JESUS CHRIST THE FEDS ARE AFTER US.

[thinginthetub]

So I have two screenshots  for you fine folks today. Technically three, I suppose, because the flag was a monster.

I'd like to give a little disclaimer before posting the second screenshot. Actually, I'd like to give two. First: go ahead and grab some Preparation H, because it's so full of butthurt that you may start feeling sympathy pains. Second:

Comments

[lightandwinged]

You're welcome for that flag :P

I think I would've been more invested in it myself if I hadn't been watching the entirety of this Stormwind Guard attempting to block off the crypts in the Cathedral because one man down there had a cold or something. It was like they were trying to be the quarantine from the disease event again, only with 1000% more retarded.

But she definitely made me do a double take. Alchemical construct, wat. Guard guilds, you truly attract the best of the best RP.

Regarding the criticism vs. cyberbullying mess, you're absolutely right. I almost want to ask, every time someone QQs here, if they think Stephen King goes and leaves trolling comments on every bad review of his books or if M. Night Shyamalan flames moviegoers everywhere.

This all counts under the umbrella of criticism, just like fanfic comments and other things teenagers on the internet like to get upset about. Cyberbullying would be targetting just one person and harassing that person, not critiquing their work

[arachnogeek]

I feel like this should all be stated more succinctly and shoved into a link that can be thrown at QQing trolls.

If we could find something summed up by a neutral third party it would be all the more effective, for what it's worth.

[lightandwinged]

I quoted a few things from Wikipedia below that sum up the difference between cyberbullying and criticism. The biggest difference is that cyberbullying intends to do harm to a person specifically, whether that harm is emotional or physical. Further:

Cyber-bullying can be as simple as continuing to send e-mail to someone who has said they want no further contact with the sender, but it may also include threats, sexual remarks, pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech), ganging up on victims by making them the subject of ridicule in forums, and posting false statements as fact aimed at humiliation.

So basically: cyber-bullying is all about hurting a person. Nowhere in there, however, does it say anything about criticizing a person's writing/art/flags/etc. And that is the difference.

[thinginthetub]

I think the biggest trouble lies in that a lot of people consider criticism of their work to be a direct, personal attack.

[lightandwinged]

Nnngh you are going to get me started, I shouldn't get started on this. Because I will teal deer for hours about special snowflake children and how school systems coddle them with their lack of red pens and Fs and trophies for everyone and FAILURE IS OKAY, KIDS NEED IT TO LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH BEING FIRED FROM THEIR JOBS BY PEOPLE LIKE ME.

So instead of ranting for hours, I'll just leave it at that legally, that's the difference. If someone can't find anywhere someone saying bad things about them as a person, they've got no grounds to cry "cyberbully!"

[thinginthetub]

Oh, I know there's a legal difference. Others, sadly, will hear someone say their character sucks and take it as a direct insult. "This comes from my mind, therefore it's a part of me, therefore you're making fun of me."

etc etc etc.

[lightandwinged]

And that, I think, is a great summary of what's wrong with people in the world today. Well. Among other things, but if you can't differentiate between an insult to your person and an insult to something you wrote/created...

Well, the real world is going to hurt.

[rantyrantsock]

I agree with you wholeheartedly on the coddling. It's fucking ridiculous. The 'self-esteem' bullshit in schools needs to stop.

[lightandwinged]

I am perfectly okay with schools telling students that they're good people or that they're loved. A lot of kids, in all seriousness, come from shitty situations where people don't tell them these things, and that can really fuck a person up.

I am not, however, perfectly okay with schools telling students that they never do anything wrong. That may make their self-esteem great in the short-term, but I've always thought it better for a person's self-esteem to learn to do something right and well and then actually use what they've learned and receive praise for that.

[sindragosa]

That, and the second these snowflakes get out into the real world where no one could give a serious shit about your "uniqueness", they'll melt like a snowball in Hades.

It's not doing the world any favors to have these spoiled kids in society where they can't function because the world is "OMG TOO MEAN!!". It's called real life, people. It's not pretty and it's certainly not padded. Get used to it.

[lightandwinged]

I'd even argue that college isn't like that. I had more than my fair share of professors lately who were downright nasty in their criticism, sometimes not just of the work, but of the students, too. And that's the way offices are, especially in today's economy. If you get a boss who compliments you regularly or gives you regular positive feedback, you're pretty lucky.

[rantyrantsock]

"I've always thought it better for a person's self-esteem to learn to do something right and well and then actually use what they've learned and receive praise for that."

That's what I'm meaning. Not giving Fs for shitty work, not failing students when they slack off, giving "participation awards" to people who did a crap job on projects, that kind of shit is what ruins society. It also cheapens the achievements of people that actually -did- do the work and -did- do well. And spawns butthurt fuckwits like this dipshit posted. >:{ It needs to end. Seriously.

[lightandwinged]

The fun thing is that I can remember when this trend started because it was right before I started fourth grade. We went from being grouped by ability to being grouped by "who will have the most fun together :D" and school went from fun and challenging to me drawing on my desk in soul-killing boredom. I'd love it if things reversed and went back to "smart kids/overachievers in one class, dumb kids/underachievers in another" before I have kids of my own, but I'm not holding my breath :C

[thinginthetub]

My 10th grade English teacher actually lost her job because she split the class into five groups for our reading assignments, and it was based on reading level. It was very hurp derp and made me so angry.

[rantyrantsock]

.... are you fucking serious?! That's some ridiculous bullshit right there!

[lightandwinged]

Also, because I can (and from Wikipedia):

Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another (the critic).

Cyber-bullying is "the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others".

Since WCS exists to mock bad flags and not find a way to harm bad players, I think we can safely say it's under the first.