4:33PM EST   Nov 2nd, 2009 — by Sonny Guzman

Thanks for 'Count Hippocrula'! I've added a couple snippets to it, and it's been alot of fun. I like the challenge of it being 50 words per snippet. Take Care.

4:22PM EST   Sep 3rd, 2009 — by Owen can see you

Heyt what is a doctrye

7:03PM EST   Jun 12th, 2009 — by Christina J.

I love your idea with the Count Hippocrula. XD

10:43AM EST   Dec 29th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

Ah Simon, you always have such very good ideas. We have something similar on the drafting table, but as you must have seen our progress on feature-updating has been slow and problematic of late. I do hope that we can implement some of them during the slower winter months. I also think I need to add a space to this site (almost a forum) where in we can trap these monkey-generated ideas. They are bits of gold and I fear them falling between the cracks. In the meantime I try to copy them and paste them into a simple excel sheet I have that tracks all requests/brainstorms/bugs/current-projects. WE STILL have yet to fix the display for the seed percentage which much be very irksome to more prolific monkeys such as yourself. My apologies for this Simon!!!

10:14AM EST   Nov 19th, 2008 — by Harrison Bradlow

Hi Simon. I don't know for certain if we've communicated or not yet, but I do not believe we have. So, hello! Very good point you made in your comment on Icee's post. By any chance, have you read any Rand or Dawkins?

7:50PM EST   Nov 8th, 2008 — by ICEE PI

Hey Simon, yes, please. It would be appreciated, thanks. ~waves~

10:54AM EST   Nov 7th, 2008 — by ICEE PI

I was like all 'ooh, that's a great idea, make my hundreth bud a sonnet'. Problem is I, like, started at 3am, went to about 8am (yes, I'm afraid my 'poet' brain is a bit retarded), and what I came up with, to put it bluntly, is a pile of sh**, So it would be greatly appreciated if you, or whoever, removed the stupid thing. But not Wellington, because I like Wellington ;D ~waves~

9:18AM EST   Oct 27th, 2008 — by ICEE PI

ooh, you explore the 'human condition' too? coolness. speculative fiction is a thing i'm getting into at the moment. it seems the easiest way to write about the human condition. 'Citizen's Waltz' look out for it. loving your stuff on here (~wonders how important you have to be to get a quote on the green banner~ ;D) anyways, hi...and on the list you go... ~waves~

12:42AM EST   Oct 18th, 2008 — by Kole

Well, you seem to come in and out as you please, but I haven't seen you writing. Bummer. I do wish you luck on that novel. Best wishes!

5:38PM EST   Sep 22nd, 2008 — by Kole

Simon? Where have you gone? Well, I want to wish you luck on your novel--but I hope you do find time to come back on the site.

10:14PM EST   Aug 24th, 2008 — by Mikoto Yokoshima

Hajimemashite. Mikoto Yokoshima desu. Yoroshiku. Cool, you see, I'm not really a writer, but I figure with time and practice anything can be achieved. Hehe. I think your avatar is very kawaii.

9:27AM EST   Aug 8th, 2008 — by Birdscallin' Mudplop-Schwyn

Dear sir,
How much does your avatar look like you?
Sincerely,
Collin

10:17PM EST   Jul 21st, 2008 — by Nina Zito

I'd love to put an area on the monkey site that would allow monkeys to promote other activities they are involved in. A way to point the community to other fun projects...maybe some day. Best of luck with utilityfogpress!

11:38AM EST   Jul 14th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

simon! you have many fans. you've missed some positive mentions about your stories and their evolution in the live chat area. I am excited that you are already well on your way to the next tree. Have you seen the immense amount of planting that is going on? You being our original MM enthusiast we get excited to see when you check in and keep everyone honest with your superlative writing...home the family is well. it does change your life a bit, no?

8:05AM EST   Jul 8th, 2008 — by Kaelie Landon

LOVE the count story it is great

9:44PM EST   Jun 17th, 2008 — by Fullmoonblue

Glad to see you back lately!

11:28AM EST   May 12th, 2008 — by Mariama Abdulai

Hi Simian, Thank you for the response: i think that clearly explains the situation. Thanks for clearing out that issue, i appreciate it. :-)

11:26AM EST   May 4th, 2008 — by Allison Johnson

hey simon! i added another part in 'Dear Diary'! it's right after yours! Plz read it and comment!!!

