April 19, 2006

  • Advocating Self Harm

    A site advocating, encouraging or glorifying self-destructive behavior (such as anorexia or cutting).

    Examples of prohibited sites include:

    • Proana lifestyle sites
    • Posting instructions on how best to perform (or hide) self-destructive behaviours
    • Inciting self destructive behaviour (e.g. “challenges”, “thinspiration”, etc.)

Comments (396)

  • You’re going to have a lot of fun with this one

    all I can say is good luck

  • This one is the worst, I think.

  • What can you do about it? Merely posting proana stuff isn’t illegal, and it’s not like you can mandate that someone get medical help. Unless you’re going to outlaw people with mental health issues along with free speech, this one is going to be very problematic.

  • I don’t know what you are talking about, the_chavi, these are laws of a website not the US, if they want to make posting proana stuff illegal on xanga, then:

    MORE POWER TO THEM!!!!

    they can excersise their freedom of speech somewhere else. and, “what can they do about it?” simple, shut down the sites and make our community nonpromotive of self destructive behavior

  • I agree, TheFriarWiley.

  • I support this. I think, if nothing else, proana sites should not be on featured content.  I’ve seen some really sad things through featured sites – really young girls encouraging each other to continue starving themselves.

  • the anorexia sites and the sites about cutting themselves need to go. it’s only encouraging these kids to continue on their unhealthy path, by creating a competition of sorts… who can hurt themself the most?

  • its about time <33

  • I agree with TheFriarWiley. Why do people accuse organizations of limiting free speech when all they’re doing is developing THEIR OWN guidelines for those who join them?
    ::ends rant::

    BTW, I think this would be a good thing to include in the Terms of Use. That way, no one could even get a Xanga without agreeing to the rules.

  • What is your definition of “advocating”?  Would this include sites of members who are cutters or anorexics themselves?  If they talk about it, are they going to be flagged?  Are you going to judge them on their behavior, their emotions, their identity?  If a person reads another person’s entry about cutting (but this entry had no instructions, no “hints” on how to do it), and decides to cut themselves, will that entry be flagged?

    If someone decides to write an entry when they are at their lowest point, given up all hope in the world, trying to reach out to someone in the vast universe that is the Internet, and mentions that they want to kill themselves, will you add fuel to the fire by telling them they are breaking the rules?

    What happens to those people who are already isolated from society, who try to find others to talk to and to relate to, when they no longer have a voice in a place where they thought was safe?

    I think these are important questions to ask of Xanga.

  • so does that mean if i were anorexic and wanted to discuss it i would be kicked off xanga? that really sucks. i can see taking down the challenges or whatever, but what if someone needs to talk about their struggle with anorexia to deal with it? that just seems… odd. and discriminatory. what if someone had depression and talked about it? would they be kicked off then too?

  • …
    Stop trying.

  • all those pro-ana sites are horrible..it just encourages people to become or stay that way…good luck getting rid of all of these :)

  • talking about the struggle is one thing. cheering each other on because that 5’7″ bombshell has *finally* (like, OMG!) hit 90lbs is completely another.

    i’ve had a lot of moral problems with sites *promoting* this kind of behaviour for a long time. making it unacceptable on Xanga is not a bad thing – promoting it being a completely different activity than self-expression: ‘thin-spiration’ (this is how ‘great’ we’ll look when we’ve starved ourselves to death) VS ‘when am i ever going to get healthy?.’ these sites misinform that these diseases are actually lifestyles, and support young women in a long, slow, painful process of what amounts to suicide.

    with any issue (take hate speech and hate crimes), there will be a line between freedom of speech and promotion of hurtful (to self or others) activities. child porn is not free speech – there is no informed consent. encouraging people to “Kill the mutha-f’n Niggas” (or *insert minority here*) is not free speech – it’s a hate crime. as long as there are clear guidelines about what is and is not acceptable, and something in place for people to appeal decisions, i have no problems with this.

  • I support this a lot. As someone trying to recover from anorexia, I use my xanga simply to talk about the struggle of recovery, but never have I encouraged another keep up with their anorexic tendencies. As long as xanga does not ban people who are seriously trying to recover (but that should not include xangas that say they want to quit being anorexic, but they still go on to detail their caloric consumption for the day and talk about how fat they are and post pics of thin models), then its alright with me. Recovering from an eating disorder is difficult, and these pro-eating disorder xanga’s only make it more likely of a relapse for myself and others, as well as causing others to fall into the trap.

  • this i don’t agree with…a good “xanga” friend has an eating problem.  she posts about it constantly.  but she doesn’t give hints.  she’s trying to recover.  she needs our encouragment.  i think this one could cause more harm then good.  coming from a family that has more than one person with eating/cutting problems…if they want to do it, they’re going to do it.  reading about it isn’t going to change their minds.

  • ah, i very much agree with limiting this stuff.  it’s amazingly sad and disgusting what kind of promotion of these behaviors is out there, and as a youth pastor, i deal with it a lot in students.  i applaud you if you go this route.

  •  My little sister is one of the cutting sites, & I don’t agree w/ the intensity in which she & her friends promote their cutting to each other. I agree that it needs to be limited.

    But I don’t think that just because they talk about it, it should be banned. Like several others have mentioned, there is a fine line between “promoting” & simply talking about a struggle. Please very cautious in implementing these changes. I think it’s extremely healthy to talk about one’s struggle w/ an addiction, but completely unhealthy to brag or encourage it to others as a lifestyle choice.

