When I joined hearts_andminds, there was a very communal atmosphere to the RP. Even when people didn't get along quite so well, they attempted to respect each other. They realized that this was for fun, and that it was an escape from real-world dilemmas.

It's getting to the end of summer, and between stress from jobs and school and illness and already existing stress from an economy that makes some of us want to bash our faces against the wall a lot of us are really feeling the pressure. So the thing that's supposed to make you happy stops making you happy anymore, and it starts wearing you down and sometimes makes you downright snippy and hostile.

I suppose it goes without saying that an online community should be a place that you're happy to return to rather than a place where you say, "I'll deal with this later." And I think it comes down to fundamental respect of other people's viewpoints. It shouldn't really be that hard to take a step back and go, "This is where this person is coming from, I will try to understand it, and if I can not, I will go have a cookie and beverage of choice and re-evaluate my opinion on the matter."

This is really, really hard to do when your under stress because your brain is in self-preservation mode.

I've come to really love some of the players here, and in the past I've seen some incredible displays of organization and cooperation. It's been really, truly impressive, but it seems that in some cases we've become impatient. We're upset if we're not informed of something or we're upset because we're overwhelmed or something else is going on.

I think in some cases it's lessening some players' enjoyment, and they in turn get impatient, and it's not a very good cycle. Especially to those who have had far too much out of character drama. This community, when I joined it, had a lot of people who were trying to get away from just that. So even if we don't like a person's style of RPing, we can afford them an email if something you do might indirectly affect their character, and likewise I would like to think we could forgive them or politely ask for a reconsideration (or retcon if it's important enough) if they happen to forget.

I don't mean to be accusing in this at all. I've forgotten to get in contact with muns myself, and I've gotten frustrated more than once. I think that maybe some of us need to take a step back and consider the other perspective occasionally. I would really like to continue playing without being constantly concerned about offending someone. I'm really worried about losing both my enjoyment and some of the players that I've come to adore who are experiencing similar dissatisfaction.

Also, forgive any of my typos. I have the chronic inability to notice them myself even if I reread before posting.