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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Public Flogging is not yet out of Style

In recent weeks the community has exploded in all directions over several announcements made by The Creators. Some are calling it the straw that has broken the camel's back and others are wondering why everyone is suddenly so angry.

Let it be known that public flogging has not gone out of style.

When did it become okay to directly attack any one person or group? I'll admit there were a few moments in the last couple of weeks that I was caught up in it all. But after stepping back and reading some of the recent posts on this forum it has come to my attention how far out of hand this has become.

There is a lot of anger towards The Creators. Some of these are because of things they have no control over. And to their credit they have handled themselves well. At least they never lowered themselves to publicly mocking members of the community. Which, by the way, they have the ability to do.

For years we have asked them to be more interactive with the community and it appears that they are attempting to do that. There are things that were dropped that we never got answers for, but they have given us some answers. Like when they admited to dropping the super powers.

And no, they haven't answered all of our questions but they are very specific about the questions they don't answer. Specifically questions about the plot of the show and the future directions of the business. Answers that no producer would give in a million years, so why should we expect them to answer to us? It's a different medium but the same business.

I'm not saying they have always handled themselves well and there are things even from a managment point of view where I have had to ask myself, "what are they thinking?" but when did attacking them at every turn become okay? When did this series become about you? Wasn't it always about a little girl who just wanted to make some friends on the internet?

Yes, it is not the same show it once was. And a lot of people have left because of that. That's the business. And maybe the new show will suck. Maybe the finale will leave us all feeling hollow and ignored. But at the end of the day the things that really matter. The friends we've made. The joys (and sorrows) we've experienced as a community are no less real or important by the direction the show takes. Keep your friends and leave the show. I know several people who have chosen this route and I bid them well.

I just hope that as a community we are able to breathe a second and really take stock of what we are doing and how we are treating these people. They have never attacked us. If they steal an idea there are channels to deal with that. If you think you've been wronged by them emotionally or phyiscally there are ways to deal with that. If they do something to a character that you don't like there are even channels to deal with that. But change will not be made via public floggings and attacks to their character.

Thank you for your time,
-Alex aka RoyTheBoy

26 comments:

  1. Or by committing federal communications offenses.

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  2. If that's the case, anonymous, then press charges

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  3. I don't see where any laws were violated, and I'd probably notice.

    Also, well said Roy, it does seem like a cottage industry in attacking the show has formed. It took a lot of character for you to post what you said, since a lot of the 'heat' is coming from people that you and I both really like. Once again Roy proves that he is the man.

    Okay, I'll stop with the positive comments so the anonymous posters can lob their molotov cocktails.

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  4. Mathieas, if you've ever had the misfortune to be involved in either a criminal or civil legal proceeding, you would know that pressing charges, or filing a lawsuit rarely resolves anything.
    Generally everyone involved suffers. Any attorney worth their salt makes every effort to encourage the parties involved to settle the matter out of court. Even in criminal cases it is advised that, when possible, every effort be made to resolve a situation between the parties involved. Pressing charges should be the last recourse after all other efforts to bring resolution have been exhausted.

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  5. sorry - the response was directed to roytheboy

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  6. Thank you Alex, your thoughts are always well-spoken and appreciated.

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  7. good post roy.

    to anony above: all you say is true, but nobody is seriously considering "pressing charges" against anyone.

    imagine reporting TJ's atrocities or the Creators' missteps to your local police!

    Caller: "But they left STEVE on the side of the road!!"

    Dispatcher: "Ma'am, we don't have jurisdiction over fictional internet videos."

    Caller: "Nowlive blows chunks compared to IRC!"

    Dispatcher: "True dat. But to do time, it must be a crime."

    Caller: "But TJ faked his death on the internet!"

    Dispatcher: "Sounds like a tool. I thought Scarlette was real too. I mean her pics were hawtt and stuff and she always responded to my pms, but ... oops. Looks like there's a murder in real life, so I need to take this next call."

    Caller: "But he ALSO impersonated an admin on nowlive.com! Isn't that identity theft!???"

    Dispatcher: "Who is typing this blog comment? Why is he impersonating a dispatcher here? Let's get him, caller!!!"

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  8. Very funny, milowent, but I think you know that's not what I'm talking about. The offenses I am referring to is the kind of crap that has been going on since the the early days of this series. Information theft, and how it has been and continues to be used to abuse members of this community who aren't part of the "fraternity". Thing is yes, charges could be filed. This is serious business, and has the potential to ruin many peoples lives for years to come. Is that really what "the community" wants? And if not, do we, as a community have the power to stop this abusive behaviour, or will it be our undoing?

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  9. I can imagine something along those lines, Milowent... ;)

    http://lg15today.blogspot.com/search?q=dispatch

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  10. anonymous, i really don't know what you are talking about. i'd like to discuss offline if you don't want to post here ([email protected] or pm whateva).

