STORM2K

Have you seen the Walgreens commercials where everything is wonderful and they state "In a perfect world....."? Well guess what folks, this site is not a perfect world and in the past week I've seen way too much animosity, of which I will admit to being guilty of. There are others out there as well.And not just on the boards, but in the chatroom as well. It bothers me that this could very well turn into another site that we all seem to want ours NOT to be. Some general thoughts:
1. People are going to disagree. On forecasts, on sport teams, on life issues. This shouldn't give license to those who disagree to resort to name calling or outright verbal attacks. If we all agreed on everything, this place would be boring. It is the opposing opinion that give us time to think, debate, learn.
2. Because this is a cyber-environment, people can portray themselves as something they are not. If you choose to chat with someone and it gets involved (and don't act like it doesn't happen) DO NOT BE SURPRISED if you get hit with a brick in the face when you discover that the person you thought you were chatting with is NOT AT ALL WHAT THEY APPEARED TO BE. People get hurt. You can hurt other people.
3. This site should not be your entire life. If it is, aren't you missing out on something else that could be just as interesting?
4. THINK BEFORE YOU POST. Not just here but in the chatroom. Has someone already asked the question you're asking? Did you read the complete line before you responded?

I have been guilty and fully intend to send private messages to those that I have offended or hurt today. If you feel I have ticked you off and don't hear from me, PLEASE send me a message. I think this may be the time for some of us to mend fences before we lost valuable members or do irreparable damage to friendships. Just my two cents worth. If one of the admins thinks this should be deleted, so be it. I just hate to see a community destroyed by rampant anger, hurt feelings, misunderstandings, etc. I won't sign this Marva the Magnificent, because right now I don't feel too magnificent. Right now I feel more like Marva the maggot.

Suzi

I think things have been going great on the board.. Havent seen any attacks.. Where is this coming from eb? You must of been personally involved in something or saw something.. What is it?

Suzi,

Without risks in our lives, we live in a vacuum. There is great pain associated with both.

Each of us at one time or another took a step to join the Storm2k community because we felt the benefit outweighed the risk....but not because we knew it would be a place full of only good experiences.

I liken it to a masquerade ball where you attend because you have something in common, but you can hide behind the mask that you wear. You can say nothing and be talked about, or you can remove the mask and still be talked about. Here you can make new friendships that are real, or you can simply sign off knowing that there were some interesting, and not so interesting, people here in the room.

Getting hurt, being hurt, and hurting others is especially easy in a cyber-environment. Not that long ago I made a comment that you took as personally offensive from me. The difficulty in the cyberworld is that it can take days or weeks to say you are sorry or remove the mask...when in a real world, it could all evolve in a matter of minutes.

It's been a few years (a few decades, actually) since I threw a shoe across the room at my lovely wife. It hasn't been that long since I said something in anger or frustration...even something hurtful. And a year ago Christmas, with my son's marriage on the rocks, if we had taken the expletives out of our Christmas Eve conversation, not a word would have been spoken.

But our family is real and strong and based on the principals of love and respect....so it has survived those times.

Storm2k is NOT a place where the masquerade is perpetuated or those in the shadows are encouraged to do their dark work. It is, however, a place where a group of people from teenagers to keenagers can say all the right things one day, and get admonished the next. Just like my own family.

Finally, you are so right in suggesting that we need people and places and experiences outside of this room. This virtual reality can do much to enhance our lives, but it should never replace the real world.

So Suzi, aka Marva the magnifent, please don't be so hard on yourself. You add balance and humor and become a leveling factor for egos and personalities that walk these halls. With that comes risk. ....and some pain.

But the forces at work here are positive ones...like the people themselves who come to visit.

In a perfect world, Walgreens would actually be able to get your prescription for you without waiting in line, without substituting for generic, and without reminding you that your insurance doesn't cover the whole cost.

In fact, in a perfect world, you wouldn't even need Walgreens.

Okay, maybe I was wrong. Sorry I brought it up. Feel free to delete this thread.

Suzi - wow, I must have been in a fog recently or something. Or maybe I'm just looking at the surface here and not deep down? Anyway, first off I hardly know you. Maybe I should remedy that! I think you have a lot of friends here, they tease you about being Marva, but in a good way? Get my meaning. At least that's what I've always picked up on. So don't be so hard on yourself. We all get angry at another member, some of us lash out, others stew about it. Some opt to PM that person. We are a family here, first and foremost. All families have disagreements, unless you're the Brady Bunch, which isn't reality. LOL This is reality - Chad, Marshall and Patricia had the foresight and courage to start this wonderful site. Hang in there, okay?

Mary

There is a lot of peer pressure here to conform to the standasrd, plus an ever-vigilant moderator and admin corps. We do have our moments, but that's a good sign that we're all living, breathing people.
As for the masks, that's a possibility. I think that sooner or later the masks either come off or are removed. The best part though, is being able to sit here in my underwear, unwashed, unshaven, with bad breath, and appear no different than at any other time.

Thanks for that mental image, coriolis.

UH OH,your mask has been taken off, Coriolis