Dear Silly Bob,

Every writer comes across this dilemma at some point in their life. The question is less the story you've gotten yourself into, so much as the comic itself. If it seems unlikely you'll ever be interested in the characters again, then it is probably time to move on. If, however, it's simply the current story line that's messing you up, you can easily change it.

Radical changes in plot are fairly common in web comics. Sluggy Freelance, for instance, has made absurd, almost non-sequitur plot changes the norm, and it works. This isn't to suggest you should do the same, but rather, that a far-out change of course isn't necessarily going to screw up your story, or your readership, but could improve it instead.

This isn't really an answer to your question, but suggestions for you to consider. Ultimately, it's up to you as the author, not anyone else, (especially including die-hard fans), to determine what you know you're capable of, and what you want to do next.

Remember this, however: If you're bored with the story, odds are your readers will be as well.

~ CT

Dear Ness,

It's probably a combination of factors, poor education certainly being the primary. It's no surprise that the American Education system is pretty miserable, and we have a huge number of stupid teachers. Unless you're extremely devoted and somewhat masochistic, you aren't going to spend all of that money for all of those years of college to be given a crappy paycheck and even crappier kids to deal with. Soccer moms are scary, and they usually double as PTA moms.

The problem isn't so much that they failed English, but rather, the opposite. If the teacher doesn't know what proper English is, how are they going to teach others? The tragedy is that many of these kids are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to college and future employment. Without question, a person can get by without the basics, but if you don't know how to write, there's usually a limit to how far you can go.

The other factor is laziness. People just don't care. Most of us who make an effort to write legibly so that we can communicate with others are well aware that demanding something from other people while typing like a four year old who's strung out and jonesin' for a sugar fix probably won't get you what you want.

The third factor is youth, or the perception of youth. Not ALL young people type badly; I've been pleased to see that the majority of SmackJeeves forum members type quite well and are within the 12-15 age bracket. That said, while age doesn't necessarily bring intelligence or wit, it does bring experience. The aforementioned half-wit demanding help while typing like a four year old will quickly learn that this method will garner neither respect nor assistance. In fact, if similar efforts continue to be made, the user will probably find themselves banned from the site.

Which brings us to the perception of youth: Older users attempting to "fit in" and appear youthful online by typing like an idiot. I doubt this is true on SmackJeeves, but in other corners of the internet it isn't uncommon to find a 50 year old masquerading as someone much younger, and typing badly to achieve that end.

~CT