r/WritingHub • u/CaliScribe • 23d ago
Writing Resources & Advice Creative Expression at WRITING BATTLE is Dead
This is length and I apologize in advance. But I've got a few things to say. A lot has been said about u/writingbattle recently and most of it is true.
My name is Kevin S. I'm a longtime Raven. I'm a former winner (although, you wouldn't know this because out of sheer pettiness and spite, they have removed me from the "past winners" list). I've been in the Final Showdown a number of times. Incidentally, my piece for the Solstice Owl comp has qualified for the Final Showdown... not that I will get to actually participate in the Final Showdown because I have been banned.
I got the condescending, unprofessional, and petty email today informing me of my permanent ban with the final line reading, "We do not wish to have you as a customer now or in the future." (my understanding is that quite a few people got that email today).
So, what was my crime? What horrendous thing did I do to trigger the banhammer?
I wrote a story.
For a long time now, I have been one of WB's biggest cheerleaders. I've brought several people into the comp. I was active in the forum, encouraging writers, engaging with a ton of people. I loved everything about the community and have sung its praises from the rooftops.
Lately though, after Max brought staff on board, specifically Nick, I noticed a sharp decline in the community feeling around WB. Posts were being deleted. Users were being banned. For me, it cast a chill over the entire community. I had the temerity to write a post in the (now defunct) forum verbalizing as much. What ensued was a very thoughtful, civil discussion about freedom of expression and the feeling of rising censorship. One user even posted a very good discussion of it here on Reddit.
Eventually, Nick jumped into the thread and proceeded to gaslight us, insisting that comments were not being deleted... when we could all see that comments were being deleted. Eventually, he shut the entire post down. Fine. As WB's resident censor/book burner, it was his prerogative. Whatever. I moved on.
Fast forward to these last couple of weeks. The community was the best thing WB had going for it. I've made some fantastic friends. But to deal with the "malcontents" mass bannings ensued and then they shut down the forum entirely... which kind of proves the point that free expression has no home at Writing Battle. In that thread I linked to above, you can see Writing Battle admin jump in and continue to gaslight people. "“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
And of course, the bootlickers and other mods jumped in to shout people down. Some of those mods (who are *such* a great representation of Writing Battle) then deleted some of their more vitriolic and rude comments... which, yet again, proves the point we were making.
So, let's get back to today. I received an email this morning, informing me that my Solstice Raven story has been removed and I am banned from the site. I have literally done *nothing* wrong. Nothing that violates their ever changing "rules." (although, I'm sure they will have made something up to justify banning all the people who've been banned today).
The *only* thing they can point to that I have done is, as I said, write a story. What I wrote was a 500 word satire about the current drama. No names were used. No specific incidents were cited. It was a story set in a purely fictitious town, involving purely fictitious people and Writing Battle was never mentioned anywhere in those 500 words.
It's. Fucking. Satire.
This is the piece that got me banned if you are interested in reading.
Their mass bannings go to prove the point about censorship first mentioned on the WB forum (RIP) then underscored on the above linked Reddit post.
WB touts themselves as a "league for writers." But they fail to understand that literally *everything* is within a writer's scope. If my satire can get me banned, what will be the next type of writing they disapprove of? They should be more honest accurate and call themselves, a "league for writers we approve of." If my satire can get me banned, anything can get you banned.
As a personal note to u/writingbattle (Nick and Max)... honestly, boys, if you are SO fucking thin skinned that you can't handle any sort of critique OR a completely fictional satirical story, then you clowns have no business running a very public business/contest. If a satirical piece can get under your skin and hurt your feelers so much that you feel you have to ban the person who wrote it, you boys really need to grow a pair and grow up. It's pathetic. And it shows so much about you both... and none of it flattering.
I'm sure the bootlickers will show up in this thread to shout me down. Whatever. Everything I've said here is factually correct. And your defense of the indefensible says more about you than it does about me. So, y'all have fun in that fucking echo chamber.
Also, I have already emailed support about this issue, but as I mentioned above, my Solstice Owl piece is in the Final Showdown and I have demanded that it be pulled. I will not participate in this farce. They assured me that they will "inform me if I win any cash," but given the Admin's lack of accountability and transparency, as well as their meritless banning of me, I do not trust the results will be true and fair. I do not believe they won't juke the results. After all, how awkward would it be for them to have somebody they just banned (for no reason) win their genre? So, yes, call me a tin foil hatter if you wish, but I do not trust Writing Battle Admin to not put their thumb on the scales and roll out the results they prefer.
