I start off by saying that in my checkered history within the SMC, there have been webpages that I have seen go down, and I have cheered as I watched them go. There are sites out there that I would cheer if they crashed and burned.

This editorial is not about one of those pages. Quite the opposite. In a recent letter to The Small Lady, I did the normal crying "Don't goooo!" kinda thing, and while it might seem cute and perhaps frivolous, even to me, upon further inspection, I realize that I meant ever single "o" of it.

Now, you are possibly saying to yourself, "Wait, it's a website for god's sakes," and that is true. I have never met The Small Lady personally. However, I have had several dealings with her within my work as a WPR member with The Three Cats. She has never said or done anything in those dealings that was anything but classy and considerate. I have never had a reason to speak to or of her in any way other than in terms of admiration and respect. She has earned EVERY ounce of it, and more.

To show you how much my relationship with The Small Lady has affected me, let me relate to you a recent story.

An anti-WPR site has surfaced within the community. I investigated the site, and after a brief inquiry as to what the other WPPs thought about it, I investigated further and found the members' comments. A couple comments intrigued me, so I asked them to expand upon them. The response I got was disturbing.

The reply stated that the Three Cats had stolen some code snippets and a Mindit code from The Small Lady.

When I read this, I was mad. For the first time ever, I was mad about something that had happened on the Internet. I was not mad at the person who replied to my question. I was certainly not mad at The Small Lady. I was mad at the people who were members of The Three Cats when this ocurred. (These people left the Three Cats late in 1999.) How DARE they do this, and how DARE they do it to THIS person. I immediately took steps to remedy the problem, and I sent a note to The Small Lady apologizing for what had happened. The following is her response, and it shows the qualities that have made her such a great person to deal with.

They say that the hardest phrase to say in any language is, "I'm sorry." And I respect that you have said that. Thank you.

To be honest, I had forgotten about it over the last year...and in all honesty, I must apologize to you as well. I should have come and said something directly to all of you, instead of indirect references on my site about it. But those were the young, green days when I was still learning to handle things...not an excuse, I know. But I'm a stubborn proud spore at times...in hindsight, I could have and should have handled the matter more professionally and I did not, and I am sorry for that.

Anyway, the past is the past--we all make mistakes and we do our best to learn and grow from then. I'm too old to dwell on the past and prefer to spend my time looking forward...such as to your site and your new staff. I saw the new look to the site and I think it's great! I'm also happy that you have gotten more staff and are reviewing again. I wish you the best of luck and if there is anything you need, please feel free to contact me.

Take care!

- Spore

See? She could have been mad. I expected a bit of anger from her. It would have been justified. But it was not there.

Instead, she thanks me for my apology, offers one of her own, then compliments me on the new site design. (Most of the thanks rightfully belongs to Diana.)

A person like The Small Lady does not come along everyday, and her departure is a sad event for the Sailor Moon online community.

Just as she thanked her fans and fellow WPRs, I thank her for her service to the community, both as a fan of hers, and as a fellow WPR. Just as she wished me luck in my plans for the Three Cats (we intend to conquer the world), I wish her luck in any future she wishes to pursue.

She will be missed.

Artemis

(comments welcome - please email me at lunahq7@yahoo.com and I will post your comments here as well.)