When assholes ruin it for everyone.

This matter is near and dear to my heart. I'm a part of an amazing community. It's a place where you can go and vent all of your fears, your frustrations, your funny and embarrassing stories, your secrets. It's a place to go and be free for a moment without the fear of being judged or damned. I've been a part of this community for almost 8 years, looking forward to Sunday morning secrets. I laugh, cry and stare in amazement at the openness and the vulnerability in front of me, sometimes reading secrets as if they were my own. And for a moment I don't feel alone. It is as if for a brief moment, reading that secret for the first time, I am connected to someone else somewhere in the world on only a level that stranger understands, and that moment is beautiful.

It's the beautiful world of PostSecret.

Frank, the creator of PostSecret, is a life saver. In many ways, a hero. He's reached out to so many people, touched so many lives. He is an avid Suicide Prevention spokesperson. He's a husband, a father and a mentor. He genuinely cares about people, about us as human beings. He's on my list of top 5 people I'd love to meet one day, if I could ever be so lucky. He created PostSecret in the hopes of bringing people together who otherwise feel alone and desperate, telling them one postcard at a time, that they are one of many who are important, needed and loved. As someone who battles depression on a constant basis, such a community is important for me. In times of darkness in my own world, I've dialed that number so I could have someone to speak to. It's what I needed, and Frank made it available to me. I feel like I owe him more than just a thank you.

So, on to why I'm angry.

Frank created an app for the iPhone for PostSecret. To a true fan, this was great news. When I heard about the app I was so excited to see it, to experience PostSecret on a newer, interesting level. Of course when it was released, I immediately downloaded it. At first it was great. It was what we expected, except now we could reply to secrets and offer support and encouragement. Anonymous secrets were rolling in and I could barely put my phone down. Then the younger kids slowly started to show up, posting pictures of themselves, basically posting Facebook statuses, being silly. Then it got just ridiculous.. guys started posting pictures of their genitals, women posing nude, and whatever Tiger Text is, they posted that, too. Highly annoying, but it could be ignored.

But then it got dark. People were now posting child pornography, rape and murder photos and threatening to harm Frank and his family. Enough people complained about the photos that Frank hired moderators to censor the photos, but at 30,000 entries a day, it became a tedious task. The apparently the FBI became involved when the child pornography photos appeared. Frank was forced to shut down the app all together. Over the past few days, those of us that were true fans hoped it could be saved. We held on to a hope that somehow our sense of community could stay intact and we could continue to offer our heartfelt support to those of us that needed it the most. But, because of Frank's vision to go along with the posted Sunday secrets and keep the app 100% anonymous, there was no way to filter out the heinous and malicious content.

Today was a sad day in the PostSecret community. Because of ignorant kids, whose parents don't give enough of a fuck to teach them how to be productive members of society, because of jobless, pathetic trolls living in their parents basement who have no more of a life than to raid the internet, or whoever the culprits may be.. they ruined what was truly a genuinely good thing for people who needed it. I'm sure they don't mind, but for those of us that do, we are the ones paying for it. It's the ones who caused it's demise that won't miss it at all.

Normally I would have some harsh remarks for the ones who are to blame, but I just don't think I can say anything that could begin to touch the disgust I feel over this. I just hope they one day feel bad for what they did. They ruined it for everyone.

When you type like a complete idiot.

"Goin 2 da mall 2day 2 buy sum clothes. Hmu if u want 2 cum C me."

Oy. How can you honestly expect anyone to take you seriously? Yes, of course, this is just the internet and not English class. The problem here is that your grammar is the impression you leave behind on the internet. Pretty much everything is online these days. In a world where everyone emails, texts and communicates through social networking sites, it's important to take your internet grammar seriously.  It takes possibly 15 more seconds to type and spell a word correctly. And for shit's sake, use punctuation.

Honestly, you look both lazy AND stupid when you fail to use proper grammar. Even if you misspell a word, or use the informal and simplified versions of longer words, who cares? At least you put forth an effort to type out a normal, understandable statement.

I'm going to make fun of someone's appearance because I'm extremely insecure.

Come on now, really? Want me to make fun of your mile wide forehead?

Didn't think so.

I'm going to take 100 pictures of myself, post them online and then call myself ugly.

With your fishing pole in hand, you post these stupid pictures and comments, fishing as deep as you can for compliments. I usually just keep my mouth shut (yes, it happens) but what I want to say is "YEP, you're ugly, now move along." but I don't.. because you're not ugly and you know it.

You apply your make up just right, straighten your hair and put on the cutest clothes you have.. but you pose with those ugly duck face lips and the worried look on your face, and caption the photo "Wahh, I'm so ugly.." You're not ugly, but you do look stupid...

Oh no, I was unfriended.

Ah, the unfriending on Facebook. It happens to all of us. Sometimes it's upsetting, sometimes it leaves you wondering "what did I do?", sometimes who really gives a shit? I've been unfriended by my fair share of folks. Recently I noticed someone unfriended me (although I have no idea when the unfriending happened.. that's how much it really mattered) over a simple disagreement. It was a matter of difference of opinion. Which leads me to the following piece of advice:

Get over yourself. Really. There are roughly 6 billion people on this earth. Who the heck are you to be the only one who matters? Oh wait, you aren't. News flash dude.. people are different from you. They actually think differently than you. The nerve, right? How can someone possibly be allowed to think pink is a prettier color than purple if you disagree? When you prevent someone else from having an opinion that's different from yours, you're screaming "I'm a big douchebag!" while waving your hands in the air like an idiot. And believe me when I say it's not a flattering statement (I know this, I've been guilty of it).

Unfriending someone on Facebook is your prerogative. Unfriend all day long if it's what you wish. But doing it because someone is different than you are, no matter if that difference is religious preference, skin color, lifestyle or favorite football team, you make yourself look ignorant. And ignorance doesn't look good on anyone.