    >>the offenses I am referring to is the kind of crap that has been going on since the the early days of this series.

    like what? boob thumbnails? suggestive video titles? i really don't understand.

    >>Information theft, and how it has been and continues to be used to abuse members of this community who aren't part of the "fraternity".

    information theft? i'm still lost.

    >>Thing is yes, charges could be filed. This is serious business, and has the potential to ruin many peoples lives for years to come.

    i realize you may be posting in the abstract to avoid pointing fingers, but i'm still lost. what charges and where would they be filed? would law enforcement actually do anything with them?

    >>Is that really what "the community" wants? And if not, do we, as a community have the power to stop this abusive behaviour, or will it be our undoing?

    i think we all want to curb abusive behavior, though such behavior may affects us differently.

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  11. Great post! (friendly anon here)

    I'm kinda lost over the legalities you guys are talking about.
    I've been coming here since the grand opening and I've seen nothing different from most any blogspot.
    Never been abused, never had my identity stolen. Mostly just normal folks stating their opinion.
    Of course, if this were soviet russia it may be a problem. But it's not.

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  12. What the heck is a federal communications offense?

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  13. Here here Roy, Here here!

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  14. Yes, milowent, the reason I am posting in the abstract is most definitely to avoid pointing fingers, as well as to avoid divulging confidences that have been shared with me by others.

    Suffice it to say, those who are guilty know, as do many people close to the situations.

    What is the answer to people who use their power to knowingly injure other people? And what is the answer to a community asleep at the wheel that doesn't seem to notice or care? Or even worse, finds it entertaining.

    I don't know. Honestly, I don't have a solution. I wish I did.

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  15. Let me clarify - the issues of abuse I have brought up are specific to and present within the lg15 community itself, and have been from the very beginning. My comments are not in any way addressed towards lg15today.

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  16. Nor are my comments addressed towards LG15, or EQAL.

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  17. Oh. I thought your comments werea bout LG15 and EQAL. I don't know about what is going inside of the community that you are talking about. My post was more focused on the community attacking the creators as opposed to the community attacking the community.

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  18. I pretty much agree with RoyBoy completely. I'm tired of the anger and attacks on the creators. This is a new medium and it's expected that some mistakes will be made. But they are people. I make mistakes on a regular basis. We've enjoyed this show (or left) and enjoy the community. Why focus on all the negativity? I've never understood complaining. That's not to say I like everything, but unless I have some direct power to change it what's the point in whining?

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  19. To whichever anonymous posted it, thank you for explaining how the legal system works to me, I'm sure it will be of great benefit to me in my daily life.

    Second, I'm with milo on this one, I really don't know what legal issues or issues of abuse you could be referring to, perhaps if you were a tad less vague others could follow your reasoning. Honestly, I'm not trying to be snippy, I'd like to know what 'laws' you think have been violated.

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  20. Good post roytheboy! I agree completely.

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  21. lmao...laws...? Violated? WTF is this kid talking about?? Thank god I'm not alone on this. The past month has been nothing but nonstop complaints...and you know WHAT'S REALLY SAD?? THE QUALITY OF THE PAST WEEKS VIDEOS HAS BEEN FANTASTIC. And no one seems to want to give the Creators any credit.

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  22. "My post was more focused on the community attacking the creators as opposed to the community attacking the community."

    The Creators are the heart and soul of the community. They are not separate from us - they are the magnet that drew everyone together. And they were the first and continued victims of the abuse I'm talking about. We are in agreement, Alex.

    I'm simply saying that the viciousness that is being directed at the creators is also a part of the nature of how this community behaves with each other, and it's more than just immature, impolite, distruptive et. In some cases, serious offenses have occurred.

    Forgive me for speaking up about this, rather than maintaining the code of silence that allows this culture of abuse to persist - but those who have been the victims, those who are the perpetrators, and those who are the silent witnesses, damn well know what I'm talking about.

    I for one, am no longer willing to remain silence. I'm not here to attack, I'm here to say enough already. Don't attack the messanger.

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  23. "YOU KILLED GINA??! I'M CALLING MY LAWYER. I WANT A DIVORCE!"

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  24. Well stated Roy and if any of my comments appeared to be an attack on the creators I apologize. They were meant as criticism sure but not as personal attacks. I don't know how much money was in LonelyGirl when it started i'm guessing none. I just want the creators to remember why they started LG to begin with and then draw their motivation from there. If that is what they are doing then cool. If not then why do it?

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  25. anonymous, as a messenger you would be better aknowledged with some sort of name...

    and roytheboy, I agree with everything said...

    Every online community I've been a part of always DIES because of this drama. it seems that drama IS an online community. It's entertaining, and so much easier to yell and point fingers at someone that you can perpetually avoid for all eternity.

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