Oh my God. I never in a million years intended to suggest that a person's safety is in jeopardy at a Fest. It would be the furthest thing from my mind. That news story awhile back? Actually, I'd forgotten about it. Kidding around about "kooky" or "nutty" fans was just that. Nothing more. I have a tendency to poke fun -- at DS (which I adore), at people I like, at fans, AND at myself. A comparison between Mid-east terrorists (who aren't worth thinking about, in my opinion) and DS fans is so blatantly absurd that I really don't know what to say. I've always been of the opinion that the people on this board are more intelligent than that. I'm not going to post on here for awhile. I get the message. LOL
Maybe I don't belong here. (Thunderous applause from the smite crowd).
-CLC
Not trying to get the last word, honest, but I feel you're misreading my message and the intent behind it. Regardless of whether you think my reasons were absurd for thinking you had gone too far, your comment was made during a discussion that began with a question about whether or not anyone is hesitant to attend the fest for safety reasons. And I did not say a word about your calling DS fans nutty; all I asked of you was to be mindful of characterizing DS fans as worse than what you referred to as "Middle-East fanatics", and I don't believe that was an unreasonable request. I certainly never asked you to leave or stop posting.
It's no secret that this is a moderated forum with rules that everyone is asked to read, and it's run by 3 people that are here to work. Making the statement you did will most likely get you attacked on some unmoderated DS forums, but here it's the moderators' job to help keep the discussions running as smoothly as possible, and if you feel I was being harsh above then I ask you to consider what it's like to walk a mile in our shoes. The moderators constantly interpret the rules as fairly as we can and try to anticipate problems so they can be dealt with quickly, and believe me, we didn't volunteer for the job to win popularity (wouldn't THAT have been a disappointment?!), the decisions we make aren't personal, and we don't play favorites. If you didn't feel your comment was inflammatory or offensive, that it might invite others to attack you, or that it might be misinterpreted, then I concede that we don't see eye to eye on it, but my mailbox tells me that I'm not alone in feeling about it as I did and you'll just have to take my word that I've seen fights start in similar situations. But if anyone feels that it isn't to their liking to have someone suggest that they've gone too far with a comment, then perhaps a moderated forum isn't the place for them. I don't want you to leave, but I feel everyone has to do what's right for them.
Now, as to the subject of smiting, here's a bit of advice for what it's worth: In the other forums I visit to read about the various features, it's fairly universal that it's never a good idea to publicly obsess about being smited because it will come back at you. I'm not talking about the karmic powers of the universe-- I'm talking about an unspoken rule among internet users that you'll get many smites from simply saying there will be many smites.
Take care, and God/dess bless,
M.
