First a cartoon
(IMG:http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q182/aurezza/20060823.jpg)

N00bs are either:

(a)A low level acting as if they know everything.
((IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) A high level that really doesn?t know anything.
© Any scammer
(d) any beggar, who asks for free items and such.
(e) ne1 hoo uses chtspk 2 much.
(f) Anyone who talks about how good they are way too much; or is extremely rude.
(g) SOMEONE WHO ALWAYS TYPES IN CAPS LOCK
(h) Anyone who constantly calls others noobs (or insults them), for no reason other than those listed above.
(h) *Blank*

A newbie is:

(a) A low level, usually people consider newbies to be level 1 to 25
((IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) Someone who is asking a simple question, and doesn?t ask for free items at all.
© Someone new to *Blank* (or any other site you might happen to be playing).




Everyone who joins this site starts off with the NEWBIE title. You are innocent and arent held responsible for your actions at this point. You are NEW. You are supposed to ask questions. You are supposed to try and seek knowledge to understand things. It's when you start to be ignorant to what you know the "rules" are that you become a NOOB.

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MSG me and ask what you might think is a silly question. Thats what I'm here for. I will talk to you on a mature level and treat you with as much respect as i can give you.

People who say "glowsticking.com is run on fear" "they have all these rules and im afraid..." "thats no way to run a site...on fear"
Do you realize how dumbshit you sound? Glowsticking.com is a WEBSITE. Fear doesnt pay the hosting bills. Fear doesnt make people have annual meetups with over 80 people and regular meetups with 20+ people. Fear doesnt make people click back and check out whats going on the site. We dont have a machine that converts fear to energy. Fear doesnt RUN anything.

We have "RULES" based on things that have happened in the past. We didnt wake up one morning and make everything up. Dave pays for this site out of his own pocket every month. He wants it run a certain way. If YOU wish to be a member of the community we ask that you follow these rules for the time you are on the site. If you dont agree right off the bat or dont understand all the rules ,your allowed to ask. I'm not saying your going to understand things from the start.

While your on the site you should attempt to be active online and in real life. Meeting with other members have been here for a long time and do agree with the rules or have seen how not following our suggestions can backfire might help you understand.

In the end if you dont agree...LEAVE. If you going to stay on the site and use the resources to get "better" to do things we frown upon then you are just a fucking leech or to continue with what i said earlier you are a N00B.


Newbies like i said have leeway. Veterans...not so much. Because if you are a vet and you do some dumb shit there's a few possibilities.

1. You have been blowing smoke up our asses about following the "rules"

Nope....just 1 possibility. You've been using the site for your stay to get better for your own personal gains. Not for the art, not for the community. Not to meet others. Not to express yourself. Not to destroy stereotypes. You are a low life and i want to teach you nothing.

Like i've said before. Those who ask questions. Make an attempt to hang out with others on the site generally begin to understand. There have been a lot of things that have shaped this website since the start. Dont be afraid to ask.

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When you ask a question. YOU WILL get responses from staff.
We are not yelling at you,or scolding you.
Some staff take a personal approach and type out all their answers, some will link you to posts are articles already written.

Just because a lot of members answer you at 1 time doesnt mean we are ATTACKING YOU, or "OMGZ WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME WITH YOUR LOWER CASE LETTERS AND CALM COLLECTED WORDS". This is a very active forum and you will have everyone answering you. It's not an attack. Some new people will even attempt to explain it the best they can. Sometimes they do a good job sometimes they dont.

Dont be so fucking sensative if you find out what you thought about a certain topic wasnt 100% correct.

Be fucking happy GSc isn't like it was wayyyyyyyyyy back in it's begins with the newbie hunters.

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

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Banning


We dont ban people for shits and giggles.
The people that do eventually get banned cause a big scene, usually in a thread that turns into some 40 page mess and people think that people are getting banned left and right.

OVER 15,000 members. 440 banned. OMGS 440.....about 410 of them are spam bots. Bots that would just post links to pr0n or advertisements. So about 30 people are actually BANNED. 30 people over the past 2 years since we redid the whole site.

