I just want to make things clear to everybody, because I don't think some people understand that it's not an Liason
Underground vs. Canvas battle. Obvsiouly, I absolutely don't speak for everybody, but this is a kind of "straw that broke the
camel's back" issue. For years, a lot of people have been feeling oppressed by Brooke and her need for the Canvas to be a Stepford
Wives-type community, where nothing bad ever happens, nobody ever disagrees, nobody questions authority and, most importantly, nobody ever talks
about anything other that Jason and Elizabeth. End of story.
Well, real life doesn't work that way. People are allowed to think for themselves. People are allowed to disagree. In fact, it's pretty much a given that no two people are ever going to agree on every single thng. Just look at Lemmy and I. She thinks Andrew St. John is a hunka-hunka burnin' love. I? Do not. Clearly I am right, but she still gets to think (and post about) he's a hunka-hunka burnin' love. Just like I get to mock her mercilessly for it.
A lot of the people reading this might not know me -- just like they might not have known who Casey and Koko were until the takeover -- so you may be saying to yourselves, "Why should I listen to what she has to say?" Well, let me tell you who I am. I started posting at The Canvas about a month after it opened. Back then, it was fun. We discussed everything on the show, from how we hated CARL (Jacob Young's "Lucky") to how much we loved (or hated, in my case) Nia (remember them?). There was no campaigning. There were no post deletions. There was no banner/avatar-banning. There was no "debuzzing." We even talked about our real lives, got to know each other outside of the show. To sum it up, it wasn't stressful to post at The Canvas because we weren't afraid that disagreements would get out of hand. We weren't afraid that we'd get a "warning" for daring to disagree with "policy" because, despite creating the "policy," Koko, Casey and Candy weren't sticklers for it. They realized that we are adults (mostly) and we should be able to act like adults (except for me, but there's always an exception to every rule).
I can't remember the exact date, or even an approximate date, that this all changed. I just know that it did. I was sad, because posting there stopped being fun. I remember it was around the time that Corky showed up and it was pretty clear that Jason/Corky was the way the show was headed. People wanted to rant about that. They DESERVED to rant about that because, really, who discusses their soap watching habits with the people in their real life? Certainly not me! The first time I told my parents that I was going to meet a bunch of people I'd never met to see a soap star (Steve, incidentally), they thought I was whackadoodle. Then, when I asked them if a friend could stay in our guest room because she couldn't afford a hotel, they almost committed me to a psych ward. But every time I wanted to bitch about Jason/Corky, I wasn't necessarily censored, but I certainly did hear enough things like, "We shouldn't be talking about Corky. Liason talk only! Debuzz debuzz!" And if there's one thing y'all should know about me, in case you don't already know it about me, is that I don't like to be told what to do or say by people that really have no right telling me what to do or say. And the more it happens, the crabbier I get.
I realized then, that fracture of the Canvas was really the beginning of the end for that site. People like me would soon tire of getting snippy with people trying to tell them what to post and end up leaving. And eventually, people in my position would do the same. Leaving behind the people that were power hungry and had driven out the "undesirables." Eventually, the only people left would be the people who didn't know anything different. After awhile, I started to see an alarming trend. Posts that included, "I hope this comment doesn't get deleted..." or "this may get me banned, but..." People should NOT have to post disclaimers like that! It is an internet message board! Unless you're plotting to kill the president or trolling for 6 year olds like a pedophile, you should be able to post whatever the hell you damn well please! It's simply not healthy, nor fun, to participate in a stifling enviorment.
This takeover intitiated by Brooke and Amy, however, is the last straw. Maybe if they had told the truth from the beginning, people wouldn't be so upset. Maybe if they hadn't have banned Casey and Koko, people wouldn't be so furious. Maybe if they would just let Casey and Koko's side of the story be posted at The Canvas for everybody to see, we wouldn't be so irate. Maybe if they had given back the board that they did not create, we wouldn't be so united and driven. But the fact of the matter is, is that they've banned posters for taking Casey and Koko's side. They've deleted banners linking to profiles that include Casey and Koko's side of the story. They've banned AVATARS that imply there is another side to the story. They catagorize these last two actions -- the banners and avatars -- as "destructive to The Canvas:"
The TRUTH is destructive??? When did THIS happen?!?! WHY is the truth so destructive? Because then people may come to the conclusion that Amy and Brooke were not entirely honest about how they aquired ownership of The Canvas? That's only destructive to two people -- Amy and Brooke -- not the Canvas as a whole.
So, the "attack" last night was not malicious. We do not wish to stifle the people that still post at The Canvas. We have nothing against anybody other than Amy and Brooke. They need to realize that the truth MUST be heard, however much it hurts them. We feel EVERYBODY deserves the truth. And then? If you still feel that Brooke and Amy did -- and are still doing -- the right thing, so be it. But don't make that decision until you are armed with both sides of the story, first.
