(a board rant)

...I really want people to understand that even if a person gets pissed off at them and a fight erupts, that it's not that they're going to get kicked off of the board for it. For hurling insults, or for hitting below the belt, so to speak, yes, but not just for disagreeing or getting into a heated argument.

If someone has a problem with something that's posted, or something that someone is doing (including something having to do with me!) then I want people to speak up about it, rather than just drifting away from the board.

Life isn't all fluffy and nice, and when people get pissed off, they shouldn't have to pretend that they're not. Everyone has bad days, everyone has raw nerves, everyone has a few opinions that might upset another person, and everyone has character flaws. We're all human.

I've never pretended to be "fluffy", and I've never pretended to be just fine with people casually drifting on and off the board. This board is real to me. There are plenty of other boards out there that take pride in their inflated membership numbers, their endless threads of one liners or emoticons, their 16 page chat sessions, their psy-vamping dramatic bullshit, or their "everything is beautiful" attitudes. (My board) isn't one of them.

I'm selfish. I use this board as a social outlet. Because of things that are beyond my control in life right now, my life resembles that of a 90 year old shut-in. My social interactions are online. It is my preference to have intense relationships, not casual acquaintances. I set up (my board) to be based on that need for intensity, and my need to grow and learn. I simply do not have any need for shallow, howya doin' type interactions. If I did, there are about 3 zillion other boards out there that I could post on.

If you (you, general - not specific) don't see online life as "real", that's fine... but if you don't put out as much of yourself as you can, your time, your energy, your honesty, and your caring, and attempt to make this place as real as online can possibly be, then I really don't want to share my space with you. I'd rather give my energy to people who will return it in kind.