  • uh, no. people can do what they want to themselves, and there’s nothing wrong with posting instructions for a non-illegal activity.

    hey kids! have you ever wanted to slit your wrists but didn’t know where to start? well, here’s how! (i just tried this yesterday and it works!)
    1. get a knife. the bigger the better.
    2. cut, chop, or slash. remember, it’s down the road, not across the street.
    3. now i bet you’re wondering, “how am i gonna hide these cuts on my wrists?” easy! wear a long-sleeve shirt!

    Cheers!

  • Good luck with this rule. Cutting is the new fad! It’s sickening. This used to be a real psychological problem…now it’s just something to do for shock value….

  • people talk about cutting and stuff without even doing it themselves. sometimes they want to scare people. sometimes they just need an outlet for things they’re feeling at the moment. If they don’t really encourage it, then it shouldn’t exactly be a problem, should it?

    I know several people that write about such things just because idea of the thing seems good at the moment. They don’t promote it, just talk about it.

    I don’t think that sites should be interfered with if no one’s getting hurt because of them. Some users just post stories and things. They have the right to be depressed, but it’s not good for them to encourage other people harming themselves.

  • i think this one is a good idea, if they want to go all protected and pay for premium to encourage themselves or their friends, well that is wht theyd have to do, its not fair for people who dont want to see these harmful ideas when they have no warning, when someone shows up on FC. so if they get flagged off FC and they still want to talk about it, they can, just not for the eyes of just anyone.

  • Would icons depicting bloody wrists/cutting and such count? Because I know there are millions of those x_x

  • ok as far as cutting goes you have really got to let that go i mean i have friends that have mental helth issues and i do as well and take it for me me when these people talk about cutting they mean know harm they just need to vent it out (which goes along with the whole feedom of speach thing) but honestly if there is something that xanga can do to help out these people then i say you should ..idk i think i have mixed feeling about this one!!

  • I dont think there is anything wrong with depicting or talking about Casi ((cutting &&other self injury…)), Ana, or Mia…they are things that we as teens ((and older people)) go through everyday.  There are many people who turn to Xanga and its members for help and support.  I know I have.  I have read many things about Casi thru Xanga, as well as written some stuff myself.  People recovering from these…mental illnesses if you will… need support which they may not be able to get from anywhere else.  When I first stopped… I came to Xanga as a release.  There are wonderful people here, who have gone through the same things i have, things that my friends try to understand, but cannot, the people here do tho, theyve experienced it first hand.  If you limit it… think of the lives that may be lost.  I see no way to limit it, without eliminating it.  And for some of these people, if told that what theyre going through is too intense when theyre talking about it… then what is that going to do to their minds?? I know it probaby would have sent me over the deep end at one point.  ((talking about it is the ONLY way to recover… its basically an addiction… think about the recovery institutes for people addicted to drugs, well its the same principle… we need help… and Xanga can offer the help we need… by us talking, and others reading ((or not reading)) by us commenting and helping others)) as someone said earlier, there is a VERY fine line between advocating, and talking about it to help recover.  I dont see that you will be able to get around that line…

    Im not saying this is the horriblest idea ever, i am simply saying to think about these cutters, and other SIer’s… think about the people whose best friend might be Casi, Ana, or Mia… Dont hurt anyone, please…   If this is something you think is necessary, and you think you can do it… good luck, and more power to you… but think about it first.. please.

    <3 renee

  • One thing tho, Maybe you should try to some way get people to put TRIGGERING or somehting on the title or whatever…. of the entry… that way people could choose if they wanted to read it or not ((i know thats the way they have it on some other sites, if it directly talks abotu Casi… you have to put Triggering))….

    just a last lingering thought, sorry.

  • I’m not so sure about this one… it’s important to a lot of people, and i know that many find it theraputic to write and connect with others this way.

  • This censoring needs to be limited to people who are doing it mostly for attention and who are not interested in recovering. Some of these people need their Xanga, and use it to express their feelings.

  • This is good. Too many times I see featured sites that are either girls  starving themselves, trying to look like goddamned toothpicks and looking for support, or trying to glorify thier little cries for attention with a razorblade. Im tired of it. <_<

  • those proana people make me so sad (my sister was anorexic and it is scary to see that whole starvatino thing happen). On one hand I’m all about freedom of speech, so censoring in this sense can be problematic to me.

    I agree though, it’s just not cool… a whole little subculture of people slowly, slowly killing themselves in the name of a disgusting persuit of glamour. Ugh.

    Personally, I would rather see advertisers use real models, with flaws and blemishes then keep using this fake unattainable version of beauty.

  • if people want to post this kind of stuff then let them do it and be done with it. it’s their decision.

  • can’t wait until you do this one

  • THANK YOU! I’m sick of all the “thinspo” sites all over Xanga.

  • But I do think it should be separated. A person trying to RECOVER should be free to post about it. Someone posting thinspo and encouraging others should be banned.

  • There is nothing wrong with posting thinspiration.. they are just pictures for gosh sakes.

  • Okk I agree about getting rid of all the “proana” stuff because those are just girls who think that eating disorders are so glam because they see their fav celebs have them; but there are a lot of sites of real girls describing about their real eating disorders. Having a real mental disorder, not like a fad diet.I love Xanga becuase I can vent about mine && it is a way for my friends to get to understand it more.

    But I think all of the “proana” stuff should go, because honestly, having a mental illness and hating yourself isn’t that super.

  • This particular flag hits close to home for me. I don’t go all out on my issues, but I have them, and so do a lot of other people. And who are we to discriminate? Xanga is supposed to be a journaling site, we can post whatever we like.And if you outlaw it on xaga, it will just move to another site. What’s the point? By doing this, you will weed out hundreds and hundreds of users. Think about it.