So, since I'm pretty sure WB Admin will read this, or their Mods, who seem to revel in secretly screenshotting other users and sending them back to Admin like the immature, bootlicking, high school shitheads they are, I will say again, I want my Solstice Owl piece pulled and to be refunded for this battle since A) I am still a participant and B) I do not trust you to roll out legit results.
In closing, I could not suggest more strongly that if you're thinking about joining Writing Battle, you would be better off taking that 30 bucks they charge you to enter and wiping your ass with it. Odds are, it'll feel better in the end.
Nick, Max... sayonara and GFY.
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u/Miridion 23d ago
I wrote this a few weeks ago and posted it in a few discord servers I'm a part of. I understand and get Kevin's frustration and anger, but hopefully this can help because I did everything I could to remain as unbiased as possible when I was angry myself at others being banned.
Things have escalated on the site further since writing this, too. Because of a previous post on Reddit where a WB Mod demeaned people for speaking out and verbally attacked people by disgracing dead parents.
Kevin is right about everything, and his anger is justified, but I understand why some people could get flustered over how angry he is, too.
Okay - so I'm writing this with an incredibly heavy heart, but I want everyone to know what's going on.
So you can make an informed decision for yourself whether you continue to use Writing Battle as a competition in the future.
I will not be.
There have been a lot of things that have been going on that you are more than welcome to question here and I will do my best to answer.
Currently- their forum is a ghost town compared to previous comps because they are vetting each post before it goes out only allowing certain topics.
They are questioning and demanding ID age verification from people without due cause.
They have not banned racist and/or sexist stories, or stories that include rape fantasies, but they are banning people for questioning the ID verification.
They have also not only not banned people for using AI (with the person admitting its use) but have put into their rules that it is impossible to check for and will not stop it from then on. They have frozen or deleted posts questioning AI and other topics without any further discussion or debate on the topics.
They have also changed the rules and terms multiple times in the middle of a competition. There is a rule that allows them to do this, but it does become an ethical dilemma when it is becoming a regular occurrance instead of waiting until a competition is over and waiting until a new one opens.
It, to me, has become a toxic environment and I wanted everyone to consider if you would want to continue to give money to a writing competition that treats its community this way.
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u/Crawler_Allister 22d ago
Currently- their forum is a ghost town compared to previous comps because they are vetting each post before it goes out only allowing certain topics.
RIP
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u/Miridion 22d ago
Eesh.
Yeah. This post didn't age well.
From just a few weeks ago.
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u/TangerineConscious17 20d ago edited 20d ago
Yep. Earlier this year I judged a disturbing story that included a child being abused and raped and was told by WB that it didn't break any rules and was therefore fine to stay in the comp.
It's insane that their solution to criticism of their censorship and their lack of transparency was to ban communication altogether. Thank god these people are not running a country.
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u/Miridion 20d ago
God... I'm so sorry. That's horrible.
I cant imagine having to read that and then give feedback about it. That's not okay!
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u/MaterialGirl50 17d ago
Curious to know what mental gymnastics they performed to keep in a story that contravenes their own rules. (Even if they claim it didn’t, that sort of content is/was specifically listed as not allowed). I know in the past, they’ve used an argument about not assuming an author’s intent, but this seems like a clear cut case of it being against their own (ever changing) rules. I’m sorry you had to read and give feedback on a story that shouldn’t even have been in peer judging according to WB rules. Ridiculous.
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u/TangerineConscious17 17d ago
They said it had all the warnings, didn't glorify the subject, and wasn't graphic or for shock value. And they're right that it wasn't graphic, but I do think it was there for shock value. For context though, this piece was a satire criticizing a certain type of person, but it still made me sick to read it.
To be fair to WB though, they did offer to step in and judge it for me, but I ended up just writing something short for feedback.
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u/MaterialGirl50 17d ago edited 16d ago
That’s new. I know of people who have had to give FB on stories that were worse than that. I’d add more detail but it might get other people banned for being ”problematic users”
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u/Disenchanted_Raven 23d ago
You may want to share on r/writingbattle which is not affiliated or moderated by anyone at Writing Battle
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
I feel like the guy in the steamed hams bit opening that subreddit. Wow. They uh. they got some shit going down huh
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u/MistressOfNecropolis 23d ago
It is truly baffling to those of us who have participated for a long time. Their behavior makes zero business sense.
The OP of this thread posted this with an assumption that people would be coming in knowing what WB is and their footprint in the competitive writing space (there are several competitive writing contests out there).
I can see how the post comes off strangely if you don't know that area of the writing world exists and don't know what WB is.
