As all you knowledgeable Whyvillians are aware, since about a month ago, we've been given the ability to warn fellow Whyvillians who are behaving badly. The warn system, now commonly known around town as "X-ing", was meant to be a tool for protecting ourselves so that we can all help keep Whyville a pleasant and safe place for hanging out.

Well, like all tools, there are those who use it wisely, and there are always those who abuse it. Word on the streets is that some folks are abusing this privilege, going around warning people just for the fun of it.

I went undercover for City Hall to get the inside scoop, and, much as I had heard , there were indeed citizens who were not using the X as they should've. Innocent folks doing and saying nothing wrong were getting the X, and then getting the boot, through no fault of their own.

I reported my findings to City Hall, and so now some new features have been added to help keep the use of this tool safe and sane.

What hasn't changed:

1. You give someone the X by saying "warn so-and-so", copying the name exactly how it is spelled under this person.
2. The first X is yellow, the second X is red, and the third warn kicks you out.
3. City Hall keeps track of all the people who are warned.
4. City Hall keeps track of all the warners as well.
5. If you get warned a lot or you warn a lot, you'll be hearing from City Hall.

What has changed:

1. When you get an X, you see the name of the person who warned you.
2. You can't warn the same person more than once in a given screen.
3. You have to be warned by 3 different people to get kicked out.

What's been added:

1. A new silence feature

   The powers that be decided to add this feature since now you'll need to have at least 2 other friends around to kick some annoying jerk off. So what can you do if you're hanging out alone in Whyville and someone starts bugging you? Well, you can warn him once, and if he won't quit, just type "silence so-and-so" and you won't have to hear anything else he says! He can blab on and on, but he'd just be talking to himself.

2. New tools in your address book

   Now if you encounter somebody who REALLY just won't quit, you might want to consider PERMANENTLY silencing this person using your address book.

   Simply add this person to your address book, flip to the page where you see his picture, and place a checkmark where it says "Silence so-and-so". You'll see there a checkbox also for "Block mail from so-and-so". If you checked that, then all mail from this pesty person will be blocked for you! You'll NEVER have to hear from this person again! Or at least until you change your mind.

   So check out these tools as well and use them wisely. They are in your address book, which is newly relocated to your satchel for your added convenience.

   Don't you wish you had tools like these in your extra-Whyvillian life?

3. An "ALERT! ALERT!" bulletin board at the BBS

   City Hall started this new bulletin board so that everybody can be in on the news of who's misbehaving in Whyville. If you notice that someone's becoming a problem (they could be saying bad things, writing offensive stuff, or abusing the X), let your fellow citizens know!

I for one believe in the power of the people. If we keep each other up to date on who it is that we should all ignore or avoid or keep an eye on, I know we can keep Whyville the kind of place we want it to be.

And here's the low-down from Bigfoot Bill. Remember: use your tools, do not abuse!