An Important Announcement about Discussions 4/2/09

Other Announcements:

5/11/09 - Admin Announcement about the Network
3/16/09 - A Very Important Announcement regarding Ning Public Profiles

Click Here for member feedback on this announcement

I have seen negative come in waves on here, and recently it has been at a peak but so has the amount of members. I know some wish for us to police the discussions and while we do look in on discussions and such but everyone here is adults, and with that I expect people to act as such and police their own behavior.

This place was created for "ALL" to come, I don't deny people based on their beliefs or philosophies etc. because that would be hypocritical of me to do such; if I want people to accept my beliefs, then I need to accept there's as well, doesn't mean I have to agree with them but opinions are like assholes, we all have them and none are more rosy than another :-) Simply, If I don't deny people being here, then you do not have that right either.

Next, I think people need to realize that while the arguments are annoying and to believe they will not happen occasionally is living in a dream world...lol. When it happens, we all have a choice to dive into the crap pot or leave it alone. If you dive into the mix, then you have no right to complain about the negativity. It's your choice, take the bait or instead, involve yourself in something that doesn't annoy you. I have dealt with countless issue reports of people telling on others, only to go into the issue at hand and see the reporter going back-n-forth for pages with the person they're reporting; makes it moot because if I were going to ban the person being reported I would have to ban the one reporting it as well. Make sense? Hope So...

I think mis-communication also happens "a lot", it's unfortunately, the downfall of the written word because we do not have a face and a voice to differentiate tones etc. Although, sometimes there's no mistaking the passive aggressive BS that goes on and believe me, I have also had to walk away a few times when I read crap about this site and how it is run all in the guise of being helpful *insert eye roll here*.

If people truly do not like the negative discussions there's choices A) Jump into them so they can sit on the front page for a lot longer B) Bitch about all the negative behavior or C) start a new discussion, open another thread that you enjoy. FTR, C is actually doing something to help make it better.

I created this place so people would have the freedom to talk openly, I didn't create it so I could be a babysitter or mommy to a bunch of adults. I rarely ban people from this place, as I think it's only fair to try and first work it out amicably if all possible, because everyone has bad days and "everyone" makes mistakes, myself included. I'm about the most forgiving idiot on this planet but I'm not stupid and if people believe that I don't see what goes on, or the motivations behind some of this crap then they do not know me at all. I'm not big on grandstanding and I have no need to publicly point out what transpires because all that does is perpetuate more damn drama.

The bottom line is simple, if you cannot respect this place for what it was created for or all you can do is publicly bitch about the people here and this place, then remove yourself because I am not paying for this place every month so people can abuse it, make it their personal soapbox of BS and agendas. I ask very little of people here but I do expect people to use their brain, respect the work and time that goes into this place, be respectful of others and act like adults. I'm not saying people cannot speak their peace or disagree so, before someone hits me with the lame and tired freedom of speech or censorship crap here's my take on it. If you feel any of this is hindering your freedom of speech or censoring you then take it to a place that "you pay for" and run your mouth and type till your fingers fall off and marinade in it. Or contact the president and tell him that I'm taking your rights away on a site that I pay for. Good luck with that :-)

Bottom line, If I as the owner, don't come on here, guns a blazing to judge people or feel the need to openly blither my cannon fodder on a daily basis, then you sure as hell have no place to act as though you're judge, jury and hangman in this place. Make sense? Let's really hope so.

So, let's move on, this is your community if you want to make it better then let's work towards change and not be a party to what makes it unpleasant.

From here on out, (no I'm not digging through 20k posts) if someone starts a discussion only to point out another member publicly then the discussion will be closed and deleted. If it continues to happen, I don't care who it is that does it, they will be banned. If you want to bitch about things that annoy you (without calling out names) put it into a blog because having all of this sitting on the front page everyday for the public to view is getting tiresome and old.

You all know I love ya to pieces and I'm not angry but I'm very tired of all the drama and fighting. I know we're all better than that!

Hugs,
Starrfire

P.S. Have a great weekend!