Hi everybody.
While it's true that I am no longer a moderator here of my own decision (life has been beating me up, had nothing to do with anything else), I am still a member. I write this post, and state my opinion as such, and nothing more.
I get that recent developments have caused emotions to be running a bit high on the board, to say the least. People are feeling everything from anger and disappointment to fierce loyalty to heartbreak. It's understandable. Completely.
But there are so many places here on this board where members can go to discuss how they feel. As a member, a Claymaniac sister, I am asking you to keep it out of the Shoutbox.
As a former moderator I know that Claymaniacs, while not the largest Clay site, is a high-profile one. Clay has acknowledged us in his Thank Yous in concert programs and so on, we've been listed before in magagzines in the top 5 places to find Clay online, and so on.
And the shoutbox is one of the first places members of the media are going to look for "fan reaction" or, and I hate this but they say it all the time, "Claymate's comments". The reason the shoutbox is so appealing is because it doesn't require much reading. They can glean comments and reactions from it by skimming for a moment or two.
Two or three nights ago Craig Ferguson was taking his turn making jokes at Clay's expense. He said something like
And these Claymates, they're so upset! They're having meltdowns. One woman on a fanboard said that she couldn't go to work and wasn't able to answer her phone!I haven't been around much, but I wanted to throw up because I had read that very thing in our shoutbox just shortly before then.
I realize it could've been on any of the other boards as well, but it still made my stomach flip.
I'm NOT singling anyone out. I'm not. If it's hit someone that hard, I understand. And where else would you talk about it but here among other Clay fans who will understand how you feel. That's a huge part of what makes this place so wonderful is the friendships and comfort found here.
I'm not saying that I think we shouldn't talk about our feelings or whatever. I'm only saying I think we should keep it out of the shoutbox.