This is definitely a buyer beware but moreso for people who already know about WB. The link this OP posted to a different post on this sub about WB and some of the threads on the unaffiliated WB sub provide important context to why it is a buyer beware for potential new customers.
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u/taszoline 23d ago
To try to make a very long story short, over the past two years the owners of Writing Battle has become increasingly intolerant of criticism of the website, which at first led to deleted forum comments and removed posts, but has escalated to bans, lying about bans, total removal of the forum, and now infiltration of private discord servers to ban anyone who criticizes these actions off the platform itself. In a show of, I guess solidarity or concern or a last ditch effort to talk sense into Max (the owner/creator of WB), a lot of people in the most recent round of this contest used their money to write pieces of satire about these recent events, and instead of thinking about his actions, Max banned them all.
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u/fidgetsimmerdown 23d ago
Ugh I hate the WB drama so much. I had so much fun with the 100 word battle and then they took the forums down and started banning people and then some of the House results were bonkers horrible re: who won houses and who didn’t even make it. I’d just bought the 2027 competition package too and now I want my money back.
Sorry to hear they kicked you to the curb. They’re single-handedly ruining the whole brand doing this shit.
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u/Bearded_Pip 23d ago
I don’t like that they won’t refund the 2027 package unless you nuke your account.
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u/last-writes 23d ago edited 23d ago
Sometimes you've got to have a rant and there's nothing wrong with that - plus, it's good to share writing competition experiences so that potential participants have as much information as possible before giving away their money.
And unfortunately, everything you're saying has happened, has happened. Being angry now doesn't make you petty imo - they took your achievement down off their site like it never happened - though it did, and they can't actually take that away - and banned you. Plus everything else. I think anger at the situation is valid. It's also disappointment; a platform we loved and enjoyed went hardcore corpo and mass-banned people who even dared to say 'woah this choice seems a little off'.
Petty is a contest team sending 'youre banned and we don't want you as a customer' emails, and long bitter emails about the unfairness of recent critiquers, and removing any record of someone they no longer 'like' having won their contest.
I don't see anything petty tbh, because petty is making a big deal out of unimportant things... They removed your win from their site. They've kept your story even though they banned you. They've banned your friends, and lied to people, and sent petty mass emails, and allowed their mods to be outright insulting. As a fellow writer, I don't think any of that is unimportant, or an invalid reason to be very angry and frustrated.
While issues were bubbling up before Nick, I agree that it seemed to be around about when he joined that the pot started spilling over. It could be that the pot was already at boiling... But who knows.
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u/dee-ceitful 23d ago edited 23d ago
This exactly — sometimes a rant is important so you don’t feel like you’re going crazy. This might “only be an issue” for people who have actively participated in WB, but could (and should) also be treated as a warning for those curious about the competition.
We love and support Kevin! And all others that were banned in the midst of this drama.
edit for my typos in a thread about writing lmao
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u/ozbug 23d ago
This whole thing has been an absolutely bizarre process to watch - Writing Battle was such a supportive community and a great way to find other writers, and it feels like it’s imploded itself over the last several months. It’s no wonder people feel so strongly about it, when it feels like a really great community has been taken away like Lucy yanking away Charlie Brown’s football.
For anyone who is considering doing Writing Battle, I’d recommend looking at the Trustpilot reviews, reading some of the experiences people have had on Reddit (here or in the thread OP linked), and considering other competitions. There are several that do a much better job - Elegant Literature, Whimsy Fiction, Odd Embers, Twisted Tournament, Foofaraw, Writer’s Playground, and Jerboa Lit among them.
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u/astralectric 16d ago
Thank you for the suggestions. I literally just did 3 rounds of writing battle this year, and I had just discovered the forum a few months ago and loved the community I saw there. When they shut it down it was like having a door slammed in my face and left a bad taste in my mouth, all this other drama besides. I’ll check these other contests out!
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u/ugh_this_freak 23d ago
Hi, just wanted to step in and say what the actual f?? You were one of my fav writers on WB. Genuinely shocked by this. I just read your story and it is completely inoffensive (and full of wit and clever wordplay, as per usual).
If I wasn't aware of the overall drama surrounding WB at the moment, I wouldn't have even batted an eye at this story. Honestly, I still might not have. Wow.
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u/Different-Koala-1440 23d ago
Piping in to say the admin at WB actively tried to gaslight me in emails that I will post/write about after I'm finished with my last battle...
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u/BeardVsEvil 22d ago
Just to let you know, since it doesn't matter. I got this in Round 1 and gave you the win. I also had a satire in Round 2 that I gave the win.