9:28PM EST   May 1st, 2008 — by Nina Zito

hello Simon, Thank you for the info about the Amazon links. I think it is a great idea to have them location-centric. There seem to be a lot of little items like this that we overlooked when we first set up the site. We had no idea it would have global appeal (or appeal at all for that matter). Unfortunately we don't get any hits really anyway on those books or on the banner ads either. I was telling Ryan recently that we made a total of $12 and change on the site in the one year that it had been up. I still think your idea should be implemented, but due to our low rate of return on that area we might not have it be as high of a priority as other projects...like...an OMMT book. ;-). Be well, Nina

12:25PM EST   Apr 30th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

Second point I won't have time to expand upon but I did want to acknowledge. There are plans for OMMT books. I hope to tell you more soon. I have had a similar conversation with Ryan last month. Have to dash now...more soon. Be well Nina

12:22PM EST   Apr 30th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

Hello Simon, I have delayed responding to you on two fronts because I haven't had the time to properly digest your questions. I realize now that I may not have that time in the short term and I want to be sure to get back to you in a somewhat timely manner. So here goes: As to your queries and assumptions regarding seed percentage, I realize that I am not able to be clear about how it works. I believe I have addressed this on live chat and maybe also wrote to Chris about it since he had a similar question. There is an internal debate right now between Ilya and I about if we should go ahead and post the 'formula' for seed gain. His thought is that it will encourage bad behavior, with people adding quantity without quality. Roughly and simply I can tell you that it works on a point basis. For each snippet you receive a certain amount of points. As the snippet is written after it gains more and more points (you get zero for buds, but the most for trunks and limbs). After you get a certain number of points you gain a seed. The percentage will stay stuck at 100% until you plant that tree, but your subsequent snippets will be accumulating new points for your next tree. Snippets written after your tree is planted acquire the same amount of points as they did prior but you need more of them to plant the next tree. It gets more and more difficult to plant a tree as it takes more and more points to do so. The 'in-the-hole' percentage you are viewing is an artifact in the code that Ilya has to fix. Unfortunately he has it coded incorrectly at this moment so that it doesn't show the early progress. He has promised me he will change this, after which you will always see positive percentage (unless by some odd coincidence you actually have EXACTLY zero). I hope this helps explain.

12:18AM EST   Apr 28th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

Simon, I am glad that you have admitted your fault. I respect that immensely. And while I agree that a sliding scale of earnings would potentially make more sense to the monkeys, you also have to look at the coding side of things, which is a very important thing to consider. It is much easier to have the system that is in place now than the one you are proposing, because as it is, when a tree is planted, 100% is deducted from the seed% (and it has always been this way). What they changed is that when a tree is planted, and current tree value (the bottom number on the scale in the stats box) creates a different number of subtractions, being 125%, 150%, etc. With the display only showing values between 0.0% and 100%, this makes it all a bit confusing, I'll admit. Also, having a different scale for each monkey would make things slightly harder. Perhaps, PERHAPS (and idea just struck me) caste level, trees planted, and %-growth-per-snippet could all be linked, with the Ambassador monkey having the lowest rate of return on their snippets. Sorry for spitballing at you like this, Simon. I appreciate the Monkey Mail you have left me, and I hope that you're doing wonderfully! ~Ryan

1:01PM EST   Apr 27th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

Simon, one more thing: I saw your question to Nina regarding bookmarks. Simply go to the bookmarked snippet you want removed, and hit the radio button from yes to no. That removes the snippet from your bookmark list. Also, in response to your MM to both myself and Nina, you are incorrect in your assumption about %. The only difference between differing numbers of trees is the penalty. The actual % for each snippet is exactly the same (to infinity trees planted). The only difference is the penalty accrued. Each time you plant a tree, the penalty for planting it is greater against your seed %. Thus, Chris will have a long time to go before he ever sees anything, but once he does, his % gains will be the same as a new member who has not ever planted a tree.

10:00AM EST   Apr 27th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

Simon, I just did a quick, rough estimate of your unadjusted percentage, and you have about 357%, minus whatever penalties you have for planting the trees. I also did mine to give you a reference, and I have about 435%, minus whatever tree-planting penalties that you probably also have. Chris, another reference for you, has 1143%, minus planting penalties.

9:38AM EST   Apr 27th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

Simon, my original plan was to plant on Earth Day along with the champion of the Earth Day contest, but that plan kind of folded when the winner hasn't logged on in almost a week.. -_- I'll probably take one of the ideas from the thread I made on the Google Forum and plant it with a bit of my twist. Then again, if I suddenly feel inspired, I can always go with that. And if I am correct, I've already overcome my hole for after I plant my seed...

