Congratz, Pippy!
I hope you don't take as much time to answer here as to post an update...
I hope you don't take as much time to answer here as to post an update...
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Congratulations to @El Pip and also to his predecessor @coz1 . I have enjoyed both of your many years of comments on AAR’s as supportive to authors whilst adding to the general enjoyment of the story. If I see you have commented on an AAR, I take that as an indication that it is a story worth reading.
Thank you all for the kind words, and thanks to Coz1 for nominating me. Sadly I've been unable to enjoy my week in the spotlight due to an exciting range of real life events that have thoroughly distracted me, it was only by chance I sneaked a look in on Sunday and saw I had won this.
I shall make time this evening to respond properly to this and pass the award on to the next deserving recipient.
EDIT:
It is good to see this task is not as thankless as I had feared.
The new and shiny will continue to attract deserved attention, there have been a few gems started recently, I would heartily recommend anyone looking for a quality read to delve into the older works. The page count may be intimidating, but I assure they reward the effort of catching up.
)
I shall make time this evening to respond properly to this and pass the award on to the next deserving recipient.
EDIT:
I may have missed these (sorry!), but I can remind everyone to vote in the catchily titled 2017 Yearly AARland Year-end AwAARds an award so stunning it manages to get AAR in the title twice.
If I didn't pay attention to minor and unimportant technical details, then who would?
I am, somehow, up to joint 3rd place in terms of number of awards, equal to @coz1 (which seems weird) and @Kurt_Steiner (which is weird, but in a different way). Still a long way behind those colossi of fandom @stnylan and @Enewald@El Pip, one of my favourite passtimes on this forum has become congratulating you for winning Fan of the Week. So, congratulations!
I am delighted to hear that my comments have been interpreted in the way I intended.
If it carries on like this then 2018 is going to be the year of the Old Skool. Certainly down in the depths of HOI2 we are putting the band back together, old face continue to pop out of the woodwork, I've even seen @trekaddict surface and threaten a return.Ah, well done again El Pip. I'll admit it was a coin flip at one point as to whether I nominated you (again) or Coz since you both deserve it so much (one for comments in particular and one for AArland in particular) but I'm glad both ended up coming out near-side by side anyone.
It's almost as if i run this place
Whilst I think having a winning 'streak' on this award in particular sort of misses the point a little bit, I can't help but wonder if you can maintain it throughout 2018 as well. Who knows? It's a big year in terms of milestones (I believe Butterfly Effect is just turned eleven) both on the forum and in OTL history. We've seen old faces return, new ones crop up...well, everywhere I think, new AARs getting started, old ones wrapping up and some enter exciting new fazes (and some of course, as ever, are slower than real-time).
Congrats.
The new and shiny will continue to attract deserved attention, there have been a few gems started recently, I would heartily recommend anyone looking for a quality read to delve into the older works. The page count may be intimidating, but I assure they reward the effort of catching up.
It's a near run thing, but I just managed it.Congratz, Pippy!
I hope you don't take as much time to answer here as to post an update...
A glowing testimonial for the El Pip Mark of Approval. To any budding writers out there I am happy to announce the Mark is available for hire at very reasonable rates. (
)
Last edited:
I'd like to give an epic speech like my predecessor, to ruminate on the nature of comments and how important they are to an author. But I'd hope you've all seen such things before expressed by one of those narrative types who has a way with words, beside to be blunt I've just not got the time. What I would say is that anything, even just a 'Nice update' is appreciated by an author, but if you can make the time to throw in something more then please do. If it's constructive and meant well, particularly if you've stopped to have a think about it before replying, then it will be valued above rubies and pearls.
And so onto the next fan of the week, I've tried to avoid anyone who's had it recently, I think a 1 year gap is decent enough. A name I see cropping up in several AARs I enjoy, a regular contributor to these award threads and someone who, unlike me, actually managed to complete their ballot in the Q4 ACAs. I would like to nominate @Macke11 as fan of the week, congratulations!
And so onto the next fan of the week, I've tried to avoid anyone who's had it recently, I think a 1 year gap is decent enough. A name I see cropping up in several AARs I enjoy, a regular contributor to these award threads and someone who, unlike me, actually managed to complete their ballot in the Q4 ACAs. I would like to nominate @Macke11 as fan of the week, congratulations!
A truly excellent choice, @El Pip and very many congratulations to you @Macke11! It is not simply deserved due to your moving around a lot and trying to give great encouragement to other writers but you champion the entire ideology of what is AARland! That is a true fan and I hope that it may see you cool for a long time more.
(And by the way, great to see you around @Davout! I don't get out too much from CKII these days, but I will never forget what a wonderful fan you were back in the day on Into the West. I love to see some older faces/names!)
(And by the way, great to see you around @Davout! I don't get out too much from CKII these days, but I will never forget what a wonderful fan you were back in the day on Into the West. I love to see some older faces/names!)
My wholehearted thanks @El Pip for nominating me! The same goes to everyone who has joined the chorus of congratulations: thank you!
