While my profile says I've been a member of GameSpot for over a year now, I've really only spent a significant amount of time here for the last month or so.  I've stared at the blog thing, thinking about what to write, and generally coming up with nothing.  So, I flit in and out of the boards, posting here and there.  I usually get a chuckle or two out of some doofus infiltrating the PlayStation 3 board, yelling about how the price tag is going to send Sony down the drain, and then running away before the ensuing wall of flame can do more than singe a couple of butt hairs.  All in all, good times.

But, there is one thing that sends me into fits of sputtering rage.  It happens a lot, and every time I see it I want to reach through my monitor and choke the guy (or girl; I'm all for equality) responsible for the spike in my blood pressure.  An example...

OFF-TOPIC DISCUSSION

Bob1947-Hi, I'm new to these boards.  I was wondering how to get a picture under my name like everybody else.

brownnose-I don't think OT is the place for this post.  Try here.

Inevitably, the word here is linkified to the Welcome Newbies page.  Or if the person is feeling generous, it might actually be linked to a page that explains the avatar process.  Two posts later the thread is shut down because brownnose went running for a moderator to make sure that it was known that there was a thread in the wrong place.

That was a good-natured example.  You'll often see douches who will flame some poor dude who just celebrated his third post because he had the audacity to ask whether to buy Gran Turismo 4 or Forza Motorsport on the PlayStation 2 board ("Dat belongs in general n00b!!!").

I get especially irate when somebody posts something in Off-Topic Discussion and some knucklehead tells him to put it somewhere else.  The way I see it, Off-Topic Discussion means anything goes.  If you want to talk about how to put a picture on your profile, cheese pizza, or your grandpa's hemmorhoids, you've got the right.  But, naturally, we've got these self-appointed hall monitors searching for misguided posters so they can get their pats on the head (and jack up their post counts).

Now, I know all you vigilantes (and you know who you are) are trying to show how well you know the rules so that you can become the next moderators on GameSpot.  But, as far as I know, this ain't an audition.  No matter how many times you go running up to a mod, tugging on his sleeve and saying "Billy posted something about PSP in the DS board," you're not going to get a job.  So quit it.

It's not all bad.  There are people who are genuinely helpful, friendly, and funny and who have the ability to carry on an intelligent and lively conversation, no matter where it's located.  Unfortunately, those people fade into the background when the obnoxious twerps show up.

I realize that I'm asking for the impossible.  "Live and let live" doesn't work in the real world, and it won't work here.  But that doesn't mean I can't dream, does it?