  • OMG! there are like 1 million of those good luck2 u guys!

  • This is a tough one, very gray area. If you have a lawyer, I would highly suggest running this (and the advocates of hate flag) past them. I know there are alot of lawyers on Xanga. Maybe one will offer some advice.

  • Why is Xanga becoming so binding?

  • I agree with SarahJWebb.

  • I don’t think that pro-ana or -mia sites, or cutting sites should be flagged, unless they say that other people SHOULD ALSO PARTICIPATE.

  • I support Jack Kevorkian!!

  • i really like this one!

    yay safety

  • People might be seeking out inencouragement from other on the site or the friends.. maybe they want to some one just to say hey its going to be okay.. I think there are limits to this rule.. and that perhaps an warning should be issued…..

  • I am totally against cutting and the like, but of course people can write about it on their xanga….it kinda happened in their life, they should be able to write about it…but advocating it?  no.  but that’s a gray area.
    I’ve encountered endless self-hurting sites…it’ll be hard to get rid of this…but any help for them is cool…if xanga had any right to do that.

  • You have to be VERY careful with this one.

    I think someone who is using xanga as sort of a makeshift “help group” then ok. But if their promoting others to do these things then they should be flagged.

  • its okay to talk about it for support in the sense of quitting their actions but all these blogrings w/ them telling each other to “stay strong” are absolutely wrong.  they are encouraging each other to starve themselves.  it makes me want to cry to see all those pic of the unhealthy, pencil thin girls saying “UH! look at all that fat!!!  its SOOO discusting!”  its just sad.  it definately needs to be limited.

    laterZ GOd BLess

  • I’m curious as to how this will work as far as the criteria and the enforcement of this. It’s clear cut as far as the spam and hate sites but this? There seem to be too many shades of grey and no good way to tell what is there as satire and what is the real deal. I’m not advocating the self-harm lifestyles by any stretch but at the same time this seems to be too broad of a topic to be able to enforce properly.

  • There are a LOT of pro-ana sites.

  • that’s up to the person to post. blogs and online journals have become synonymous with suicidal ‘goths’ and ‘emo’s’ but if they feel the need to express a self-hurting lifestyle, that’s their choice. xanga shouldn’t hinder this freedom.

  • Looking at the flag info, the flags placed on xangas of personal struggle would just spark investigation, but lead to no consequences. Instructions on and provocation of self destruction would be removed.

    I think this flag is pretty important.

    [Alot of Thinspo, Proana sites show absolutley no personality anyways...]

  • Xanga can do whatever they want to do … If they want to shut down these sites they can … Xanga is not controlled by the government or any other organization but their own ..

  • I see a lot of pro-ana sites get on featured content. Good luck keeping up with all the sites out there!

  • This is definitely a sticky topic, but Xanga has the right to make whatever rules it wishes. 

    Since so many Xangans are young, they can easily be influenced by persuasive sites such as these promoting self-destructive behaviors.  It could easily seem, to an impressionable and searching young person, that perhaps many people their own age are doing this stuff, when in fact it is just a very vocal minority.

    I think, therefore, that sites such as these should be flagged. 

  • way too many suicides happen on sites like myspace and xanga and stuff… mostly because most of the people here are emo’s who think the world hates them, and its so horrible blah blah blah… most of the cutting is emos and crap… the anorexia and crap… i dont know anything about that but good luck

  • i think if you are trying to promote self injury or eating disorders, then maybe something needs to be done, but don’t flag the people who have been there and are trying to give advice to people who are suffering menatlly with this crap. it sucks. i think that its smart to flag those who are showing pictures of wounds that they have created, or other graphic pictures, and who are trying to promote this stuff. i am in recovery with the self injury and it just makes me so upset to see other people encouraging other xanga people to self injure and how to, people should have to suffer. penalize the ones promoting this stuff, not the ones trying to recover.

  • I AGREE WITH RENEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY ITS MY LIFEX3 HAS DEFINATLY SAID ALMOST EVERYTHING I WAS GONNA POST!!!!!!! please…its like kicking some1 out of rehab…

  • I think this should have been established long ago.

  • i’m ambivalent about this one. although i’m against self-harm behaviors, i’m uncomfortable with the idea that this site is excluding this population from being able to express themselves on a blog. when you say you’re going to “flag” someone’s site, what’s the next step? will you take their site off xanga completely, or will you enforce stricter rules (ie. must be private/protected)?

  • awesome. i am so glad to see something being done about this. i’d hate to think that xanga is helping people hurt themselves and each other.

  • ——————-

    So — what if someone has multiple mental health issues, i.e. cutting, bulima, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bi-polar, depression, schizophrenia, and who knows what else – are they allowed to discuss everything except cutting and their eating disorder?  Isn’t that some random hierarchy of mental illness?  The blogger can mention that they wash their hands so often the skin is red and raw and they use lotion to help conceal their obsessive hand-washing, but they can’t discuss their just as serious [to them] need to cut calories and/or workout more and how they are implementing those goals?

    Obviously, most of us do NOT want people to harm themselves; I can just see this one leading to uber censorship and a good number of your paying premium customers going elsewhere.

    And finally, no one is forced to visit any blog.  Personally, I may not be interested in bloggers who promote certain [pro-life, homosexual, anti-christian, racist, fill-in-the-blank-with-whatever-you-can-think-of...] lifestyles – but that’s okay, b/c I do not have to read those blogs.  I’m unaware of anyone forcing other people to stop and read their blogs.  Isn’t that one of the reasons why we have blogrings – to find people interested in the topics that appeal to us?

