Usually sometime in the first month of school or so, the teachers will herd everyone into an assembly where they sit for a hour or so and listen to lectures about anti-bullying. And we usually tune it out because it's boring and we all know that bullying is wrong. But, even when you say something like 'Nice shirt,' sarcastically to someone, that is bullying! Bullying isn't just with your fists guys. It's with your mind, your words that you do the most damage. And bullying on here? That's cyberbullying.
There are serious laws against cyberbullying- especially in America. It's a criminal offense. So here are somethings you might find interesting:
- 25% of cyberbullying happens in Chat-rooms like the IRC.
- 42% of kids have been bullied while online. 25% of these kids will have it happen more then once.
- 58% percent of kids do not tell anyone if/that they are being cyberbullied
And people commit suicide over these things. People get hurt. People do not feel safe, online or at school or anything because of these things.
And recently I've become aware of some very serious bullying here. At WFW. I'm not going to mention names, but there is the scenario. One user was abusing another user on the IRC. This went on for a while. Then, today two others joined in, ganging up on the single user. Bullying catches on. If we see someone being mean to another kid, we pick sides and the bully wars begin.
We are a family here. We laugh and write and have fun, and there are times where we squabble and fight. But I have never seen a case of bullying on this wiki so severe and disrespectful. It's horrendous, and it hurts all the more because all of us are talented, strong writers. When we get bullied or criticized we take it to heart, and we let it hurt us.
Words hurt. We as writers should know how much effect words can have. I admit, in real life sometimes I'll use words to hurt someone. But it happens on here too and it's almost worse because you have no idea who your enemy is. Words like 'gay' and 'retard' hurt especially, so if I see anyone using them there will be repercussions. But any kind of verbal or written abuse is going to stop now.
From here on out, Forest and I are putting an end to it. On the IRC, in comments on blogs, in talk pages on stories. You can't bully people, whether they're a n00b or just plain annoying. You're going to have to face people like that in real life and you can't let it faze you. So we're all stopping. No more comments like 'Well, this story is good but I kind of hate it' or IRC bullying.
Thanks,