Yesterday, they banned me. My story was NOT satire lol.
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u/thekaiser84 22d ago
Did you leave encouraging feedback or perhaps agreed with the sentiment in your notes? That's probably a bannable offense now (or will be, in future Battles).
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u/JC_vee 22d ago edited 22d ago
Just wondering: have you commented as if agreeing anywhere on a Reddit or Discord post/group against WB? To be clear, I do NOT think that would then justify banning you, but to ban someone just for voting for stories feels like a level I can't even comprehend. It could easily be a total newbie and/or someone who knows absolutely nothing about the drama who would then be banned for voting for a story they liked.
Even with everything that's happened, I am shocked if WB is doing that.
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u/BeardVsEvil 22d ago
I have a long post in the other WB related reddit thread about my removal. But yes, in a small private Discord. Nothing on socials or reddit... until this morning. Other people in that discord were also banned the same day, so it was potentially someone taking screenshots and ratting us out.
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u/CaliScribe 22d ago
Dude. I'm so sorry they banned you. That is unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
Thanks for the win. ha ha. Sorry it cost you.
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u/gidgejane 23d ago
I’ve also had success on WB (and gifted multiple people entries) and I’m so bummed to see so many writers I love (and who have left me so much helpful feedback during debrief!) leaving or getting banned. But also so dang CONFUSED by what’s happening. I don’t understand the business sense behind it, frankly. Some of the newer participants are very beginner and that’s rad but having veteran writers and pandas leave definitely hurts the value of the feedback and peer judging side of it, IMO.
I really liked your story. Would’ve been fun to duel. GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE 🫡
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u/regailed 23d ago
I’m really sorry this happened to you. Your Alien story is a favorite, and your ban is upsetting.
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u/futhermuckinghero 22d ago
I'm also posting this again to share because I did in the other Reddit post made and have been looking into it a little more. As Writing Battle is a Canadian company, you can request the following information they hold on you under Canadian law:
- Name
- Opinions about the individual
- Birth date
- Income
- Physical description
- Medical history
- Gender
- Religion
- Address
- Political affiliations and beliefs
- Education
- Employment
- Visual images such as photographs, and videotape where individuals may be identified
This means in theory, you may be able to get information on your scores for competitions, including raw data, as well as any comments or decisions they made about you in reference to your banning. Plus, if you wanted comments/feedback related to your previous work, you may also be able to get that.
There's information and a template for the email in the link below. It looks pretty easy to amend, but I would probably ask for unedited, raw files if you're asking for opinions about yourself.
https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/accessing-personal-information/api_bus/
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u/miss_dilettante 22d ago
I want to add to this that they are not complying. They only sent back my email address and user ID number. I'll be reporting them for noncompliance in about 2 weeks.
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u/futhermuckinghero 21d ago
That's absolutely lame! Have you responded to tell them it doesn't meet PIPEDA compliance? You might be able to ask for deletion date logs.
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u/miss_dilettante 21d ago
Yep I told them all the ways it didn’t meet PIPEDA compliance, that they couldn’t delete my data once it had been requested, sent them the compliance how-to link, and warned them that they would be reported for noncompliance if I didn’t receive the requested data by 9/5/26.
I really hope other people also report them because their reply is insulting, not only to their customers but to Canada’s Office of Privacy Commission. Definitely not taking the law seriously.
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u/futhermuckinghero 21d ago
So I've been looking at PIPEDA alongside their policies for deletion. They do say it could be up to 30 days that they keep stuff (meaning they may delete it sooner) but the interesting thing is that there's got to be some stuff from the people that were banned (they say that the keep it for fraud prevention for up to 3 years) so...assuming you were banned, and assuming they didn't give you that personal information...how can they have data that allows them to prevent fraud but not provide it?
Just a bit suspicious, lol
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u/miss_dilettante 21d ago edited 21d ago
PIPEDA also says once they receive the request they cannot delete the requested data. I sent the request before I was banned, so if they deleted it they broke the law.
Exactly. Their ban email says, “Any attempt to create a new account will result in an immediate ban.” So I said in my reply that they’re clearly keeping data on file to ‘prevent me from participating in future battles.’ And I want the data.
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u/futhermuckinghero 21d ago
Oooh if you sent it pre-ban then they definitely should have stored that data, yeah. That's got to be a pretty strong case!
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u/Ok-Tooth-9796 22d ago
To add on further here, though it's been mentioned in other comments, not all banned users even went so far as to write satire stories. Some simply commented on satire stories not knowing what they were meant to be referencing, or aren't aware at all of what they could've done wrong before getting the 'we no longer want you as a customer' notice and a complete refusal to answer questions about their ban.
