...no ya'll, this doesn't mean that i'm damning the org and all who inhabit it. it fits perfect with what i'ma say on this thread. before i go on, this ain't a total "omg liek i'm leaving teh org!!11! you suck!" thread, so do not look at it as such. think of it as a cross between an acknowledgement (of sorts) and a statement.

i've been a member of the org for 6 years now. that's right, six years. for the past year or two i've been wonderin if i should stick around for 6 more years or go ahead and leave. 6 years is an awfully long time to stick around on any message forum, and on a daily basis at that, especially on a message forum that has such volatility as the org does. if i didn't have as thick of a skin as i've got i woulda been gone within the first year or two of me being here. there've been instances where i shoulda just said "fuck it" and hit the "delete account" link straightaway, but i decided to stick n'stay to help keep the site and all its denizens from totally goin stir-crazy. in my own way, i've been one of the people who's kept shit on point here without resorting to gettin into/starting flame wars and other petty acts. i may thumb my nose at an idea you've got, but never will i thumb it at you. it's not in me to do so. never has been. there is a difference betwixt the two. find it. there are worse things goin on in the world than what one says to a new person on a website. at the end of the day it should be totally negatory on your "worries and gripes" list.

at any rate, i've been 'round in the online prince fan community entirely too long to keep going. s'kinna like that line in the movie tank girl: "it's been swell, but the swelling's gone down." that, and "i'm gettin' too old for this shit!" i've got far, far more important things to attend to than helping out with moderating a fansite, as well as participating in it; first and foremost, i'm an artist. not an org moderatress, not an orger, not words on a screen, but an artist. in order to really get my whole art thing truly going there're some things that i gotta shed. spending my time on fansites is one of the biggies. i'm following a bit of my own advice with this maneuver: it's a website. you can go at any time. there've been oodles n'oodles of good times that i've had here--and equal times where things have been just absolutely shitty. i ain't gonna tune outta here just yet, because i've still got the FAQ revamping project to do (if you wanna add on something, add on!)...but after june, i'm as good as gone. i'll still peep the org for news, as this is still one of the premier places on the 'net for prince news n'all that shit (unsavoriness totally aside). my final bits of advice are the same ones i've always given in my 6-year run here:

a locked/deleted thread is not the end of the world.

YOU are the one you've been waiting for; don't wait on or depend on others to change what you wish to see changed.

no matter what you think, the mods don't hate you, nor are they out to get you.

no matter what you think, the orger who posts a banner on one of your threads doesn't hate you, nor are they out to get you.

mind your own business. getting enveloped in other people's affairs is never cool.

to each their own.

pay attention to the old-schoolers.

revere the prince geeks.

it ain't that crucial. never has been, never will be.

laugh.

behave.

buy vinyl.

keep on.

special thanx to those who've taught me everything i need to know about prince and all that he entails, as well as all the friends i've made here over the years. if you're in the know, you know how to get a hold of me; even though i won't be on here for much longer i'ma still be around (chicago's still on as well!) so don't start cryin, none of this "i'm gonna miss yooooou, Dansa!"-boolshit, because i don't wanna hear it. this isn't why i posted this. if you have a reply to this post, my orgnote inbox door is always open.