Ripping Good Yarns: Is it Gone With the Wind?

Had the group been more vibrant, this would most likely would have been the next entry in the Ripping Good Yarn Hall of Fame,  But with the group....gone with the wind...it will probably have to wait.

It was a ripping good idea, really.  A place in the midst of Facebook and all its noise, a place to share and discuss an interest in great storytelling, whatever the medium.  Not the artsy-fartsy stuff, but the melodramatic and exciting stories that grab you by the imagination, whether they be mysteries, romance, westerns, science fiction or other genres.  Where you could discuss your favorites without fear or relentless negativism, being told how "they'" don't watch television, or how reading fiction books is an impractical waste of time, or how movies are too expensive.

It was to be a great forum, filled with shared news, and discussions of shows and series, classic tales and great new stuff coming up.  It was to be filled with contests and pseudo awards.  It was to be a joyous celebration.

I invited every friend I had whom I thought would be at least remotely interested.    I had hoped it would grow from there, and others from outside my friend circle would want to join.  I envisioned a large group, sharing information, participating in discussions, voting for favorites.

But Facebook had other ideas.  They have constructed groups in such a way that if you don't view and participate in them constantly, they fade from sight.  So, over time, instead of the group growing it has been shrinking.  I have a handful of diehards, whom I'm very grateful for, but many more who probably never see the posts anymore.  I know this is true with other groups that I am in, so it must be true of Ripping Good yarns as well.

The only people who have asked to join the group in recent months are people I don't know with shadowy profiles, whose purpose is unknown.  If your profile only has one picture, and it is of a half-clad female, yet the only other information is that you are a male from the Philippians, I'm probably not going to accept your invitation. 

It's been hard for me to keep my foot on the trigger, what with tax season and competing writing interests.  But I don't know if I'm ready to completely abandon it.  I don't quit easy, even if it feels like I'm just tilting at windmills.

For those of you who have stuck with it, I appreciate it, and it means a lot to me.  I will keep plugging away, hoping beyond hope that Facebook changes so that even infrequent participants can see the posts.  I dream of the day when I can return to contests and the Hall of Fame, and get more than the five or six votes that it is now down to.

So is Ripping Good Yarns gone with the wind?

Be quiet, Rhett, with your "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn(s)!"

I prefer to quote a more hopeful Scarlett -

"After all...tomorrow is another day."

Sooooo...how 'bout that Agents of SHIELD?  Is it a great show or what?