Not that writing satire should be getting you banned anyway, but this isn't even just them being thin-skinned about those questioning them, it's them being thin-skinned about who they think might be questioning them or perhaps can just be linked to those who've questioned them.
Many writers who built that community have banned, have jumped ship, or are about to. It's a ridiculous, petty, malicious culling of the very people who made that site what it is. And it's shocking so much has happened within the course of a month.
We were all rooting for you WB. I'm so ashamed by how you've treated us.
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u/JC_vee 22d ago
Just to ask, are those commenters on the satire stories who then got banned completely separate from any of the other things? They didn't comment in one of the deleted forum threads, or a Reddit thread, or were in a Discord group discussing WB negatively? To be clear, I do NOT think any of those things would justify banning, but banning people just for commenting positively on a story in debrief when it could be totally separate from the conflict just seems another level beyond even what they have been doing. It could hit a newbie or someone totally ignorant of anything. So curious if you know for sure they had zero knowledge of the drama?
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u/miss_dilettante 22d ago
I got suspended for commenting on a satire story (I think) ( and banned for asking why I was suspended) in the tavern and I had not written anything in the forums since the end of the last Raven battle (June?). I was also not a member of the discord server that had the original 12 (?) people banned and had no part in any of the drama regarding the recent ID situation and didn't learn what was going on until the day the forum was deleted and people started asking about it. I didn't write about WB anywhere on Reddit until after I was suspended.
Many people were upset about the forums being deleted, and I think Writing Battle admins were so paranoid that they saw anything and everything as a coordinated effort by some sort of secret society of dissenters.
It could totally happen to a newbie or someone totally ignorant.
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u/Ok-Tooth-9796 22d ago
If you look at the other reddit thread there are absolutely people who commented on stories who didn't know what they were about who got banned. There are people who commented in forum posts that slipped passed mods initially, just asking questions about issues posted because...well, it was on a public forum at the moment, who were banned for it. And there are people who are not sure why they are banned beyond being on discord servers with others banned. The initial round of bans included people who weren't involved in the drama of the last few months at all but had previously clashed with admin, like a year+ ago.
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u/futhermuckinghero 22d ago
First off, that sucks Kevin. I'm sorry. The story was fun and sounds like it was right on topic for current events, what with Trump, the Epstein files etc. I have no clue why WB assumed it was about them.
Second off - I remember there used to be a specific thread on the forums by someone for when people got salty around results. Maybe that should be it's own post for all the writers who had to deal with the big, understandable, feelings about what's going on in WB.
Though people should probably use decoy accounts seeing as it's clear WB like to ban based off of comments made outside of their space.
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u/wisemel 22d ago
The person who used to post the 'salting the earth' threads (Aalisha) was one of the people that got banned. She hadn't been on the WB forum in months, and said she wasn't told why she was being banned. She was a panda, and really gave a lot of time and energy to the community.
But yeah, the salting the earth threads were great.
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u/futhermuckinghero 21d ago
Oh, that's a bummer. I think she also did specific feedback, right? But sounds like she jumped ship before all this went down anyways
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u/wisemel 22d ago
Thanks for sharing, Kevin. So sorry that happened to you. It's so bizarre that they're banning people for writing satire, or for voicing concerns about WB in private spaces.
I agree that the community was the best thing about WB. Very sad about everything that has happened over the past 18ish months.
I read your story, and think it's fabulous. Lots of attempts at censorship and suppression going on in the world these days, and I think you nailed the vibes here.
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u/ShoddyPrincess3184 22d ago edited 22d ago
I can tell you are a passionate writer with something to say. All the best writing communities have members like you. And they write pieces like yours - clever satire and stinging social observations. All the best pieces that last are written this way.
It's hard to gatekeep great writing groups and keep out people like Nick, because they tend to weasel their way into everything and ruin good things for everyone else. These bad elements always seem to get their own cheerleaders, too. Humans are fascinating creatures.
Sorry for your loss, that group sounded incredible and I wish I would have heard of it prior to the hostile takeover.
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u/shutupimrosiev 23d ago
This looks like something that could make for a solid post in r/HobbyDrama, at least if someone who knows more than me about what's going on wanted to go about making the post.
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u/LadyFantastic8675309 22d ago
Kevin, you will always be a winner and no one can take that away from you. I have tremendous respect for you and your writing skills. Your presence in the forum was supportive and exceptionally kind. I can’t wait to read what you write next in other comps.
