No Difference
by [anonymous]

Originally Posted: 19 April 2000

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Okay, I am going to put everything aside -- all the arguments, all the past, all of the differences, all of the attitude, everything. Something is wrong here and we're not seeing it yet. It's beginning to look like a tale of two cities. Yet, on the other hand, it also looks like a day in the civil war. The difference that people see in each other seem to be blinding us from the truth.

So you might be asking of what is the truth? To be honest, I don't know. There are many types or kinds of truths. The truth can only be found inside. And only through discovering that can you see that there is something wrong.

There are a few channels that are at war. Some are related. Some are unrelated. Despite how they relate, they are, as classified by some, at war. But I ask of what this war is about. What is there to gain by declaring war on another channel, an IRC channel to be exact. The same IRC channel that people come at their own free will and time to join and perhaps talk about what is on their mind or to discuss about a topic that is not discussed very often. When we look at two very different channels, we see that there are some things or people that we do not like. And like the web of friends that makes situations difficult and perhaps eventually divide us and separate us, it gets tricky trying to resolve things in a calmly manner.

No channels will be named. And I figure this is the best way. I will not name any names either, and it's clearly the only way to keep this article as anonymous as it can be. Nobody cannot expect anyone to like a person. And that is a given. What we should expect to do is at least leave the matter alone. Regardless if you have gotten into an argument or a debate that made you frustrated, which I have been in many times before, often in defeat, it should be clear that it is no different than you arguing to another person who also falls in defeat. And while you have different view on certain perspective, it is often appreciated to respect other people's views, no matter how difficult it is to accept it.

Sure there are some views which are generally agreed on that is wrong. And there are some who are not willing to change their views on it. They are, though, still their perspective. And we should respect that. A rivalry between IRC channels can degrade to a point where someone is daring enough to take a shot at disrespecting another channel for "what they are." And this is where it becomes all too messy.

It became all too clear to me now that even though a rivalry is a tough view to face, it has to be accepted. One group will start throwing mud and dirt at another group and they will fight back or vice versa. And it only takes one little thing to turn this entire rivalry into a "super-sized no fries, please" war.

War, that's a word I really should not use. Rivalry sounds better but there is little other alternative choices of terms for me to choose from. It is indeed a bitter fight. And how long can it last? We are missing the one thing that brought many people together once before, a common bond that many people have seen.

The difference can still exists. But in an ideal world, the difference would have no bitter rivalries between any other IRC channels out there. And like many of us who understands this, there is no ideal world. And if I had my ways, well there wouldn't be so much fighting.

I am not one to speak in deep thoughts. But it only dawned on me earlier the day I "wrote" this that because of bitter rivarlies that we're all in this situation right now. So who should we blame for all this? Simply.... ourselves. We are at fault. We made this gone overboard. We blew this out of proportions. We started the fire. And we put more fuel into it as well. So in conclusion, we deserve a big kick in the ass for who we are, for we are no different from our own enemies. It is our own fault that, because we simply disagreed on something or we have a different view that we have driven ourselves farther apart to a point where we start insulting each other for no reason at all.

So what is my reason in typing all this junk up? Is it because I had enough of all of the trouble that other people are causing? Is it because there are countless times when someone joins that the person is driven away because of our heartless attitude? Is it because that I am trying to get a spot here on this page? Well, that is a difficult thing to answer. To be honest, there are things in this world that makes you want to speak out and voice your opinion about something. This is it. But the situation we're all in goes deeper than that. And we have to see what we have done that is wrong so we can try to keep these bitter rivalries under control. Competition is good, but not when it involves mud-slinging and dirt-throwing. In all honestly, all this that I am seeing now is beginning to look like politics. And I hate politics.