Many of you go to Whyville Square in hopes that one of your new friends is there. However, sometimes
you are surprised when no one is there -- that you know. Most of the time,
no one wants to talk to the new citizens who are dubbed the nickname "newbies".
Many people don't know how insulting this is.
The problem that City Hall and I have been noticing is that many people aren't talking in Whyville;
at least not to other people. Our biggest concern is that the people that are new to Whyville aren't
getting to know Whyville and the people, which can be awkward at times.
I interviewed one of our fairly new members who wanted to have a say in this situation.
LimeVWBug: "When I first joined Whyville not too long ago, I noticed that not a lot of people were talking to me; at all. No one bothered to say hello or "welcome to Whyville". The only response I got was "You must be a newbie. Don't worry about the bird; it'll be gone in a week," and that was it. No one paid any attention to what I was doing or me. I guess they figured that if they didn't know me, they certainly shouldn't talk to me. It wasn't THAT big of a deal. I mean, it's only a chat room, but many people like me go to Whyville to have someone to talk to or to make a new friend. That I have not accomplished. I think that this needs to be changed and that if people want to chat privately with someone, they should just go to their house and chat."
Another response was quite different from LimeVWBug's opinion. This was a voice from a newcomer that was pleased with the response of him being new.
Caleb01: "Well, I think it's unfair to the people that don't get paid attention to, but when I first joined, people were pretty nice. I asked a lot of questions, but the people were helpful. It really helped me 'adjust' to Whyville life."
Okay, so these two opinions contrast, but it's good to hear two different views. Now I get to bore you with my view (I know, I know. It'll only take a second though! Be patient!) on the silent citizens.
First of all, I think it is rude to ignore someone that is different from you or who is new. Sometimes your face on Whyville takes part in the reaction people has to you. You can tell that someone with older face parts is newer, and someone with newer and more expensive face parts has been here longer, and this can affect judgment. The only solutions I have for this is:
- SAY HELLO! Here at Whyville we are friendly people! Let's show people that! Many people come to Whyville everyday, so let's show them how great Whyville really is!
- Okay, if you really aren't that great at socializing with peepz you've never met, go to a different room! I understand that you might have something important or some juicy gossip to share with your friend Susie or whatever, but try to be polite and take it somewhere else. Doing this can prevent newbies from feeling left out.
Here's the down-part (for all of you whisperers): If people don't start to speak up, City Hall might take away whispering. As I told you in previous articles, this is a MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT!!!!!!!! This is a not for certain, in consideration, not approved yet kinda thing. Also, if City Hall does choose to keep whispering, she might make an All Talk Day where you can't whisper. At all. Zip, zero zilch--no whispering.
