We are Team Netherworld, a collection of aging goths, metalheads, and punks with mental illness. We write primarily for fun and catharsis. Some of our posts are part of an ongoing story line. Please refrain from leaving comments of the “WTF is this, LOL” variety as they irritate our most sensitive areas. Some posts allow con-crit (constructive criticism.) We do expect that you will be polite with your wording. On most of our entries, we request NO CON-CRIT, as we are writing for our own enjoyment. If the post has a NO CON-CRIT request, it is expected that readers will honor that request, no questions asked. You want an explanation? Here it is. If you like the story, great. If you don’t, there’s plenty of other stuff out there for you to read. It ain’t like we’re getting paid for this stuff. Our house, our rules.

Proposed new wording by Faycin A Croud and thus far agreed upon by all fellow team members who have responded.

The new comment policy was created in response to what will hereafter be referred to as “The Polaris Incident.”

“What Polaris Saw” is a blog entry created by teammate Opal Zushaquon for Voice Week.

Opal wrote all of her posts for Voice Week on the same night and scheduled them for publication over the dates of Voice Week. As of this writing (Wednesday September 24, 2014) Opal has had some physical setbacks and is currently not up to responding to comments.

I (Faycin A Croud) am trying to word this as delicately as possible so as not to appear to be blaming anyone. There was some controversy over the team’s no con-crit policy , and the thoughts of the commenter expressing dismay over the policy pushed the buttons of Team Netherworld’s founder, The Real Cie. (AKA Cie Cheesemeister.)

Cie created The Netherworld as a safe space for self-expression, and took umbrage to what she perceived to be the commenter’s belief that people who write only for enjoyment rather than for professional accomplishment should not share their work, and/or should refrain from engaging with other people regarding said work. This is a sore point, because many mentally ill people, perhaps particularly older people such as ourselves (the median age of the team members is 48) have long been told that our thoughts and feelings don’t count and that we should keep them quiet.

Today’s events prompted us to revise our comment policy. I hope that the newly revised policy will clear up any confusion.

Peace,

Faycin

Everybody wants to have an understanding audience, and even people such as ourselves have a right to seek an audience for our work, including work which is not published for professional consideration, even work which we simply want to share for the little pinch of “I made this” pride. It is also our right to request that said work not be picked to pieces, because that takes the enjoyment out of it for us.

This is our space, and we should not have to feel as if we are required to pander to other people. Others are visitors. A visitor should respect the rules of the house into which they have been invited. Unless the host is sacrificing small animals or taking a dump on icons which have sacred meaning to said visitor or expressing  hateful and violent sentiments towards a group of people, the visitor ought not think it is their place to complain, i.e. about the decor or the host’s request that visitors remove their shoes at the door.

Get it? Got it? Good!

~H.P. Liebekraft~