A deviantART How-To Guide

I've noticed that recently there have been a lot of problems in this website's community as a whole, more than I've seen in the four-odd years since I joined. There's been a lot more member unrest, a lot more infighting, a lot more trolling, and a rise in the general level of pissbitches. If we take the Pissbitch Counter to be like the DefCon system, with 1 being the highest threat and 5 being the lowest, when I joined this site was at about Pissbitch level 3, maybe even 4; now we're at Pissbitch 2, and it's looking likely that we'll hit Pissbitch 1, a full blown whiney apocalypse.

Now, I'm aware that what I'm doing right now is whining about pissbitches, a contradiction in terms, but I'd like you to think I'm just being post-modern. Anyway, I've looked at these problems, and the root of most of them seems to be this: Everyone is so fucking offended all the time. I don't understand why this is; maybe a new batch of skinless embryos have escaped from their respective wombs and made themselves accounts. Maybe the human race's sensitivity levels function like an enormous menstrual cycle, and it's our time of the century, I just don't know. What I do know, however, is that people need to be shown how to not get offended.

On with the guide!

Learn that not everyone on this site is out to get you.
_{I think quite a bit of offense around this place can be attributed to rising levels of background paranoia. Once you realise that the vast majority of people aren't trying to get under your skin, you'll probably find that less people do.}

Accept that everyone is opinionated, and it's no big deal if your opinions don't match.
_{No, really. It's true. Think about it. You hold opinions, why is it so unreasonable to expect others to as well? Some of my closest friends are some of the people who disagree the most violently with my views on things. It's not a bad thing, we should encourage diversity of opinion, and not just so you can be even more right.}

Learn to ignore people
_{Now I'm not sure about the exact number of people on the internet, or even on this website, but I do know that it's far more than any one person can hope to pay attention to. There are some times when you're just gonna have to bite your lip and ignore people on the internet. None of this "It's my right to post here" bullcrap, if you're hitting critical mass because someone on the internet left something you find offensive lying around, then you should probably re-evaluate your perspective on things.}

Take a deep breath and calm the fuck down before you lose your shit
_{This might be playground advice, but it's still relevant; the internet is, in many ways, a giant playground, after all. It's not a rare sight on the internet; some guy making controversial statements, a bunch of other guys pissing their pretty little panties. Think about it. How often have you smirked in contempt when you see someone turn into an internet Bruce Banner, breaking out caps and exclamation marks like nobody's business, sometimes even censoring their own curse words? It doesn't make them look great, does it? So why would you do it? It doesn't matter how eloquent you are either, when you lose your shit people can tell, and you're going to get lumped in with the Incredible Sulk over there, ripping up the internet in the name of their neighbour's dead dog.}


I hope that these tips are helpful. A lot of people out there need to learn to cope with life on the internet, and whining about the people being offensive is going to solve nothing.
Like cyber-bullying, there are two possible ways of solving it:
1) You can try and stop the bully, admonishing him for his behaviour and coaxing him into getting along with his victims.
2) You can teach the person being bullied to cope with it. Often the best way to do this is to expose them to more bullying.

Stay calm, follow these tips, and let's try and wind the Pissbitch Counter back down to 5.

Signed,
anguspie

_{If anyone is offended by the contents of this article, I find it fucking hilarious, and wish them a good day.}