Receiving this awAARd is a pleasure and it makes me glad that people find my (nowadays scarce) contributions to have a positive impact on AARland. Although I must confess I was really taken off-guard when one morning I found my alerts filled with wonderful support! Real life has placed AARland far from me lately, for various reasons, but of course it’s welcome to be met by this. It increases my hope that I can return with new force in due time and perhaps also set out on another journey of writing eventually.
This time there will likely not be as long a list of recommendations as previously, other than maybe a couple special works. Instead I will see if I can come to think of something else of value that fits this award.
There are however things I wish to state now and that is that time flies and we all need as much of it as possible to prepare our 2017 Yaya votes! For those wondering what this might be, it is the revival of the pre-2016 year ender awards, where AARlanders would turn up and vote for the best works, stories, tales, whatever they may be, of the past year. I won’t claim to know much about how things were back then, but now there should be categories for all AARs to fit into; in fact, there are 12 of them. Furthermore, each category opens for 6 different votes (weighted by order, primarily to prevent ties).
However, as much as we would all like every AARlander to be able to fill out the whole ballot, we also see the unfeasibility of this with the wrong thinking. Therefore I want every potential voter (i.e. every AARlander) to think not of you cannot do, but rather of what you can do. This is your chance to return the favour to our beloved authors who keeping adding to our library, so think of how encouraged the writers will be simply by receiving your vote. Try to live yourself into the joy that every single one of your nominees will feel as they get their works recognised and hopefully both parts will then go strengthened out of this Yaya round (I already like that abbreviation @coz1!).
Ultimately, I am sure that thinking this way will be good for all of AARland!
PS. Thanks again for the nomination @El Pip!
Receiving this awAARd is a pleasure and it makes me glad that people find my (nowadays scarce) contributions to have a positive impact on AARland. Although I must confess I was really taken off-guard when one morning I found my alerts filled with wonderful support!
Real life has placed AARland far from me lately, for various reasons, but of course it’s welcome to be met by this. It increases my hope that I can return with new force in due time and perhaps also set out on another journey of writing eventually.This time there will likely not be as long a list of recommendations as previously, other than maybe a couple special works. Instead I will see if I can come to think of something else of value that fits this award.
There are however things I wish to state now and that is that time flies and we all need as much of it as possible to prepare our 2017 Yaya votes! For those wondering what this might be, it is the revival of the pre-2016 year ender awards, where AARlanders would turn up and vote for the best works, stories, tales, whatever they may be, of the past year. I won’t claim to know much about how things were back then, but now there should be categories for all AARs to fit into; in fact, there are 12 of them. Furthermore, each category opens for 6 different votes (weighted by order, primarily to prevent ties).
However, as much as we would all like every AARlander to be able to fill out the whole ballot, we also see the unfeasibility of this with the wrong thinking. Therefore I want every potential voter (i.e. every AARlander) to think not of you cannot do, but rather of what you can do. This is your chance to return the favour to our beloved authors who keeping adding to our library, so think of how encouraged the writers will be simply by receiving your vote. Try to live yourself into the joy that every single one of your nominees will feel as they get their works recognised and hopefully both parts will then go strengthened out of this Yaya round (I already like that abbreviation @coz1!
).Ultimately, I am sure that thinking this way will be good for all of AARland!
PS. Thanks again for the nomination @El Pip!
Fantastic eulogy and call to arms @Macke11. Thank you and well done for your nominationMy wholehearted thanks @El Pip for nominating me! The same goes to everyone who has joined the chorus of congratulations: thank you!
Receiving this awAARd is a pleasure and it makes me glad that people find my (nowadays scarce) contributions to have a positive impact on AARland. Although I must confess I was really taken off-guard when one morning I found my alerts filled with wonderful support!
This time there will likely not be as long a list of recommendations as previously, other than maybe a couple special works. Instead I will see if I can come to think of something else of value that fits this award.
There are however things I wish to state now and that is that time flies and we all need as much of it as possible to prepare our 2017 Yaya votes! For those wondering what this might be, it is the revival of the pre-2016 year ender awards, where AARlanders would turn up and vote for the best works, stories, tales, whatever they may be, of the past year. I won’t claim to know much about how things were back then, but now there should be categories for all AARs to fit into; in fact, there are 12 of them. Furthermore, each category opens for 6 different votes (weighted by order, primarily to prevent ties).
However, as much as we would all like every AARlander to be able to fill out the whole ballot, we also see the unfeasibility of this with the wrong thinking. Therefore I want every potential voter (i.e. every AARlander) to think not of you cannot do, but rather of what you can do. This is your chance to return the favour to our beloved authors who keeping adding to our library, so think of how encouraged the writers will be simply by receiving your vote. Try to live yourself into the joy that every single one of your nominees will feel as they get their works recognised and hopefully both parts will then go strengthened out of this Yaya round (I already like that abbreviation @coz1!
Ultimately, I am sure that thinking this way will be good for all of AARland!
PS. Thanks again for the nomination @El Pip!
EDIT: Thank you @Asantahene, @Nuada Airgetlám and @Tom D. for your congratulations!
