Regarding the pups and adults

Hey all,

As you may have noticed, TG has been getting a large influx of young members... I assume this has something to do with Corona and kids getting school chromebooks, where everything is blocked except educational sites such as TG.

This has caused our little chat feature, the shoutbox, to be permanently clogged with conversations about school and parents and the unfairness of life... which all have very little to do with therianthropy. This has caused a number of older therians to experience a sense of feeling unwelcome or out of place here.


If you are younger yourself, you may have noticed that there are now adults in the shoutbox, telling you when you have said or done something wrong. The reason they are doing this, is because I have asked them to tell you if something you are doing is bothering them. This is in an attempt to address those feelings everyone has been having in regards to how TG has changed with your arrival.

Therian Guide is a site dedicated to the education about Therianthropy. For this purpose is is important that therians do not feel unwelcome here. It is true that most of our adults are in fact, not staff, however if they tell you something you are doing is bothering them, I do expect you to correct your behavior if you wish to stay on TG regardless of this detail.

If you're bored or primarily interested in something unrelated to therianthropy, there are many other sites on the Internet where it is more appropriate to have such conversations on. Please respect the fact that TG is one of the few places online which is dedicated specifically to Therianthropy and Therians and that by talking about off-topic stuff all the time, you are taking away the only space that therians have.


I understand that some of this is challenging and perhaps not what you might have wanted or consistent with what TikTok has taught you, however I do believe that we can find a way to make our little community work in a way that is healthy and safe for everyone. Please try to understand that we're not really asking for much and that we are willing to be reasonable.

I also believe, that by actually talking about these things and taking into account how we make each other feel, each one of us can grow as a person to become better people. This is obviously especially important for younger people, where developing the ability to gracefully cope with social challenges, could make a big difference in their quality of life in the long run.

Even if not everyone is really a therian, they might still take something good out of this.


So if you're trying... Thank you.

LP,
Dusty

Huh. On my school Chromebook I can read through all of TGs webpages, but I can’t access the forum. But ok thanks!

Thank you for posting this Dusty, it means a lot to me. And I'm sure the other adult Therians here think equally as me.

Thank you for making this post... I have seen my fair share of pups and adults arguing/having a heated discussion about this issue of the shout box. I have also seen both my conversations and other people's conversations in the shout box get drowned out by kids talking about random things completely unrelated to Therianthropy. I believe that the shout box can be used for unrelated things, but only to an extent, and once it starts to oppress other more therianthropy-centered convos, its an automatic no.
I also agree with you about therianthropy being flooded with very young people (me included) because whenever I go to welcome someone on their introduction, 90% of the time they are a child. Not that children shouldn't also be welcomed here, but the vast majority of newcomers are kids.
Again, thank you for addressing the situation and being extremely patient with all of us, and continuing to take care of our community on here. I'm very grateful for you and the rest of the staff.

Hey,

(2024-01-28 18:49)WanderingForests Wrote:  I also agree with you about therianthropy being flooded with very young people (me included) because whenever I go to welcome someone on their introduction, 90% of the time they are a child. Not that children shouldn't also be welcomed here, but the vast majority of newcomers are kids.

I leave it to each individual to decide for themselves, whether they believe someone is actually a therian or not. In truth, we can't know because it's something each individual has to determine for themselves, however many make no effort in this regard and so the adults are skeptical. I think that's fine, because being skeptical is healthy and I don't want to tell people what to believe.

Me personally, I do believe many of you kids are actually therians, and I just wanted to make sure you knew that. One of the main things that motivates me to keep TG running is exactly seeing young therians who clearly experience the same things I did when I first discovered my therianthropy 25 years ago. I know what it means for you to have a space where you know that other people understand what you experience and so I know doing whatever is necessary to keep this place running is well worth it.

It's also why it's so important to me to ensure this remains a space for therians. You see, the majority of people who come to TG are not therians, simply because most people are not therians and it's understandable people really don't know that until they had an opportunity to do some introspection and find out. So if we welcome everyone and let everyone do what they want, eventually this place would no longer be for therians, but for just general young people. E.g.: Tiktok "therians". This is why I push back a bit, so that we can still have a space for actual young therians. Like I said I know how much this means to you guys.

LP,
Dusty

i'm a child and i usually just try to say hi and thats it so what are some topics we should talk about in shout cause i do agree most convertion do make me uncomfy but i'm not sure what to talk about and suggestions.
thank you i will do my best to be a better person on here and everywhere else

Thank you for this post. I think the issue many of us adults have had can be simplified into two things.

The first, which is addressed here, is that many young folk need to be warned repeatedly about the rules and continue with topics that can make others uncomfortable.

The second thing is not necessarily that off topic stuff comes up, but that many times when a mature conversation, be it about therianthropy or otherwise, the young folk become uncomfortable and seek to change the topic or shy away. It floored many of us that discussion about therian identity on a therian site was an "uncomfortable topic". It's the very purpose for the space.

Something else I've seen is that they don't know what to say. This isn't so much of an issue because I do understand that it can be hard to contribute to a discussion if you aren't used to having serious talk or debate. Sometimes it can be good to just watch and learn from a topic if you don't know how to contribute in another way. I just say this to make sure you young folk know that at least to me, I can respect that, though I do encourage you to take part with us in some way, even if it's only just asking questions to understand a subject deeper.

Hi Dusty,

Thank you for addressing this issue. I know It's important to maintain the focus of TG as a space for discussion and educating about Therianthropy. I understand that a lot of new younger members may have changed the dynamics of the site, BUT it's important for EVERYONE to respect the purpose and boundaries of the community.

It's also great to see that there are adults in the shoutbox who are willing to guide younger members and address any behavior that may be bothering others. (iv seen it a couple times. kinda surprised they didnt read the rules. aren't they scared they will break them? ) BUTT (lol) I know it's important for everyone to remember that feedback is essential for personal growth and for creating a welcoming environment for all members. yes yes lol hehe

I 100% agree that open communication and understanding can help each of us grow and become better people . And it's important for younger members to learn how to navigate social challenges and engage in respectful conversations. I hope that everyone on TG can come together and find a way to make the community work for everyone involved. :3

Thank you for addressing this issue and for your efforts in maintaining a healthy and safe space for all members. :3

I also appreciate your perspective on this matter. You're right that determining someone's therianthropy is a personal journey and something that individuals must discover for themselves. It's understandable for adults to be skeptical, especially when there's a large number of younger members who may not have had the same amount of time for self-discovery as older therians. (Me personally it took me around a month or two for me to call myself a Therian. even after a lot of research. And I'm still learning. and seeing if the term Therian fits me. (mainly because I didn't really want to lie to myself or others))

I'm glad to hear that you believe many of the younger members are actually therians. It's wonderful for them to have a space where they can connect with others who understand their experiences most definitely :3.It's wonderful that TG has been able to provide that for so many young therians, just like it did for you when you first discovered your own therianthropy.

Maintaining Therian Guide as a space specifically for therians. Welcoming everyone and letting the space become more generalized would potentially push out the very people it was created for. setting boundaries and expectations ensures that TG remains a safe and supportive environment for young and old therians.

Thank you for your dedication to keeping TG running and for providing a valuable space for young (and old) therians to connect and learn.

Dusty, thanks for posting this. I've seen pups and adults arguing about this in shout, and often saw pups flooding the shoutbox with... weird things, which made not only me uncomfortable.

I have nothing against the pups, I joined too when I was younger, but there's a limit. I agree that you can use it for talking about unrelated things, but not having entire odd conversations which make everyone uncomfortable who's watching. To everyone who did it, stop arguing with the staff about the rules, they don't exist without a reason.