An Open Letter to All "Goodbye-ers"

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DISCLAIMER: Any name calling in this thread is not directed at anyone, is highly sarcastic, and meant to illustrate a point. Grain of salt highly recommended.

A humble, not-so-subtle request to all who announce here that they're leaving SP forever: Stop being such pussies. Seriously. I say this because I care.

Try and flash back to high school for a second. For the sake of this little analogy, imagine your parents shipped you off to an international boarding school. Imagine a group of friends and peers to which you belong. You all come from varied backgrounds and families, yet share several key interests. Interests that allowed you all to meet and become friends. Everyone in your circle has their own unique personality and point of view, despite your similar interests. But it's these differences that makes for an interesting, intelligent group of peers; one through which all involved learn and grow from each other, as well as enjoy the company. With me so far?

One member of your peer group (let's just call him Dick - and I'm referring to no one in particular here)...Dick has recently argued publicly with several other people at your school, even within your own peer group. A few scraps and scuffles here and there. No one is an enemy, they just can't see eye to eye on several issues, occasionally go overboard, and have taken things personally. With such a diverse group, such personality clashes are inevitable. On top of this, Dick is frustrated because it seems to him that the faculty tolerate it when others step out of line in this way, even though the faculty can't be everywhere at once to break up every little scuffle. Dick's frustration reaches its breaking point.

But rather than avoid those he doesn't get along with, discuss how he feels with his friends, or allow himself some time to cool off, he decides it's best if he just drops out of school altogether. Pins a note to the school's bulletin board and walks on out, never to return. Suddenly, all of the friendships he's made - which far outnumber the enemies - or the good times he's had, aren't worth the percieved abuse or injustice he's feeling. So in an attempt to sever bad social relationships, he shuts the good ones out as well. He tells you and a few other friends he'll answer the phone if you call, but won't be back to hang out ever again.

Now, as Dick's friend, who enjoys Dick's company and values his presence in your group, do you have more or less respect for him for doing what he's done? As a friend of Dick's myself, I say much, much less. But that's me.

Since I've been here on SP (exactly 1 year, actually) I've seen people come and go. I've seen several recently leave out of frustration, usually frustration with one or two key people. They leave immediately after a bad encounter on the boards, that being their "last straw," so to speak. When I see someone I like (which is pretty much everybody, really) leave our entire community behind just because of a few incidents or frustrating people, it really annoys me. It says to me that myself and everyone else you don't have a problem with here isn't worth sticking around for.

To me, it's the equivilant of a kid on the playground saying "we played rough and you knocked me down and I skinned my knee. So I'm taking my ball and going home!" Don't be that kid. That kid was the weenie nobody liked. He probably had a bike with a banana seat, too.

The bottom line is, we all enjoy SP. It's not perfect, but I double-dog dare you to find a board on the net that is. The mods do their best to make SP a shining example for what a good message board should be. Spend a little time on a board that consists of nothing but "u r stoopid cuz u no nuthin LOL!!! 1337 ha hahaha" and you'll really appreciate the gem that is SP. But more than that, the people here are why I keep coming back almost daily. Everyone here kicks ass, and all for different reasons. If you don't like one or two people here - CONGRATULATIONS! You're normal. Nobody gets along with everybody. But don't sh*t on everyone else because somebody else played too rough and made you skin your knee. The rest of us still like you and like seeing you around.

In closing, I just want to ask all who consider leaving SP to do just that - leave. For a week or two. Just take a vacation. Don't announce it, just go away. Cool down, come back and see us again. Or try talking to whomever you have a problem with. I guarantee you'll have infinitely more respect for one another after doing so. I also understand that life and other obligations happen. But you can still pop in every once in a while and say hi.

Don't be a Dick.


Thank you. /steps off soapbox.

edit - Jumpin Jesus! Sorry for the novel, guys.

[ March 18, 2004, 16:49: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]

 

Cool. Thanks for saying that I 'kick ass'!

 

Spam... err... wisdom speaks through this man!

 

Some people cannot just leave. When you are a slave of fame aka famous people, you have the responsibility for those who know you by your fame. Your sudden poof will stir speculations. Remember the time when Extremist poof on us? When you leave, you tell your friends you are leaving. Had Arabwel and Shura chosen to leave quietly, wouldn't there be such thread that gossip their disappearance?

