we have a new “sagas” tag for letters with multiple updates

by Alison Green on April 24, 2025

A reader writes:

I read Ask a Manager every day and have a suggestion for the site. I’m always delighted when I click on a post and it turns out to have a bunch of updates — those are the most fun to read! I think readers would enjoy a category on the Topics page that’s specifically for posts with more than one update. Maybe you could call it “Sagas” or something like that? Sometimes I want a solid distraction and the multiple updates always deliver, but as far as I’m aware there’s no way to specifically pull up a list of posts that have them. Just something to think about if you ever add new categories. Thanks!

Excellent idea, and there is now a “sagas” tag.

I didn’t get them all, but I got a lot. If I missed any of your favorites, let me know!

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{ 73 comments }

{ 73 comments… read them below or add one }

  2. tired beau*

    I’ve had a similar thought- I always end up in a thread of updates & they sometimes reference older updates of the post without linking to them. Excited to have this option to lurk! Thanks, OP & Allison!

    Reply ↓
      1. CeeDoo*

        Is there a link or a date for that one? I haven’t seen it that I remember, and it’s been listed multiple times here.

        Reply ↓
        1. Hlao-roo*

          The original post is titled “my new job is a nightmare built on a hellmouth” and it was posted on October 24, 2018. There were updates on Dec. 19, 2018 and June 21, 2021.

          The letter-writer also left frequent updates in Friday open threads during that period, and commenter Seeking Second Childhood compiled them in the July 12-13 2019 open thread.

          I’ll provide links in a follow-up comment.

          Reply ↓
    2. Hlao-roo*

      “is the work environment I’ve created on my team too exclusive?” from 2017 (sometimes also referred to as Beer Run Manager or Un-manager) is my favorite saga because I’m a sucker for personal growth.

      Reply ↓
      1. Paint N Drip*

        same reason why I love the letter where OP was getting in her feelings about the new ‘overqualified’ employee from out of town

        Reply ↓
    3. Trudy's Blue Summer's Dress*

      I’m not sure if it’s my “favorite” but one I’ve always found interesting is the one where the guy had maxed out his corporate credit card, and to pay it off he was taking PayPal loans every month, but that was only delaying the fallout, and adding to the total balance.

      I think I like that one because I read it several times and I still don’t understand how the guy was able to to take out 20k loans each month..

      Reply ↓
      2. CeeDoo*

        In the same vein, I was overly interested in the one where the woman abandoned her coworker in a different country with no money and no phone so she could buy a cheaper flight and keep the money. But that one took place 100% in the comment section. I say “the same vein” because the abandoned coworker’s sister ended up having to get payday loans to cover his flight home.

        Reply ↓
    4. amy h.*

      My favorite was the woman who was accused of purposely making a coworker sick after the coworker stole the woman’s lunch, which happened to be very spicy, and then it turned out the coworker was having an affair with the HR person and they both got fired? There may have only been one follow-up to the original letter, but it was a real journey so I consider it a saga :-)

      Reply ↓
      1. FaintlyMacabre*

        I first stumbled on AAM looking for advice on how to follow up on an interview. After reading the advice, I saw the spicy food column and stuck around. Even if it’s not a saga, it definitely was a journey!

        Reply ↓
      2. Ask a Manager* Post author

        That actually makes me think I should add a couple of letters that don’t have multiple updates, just one, but are so twisty and turny that they’re worthy of the saga title. I will plan to do that.

        Reply ↓
        2. Miette*

          Not sure if it fits, but the person who found out their company’s CEO was their bio bro would fit into this special category.

          Reply ↓
    5. Uhane*

      I think mine is the lady who called her boss’ teenage daughter a whore and said “I guess that was probably inappropriate but I got called a whore seventeen times a day by my parents and religious leaders so that’s normal right” and the interesting updates. I think I go back to read that one once a quarter, or so.

      Reply ↓
    6. Teal Tshirt*

      “My dad is dating my boss and they want me to go to couple’s therapy with them”
      Two updates.
      What a situation to be in.

      Reply ↓
    7. juliebulie*

      My “first” saga was Monica and Rachel. One took advantage of a physically vulnerable moment and tickled the other. The tickling victim went on a campaign against the tickler, to the point of bullying people who weren’t mean to her. There were a couple of updates. Sometime in 2017 I believe.