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  • There’s nothing wrong with talking about cutting yourself or about your own struggle with anorexia. That’s not what Xanga are saying.

    They’ll shut down sites that promote or encourage this kind of behaviour. Simple as.

  • Where do you draw the line?  If someone has an eating disorder, or is a cutter and discusses it, will they be flagged?  Where do you draw the line that says, this person is encouraging this behavior and this person isn’t?  I know there are some awful site on Xanga – lots of “how to make yourself throw up” and “how to starve and keep it a secret”.  There are also a LOT of sites out there that are owned by Xangans who deal with these issues – oftentimes by blogging about them – who would NEVER try to encourage others to follow their road. 

    I think your ideas are great – but in this particular case I think it’s too hard to decide who should be flagged and who shouldn’t.  If someone congratulates a friend for losing weight, will they be flagged?  Even if that friend is not eating-disorder affected?  Who chooses who gets flagged and who doesn’t?

    Think about this one guys, please, before you implement it.  Thanks.

  • This is like a witch hunt.  I am 33 years old, and I do not advocate anyone else trying to cultivate this disease I have had since I was a kid.  I write about my struggle…and I talk to other ADULT women with similiar issues.  Are you going to shut us all down?

  • Thank you for finally doing the right thing, when I suggested soemthing like this months ago, xanga never responded and I got slack for it from some of my readers. I knew xanga would have to go this way with all the new press coverage. it’s the smart thing to do. and the safe thing to do.

  • Yes! I would definitely find a use for this flag. I appreciate that you specified sites that GLORIFY destructive behavior, as opposed to sites that just mention it.

  • Definately keep this flag, but be careful; for example, I wouldn’t want to see someone who was just cutting (versus telling other people to :) get their site closed or something. I have a few friends who cut for a few years, and writing about it helped them quit.

  • I think, Ms. xLoveAndHardcoreDancingx, that cutting is still a serious psychological problem, and it’s not really fair to say this person is faking, and this person genuinely needs help.

    In any case, I agree that the flag is a slippery slope, and that it could potentially hurt people. I think a site would have to be read VERY carefully before such a rule is imposed, whereas if someone has kiddie porn, it’s pretty easy to see.

  • If you see a house on fire and someone standing beside you tells you that they are going to run inside this burning house and tells you when and how they are going to do it – will you just stand there and let them go? Or will you encourage them – with physical restraint if necessary – to not run into that burning house? The same idea as flagging a site that is promoting self-harm. You do what you can -

  • I agree with alot of the other xangans. We have these personal journals to express ourselves and what we are feeling about our daily lives. I don’t personally agree with trying to kill yourself through cutting or extreme starvation, but it would seem wrong to tell someone they can’t talk about it if that is what they feel. As far as thinspo goes, it is on many “healthy weight loss” blogs. Some pics are of perfectly healthy weight women, not just skinny celebs. So it would be hard to even separate those from each other. Other than that, cutting and eating disorders aren’t the only self harm behaviors, will you ban anything that talks about doing something that isn’t “good” for you?? Like everyone else, I’ll be watching what happens with this.

  • Censorship sucks.  Not all proana/mia are teenagers.  I understand protecting minors from this, but there are far worse things.  Anorexia is a disease.  You are not going to get Cancer from reading about chemotheraphy.  Emulating someone who is ill will not make you ill.  Homosexuality is not contagious.  If I can read a pro-drug site (and why shouldn’t that be allowed) why can’t I read a proana site?  Why should either be censored?  They shouldn’t.

  • Are you feaking crazy????????? Xanga is a safe place to talk about your life and get suppost. I was a self-mutilator and the people i met here helped me and offered me support. All you will do is ostrasize them even more, you must be mad!

  • ha! you do that and lives are ruinned

  • This is bullshit.  As someone who has struggled with both ana and cutting… this is bullshit.

    If you don’t like reading it, then don’t.  Freedom of speech, man. 

    Most of these people aren’t promoting it, they just have no where else to turn.

  • I dont’ think I agree with this one.  It is none of our business or Xanga’s business.  Sometimes these people need a place to talk about it and society is deeming it appropriate these days to silence them which is the last thing they need to have done in my opinion.  I’d say, leave this one out.  It just doesn’t have a place here.

  • I think these flags are a great idea, especially for topics such as inflicting self harm, underaged nudity, etc.

  • Hi, I am a concerned xanga citizen and I would like to report a site.

    The following site has DRUGS and PORN!!!

    Non_Featured_Content

    Please censor this site immediately.

  • I think this one reaks of censorship.

  • Some people use their Xangas or blogs in general to discuss issues like cutting or anorexia,
    as a cry for help so others will hear them and help them. Most of the people that suffer with these
    illnesses do not want to tell their family and friends about cutting or starving themselves.
    So they use Xanga as an outlet to share their feelings with strangers.
    Hoping that someone will be able to help them.
    Or so they can find others that have the same problems
    that they have.
    No I am not a cutter nor ahve I ever been one.
    But I was a teen once and I know what it like to have problems and have no one
    there to listen.
    So I think these types of blogs should not be banned.
    After all a blog is where people should be allowed to share their feelings.

  • hey wat up

  • i agree with  SarahJWebb and why is xanga bustin in on peoples buisness. i think these flags are going to hurt xanga. the anti spam and whatnot is a good idea. but if somone is being depressed than why is it xangas buisness. they shouldnt boot them becouse the way they feel.