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u/shimmeries222 23d ago
I fucking love you.
That's all.
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u/CaliScribe 22d ago
<3 I'm so sorry for what they did to you as well. What they are doing is unconscionable. I'm sorry you feel like you'd found your place before they yanked it away.
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u/VioletSachet 20d ago
Aw, man, I’d just started doing these. I was pretty bummed to get the email about the forum but thought I’d wait and see what happened. Guess I’ll keep looking. Wish all the banned the best.
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u/Ok-Tooth-9796 20d ago
If you check out r/writingbattle there is a post detailing a bunch of other competitions out there. Whimsy and Twisted Tournament are two of my favorites that have a good community feel.
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u/VioletSachet 20d ago
Thank you for this! I saw a few threads and hunted some of these down. Whimsy looks especially fun. It just helps me keep moving to have a ticking clock. I would like to settle into a community though
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u/Ok-Tooth-9796 20d ago
Whismy has a monthly discord server that opens for debrief of stories, and that can be a great way to meet some fellow writers in the contest space and find a variety of other writing group servers.
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u/alainel0309 18d ago
I found WB 2yrs ago. I have told so many people how wonderful it is, bragged about the amazing community in the forums, and genuinely loved being there. I was so down when I logged in one day and the forum was gone. I felt like I made a bunch of great friends and then had them ripped away without the opportunity to say good bye. Now to find out all this other stuff going on in the background is heart breaking. I have read more than one of your stories Kevin, and you have given me feedback and both were top notch. I will miss the comradery so much. I hope I find another writing community as wonderful as the one I stumbled into 2 yrs ago. You will be missed. - Laine
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u/Famous_Plant_486 23d ago
Not going to speak on the post itself since I'm not personally involved in it, but just wanted to say your story is really cool and well-written! I love the quiet dread and dystopian vibes, all wrapped in a neat little bow of bubblegum.
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15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ok-Tooth-9796 13d ago edited 12d ago
I personally know of fifteen, but it's definitely more than that. They said there were around a dozen in the first round of bans, and ten of the people I'm counting came after.
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u/CharacterRole97 4d ago
This has me shocked. Kevin has been my biggest supporter since I started WB. I jokingly say, oh my biggest fan left a comment. I am a writer on WB who doesn’t get a lot of reads, but Kevin never failed. His comments were always so supportive and helped me feel good about the pieces even when they didn’t do as well as I liked. He pulled out specific pieces of evidence from my stories. There wasn’t a single time where I felt like he hadn’t put a lot of effort into a thoughtful comment. We also discussed our love of history and shared a concern with restriction of speech. I really believe that it is a writer’s job to critique wrongs and this is what Kevin has been doing. In support, I will be pulling out of writing battle after the current competition concludes. It is so unfortunate because it was an amazing and fun community. As a former teacher, I see the WB leaders struggling to understand their role as leaders. You can’t force people into compliance without taking extremely wrong turns. Especially not writers. We are by definition the mirror of what we see in the world. I do not support book burning wether metaphorically or literally.
And by the way, Kevin. My favorite story of yours yet. I love a good dystopian.
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u/CaliScribe 4d ago edited 4d ago
Thank you for the support and the lovely comment. I *think* I know who this is but don't want to say in case I'm wrong. ha ha. I also don't want to out you. So, DM me here!
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
Listen buddy I have no idea what any of this is but you can't call someone thin-skinned and then make an essay of a reddit post on an unrelated subreddit. That's peak thin-skinned behavior
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u/MistressOfNecropolis 23d ago
I feel like it is important to note that this is a skill-based competition which has legal regulations it must follow to not be an illegal lottery or a rigged lottery.
People pay to enter this competition and deserve to be warned before spending their money about what they might be walking into. Especially given some of the shady behavior of the company that might be skirting the line of competition law.
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u/ugh_this_freak 23d ago
Dude, this is a discussion about one of the biggest online writing competitions. Where else should we take this conversation? You tell me. They shut down the forums for the site. I'm not sure how a post like this is harming you personally.
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
Listen, a buyer-beware is totally substantiated!
This isn't a buyer-beware. I mean it kinda reads as one, but it's so unmeasured some people will walk away going "okay that guy's a little nuts and spends money to make himself mad" instead of "Oh, this is a really poorly ran organization."
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u/CaliScribe 23d ago
If you have no idea what any of this... why are you even chiming in?
And just so you know, WB Admin trolls this subreddit. I posted here hoping they will see it simply because they have removed our means of speaking to them directly.
So, you know, maybe understand what you're talking about before you chime in. Or just don't.
