AbbyGasm

[Priz]

To me, that makes more sense, though we could all have a common "date for something big to happen" or something similar in all our letters.

[Golden Applesauce]

My understanding was that everyone involved would write their own letter to each targeted columnist, over the relatively short time period, like a week or two.  I can see the benefits of a little bleeding either before or after the buzz week...  I don't know, never planned any of these media blitzes before.

[Verbal Mike]

Remember most people are simply too lazy to write their own letter. You can't count on it. We need to produce several sample letters for people to use, if we want each column to receive more than one letter.
But here's an idea: what if we decide on a date for our Devival, put up a website about it, link to it from anywhere we can to make it look authentic (and to get it a good rating on google), then have a slow trickle of letters alarmed about friends and loved ones planning to go to this terrible debauch. If we time things right, we can create enough alarm *before* D-Day that this actually hits the media.
(I can help in writing letters and site content, but I won't be able to mail anything myself, I live in Europe.)

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I can churn out a few sample letters.

[Cramulus]

excellent!

Let me remind people what the Best Case Scenario is...


1. As many participants as possible write ONE letter to each advice columnist they can find. (NOT multiple letters to the same person! That is counterproductive!)

2. In a short amount of time, dozens of advice columns print letters either (a) telling parents to reign their kids in and keep them away from Discordia (b) telling parents what Discordia really is and advising they loosen up a little (c) telling parents what Discordia really is and advising them to KEEP THEIR KIDS AWAY FROM IT

3. Somebody in The Press realizes that all sorts of advice columns are being writing about Discordia and does an article on it.





Nigel, some sample letters would be wonderful.


Does anybody need a wiki account to paste this stuff onto it?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Cool... someone please feel free to use the one I wrote earlier, I'll write a new one for myself.

Dear advice columnist,

I am a 33 year old gay man in a relationship with a younger man... he's 24. We've been seeing each other for about eight months, and one of the things I've always liked about him is that he's very spontaneous and kind of "out there" in terms of his sense of humor and philosophy; he's really delightful to be around and is always coming up with the most fascinating things to talk about - life with him is never boring! However, in the last couple of weeks he's started talking about a religion called "Discordia", and is making plans to attend some kind of festival or gathering that is put on by the Discordia organization. At first it sounded a little bit like Burning Man or a Rainbow gathering, both of which I'm familiar with, but the more he talks about it the stranger and creepier it's starting to sound, and I'm wondering now if he's gotten himself involved with something darker than it originally seemed to be. I'm not sheltered per se, but I am a moderate Christian and I haven't had a lot of exposure to the occult... but that's what this is reminding me of. I haven't been able to find out anything about this Discordia organization at the library, and I'm wondering if you can tell me what this is, whether I should be concerned for my boyfriend, and if it's something I should confront him about, or if it's harmless and I can chalk it up to another of his normal hi-jinks.

[Cramulus]

that's excellent

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Dear advice columnist,

I am the stepmother and mother to two girls, aged 17 and 12 respectively. I married my husband when my stepdaughter was only 3, and we have always been very close; I think of her as my own child, and she and my birth-daughter are inseparable despite the age difference. We have raised our girls to be independent, strong children who can think for themselves and who have a strong foundation in family. We aren't churchgoers, but we have raised our girls to be both moral and ethical, and warned them about the dangers of getting involved with kids who are "rebelling" against something. Our philosophy has always been that if we provide them with trust, guidance, and our open minds, they will have no reason to rebel, and so far it seems to have worked wonderfully; they come to us when they have questions or issues, instead of going to other kids for answers.

Last year, high-speed internet finally became available in our somewhat rural area, so we bought a new computer for Christmas and had the internet installed at our home. It's been wonderful for researching homework and for allowing the girls to keep up with their friends who live too far away for them to visit regularly, and they seem to enjoy it tremendously. My concern is that they have, perhaps against my better judgement, set up accounts on Myspace, and through their friends there, have found a group called "The Dynamic Legion of Discord" on Myspace. Normally I really trust my girls' judgement on clubs and groups they want to participate in, but in this case I really don't know what to think. Everything I've found on the World Wide Web has been, honestly, indecipherable nonsense, and when I ask the girls about it they laugh and tell me it's a joke. They're talking to me and their father less lately, and spend an awful lot of time holed up in their room laughing... and when I ask them to explain the joke, nothing they say makes any sense.

Even this wouldn't concern me so much, but my stepdaughter has asked permission to travel to some group meeting, and when I told her that I couldn't allow her to go unchaperoned, she said "Well I'll be 18 by then, and if you won't help me I'll do it on my own". I'm scared... I don't know these people, I don't understand what they're about, and now I feel like I'm losing my daughter to them. My younger girl is now mad at me and her father, and they're spending more and more time talking about things that just don't seem to make sense. If there is anything you can tell me that will help me understand what my girls are dealing with, I would be very grateful!

-A Concerned Mom

[Cramulus]

you've really got that "speaking as a mother" voice down pat

[Verbal Mike]

Awesome. Enviable writing there, Nigel.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

you've really got that "speaking as a mother" voice down pat

It's my specialty.

[Priz]

I like them both, but I don't think I've ever seen a letter printed in a "Dear Abby" that was overtly pro-gay or from a gay person. Not saying it hasn't happened, but I've never seen one.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

They're not all being sent to "Dear Abby".

[Priz]

I meant advice columns in general, but as I said, just cause I haven't seen it doesn't mean it hasn't ever happened.

Either way, I didn't mean to sound critical or anything, they are both excellently written.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Well, there is, you know, "Savage Love".