  • It is a personal journel after all. Why should you take away the need to write it down?

    Unless you’er just out of control…but still.

  • support the first amendment

    defend our freedoms.

  • Generalization: Most cutters are teenagers
    Generalization: Most xangans are teenagers
    Generalization: Teenagers love doing what people tell them not to.

    Flagging advocates of cutting andself harm sites will just increase the amount of taboo and controversy tied to cutting and self harm. The more controversial and banned and “against the rules” it is, more of these attention-wanting teenagers will do it.

    And what about icon/quote sites?

    What about sarcasm? It’s hard to detect sarcasm online, as you can’t hear people’s tone of voice. I make fun of these poser, attention-wanting cutters all the time, and I’m very sarcastic about it. Will I get flagged and feel like a total hypocrite?

  • I’ve said it before and so have others, but I’ll say it again:

    Noone HAS to read it. If you’re offended, you can leave. It’s not like these easily offended, sensitive, people (whereever they are) are being tied down and forced to read an offensive xanga. You clicked the link. You take a risk whenever you click a link or read anything.

    FREEDOM. OF. SPEECH.

  • i dissagree with this because if someone is stupid enough to stave or cut themselves then more power to them. if they’re stupid enough to do that stuff and get themselves killed in the process then they shouldnt be alive in the first place as they are idiots.

  • does this mean i can’t post my martini mixes any more?

  • This one seems impossible. I mean, there are whole rings dedicated to it.

  • I am definately against having this tag! I also think it’d be difficult to enforce.

  • Have you ever realized how many Proana blogrings you have?
    Take a look, you might be surprised,
    so stop that before you try to stop the actual xangans
    being as that will certainly be more difficult

  • hey

    PLEASE READ THIS WHOLE POST. IT’S SO DANG TRUE*
    1. At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you.
    2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
    3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
    4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.
    5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
    6. You mean the world to someone.
    7. If not for you, someone may not be living.
    8. You are special and unique.
    9. Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.
    10. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
    11. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world.
    12. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won’t get it, but if you believe in yourself, probably, sooner or later, you will get it.
    13. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
    14. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know.
    15. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.
    Add this as a comment to ten of your friends tonight and at midnight your true love will find you. Something good will happen to you at 2:25 tomorrow. Get ready for the biggest shock of your life. Whoever breaks this chain letter will be cursed with 10 relationship problems for the next ten years tag ur it!! this is so scary!!! send this to 15 ppl in the next 143 min. and then press F6 and your crushes name will appear in big letters!! it is so scary because it works!

    ttyl

  • u shouldnt point out that a person cuts for erreone to see .. so if someone sez they do ..then jus let them  be .. how do u plan to help them?

    lacy

  • This is sort of a violation of freedom of speech. If you don’t want to see or hear about it, then avoid it. I think that this is a very bad idea.

  • Damn stop being so thick headed.

    This means that if you make an ‘anarchist’s cookbook’ of things related to self harm then you’re flagged. If you mention that you cut it’s not a flag. u.u

  • Hypothetically, if you were to come across a person’s site who cuts/is anorexic, excessively talks about it, and recieves support but does not “advocate” it, would you should down his/her site?

  • I agree with the FriarWiley guy. What would a parent think if they find their child dead on day from a self-inflicted wound.. and then find out that their child’s main source of inspiration came from an unmonitored Xanga site.. ya’ll would be facing some lawsuits, for sure. I think this one needs to stay.

    -Haven

  • I’d chime in with a “Haven’t you people ever heard of closing a goddamn door?!”

  • This “law” is unfare to people who inflict pain upon themselves, who are ana, and/or mia. I know a bunch of people on Xanga who use this site chain as a diary. They use it to get away from the real world. Who said they were having competitions? I certainly am not. This is my opinion, my peroggative. And if you shoot me for it, then you’re coming with me.

    </3

  • There are sooooooo many teenagers that log their calories and starving themselves on here.  This one will be tough one to enforce I’m sure.  I have come across atleast then girls account that are talking about how they ate an icecube and a diet coke was drank, and that’s their intake for that day.  So sad…….

  • What happened to the basic civil liberties of America?

  • I certainly agree with this one. It is NOT okay or healthy to cut yourself or starve yourself and keeping these sites available just encourages that behavior among those who currently practice them and those looking to start.

    I’m all about support groups and I understand that recovering from the mindset where you seek to hurt yourself is a difficult process. But *recovery* is the key issue here. These websites and groups are not about helping each other recover….they’re about helping each other continue doing what they’re doing.

    On a less sensitive note, I think something like this would help decrease the number of emo teens who “claim” to cut/starve themselves just to get attention from other people and make others feel bad for them.

  • I don’t agree with this flag just for the fact that though it seems like  many girls are in this just for a crash diet, there are some of us that come here for support as we know that people we talk to know what we are going through. Many people think that it’s such a horrible thing and yes it is, but by ridding of these blogs, you’re just hiding a growing problem.  You can’t blame Xanga for ‘inducing’ these behviours anymroe than you can blame today’s society and media. And seriously, you don’t have to read the sites if you don’t like them. 
    That’s my thoughts… not yours.

  • I have been waiting for xanga to do something about this for YEARS.(okay, so maybe just 2 years, but 2 years is enough). Pro-ana and pro-cutting is good for nothing, and has no use in this kind of blogging environment. One of Xanga’s main market, teenagers are very subceptible to falling into destructive bad coping mechanisms, and there doesn’t need to be any of this shit to encourage it. Also, pro-ana and pro-SI are horrible when people who already have eating disorders, or already struggle with cutting, bump into these sites. I am 500% pro-recovery, and these triggering sites need to be shut down.

