Dear All,

It is with a great and heavy heart that I find myself writing this letter. I have been a member of this community since before the move from Vicinities, and I have both learned a lot and shared what I knew with the other writers around me. I have tried to be a good moderator, and I have grown to care about the people here and their successes and failures. I have found new friends and read more wonderful fiction than anywhere else on the web. I have published articles in Vision. I have participated in Dares, Word Wars, Classes, and Contests. I found a sense of community here that I have not found anywhere else. On any given evening, there were other writers to chat with, to sympathize with, to complain to. I found approachable professional authors who answered my questions without making me feel uneducated, who took the time to be with beginning writers, and who supported the community and everyone in it.

I count quite a few people here--both those still here and those who have dropped out of the community, for whatever reason--as close and personal friends.

And yet, the climate here seems to have changed, and I find myself not visiting as much as I used to. I went on hiatus as a moderator for personal reasons, but I have kept an eye on the community since then, struggling to make a decision I truly did not want to have to make.

This week, reading what I've read in the weblogs, I decided that I couldn't stand silent while a friend of mine was defamed and personally attacked for something she says she did not do. There are battles you have to choose to fight, and I'm afraid this is one of them for me. I cannot stand and agree with what was said; nor can I, evidently, say anything against it without having my comments deleted. Thus censored, I find I have only one outlet for my protest.

Therefore, I can no longer ally myself with Hollylisle.com as a moderator, or even as a member of this community. I cannot abide censorship and hate, and being a moderator in an environment like that would, honestly, be akin to the Germans living in Nazi Germany who claim they did not notice the Holocaust happening around them. I could close my eyes to the moratorium about war debates, since I wasn't really interested in them myself, but I cannot in good conscience close my eyes to this.

I'm very sorry, but I feel I will be the worst sort of hypocrite if I do not stand up and make my disagreement known. Anyone who does not know what I'm talking about, feel free to email me: jenstclair@sff.net and I will explain.

Thanks for the memories, everyone. I trust you will stay well, and I hope you will continue to reach your writing goals.

See you on the bookshelves,

Jen

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