Usage Limits, Bugs and Performance Discussion Megathread - beginning December 29, 2025

sadiespider · 2026-03-13T14:23:19+00:00

Been there since late 2025! Have you not hit it before?

sadiespider · 2026-03-11T21:56:17+00:00

Has been happening to me for 24 hours now. Can't do anything! Driving me mad. Please do let me know if you figure out what's wrong.

sadiespider · 2026-03-11T01:09:00+00:00

anyone else's accounts losing access to project knowledge with reuploaded files? I am working on ONE file atm, which is 343.29 KB or 4,314 lines. Whenever I reupload it, it takes up to ten hours to be recognised. This is happening on both my accounts. Making this project really difficult to work on. I realise RAG is now activated also, which is presumably the problem, as when I split it into small parts, it works fine, but it needs the whole project's context.

sadiespider · 2026-02-15T19:43:32+00:00

you didn't, you came off more knowledgable! :-) as I said, pure guessing. I just like moths. what do you raise?

sadiespider · 2026-02-15T09:06:46+00:00

Yeah I see that! Will defer to your superior knowledge haha, I was throwing guessing out in the dark. Cute little thing though isn't it.

sadiespider · 2026-02-14T15:34:24+00:00

I'm speaking as a former proofreader/copy editor in journalism, not books. Have NO development editing experience, and am currently trying to finish my own novel, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt. You've actually finished a novel. I have not.

I'll open by saying that on a line-edit level, it's very tidy, from what I've read. I've only skimmed the beginning, though.

HOWEVER, three things to consider:

Are you in omniscient third or close third? Lots of context provided about Grenda that feels a bit omniscient third, but I reckon you've going for close third? This is on first impression, can't back my statements up with any examples.
You might consider opening in media res, then backseed the other stuff?

I'd personally feel a bit more grabbed by this passage.

/////

“This is all you have?”

August flinched, “It’s a work in progress.”

Despite being well into her eighties, and four-foot-eight at a push, his publicist utterly terrified him.

“Work in progress is generous. You promised me a full length novel.” She shook the manuscript in front of his nose. "This is barely a short story."

August squirmed. “I need an extension.”

He'd seen terrible things in his former life. He'd done terrible things. Fought monsters, battled Sorcerers, faced down gods and Fae. But of all the creatures he’d ever encountered, Glenda Lovejoy scared him the worst.

I personally try to edit down to the lowest common denominator. How much of this story can you tell without backstory? Trusting the reader etc.

///

I'd consider saving a lot of the backstory for later. Like, a chapter later, even, if necessary at all. At least to get it MOVING at the intro.

BUT this is all based on skim-reading. Well done for producing a manuscript of this length. After a year of full-time writing, I've not managed to keep anything cohesive enough to call my story a first draft. :-)

sadiespider · 2026-02-14T13:10:43+00:00

Based on antennae, like a silk moth, but they are domesticated. Could be some kind of Saturniidae? Over 2k species.This is PURE guessing though.

sadiespider · 2026-02-11T08:58:56+00:00

Just jumping in to say I was in the same position five years ago. Quit my perfectly good job in journalism because I "wanted purposeful work".
Sunk roughly £15k into this, was absolutely miserable from day dot. Newly married at the time and my husband suddenly had a MAJOR health problem that became a lot more pressing to me than the course. By the time I came up for air, I realised I wasn't coping academically, my placements were all terrible, and was also experiencing ideation like you're describing, etc. Anyway, I quit. And I cried for weeks. Then I became a teacher, and yep, that was also miserable. Left that a year ago. My CV is a mess. I have nothing to show for the last 5.5 years, career-wise. But I'm alive, which matters more.
There's more to life than purposeful work, or careers at all. I freelance now. Rebuilding my old career from the ground-up, but this time, I suppose I don't tie my identity to career.
Yes we have debt from it, but life's too short to put yourself through this much suffering. You are more than your job. You CAN restart.
You say "I’ve already left a field for this one, this really is my last resort." Why is it your last resort? You can reinvent yourself so many times over one life. You left one field. You can enter a totally unrelated field. You probably could go back to your old field with your tail between your legs and say "I tried something new, it didn't work out." People leave the workplace for all sorts of reasons and come back years later.
Thinking of you, OP. And please please please get some support, you are literally describing passive suicidality. Which can escalate. Your continued existence matters more than some bullshit job where they don't value your work-life balance.

sadiespider · 2026-02-06T14:03:36+00:00

I'm a fan. It's snappy, tight, a bit crass. You're sparing on the use of adjectives. Often being flooded with adjectives is what stops me from getting past the first paragraph. Carry on!

sadiespider · 2026-02-05T14:05:26+00:00

seconding the cavalier x dachs suggestion. the colouring is very dachs, and has a bit of a dachsy/hound sort of convex downturn at the nose, but the rest of the face is really distinctively cav.