Thats not a lot of people at all. We arent hardcore banners like people think. We will ban if it comes to it and we let you know this way ahead of time.

Hell some of the people banned were people who signed up just to argue with is in defense of their freinds. They werent even real members of the site.


If you dont agree with how the site is run or the "rules" we have then i'm telling you right now your not gonna get along with most of the very active members. Your core values will not be the same.

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Why are you guys taking it so seriously?


Because to some of us this site and art is very serious.

A lot of us have met people we will be friends with for the rest of our lives. It has open doors into certain jobs and possibilities that werent available before.
GSC Staff learns things on promotions, organization, analyzing numbers and graphs, communication etc etc.
It's given some people direction in their lives.
It's saved peoples lives. Because they found people to share a common interest with.

So yeah. I'm gonna fucking take shit seriously. I personally have met the best people i will ever know in my life through this site. So if you come in and disrespect my HOME i will not be happy with you.

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As a NEWBIE you have a free pass to ask questions. USE IT. In the end (whenever you finally decide) if you don't think this is for you then so be it. But don't disrespect the members of this site who do believe in it by using their videos to level yourself up.

Your free to leave and come back when maybe you've experienced more in life and maybe some of the things we say now make more sense.

Love this.


Also, there is alot that goes into banning. It's discussed, mulled over, all options are weighed and it is the LAST OPTION that we ever come to.

I'm also someone you can pm, aim or message at any time. I'm always willing to help.

And another one from Cleric. Damn dude....youre just speaking absolute truth. As Azzie said, we are here so you guys can ask questions. We arent big bad ppl who wear a staff badge and have a baton at our sides. Dont hesitate to ask guys, we're here for you guys!

*Applauds*

And another fucking awesome thread by Cleric.


Emphasizing this statement as this is truly how I feel. Don't hesitate to ask us questions; after all, we were newbies too! If one of the staff doesn't answer in the way you like we could direct you to someone else to talk to like Cleric or Dave.

*Two Thumbs Up*

This is probably a good spot for me to chime in....

I've had my account suspended in the past - today I'm a staff member. Just because you might disagree with some of the views here it does not mean you will be banned or shunned. This site is not run like that.

When my account was suspended Cleric was more than happy to talk to me over aim and clear everything up. We spent nearly an hour chatting and discussing different cultural aspects and at the end we parted as friends. Since then we talk quite a bit and joke back and forth from time to time. I can honestly say I respect and value his opinion and I believe that he respects me in return. I've turned to both cleric and dave for lots of advice since and they've always been really cool about talking to me in a respectful, mature manner.

Ask questions if you have them - lean on the members here to help you along the way because that's what we are all here for. Ask questions of staff members. Post a thread, contact us on aim, send us private messages, send an email to the admin here...

There are lots of ways you can learn more about the culture so take advantage of the people that came before you and be open to learning from their wisdom and experience. I'm probably one of the oldest active members on this site and there are still a ton of things I can learn from people who are more than a decade younger than me...

Damn I love reading posts by Cleric...I get all fired up!

I'm not gonna lie...I haven't really "met" anyone in person yet from the site, but I feel that everyone that posts here on a regular basis is a great person. The site is full of very intelligent, charismatic, and sometimes OVERLY nice people. The staff have extended invitations to people to crash with them or maybe help give rides just to encourage participation in the community outside of the web. I don't feel threatened, and I'm not bombarded by requests to "show my best move" or "tell of my best rolling experience"...I like a laid back community that isn't surrounded by drugs and competition. Even as someone that has been on the site for over a year and a half, I feel completely comfortable messaging ANY of the staff or mods to ask a question. Hell, I wanna learn a few more things in stringing so I'm sure they will see a few more questions heading their way (IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

P.S. And the help isn't always from the staff and admin of the site too...I'm bored and I have WAAAAY too much free time at work so even I post all day. Just about anyone here will be more than willing to help if you ask!