    To clarify to those who are confused:

    There’s a difference between talking about a struggle, and actually advocating/encouraging it. A person can talk about their struggle with cutting and eating disorders, without boasting about it, and without giving ‘tips’ or throwing around triggering images.

  • i think it’s a lot better to let people talk and such, because if they’re on here typing, they’re not out there cutting.

  • I like all of the flag ideas except for this one. I don’t think it’s neccessary.

  • This makes no sense in my opinion. Isn’t Xanga suppose to be a journal weblog thingy where people can express themselves? Well if they cut and they say something about it, isn’t that expressing ones self?

    I agree and disagree with this. I mean if some one is like trying to get a whole bunch of peop,e to cut themselves or barf their brains into a toilet after every meal, then fine. Let them be flags. But some one who is trying to express the pain that they are going threw shouldn’t for just saying something.

    I know one thing. When I am in the mood, going on xanga makes me not want to.

  • I don’t agree with you. People with these problems recognize them as just that: problems. A girl who really has anorexia is in no way ‘proana’. She realizes that anorexia is a disease, not a diet.

    People with these problems need someone to talk to about it and to get support from. To take that away would be horrible.

    ♥ Erika

  • If this rule means “no pro-ana”, say so outright. Does this cover advice to home piercers? Home tattoo artists? Cutters in recovery, but still cutting? Account of any eating disorder, regardless of how the victim thinks of her/his disorder? I fully believe that it is important to let people know the least harmful way to do something, including purging, cutting themselves, or anything else they want to do, in order to minimise the damage they cause themselves. This rule seems ban this sort of advice in favour of just not talking about it or only permitting people to say it’s bad. That doesn’t help the victims recover.

    I understand and accept that having an account on Xanga means obeying Xanga’s rules, and that something can be legal but still against the Xanga TOS. That’s why I’m asking for clarification so that I can avoid running afoul of the rules, either by keeping my posting within the limits or by closing my site here. Please advise.

  • I don’t agree with this act of censorship.

    I am an anorexic, and though I’m in some Ana/Mia blogrings, they are not necessarily pro Ana/Mia. I very much hate my eating disorder, and I’m seeking recovery, but I like to talk to other women in my same situation for support. If you want to shut down the sites of ladies who are encouraging eating disorders, that’s one thing, but please don’t target those of us who are simply venting our problems with anorexia, because some of us are actually seeking help. Thanks.

  • I think some are ‘support’ groups…it’s not like people are PROUD to have eating disorders….for people that REALLY have these disorders are sick people and it’s not like they choose to be that way. I don’t think it’s horrible to have a support group of anorexic people….I think there are people that take it too far but if you’re sick then why can’t you have support. Cutting is different….that is a sickness too buuuut a person that cuts themselves isn’t proud of it…they hide it so for that BS to be going around then I agree that shouldnt’ be on xanga at all.

  • PS – I also want to say that I very much respect xanga – I pay $25 a year for premium – and I want to obey the rules. I simply don’t want to get shut down, or see others like me get shut down, simply for talking about our personal lives.

  • i think the freedom to post things should be allowed
    many people have nowhere else to turn
    and xanga is a major place to turn

    it is their freedom of speech [posting?]
    taking away those sites isn’t going to help the disease
    the people who truly have problems aren’t going to not have a problem just because some sites have flags

    ~Cho

  • everybody has problems
    some people are just more open about it on xanga than others are
    almost every single person has thoughts about ED//SI//anything bad at some point in their life

    maybe make it so it isn’t featured content
    but don’t do away with all bad sites
    you will be aggravating soo many people

    ~Cho

  • It will be very difficult to take the proana and thinspiration people down.  For mercy’s sake, they’re on featured content all the time!  These kind of sites should be banned from featured content just like adult content sites.

  • I hope this flag doesn’t go into effect, especially if the result would be shutting down sites.  I used to cut, and I can’t tell you how incredible it was to find a community on xanga.  I know that sounds creepy, but it’s not like that.  When you’re so depressed that pain is the only feeling you have, it’s invaluable to know that you aren’t alone, that you really aren’t going crazy.  People with sites talking about self-harm know that the only way to get someone to stop is to let them come to that decision on their own terms.  While they’re getting there, sites with ideas to hide scars/cuts and ways to heal them are an invaluable resource.  Please don’t do this, I think it would cut off a huge support network that has helped a lot of people, myself included, survive and heal.  Ironically, my best friend found out about my cutting through xanga, and she was the one who stood by me and was there with me when I decided to get help for my cutting.  If she hadn’t found my site, if I hadn’t had the support of my xanga friends, it’s quite possible I’d have killed myself.  Now I haven’t cut in close to a year, and I’m living a much happier life free of the physical and emotional pain.  Please don’t kill these sites.

  • As otherwise noted – if they are promoting it, encouraging it, etc – yes, needs to go.

    But if it is something they are struggling with, trying to get over, seeking advice and encouragment to stop, certainly not.

  • You need to have clearer guidelines on this. Giving out dangerous tips and explicitly encouraging others to join this “lifestyle” is one thing. Not being ready for recovery, and talking openly about your daily life with an eating disorder or self-injury, including posting pictures as simple self-expression/catharsis, is another thing entirely. And already, blogrings here are being deleted that were NOT pro-ana, but were just not limited to those in recovery. Why? It’s not Xanga’s responsibility to play doctor. Enforced recovery never works anyway… and gagging people who’ve sometimes been forced to live silent and secret lives for years sure is not going to help them any.

