And I despise anyone trying to “legislate” how I choose to express myself and try to remember to extend the same to others.

While I do support free speech, I also support the right of a community to establish boundries for behavior.

While I said that I’m not offended by ‘bad’ words (meaning profanity), I am offended by degrading personal attacks and insults no matter what words are used. So, yes I do support establishing some expectation of acceptable/unacceptable behavior. We should be able to disagree while still communicating with respect to one another. If people are unable to restrain themselves from conduct that is verbally abusive, then there should be punitive consequences such as a ‘time out’ from the forums.

Unfortunately, it is these very swappers who dig their heels in and provoke/manipulate/toss self-pity around that are the biggest instigators of this issue. One of the ones drolling around this topic as the innocent victim is one of the biggest aggrivators on the site.

Swap-bot was intended to be my escape from all of that; a place to express creative ideas and swap art, and to make new friends who thought or felt the same way. I am unable to get out very much, so the swap-bot community is very much an important part of my day-to-day existence.

I would much rather enjoy myself, than listen/read the horrible things that people are doing to one another in the forums. And you’re right, I don’t have to read them, but sometimes, you’re halfway in a conversation before it turns all out ugly.

Geesh people, there’s a war going on, young men and women sacrificing their lives, and we’re gonna argue and call people names and insult their families on the playground?

I just don’t get it.

My two cents is that I’d like there to be a filter that we can set, much like we do on our computers to filter those things we find offensive.

I also feel that if there is bullying going on, very evident bullying, or that someone feels threatened by another ‘botter, they should have every right to file a complaint and have that person partially suspended, fully suspended or tossed out on their keister altogether, after of course, listening to both sides.

There are many people on the ‘bot who have openly admitted to having mental illnesses that can be exacerbated by taunts and jibes.

I think we should respect their courage for admitting those issues to the world and try to be a little kinder, not just to them, but to everyone.

I’m not perfect. I drop a b-word here and there. But I control if and when I say it and I NEVER make personal attacks, particularly about someone’s children or grandchildren (or any other member of their family).

The internet makes it easy to hide behind a computer screen. I wonder if the same things would be said face-to-face?

That aside, I would like to see more monitoring of the forums. I’m all for free speech too, but not at the cost of insulting someone’s family. This is supposed to be adulthood, not grammar school.

Just my two cents.

blessings and peace,
Gypsy

Guess the question becomes, what happens to swapbot and/or the forums when you have a large group of people who are ‘clicking’ or staying away because it has become too negative and mean-spirited?