Hello fellow students...
First I'd like to say that I'm saying this as a fellow student, not an admin. So please don't think I'm going on a tirade or being bossy and telling everyone what to do, how to act or what to say. I'm saying this as a student, and my experience with this site.
I've had some exchanges with some students about the community aspect of this site. As an admin and the mother of this school, I tried so hard to get students to focus more on the lessons of this site. No matter how hard I tried, I feel like I failed at that endeavor. And that's fine. The focus was always, and for some reason still will always be, on the community side. And that's fine too. As Syn says himself, "Use this site however it best helps you."
However, on Instagram some private group chats have formed. I advised against this as an admin from happening because I knew it would cause future issues. But I couldn't tell anyone what to do.
Some people have opinions on this site. And that's great. What's NOT great, is voicing your opinion and then demonizing others for sharing theirs when they don't agree with you or even shutting them down before they can voice it. Calling fellow students "entitled", "stupid", and other horrible things I've seen, is never called for. I have had students sharing their sadness about the community of this site and how "cliquey" and "high school" it's become in some aspects due to favoritism and off-site chats on Instagram. It's leading to many students not knowing where they fit in here, or if they even belong here.
I was practically here from the very beginning. And I've busted my ass off to make this place as good as I could during my reign here. Needless to say, some things that have been said about me fucking hurt. And they hurt... BADLY. Especially when I thought these people were my friends. I've never said anything mean or degrading about them, even when I was angry at them. If I was, I always said it to their faces.
Bottom line is that students are talking about other students behind their backs. They're belittling them for not agreeing with them. They're commenting on other's riffs and ignoring someone else. Favorites are being shown. And some students have openly admitted to "testing people" just to see how far they can take their boundaries.
I'm no longer an admin so I don't have to worry about saving face when I say "fuck that concept". It's bullshit bullying and it's rude. I have witnessed bullying and ganging up on other students on this site. If I didn't see it, the situation was brought to my attention.
Yes I have had my opinions on other students. But I have told them my issues with them to their faces. And I've tried hard to resolve these issues. But these harsh Instagram chats have gotten the best of this site to where it's being shown as a "high school that's hard to fit into" and no longer an "awesome guitar site that where we are all welcomed."
When I had private messages on here telling me "I would have commented on that but I know it would have caused a whole shit storm so I kept my opinions to myself", that's not okay. The fact that students on this site feel they have to have zipper lips or they'll be tarred and feathered is not cool. That's not this site. That's not OUR school.
Also, people have made fun of me for offering Bill's private lessons to students on here (Not you Dominik. You always poke playful fun and never have called me the horrible names I've been called). When you all stop gossiping about bullshit in the Instagram chats and actually give advice (if you can) to those who need it on their riffs, maybe I'll stop doing that. When I stop having to counsel students about them being upset as to why no one corrected their mistakes and they now feel embarrassed, maybe I'll stop doing that.
Needless to say, you all are welcomed here.
If you're overweight, you're welcomed here.
If you have a terrible camera, you're welcomed here.
If you are republican, liberal, democrat, gay, straight, alien, cisgender whatever you are welcomed here.
All opinions are respected here.
We want to see you post your riffs.
If you have PTSD, are pro-gun, anti-abortion, have severe anxiety or whatever, you're welcomed here.
I will definitely be spending more time trying to give equal love here to everyone on the riffs because I have so much more to offer now. And I have more free time to do so since I stepped down.
Also, feel free to leave your thoughts below. I'm sure I'll end up in one of those nasty private Instagram chats in some way shape or form, and honestly I've lost the energy to care. If you say bad shit about me then that's on you and your conscious. I'm just trying to be a voice for those who have came to me feeling they don't deserve to have one here.
Much love and welcome to 2021. I hope we all like it here.