      Reply ↓
      1. Hlao-roo*

        It looks like “my coworker tickled another coworker, and now there is chaos” isn’t a saga (as of right now). There’s only one update from September 7, 2017, but that update does tease the possibility of another update:

        Monica (the tickler) left the company last week. … I offered to have coffee and catch up, and if she takes me up on that, I might have more info in the future.

        Seems like Monica never took OP up on that offer for coffee.

        Reply ↓
    8. Werewolf Moon*

      Definitely to saga of the employee with bird phobia shoving a coworker in the parking lot into a moving car to escape a bird. That is always the story I share when I tell people about this blog.

      Reply ↓
    9. Anon for this*

      Did the Duck Club turn into a saga?

      As far as I can find, there was a single update (original Apr. 22, 2015 – 10-year anniversary!; update June 30, 2015), but it has been referenced now and again ever since.

      Reply ↓
    10. Anita Brake*

      I love reading the one where the victim of an attack of some sort finally got to tell off the guy who “was trying to help her” by forcing her to tell him what happened. It makes me so happy to read the amount of support she gets after this “attempt to help her.”

      Reply ↓
    11. Nicki Name*

      The one where the LW started off asking how to explain to her coworkers that she had frequent visible bruises because she was a hilarious klutz, until she got a not at all funny serious injury, a spatial processing disorder diagnosis, and then there was “major drama of dubious legality”.

      Reply ↓
      1. Miette*

        This is SUCH a fave. Dude didn’t understand “ghosted” means to disappear after a couple of dates, not DISAPPEARING WHILE IN THE MIDST OF A 2-YEAR RELATIONSHIP

        Reply ↓
    13. Miette*

      One of my faves was the woman who had a large (benign?) tumor removed and their co-worker refused to believe she hadn’t had bariatric surgery and kept bullying/pressuring her to confess and then it turned out this weirdo was into some kind of diet MML scheme or whatever and wound up getting fired over basically stalking this poor woman.

      Reply ↓
  5. Abe Froman*

    Would it also be possible to add second, third. etc updates on update pages? Right now if I click on an update, I have to go back to the first post to get the next update. It would be nice to be able to click through sequentially. Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  6. SaraV*

    *sighs* Must be a long week because I was reading the new topic as “sag-ass” and not “sah-gahs” and was oh-so-very confused.

    Reply ↓
    1. Kvetchy*

      Dude. You are not alone. I was trying to figure out the acronym “SAGAS” for longer than I care to admit….

      Reply ↓
  8. Name*

    Was the one about weight loss due to emergency surgery and the coworker going MLM crazy a saga?
    And I can’t remember if CEBro was a saga or a single update.

    Reply ↓
    1. Hlao-roo*

      “HR won’t do anything about a coworker who’s angry about my weight loss” is a saga (has two updates) and has the “sagas” tag attached.

      “a DNA test revealed the CEO is my half brother … and he’s freaking out” only has one update.

      Reply ↓
    2. A Simple Narwhal*

      I think that was a saga! I vaguely remember there was an update about the coworker being reprimanded but still working there (and being snarky about it), and then another update about the coworker being let go and showing up at LWs house, but let me double check.

      To the archives!

      Reply ↓
      1. A Simple Narwhal*

        Ok so it turns out my memory sucks but it was definitely a saga!

        The original letter already had coworker being “reprimanded” but basically allowed to harass the LW with HR’s blessing, the first update was the HR person’s heinous behavior coming to light which resulted in them being let go but coworker was given another chance since it was believable that she was just misled by the horrible HR person, but then the coworker showed up at LW’s house while they were out on medical leave which then led to the coworker being fired. The second update involves LW being at a wonderful new job but running into the horrible HR person, some absolutely divine karma happens, and pretty much LW is in a great place.

        That’s the super fast summary, but I highly recommend everyone read the actual posts, they’re amazing!

        Reply ↓
  10. A. Lab Rabbit*

    Honestly, if Alison wanted to publish another book, she could just do excerpts of these, with some of the best comments thrown in as the icing on the cake.

    (Please donate my 10% agent’s fee to the charity of your choice. Thank you!)

