First off: Don't hate me for what I'm about to say.
It's actually not that bad, but I need to get it off my chest so here goes.
When I first gave the idea of confessions to my friend George, I was hoping people would have the outlet they needed to voice frustrations about writing, plot bunnies, writer's block, character deaths, characters who just won't freaking behave, etc etc. Then we started getting more likes (at that time we were at about 400 or so, I think.)
I decided it would be okay for G to invite readers and bloggers to submit confessions, too. All was well in the world of confessions. Thursdays were awesome and everyone had fun and though it was a lot of work, I enjoyed making graphics and queueing them when G couldn't be around.
And then it just got overwhelming so we decided to bring on a graphics team. That has worked beautifully. I couldn't do it without you, ladies! <3
We've had incidents of people title-dropping or giving details that could identify folks, we've even had the issue of a confession being posted that I was 100% positive was about me, but someone else swore it was about them and it got ugly for a day or two. As always, I deleted it because I don't want anybody to get offended or hurt.
But now, here's the issue with my post...
When is enough enough?
The world as a whole can be a dark, ugly place, but it's the wonderful kind-hearted people who make it as amazing as it is. Sure we come across some real a**holes from time to time and pricks we wish would just go live on an island with their own kind, but that's life. We have to deal with these people sometimes, whether we want to or not. Not everyone is going to be friendly and while I wish those people would stay far away from IABB, I can't do that. I am not God, or Zeus, or whoever. I'm just me.
I can apologize for hurt feelings until the sun goes down--and I've done it before, but it is exhausting.
The term bully has been tossed around a lot over the last few months and I have to admit I'm getting tired of it.
Just because someone disagrees with you, it doesn't mean they're a bully.
We have to have different opinions or the world would be a very boring place. Please don't come to me accusing someone of bullying you when all they said was "BUT" or "HOWEVER" or "ON THE OTHER HAND". That is their opinion. They can say whatever they want to.
There's seriously a big difference, folks. Please google it to see what bullying is and then call me in the morning.
I have a headache just thinking about all of this. I'm also pretty disappointed in people driving away my dear friends from the page. People who have followed confessions from day one.
There are NO cliques at IABB. Sure, there may be a group of goofballs who like to keep situations light, but how dare you say they're being a clique. They aren't. These are nice, goofy, intelligent people who wouldn't hurt a fly.
If you're new, get to know us. When we say "You must be new around here" or "It's an inside joke, you wouldn't get it", we aren't trying to be mean to you. Hell, just ask us what we mean by it and somebody would tell you. Just say "Hi! Glad to be here. How are you?"
It. Isn't. That. Hard.
I am tired of people getting offended over every little thing. That seems to be the world's issue. People are too soft. They take offense to the smallest things and Gods, it makes me want to rip my hair out.
Just stop it already.
As for the bashing of bloggers and authors and readers as a whole, I do want that to stop. It's okay to vent if you've been hurt or screwed over by someone, but for the love of all that is holy, STOP grouping us together.
Confessions will never be what they were before. This is a fact of life. We're getting bigger now (4,000 likes--thank you!!!!!), and as the numbers grow, more outsiders will come in and that's what we want. We want more authors, readers, and bloggers to join us. We want to promote them. We want to support them as we have done for everyone else in the past.
They will get the hang of confessions eventually, just like you did.
But honestly? If things don't take a turn for the better I may have to give it up all together. I don't want to, but I will if things get out of hand.
I'm giving it a few more tries to see how things go.
Just grow up. Please? Be adults and understand your opinion may not be shared by everyone else, and that's totally okay. Because like you, your opinion is unique. And don't forget that there are far more GOOD people on our page than BAD.
Happy reading, happy writing, happy life. xx
