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Hi guys!
As most of you know, Dokuga is a little over a year old now, and our site has grown and changed in a lot of ways. Here are some numbers to show you what we’ve done:
4,399 Registered users
1,743 Stories
8,871 Chapters
17,372 Reviews
610 Fanart
2,534 Fanart comments
Yeah, that’s a ton of stuff! Next time you click a review, think, “This is the 17,373rd time someone has done this!”
Stepping back from what we know – regs and people we talk to and socialize with – there’s a really big community and most of the time, when we contact other people, we’re just skimming the surface of what has grown into a large populace.
That’s not really what I’m posting about though.
No one comes to this site because they want to feel bad. Yet, sometimes things happen and things are said and feelings are hurt. When you talk to someone here, it’s almost impossible to know what is going on at that other computer. It could be someone living one of the worst days of their life or one of the best. That alone complicates things, because sometimes we don’t know that we’ve done anything wrong, or we don’t want to tell the other person that they’re doing something hurtful.
We all hope that people don’t come here for the reviews, or the recognition. Yet, even when people don’t come here with that as their goal, it doesn’t mean they’re immune to what they feel when others do get all the praise. It can be very hard, especially when you’re new to the fandom. Please remember that when public dispensing compliments to others. Most people aren’t jealous by nature, but there is a point where it can become hurtful to some.
Sometimes, those new authors and artists are left wondering if they are overlooked because their work isn’t good, or because they’re not part of an establishment. That can be painful even for people who don’t care about reviews or recognition, and even if it doesn’t, the author or artist is left wondering if there is an establishment in this fandom.
This in no way justifies demands for reviews, or trying to demand attention. There is really no part of this site that was designed for a person to draw attention to themselves. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, and when it does, I’ve never failed to see it backfire.
Authors and artists with a strong following usually build it over tens of thousands of words, hundreds of hours of creating and editing their work. Some of those people are incredibly gifted, to the point of having the option of using their gifts professionally. And those people are mixed in with people that just have great passion, people practicing, casual fans, and many who are new and inexperienced. We are all in this peculiar fishbowl together, growing and developing our various skills while we mingle.
Every person who comes to this site has the ability to negatively or positively affect any of the members.
If you’re feeling petty or angry about something, you can decrease karma, leave a nasty review on fanfiction, post something rude on profiles, leave a mean fanart review, or send a rude personal message. Then, when you’ve spread enough venom, someone will report you to one of the admins and you will be warned, punished, or banned. And after all that, you will feel angry and petty again. It’s a vicious cycle that leads nowhere, because in the end, you are trading your negative feelings for someone for negative feedback either from them or from the admins. It is bad for bad, with extra bad for the people you affect.
By the same token, you can come here, and make someone’s day. You can say ‘hello’ on their profile, meet a stranger and deflower their profile comments, ask how someone is doing by PM, tell them how great their story was, provide them with tips to improve, comment with constructive criticism on fanart, give them a karma point on the forum, or help someone find or do something. They will respond in kind in most cases, and you will receive positive feedback (even if it’s only a ‘thank you’), they will probably feel better, and instead of spreading negativity, you’ve spread a certain spirit of community and cooperation.
My challenge is this:
Instead of coming to Dokuga every day and doing the same thing, mix it up a little. Read a random oneshot and leave a review, find a stranger and say hello, help and encourage a fanartist, help someone find a fic…If you’ve talked to half of this community, there’s another two-thousand people you haven’t met yet.
Remember wherever you go that there are people from all different walks of life with many different skills. The only thing we all have in common is that we like the idea of Sesshoumaru and Kagome. That’s it! We all came here, in our free time, to enjoy something that we like.
If you’re here to have fun, welcome! The fact that you spend your leisure time on Dokuga honors this site and this fandom. If you have questions or concerns about something on this site, please talk to us.
Thank you, that’s all for now.
Miss Kagura
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Let's all spread the LOVE!!! Karma for this meaningful post. It was very touching. 
