I Have a Problem and I Need Your Help
When bots infiltrate an online writing event.
What I Learned This Week
One day this week I checked to see how registrations are coming for a journaling course I’m offering in January by donation. I saw that 36 people have registered.
However, when I looked more closely, I became aware of something very strange.
The Rhizosphere is a publication for writers, especially nature writers. To receive new posts, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
One registrant was named Louisa Rice. But their email address was something like ernestine.west at boyer.org.
Or Rasheed Nick, whose email address was Sonia Omar.
Or Nicolas Runt, whose email address was deanna63.
One of the surnames was Hackett. Hmmmm.
Every one of these people had paid the lowest amount possible for a donation event on Eventbrite, which is $1. Taxes are added, so the orders come out to $1.62 or $1.11 or $2.03.
History
Over the past two years I’ve run a Journaling School on Sunday evenings in the form of short courses. I call them “Sunday Sessions.” They are by donation, meaning anyone who wants a journaling community and container can pay whatever they like.
I started with the series Journaling Grief in the final months of the pandemic, followed by Journaling Earth, an exploration of eco-grief. I’ve done Nature Journaling School and also Journaling Fools, which looked at the archetype of the fool.
The upcoming one is called Journaling Rebuild. I want to look at current national politics in a safe community in order to process our responses and a way forward.
Although I am hesitant to post this verbiage on Substack, here’s how I describe the course:
Join Journaling School's 5 Sunday Sessions Jan 2025 where we explore politics, our lives, & the way forward through the power of journaling. Turn your confusion over the national election into greater clarity and a path for the months ahead. Join with others who are struggling to understand. Get more clear on your role.
You can read that for yourself here.
Amount Irrelevant
I care not one whit about what people pay for these journaling sessions. I charge serious money for my writing courses and in-person speaking engagements, so I want to have offerings that are accessible, affordable, and inclusive. I never look to see how much people pay.
A Strange Trend
But when I checked the other day I couldn’t help but notice something.
Out of 36 people registered, 20 are signups
whose names I don’t recognize
whose names don’t match their email addresses
who have paid the lowest amount.
The other 16 people are my people, meaning some of you, people whose names I know, with whom I work, who have participated in these Sunday sessions or in writing courses.
Yes. You are coming to the realization, I’m sure, at which I arrived.
I’m Infiltrated
The disruptors are here. My Eventbrite has gotten on a list somewhere. I’ve been hacked by bots and maybe by real people.
Once someone has paid for an online event, Eventbrite automatically sends them a Zoom link for it.
Journaling Rebuild will be disrupted.
Recently on NPR’s The Daily I heard a line that said there would be harsh penalties for people who resist the president-elect. Although my description of the short course does not contain the word “Trump” or “Republicans” or anything overtly political, the broligarchy has found me.
I contacted Eventbrite. They wanted to refund all the $1 signups and delete these email addresses permanently from the platform. However, I have real writers who really can only afford to pay a couple of dollars. I don’t want to permanently delete them because of infiltrators. So I asked Eventbrite to hold off.
Seeking a Solution
I’ve been thinking about what to do.
I can move forward as planned and hire a facilitator to remove disruptors from the workshop.
I can issue refunds to all registrants who appear fake, then send real registrants a new Zoom link.
I can let Eventbrite delete the folks it considers fake.
I can delete this version of the course and start over.
I can delete the entire short course and start over with a new one that is entirely apolitical.
A Question for You
What do you think I should do?
Journaling School
Normally I would market the Sunday Sessions here, lol, but today I have to ask you not to sign up. We have to get this thing figured out.
You Can Sign Up for Magical Craft
A 2025 session of my creative nonfiction course is coming up. It meets on Tuesdays from 7-9 pm Eastern, starts Jan. 14, 2025, and runs for 8 weeks. In addition, I offer Office Hours once a week, which serves as Social Hour. This will be held at a different time than the course sessions.
We also add an Open Mic to the course, so plan on 9 sessions.
For a few years I required an essay to be written during the course. Then I decided that was too much, that folks should be able to write or not write as they wished. Now I want to return to asking for a completed essay. Of course it’s optional, but still…Please do not sign up for the course unless you are seriously committed to writing for a bit of time every day.
You can find out more information and register at my website.
Last Call for Wisconsin
I’m teaching at Beloit College during Winter 2025. If you live within about 4 hours of Beloit, I may be able and willing to do an in-person event for your university or bookstore or nonprofit organization. I’m also interested in organizing a couple of all-day writing workshops. If you have any interest in this, please be in touch. This window is closing soon. Thank you!
The Rhizosphere is a publication for writers, especially nature writers. To receive new posts, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.