12:26AM EST   Apr 26th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

Also, I wanted to say how much I appreciated the dialog you generated around the seed ideas during the Earth Day contest. I liked how you expanded both Mariama's and Shane's ideas. I also really liked your tree/life concept and the time shift that the tree would experience versus a human time line. Hope you use this when you plant the next one. Best, Nina

12:24AM EST   Apr 26th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

Hello Simon, indeed Ryan has made the correct assessment below. Once people write off of your buds your percentage should increase more rapidly. The 'thicker' the snippet the more points are awarded. Eg. Twigs, branches and limbs are worth more and more and more respectively. I had Ilya double check just to be sure that your numbers were correct. I think you will find the hole isn't too deep, and if I can get Ilya to adjust the code so they reflect a slower rate of growth after each tree planted instead of the zero percentage you would feel better about it. It is true that 50 word snippet trees are also a good way to move up the ladder quickly. It is something we didn't take into account in the code...both 50 word snippets and 300 word snippets are ranked with the same weight, but people find it easier to write 50 word snippets and ostensibly can write them faster. This activity drives the planter as well as the early entries up substantially. You will see that you are making positive progress shortly...

11:22PM EST   Apr 17th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

Simon: A couple of things. First, I'd like to thank you again for continuing to add to my haiku tree. Second, concerning your seed %, and the monkey mail you sent Nina, I ask you to compare your stats with mine. While you are indeed more prolific than I, by about 100 snippets [for now ;-)], your snippet distribution is remarkably higher up the line. That is to say, your snippets, in general, have less responses to them than mine do. This is why my fewer snippet amount has virtually caught up with your larger amount in seed %. Hope this explanation helps!

12:59PM EST   Apr 8th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

Dear Chris, Simon and Ryan, I spoke to Ilya about your seed percentage concerns. When he reworked the code he did make it more difficult to plant each subsequent tree, but the code that shows the percentage unfortunately doesn't show this well. You are gaining points, but it is registering as below 0 percent. The more trees you've planted, the further down you start. Chris...that means you might not see positive percentage for some time. Obviously Ilya will need to rework this...so that Monkeys don't feel so hopeless. Be well, and know that this glitch is a testament to your prolific natures. Best, Nina

11:39PM EST   Apr 6th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

Simon! I just saw your monkey mail, I think it got buried under other new entries. You have a VERY young one at home. What fun! Not sure if this is your first, but it gets easier by the way. I am not sure why your seed counter is stuck at zero, I will ask Ilya to look into it...it may be when we reset it so that it was more difficult to plant your second and then third tree...your trees would have gotten grandfathered in so to speak, but you might not have actually grafted enough snippets to plant as many as you did...THIS is my theory. Ilya will know for sure. I will ask him. HOpe your young family is well. Best to you, and thank you for being our first enthusiastic monkey. We've always appreciated that.

12:14PM EST   Apr 6th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

Simon, I'm rather confused about the percentage dilemma. I was stuck like you and Chris yesterday for a long while. Then I was gaining percentage only on the snippets that were on the Haiku tree. Today when I woke up, I found that my Percentage had jumped up to 22%, which still is not accurate... I am at a loss for what is the deal.

11:31AM EST   Apr 1st, 2008 — by Chris Sadler

Dear Simon, nice catch! I just noticed yesterday that my percentage was a big goose egg. I thought it should have gone up a little, but I'm unsure of how seed percentages are earned these days. I'm kind of taking a 'Wait & See' approach.

3:15PM EST   Mar 28th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

Thank you for adding to Nemesis!

5:03PM EST   Mar 27th, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

SS: Although I normally would not hesitate to jump at this chance and agree to help you, Nina mentioned to me that she and Ilya already have plans in place to put forth an e-book for the site. I believe it is somewhere in my recent monkey mail. I would not want to override any plans that the founders of the site may or may not have, even though my itch to get our fellow monkeys' names out there is nearly overpowering. I agree with you that the free e-book is a good idea, but I hesitate when I ponder which branches would be deemed most worthy for inclusion in the book. Perhaps the book could be published as a series of novellas (or short stories) that all begin the same way or ways. Have them ordered sequentially, from the shortest/mostly single-authored to the longest, many-authored branches. In this manner, each book published would be representative of a single tree, as fully as possible to that moment. In this mindset, I would believe that once a tree is selected for publishing, some sort of method of choosing which branches are long enough, and which branches are too short, would need to be implemented, but this very well could end up being a tree-by-tree consideration, as not all trees are made equal. Now although these trees could in theory all result in books of equal length and quality, in reality this would not be the case. Age also does not seem to be a huge determining factor of the tree size, either. I would like to be able to sit and talk with you, Mrs. Zito, and Mr. Kreymerman for a while so we could discuss what will be done about this subject, but for some reason I doubt that the schedules of you three would be able to coincide for long enough for us to have any discussion of productive length. I am still anxious for your thoughts on the subject. Please keep in touch. ~Ryan

8:19AM EST   Mar 24th, 2008 — by Nina Zito

congratulations to you on your new addition!

