Why all of this anger?
 

As I've been reading through a lot of the threads I've noticed a lot of people have been snippy or mean in their responses when PNMs have been asking questions. If they truly are potential new members then they don't know if what they're asking is wrong, stupid or offensive; it's an innocent question! I can't seem to wrap my head around why people are mean in their responses. If you want someone to join greek life, why give them a bad taste in their mouths from the get-go?

There are some mean-spirited people in the world and yes, some of them are Greek. We do however, seem to have a large percentage of them on GreekChat.

oh dear.

I love this website, I just don't love some of the mean spiritedness

If they can't take a little ribbing on some online forums, how are they ever gonna deal with all the pressures of Greek life? ;)

:rolleyes:

I could be a little more sympathetic to your viewpoint if your first question here wasn't regarding sorority reputations at your school.

My whole question wasn't about reputations there was a lot more to it. I'm just nervous. I was wondering how reputations have affected other people and how they handle it or if they end up being overwhelmingly true. I wasn't trying to discuss the bad things said about everyone, just about how you should deal with it or if I should be nervous about them.

You didn't ask any of those questions. How else was anyone supposed to interpret that post?

Even if they ended up being true, we joined, didn't we? So obviously we didn't care.

Also, reputations are made up by people often not in the group. Get to know the women, and see for yourself.

We're not trying to be unkind, but as you're now an adult, you're going to have to make decisions for yourself. It's part of growing up and yes, it is hard. My advice would be go into it with an open mind and make the decision that's best for you. What's best for another person may not be the best for you, so weigh all of your options and go from there.

But asking about reputations and whether one sorority is good or bad on a forum about Greek life isn't the wisest way to start your time here. Even if they're "the worst ugliest meanest stupidest" group on your campus, guess what? One of us is probably a part of that group. See how that could be construed as offensive?

I'm sorry to anyone that I have offended. Obviously, I am new. This is exactly what I was talking about. Instead of just explaining it, I've had four people jump on me for what I've said. I didn't mean to start anything I'm just trying to figure it all out. I really am sorry.

GC has a few unwritten rules, yes. A lot of it is common sense though. Don't ask questions which are highly subjective, e.g., "What is the reputation of ___ at ___"?

It's time to grow a thicker skin. You have in no way been jumped on here. What you did get was clear concise advice about how to behave on this message board and through rush. That is a far cry from being jumped on. You might be embarrassed because you asked a question that you have now found out is a no-no, but the best way to handle that is to say mea culpa, not get defensive. It's a good life lesson to learn because trust me, you're going to get your foot in your mouth plenty of times in your life. If you can handle those blunders with dignity and grace you will go far in this world.