After a half hour but seemed like forever, I finally arrived at Silverus’ house. It was the scariest time of my life. Everytime I arrived at a street corner, I would pray to the Alien in Heaven to guide this psycho safely acroos the street. My clumsy walking must have looked really weird, because people were staring at me as if though I was a drunkard. You’d think people would have some common sense. It was 9:30 in the morning, it’s too early to get drunk.
I knocked on the door. “Shh, Alien, you have to be quiet, you’ll wake up my parents.” I walked up the stairs and into his room. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Yes, I’ll have a chocolate milk, shaken, not stirred.” As I waited, I pulled out my Palm Pilot and wrote some notes.
“I’m back. Here you go. What’s the next question?”
“Oh yes, of course. Time for the silly questions. What do you have in your pockets right now?”
“I don't have pockets. My clothes have pockets though. My right side has my wallet and Dmitri (my pda, a Helio, by vtech). My left side has a pack of Kleenex (yes, the actual brand Kleenex), a pen, a mint, a small pad of paper secured by a metal loopy thingy, and a rubberband for some arcane reason unknown to mortals. Oh yeah, and some pocket fluff. Can't forget the pocket fluff. It's very important, you know.” It seems like he snapped out of his insane attitude. “Hey, I’m still in your head.”
“I thought you didn’t exist? Next question, if you were on a desert island, what three items would you take?”
“Hmmm...a really big pack of pencils, a huge amount of paper, and a friend.”
“Good answer, let’s get serious now. Why did you originally join the FACL?”
“I think I joined in the summer of 1998. I joined because it looked like a great way to give what I have learned back to those around me who want to learn those things. Someone once told me that I was given my abilities so that I could share them with those around me who don't yet have those abilities. Now, though I don't agree with the "giving" part of that, I do agree that I should share what I know with those around me. I continue doing it because I love doing it. It makes them happy, and they respect me. Their happiness and their respect are why I continue.”
“How does it feel to have become such an integral part of the FACL?”
“Every single person who works with the FACL is an integral part. From the newest CV to the oldest Liaison to the on and off GV contributor, each one of us is extremely important. Never underestimate the importance of a person. I really enjoy being a part of the community because I know that I have an effect on the people I talk to. The people we help are very grateful for us. I wish we could help more people. I'm really looking forward to getting the A&L cell running with Spenser-Spork and seeing it and more cells develop into what Area51 has become.”
“Yes, but you have to admit, you have really stepped up and become an important person here. For example, without you and Kragtowl, there would be no PR site.”
“Without me, someone else would run the PR site, or people would go straight to the supercell sites. But everyone does something necessary. You run the FACL bios site now. Who else would do that? LadyWight dropped a couple other positions that aren't filled, like the Words Committee. No one runs it now. It's just another currently inactive group. Ja'Krinda's been getting upset that she doesn't have enough scorers for the BlackHole Award who score consistently. Everyone here has a voice that is an integral part of the community. Isn't that voice more important than the websites you make? Reaching the people, that's what's important. The PR site is just another tool to reach people. Each CL visits, I think all CL's do, heh, at least 50 sites every few weeks. The PR site rarely gets 50 visitors in two weeks, and not in a personal way like an e-mail or a signed guestbook.”
“In a way you’re right. What do your friends and family think or tell you when you tell them that you are part of the FACL?”
“I don't know what to say to that last question. I don't really talk to anyone about the FACL. None of my friends would be interested at all. One friend used to be a Liaison for Hollywood. He thinks it's just a bunch of puff since we're not supported by any company. He says that Y! ditched us so we don't exist anymore and we're just trying to hold onto something nonexistant. He won't listen at all.”
I was loving what I was getting out of this interview. And the chocolate milk wasn’t half bad, either. “What do you believe is your most unpleasant characteristic?”
“I play devil's advocate to 90% of everything around me. I do this as an unconscious instinct to try to be fair about everything. However, that doesn't help me get along with people sometimes.”
“Does this characteristic impede you from talking to homesteaders, when you critique a site for example?”
“I think it helps sometimes when I look at sites. Often people will say things like, ‘how could you like that? it was horrible!’ or ‘my site is really bad.’ I'll respond to support their site. I believe that there exists something good in absolutely everything around us. However, I also believe that there exists something evil in everything around us. I tell people about the good things on their site. I tell them about the bad things. I try to cover everything. Perhaps something is not going to appear on a "best 100 of the web" list, but it still can be good! Not everyone is an expert at everything, but by encouraging them in the right direction, maybe they might become an expert with the gained experience. Alternately, people with a 100% positive view on everything need to start noticing the evil around them. You can't just ignore the evil. Being conscious of the evil around you is the main part in reducing the evil around you.”
“What’s next for you?”
“Real life: college. I will receive the response from my first choice in a week (early decision). Any way it goes, I will be going to college next year. I will then go to grad school and become a professor of mathematics.”
“Online: I'm looking forward to developing the A&L cell, working on the A&L Katje group, expanding the PR site, and watching our FACL grow. I'm also working heavily on my Liquid Silver site.”
“Might we be seeing a Liaison Silverus anytime in the near future?”
“Liaison Silverus? I don't think I'm up for that. I don't like being a leader that much. I'd rather do more of the CL work and less managing work. Larry, Jak, Ariel, and soon Sporky, spend a lot of time managing FACL, A51, A&L, all the CL's, and all the CV's.”
“Thanks a lot Silverus. That was a great interview. See you around, and I’ll see those critiquing results of my site soon.”
“Sure, thanks for interviewing me. Later.” I left Chicago the next day with a stomach full of pizza and a great interview in my laptop. This was one experience I would never forget.
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