12:24AM EST   Mar 21st, 2008 — by Ryan Riverside

SS: Thank you for considering my questions, even though they weren't directed at you. Somehow, it seems that when I ask the questions in the public area (Live Chat) they don't really get answered (although this time is the exception), and the first time I ask it in a relatively excluded area, I got a response from someone else! Anyway, back to the idea at hand. The annual--or as the site grows, the biannual, quarterly, monthly--e-book could be from the branch with over such-and-such number of snippets that has the highest rating, or we could just have people that are designated to pick out a branch do so. Either way, I think that it would be a fantastic way for the writers to get published and build up a name for themselves. I imagine that it would take some tricky formatting issues to get the correct authors attributed for what they wrote, but I would be more than willing to do it. Also, I was wanting to discuss my seed idea with you to see what you thought of it. I wouldn't want the seed to go wasted on an idea that would not work... Anyway, what I was thinking of doing was a linked haiku story. It would be the regular 5-7-5, with a 7/7 stanza after it, and each person that would add to the tree would only add that much. This used to be the primary form of poetry for a very long time in Japan. I think that a lot more people would be interested in haiku, and I wanted your thoughts on this idea. I see that basically no one added to As The Word Turns, which is disheartening, but I hope that perhaps things would be different for haikus. I figure that the three branches could be a nature-based, traditional one, and two branches open for development. One last thing (and I'm sorry for such a long monkey mail): I was wondering your thoughts on my sonnet branch/tree off of your As The Word Turns. I'm enjoying it, and they are my first sonnets. I was just curious as to your thoughts about the storyline, the individual poems, the quality of the whole thing, etc., since no one can be prevailed upon to comment past the first sonnet. I also assumed that you would have read them, since it is your tree. Again, sorry for the long response, and I hope that you have a fantastic weekend. ~Ryan

8:16PM EST   Mar 19th, 2008 — by Shane Danisher

thank you for the response. I appreciate it. ^_^ I heard about the 'pound your chest' thing too, but it doesn't help those of us without blogs, haha. anyway, thanks again for responding. just glad i'm being listened too. ^_^ Shane

1:35AM EST   Mar 14th, 2008 — by Shane Danisher

reading that sounds a little harsh. And I apologize if it comes off that way. Truly, I'm sorry. Just letting my frustration at being the only one adding to my story because there are so many variations out there. Shane.

1:33AM EST   Mar 14th, 2008 — by Shane Danisher

Hey Simian. I know we've never actually talked, but there's something i want to pitch to you. Please, hear me out. 1000000 monkeys is a great idea. But i find myself often frustrated when i write a story piece, and find i'm the only one writing on it, let alone reading it. So why not throw in a 'Branch of the day' bar up top, that'll take people to a story they can add too. it won't be most/least popular branches, it'd just cycle through on a daily basis. That way, all branches can get a little attention. I just thought it'd be cool because this is supposed to be a collaborative effort, and i'm not getting that feeling. Just an idea, Shane.

9:08PM EST   Jan 22nd, 2008 — by Chris Sadler

I want to give people the room to write what they want. If that's only 50 words, that's okay with me, but I don't want to limit anyone. It's funny you should mention 'Slap Shot', because I have written a hockey story based on some of the crazy antics of my teammates. My 'Channel Surfing' was supposed to be a comedy where Monkeys could use TV shows as the backdrop. I think comedy is hard...

10:15PM EST   Jan 17th, 2008 — by Chris Sadler

Prolific? No, just bored. I broke my ankle just before Christmas, so I have an UNBELIEVABLE amount of free time to hunt and peck at the keyboard here. Your ideas are great, but the only poetry I know are the dirty limericks I read on the bathroom walls. I tried comedy with the 2 kids trapped in the TV programming, but that one doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Maybe I can donate my seed points...

9:13PM EST   Nov 17th, 2007 — by Isabelle

Hello! How r u? Wriet on1