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I am going to use my little hunk of netspace here to express my opinions, someplace where they can not be deleted, and my sign in name NOT suspended.
I always thought that the internet was a place free of prejudice, a place where people could come and simply lose themselves, be themselves or whoever they wanted to be, a connection of minds with similar ineterests, reaching out to each other and connecting regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, looks, whatever. I imagined it to be a free place.
Perhaps those thoughts were niave and idealistic of me. Perhaps I think too much of people, and forget what power can do to the mind.
Power seems to be going to the heads of many of the hosts of the WB Harry Potter boards. Many people I know - and yes, me- have had sign in names deleted for absolutely no reason. This appeares to be some kind of genocide toward the serious role playing community, or punishment for knowing certain people. Or both.
I thought HarryPotter.com was a place for meeting people with a similar interest to you, posting, and having fun. I did not think it was a place for power games and in house politics. At least, it shouldn't be.
The most maddening, saddening part of it all is that we cannot do anything about it. The spiteful spamming, board stretching and violations of guidelines to keep hosts on their toes only amuse one for so long, and after that, what?
I suppose it's like I said to a friend, earlier. It doesn't matter if what we did has no affect in the long run, really, because we can't really expect it to. Just like in real life, people in online communities will gain power and abuse it, and the pleas of the public will fall on deaf ears. What matters is that, for those moments, we put up a fight and make it difficult for them. Our voices are heard, even if they are eventually ignored. What matters is that we didn't suffer it in meek silence.
And, I suppose the best way to win, eventually, is just keep on in the face of their vindictiveness, to keep going with our role play and not giving in no matter what they do. They want us gone, so we will stay. That, I suppose, is our revenge.
I always thought that the internet was a place free of prejudice, a place where people could come and simply lose themselves, be themselves or whoever they wanted to be, a connection of minds with similar ineterests, reaching out to each other and connecting regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, looks, whatever. I imagined it to be a free place.
Perhaps those thoughts were niave and idealistic of me. Perhaps I think too much of people, and forget what power can do to the mind.
Power seems to be going to the heads of many of the hosts of the WB Harry Potter boards. Many people I know - and yes, me- have had sign in names deleted for absolutely no reason. This appeares to be some kind of genocide toward the serious role playing community, or punishment for knowing certain people. Or both.
I thought HarryPotter.com was a place for meeting people with a similar interest to you, posting, and having fun. I did not think it was a place for power games and in house politics. At least, it shouldn't be.
The most maddening, saddening part of it all is that we cannot do anything about it. The spiteful spamming, board stretching and violations of guidelines to keep hosts on their toes only amuse one for so long, and after that, what?
I suppose it's like I said to a friend, earlier. It doesn't matter if what we did has no affect in the long run, really, because we can't really expect it to. Just like in real life, people in online communities will gain power and abuse it, and the pleas of the public will fall on deaf ears. What matters is that, for those moments, we put up a fight and make it difficult for them. Our voices are heard, even if they are eventually ignored. What matters is that we didn't suffer it in meek silence.
And, I suppose the best way to win, eventually, is just keep on in the face of their vindictiveness, to keep going with our role play and not giving in no matter what they do. They want us gone, so we will stay. That, I suppose, is our revenge.
