Some of you may remember that we recently had to pull a couple stories out of the collection while we find a way to present them on the site in a section without ads as a result of Google Ads flagging us for content problems. While these ads do cover the cost of the site, especially when we're posting three content releases per week and getting the boost in traffic that brings... it would be good to not have to worry about automated bots telling us our 'off screen' sexy stuff is too traumatic for their advertisers to put up with. Since then, I've set up and tested with some of the forums crew the idea of switching to Patreon for donation support to cover site costs.

We very quickly reached a total that would replace the Google ads (although one patron may have set a 'one time donation' amount instead of realizing that Patreon works on monthly charges... if not, its a very generous monthly contribution). While I will certainly be happy to accept large contributions as well as small ones and have some simple rewards set up (recognition as a sponsor/advertiser on the site for the larger contributions), I would prefer the 'burden' spread over a larger number of people than the current ten supporters. Just a few dollars per month each for all you folks who stay logged in all the time and we could cover all the regular monthly charges AND put a little money in either upgrades or marketing each month.

If you haven't seen it yet, there's a button to the Patreon contribution page over in the left side-bar, right beneath the menu. On a tablet or mobile screen, that is right between the second menu set and the first Google Ad. For now anyway... I still need the ads to cover costs for this month's charges. Once Patreon draws donations from everyone at the beginning of November, I'll shut down the ad feeds. It is important to note (and I do on the Patreon page, but I'll repeat it here): This support is entirely for the site, operating costs, maintenance, licensing, upgrades, marketing, and any extra will compensate Kristin for work hours put into it. I'm happy to keep an accounting of the time, but I've easily put in hundreds of hours that I've not seen any gain from... and have contributed money into keeping things running personally on a number of occasions when the ads were not covering costs. Of course, if things grow to the point where contributions can hire me full time; we'll have to work out some details like that. In the meantime, understand that these contributions do not pay for or account for ownership of the content or authors. Nor does it offer any authority or control over the release of content or operational choices for the site. I WILL continue to take feedback from the community, as usual, and from the cabal to make informed decisions that will benefit the whole community (or as much as possible).

If you haven't, and want to support the site, please find and use that shiny orange Patreon button. And when we get into November, enjoy the ad-free site.

And now, for today's content announcement:

From the mind and muse of Bek D. Corbin: a group of kids, manifested as mutants, experimented on, and now on the run from nefarious organizations, the government, the mob, the police, their parents, the military, Atlantean spirits, Elder Gods, a wandering Shinto monk, four mutated turtles... ok, they're not really on the run from ALL of those things. But they ARE Loose Cannons ... and this is Part 2 of 6 in "Vegas, Baby, Vegas!"

Hey folks, I know that between Puerto Rico, the NFL, and now the terrible tragedy in Vegas that it is going to be difficult to avoid chatting about current events without at least touching on political issues. That's going to be even trickier given the title and setting of today's release. I don't want to counter that by saying "no politics!" because that really isn't the solution. Truthfully, the condition of our society right now means that political diversity and conflict is on our minds a lot. And 'not talking about it' is actually the worst way to work towards resolving it. 

However, if you ARE going to talk about politics; take responsibility for your part of the conversation. Honestly acknowledge that the answer isn't going to be found in the extremes... its going to be uncovered through compromise and understanding that parts of the issue that concern everyone. And working on those... while avoiding stomping on the parts of the issue that we cannot agree on may be enough. If our conversations prioritize working towards solutions instead of on standing on a point of ideology, we can resolve any problem. 

If I see people being automatically dismissive of someone's ideas or beliefs, I WILL shut down the thread. If you want us to give you ANY respect and leeway to speak YOUR mind and offer your thoughts; you WILL also grant the same courtesy to contrasting views. If not, the only view that will be expressed here will be that of the moderator closing the thread.

That bit of reminder out of the way...

Today we have the very long awaited and hoped for continuation of the Loose Cannons saga... from Bek D. Corbin: "Vegas, Baby, Vegas!"... here is Part 1... of 6.

Alright, hiring may not be the correct word because there really isn't any pay involved. However, we ARE looking for two people at this time (more might be welcome but we want to start with two at this time) who would be willing to work to assist DanZilla and the site staff in supporting the authors through the process of information tracking, story feedback, and so forth. The ideal candidate is someone with a very solid understanding and memory of the Whateley Universe, can read for detail and concept both, and can clear explain through brief feedback what is working and what is not working within a story draft, as well as point out editorial types of problems, and do some basic continuity checking.

