I'm pretty sure most all of us here were ostracized or made fun of at one point in our lives for being different, nerdy, geeky, dorky, stupid, "gay", or whatever. We're all part of the video game nerd family. We come here to be among our own kind, to be understood, to be accepted. We come here to have fun, discuss our shared passions, and to make oscure inside jokes that others will actually understand and laugh at (usually).

We're not all best friends. There are members that I don't particularly like. There are members that don't particularly like me. That's life. However, we're all a family and we should all respect each other. If you don't like someone, fine. Please don't use these forums to spew anger or spite. (Unless you are Spuuky, in which case you can spew anger and hatred equally in all directions.)

If you really can't stand to read the posts of a fellow member, put them on your ignore list. Better yet, learn to accept and live with people you don't like. Guess what: it's not going to be any different for the rest of your life. We can all coexist peacefully without being a huge love-fest or gigantic man-woman-quina huggle.

Also, jokes are great. I like to be sarcastic and pick fun at others when I know they don't mind. If I do it to someone who does mind, I'll stop when they say so. Remember, all you have to say is "would you <i>please</i> stop calling me chief!" We should all follow this rule: when the butt of a joke asks the rest of us to stop making the damn joke, let's be respectful and do so. It's fun until someone gets hurt, and the hurt can be emotional as well as physical. You can say "get over it" but remember: we've all been there before. We can show empathy.

The lifeblood of these great forums is the membership. We always lament the members of years past who have gone away and never post anymore. We need to stop and think about our actions, and if we cause people to leave by the way we treat them. We can't keep everyone happy all the time, but we can at least do our best to foster a welcoming and open environment for fellow members. You never know what you had until you lose it. Let's not ruin the magic by being jerks.

We're all in this together, kid.