So shortly after my last update, on a whim I tried Googling a few of the lads I'd lost touch with over the years. No luck on Mike, I fear, other then a small lead I may follow up on one of these days. But it looked like I was able to find Aaron! So I tried contacting him... and promptly got back a message asking me to kindly no longer use his real name in association with Boy Scouts ½.
He claimed no ill will, and said it was because he (and his brothers) have had issues with search engine optimization because of his last name being rather promanant in Boy Scouts ½. I can sort of understand that... and, well, it is his last name, so it is a request he is entitled to make. If Aaron was just a character... well, it would still be a wierd change for me to make, but in a way that I would feel less... well, reluctant about, I suppose. But since Aaron is a credited author in the series, it feels distinctly wrong to not have him properly credited for his work.
But again, it is his name. And it is his credit he is asking to have removed. So while it feels wrong to me, I suppose no one is actually being wronged.
Aaron also had the distinction of being the only real life based character whose surname apeared in a title to one of the stories, and it was a story that he co-wrote and titled. But... I suppose it will have to be changed. Feels not quite kosher to me... but I shall do as requested.
And so, the character formerly known as (censored) gets a new name. What is it? Well, "Aaron," isn't exactly a unique first name, so I never considered changing that. It was just the surname that was a cause for concern. I didn't want a drastic change if possible, so after a bit of back and fourth consultation with Aaron (where he thought my first alternative suggestion was actually still a bit too close to reality) we came up with a compromise that is phonetically similar to the real Aaron's name, but is different enough in pronunciation and spelling to not interfere with the real Aaron as far as search engines are concerned.
Thus, he shall hencefourth be known as, "Aaron Abdowmassy."
I will admit that this change is not 100% implemented as of yet. (Life has had me a bit busy the last few days, and this is the first chance I've had to do anything related to this website for a bit.) Thus far, I have only altered his surname in entries on this blog; and on the Boy Scouts ½ index page, changing the authorship credits and the offending story title. In any stories put online from this point forward, the new name will be used. And as time allows, hopefully within a short span, his name will be altered within the stories already up on the website.
So, I bid a sad farewell to Aaron (censored), but at the same time I welcome the suspiciously similar and completely ficticious character of Aaron Abdowmassy (who, dispite being fictional, somehow managed to get some authorship credit on a few stories) to Boy Scouts ½.
Back soon with some more restored stories!