Welcome to Gaia! ::

I've noticed the 'no drama' rule has been reinforced quite a bit. A few people I know are dramatically anti-drama as well. One thing I've noticed is that this actually creates more drama than it prevents. Drama is a part of life, since the time of Adam and Eve, and fighting it is like putting alcohol on a fire. In shops it really gets bad with staff take it to extremes, and people end up really hurt over something that should never have been taken so far, and blame ends up on the wrong people. In real life it gets bad when people begin avoiding their friends, and so they lose those friends who they no longer seem to care about, often times being no fault of the one being avoided but simply because they're in a bad situation in life. People become alone, scared, and very hurt.

Also, not everyone has the same mental and emotional strength. Some have been abused by their parent, classmates, or partner. Some are still being abused on a daily basis. Some have depression, some are bipolar, some just don't reason in their head like most people do. Often a person ends up scared to say anything to anyone for fear of punishment.

Gaia is meant to be a place where people can go to escape the real world, yes, but that doesn't mean it's a place where people can forget. People cant turn off a sad emotion simply because they're on the Internet. Sometimes a person needs support, and Gaia is a great place to get that support. If someone is going through a bad break-up, she should be allowed to talk to her friends about it without punishment. I've seen a lot of cases where it's the punishment that creates the drama, even unintentionally.

Also, some of the members here, as well as one of the staff, have told me they just aren't having fun anymore. I've been told this place was great at first, but now... Well it's so hard to have fun when your afraid your words will be taken wrong, or totally twisted out of context. It's hard to be creative, as well, in histories and role-play. I totally understand things have to be monitored so people don't flame or bully, but when it's so strict, well, it's not fun. I think some are even a little afraid to really get into Modifox anymore. I know I am. Even as I write this I fear blacklisting. I know I'm not the only one who feels threatened by the lists that have become so easy to land on... And I know I'm not the only one who misses the real fun.

I think instead of getting so strict, Modifoxes just needs to relax. Breath. Accept that drama is life, life is drama, and it happens. Letting up on the noose will let us all breathe easier, regular members can be trusted to behave on their own, and newbies are easy to monitor when everyone is a family. I hope Modifox can be a true family again. heart