Ask Me Things!

[Dissension]

This is probably a mistake I'll come to regret, but here we go!

Tonight is my sixth Housepets! forumversary. I'm a board administrator, editor, and customer service representative for RickGriffin Studios. Some say I'm a terrible person, a despotic dictator run roughshod over a captive community; others consider that I'm just not very nice. Here's an opportunity to get to know the answers to questions that've been burning in the back of your collective brain and it's in a venue at which I'm obligated to refrain from shouting at you.

Ask away, away-askers!

Note: Due to biological sleep imperatives, replies may be delayed for several hours. I am not ignoring you, cute-faces!

I'm also not hitting on you, particularly if you are a minor, in a romantic relationship, of an incompatible orientation, or any combination of those factors.

This thread will be closed at Midnight CST.

[aBritishfox]

Here's the main question of the main topic that is the main man that is Dissension!

Why are you a squirrel?

[ArcWolf]

What makes you think you 're so special to warrant a question?


On an unrelated note:

What's your favorite genre of music to dance to when no one's looking?

[Dissension]

After starting off as a cat and, subsequently, a coyote, I wasn't sure if I was accurately represented or happy with depicting myself that way. I'd been talking with some guy about it and mentioned I'd always liked squirrels. He said they weren't too terribly common and that I should be one, if I wanted.

What makes you think you 're so special to warrant a question?

I'm a massive egotist, just ask anyone.

What's your favorite genre of music to dance to when no one's looking?

I'm not much of one for dancin'. I've been known to do a hillbilly jig without music, though.

[Bucky-Roo]

Ooo questions. Let's see...
What is your favorite Housepets strip(s)?

[deepskycyan]

Right. I'm abusing this opportunity. Hope ya don't mind me asking about mod stuff

1. Care to walk me through your relationship with Rick from when you first got to know him, to when you were appointed moderator, to this present point in time?

2. How do you feel about your modding duties? I understand that you have been busy lately and do not have much time to spend on the forums. Do you feel that modding is a big responsibility? Are you proud to be entitled with this responsibility?

3. How have members of this forum treated you as a mod? Any specifically good/bad cases? Are you satisfied with the way we as members treat one another on the forums?

4. What is your go-to breakfast?


I apologise if these questions come off as intrusive, and understand that you may not wish to answer all of them. I won't hold that against you. Promise. No promise :3
Thanks for your time! Oh, and happy forum anniversary!

[Saturn381]

How did you react when you found out you became an admin?

[Amazee Dayzee]

What was your first day of school like when you were in Kindergarten?

[Cesco]

You're not ignoring... I sent you a PM more than 1 year ago with a website related question, as far as I remember, when your signature said to send you a PM for questions... No reply got. Nevermind, then I found by myself here in the forum info about what I was wondering.
Keep up your supporting work! Perfect choice to be a squirrel.

Ooo questions. Let's see...
What is your favorite Housepets strip(s)?

I relaunch with: what's your favorite Housepets! character(s)?

[rollingWolf]

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

[Dissension]

Ooo questions. Let's see...
What is your favorite Housepets strip(s)?

I relish a lot of strips! Whoops was the big reveal of Pete as more than a dream creature. I didn't care a lot for dream Pete and Rick told me I'd appreciate this version more. He wasn't wrong.

I basically really love any strips in which Pete is involved, partcularly when he's being cute. Pete also once stole my signature phrase ("Totally gross, dude."), which put me over the moon.

Right. I'm abusing this opportunity. Hope ya don't mind me asking about mod stuff :)

1. Care to walk me through your relationship with Rick from when you first got to know him, to when you were appointed moderator, to this present point in time?

A long time ago, I sent Rick a PM on an art Web site that said, basically, "We're going to be friends." Then I talked to him a lot. I spent a lot of time on the forums and was originally gonna become a moderator with Dylan and Ebly, but I got upset over a perceived slight. Eventually, I pestered people enough that there was no choice but to put me on staff. I originally was moderator for Not the Comic and Forum Games. I was kind of overzealous and more than a bit of a jerk, which alienated some users. I approached things rather more black-and-white and from an enforcement, rather than customer service, perspective. Rick and I actually became friends, despite my many flaws. I became a global moderator a few years ago (It was an election, so I guess I didn't make myself seem like an evil tyrant to everyone. I was gonna meet Rick at Midwest Fur Fest 2011, but wasn't able to get off work for that or Rocket City Fur Meet 2012. I got a super-awesome con badge for free, though, and I look forward to using it someday. = P

I also have a perhaps-obvious crush on Rick and that puts an interesting spin on things. When I became an administrator, I was using a "Diss & Rick" signature image celebrating our friendship. Some users read quite a lot into this, ranging from "Diss is dating Rick and got promoted for that" to "Diss is taking over the comic and is gonna ruin everything." That signature image went away pretty quickly and I'm still not in control of the comic.

