Myspace Venting.

I have to vent about Myspace. I'm on there to keep in touch with friends, and to a certain point it's pretty cool. Not always, though. The beauty and ugly of it is that any idiot with computer access can build a profile. As much as I like the pros of the system, there are a few things that really rank high up on my pet peeves list.

1) People that use the word "gay" as an insult, or as a general description. As in "Here's another gay ass survey," or "Stop being so gay." It makes me grind my teeth when I see that.

2) A complete lack of decent spelling, a nasty fear of punctuation and TOTALLY UnNeCeSsArY CAPS OR EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!111!!! I make my share of typos, but I try and catch them before I mail them out to a hundred or more people. Perhaps it's my ego, but I don't like to be seen as stupid. I guess that's just not an issue for them.

3) Sending out 8 or more surveys at a time (they're silly lists of random questions-- they can be fun. They're like booze, probably wiser to use in moderation, but few do.) Most of them have very similiar, if not exactly the same questions. I like reading them, but not seeing them clog my bulletin box.

4) With Myspace there is the capability to post up to 12 pictures on each profile. What bugs me is that when some people post new pictures they send out a bulletin demanding comments. It's annoying. Sometimes I can't think of anything interesting to say, so I'd rather not say anything. I don't enjoy having someone being pushy about wanting tons of people to see their photos.

5) There's a big problem on Myspace with people playing collector and trying to collect as many "Friends" as possible. I think it's insane for someone to have thousands of friends if they have no intention of even speaking to any of them. It's lame to add huge bunches of people. It does not make them look cool, and I just wish it would sink in.

6) There are sites to create a background for your profile, and it seems that bright obnoxious pink and lime green are the new colors in vogue. Shiny colors with blinking, flashing, twinkling graphics that would send the nearest epilectic into a seizure the likes of those caused by anime. For some reason, people seem to think that 945 pictures are necessary to create the perfect look and it slows down my computer to the point where I think it's creaking.

7) The age limit is 14. I once recieved an email from a guy named "Mike," that said "What's up?" I mistakenly assumed that it was a different Mike. I replied, and then took a quick look at his profile-- he was 15. Why in the world would a 15 year-old kid be writing to me? I have dishes in my kitchen that are older than him. I like the chance to keep in touch with my old friends easily, but I'm not really hot on the prospect of becoming a casualty in the hormonal overtaking of the Myspace service.

8) I listed my high school because it seemed harmless. Imagine my shock when I am contacted by people I haven't spoken to in 7 or more years that all of a sudden want to be BFF. I don't remember a lot of the people listed in the high school listing, and I don't appreciate the people that didn't give a rat's ass about me almost a decade ago suddenly having an interest in my personal life. Maybe it makes me rude, but I quite honestly don't care

9)There are the music or videos that play on a lot of the profiles. Usually I have music of my own playing and I do not need to have the newest 50 Cent song blaring out over the top. I don't get how people can have 3 or more videos going at once. Maybe it's just me and I don't have the concentration to handle it, but I don't think so.

10) Another issue I have with the bulletins is the chance I have of finding some moral lesson in my inbox. Haven't those glurge forwards died yet? I understand that drunk driving is a horrible thing, but I do not need a set of graphic burn victim photos to prove it to myself-- yet they ended up in my inbox. That poem about teenage binge drinkers that crash and die has shown up numerous times. Another frequent email I get is the "If you're not ashamed of your love for Jesus-- send this out." What? I've never been real tight with Jesus, so what's with trying to make me feel guilty? And there are those awful idiotic forwards that have things like "Send this out in 7 minutes or you'll never have sex ever again!" or "Mail this to all your friends or Satan and Celine Dion will crash through your bedroom window tonight!" at the end. If it sounds stupid, it probably is and it shouldn't be mailed out en masse, or at least don't send it to me.


Ahh... I feel better now.