by Wormgod » Sun May 05, 2013 8:22 am
Dear Website Owner,
I know this may seem very hypocritical, but I have to post this here and get it all out. I've been holding this in for a long time, out of fear of getting banned for expressing my opinions. I just have to mention the many things that are wrong with your site, and ruin my experience.
It is a kid-friendly site. I started about three years ago, so the whole "kid-friendly" thing didn't bother me. In fact, I liked it; I was a kid and didn't want to see things that were too mature for me. However, I never saw things that were too mature, because I stayed away from the older members, and the obviously too mature things. Now, though, I am older. I want to see the mature things. But, I am still too young for the "18 and up" forum. It is very, very hard for me to find a roleplay that allows mature topics and writing. I tried starting my own, but I was too afraid to go "all out" for fear of being banned. Your website needs to lessen up on the "kid-friendly" rules; me and many other members are finding it hard to fully express ourselves, and many (like me) have nowhere else to go.
Censorship is rampant. This goes with the last point, but I think it deserves its own paragraph. You see, your website is very...well, fascist. Mention one thing against the website, and you are banned. Break a small rule, you are banned. Don't feel 100% about the website, you are banned. See the pattern? This is why I hid my feelings for so long; I am very afraid of getting in trouble for saying bad things about your website. However, I feel the need to say them anyway; I can't just bottle it up for forever! I have to tell someone, and in this way, I'm telling everyone!
Cursing isn't allowed. Okay, this is more of a personal issue for me; I love cursing. My whole family loves it. My mom nicknamed me "Jacka**" when I was seven. It's a natural, normal thing for me. And, your website hates it. I can understand having certain areas have "no cursing" policies because children are always there, but THE ENTIRE WEBSITE shouldn't be blanketed by this stupid policy.
"Serious adult issues? Not allowed!" You say. That is just stupid. This is the internet, where there is not one single culture to define its people; especially your website, which is hosted in one country and favored by others. Things such as violence, sex, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs mean different things to different cultures. But, apparently, you tried to find a neutral ground by banning all. It ruins it for us older members, or us from cultures where those things are not considered "bad".
Let me offer a simple and effective method for stopping all this: keep this as a kid-friendly website. BUT: have a "rating system" for all threads. You know, like movies. Have threads set up for us mature members that are rated "Adult", or "Mature", or "R". Then have kid-friendly threads rated "Kid-friendly" "kids only", or "G". This way, everyone can coexist, and if a kid strays into the Mature section, it's the KID'S FAULT, and not the adults fault.