I had the same idea last time I won Fan of the Week, but I never got around to doing much with it, because I didn’t refine it enough. I’m still very vague to myself with what it actually is, in the moment when I’m writing it. Bare that in mind if the following paragraphs turn into rambling.
I’m not a member of any other online forum at the present, and I cannot recall being so in the past either, so I may not have much to judge of, but ultimately there was something which not only brought me here, but also made me stay. I arrived in AARland without any experience of what an AAR is, even in its most basic form, and here I am almost two years later, more familiar with the concept than ever before. Needless to say, this place has something special and we all know it. I find it stunning that such a positive and encouraging community can exist and provide a platform for amounts and quality of writing more than enough for a library. Old-time writers and readers keep coming back for more, whilst all the time new members are sucked in.
Personally I have a bit of a problem when writing, which is a lack of inspiration and creativity that may be due to many reasons. Originally I was motivated to write The Pacific Empire, but as time went on that urge dwindled, to the level when working on it was often a burden. It was then that I found continuous support and encouragement in @sebas379 and @guillec87, in combination with the occasional comments from too many people to name here. Throughout the project, they showed me that my time spent writing was time spent well. It was strengthening to know that someone appreciated what I put together.
Later on my readership bolstered to a level I had not seen before and many new, welcome commentatAARs revealed themselves, but The Pacific Empire was already too troubled since a year and a half ago, and ultimately I chose to leave it behind.
Obviously in the ideal case I would have enjoyed the project more, however this example is not meant to dampen anyone’s mood, but rather illustrate how the real-life time it lasted should be seen as a testament to how much a couple comments per chapter can mean to an author. Their impact in the long run can be significant. Therefore, I wish to give a shout out to all the fans who kept me writing (you know who you are) and another shout out to all fans across the board in AARland (you know who you are: every single person who has left a comment on a story)!
I have realised how much an author values their fans and that made me reach out to give some comments on stories I enjoy. For that, there are many commentatAARs far more worthy of praise than me and you should be very proud of the difference you make! But if everyone was like me and neglected the value of their own comments (which I apparently do, since I had not expected this award again!), things would not work.
It might be hard for fans with no AAR-writing experience to know how much a comment means, but in the role of an AAR-writer I can tell you that I have valued every single one of my readers! (I hope to have revealed that in my answers to comments.)
I think it best to cut it here to avoid repeating my point. Instead I want to clarify: readers, active or less active alike, you are amazing! Continue being the great people you are and promise me to feel good about yourself for every comment you make!
P.S. It's not time for passing this on quite yet, so you will have to wait slightly longer for that. A recommendation or two might come as well.
I had the same idea last time I won Fan of the Week, but I never got around to doing much with it, because I didn’t refine it enough. I’m still very vague to myself with what it actually is, in the moment when I’m writing it. Bare that in mind if the following paragraphs turn into rambling.
I’m not a member of any other online forum at the present, and I cannot recall being so in the past either, so I may not have much to judge of, but ultimately there was something which not only brought me here, but also made me stay. I arrived in AARland without any experience of what an AAR is, even in its most basic form, and here I am almost two years later, more familiar with the concept than ever before. Needless to say, this place has something special and we all know it. I find it stunning that such a positive and encouraging community can exist and provide a platform for amounts and quality of writing more than enough for a library. Old-time writers and readers keep coming back for more, whilst all the time new members are sucked in.
Personally I have a bit of a problem when writing, which is a lack of inspiration and creativity that may be due to many reasons. Originally I was motivated to write The Pacific Empire, but as time went on that urge dwindled, to the level when working on it was often a burden. It was then that I found continuous support and encouragement in @sebas379 and @guillec87, in combination with the occasional comments from too many people to name here. Throughout the project, they showed me that my time spent writing was time spent well. It was strengthening to know that someone appreciated what I put together.
Later on my readership bolstered to a level I had not seen before and many new, welcome commentatAARs revealed themselves, but The Pacific Empire was already too troubled since a year and a half ago, and ultimately I chose to leave it behind.
Obviously in the ideal case I would have enjoyed the project more, however this example is not meant to dampen anyone’s mood, but rather illustrate how the real-life time it lasted should be seen as a testament to how much a couple comments per chapter can mean to an author. Their impact in the long run can be significant. Therefore, I wish to give a shout out to all the fans who kept me writing (you know who you are) and another shout out to all fans across the board in AARland (you know who you are: every single person who has left a comment on a story)!
I have realised how much an author values their fans and that made me reach out to give some comments on stories I enjoy. For that, there are many commentatAARs far more worthy of praise than me and you should be very proud of the difference you make! But if everyone was like me and neglected the value of their own comments (which I apparently do, since I had not expected this award again!
), things would not work.It might be hard for fans with no AAR-writing experience to know how much a comment means, but in the role of an AAR-writer I can tell you that I have valued every single one of my readers!
(I hope to have revealed that in my answers to comments.)I think it best to cut it here to avoid repeating my point. Instead I want to clarify: readers, active or less active alike, you are amazing! Continue being the great people you are and promise me to feel good about yourself for every comment you make!
P.S. It's not time for passing this on quite yet, so you will have to wait slightly longer for that. A recommendation or two might come as well.
Last edited: