[EmileH]

Originally Posted by Rachel Lim

I don't think it's hard to be a student on CD.

I think it's hard to communicate clearly, especially on the internet.

How you say something is often just as important as what you say.

Exactly. One of the things I am constantly reminding myself of is that I am a part of an internet community, even after being an active CD poster for 1+ years and a lurker several years prior. Everybody's gonna scrutinize your every word, and occasionally you'll get that one person who is having a rough day and didn't like what you said or felt hurt by it and will give you some negative rep. Unfortunately, like referee mistakes, unwarranted red dots are part of the experience. However, how you deal with situations like that - like what Sam has done here - is what gives you positive rep, and in my opinion that builds character and is also a part of the experience of FIRST. Calmly realizing that what you said was wrong and sending an apology or even asking some of the CD veterans (BrendanB comes to mind for me) whether or not they thought your post was inflammatory is always better than starting a red dot conflict.