Somehow it appears that I've become one of the old dogs on this forum, being here for 5+ years now. I originally came here just purely out of boredom and to shitpost about Chris, but I've hung around and seen this place grow and mutate and bleed and die then come back as a cyborg cop, hellbent on stopping crime in Detroit, then immediately finding a jetpack, flying into the sun, fry its cybernetic brain and come back to earth to shitpost and act as bogeyman for those who think the internet dies after you pass reddit on the information superhighway. That was a long sentence.
As it is, I still like a good chunk of this place, but I still have some reservations with certain parts. Although I learned very quickly to "lol calm down," I have noticed more than a few people who get too worked up about stupid shit, and some who cling onto the edgelord persona a bit too fiercely to be considered farcical, and that's always a disappointment. However, usually those folks tend to either mellow he fuck out or manage to get themselves banned in due time. Also, TBH, I do miss some of the other older dogs who have since left the farms for greener pastures elsewhere, but I suppose that goes with anything and anywhere if you hang around long enough.
So, I guess some words of advice for newer dogs and people who are still reading this for some fucking unbeknowst reason. This shit goes for the farms, and I suppose some for life as well, I dunno.
1) Lol, calm down. Step away from the computer, put down the smartphone, drink some water and step outside for a bit.
2) Yes, the world is on fire. It's been on fire before you were born, and it'll be on fire after you die. In the intermediary, it's best to figure out who you are and what you stand for, and what exactly backs up your beliefs.
3) People will disagree with you. Sometimes a lot. You can either learn to grow the fuck up and shrug it off or waste a fuckton of time and energy on stupid internet arguing and amount to probably nothing to exposing yourself to more ridicule.
4) You are allowed to like things that people you abhor like as well. Don't be a sped.
5) Lolcows are people who go out of their way to make exceptional examples of themselves, and are at their best without being provocated. Don't go out and try to harass them, let them make fools out of themselves. If you do try to harass them, then congrats, you're just as exceptional as they are. If you think you need to go out and antagonize them because you think they won't do anything otherwise, then chances are they weren't that interesting in the first place.
6) "But isn't the Farm about harassing [insert person or group here]?!" Not really. 95% of the stuff here is either people being armchair psychologists or Monday morning quarterbacks and not doing anything more than what other people do behind people's backs anyway. We just don't bother to be secretive about it. Oh, and we're the living embodiment of the old adage "The internet never forgets." If you don't want people talking about your shit, then don't put your shit on the front lawn.
7) Don't get too attached to anything or anyone. After being here for 5+ years, I've seen more than a few people I once enjoyed turn out to be raging asshats, and people I once thought to be exceptional idiots turn out to be the only voice of reason. Get used to it.