Ranting and venting?

[Clementine Danger]

I really love this place. It's rapidly becoming my internet home. I've been lurking for a long time, I've had another account here and this place and the people here are just wonderful.

That being said, is there a place on the forum to go when you don't need hugs and you don't need advice, you just want to rant and rage for a while? I'm not sure whether that would fit with the forum culture, but a lot of people (including myself) seem to come here with anger and frustration about difficult situations they need to vent, and a lot of those threads seem to end up in the "I need a hug" subforum, which doesn't always fit. A lot of people here are activists and/or subjected to various -isms and there doesn't really seem to be a place to be righteously angry about that.

Would it be feasible to have a subforum that's just for blowing off steam? A place to safely be angry? Is that something anyone besides me would even want or need? Would that run counter to the comforting and warm vibe I personally get from this place? Would it open the door to negative vibes? I'm legitimately asking. Anger is one of those things we don't often get an opportunity to express in our daily lives. I personally think it would be good to have a safe, contained place to express those emotions on this forum, but it's perfectly possible that I'm alone in this. (Or that I have just missed a thread in a subforum I don't often visit.)

[Redheadedtwit]

I generally use Minor Annoyances for this purpose, but I think you have a good point that it isn't really appropriate for venting about things that are more serious issues.

[Kellis Amberlee]

Hi Clementine!

First of all, thank you for the kind words! It's nice to know we're doing something right.

I'd personally tend to agree with Redheadedtwit that the Minor Annoyances-thread works. But let me take it to the team and get back to you once we've talked it out.

[Clementine Danger]

Thank you for the quick reply!

I know about the Minor Annoyances thread and it's a good thing to have. I can definitely imagine that being enough for a lot of people. And I also I think it says something that this thread is a huge as it is. But I've felt myself pull back from there because it's a single thread and I feel uncomfortable about possibly stepping onto other people's toes, so to speak, to vent about myself. I think having separate threads to express those emotions would be better because of that reason. (Also, the name Minor Annoyances doesn't really cover it all, but that's a much smaller side issue.)

The other reason I suggest a subforum is that I get the feeling that anger can quickly spill over on a lot of forums. It's why I edited my original post to included the word "contained." It's a volatile emotion that I personally feel is healthy to express, but does have a bit of a gravitational pull and can be upsetting to others. A subforum would be easy to simply ignore for people who are made uncomfortable or are triggered by strong negative emotions. It seems possible to me (correct me if I am wrong!) to have a place to express strong emotions without stepping on the right of other posters to not be exposed to it. I think it would also be easier to moderate, but I don't know the structure behind the scenes, so that's just an assumption on my part.

[TW: emotional censorship of marginalized groups] This could definitely just be me, but I do know that women often aren't allowed to express any anger at all in their daily lives, and that a lot of posters here have been subjected to various forms of sexism like that. I can't speak for other marginalized groups, but I hear that many people who experience -isms in their daily lives feel they have to be very careful about not looking like an "angry [something]." I think that having a place where people are allowed to be angry would fit with the spirit of inclusiveness and healthy expression of emotions that are taboo for a lot of groups, but again, I have no idea if that's a valid point or if that even fits with the mission statement of this forum.

[rageasaurus]

Hola! I'm chiming in to say that I really like the idea of creating a space that is designated for ranting and venting.

There have been times when I have needed to rant/vent about something among like-minded folks and felt that my issue was too heavy for the Minor Annoyances thread while not quite rising to the level of warranting a separate hugs/help thread. Also, having a dedicated space for this kind of expression would help me overcome my worry that I'm going to accidentally introduce a temporary storm cloud into someone's day when they didn't sign up for that.

ETA: And ditto to everything Clementine Danger posted while I was typing my response!

[the_oddest_sock]

An internet equivalent of a Smash Cafe would be bloody amazing. \o/

[rageasaurus]

Zomg, that Smash Cafe looks amazing!!!!1!!1!11!! I was just saying yesterday in another thread how I wish there was a place where I can pay money to just smash things against a wall (in a safe manner that harms no one, of course).

[Clementine Danger]

Hola! I'm chiming in to say that I really like the idea of creating a space that is designated for ranting and venting.

Well, yes, you would, rageasaurus!

;-)

[rubymendez]

Hahaha - I love this thread. Such a good idea and thoughtful conversation (this is why I love you guys).

[sullieseeburg]

I think an angry space would be a good addition. I'm thinking of Professor Farnsworth from Futurama pacing back and forth in his "Angry Dome."