I love reading your posts, Cleric.
(IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/unworthy.gif)

cleric great post bro

my fav part is



so true so true (IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

(IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/happy.gif) i like the way u elaborated on the term "newbie" and "NOOb" i've never heard or had someone break it down in that way before

LOLO. very insightful. never knew there was a difference.

This is awesome, I also love that you opened it up with a ctrl-alt-del comic, double the awesome.

My favorite part is also the bit about people disrespecting your home and how GSC is family...Hell I've only been on the site for a few weeks if that and I already see a really strong sense of community. I think the people that say this site is run on fear are just alienating themselves from a lot of great people out of some kind of stupid paranoia. Everybody here has been nothing but supportive to me, and it's starting to open up a whole new world.

:(IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif) :

I was a newb in brooklyn.
Cleric showed me some ropes and said.

"Get y0 ass to gs.c, son!"
Here I am now, some 120 posts later, and I know more than I've ever thought possible.

Sure I was afraid at first. My questions were dumb, my insights were childish, but just the simple fact that I saw what could be done with sticks after a couple of years' practice made me motivated. I still watch your videos for inspiration. This site made me respect the art for what it is.

We're one of a kind, thanks to people like you Cleric.
Thank you.

yep definantly a good post my friend u get the mad respect from my end

Good post.

And I am a former banned/suspended user, and came back, and they let me back. So not everyone here is a "glowstick nazi" like I said at one point (IMG:http://www.glowsticking.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Quoted for Emphasis and Truth.
GSC definitely saved my life, and I've met so many beautiful and wonderful people I never thought I would ever meet in my entire life. I've also gained social skills that I thought I would never develop if it weren't for gsc.

It's beautiful you think that way but don't take credit away from yourself... you're the one that found the strength and courage to make those changes in your life

That's what community, family and friendship are all about... having those people to lean on at a time when you need it most and knowing they'll be there not just to support you and offer advice, but to hold your ass up and keep you from falling flat on your face.

That's why the people who really get involved keep coming back... it's not just about the glowsticking.

The people I've met here and the experiences I've had through GSC have let me express myself in ways I've never thought possible before. I don't use the word "love" lightly when I say that I truly love this community and the culture. And as I tend to be with things I care about, I'm fiercely protective of them.

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That said, we as staff members are not only going to take you seriously, we expect the same courtesy. We'll be more than happy to hear out your questions only if you're also willing to listen to the answers we have. We are here for the love of the art and everything about it, so we're not going to do anything reckless and irrational (like random banning) to hurt it. Because we don't want the culture to be hurt, we DO react strongly to questions about it.

It's hard and pointless to run something by forcing people to be part of it. Communities last the longest when people are part of them by choice & love. Take a wild guess as to which one we are.

I would like to point that GS.C is quite in many ways, many of which the other staff and admins have already covered. In essence, GS.C is more than just a website; it is a family and a way of life.

How often do you see members post up their personal and emotional issues up for advice? More importantly, how often do you see sincere responses and a plethora of offers to lend a listening ear? Find me some other sites out there that do that.

How often do you see a website muster gatherings of 100 people for no reason other than to enjoy a common hobby and for the sake of each other's company?

How often do you see a website supporting an art form in a non-competitive setting? One where everyone of all levels is welcome? One where people are not judged on their skill level of the art but rather how much effort they put into learning from (and eventually giving back) to the community? One where there is NO FEAR of being ridiculed for being inexperienced at something?

What more can you ask for? Even if all that does not appeal to you, you still have simply option of just LEAVING. No one is FORCING you to stay.

Take your pick, please.

I love this place so much, I go to as many meetups as I can. I use to be that arrogant stringer noob. The more I went to meetups and got involved, the more I realized what glowsticking is about how this place is a true family. Just on this DVD alone I have over half the current staff from all over the USA as well as many other dedicated members to the site. Everyone I met has given me more reason to believe in the rules of this community. If you ever need anything dont hesitate to ask. This community has helped me find peace.
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