  • it’s not an either/or, some people are pro-ED/SI some people are in recovery. there’s people in the middle. if this flag business is going to continue i hope that those people will be respected, that’s all.

  • Why dont you just ban all obnoxious 14 year old girls with “bloody tears” in their profile now?  saves some time

  • The proana sites are actually really, really good ideas.  Do you know any anorexics?  They can’t be treated because they don’t see there’s a problem.  In addition to not eating they become obsessed with defeating those who would try and make them eat in a very sly and paranoid fashion.  They really are nutters, its symptoms are physical but not its cause.  Every now and again you will see on Xanga how one anorexic was reading another proana site and they thought OMG this person if really fucked up and crazy and come to the realisation so were they.  Then they have a chance of healing.

    Therapy hardly ever works on anorexics because the therapist is always an authority figure trying to get them to eat and therefore a victory over them is something to be enjoyed.  Isolation of anorexics, not letting them communicate with each for fear of passing on the disease as an idea of modern slimness doesn’t work. Isolation hardly ever works for any kind of mentally-disturbed people. 

    Writing their crazy, angst-ridden diaries, boasting to each other of less and less to eat, more and more tricks to evade the parents (usually) and even convince school friends of their normality is therapy for them.  Don’t stop it. You have no proof that the blogs do harm, and the fact that they offend the ignorant is no reason to pander to these moronic people just because they might form a majority.  Giving in to the misinformed or to the mob is always the first thought of the politician but the last one to those who really care about an issue.

  • Yep. This one will be tough. I look forward to the day that gloryifying killing yourself through “acceptable means” will no longer be legal.

  • I have a friend on one of those sites and she is not there to promote girls starving themselves… She is merely there to relate to people.. This is silly.

  • Promoting these things is not illegal and does not violate any laws wheather one approves or disapproves ethically.  The majority of these sites are created as support groups; how would one distinguish between an eating disorder support site and the other.  Who decides this? It is VERY controvertial and anarexia in itself is not self harm…if you read the medical literature in some ways it can be very beneficial health wise.  Many would also argue that being fat —> obese is much more self harmful ( detrimental to one’s health) than anorexia.  If you flag these anorexia sites shouldn’t you flag sites that promote eating and fat people??????  I might find that gross and harmful.  It’s a very delicate balance. 

    And by the way people will be fat or anorexic regardless of the sites hosted here, you are merely violating free speech and walking a very shaky line. 

  • Yea… you know what, fuck you.  I think it is absolutely horrible that you think you can shut down people’s sites for discussing their struggles.  Maybe it seems “wrong” and “unsafe” to you, but people are going to do what they’re going to do regardless of whether or not you shut down their xanga.  What you fail to realize is that these blogrings and personal xangas are therapeutic for many.  I used to cut myself, and if I hadn’t expressed it on xanga no one would have found out and who knows where I would be now.  I also got lots of support from lots of people, both friends and strangers and unless you’ve been in a situation like that yourself, you would have NO CLUE as to how helpful that can be..  not to perpetuate bad behaviors but to get through them and to recover.

    And on a LEGAL note, what happened to freedom of speech?!

    shutting down sites that talk about eating disorders or cutting is telling people that their mental illness is WRONG and BAD, and that is both oppressive and unfair.  These sites arent going to persuade people to follow suit… if someone is prone to anorexia or depression they are PROBABLY going to succumb to it whether or not they log on to xanga….. so let those who need an outlet HAVE IT.

  • I do not agree with this.  I pay good money to be protected.  If you go to my site I clearly state that I do not advocate “ana” to kids under 18.  I think that’s fair.  The only people I converse with on my “ana” site are adults that are also struggling.  I do post thinspo, but that is to inspire me.  I don’t post models that are 80lbs.  I post models like Giselle that are a normal weight.  I have lost 50lbs and have to starve myself to lose weight due to a disease that makes me gain weight.  I share my pain and joy with my adult friends that also know that pain/joy.  Censorship of personal journals is just plain wrong.

  • I do agree that there should be some monitoring of these subjects, but as a whole, Xanga was the first place I was able to write about what I was going through. Yes, there were times when I posted about my own self-injury, times when I wrote poetry that was dark, but nevertheless, I am now “recovering”. Taking away what is for some an outlet of pain, will not change their behavior, the behavior/psychological change must be made by the individual. Xanga is a community where many can find the support they need to stop. I do not, myself, promote SI or any form of self harm, and I do believe that those blogs who directly say “you should try cutting sometime…” should be censored, but there are many who should not. I am just asking for you to rethink this aspect of the policy, it may do more harm to the members who “break the rules” to shut their site down, then to leave other sites and theirs up for all to see.

  • sorry, to me this one is OUT of the question. launch this and you cross the line (and i guarantee Xanga members will leave by the batallions)

  • So does this mean that you will also flag posts about people doing drugs or talking about going to do them or sites with evidence of underage drinking (pics, stories, etc..)???  I mean, they’re all harmful activities, not to mention illegal, where as these manifestations of mental illness are not illegal activities.  I think that it would be wrong for Xanga to arbitrarily shut down personal sites because the legitimacy of a person’s problem then comes into question, and by shutting down that person’s site and outlet for their problems, you may actually worsen their condition and lead to further alienation, depression, suicidal tendencies, and so on.  Yes, it is shocking and sometimes insulting to see Pro-ana sites and sites of little girls pretending to have an eating disorder in order to look better, or pretending to have a self-mutilation problem, or other mental health or substance abuse issues, but at the same time, there are people with legitimate problems, and people who use a lighter attitude to cover up deeper psychological problems…just something to think about.

