My Concerns for the Future

[Xanatos]

I've noticed that recently there's been allot of drama on these boards. My response to the situation is best summed up by Sean Connery:

"In Japan they solve problems by seeking to fix the situation alongside the person who caused it, here in the West we seek to blame someone for a broken situation. Whose idea is better?"

Simply put - pointing fingers and blaming people achieves nothing - there is no progression. We are a community, a collective. We have to put the interests of the community before our own. If we're going to fix these rifts that have occured recently we're going to have to do it together.

If you post here - do it positively. You can complain - but let the complaints not be directed towards the community. (Even if the complaints are 100% valid - don't post 'em) I ask that everyone show a little pragmatism - and consider how much your post is helping someone before you post it.

Like Thumper said in Bambi "If you haven't got anything nice to say...don't say nuthin at all".

The moderators and myself will be ensuring this place is a positive place to post again. But we cannot do it without your help. C'mon CohGuru - let's see some of that community spirit which has carried us over these last two years - and hope that there are two more years (at least) on the horizon.

-Xan

[Vendel]

geeze make one post and the Admins are all over you.....im sorry ok. :shinner:

[Magna Harrier]

Yep... there'll be a lot fewer accusations of heavy-handedness by the mods if we don't give them reason to act so.

[Jade_Dragon]

I've been for the most part staying quiet about this (except for the occasional joke) but I think Xanatos said one thing that is very important. "Consider how much your post is helping someone before you post it." In a lot of cases, I think people post without stopping to think, "Is this really what my friend would want me to say?"

This really is the problem with posts that criticise a board, or a community, whether this one, or anywhere else. It's not the criticism, it's the response to it, which gets out of hand, because everyone has to jump in and "help". Either because they have a grudge of their own, they want to defend someone, or just because they like to cause trouble.

You should be able to resolve your conflicts privately, even if you have to bring in an impartial mediator to do it. Calling for "help" from the board, though, just results in disruption of the board. Even if it's not your intention to cause trouble, in the end that's exactly what happens.

[Esbat]

Here, here! *raises his "borrowed" bottle of rum to the boards*

[Gold Rush]

Well, I have been out of the loop and don't know what is going on (but reading that "Sharpie" post all at once had me on the floor rolling out of laughter :chuckle: ).

But on a serious note, Pragmatism is true. Heck if someone is not practicing it in the first place, I try to direct/talk about it first. If that doesn't work, well, I DO have very long patience, but it is not endless.

However, being an observer, sometimes people don't practice what they preach; they fall into old habits. Still, I have alot of faith in this community and most people I have met in-game, no matter the age, seem adult and sensible, more so than any other MMORPG.

Some understanding, common sense, and the ability to shrug small things off you like a duck shrugs water are good values. The west does have an overabundance of finger pointing (and I probably do my share from time to time). Still, I try to get all sides before I jump because I've skewered myself with my own arguements in the past ;) . It's best to be open, patient, and learn from the facts. Heck, even if you use these tools for revenge, sometimes just not reading the offending post on a daily basis (avoiding it) works best.

I think people on forums will criticize things they dont agree with from time to time and the net (and forums) is the place for it, but I also think if Mods let comments fall too far, it sets a bad trend for the whole board. Like most things in life, this is a balancing act. Some things are better said privately between the concerned parties rather than in public flames. This is mostly for the good of the community. Some may forget decorum when they post, but we should try to endevour not to sink to their level.

After all, we are all RPing heroes, for the most part. We may admire their nobility of purpose and their willingness to accept (and put up with) their fellow man. These are good lessons to take into life and in dealings with people on and off the net. It's a constant battle, but it can have its own rewards.

Gold Rush

(...)

[suburbanhell]

Not to make light of the situation, but you have to ask yourself:
http://www.virtualstapler.com/office_space/images/milton_intro.jpg

:D

Seriously though, before you hit Submit Reply...just take a step back...breathe deep...think a little...this place is great, don't let our community die!

[Akamaz]

especially not over something as stupid as not liking another forum member, or what they have to say.

[Moon Jump]

Just call me the voice of truth.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/Yuckmud/arguing.jpg

[Xanatos]

Moon, while I appreciate the sentiment, it's probablynot the best picture to post. I'm sure there are some people who might find such a picture offensive.

