It's been a long running joke that KHV is dead. I used to think that was right. I realize now it wasn't ever dead all those years ago, but it is now. I've been a member on this website for over a decade. I first met some of my closest friends here and I still keep in touch with some them to this day. I've gotten banned, unbanned, I've seen it all and I know there are those that are not my fans because of my history. I joined as a teenager. Immature, emotional. Adolescent in ever sense of the term.. This site used to be important to me, and I guess it still is to an extent if I'm back here writing this post. However, I think I need to clarify some things and discuss what made things enjoyable here when I first joined, why it is no longer fun to be here, and how I think things should be fixed. This may be a little lengthy, so please bear with me.
I was a teen when I first joined. A lot of us were really young when we did join. It was fun to post here. There was a lot of activity early on thanks to KH2 and things got very personal in very public posts and in MSN Messenger chats. Because a lot of members were young at the time, that was just par for the course. It wasn't called KH-Drama for nothing. I think a lot of the fun at the time really stemmed from that. There were plenty of rivalries and backstabbings, 4chan was a pervasive link throughout it all too and influenced many members to behaving in that fashion. I remember that CtR was the person who introduced me to the site as well. She was admin at the time, so that really set the tone for the site as a whole. The fun was in the toxicity. And I won't shy away from the fact that I was a part of that. I contributed to it and while I'm not proud of that, I was also teenager growing up in a broken home and I wanted to belong to something, even if that meant being a negative person because, well, everyone else was doing it.
And here's why it's no longer enjoyable to be here. That toxicity never went away. However, I think that toxicity that has been pervasive throughout KHV's history has been challenged with a toxicity in the name of some moral crusade. I'm not saying we need to go back to the old days where people could be jerks to one another, the opposite in fact, but there are people who are in staff and outside of it who are acting on their ego and behaving as if there is some power struggle they must win. I think those people are genuinely convinced that they are attempting to save this website. And that leads to the same sort of toxicity and the same sort of attitude that really is just making things worse. And like any toxic material, that's just going to eat away at whatever's left here.
So here's my proposal. I doubt this will be popular, but I think that there needs to be a complete overhaul to the staff of the website. This is for two reasons. One, is the toxicity I mention earlier. Two, is the focus is not on creating good content but instead on being morally superior. Kingdom Hearts 3 is on the cusp of release. If the site is to not only survive, but thrive, this is the time to make some big time changes. Bring in people who will create interesting content like they did a decade ago. Let's become a greater source for Kingdom Hearts media, and beyond even. Bring in people who are knowledgeable about video games and fans of this franchise so they can build a better website so we, the fans, can have an enjoyable place to discuss, interact with, and enjoy Kingdom Hearts on a meaningful level.
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