Sometimes my job as a writer and my job as a writing-community owner conflict.
Today was one of those days — and it was ugly and infuriating. I lost one very nice member who has been with me for years because that writer’s work was attacked in an fashion by another member.
I’m doing my best to get that member back — I had to make amends to the writer who was attacked because I failed to understand the problem when she brought it to me initially. She chose to be polite about the person attacking her work, and did not name names.
My moderators discovered independently both the attack on the work (which is absolutely forbidden in my site Terms of Use), and the identity of the attacker.
I had to ban the attacker from the forum (temporarily, but probably permanently, because I don’t think the member who left will come back, and I’m not sure the banned member will be able to stay within the TOS).
And this mess was completely avoidable. I have terms of service up on the site. I expect all members to read them. I then expect them to follow them.
And I expect to never be yanked away from my actual job of writing fiction because someone has decided to treat another member horribly, costing me a student. Possibly two.
For this, I lost a complete day of work.
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