Of course, this is just my dream site. I imagine someone here will have one about not reading posts that describe the perfect writing site. And there you go.

so you're saying we won't be getting an alter ... "odettavendetta" any time soon?

dammit!

Have I Mentioned MINIMAL AIRING OF PERSONAL HATREDS AND/OR INSIDE VENDETTAS AND CRAPTASTIC NASTINESS? No? Well, let me add that one in there.

Amen. =o)
As long as I can post the random kitty pictures once in a while, I'm good!

Free coffee coupons? You're dreaming. (O told me to write that). ;)

at some point in the once and future, the coffee will be on me

xo

Okay, first HA! OMG. Now, I really want to create the persona "odettavendetta" and I wish to hell I'd thought of it! Next, I adore photos of cats. HWIH is still behind the couch. His emotional angst prevents good photos. I must live vicariously. Also, what? No free coffee coupons?!? I mean, come on now! If they're going to make us look at these damned ads, we should be ones that can be printed out and give us coffee. Finally, bbd, my friend, that is a date. :)

It's wrong, isn't it, that I'm now seeing ads in my mind for a movie on "OdettaVendetta!" There's a leather mini-skirt involved, a bitchin' Camaro, and a bunch of weapons. I believe Quentin Tarantino is directing.

How about photos of kittens drinking coffee? (I am getting slap-happy... I must need more coffee...)

Photos of kittens bringing me coffee? heh heh

There is this wonderful volcano, just south of Iceland, that spews coffee, ghosts and kittens.
But, it's a bit like Brigadoon, or Dick Cheney's soul......it appears once every fifty years.

Agreed. Also the ability to post comments without them being eaten and disappearing.

fawkes--hee hee Imagine that as a vacation spot! Lots of jittery tourists sitting around petting kittens and occasionally shrieking at the sight of a confused, lava-covered ghost.

Deb--What is UP with that, anyway?

YEAH! Lets hear for cute kitty and puppy pics! WOOOOOO!

:)

I'm with you on the printable coupons - if they'd be much more popular than those Economist ads.

How about History writing, or dang good prose?!!!

What about free coupons for kitty food? Cute post. Here's to the denastisization of the blogosphere.

Gary! Of course! I should have made that clear. :)

LadyMiko: I know!!

mamoore--You know, all kidding aside, I might have made a useful suggestion.

LuluandPhoebe--Oh! I know! I'm waiting for iCoffee!

Deborah--denastisization is an excellent word

great list. can we add "variety on the cover page"? and if you don't spew your personal hatred, you get a free coffee mug featuring a picture of a kitten debating political issues in a mature manner.

Here's what I would like to see, particularly on OS:

1) I wish OS would charge for memberships. Just $5 per month would be great. It would be affordable for almost everyone, and would probably eliminate virtually all spam accounts, both spam posts and spam comments. Spam only works when the venue is free; as soon as money is involved the cost/benefit ratio is unfavorable.

In addition to eliminating spam a monthly charge would generate revenue that could be used to improve the site, and maybe even pay for someone to edit posts on the weekend.

For the few who could not afford a monthly fee, some of us could pay a little extra every month to create a "scholarship" fund so that these people could participate.

2) Better search tools. As Token Tarheel has noted before, with the number of posts, comments, and members, the current search tools are sadly inadequate.

3) Standardized tags (in addition to the ad hoc tags). This would make searching easier.

4) A tabbed cover. Have different categories -- TV and movies, sports, breaking news, food, the arts, and so on.

5) A sliding scale for ratings. Perhaps something like this:

* = good post
** = great post
*** - must read

6) Limits on the number of posts and comments. I've seen some people publish as many as 25 posts a day. Many of these were nothing more than copied and pasted news articles from other web sites. Large numbers of comments and posts just make it harder for other people's work to be noticed.

In my humble opinion these changes would provide the foundation for a great site, a worthy venue for great content.

lemonpulp--hee hee I like the idea of a doorprize.

Mishima--These are fantastic suggestions. Really great. Especially the tabbed cover. I might, I say MIGHT, see my way to paying $5 if the spammers could be gone forever.

"Odettavendetta" has a nice ring to it.

OdettaVendetta

Please do this just once. My birthday is 5/20. That would be great. Have a vendetta against me ;0) I just want to see what that would look like.

Thanks for these sentiments metaroulette. A fun read.

Everyone always agrees on these posts until......and then....poof!

I like the idea of revamping functionality of the site more than the people on the site. I like tabs more than kitten pix but that's just me.

To OV - some kickin' over-the-knee boots would be the shit (Jodi K told me that was a good thing) and I'll bet you can buy a pair from one of these bots around here.

I would like to see more constructive critiques and suggestions too.

I think more people should make use of the private message feature if they have a particular concern with one writer or those darned politico kitties who are way too hopped up on caffeine. :) The dogs usually aren't to blame. Just ask OEsheepdog. :)

V

You might want to add editing and rewriting. Sadly lacking.

John! R U sayin' poeple misepell? hee hee Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

emma-- All thanks goes to IM for her fantastic brain.

Dorinda--I will totally do it. heh heh Be careful what you wish for.

Stacey--thank you!

rita--so very true

Gabby--tabs of kitten pics?

Diary--I so agree. Take the argument elsewhere. Jeez.

Nice list. But can you add "writing about films and sex," so I feel included?

I also like the flower/tree/bee photos. It's fun to see spring all over this country!

No. I'm saying people need to be less self-indulgent and not write 5000 words about what happened to them last night.

What's the old song? "Nice work if you can get it, and you can get it if you try." Good stuff.

john--You understand you're killing my dream of blogging all of my bathroom experiences. Dream Killer. heh heh

Silkstone--ALL good writing is included in my wishes, of course including yours. :)

sweetfeet--oh I agree! Winter sucked. I'm glad it's gone for now.

Walter-- I know. It's a wish. It'll never actually happen. The arguments are going even as we speak.

Hey, that sounds like a great place! Know of anywhere like that? :-)

odette: If you can edit it down to a reasonable length (like 20 words)I might hold my nose and read it.

Rob--I do actually and thankfully see you there all the time. :)

john--oh no! Hoisted by my own petard! So to speak.

I love this, as I do all of your other lists! Keep em coming odettavendetta....also, you should wear a bitchin' mask, like Catwoman.

Oooh! I should wear a mask!

You don't specifically mention photos of dogs doing stupid things, but fortunately I do consider them to be of great political importance.

me too. especially the coffee coupons. we need MORE stuff given for FREE!!


frankly, I'm sick of the grumbling myself...all these little snarks and digs and crap. ENOUGH already. I get it. you're not happy. you don't like someone. SO GO THE FUCK AWAY and COME BACK WHEN YOU FEEL GOOD. or STAY THE FUCK AWAY and DON"T GO TO HIS/HER/IT'S BLOG or write about YOU. not someone else. I'm sick of reading about how pissed off everyone is at everyone else.

(but makes for GREAT DUSTUPS) (but like the song says, "you gotta have a gimmick")

odette: No offense, but it's "hoist," not "hoisted".

foolish monkey: Interesting. You're doing exactly what you're telling people not to do. The capital letters are a nice touch too. You might want to change your Caps Lock button next time.

What's the name of the website?

Okay I am there on the $5 a month fee. But I would like to see Cat litter coupons. That darn cat sand costs so much. And for what?!?

The coffee idea was good, too.

#Rated for Reality check-I am a potential Cat Woman. I can feel it.

I agree. I think it is difficult for some to let go of their angst, but I don't think they realize that the rest of us have moved on. Rated for sanity.

I love the dustups, especially when I've taken a few days off from online, and come back, and have like peeps going, "Did you see what so and so said about so and so????"

Those are the best dustups, I can write about those and have no idea about anything, like writing for the National Enquirer!! :D

Uh, if I write a provocative op-ed piece, do I need to include kittens? I mean, unless I do a serious op-ed piece about kittens...

Mrs. Michaels--My lord. I left out an entire species!

foolish--Well true enough. Capital letters and all. Mea culpa. Still ... dang I would love it if people would only yell at each other three or four times a year. It could be a season thing.

John--I call floccinaucinihilipilification! Of course, you're totally right.

Larry--The Perfect Holistic Excitable Website (of Odetteroulette). PHEW for short.

Mind--Thank you! Boy, I need some coffee right now actually.

Sheila--This afternoon, I was especially annoyed. But, I'm good at letting it go. ;) Seriously though, it's the same damned thing all the time mainly. Haven't we established it? What is being accomplished by continuing it? Well, not that much is being accomplished here.

Tink--I love you and everything about you.

Nikki--In my world, kittens are optional and optimal. ;)

People fight. Always have, always will. OS isn't going to be the place that changes human nature. People spend entirely too much time fretting over it, thereby drawing yet more attention to fighting. Personally, people disagreeing with one another and not liking one another doesn't bother me. It happens all the time everywhere for the simple reason that not everyone can like everyone else and that people seldom agree unless they're wrong.

emma--Absolutely! And here, it's eating the site alive, frankly. But that is my feeling only. I can only claim my feelings and those are the only ones that I will claim. And I feel completely and totally justified in feeling them. There are days where it seems very self-indulgent and shitty. But I'm not perfect either. Only making observations. :)

Good points! Ditto for those proposed by Mishima666.

I'm still sad to have observed so many who have left OS because of some of the points you discussed.

Kittens doing the backstroke in an oversized cup of coffee?

What about a dustup in which everyone tries to be overly pleasant with one another while stating their absolutely authentic TRUE positions. What would that look like?

And WOW - I cannot even imagine a day without a few crude titles. I'd probably think I'd gotten a virus and been redirected to a different website.

GREAT post. I'm tossing you a couple of ratings - here: CATCH!!!

Understood, odette.
@Kit: I always state my authentic position. Truth is often in the eye of the beholder.

Kanuk--Yeah. That sucks. Some do come back after shaking some of the feeling off and some don't. :(

Kit--Thank you. :)

emma-- Yep. :)

Cool! My rating was just now worth 2! It jumped from 37 to 39.

Good list. I'm not in favor of the $5 a month fee. I wouldn't be here if it were, and won't be if it is. Lainey had a great metarant about throwing out the trash spammers when they land on our posts. Don't expect OS to do much about them. But we can if everyone will. Also click on their avatar to go to their blog, and where possible, flag them and tell why in the box that appears:

"CUZ THEY'RE FREEKIN' SPAMMERS, YOU DOLTS!"

Or some such.

Rats! They degraded my rating back to a normal 1. It only reads 38 now. For a minute there I thought I must be special in somebody's eyes other than my own.

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs47/f/2009/217/8/a/Celt_Warrior_Woman_by_lanista8.jpg
OdetteVendetta :D

I missed the fuss again, but am tempted to look.

I'll try and follow your ideas . I never comment negatively for then, why comment at all?

sometimes.when.I.visit.your.space.I.stare.at.the.wings.
on.the.girl.in.your.header.and.daydream.

We pay $5 a month and get free kitty litter from the dustups!!!

Henry--You are always special here.

Julie--!!! I love the boots and the hair especially. No. Don't go look. No need. Just imagine the last 50 times or so. That's pretty much it.

Alicia--don't follow my ideas--follow your own :) Well, except that free coffee thing. I'd like everyone to agree about that.

Amanda--You have RicTresa to thank for the beautiful girl. :)

nola--hee hee Well, kitty litter is expensive. You are all right about that. It's a crime really. They know they've got us by the cojones.

Sigh. Anyway, it is pointed out to me that my desires, expressed totally on my blog, as my feelings, for better writing and less bullshit have fallen on deaf, extremely sarcastic ears. Ears which better back off on the bullying of me or I might be tempted to kick them verbally into next week. Don't think I can't do it, people. I'm serious about that. I'm not intimidated. If not, I guess I'll see you on Wednesday.

I have been nothing but respectful. Of everyone. I expect it back. No. I require it. Immediately. I'm not going to stand for being kicked around by anyone.

Whew. Okay, I'm very very angry. I think I'm going to walk away for now. I need a break, clearly, where I am in a room of adults. I'm going to go look for that. For a long bit. See you all in a few.

Thank you everyone for the nice, respectful comments that were made here. I really appreciated it. :)

ForeverMom just posted a cute pic of me on facebook, and I have free coupons for free Friskies, cause I don't eat them. PM me with your snail mail addy, I'll send them to you. . .
~feralRusty

Coffee, kitties, ghosts,Iceland volcanos...why does this all sound familiar? Must be deja vu.

Me, too!

Let's not be so sensitive, kids This namby pamby quid pro quo thing is really kind of dopey when you think about it. Arguments and criticism, if not personal, often liven this place up a little. I ought to know -- I've taken a lot of shit myself (see my Jane Austin post). But it doesn't bother me. In fact I like it. If you hate one of my posts, I would encourage you all to say so. Nuf said.

emma - I agree with you - in fact, I think truth is pretty much ALWAYS in the eye of the beholder.

This thing about human nature - fascinating! I'm just wondering, thinking out loud, so to speak - Do we fatalistically say folks, by human nature, FIGHT, and so join in and keep on FIGHTING, or do we sometimes think of ways to disagree without aggression?

And by fighting, I am not saying DISAGREEING. By fighting I mean being just plain contrary.

Certainly we don't have to like one another. And I do understand that behaving respectfully is sometimes not nearly as EXCITING as behaving disrespectfully.

I just think it would be really fascinating if we learned how to get as excited about disagreeing respectfully with one another as getting excited about disagreeing disrespectfully with one another.

Don't both telling me - I already know. I live in a dream world, and I wear rose-colored glasses. I'm okay with this!

Why thank you, Odette! And if those sarcastic ears are of the editorial variety, the hell with 'em. I don't see any way of getting complaints and/or suggestions across to them other than via posts. If there are, they could put a post up about how. And you opbviously aren't alone, if ratings and responses are any indicator. They may provide the venue, and deserve some appreciation for that, but the people provide the content, and that's what makes it. Or not.