[Yin]

Agreed. The saying is funny, but the picture isn't. Also, I'm not holding back. What do I mean by that? If I see something negative, it's gone. Chew it up, spit it out. Wash, rinse, and repeat. If something or someone is bothering you that bad then don't come to the forums. Everyone, their mother, their sister's aunt's cat, and family doesn't need to know about it (this relates to drama-filled messes only). This isn't the Real World: Guru, and I'd be damned if it turns into one. If that's the case, pitch the idea to MTV. They might bite, but I'm not. Sooooooo. -big grin- Peace be still. ;)

[Larke]

I didn't do it!

[Moon Jump]

Yes I know the picture might offend some people but the saying is always true.

I have been on MANY different internet message boards and the same thing always happens. The community of people is great but then.....sombody says somthing, sombody else takes it the wrong way and it snowballs into a big argument.

Me? I try my best to stay away from it. I try to stick to whatever the forum's topic is and try my best to have fun with the other people that post there. A few times I did get involved with a flamewar and I felt REALLY stupid after the whole thing blew over.

I don't know what happened between Tark and One Hit and frankley I don't really care. One Hit was the person that introduced me to PC.com and I never really talked to Tark that much but he seemed like an alright kid.

As always, if you have something wrong take it out with privite messages and if you know their e-mail adress talk it over with them. Don't go making sides with everybody you know on the message boards it just get's worse.

[suburbanhell]

Agreed, don't air out your dirty laundry and create an unnecessary war where unneccessary parties get involved for unnecessary reasons...It's ....Unnecessary. :P

[Tsarmina]

The internet can be a wonderful place, a terrible place and all shades in between.
We have grown as a community. We have endured trolls, bad moods, homelessness and differences of opinion. We have welcomed in new faces and have been sad to see familiar ones leave. We have become friends in the sense that we go beyond an online game. We also share births, sicknesses, deaths, good news, bad news and the just plain incoherent ramblings. We have grown and we have changed as a community and we will continue to do so. That part is inevitable. But what we grow and change into is completely up to us.

Posting angry accusing posts doesn’t do anyone any good, especially if it’s fanning an already hot topic. But we have to also recognize that there are people’s feelings involved as well. There will be emotional posts. So one should remember a person’s emotional state when either making a post that may be angry or reading/replying to such a post.

As far as fixing things…. some things can’t be fixed. Things can’t be reversed to the way they were before. One can only hope that the parties involved either work things out or come up with a way to handle the problem. Now with such a large group of friends, we’d most certainly want to help. But by stepping in, is that helping or hindering? Will things work out by ignoring it? *shrug*

Now I’ve been interrupted and have lost my train of thought…how dare work intrude upon my forum activities! *shakes fist*
Anyways, all these goings on are just making me feel icky but it’s not my place to be telling people what they should or shouldn’t do in their situation. I do have my opinions but I am certainly not going to proclaim them all over the place. But I will say that my heart goes out to those who have been effected and I truly believe that all things eventually work out in the end. But then again, I can be a terribly annoying optimist.

[Sebastian Kain]

"Vote President SK in the years after 2017 and everything shall be fine."

[Joe Schmoe]

This has to do with 5-6 people, tops. The fact that.. I mean.. Wow.. This is nuts. *shakes his head in shame* Tsk tsk, I try to vacation once, just once. :rolleyes: Good thing I have gotten absorbed into the real life people in my life right now enough to not care about this. A few months ago, this would have caused non stop tears like it used to!

[Tsarmina]

*sneaks up on Joe and grabs him in a bear hug* :D

[Meltman]

Did anybody else read that as "beer mug"?

[Bari Jon]

*tackles both Joe and Tsarmina, happy to see Joe back!*

[Mahaf]

My concerns for the future? Whether or not Ice will crash and burn with his current girl like he did with his previous one. :lol:

[Jade_Dragon]

Agreed, don't air out your dirty laundry and create an unnecessary war where unneccessary parties get involved for unnecessary reasons...It's ....Unnecessary. :P

I believe that's the gist of what I said, and as usual, someone else summed it up much better than I did. :D

[FlamingIntern]

Ya, I'm so confused right now. But atleast I look good! :cool: