Ranting and venting?

[Clementine Danger]

[Kellis Amberlee]

So, we had the time to talk it through. We don't want to separate these topics into a separate space because it signals that the feelings aren't acceptable elsewhere. It's perfectly fine to be angry and to express that. Strong negative emotions can be a good part of our forum culture, (as long as they don't contain disrespect toward fellow users or isms).

Generally, anger is an acceptable emotion in any subforum and thread unless otherwise declared (someone may start a thread and explicitly ask people to not express anger, and you should respect that of course) or obviously utterly inappropriate (there are probably very few situations when anger is appropriate in the "Success Stories" forum). Places that are particularly suited for expressions of anger are the Jedi Hugs forum (you can explicitly ask for no hugs), and the Minor annoyances thread. You can also create your own threads or support groups, such as Angry People Taking Up Space.

This board is equipped for anger and irritation, but not for large-scale rage. The occasional rant is a-ok. Just respect the forum rules and use TW:s, such as: TW: angry venting. Likewise, when expressing anger in a way that may be upsetting to others in an already existing thread, you can add them.

Have so much rage that you worry about not being able to productively contribute in any of these categories? Well, maybe it's not a bad idea to rethink posting that directionless rage-filled screed here. We recommend 750words for when you need to write things down and get them off your chest.

There's a few reasons we're skeptical. Rantings can turn into feelingsposts, and we're not huge fans of them. Ragings can easily hurt someone even if they are topical. Angry people generally aren't careful to use the proper disclaimers when they are ranting. A board especially for rantings and venting wouldn't be used just by people who can't express anger in other contexts.

To summarize, these are good places to express rage right here:

* Need a safe place to vent feels? Jedi Hugs.
* Want a thread where everyone supports each other's inner Rageasauruses? Support Groups.
* Subjected to an -ism and want to righteously rage about it? Go to -isms.
* Something that doesn't quite fit into other categories? General Chat!

[Clementine Danger]

Grrr! That makes me so mad! AAARGGG!!

No, I kid. Thank you guys so much for taking the time to consider and talk about this. I agree with everything you said, it makes a lot of sense and mirrors my own doubts about it. Plus, I read it all in professor Farnsworth's voice, so my day is made whichever way we go.

Thanks ;-)

[rageasaurus]

Thank you to the mods for the thorough consideration and reply.

Also, the following is very helpful to see in writing, as I tend to bite my tongue when anger bubbles up.

We don't want to separate these topics into a separate space because it signals that the feelings aren't acceptable elsewhere. It's perfectly fine to be angry and to express that. Strong negative emotions can be a good part of our forum culture, (as long as they don't contain disrespect toward fellow users or isms).

[Clementine Danger]

Yes, agreed. I'm one of those people who really needs permission to express that sort of thing. It really is good to see that, even if the assumption was always there.

[rageasaurus]

Oh, and Clementine Danger -- your joke about my username made me smile and laugh on Friday. I would have responded then, but I was on my phone and am terrible at typing into tiny boxes where I can't see what I'm typing as I go. :)

[Clementine Danger]

Aw, thanks for saying. It's a good username. Fits the avatar very well. Little tweety bird rageasaurus, with its little feet :-D