Hi guys, I'm here with a modly post of modliness. Or more like a modly post of suggestions. I'm posting this but as usual Todd, Masao, and I have discussed this and this comes from all three of us.
As mods, we've had to deal with several members who have felt offended or upset due to different discussions at Amassment. Several members have even left the community for it. Others have stopped making shrines. More often than not, when we go to the people who wrote the offensive comments they didn't realize they were offending someone. Because we want Amassment to be a positive place for people to discuss shrining and get help when they need it, we want to make people aware of some things in a very general sense that they may not realize they are doing, and give tips for future discussions.
1) There are tons of people here from many different cultures and backgrounds. We're all different ages, come from different backgrounds, and in Todd's case, a different gender. We're going to have
different views. We all need to be accepting of each other's views even if they aren't views we personally share.
2) So that your views aren't mistaken for generalizations, use phrases like
"I think" and
"I would" when stating your opinions instead of "You should". It's less likely to offend for one, and for two, everyone doesn't share your same views more than likely so don't speak for others.
3) After realizing we all have different views, let people have their views. Civil discussion is fine, but don't try to change someone's view. This can come off as an attack and in the past it has. Respect is important. Don't act as though if your opinion is "better" or "more correct" than someone else's, even if you think it is.
Agree to disagree! 4) If someone says something that offends you,
address it right away in a clear and mature way. Write something like "This offends me because..." and allow the person to address it. Like we said, more often than not the things people get offended by are misunderstandings and the people that wrote them don't realize they sound offensive. If you're not able to work it out through a couple comments and still feel offended, contact one of us. We should only be brought in after this is done.
5)
Edit: Also, everyone shrines for different reasons and has
different methods of making shrines. It's important that we recognize and respect these differences. We do encourage feedback and critique if asked, but please don't forcefully
impose your standards onto others or be unnecessarily harsh. There is no one "right way" to make a shrine.
If anyone has anything to add, feel free to do so in a comment. We're not trying to tell you how to discuss things, but we think keeping these things in mind will cut down on the amount of drama around here. This community and shrining is fun, so let's start having some! If you guys can, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave a comment to this post so we know you've seen this! It's not required or anything but if we could all "commit to change" for the positive, I think we could prevent future misunderstandings and conflicts. ♥ We know this post is leaning towards cheesy, but we really want Amassment to be a good shrining resource and community. :) Thanks guys.
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