Dear Whyvillians and City Workers,
I have noticed in the past two years of my Whyville citizenship that there has been a decline in maturity. When I first started Whyville, with my bubble hair and girlie eyes, I looked just like everyone else. We were the pioneers. We were all friends, and couldn't be biased against anyone -- we all had the same face. Nobody called anyone ugly, and you never saw anyone get in fights over where to sit, or yelling "newbies!" whenever they got the chance. You didn't see people taped, and when you were angry, you put a yellow x on someone! (If you were really mad, a red x! Hehe.) We talked all the time, and we could get on Whyville in ONE try!
Now, I can't enter or leave a room without seeing someone yell, "Stupid newbies", "You're ugly", or "Get off me! I was here first." Whyville was soon taken over with pre-teens. Sometimes, you may run into the "popular" people of Whyville. They are the ones who have the best clothes, all the money they don't share, the ones with "all the friends", and the ones who are just starting themselves. They are usually the ones you see yelling these things.
This is where I draw the line. To think that you can come on a website and put down people just like yourself is just stupid! I joined Whyville to have fun and learn. I didn't join Whyville to be ridiculed! Oh, and to start on the no cussing rule: if you aren't allowed to say the word, don't try. I've heard all kinds of variations on words like "smexy", "dam" and "chit" or the ever popular, "bch". If you weren't supposed to say the word in the first place, why would you try to "fool Whyville"? I think they know when you're trying to say a bad word in the first place.
I don't think City Workers get enough credit for what they do. They created this website. They deserve more notice.
This may just be my opinion, but to me Whyville is supposed to be a safe learning environment for kids. You're supposed to have fun, and making friends is just a bonus. I don't think they intended to make a website where people come on to date. Whyville, as it has been said countless times, is not a dating service. And how do you KNOW dating on Whyville is safe?
I've asked people, and they tell me, "Well, I trust the person." They fall in "love" on Whyville, get "married" on Whyville, and have "kids" on Whyville. You would never know it if your significant other could be 70 years old! Say you're straight (this is just an example) and you fall in love with a person the same age as you, opposite gender, and they even live in the same state. You break up, and the person breaks the truth. The whole time they've really been 40 +, same gender, and they live all the way across the country. You can make yourself seem how you want on Whyville. It doesn't matter. What I don't understand is how you can just give trust to someone that you don't know and will never meet.
Ok, to stop myself from going off onto a tangent, let me tell you more about what I think...
I think that everyone on Whyville is created equal. One plain face, opportunities to make money, and the same chance as everyone else to make friends. You can do what you please. You can make no money, and borrow clams to get a face -- or you can work hard to get your money, and buy a face, and get a certain sense of accomplishing something. YOU are the reason you get attention. YOU are the main factor in choosing your Whyville life. If you do absolutely nothing wrong, you're nice, you compliment people, and you put yourself out there to get friends -- you probably will. This doesn't happen in all cases.
I started over on a different name, only to find that I'd be called names like "stupid newbie" or "ugly" for no reason. Did these people know I'd previously been an "oldbie"? Did they care that I worked hard to get a face, regardless of how it looked after I put it on? Did they offer to be my friend, no questions asked? No. Because (I hate to break it to you) people aren't like that on Whyville. People don't just wander into the Pool Party daily saying, "Will you be my friend?" or "You look nice." It would be cool if they did, but it just doesn't happen. Oh and a big thing, never think you're better than anyone. It really ticks people off. =)
The whole point of this article was to get people to realize that it's okay to be nice once in a while. It's okay to reach out to a "newbie" and make a friend. It's okay to be friends with someone even if they aren't "popular". And it's certainly okay to lend a helping hand when you see someone wrongfully accused. This isn't supposed to be an article showing that I don't do those things. I admit, I've called people a rude word in my day. This article was to show people that you don't have to be rude all the time. You can be nice, and it won't hurt. I promise, being nice doesn't make you develop a rash.
Be kind. Rewind.
~GrriesYEA~
P.S. I donate clothes, clams, and whatever else you need. So just y-mail me!
