I enjoy Tank Endings. But I will qualify that and say that the Tank Endings I really like are those which are so outrageous that they're hilarious. I
don't like those which are normal story parts up until a final para or two which contains death and destruction. There was a TE posted last year which was a normal story part right up until the last two lines. There was nothing humorous in it, and the author refused to admit for a couple of days that it was a TE. I can see how that will have put some people off the idea.
But that's not a true TE anyway. A true TE should be getting obvious from early on in the section, and very obvious from at least halfway. In my TE to Faux Pas, for example, about a third of the way through Clark's hand floated away into space; that clued in a lot of people. In Pam's Heartbreak Hotel, a TE to All Shook Up, the outrageousness was also very obvious from early on, and it was also hilarious. As was Mere's TE to All Stirred Up.
So it's not just death and destruction on a wide scale which makes a TE; it's humour and outrageousness.
Now, I know this doesn't address the 'hate TEs in all forms' group. And I understand that, and I can also sympathise with their feelings, even if I regret the hostility which seems to have crept into some of these discussions. I hope a compromise can be found, for the sake of people who enjoy a good TE and feel that the surprise is ruined if it's labelled, as well as for the sake of those who hate them and really loathe being taken unawares. I'd like to be able to satisfy everyone, if at all possible, and I think that Pam's suggestion does represent a way ahead.
Phil, yes, it's certainly possible to 'stick' the thread to the top of the folder. However, one thing I've noticed with the threads we currently have highlighted is that they don't show from the front of the boards; what shows there as the latest post is the thread just below the highlighted one. Now, if there's a new post in the TE warning thread,
that will of course make the TE thread show up on the front of the boards; but that won't last beyond someone else posting in another thread in FF-related.
A thought: I know it makes the front of the boards bigger still, but maybe a new folder, purely for TE warning threads? That would mean that anyone who doesn't want to be warned would never risk being spoiled by accident, because they'd never need to go into that folder. As for new posts, all new posts will show up on the front of the boards; and if the mod who posts the warning uses the 'alert' triangle or something like it, that will also draw readers' attention to the new post.
Any good?
Wendy