We are not antis. We do not wish to make your posting lives miserable. We just have a strong sense of right and wrong and we believe what Brooke (and her friends) did -- and has been doing for years now -- is wrong.
Well, real life doesn't work that way. People are allowed to think for themselves. People are allowed to disagree. In fact, it's pretty much a given that no two people are ever going to agree on every single thng. Just look at Lemmy and I. She thinks Andrew St. John is a hunka-hunka burnin' love. I? Do not. Clearly I am right, but she still gets to think (and post about) he's a hunka-hunka burnin' love. Just like I get to mock her mercilessly for it.
A lot of the people reading this might not know me -- just like they might not have known who Casey and Koko were until the takeover -- so you may be saying to yourselves, "Why should I listen to what she has to say?" Well, let me tell you who I am. I started posting at The Canvas about a month after it opened. Back then, it was fun. We discussed everything on the show, from how we hated CARL (Jacob Young's "Lucky") to how much we loved (or hated, in my case) Nia (remember them?). There was no campaigning. There were no post deletions. There was no banner/avatar-banning. There was no "debuzzing." We even talked about our real lives, got to know each other outside of the show. To sum it up, it wasn't stressful to post at The Canvas because we weren't afraid that disagreements would get out of hand. We weren't afraid that we'd get a "warning" for daring to disagree with "policy" because, despite creating the "policy," Koko, Casey and Candy weren't sticklers for it. They realized that we are adults (mostly) and we should be able to act like adults (except for me, but there's always an exception to every rule).
I can't remember the exact date, or even an approximate date, that this all changed. I just know that it did. I was sad, because posting there stopped being fun. I remember it was around the time that Corky showed up and it was pretty clear that Jason/Corky was the way the show was headed. People wanted to rant about that. They DESERVED to rant about that because, really, who discusses their soap watching habits with the people in their real life? Certainly not me! The first time I told my parents that I was going to meet a bunch of people I'd never met to see a soap star (Steve, incidentally), they thought I was whackadoodle. Then, when I asked them if a friend could stay in our guest room because she couldn't afford a hotel, they almost committed me to a psych ward. But every time I wanted to bitch about Jason/Corky, I wasn't necessarily censored, but I certainly did hear enough things like, "We shouldn't be talking about Corky. Liason talk only! Debuzz debuzz!" And if there's one thing y'all should know about me, in case you don't already know it about me, is that I don't like to be told what to do or say by people that really have no right telling me what to do or say. And the more it happens, the crabbier I get.
I realized then, that fracture of the Canvas was really the beginning of the end for that site. People like me would soon tire of getting snippy with people trying to tell them what to post and end up leaving. And eventually, people in my position would do the same. Leaving behind the people that were power hungry and had driven out the "undesirables." Eventually, the only people left would be the people who didn't know anything different. After awhile, I started to see an alarming trend. Posts that included, "I hope this comment doesn't get deleted..." or "this may get me banned, but..." People should NOT have to post disclaimers like that! It is an internet message board! Unless you're plotting to kill the president or trolling for 6 year olds like a pedophile, you should be able to post whatever the hell you damn well please! It's simply not healthy, nor fun, to participate in a stifling enviorment.
This takeover intitiated by Brooke and Amy, however, is the last straw. Maybe if they had told the truth from the beginning, people wouldn't be so upset. Maybe if they hadn't have banned Casey and Koko, people wouldn't be so furious. Maybe if they would just let Casey and Koko's side of the story be posted at The Canvas for everybody to see, we wouldn't be so irate. Maybe if they had given back the board that they did not create, we wouldn't be so united and driven. But the fact of the matter is, is that they've banned posters for taking Casey and Koko's side. They've deleted banners linking to profiles that include Casey and Koko's side of the story. They've banned AVATARS that imply there is another side to the story. They catagorize these last two actions -- the banners and avatars -- as "destructive to The Canvas:"
"This is to inform you that you have been Warned in regards to the signature you are posting with. It contains information destructive to The Canvas, and we ask you to remove it before you post again."
- Brooke, Rebecca Herbst's Fan Club Representative, via PM to members of The Canvas.
The TRUTH is destructive??? When did THIS happen?!?! WHY is the truth so destructive? Because then people may come to the conclusion that Amy and Brooke were not entirely honest about how they aquired ownership of The Canvas? That's only destructive to two people -- Amy and Brooke -- not the Canvas as a whole.
So, the "attack" last night was not malicious. We do not wish to stifle the people that still post at The Canvas. We have nothing against anybody other than Amy and Brooke. They need to realize that the truth MUST be heard, however much it hurts them. We feel EVERYBODY deserves the truth. And then? If you still feel that Brooke and Amy did -- and are still doing -- the right thing, so be it. But don't make that decision until you are armed with both sides of the story, first.
We are not antis. We do not wish to make your posting lives miserable. We just have a strong sense of right and wrong and we believe what Brooke (and her friends) did -- and has been doing for years now -- is wrong.
