Was wondering if anyone was going to say anything.
Funnily enough, a lot of people posting here are rather late to the game, or forum, rather.
The whole pretending to care, being praised, getting all "popular" via being everyone's "friend," has been around since anyone can remember. I think a big reason behind it is that, at least at first, everyone thought they wanted to be a staff member. They wanted power, control, recognition, just, everything that seems desirable about that position, without thinking about what else it entails. Everyone wanted the glory. And it had been said multiple times that staff are chosen based on who's active, helpful, friendly, the like.
So, naturally, you see everyone rushing to the Help sections, trying to do their best to post on every thread. Every single one.
And you start to see it real bad when someone has a problem, and then a solution is offered. What's a user who's trying to impress going to do when their solution has already been offered???
Just repeat it!
It's something you see constantly, and as far back as 2011 (when those threads actually existed still).
And of course the original poster never wants to be rude (usually), so both parties get credit. Even if the second person didn't even know the solution the first person provided, they can pretend.
There's just so many unnecessary and repetitive posts, and not even limited to the Help section, just so everyone can be heard and be out there and be cool.
Which... to a degree is fine, and is expected. It's a social place.
Part of me does believe that it does, at least partially, stem from a lot of the userbase being young, so there's not much sense of "maybe not everything is about me, and I shouldn't be rude and try to take credit for something I didn't actually know anything about."
Because if we're all honest, like, really honest?:
How many of us have actually done the research, the work, the digging, to find the roots of common problems, and then their solutions?
Answer? Not much.
Once the solution is common, everyone just repeats it, and thus the "credit" is absorbed by whoever conveys it the most now.
It doesn't even matter that they didn't technically solve the problem, as long as it looks like they did.
It's extremely frustrating to go to all sorts of lengths to help someone, just to have your post reworded by someone else, who you know had no part in actually figuring any of it out.
It's almost like a passive-aggressive slap to the face, yet somehow from a distance.
I think everyone just needs a new perspective. It's a feline/canine glorified 3D chat room. Honestly, no more or less. Whether or not you help people should be based upon if it's worth it to you.
Is it bettering you as a person, do you enjoy it, etc etc.
Not: will this make me popular, will I be selected for something special, etc etc.
But, alas, everyone is out for themselves. That's how I've come to understand it over the past 5 years of FeralHeart.
Users are quite literally that.
Oh, did you spend all that time doing that? Well, it takes me 5 minutes to pretend I did it.
Oh, you're skilled at something? Can we be "friends" so I can get it for free? Or so you can teach me?
This community has always been want, take, have.
And again, that's just a rather young mentality that is probably just the result of a young userbase.
But that doesn't mean it cannot change.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world," and all that.
Don't be mean, don't be dumb, etc etc.
I'll stop re-ranting your rant.
Stay kind, kids.