This is my first attempt at a "blog" in this website but since LV was nice enough to offer this feature, I suppose I would be remiss in not availing myself of it!! 

So, WHY would I start with a topic such as this?  Well, you don't have to be a rocket scientist NOT to understand that things have ... changed!  In fact, much has changed in the two-plus years I've been on Live Video.  In fact, It was called "Live Digital" just as I was coming  on - then it changed Its' name and has remained Live Video ever since.  WELL IT CONFUSED THE HELL OUTTA ME !!!  *sheesh*

Back in 2006, when I first came on here, I was following my usual passion of "Net Surfing" and going into various chatrooms, oblivious to the fact that "chatrooms" were "Out" and the "Social Networking thang" was beginning.  It (the bot!) asked me so nicely to "sign up"  and I thought it was necessary to do so in order to view the videos here, so I did.  But as we all know, "Net Surfing" is a fickle endeavor, and usually your typical "Net Surfer" just cruises in for a little while, then moves on - to "find the End of The Internet"!!!  Actually, I didn't do ANYTHING with LV - and was "cornfused and beewildered" when the "LD/LV" transition took place.  "Where's Live Digital and who's this Live Video site"?!!  I was also confused (if not annoyed) to have all this "spam" in my inbox telling me of perfect strangers who wanted to be my "Friend" !!!  But finally, one night - when I didn't have much else to do - my buddies at my favorite chatroom at the time (Chat Your Ass Off. Com. - still exists btw!!) weren't "In" and I was bored - I went into Live Video, if for any other reason, to find out more about these total strangers who wanted to be my "Friend"!! 

I went through all the hoops & ladders to finally DO something with this "channel" they gave me, then after accepting these so-called "Friends" (some of them had already left LV! - go figure!!), I began "Surfing" Live Video!! 
Well, it didn't take me too long to be "hooked" on all the different people that were here - and with the idea of actually watching videos that I would've either waited for one of my friends on my "Forward List" to provide - or going from EVTV1, Funnyjunk or other sites I went to for "video entertainment", for jokes and laughs!!  During that time, I discovered "Real Player" - then I found out Realplayer wasn't the ONLY coding program around!!  Later, I discovered I had a program on my laptop called "Paint"!  And I could actually DO ARTWORK, make funny remarks on pictures, etc!!  I started to have ... FUN!!!   

I also began commenting on videos - emailing people - actually MAKING ... Friends!!!  And over time, I began having as close to a "relationship" as one can have without actually going out and meeting these people - and since I didn't have the wearwithall, time or inclination to travel all over the World to actually MEET everybody, it was nice that I had a platform like LV to DO this with!!!  

The problem with Chatrooms at the time they were so "novel and popular" was you rarely ever got a chance to actually SEE the person you were chatting with.  At first, it was kinda annoying - I mean, we're naturally driven to accept someone as a "Friend" only after we've met them - hung out with them - shared a couple of "Life experiences" with them - formulated in our minds that we actually LIKE them enough to actually call them a "Friend"!!  Chatrooms back then tried to accomodate this by allowing us to create avatars - or put up pictures of ourselves.  It didn't take long, though, for us to realize that MANY of us were, either putting up cartoon images of their personalities - or whom they percieved themselves to be - or putting up pictures of themselves when they were far-younger than they actually were - or of somebody else they would like to look like!!  Interesting isn't it?
The "Charade" of "Internet Socializing"!  Nothing is what it really is - and we're left to our PRECEPTIONS of what they might be!!  But on a Social Network like LV, everything's basically for "Fun" - we're EXPECTED to be charactitures of our channels - with the OPTIONS of actually displaying our physical personas! 

But People are what they are - some go along with this and enjoy the fun - others have "fun" giving others grief! 
THAT's when I discovered WHY they have Delete and Block buttons!!!  I've been a big proponent of those - came from the years I spent in chatrooms not wanting to put up with some of the "demonic fools" that would come in, starved for attention their mommies never gave em and causing trouble amongst other chatters!!    

I usually stay away from most of the "emo" and so-called "tyranny" that floats around.  You know what I'm referring to - the "trolls" and others that would create grief for others.  Like we don't have enough "Grief" in the Real World, these clowns gotta hand us MORE!!

But I also am very open as to my friendships and have been told I have one of the largest "Crews" around!!  The reason?!  Simply that it's practically IMPOSSIBLE to tag EVERYBODY on my Friends List!  I know - I've tried!!!  I've broken them down to Males & Females/ Over and Under Eighteen/ PG / M/ small or written comments rather than pictures, etc, etc, etc.  Thought I'd break them all down and spend a couple of days on each catagory...  WELLL - what happened was that idea took up more and more time as my Friends List grew!!  Pretty soon, I wasn't getting to bed till after 2am on a work night and I was starting to look like a racoon, the rings under my eyes were getting so pronounced!!!  So, I developed a "system" where I use my Crew List for my daily tagging - try to tag my subscribers once a week - then, time providing, I tag everybody on my Friends List!  It "Kinda" works!  But like any "system" created by a Human, without much planning, distracted and always "in-a-hurry", it's flawed!!  But like any Legal system, I always preface, "it's the best system we have so far"!!! 

Lately, I've been very disturbed (like I'm not all the time anyways!!) about the "happenings" going on here.  I'm well aware that MANY of us have had problems uploading videos - being videos go up, being "hit" a couple times, along with comments, favorited, etc - only to have them deleted a few hours later.  Otherwise innocent (and sometimes not-so-innocent) videos being deleted - often without an explaination beyond, "copyright infringement" or "vioation of TOS"!  It's like "little grassy knolls" following us and jumping out with a "club" that says "deleted" on it!!  I've heard rumors of LV actually allowing homeless folks to act as "moderators" and "administrators", viewing our material and deciding for themselves whether or not the media they were viewing was worthwhile - all the way to the same jobs being offered to illegal immigrants!!!  Since June of last year, the "Rumor Mill" has been spinning out some "DOOZIES" !!!   

But the only "common denominator" I've found is the total LACK of communication with LV staff - let alone, LV management in relating to channel operators EXACTLY the "what's" and the "why's" of their decisions!  To date, I've emailed them around twelve times - and To date, have gotten only ONE reply - three months later!!!  By then, the problem came and went and I had two or more things to email them with - but demurred because I figured they wouldn't respond!  

So, what has actually happened, at least to my observation, is that, to many of us, a "cyber-pall" has enveloped us - we're feeling more and more disenfranchised, with a feeling that our creativity has been stifled no matter how "inoffensive" our material is - and believing we're being judged by folks who are homeless!!!  ... or something like that!!  

So, please respond to this blog.  I mean, telling me I'm "full-O'Crap" isn't really what I'd call "constructive" ... but it speaks to your frame of mind at least!!!  Thanks!!!