An old Adage about

Amen!! By the way did you open your email from Mr. Positive today? Nice slide show!

Nice sentiments, but it will never work. The internet provides anonymity which gives people the sense of strenght. They feel they can so whatever they want w/o fear of reprucussions, since we are separated from each other by the web. This has allowed for people to become less sensitive of others. If I say something rude or offensive to a co-worker I can see the hurt in the eyes or body language. That is immediate feedback telling me that I went too far. If I type something here I never know if it hurt your feelings or not.
And I also think many people love the self empowerment that this anonymity provides.

Very well put, Danielle. Thank you.

I call this living by the"Thumper Rule" (from Disney's Bambi). Like you Danielle, I just move on if I don't like the content. I do agree with James, I think a lot of people feel its okay to spew whatever they're thinking without thought to the feelings of others, because they don't have to deal with the fallout. I think many people feel a little bit omnipotent because of the anonymity.

Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree. I think some people forget that sometimes. I like to debate points, but when it regresses into a name calling cuss out, I am out of it. There is never a reason it should come down to that level. Wonderful article.

I'm with you, Danielle! The first thing that I remind myself of is where I came from and the things that I have done or been through in my own life...and believe me I wouldn't want anyone to judge me or hold things against me - so why is it right for me to do that same thing to anyone else?

Agreed! I do see a lot of articles here that I don't agree with, but it's very easy to just bypass them completely--not even rate them--and move on to something that I do agree with and enjoy reading. :) Like this one! :)

I can't agree with you more!

LOL. Recently my 6 year old daughter came home from 1st grade and asked me if I liked President Bush. I said, "not really. . ." and she said didn't anyone ever teach you if you don't have something nice to say you shouldn't say anything at all! I couldn't stop laughing. . . she asked . . . I just answered.

Wonderful article, Danielle! People may be getting ruder by the minute these days, but we DON'T have to go along with them in that behavior. And it isn't just on the Internet, either!

Great article. So often mouths open and release words that should be spoken. Big huggers to you.

i love the qoute and its so true they should try and do that at school. but it doesnt happen. really inspiring......

I agree. There are so many people here with different agendas that it is necessary to try to meet the needs of all, as much as possible. Thanks for the reminder.

I'm not trying to be contrary, but I'm not clear on your meaning. I understand if your view of Gather is a feel-good society of people who meet on-line to boost each other's self-esteems and to say nice things about each other, their writings, their pictures, etc. And if that's what you want, that's fine. I wish you nothing but roses and teakettles. And I that there are mean-spirited people in every environment who like to nit-pick over every detail. If that is who you are referring to, I understand, although I have not run across any of those people on Gather - yet. But I think there is a place here for honest disagreement and discussion. I think there is a definite line between sniping and discussion.

I see Gather as a forum for discussion of ideas. None of us will agree about everything all the time. That leaves the door open for discussion and the exchange of ideas and differing views. While I don't wish to anger or upset anyone, I don't care about whether anyone thinks they like me or not either. I won't go into this great dissertation about how little we truly see and know of each other in this anonymous format (as James B. very astutely alluded to) and therefore how little we can truly say we really know each other. But truthfully, my purpose here is to share my faith, experience, strength and hope and to exercise my writing ability (or lack thereof) in the process. And because of the topics I am interested in, that will clash with others' beliefs at times. Does that mean I wish ill will for them? No. Never. Some may disagree with you, but they can't see my heart nor my mind. Does that mean I will avoid commenting when I disagree with their posts? No. Does this go against your view of Gather? I'm not sure. If so, it just means you and I disagree on the basic premise of this forum and what it means to each of us. And because of that will probably rarely if ever meet again. But I did want to throw this our there, because I wasn't sure whether you wanted all of Gather to be difference-free. Or if I misunderstood you completely.