Wanted! Wanted! Wanted! Some Common Sense. Review on Effective MouthShut Profile Page

Oops! The ugly turn of events at Godhra seem to be having a domino effect on this site! Certain events that threaten to vitiate the friendly atmosphere on this site have been taking place with an alarming regularity. I don’t mind being tagged an unwanted policeman, a nosey parker or any other piece of vernacular serendipity that you can conjure up. Being a responsible member of the site, I felt a strong need to voice my opinion and try to cool things down before they get out of hand.

If puritans are still wondering what all this balderdash has got to do with the chosen topic, I request you to stop reading RIGHT NOW! Should you choose to discard my warning and go ahead, I will hold no grudge against even if you decide to “NR” it.

What’s wrong?

The Internet is a strange thing because it can break a relationship as easily as it can make one. We, here at MS are here to share information, experiences and opinions amongst ourselves so that we can all be better informed about things around us. While at it, we also end up making some great friends on the way. Call it a quirk of human nature, but a healthy relationship that is nurtured over a period of time can sour in the twinkling of an eyelid.

Being the citizens of a Secular Socialist Democratic Republic certainly gives us all equal rights when it comes to opening our mouths or shutting them. While there’s nothing that stops us from writing on any topic under the sun in an unabashed manner, a “Lakshman Rekha”(for the benefit of our foreign brethren, it’s the Indian mythological equivalent of an LoC) needs to be drawn somewhere so that there’s a clear cut demarcation between writing a honest and unbiased opinion on one hand and letting loose plenty of firebrand vocabulary just to create unnecessary hype and controversy on the site.

What are we going to do with all the attention anyway? Grab some extra points by way of increased readership? Have more comments at the end of the review? Find a place in the “Hot Reviews” section? Be branded as a “loudmouth” on Mouthshut? Be touted as a “Superstar”? Adulated by sycophants as the best thing to have happened on Mother Earth after the advent of Adam and Eve? WHAT?

All those things don’t count a hoot in the log run! What’s the use of scoring a few brownie points and drawing plenty of crowd attention if you end up losing the respect of the members in the process? Displaying this kind of foot-in-the-mouth disease will only take one to the closest vet not to speak of being made an object of ridicule and hate on the site.

The solution - Why can’t we be more tolerant?

We are an ultra-patriotic and hyper-sensitive lot. We get offended by any criticism directed against our family, our language, our state, our country and finally, ourselves. Nothing wrong with that…though it worries me when we fail to exercise some kind of restraint when we write on the above-mentioned subjects. There’s nothing wrong in writing an honest review irrespective of whether you like the product/service or not. At the same time, it doesn’t require the language skills of a Machiavellian scale or the maturity levels of a nonagenarian to discern what offends readers and what does not. For example, there have been many passionate reviews on “India” condemning the current scenario in general. Inspite of being highly sensitive, most reviews under this topic have induced excellent debates rather than triggering needless controversies. Leave that as it is…

When it comes to commenting, why do we have to morph a comment on the general review/comment into a personal attack? A new malady has been to criticize members of copying reviews blindly without first bothering to check the truth behind the allegations. If someone feels that a particular review has been copied, what’s stopping them from jolly well enlightening us about the source of the original review or article? Why give rise to a situation which spawns heated arguments and mistrust among the members? Surely we’re not here to square vendettas against each other! If that is the sole intention, I’d “Highly Recommend” PoK or Afghanistan! Why not go there and enable us lesser mortals to lead a more peaceful life on MS?

Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s show more maturity and self-control when it comes to writing reviews and making comments. All it requires is a heightened sense of responsibility and maturity, which I’m sure we have in abundance but tend to “misplace” once in a while. This is a wonderful site and probably the best of it’s kind in the world. Ultimately, we all want a friendly atmosphere here that will enable us to learn and grow together. Let’s not vitiate the atmosphere and make this a place to avoid and despise because of our petty quarrels. Let bygones be bygones and let peace reign hereafter…Amen!