Is it just me or are a lot of people bitching about Gather lately? It seems every few days someone is emailing a mass good-bye, saying in essence "I can't take it anymore, good-bye cruel world!!"
Well I finally got curious enough to care and checked out a few of these people's gather pages. I clicked through several of their articles and didn't find ONE thing to suggest they were being run off by mass crowds. In fact I didn't see anything to suggest that Gatherites were hurting them at all. Yet they all claim very eloquently that they were found lacking by omnipotent gather and life can't go on… ok I am exaggerating a bit, but you all know what I mean.
So I emailed one of the people back and told them I was sick of the bitchin'... if they really were so offended they wouldn't send out a mass email crying about it; trying to get our sympathies, they would just leave. Was I harsh? Probably. Would I do it again? You bet your ass.
If you can't take the heat of a little criticism or even take a low ranker giving you ones for no reason, you need to go back under mom's apron. I am sure some idiot is gonna give me a one for this and I could care less. All that matters is I am happy to write here and I am thrilled with the wonderful people I am meeting and getting to read.
So take the heat, shut up and write.
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Comments: 91
Good bye and good riddance to those people, I say! And good for you for giving them a little dose of reality
Sometimes I post things no one reads.
I shut up and write.
Sometimes i post things that piss people off.
I shut up and write.
Sometimes great writing goes unnoticed while trite musings get 100 comments.
I shut up and write.
Sometimes no one agrees with me.
Sometimes everyone agrees with me.
I shut up and write.
Give me 1s or give me 10s, I don't care, because I don't
need your affirmation, but I appreciate your criticism.
Read me, don't read me - I don't care.
Just read me.
Now I'll shut up and write.
An architect can design and build the finest building ever seen, a Parthenon, Palace of Versailles, or Taj Mahal.
And still ... pigeons will poop on it,
I no longer rate articles at all, unless they are outstandingly good; then I give a 10. I, too, am tired of the whining. I think some real improvements are needed to the site, but all in all, I love it. Otherwise I would not be sitting her ten hours a day.....
Larry Lawfer? Ummm was that a compliment or insult? I am one of the village idiots some days....
thanks for that.
carl, you never fail to impress us all with your wit...
*************************fireworks***********************************************
If I may play devil's advocate, Mandi...quite a while back, didn't you you essentially organize a manhunt for "the low ranker", to the point where you ended up (incorrectly) singling out a person and attempting to rally the site against him?
Everybody's got something to bitch about--some rightly so, others not as much. But I agree with your point here that not only is there too much complaining going on about Gather, I would extend that assessment to state that there's too much talk about Gather in general going on on Gather.
(And here I am contributing to the problem.)
Thanks for commenting.
We should simply delete stuff we don't like. Easy.
But what unfortunately supports this juvenile "I quit" behavior are the people who then go and post "DON'T LEEEAAAVE" to the whiny person.
Apparently, the need to post these articles is just to get a pat on the head or some sort of acknowledgment from others. (Maybe the person needs to spend less time on Gather and make some real friends, perhaps?) So people need to stop ENABLING them by giving those undeserved pats on the back.
Perhaps we need to organize posses that go and tell these people not to let the door hit them on the butt as they leave. That might shut them up.
Stephanie, very well said.
Whay does everyone assume that if someone gives their posting a "one" rating, it's just some rotten SOB trying to screw up the system? Why don't we assume that our work has room for improvement and someone thought it only justified a "one"?
and as far as Micheal goes GROW UP!!!!!!! If you know something is TRUE than it should not bother you.
Great article Mandi!
......Guess there is an awful lot of bitchin' going on - kind of like we've become a family or something, LOL!
And while I have pulled some of my more depressing poetry off and some other personal articles, it's not because I'm unhappy with Gather. In fact, while there have been a few spoilsports who have made ugly comments and slammed me with 1's, the majority of people I interact with regularly are some of the greatest people in the world.
So I guess I just don't understand people who overlook all the positives and the commradery, who don't appreciate the many folks who take the time to come read their work and make thoughtful comments, yet they focus on the few "nameless cretins" who like to make trouble......I'm Sorry Mike S. I think you have it all wrong.
And you are such a sweetheart, I know I can always count on you!
This is not a commentary about your writing, Mandi, I just think its funny.
Thanks for reading!
I'm not leaving and I'll wait to see if people want to read about something other than themselves. But I'm sick of it.
sorry you feel this way stephen.... I didn't think gather was only for stories....but rather for anything we wanted to write about...
Brandon,, BWAHAHAHAHAHAH... heartless... please
*sniffle*
*whimper*
Yep, people have been having growing pains on Gather as of late. As the BEAST grows it grows ugly at times!!
Btw, those *snuffles* above were for all the folks who are trying their hardest to bring folks down...because it ain't working...we're still here. We're still writing. And we're still reading and learning with each passing day.
Anyone who leaves the kitchen because it's hot will either starve or eat fast food. Me ? I like hot kitchens, as long as the cooks know what they are doing and the heat's not from an oven fire.
its not high school :)
Gather is actually very mellow. You wanna see some serious drama, go to a Diabetes message board, and write something negative about aspartame, or better yet, something negative about synthetic insulin. And then STAND BACK!!!
The thing is, this unfiltered world also allows for the entrance of some pretty hurtin' puppies, as they say. I said this before, and while I know it sounds harsh, it is truly what I believe: one of the big issues re dealing with people with mental illnesses is their tendency not to take any responsibility for their behavior. Some just plain can't, and some just get more bennies out of being histrionic and victimy. Rare is the person who can say something like "I tend to be paranoid, so if I think you're attacking me, I'm going to consider the possibility that you're NOT, and it's my head talking." So what you're going to run into at Gather, along with the funny, brave, and/or brilliant people, are the people running their head trips. I used to engage with them and might still, to a limited extent, but now my philosophy is basically "back away slowly and get the hell out of there." But that lesson was only learned after twenty years with a certified nutjob.
But I'm being glib.
Anyway, it seems to me that Gather is a perfect example of the medium being the message. Some of the best writing is in the comments section. Writing about Gather is writing about life is writing about ... well, that's writing, yes? I do enjoy the ride here, and your postings fall among my favorites.
I am glad you wrote this, I have been a bit put off by the whining, but they are everywhere, the ones who cannot live without constant approval and validation of their every thought and action.
Will says it perfectly.
I think it is fine thing to be able to post on gather.
Off with their heads"
"Take that you dirty Rat"
Ca -ching they keep mounting up day by day like a bank account how many points for this one?
Playing music to a deaf women.
Can I be anymore vague.
How to reach an audience.
The ah ha point!
Tune In, Turn on ,Drop out
Welcome to cyberspace.
Happy Unbirthday and Best regards,
http://joelsamuel.neptune.com
You just gained a fan!
The reason, I believe, people post that drivel is it gets a heap of comments, whereas a piece of real writing gets the attention of maybe four people. This is a powerful incentive to type drivel, and I can't say I know what to do about it.
Another thing I avoid are the squabbling sessions that attract a hundred or more comments, but - I'm starting to whine here myself - and that's why my comments almost never show up in 1) "I hate Gather" posts, or 2) This _________ posted an article and I want the world to know why I hate him/her/it.
This isn't a criticism of your post here Mandi, I share your frustration.
Ron, I hate those 3 changing article on the left of the screen.. random shuffling by gather...
so in ending, yes, MySpace is a scary place.