Bad Site

Gah...I just had to buy a used computer, didn't I? Stupid me.

So, the local college is selling old computers as a good will gesture to students and to raise money. They were buying some new computers, you understand. So, I buy one. It's just the computer - no monitor or anything - but I buy it anyway. Who couldn't use a second computer, right?

Well, I find this cool site. I won't give the name, since people will then go there and probably be treated better than I was - which would only irritate me. Anyway, I find this cool site and join it. It's an RPG site. I set my user options and post a character profile. I even post a new IC (in character, for the layman) topic and an OOC (out of character) topic. Well, I did this on the campus. When I got home, I couldn't log on. The computer said that I wasn't allowed to see the board, or something like that.

I've been on the site three days, and now I've been banned. No, I haven't done anything wrong - except buy a computer with an IP address that had been banned from the site. So, no matter what I said, this guy (again, no names) bans me from the c-box and from the site itself. I try to tell him that I have no idea who he's talking about that did all this spamming and threatening and what-not (apparently, there was a lot of trouble with a user of this computer), but he refuses to believe me. He submits into evidence the fact that this other guy put up a link to my site there - the same one that I put into my profile when I registered. It's not my fault if one of the members of my site posted a link to it on their profile. Supposedly, I also talk like the guy. So? There's only one guy that's ever been on the site that talks a certain way? That's idiocy, frankly, and I can't believe I was banned just because there are some things similar between the two of us and because there's a link that both of us have posted. I can understand being cautious, but come on - I have no clue what the guy was talking about. Three days ago (actually five, if you count the weekend) was the first time I'd ever been on the site.

Anyway, I'm a little irritated. The site is pretty unique - I haven't been on one quite like it before that I can remember, and others similar to it aren't nearly as good. So, it irritates me that I find this great site and then can't post because of a stroke of fate. The guy treated me like I was some animal he was sad to have to put down, instead of someone who was willing to have fun and actually contribute to the site. That's just wrong, man. With that guy's attitude, it's a wonder the site has any members at all.

Steve Irwin: We will remember you!

I suppose I should offer my own sentiments concerning the recent death of Crocodile Hunter and Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin by a stingray. First of all, I think it's important to mention my surprise at the manner of his death. With all the things he's faced - scorpions, crocodiles, poisonous snakes, and much more - the fact that he died because of a stingray (while plausible) is certainly an unwelcome surprise. I think this has really jarred some people that had begun to believe Steve Irwin was immortal.

Steve Irwin started his show when there were just three nature shows on T.V., or so I've been told. It seems that he really changed the face of T.V. Whereas no one really watched much in the way of nature shows before, Steve Irwin got the ball rolling with his crusade for conservation of animals and nature as a whole, as well as with his smooth-talking first-hand knowledge of the Australian outback. It has been a couple of decades since he started his show, and I (for one) am deeply sorry that he is gone. While I did not know him personally, I feel that T.V. (as well as the rest of the world) has lost a great asset and a valued life.

So, I offer my deepest condolences to Mr. Irwin's wife, any children he might have had (I believe he had at least one, though I'm not positive), his family, and his friends. I hope someone who did know Steve Irwin personally sees this, for I am one of the many fans who would have loved to meet him. To Steve Irwin: I only hope that you're now in a better place.