A Letter from Arilin
All right. The switch to PyBloxsom was a lousy idea. It didn’t bring anything new to the site other than an uglier look and maintenance headaches. I’ve thrown that out and gone to good ol’ static HTML now, doing a little formatting cleanup in the process. And even better, I dare say, I’ve finally added the essay on roleplaying I’d mentioned a few months back and added illustrations from Megamorphics to a couple stories that had been lacking them, so there’s finally new content here!
But no new stories.
I’ve danced around this before, but let me lay the cards on the table. I haven’t written macrophile stuff in a few years. This isn’t some kind of moral choice—there’s no newfound belief that it’s the Most Horrible Stuff Ever—but as much as I’m a macrophile, I consider myself a writer first. The kinds of stories I’ve been wanting to tell, while still mostly “furry,” are by and large not stories with giants.
Earlier this year (2008) I kicked around the idea for YAMCS (Yet Another Macrophile Community Site) here, as a way to keep the site fresh. I’ve backburned that thought, too; bluntly, the only justification I have for YAMCS is that I’d like to see one run the way I’d run one. I still would, but I don’t have the time to invest in that right now.
So where does that leave things? I’m leaving all the content up (and restoring a story I accidentally zapped). With the abandonment of weblog software comes the end of the comment system, but if you’d like to get in touch with me, there’s now a contact form (linked at the top and bottom of every page). Please feel free to write, even just to chat; I’m not a great correspondent but I’ll get back to you when I can. Please don’t use my macrophile.com email address, which has sadly become too much of a spam attractor for me to use it. I’ve also dropped the tags/categories; instead I’ve just described work as explicit if it is, and marked stories I think of as my best stuff with a star (★). (I should note I like all the stories; stuff I really don’t think is up to par doesn’t stick around.) If you think I should bring back tagging, let me know and I’ll look into it. I’ll also look into a search bar, but since the site’s not database-driven anymore, such things get a little harder.
Will I ever write anything new? Yes, I think so. The web site update comes with the long-promised essay on roleplaying, and I have another one in mind on morality in macrophile fiction (as distinct from the morality of macrophile fiction), and I have both unfinished stories and ideas for new ones. Any new content will be announced toward the top of the page if it happens, and I’ll also try to announce anything really meaningful on message boards. (Also, as of October 1st, I have an RSS feed again. Well, an Atom feed, if you care about the distinction.)
Thank you all for reading over the years, and again, if you do want to keep in touch, just use the contact form.
— Arilin
October 2008