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So, Tommy and I were discussing something earlier. I came across this video on YouTube a little while before we talked about it. And regardless of what I've said before regarding the racy content this video and many other related ones, I've come to realize that this is a pressing issue in the Gaia Online community as well as our online one, as a whole.

The way I see it, there are two different sides to this story. Before Tommy and I talked about this and logically thought about it, I used to think, "Hey, this is totally justified. These people were caught cybering in a public place, and if posting a video of their frolic and fun on YouTube further enhances their humiliation, good. It's not my problem, it's theirs."

To be honest, maybe I was somewhat right. Even though some people, when signing up, don't read through these handy resources, they're there for a reason, and they should be looked at. Number seven explicitly says that sexual content that exceeds a PG13 rating is prohibited on Gaia, period. This applies to any aspect of the site--whether it be while playing a game, posting in the forums, sending private messages, etc. It's prohibited, and that is that.

Whenever I come across people who are clearly breaking the rules on Gaia, I go by a very simple, but very effective philosophy: "Report and ignore." The way I see it, starting a flame war with rule-breakers only worsens the situation, so I always try to just report the person to a moderator, and avoid getting involved. If you have any questions on how to report a person in specific parts of Gaia and for specific things, feel free to ask me by commenting here; I'll respond with directions, and even screenshots, if need be. Everyone should know how to submit a report, regardless of where they go on the site.

Another thing I want to get into, in this little rant/explanation I've got going here, is that videotaping two people cybering on Gaia doesn't make someone mature or respectable, but rather, the opposite.

I am fully aware that cybering on Gaia is against the rules; that's exactly why I mentioned this early on, to establish that I completely understand that what these people do in these videos is not justified.

All I'm saying is the following: Blatantly humiliating people who engage in cybersex here on Gaia by posting proof of their actions on YouTube, where millions of users log on every day, does nothing but make the Gaia Online community look ... well ... cheap. I mean, if you look up the term "cybering" on YouTube, what do you get? Well, you get over 18O videos relating to cybering on the internet. Look on the first page of results for that search--the vast majority of them are from Gaia Online.

Obviously, posting dozens of videos for entertainment off of someone else's humiliation and mistakes isn't making Gaia any less vulnerable to the problem itself. The only thing we can really do to bite cybering in the butt is to report the users themselves to moderators who actually have the power to do something about it, whether or not that means banning the users, or just giving them a firm warning is completely up to the moderators themselves--not us.

Our sole responsibility as a community is to report people who break the rules to proper authority, not to scold the members themselves, not to humiliate them or harass them or offend them. I'm better than that, and I really hope you're better than that, too.

Well, that's it. I just really wanted to put this out there. I'd really like to hear what some of you think about this issue, because, even though you may not cyber yourself, or visit Gaia Towns often, many, many people here on Gaia do. That within itself makes it an issue that affects you; after all, that's what community is: Looking out for the good of everyone. In this case, through my eyes, that includes trying to look at this issue, understand it, and fix the problem.

Thanks for reading! ^___^