User blog:Jeremiah Garland/Why does it have to be like this?

I made a pledge to myself a long time ago I would never make a blog like this, but I'm officially breaking that pledge because this has gotten to a ridiculous point. The primary question I'm asking in this blog is this: why does everybody have to be so unkind?

I know that you're probably thinking I've gone soft now; or that I'm turning into another KittyNomsMe. Four months ago, I would have laughed at a blog like this. Now I realise those blogs are actually correct, and that Kitty has been right this whole time. ''There is absolutely no reason why you should be unkind on this site. ''I know I'll probably get a bunch of hateful comments from various users (I could probably guess who), but if that is the case, it would only be proving my point.

I've noticed that several users here just somehow feel it is alright to be rude to everybody, all the time. I don't understand why and I don't want to understand why users would think like this. All I ask is that it stops. There's a lot of hate on this wiki, and quite often I notice rude remarks from users who clearly just want attention, want to start a fight, or both. For example, I've noticed a lot of those memes lately in comments which simply say "Nobody Cares", mostly on pages that have nothing to do with the user leaving the blunt comment. I know this is cliché of me to say, but just put yourself in the shoes of the author who wrote that page, and how he / she must feel about seeing something like that. It was funny at first when it was used appropriately, but now the people using it are just being jerks. That's just a minour example of what I've seen. Both on chat and the actual wiki do I see a lot of vitriol among a certain group.

It doesn't need to be like that.

And that isn't to say I'm not guilty of being brash to users in the past. Even maybe recently. But it needs to stop. For the following reasons: The main problem this wiki has is many of the users who are way too dramatic, and as a result, feel it is necessary to constantly be mean to others. It's really a sad scenario. Look at the facts: we've driven away our past three presidents, and have gone from seven admins to only four admins in less than two months. This is, of course, due to all the hate amongst users here.
 * 1) You aren't helping the users on the wiki by being rude to them
 * 2) You aren't helping the image of the wiki itself
 * 3) You aren't helping yourself

So ask yourself: is it worth it? What good comes out of being mean?

You can hate in comments all you want. Laugh at me, call me a "dumbass" for writing this, say whatever. But as I said above, that will only prove my point.

I realise the world isn't perfect. I realise there are a lot of mean people out there. Please, trust me, I've been to over thirty different countries; I feel like I've seen a lot of the world many others here have not. I know that unkind people exist, and that's only reality. But I believe, as every human being should, that a society can and should function without the conflict and vitriol that it often entails today. Our wiki is no difference. As I've said all along: we need to be constructive, not destructive. What I simply do not understand is why so many of you are so turned off by the idea of a wiki in which people do not fight, and are not rude to each other.

My request here is that everybody at least tries to be kind to all. If you see a story you don't particular like, you don't need to comment about it. If you see a comment that you don't necessarily agree with, you can state your opinion in a calm, non-offensive manner. I really do believe in the old saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". Because in the end, it's that rule that will make everybody here happier. If you are really so twisted and upset with everything on this wiki that you don't want a happier society, but just want to make every user's experience here a living hell, then perhaps it is best you don't be here.

If we want the wiki to be better, we have to start with ourselves.