All the talk of "how things used to be" in Idol, and of course the anniversary has gotten me thinking "What are some *positive* changes?" I think a big one is that very few people have my phone number now. ;) I used to give it out, that and my work email - so that if someone had an issue that we could talk it out. You know how many people called to yell at me? Or tell me how much Idol sucked because (so-and-so) did better than "they should have"? (People doing "better than they should have" is pretty much always code for "I don't like their writing/how could anyone else?" ;) )
Yeah, more than a few.
How many people did I sit and talk to their bad days? Quite a few.
So maybe it's NOT as personal these days and I don't have the same good connections with everyone that I had in previous years. That also means that I don't get the same levels of the bad stuff either. ;)
And I don't mind the "talking through their bad days" bits - I'm only an email away if you really need to talk, or vent, about something.
It's just the "bad days" were frequently *really bad* and they usually ended up using Idol as something they could take it out on! (Because I *knew* they were having a bad time, why would I put that twist into the game now???" Um... maybe because the game isn't organized around your life and the twists have little to do with you?) That's the part I don't miss.
What else? Hmmm - I don't miss the trolling groups.
Although there is still a ways to go, I don't miss people not getting that all of the aspects of LJ Idol, and it operates on different levels, all of those are actually writing-related in that they correspond to things and distractions that all writers face day-to-day. (The Idol ones, IMO, tend to be more interesting! :D)
No death-threats and even the worst "this is stressing me out" email hasn't been anywhere near the "LJ Idol ruined my life!!!!" level.
So good job folks on being sane. Or at least "sane".
Now that I think of it, I wish double quotes were a thing ""sane"" because that's pretty questionable with this group. ;)
***
Speaking of not knowing about sanity levels - there's a Topic thread: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/929542.html
Yeah, more than a few.
How many people did I sit and talk to their bad days? Quite a few.
So maybe it's NOT as personal these days and I don't have the same good connections with everyone that I had in previous years. That also means that I don't get the same levels of the bad stuff either. ;)
And I don't mind the "talking through their bad days" bits - I'm only an email away if you really need to talk, or vent, about something.
It's just the "bad days" were frequently *really bad* and they usually ended up using Idol as something they could take it out on! (Because I *knew* they were having a bad time, why would I put that twist into the game now???" Um... maybe because the game isn't organized around your life and the twists have little to do with you?) That's the part I don't miss.
What else? Hmmm - I don't miss the trolling groups.
Although there is still a ways to go, I don't miss people not getting that all of the aspects of LJ Idol, and it operates on different levels, all of those are actually writing-related in that they correspond to things and distractions that all writers face day-to-day. (The Idol ones, IMO, tend to be more interesting! :D)
No death-threats and even the worst "this is stressing me out" email hasn't been anywhere near the "LJ Idol ruined my life!!!!" level.
So good job folks on being sane. Or at least "sane".
Now that I think of it, I wish double quotes were a thing ""sane"" because that's pretty questionable with this group. ;)
***
Speaking of not knowing about sanity levels - there's a Topic thread: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/929542.html
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therealljidol- LJ Idol: a writing rollercoaster with iffy brakes
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They get them for just existing.
Okay, I guess we look comparatively sane. And never give out your phone # to random people!
I do feel as if in the mini-seasons more than the regular seasons, we have more people who just do not comment on others' entries, and that tends to contribute to a general feeling of weirdness. This past week was an all-time low for pretty much all the entries-- what was that about? Apart from the person who was out of the country... ;)
We haven't had anyone threaten to hijack Idol, BURRRRRNNN Idol, or start their own group, so that's good. People mostly get along.
Sorry, I'm still reeling from the Death Threat concept. Holy moly.
Can't comment (ha!) on other peoples' behavior, though.
The one thing Gary didn't mention in his post was that Idol was played very much like Survivor in those days. The "best" (read already published, journalist by trade, considered by all a professional in a sea of amateurs why-the-fuck-are-you-here?) writer was usually the object of everyone's scorn, especially if that "best" writer had a sizable voting posse outside of LJ (outside-LJ votes were an unspoken no-no). Ergo, a number of people would band together and take it upon themselves to get said writer eliminated. It never worked until the Contestant Only vote, the results of which would erupt into brouhahahs of epic proportions because of said writer's presence in Idol to begin with. I remember reading a lot of nasty comments which, to me, were totally unfounded.
But that's how you play Survivor.
The other thing which occurred to me awhile ago while thinking back on all this was that most of the brouhaha happened during the Great Recession. People were already on edge because of the economy, people had lost their jobs, many had some kind of personal drama going on in addition, there was no Facebook (read relative anonymity online)...it was a perfect storm for ton of drama. Idol was one of the bigger arenas for the ensuing explosions and people weren't scared of getting involved.
Unless you were me, that is. I was horribly timid and intimidated back then. I'd read along in astounded fascination, then scurry back into my hidey hole.
Now you can't shut me up, LOL.
Edited at 2016-05-11 06:49 pm (UTC)
Sure, you could come in with a huge Friends List. But if you didn't take the time to actually get to know and show respect for your fellow contestants, sooner or later, they were going to get you. :)
One thing that I've noticed over the last few years is that people seemed to have learned that lesson (or knew it already) and have come in as "just another contestant" and have been able to defuse any potential resentment people might otherwise feel.
We're evil, man.
- Season 1 was before the internet or computers. Back then, every contestant kept an actual journal. Gary hired a group of scriveners to copy the individual journal entries and send them out to everyone who wanted to vote. Cost was astronomical.
- The Season had 100 competitors and 2 were voted out each "week." Since it took a total of 1 and a half months from Announcing the Topics to Announcing the Results, it took 6 years and 2 months to finish the contest. It would have taken longer, but several competitors died of consumption in year 4.
- During Season 2, the "LJI Ponies" who delivered the journals to readers/voters were replaced by a bootlegger with a Model T who could make the drive from London to Bangkok "in just 16 days." This reduced the season length to 3 years.
- The first supercomputers were commissioned by Gary. "There's got to be a faster way to run LJI," Gary said in the press release. "Its taking so long to run than its making me turn evil."
- The big Season 3 controversy was the "Quill vs Nib" debate. The two factions ended up uniting together to attempt to vote out the nascent "ballpoint" contingent.
- Season 3 also featured the first 78rpm record entry. Contestant YoungBlueEyes ended up placing 3rd that season, at least partially based on his recordings.
- Instead of the green room, for Seasons 1-4, contestants were actually required to meet "on ye green" in front of the stately Gary mansion for the announcements of both the topics and the results. This went on until near the end of Season 4 when one topic was "Get Off My Yard, Damn Kids" and the contestants mistakenly thought it was an instruction and not a topic.
- There has been much speculation regarding how Gary has managed to run over a century's worth of LJI seasons. Season 1 competitor ErnestButNot Ernest wrote an entry one week suggesting that Gary has a painting in his attic that ages on his behalf. ErnestButNotErnest was voted off in Week 9 that season but went on to some small literary success.
- Every season, the stately Gary estate was repainted to match a specific theme for the contest. The ponys from season 1 were reused as the house paint for season 2. Tragic!
- Instead of comments, contestants were allotted small amounts of speaking time "on the green." Roberts Rules of Order were strictly enforced, sometimes with sharp implements.
- Tinhuviel, winner of Season One, was made undisputed monarch of Sardinia in recognition of her victory - a position she enjoys to this day.
I really should have been around to post an entry about this earlier to my departure, but late is better than never, right? I wrote a short post today talking about my experience here if anyone would like to read it.