Dating threads: a public service announcement

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

For all of you in search of the threads for finding your special somepony on the forum, you're having a difficult time locating them because they have been removed. Since their inception, these threads have caused trouble for staff and regular members alike. Sometimes they simply left us scratching our heads wondering what the hell just happened, or why Member X and Member Y are now duking it out with half a dozen friends trying to be referees, or what's up with some creep exhibiting stalker-like behavior.

 

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On the surface, these threads may look innocuous enough to most participants and passersby. Just a bunch of members in search of that “special somepony,” no cause for concern. Seems rather sweet, in fact. You'd be correct in thinking this most of the time. There's no denying that some good, enduring relationships have blossomed as a result of them. Even a few romances that ended have transformed into longstanding friendships. The flip side of this is that quite a few “lovers' quarrels” have erupted as well. Some spats quite serious; some extremely petty. Why does this concern anyone besides those couples? Why not just punish those causing the problems and leave the thread alive for everyone else?

 

Conflicts of this nature often affect more than those who instigated it. On several occasions, people having a fight resulting in the demise of their relationship have managed to get a handful of their friends involved. Friends who don't know how to react or respond, but are now placed in a very uncomfortable situation with volatile people who may lash out at them too if they don't handle the situation appropriately. Nobody here needs to find themselves trapped like that, afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing or nothing at all for fear of retaliation or losing an emotionally compromised friend. Nobody needs to be forced into choosing which of two friends they can keep when those two lose their affections for one another. Quite frankly, this sort of behavior is often stupid and childish. Given the number of people on this forum who are technically children mitigates the element of surprise, but that doesn't change the fact that this is all supremely obnoxious, a total waste of the staff's time, and that dozens of ordinary bystanders shouldn't have to pay for it. The staff, and I daresay everyone else on this forum, have better things to do than mediate intimate bickering of this magnitude. First and foremost, this is a fan site for bronies, not a dating site. Although we've allowed threads for that purpose to exist for a time, it has now become detrimental to our goal of providing the fandom a safe and hospitable social hub. It's time for them to go.

 

 

But wait, there's more! Bad as all of that can be, we've got one more reason eclipsing it: predation. A few members have come and gone (often through a ban) with... dishonorable intentions. Soliciting personal information, knowingly making unwelcome sexual advances, and all of this typically to multiple members in a spammy fashion and regardless of whatever instructions or reprimands they're given. As tired as a few members are of being creeped upon, we're tired of dealing with creeps. These aren't the kind of people we want on this site, and harboring threads that attract them like flies to honey isn't particularly wise.

 

 

Futhermore, we've had to have a few conversations with angry parents over this, particularly when their kid gets into a relationship with an adult here. Is it even our responsibility though, you may be asking? Shouldn't the parents take responsibility for what their children are doing online and stop expecting forum administrators to raise their kids instead, so everyone else here can do as they please in a responsible fashion? I, personally, say yes, and to any irresponsible parents out there: get off your lazy asses and stop blaming other people for your failures as a mother/father.

 

That said, the fact remains that they do contact us, and we have to talk to them about whatever concerns them, and we have to start monitoring their kid and whoever they're interacting with to make sure nobody tries arranging a meeting or swapping some naughty pictures or what have you. We aren't equipped or staffed properly for such a task, nor should we even have to do this on a My Little Pony forum anyway. 

 

 

 

With the demise of these threads, things will hopefully mellow out for everyone. To those members that once enjoyed window shopping for a significant other, sorry for the inconvenience. You'll have to do things the old fashioned way... going out of your way to talk to people you encounter in your forum travels and putting a more concentrated effort into making their acquaintance. Sound harder? Kind of is. On the other hand, you may find the resulting relationships to be much more meaningful and enduring. Try to see this as an opportunity for personal growth rather than a hindrance.