Of course, a goodbye thread comes with an explanation and this explanation promotes more discussion. If they had no love for this board at you, will you think they will just leave without an explanation?

 

[ Issue with how the Boards are moderated deleted. Warning pending. ] - Beren

[ March 18, 2004, 02:01: Message edited by: Beren ]

 

@teekc - I think you're missing D.R.'s point. He's suggesting a cool-down period before actually making a decision (and possible announcement) to leave.

[ Response to Sarevok's post deleted. Splunge, nothing against you, just trying to keep this thread focused. ] - Beren

@ DR - good post

[ March 18, 2004, 02:03: Message edited by: Beren ]

 

Well if that is so then my mistake and then in that case I wonder how I have managed to avoid getting one so far.

 

The saddest thing about this post is that whilst it contains an idea of considerable merit, you have to go and pretty much ruin your point by starting insulting people and calling them 'pussies' and 'dicks'. If you start off in the very first sentence of your post insulting someone, do you really think they're going to be more or less inclined to read your post with an open mind? I'll give you a hint. It's the latter.

 

Quite right but maybe the pussie and dick part was not meant to be taken seriously.

 

This is what happens when people start getting all too acquainted with something, sadly.

Put yourself in the same position, and your whim at the moment will tell you otherwise. This applies for most average persons who actually has his/her own ideals to turn to...

The saddest thing about this is the regret that gets slaughtered by everyone's inherent pride once the wrong decision had been made.

Don't take my post seriously, by the way. I haven't slept for the last 20 hours.

 

I think someone (probably Taluntain) said it best that those who say they're going to leave don't really leave, and those who don't say anything about it eventually leave. Applies to me too.

 

*laughs*

*calms down*

*laughs some more*

*gives Death Rabbit *


Once again I see whats special about SP.

 

@Edit

We straightened this out in PM. Rock on DR.

[ March 18, 2004, 22:47: Message edited by: Jack Funk ]

 

@ Wildfire, Jack, Laches, Beren, etc.

To those who took my rant the wrong way - sorry. It wasn't meant to insult people. It's difficult to type with my foot in my mouth, but I'll try.

For the record - my whole "pussie and dick" thing was meant to add a humorous spin to my rant, but also to illustrate the point that names like that are just names and shouldn't be taken seriously. Plus they're just fun words to say. Wee. But seriously - I don't think any of you are pussies any more than your buddy who jokingly calls you a "fag" or a "douchebag" would.

If I failed miserably at my attempt to say "lighten up - we're all friends here at SP who can lean on each other," then I sincerely apologize. This may be yet another example of how sarcasm is difficult to translate over the internet. I chose the words I did so it wouldn't come off as being preachy and to keep my message serious yet light-hearted. But my point was apparantly lost in translation.

edit - As it turns out, it seems the very people I was trying to appeal to are now more inclined to leave than ever.


Again - sorry. Please understand my intentions were for the best. I'll shut up now, and possibly take my own advice and duck out of SP for a while.

 

HA!
*Dances in circles while chanting "DR is Dick!! Dr is Dick!!"*




Now, as one that have previously written a goodbye letter and then returned(although mine was mostly because problems at home, but also because of some people's reaction against me, especially Tal's a while back) I must say that even though we say that we keep the AoDA differencies in AoDA, you must remember, you are only human, and therefore you will show them in other forums as well, how much you even deny it.

With such thoughts against some at the time I had very much problems with talking to them or even think of and/or enter BoM at all without thinking bad of them and trashing them in my mind.

Now, you may call me immature because of this, and please do so, because I don't care, actually. I have been called this by so many people that I've realized that it is almost exclusively the most immature ones that call me immature.

Now, I am sliding veeeeeeery much of topic so I will STFU now.

 

*casts powerword: silence on velve*

Why are things so tense here recently?
Everyone who has read more than three of Death Rabbits posts in the past knows *exactly* how that was supposed to be taken. Certainly not as an insult or whatnot.

 

Yeah, I did not take it as an insult, I just added my point of view.

 

I know. Only the powerword was directed at you and only at your dancing and chanting.

With the rest I just wanted to say that things get uncomfortable here. For no good reason.

Oh, I am out of this mess.

 

can't you find anything better to chat about lads? Women, beer and football come to mind

 

Just going on record to agree with Dendri:

But D.R. may also be correct when he said:

So, D.R., quit being such a jerk.

(For interpretation of that last comment, see the quote above it. )