Rinion's Poetry

I thought I'd posted a poetry topic some time ago, but either it has been lost to the archives or my memory is leaving me far sooner than I would like. Anyway, you'll find that my poetry is generally more concerned with meaning and rhyme scheme than with trying to inspire some emotion in the reader.

So, I'll start off with a simple poem that has no real purpose other than to see how far I could push a metaphor.

Smashed Across the Carpet
The delicate white islands
With docks of broken stone
Amongst a sea of burgundy,
Where myrtle boats are thrown

About in boiling waters,
With blackened mooring line;
The weary swish of sandy fish
With scales and whiskers fine.

A coast of fraying beaches
Surmounted by the tide,
Whose billows spread a murky red
Across the shore divide.

We have another teapot;
There’s no need for a row.
But I regret, in retrospect,
We’re out of biscuits now.

---

And here's my attempt at a limerick.

Arthur’s Court
There was a king from Camelot
Whose silver he kept in a pot.
But the silver was lead,
And the rich king, with dread,
Discovered that rich he was not.

There was a maid from Avalon
Who would a white petticoat don.
She wore it every day
‘Til the fair maid, they say,
Was wooed by a short-sighted swan.

There was a sage from Carmarthen
Who decided to marry a hen.
But the hen would but cluck
So the sage pushed his luck
And left his fowl wife for a wren.

There was a knight from Tintagel
Who saw a man fall down a well.
He laughed from the edge-rock,
‘Til the rude knight, in shock,
Did slip and fall in with a yell.

There was a scribe from Corbenic’s
Who wrote down some five limericks.
The rhymes were dearly bought,
And the old scribe, in thought,
Decided to stop before six.

---

Lastly, a sonnet.

Each to Be Filled
A page is blank until a word is writ,
A well is dry until a pail is poured,
A lamp is dark until a light is lit,
A field is bare until a brook is bored,
A forge is cold until a flame is fed,
A church is still until a hymn is hummed,
A book is closed until a rune is read;
A tune is mute until a string is strummed.

A body without love is like these things,
But do not think that gifts will gain it still:
Love can’t be earned through rank or rite or rings;
It must be given freely to fulfil.

They say to gather rosebuds while you may;
But find a rose for someone else, I say.

General Information and Help

This is a revival of garfield's old "General info/help" thread, which was in turn a revival of an even older thread.

In this thread, people can ask questions about topics that they need help with for their writing, and people who know something about those topics answer them. For example, if you have a story that involves a journey made on horseback but you don't know how far a horse carrying a person can travel in a day, ask in this thread and someone who knows about horse-riding will answer you.

You might be thinking that I wouldn't have revived this thread if I didn't have something to gain from it, and you're right. I would like to know if a person can whistle or play a flute, trumpet or similar instrument if their lips are numb (in this case, from cold).

Artemis Fowl

I know many of you are fans of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, which is currently on its sixth book (or eighth if you count the companion books). The books centre around an Irish boy named Artemis Fowl and his interactions with fairies, who live underground and are more technologically advanced than humans.

I first read Artemis Fowl six years ago, after The Eternity Code was published, and was enthralled by the unconventional characters and witty dialogue.

Report Spambots Here

As many of you are aware, there has been a spate of spambots recently. If you find a spambot, instead of posting an entire thread about it, please just make a post about it in this thread. Bear in mind that this thread is ONLY for reporting spambots; posts along the lines of "hey I also got that one" will not be tolerated.

IF FAQ

The old FAQ thread had become too big, and people were starting to ask some really trivial questions. So instead of posting questions in this new topic, rather make your own topic about it. But first look around the forum to see if someone's already posted a topic about it.

What do the titles like "Standard Issue Farmboy" mean? What are those little squares under the title? The titles are in reference to the size of your post count - that is, the number of posts you've made in the forums. As your post count increases, your title (or "rank") will change.

Those little squares under your rank are called pips, and change when your rank changes. Usually, the amount of pips you have increases with the number of posts you have made, but some ranks are exceptions.

How come my post count sometime stays the same, even when I'm posting?
You probably posted in Forum Games. Posts made in Forum Games do not make your post count increase. This is because the kind of posts made in those forums is not considered to be constructive enough to increase your post count.

How can I change my display name?
You can't. That is why, when registering your account on the forums, you should choose a name that you like, and that's easy for other members to type out. Also, if you register an account and later decide that you don't like your display name, you may not register another account to have a different one.

What is a moderator/administrator?
A member who has been given certain abilities, like being able to close or pin topics, warn or suspend members (administrators can also ban members). Moderators and administrators are collectively referred to as the forum staff. Administrators are top-level staff members who are in charge of running the forum, its software, and the back-end in general, as well as participating in the forums discussions and managing the moderators. The moderators, in turn, have responsibilities largely related to policing the forums and helping members. There are two types of moderators: global moderators, who moderate all of the forums, and section moderators, such as Arts mods and RPG mods, who moderate sections of the forums.

How do I become a moderator/administrator?
Usually, this will happen one of two ways: 1) you will be asked to become a moderator or administrator by the forum staff, and if you accept you will receive the abilities mentioned above; or 2) the staff will post a topic in the Announcements forum asking any members who want to to send in resumes on why they would make a good moderator or administrator. The staff will the choose the members who sent in the best resumes to become moderators or administrators. Note, though, that it would be extremely rare for an administrator to be chosen from the member pool. Generally any new members of the administration team will be chosen from the global moderating staff. Please do not ask to be made a moderator.

What are the IF Awards?
A ceremony that takes place once a year, when members can nominate and vote for other members to receive awards like "Most Entertaining Member" or "Most Annoying Member". The winners of these awards will be announced later, and usually receive a signature that says which award or awards they have won.

What is the IF Ball?
A special forum set up during the IF Awards with topics like "Dance Floor" and "Chocolate Fountain". Members go on "dates" with each other and chat with each other while they wait for the winners of the IF Awards to be announced.

Why do the staff have Pokemon avatars?
It was the head administrator's idea, along with another member, to give members avatars of Pokemon that were similar to their personalities. A few months later, the idea was revived when the staff who didn't already have Pokemon avatars got them as well.