[ZTAngel]

I know that I usually do not comment on issues such as this but this has been bugging me for awhile.
I’m not going to point fingers at any particular individual or group but I will say that GC, as a whole, has gotten really mean in the past couple of months. This is the general consensus among many GCers…many who have yet to comment on the current situation.
I will say that the reason so many people refuse to comment on the situation or come around Chit Chat for that matter is because of the mean-spirited “fun” that has been occurring. I’ve noticed that if you have an opinion that is against that of the majority, there is a good chance you will be subjected to name-calling, lampooning, or you will get ganged up on. The problem is that the reason people do not want to come into Chit Chat or stand up for their friends who have been knocked down is because they don’t want to be next. Although this is just the internet (as everyone has said), at the end of the day, we are real people behind these usernames with real lives and real feelings. Some VERY personal stuff has gotten thrown out on these message boards whether it be people’s real names, stuff that has happened offline, or information that the individual just doesn’t want on a message board. Many times, people have gotten into a disagreement and had their personal business aired for all on GC to see. It’s a very awkward and uncomfortable feeling to know that people across the US who you don’t even know now know things about you. On top of it, the fake usernames that have caused so much of the drama need to stop. It is borderline ridiculousness. Especially when these names are used to lampoon people and, once again, throw around some personal information.
I realize that by saying something that I now take the risk of being the next victim of the GC targeting but I can’t bite my tongue any longer. I’ve watched people leave this message board and another GCer become so hurt because her picture that was posted in the GC photo album was criticized. I think it takes a lot of guts for anyone to post their picture on a message board. It takes you from being just an anonymous username to a real person. That’s all I’m going to say about that one…..
I know that the mods of the forums have had a really hard time with this issue as well. Take this as an example: A hurtful/personal comment gets made. A GCer reports the post to the moderator or PMs the moderator of the forum in regards to the post. The post is deleted or edited but now a whole new thread pops up which questions why the post was deleted thus creating more drama. It’s unnecessary and not fair. I’ve tried to be fair to all the GCers who have PMed me or reported a post in my forum in the past few months due to insulting comments or personal info that had been posted. But, I realize that I take a risk because there’s a good chance that I could be a target just for deleting a post. Mods have mentioned to me that they don’t even feel in control of their forums anymore because of this.
IT NEEDS TO STOP!
While many may think it’s fun and just the internet, the fun stops as soon as personal info gets thrown out there and really insulting/hurtful things are said.