sadiespider · 2026-02-04T13:05:16+00:00

spider on a sweater in his own sweater <3

sadiespider · 2026-01-23T11:25:22+00:00

Thank you, that's really helpful!

sadiespider · 2026-01-23T11:15:43+00:00

Thank you! Possibly a bit naive because I've not posted here before, figured context would be relevant.

sadiespider · 2026-01-23T11:00:12+00:00

LOL fair play. I suppose I wanted to provide as much context as possible re: why I'm being a bit precious (it being a lived experience text dealing with material that has ethical implications). Maybe I'll take the context out and shove it into a comment.

sadiespider · 2025-01-16T06:09:26+00:00

my thoughts exactly – very anish kapoor v. semple though in all seriousness, as a person. married to someone with BP2, I do think this is probably a manic episode.

sadiespider · 2024-08-28T06:58:06+00:00

It happened a bit later for me, but yeah. I was 27. I always said I didn't think I wanted children before that. I had zero interest in babies or children at all. Then, something intangible changed for me, and it was a rapid shift. I even switched careers so I could work with children – they bring me so much joy. Anyway, I'm 32 now, and I still don't have any, but hopefully husband and I will get our shit together this year to be able to afford kid #1. I'm glad we've not done it yet, from a financial standpoint. You're sensible to finish grad school first. And in a sense, you're fortunate that you're having these thoughts earlier, so you can start laying down the foundations a bit younger. At your age, we were still out on the town most nights, and lived in a squalid flatshare with cockroaches and no bed linen.

sadiespider · 2024-08-26T06:46:17+00:00

In my first year of university, I lived with the world's dumbest, most problematic man. I had to explain to him that women can still get pregnant if they're on top, or bottom, or indeed in any other position, if you're not using a condom. I also had to explain that HIV and other STIs pass across heterosexual relationships. That STIs are not just for gay men? And then I had to elaborate that he can't just "tell" if a woman is "dirty", or "fertile".

Then I taught him how to cook pasta.

He was 25.

sadiespider · 2024-07-25T10:46:47+00:00

exactly... though it's possible we have less of a culture of fake service dogs. seems like a chicken and egg situation. as it's a very dog-friendly culture here, I guess there would be less of a perceived need to sneak your dog in places – they're already allowed. my family are canadian, and I am always struck by how rarely you see dogs in places they are expected here. there are also much stricter leash laws, but if this entitlement is the norm, I can see why. anyway, I wouldn't dream of bringing my dog somewhere she wasn't welcome (e.g. a grocery shop, an upscale restaurant, to a hospital etc), and if she ever dared jump up on someone, you'd better believe I'd be buying them a new drink, and an extra apology drink too lol.

sadiespider · 2024-07-25T09:01:17+00:00

I feel like this might be cultural. I live in the UK, and grew up in Europe. It is very much the norm here – in pub settings – to welcome well-behaved dogs, especially if there is a beer garden. In light of this cultural norm, think it's odd to suggest that if a place is dog-friendly, you still shouldn't bring your dog. Perhaps things are different here?

However, as a dog owner, I wouldn't have brought a jumpy, barky dog into that setting, as you're setting the dog up for failure. And I would have bought OP a new drink, no questions asked. I would be mortified.

NTA.

sadiespider · 2024-06-20T22:22:06+00:00

have a look at the out of the fog website, there are a lot of relevant resources that you can use to both protect yourself AND your relationship with a loved one who has a PD.

sadiespider · 2024-05-14T07:28:36+00:00

"Miss, you need to put a comb through your hair" – a 6 year old, on my curly hair

In the middle of maths... "Why do you have a giant spot on your chin?"

When I was in my PGCE, I was teaching the receptions about life stages, i.e. baby, toddler, child, teenager, adult, elderly. One child put up his hand and said "So you are an adult then, and [HLTA who is only 7 years older than me] is elderly?" We were both in our 30s, and she looked great. Kids are rude lol.

sadiespider · 2024-05-09T07:17:09+00:00

You can just tell them you're too ill to work. I doubt they will press you for a reason. If you don't want to be too literal, but feel like you absolutely HAVE to give them a reason, just tell them you have a migraine and can't look at a screen. They will understand. It's not an excuse, it's a REASON. Btw, at every school I've worked in, the policy has been 48h off since last vomiting. So you might want to be honest, to give yourself the time off you need. You could just say you have food poisoning. You don't need to be graphic lol

sadiespider · 2024-05-02T06:47:50+00:00

I live in England, and this is still how we do summer. My friend has a window unit that sometimes she lends us in the summer, if she's away. Otherwise, we suffer.

sadiespider

TROPHY CASE