It's important to understand that these people would be under a limited NDA (non-disclosure agreement) because they would be given access to scenes and sections of stories well in advance of the official publication dates. As such, they would be limited in their ability to participate in forum discussion... especially forum discussion involving brainstorming for WhatIF and speculation on upcoming releases. Their primary responsibility would be as first line readers and feedback for authors... a task which has been, historically, handled by the authors themselves for each other. While we still intend to do this, the amount of content being produced has become challenging to keep tabs on... as more than a "I read it to keep up with what else is happening in-universe but I don't have time to re-read multiple times as a scene is rewritten to improve it." We want a couple readers who give feedback within 3 days of any scene or story part that is posted for response.

If these people are also interested in taking on a more advanced editorial role, this would also be welcome once you're proven yourself capable of working with the authors on feedback.

If you have questions about what would be involved, feel free to ask openly... obviously, more details will help anyone who is interested. However, if you decide you want to be involved; please chat with me or DanZilla privately first. You'll definitely have to be able to work with the two of us ... as we'll be keeping tabs on you and ensuring you can do what we need you to do... and there are some people who may be interested who we will have to turn down. Either because more people apply than we want to try out at once... or because we see those people more along the lines of future author candidates... or simply because we value their voice in the forums community too much to remove it just so we can get a good private feedback. With private applications, we don't have to turn you down in front of anyone else.

I have a good enough understanding of probability theory to avoid playing the lottery very often. In fact, given the way my luck normally works, I avoid most sorts of gambling. I'm crazy lucky when it comes to day to day stuff... playing games, being in the right place at the right time. Some people actually treated me much like our Whateley mutants get treated because I would just casually raise my hand for no apparent reason only to catch something that had been thrown at me by some bully/jerk. I always argued it as good peripheral vision or a reflection in my glasses allowing me to see some things that would otherwise be out of my line of sight... but truthfully, I don't know how it happened... it just did.

But... put money on the table? Or really, anything material? And my luck disappears. I once, playing poker for mini-candy bars with friends for a brief bit while waiting for kids to come to the house for trick or treating, was dealt a full house; a four of a kind, and a royal flush... but when I play for money? I will rarely even see a pair.

But, despite my regular bad luck; when the lottery gets up into the really high numbers, I'll buy a ticket. Just one... not appreciably improving my odds to get more than one, after all. Over 100 million.. I'll play if I think about it. Over 200 million, I start to actually pay attention to it. When it gets as high as it is right now... over 500 million (that's half a billion)... I make a conscious effort not to miss picking up a ticket. Mainly because... while I know there's very little chance for me to win it... the amount of money is significant enough that I can't help but think of ways I could make a difference with it.

So... Powerball for half a billion dollars, tomorrow night. Think about how many Whateley Universe stories we could be publishing if we could compensate our authors for their time spent, allowing them to be full time Whateley story writers... for example... :)

In the meantime... there's some new content! Since the last news, we've had part 2 of "A Dragon Abroad" from Astrodragon... Part 2 of Morpheus' "The Absinthe of Malice" and E. E. Nalley's "Dague de L'esprit" ... today, please enjoy "A Very Imp-Portant Date", Part 3... from Morpheus. Remember to take time to comment on these stories and join in the feedback in the forums!

I've been working on some revisions to the site layout and menu structure to make things a little more streamlined, especially for new visitors. That's especially important if we're going to do some advertising and try to increase our audience size, as we want people to be able to come by, actually find the stories, and be able to work their way through things in the same sort of way that someone might find a long running web comic and catch themselves up to the present by going through the archives.

Part of this is going involve moving the 'front page news' off the front page. The "news' will move to being the 'cover sheet' for the Community section, while the community/forum rules/policy will move to a less prominent location. 

There will be a new menu option "New to Whateley?" which will include some info about the Universe, an authors' bio, a 'dramatus personae' (character listing) and some other similar things that will help people get an idea of what's going on around here in a quick glance. We'll also get the various guides and help articles up to date with the new layouts... and write a few more to show people how to quickly navigate the site. Expect those changes to be occurring over the months of August and September.

For today's content release? We have a couple pieces from E. E. Nalley that are probably going to break some people. In the Gen 1 period, "The Angel and Cecil Barrows" brings you a bit of perspective on one of the big picture backstory areas and a character that has roused a lot of emotion in readers over the years. The second takes place in Gen 2... "The Sorrows of Red October" makes some revelations that some forums members will take with an 'ah ha' for solid deductive reasoning... and most of the rest will be picking their jaws up off the floor. Prepare for minds to be blown. It's plot twists all around, today.