2. How do you feel about your modding duties? I understand that you have been busy lately and do not have much time to spend on the forums. Do you feel that modding is a big responsibility? Are you proud to be entitled with this responsibility?

I kinda touch on this in my previous answer, but it's something I take seriously. I don't get to participate as much as I used to, but with the team we've got in place, I don't feel there's a lack of moderation. I've also grown to approach things less harshly (no all-bold, crimson text or anything like that) and less rigidly. I like to think I've matured and most of y'all are satisfied with me, but Rick still gets complaints that I'm openly antagonistic and driving members away, so I dunno. I've considered quitting a lot over the years, if that's what it took to make people happy with the boards.

3. How have members of this forum treated you as a mod? Any specifically good/bad cases? Are you satisfied with the way we as members treat one another on the forums?

It's been kind of a mixed bag. Most of the feedback Rick and Kari get is that I'm horrible and should never have been promoted, or so it sometimes seems. I used to think my job here was to take the users and forge them into people who follow the letter and spirit of every rule or guideline, no matter how trivial, and that's obviously gotten me a lot of resentment. These days, I mostly don't care about trivial issues, so long as you're treating each other well.

I don't get a lot of complaints about y'all mistreating one another. I feel like there's some nitpicking that goes on unnecessarily sometimes, but I don't think there are people going around with malicious intent.

4. What is your go-to breakfast?

I live in bizarro-world and don't have a set sleep schedule, so I eat a lot of unconventional breakfasts. When I'm actually waking up in the first 12 hours of a day, I like biscuits with various sweet or savory toppings.

How did you react when you found out you became an admin?

I was pretty stoked! I'd floated the possibility with Rick once or twice as a way to help take some mundane, non-creative things off his plate. I didn't really expect it, so that conversation was pretty exciting.

What was your first day of school like when you were in Kindergarten?

Please understand that was decades ago, so my memory may not be the best. I was excited, though! I'd wanted to go to school for a long time. Mom took off work to drive me that day. (There was a daycare a block down the road and they would subsequently pick me up for and take me home from school.) Naps were cool and I liked having my own cubby hole and most of the people were kind of self-absorbed jerks.

You're not ignoring... I sent you a PM more than 1 year ago with a website related question, as far as I remember, when your signature said to send you a PM for questions... No reply got. :P Nevermind, then I found by myself here in the forum info about what I was wondering. ;)
Keep up your supporting work! :D Perfect choice to be a squirrel. :)

Ooo questions. Let's see...
What is your favorite Housepets strip(s)?

I relaunch with: what's your favorite Housepets! character(s)?

I'm sorry! About a year ago, I'd suffered a career setback and was experiencing a lot of worrying physical symptoms which turned out to be from panic disorder. I subsequently experienced a total career failure and walled myself off from the world temporarily. There are a lot of messages from back then that never got replies.

Regarding favorite characters, I really love Pete, Joey, Fox, Max, Mr. London, Poncho, Sgt. Ralph, and Joey's Creepy Friends, who seems to have been renamed Dallas (a decision I strongly disagree with).

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

What prevents woodchucks from chucking wood?

[Douglas Collier]

What is the story behind your current avatar? Do you have any plans on using your 'sona in the future? (Devil Skirrl?) And finally, do you have the authorization and power to make changes to the forum site itself?
(I.e. changes to the forum banner ^^; )

[Dissension]

Team Fortress 2 is my favorite video game and I typically play the Soldier class.

My fursona is a squirreltsune! Blame Rick. Devil Skirrl is kind of an inside joke between myself, Rick, Sleet, and the user formerly known as Hausphox.

I do have the ability to edit the forums through the administration control panel, but I don't have access to the server, so I can only use images that have already been uploaded there for things like the forum banner or emoticons.

[Dissension]

Shh, shh, no more questions, now, only tears.

[ Thread Closed ]