Regarding: New posters

[Laharl]

Take it easy on them. It IS possible to initiate someone into how the internet at large behaves without being a total jackass.

FFR by it's nature attracts lots of people that are young. We're talking barely teens. If any of you guys can remember, those weren't exactly easy years. They weren't for the vast majority of people I know, and they weren't for me.

I recall that my first post, ever, on the entirety of the internet, was one of self-despair. I know I'm not the only one. I was just lucky enough that there was someone more or less like I am now, that said "This is a really bad place to post of drama in your life." How was I to know? I was just a kid. The internet was a vast, enormous culture I didn't understand at the time. I had genuine problems about being socially accepted, and had the thread I started not been locked by a moderator that understood how to handle the situation, it would have just made things worse.

I'm a big proponent for being nice to other people. I never understood the general spirit of mean-ness inherent in junior high and high school aged kids, especially back when I had to deal with it because I was that age myself. I just wish people would at the very least be respectful of the person on the other end of the computer, just as I'd hope they'd initially be respectful to anyone they met in person.

I guess this is another post from yours truly heavily influenced by another thread. The poor girl is just thirteen. I'm not sure how belittling her is going to help anyone. What sense of satisfaction is there in making someone you don't know feel worse about themselves? I wish someone could explain it to me because I find the concept alien.