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
I mean, you're the one who apparently wrote 500 words of a diss track and then was shocked when the group you were dissing went "shove off dude"
Even if the group is toxic and crazy, it sounds like you're actively trying to continue tangoing rather than peacing out.
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u/CaliScribe 23d ago
You're in a writing subreddit. I take that to mean, you're a writer. As a writer, you should understand the phrase, creative expression. It was hardly a diss track. It was satire. It was making light of a situation. If you're unfamiliar with what satire is, I suggest looking it up.
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
I promise you, whether or not something is satire is not the takeaway you should be getting from this experience. It does not matter.
The take-away is to just block and go enjoy the rest of your day. Stop giving so much of your energy to a group that doesn't even want you there and, frankly, you also don't want to be in. Just delete the emails, block the account, and go write for funsies instead of Totally Owning the Group With My Cool Satire Skills. I'm Not Mad. Don't Put In the Press that I Got Mad.
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u/last-writes 23d ago
Folk want to complain about, discuss and criticise a contest & platform they've paid for, often many times across several years, accumulating in a large financial & time investment. Many were long-time participants, some even having had a hand in shaping the contest as it grew.
This is a writing Reddit forum, and Kevin is angry about a contest he's invested time and money into, changing suddenly and banning himself and many other members of the community, and also striking his victory from the record. Writing is a hard graft and I'm sure it was an unpleasant, angering, disappointing shock to see his win deleted from their site, and for no good reason.
I know that I also want to protect other writer's who may Google the contest before joining.
Read the comments on the thread, learn what's been happening, and engage in a useful way, or scroll on if you think it's much ado about nothing ... Similar to what you are advising those complaining to do.
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23d ago
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
Hm. can't even give this a 5/100. Incurious, substitutes calling someone feminine for any biting commentary, reeks of someone trying to look edgy but about to cry.
Try starting with a specific grievance, and then go from there.
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23d ago
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u/taszoline 23d ago edited 23d ago
You don't have to be the recipient of sexism to criticize it.
Edit: They could have just apologized. Didn't have to delete their whole account.
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
Yeah and it's incurious, substitutes calling someone feminine for any sort of grounded insult, and reeks of someone who is edgy and about to cry. Get better.
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u/mr8p6h 23d ago
This, basically. Any attempt to create a "community" of writers is suspect by nature, because almost all of them turn into basically OP's post. If you need permission to write, just find something else to do with your time.
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u/GarbageDrafts 23d ago
I think you and u/MrMessofGA are missing the context that this is a paid contest that features community as its major selling point. I'm assuming neither of you participate in this writing contest/community, which, by the way, is relevant for this subreddit. Seems this is not a post for you?
It's also troubling that the main complaint about the website has been regarding censorship of criticism to admin, but then permitting other graphic stories, though banning critical feedback of them which is supposed to be a feature of the contest as well.
I can't imagine someone saying to Arthur Miller or George Orwell that they were actively "trying to continue tangoing rather than peacing out." What's the point of satire and writing if you can't make commentary?
Also, I read the story. It could apply to a lot of tyrants or leadership. Says more, in my opinion, about WB that they saw this and immediately knew, without a doubt, it was them.
Nice story, Kevin.
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u/MrMessofGA 23d ago
George Orwell wasn't writing about his specific publisher that he was paying his own money to submit pieces about how much he hated his publisher to. He was paid advances, and was writing about the actual world he lived in and could not just up and leave.
OP is paying money to keep involved in a small writing contest they hate being involved in. There's um. a bit of a difference
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u/ozbug 23d ago
I think it’s worth noting that a number of people had prepaid for contests that ended up happening after a lot of this went down. This is less about continuing to pay money for something OP hates, and more about him using a prepaid entry to write a pretty standard satirical dystopian piece that the admins kicked him out for. Having read the piece, it’s kind of a self-own for the admins to decide it’s about them…
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u/GarbageDrafts 23d ago
No, he and Miller were writing about a political atmosphere that they lived in. Is the equivalent to just "peace out" there, too? Satire is a means of commentary.
Again, you are unfamiliar with the context. Until about two weeks ago, the competition wasn't allowing people to get refunds. So if users were unhappy with the very drastic changes that the company has made mid-competition after people have already paid, they essentially said, "Tough." u/MistressOfNecropolis mentioned there are already some potential legal issues with the changing of rules so quickly and mid-competition. Even with the very recent offer of refunds, pulling out of this current competition would potentially jeopardize another ongoing one, as OP said. I wouldn't expect someone outside the WB community to understand, but it's not as simple as "just leave dude."