    Reply ↓
    2. Constance Lloyd*

      Oh I’m so excited, I tried to catch up on the backlog of updates but lost my place, so I know OF it, but cannot say I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing it in full detail.

      Reply ↓
    3. becca*

      I am re-visiting the Hellmouth saga and just got to the part about how OP’s manager went off the deep end and started “planting hidden microphones and cameras all over the place (mostly in my office),” and I just gotta say, if you have to plant more than one microphone in a small office, you are doing illegal surveillance wrong.

      Reply ↓
  12. Holly Gibney*

    OP here, glad other people appreciate this category!

    Came here to say my personal favorite saga is the spicy food thief, but I just checked the post and it only had one update! It was so intense that it *felt* like a saga, I guess. My favorite legit saga is probably the weight loss MLM one.

    I’m looking forward to discovering more now.

    Reply ↓
  14. justpeachy86*

    My favorite was the frequent commenter, I think it was many years ago, who worked at the apartment complex on a hell mouth. I don’t think Alison ever answers a letter from her, but she always posted updates and new stories in comments. I wish there was a way to have that in sagas.

    Reply ↓
  15. Trudy's Blue Summer's Dress*

    One of the memorable sagas was the one where the op was jealous of her attractive employee – the original story was pretty bad, but each update revealed worse and worse behavior on the part of the OP. If I recall it may have wound up with criminal charges, or a court case of some kind.

    Reply ↓
    1. Hlao-roo*

      You recall correctly! The final update for that letter on May 16, 2017 includes this bit about the court case:

      I am still sober despite a couple of bumps in the road: A criminal case from my conduct to my former employee and the reappearance of an ex-boyfriend. The court case resulted in conviction. I got a suspended sentence because I had already gone to rehab on my own and settled the lawsuit at the first chance.

      Therapy has helped work out that the case was warranted, anyone who heard the facts would agree. I am okay with the outcome and have accepted responsibility.

      Reply ↓
      1. Trudy's Blue Summer's Dress*

        Hlao-roo, you are like the unofficial AAM archivist – I appreciate you always finding the letters/links people mention. I’m recommending you for a spot bonus

        Reply ↓
  17. Jay (no, the other one)*

    AAM,

    Is it illegal for an advice columnist on the Internet to create a new category that makes me want to read every entry? I have other things I should be doing and she’s interfering with my productivity! Can I sue?

    Reply ↓
  19. Generic Name*

    There’s also Reddit’s “Best of Redditor Updates” subreddit. I’m sure a huge portion of the sagas posted there are basically creative writing exercises, but it scratches the “I need a distracting trainwreck” itch when I need it.

    Reply ↓
    1. Proofin’ Amy*

      That one was awesome. I think my first one was the weightlifter being harassed by the incompetent dietician.

      I’ve noticed that Best of Redditor Updates likes to grab these multi-part stories, though they do always link back here. I’m glad they’ll be collected at the source.

      Reply ↓
  21. Scout Finch*

    The boss of the graduating “top performer” (who wanted 3 hours off for their hard-earned graduation) – no updates, but I think there may have been comments from the LW.

    I am stunned untill this day that anyone could fault the employee for walking.

    Reply ↓
    1. Hlao-roo*

      Are you thinking of the “my best employee quit on the spot because I wouldn’t let her go to her college graduation” letter from July 5, 2016? There is an update to that one, written by the employee in question (not written by the boss, the original letter-writer) posted on February 10, 2022.

      I’ll link to the update in a follow-up comment.

      Reply ↓
  24. My Brain is Exploding*

    also I would like the writer of a letter to always call themselves LW. Sometimes they will update in the comments on the original post. It would be nice if on the original post it would note that there’s an update on the comments! Since there isn’t (hint), second best is to search the comments s. But lots of words use “op ” Far fewer have “lw.”

    Reply ↓
    1. Hlao-roo*

      Pro-tip for this: there’s an invisible asterisk after every commenting name on this site, so you can search for op* and lw* instead of just op and lw. I tend to do a quick search of the following to see it a letter-writer has responded in the comments:
      op*
      lw*
      op here
      lw here
      poster
      writer

      That method isn’t 100% but it’s an effort/reward ratio that works for me.

      Reply ↓

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