, having something interesting about you that stands out from the crowd. It helps to be a brilliant photographer, to write amazing fiction, to have the gift of the eloquent flame, or some other such talent, or you may just have some quirk to your personality that makes you stand out among the crowd.

There have been people here who have shed the newbie name since day one. There have also been people who have been around forever, and who are still essentially newbies.

And that is my story - and advice.

And they all lived shmengily ever after.

The end.
Every once in a while something is posted elsewhere on the site that is good enough for us to snatch it and make it an article. (Sometimes without even telling the author)
This article comes from Shmeng
http://www.shmeng.com/

The URL for this story is:
http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=675