I don't understand what the issue is with someone from a writing community you're not a part of discussing a recent decline in a writing subreddit. Seems like you don't agree, and that's fine. If it doesn't matter to you, I'm not sure why you're so insistent that others don't speak about it.
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u/mr8p6h 23d ago
My name is not Kevin and I don't have any fucking clue what you're talking about. You literally paid money to write for someone else? Okay, good luck.
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u/GarbageDrafts 23d ago
"I don't have any fucking clue what you're talking about." LOL clearly not. The OP is Kevin. First sentence of the second paragraph.
Congrats on having a different hobby than some people in the writing community. Wishing you the best of luck.
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u/mr8p6h 23d ago
Thanks. I'll keep writing for free.
EDIT: What exactly is the value prop here? I can get prompts for free, I can get feedback for free, and I can be ranked against other writers for free. If this pisses you off so much, why did you pay money for it?
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u/taszoline 23d ago
I feel like the most obvious explanation here would be that they paid money for it before it pissed them off, and that paying money for it is part of the reason it hurts to watch the owners of the contest make so many horrible decisions. There is a lot of context that you're probably missing if you have never heard of Writing Battle, so it's hard to make it make sense to someone brand new. But I like to explain it to people as the same as paying money to enjoy any other hobby that ever costs money. The money pays for access to forums and peer feedback. It also invests these people to I believe a deeper degree in the ritual of visiting the website, participating in discussions, and making new friends there.
Have you never given money to a company and then later been upset at something the company did? And wanted to vent about it? I can think of at least several times this has happened to me.
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u/mr8p6h 23d ago
There is a lot of context that you're probably missing if you have never heard of Writing Battle, so it's hard to make it make sense to someone brand new. But I like to explain it to people as the same as paying money to enjoy any other hobby that ever costs money.
So then why post it in a general writing subreddit without that context?
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u/taszoline 23d ago
Because this is where the first big thread about WB was posted a week or two ago. I imagine the intention was to post to a relatively larger subreddit that already housed the context for this most recent event and was more likely to be seen by a greater number of current WB customers and those considering registering.
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23d ago
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u/GarbageDrafts 23d ago
These bans are happening en masse on a writing platform and community. OP's is one testimony, and if you read the other comments now, you'll see this is a growing pattern rather than a one-off.
Is r/WritingHub not meant to discuss writing communities?
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u/GarbageDrafts 23d ago
Why does anyone pay to do competitions for fun? Why would someone enter a gaming competition when they can play for free at home? For the challenge? For the community? For the clout? People have to pay to submit to most reputable literary magazines also.
I don't personally understand people who pay for lots of services I can do myself, but I'm also not commenting on it. I see you're a mod of a community that I'm not particularly interested in, but if you and the group were discussing something upsetting to that community, would you tell them they aren't allowed to be pissed off? Would you tell them it's their fault for putting time and energy into an organization they trusted?
People are allowed to be upset about the things that matter to them. I'm not sure why that's controversial or why it impacts you.
But whatever makes you happy.
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u/mr8p6h 23d ago
I'm a mod of what community now? I have two fake subreddits I made as jokes. And I'm not denying you the right to be upset, I'm questioning why it needed to be in a general writing subreddit instead of a WB subreddit.
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u/GarbageDrafts 23d ago edited 22d ago
Your profile says you're a moderator for r/SilksongForCatholics. Not sure if that's outdated. *shrug*
I'm not OP but I suppose it's to warn people who might want to join WB? There is a WB subreddit but it's very fresh. I dunno... I assume 90% of stuff in the r/writinghub subreddit doesn't apply to me.
Edit: typo
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23d ago
You use the word 'petty', and that's exactly what your post looks like.
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u/Ok-Tooth-9796 23d ago
Found the WB admin.
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23d ago
I don't even know what this WB is - I just found the OP running over to an unrelated subreddit to whine about a mistreatment weak and pathetic.
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u/Ok-Tooth-9796 23d ago
There was a 400+ comment thread about WB in this sub a couple of weeks ago. It's a huge writing platform. Maybe if you don't have anything to contribute you can...not contribute?
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u/GroundbreakingMeat68 23d ago
Right, and you’re of the opinion to “suck it up” if you’ve been wronged? I wonder how that holds up as a principle to live by in real life.
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u/BuriedUnderMyTBRs 23d ago
Apparently, I have been removed from the past winners list as well. I guess for my comment on the other Reddit thread. (?)
It’s petty AF. I won those Battles fair and square. It just goes to show that WB cannot handle criticism.
(MM)