  • too blurry.

    lots of ppl on xanga say anorexia is good. and some just say losing weight is good.

    can u better define proana?

  • I think this is a great idea. If they talk about it for support though, of course it’s not a problem. But I’ve seen so many sites where girls have countdown things to their goal weight, which is usually about 100 pounds, and they list how little they eat each day and cheer each other on. It’s disgusting.

  • This one has to go. Disagree totally.

  • have fun

    honkey

  • I don’t think it’s fair that you should take away sites like that. Well, maybe the last one but the proana and the things about cutting shouldn’t be banned because they’re places where people come for support and without them their conditions can get worse. I think sites encouraging people to cut and go anorexic should be taken down, but not the ones that offer support to people who already suffer from these disorders.

    Just my opinion.

  • I dont think I’m too keen on reprimanding some of those type sites and rings. Is the purpose of this flag to stop the behaviors that they’re promoting? You can try to close their mouths, but that wont keep them from actually cutting themselves or fasting for weeks at a time. I’m not proana and I dont enjoy inflicting pain on myself, but this probably isnt the solution we need for these problems. Surely there’s a chance someone might feel encouraged to copycat some of these people, but if they cant find it here on Xanga, they’ll just find it somewhere else. Using the flag for this will just hide the mess, not fix it. Dont sweep this problem under the rug, its there and people should know about it and, if they feel led, do something to help them, not hide them.

  • I agree with a lot of these comments. It is one thing to promote destructive behavior and another to tell a daily story of struggle. I think Xanga should be careful with how they implement this rule.

  • There should be more places to honor those whose acts have ended their lives prematurely…and maybe someone  should flag those sites so that they offer “self distructors” some help. There are alot of people(I count myself among them) who have mental/ amd or physical problems(or were told they did) and”support” should be offer to “help” them, not lead them further into darkness. Because another Xanga member chose to end his life early, my “research” on his feelings at the time showed me how he was”trapped” and helpped me find a way out for myself, and to possibly help others. all they need is some sort of real help…maybe someone could give it to them before it’s too late.

  • nay.  This will give people no outlet to cry out for help.  :P

  • this one violates my freedom of speech !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    not all of us on xagna are children.  there are many suffering from ed’s who are adults and have suffered from our dieseases for years.  we come here for the feeling of community!  for the comfort and support of others like us who are the only ones that can understand what we deal with on a daily basis and help us to feel we are not alone.  we do not support harming each other.  we just listen and show compasion where we cannot otherwise get it!  we do not advocate children joining us and / or instruct them on harming themselves.  we would never encourage anyone to become involved in the hell we wish we could get out of ourselves.  many of us are parents ourselves and would never wish for our children to be burdened with our dieseases!

    this is what another has written on this subject:  

     We all have our own ideas about this compulsion we have…there are lots of different names for it and millions of reasons to have it.  I want to state that my issues with food and my body are part of my mental illness.  I have struggled with eating issues for as long as I can remember.  I do not feel comfortable in group therapy.  I have tried several groups throughout my life, for ED, bipolar as well as NA/AA.  These are wonderful options for some people, but not for me.  This is the first place I have been able to open up about my struggles and feel validated and understood.  I do not feel alone here.
    The threat of my Xanga being shut down is very scary to me.  As an adult woman, I should be able to talk about my illnesses (ED and bipolar).  I will not be ashamed and hide it away. 

  • What if thinspiration is used for your own self? Would that be in violation of your terms?

  • What about say, weight watchers???  Or any other site that helps support others losing weight??  How is it fair to say they are okay, but a site helping to get other girls who take weight loss to extremes is not???  I think that this is crap, that censoring is against the rights we have as americans, and that the CEOs of XANGA are tools.  Horray for the monarchy system.  Thanks to Bush and his butt pirates, we now have most of our basic freedoms stripped from us.

  • this is a tough one.  i agree with most of the people on here….. that there is a difference between promotion and just talking about it.  I’m a recovering cutter and anorexic and talk about it on here, but i certainly don’t promote it. 

    some of the “pro-ana” sites on here are sickening, tho, and it needs to be addressed.  so long as people keep in mind free speach.  and not everyone wants to promote destructive actions but still want to talk about it. 

  • i dont hold anything against ana’s but when theyre telling OTHERS how to become ana then that is ridiculous and I am glad xanga is finally doing something about it

  • i do agree, however, with a lot of these comments about people using this as an outlet…thats a good thing, but when youre telling others that theyre disgusting because theyre overweight, thats insane. I do not agree with the people throwing “freedom of speech” into the mix, thats stupid. This is a website, it isnt run by “the people.” get over it, folks…if you dont like it, go to myspace or deadjournal

  • Admittedly, some sites use the internet as a forum to continue and maybe even encourage these behaviors (EDs, SI, ect.) but if you cannot lump them all together and say they are all bad.

    These disorders are just as real as any other mental health illness.  Not everyone agrees with the method of therapy or recovery.  These xangans, as I see it, can be the equivelant of online, free, complementary and alternative therapy.  No, they are not “proven” methods by any means but what else could come close?  A support group, perhaps?  Not everyone who is goes to these sites is ready for recovery.  Some are.  Many are not.  Most of what is said on the sites, boards, and xangas may be agonizing to read for the healthy person.  Has anyone ever spoken to a heroin addict?  Hear what they say?  Isn’t THAT hard to hear and understand?  I know it is so easy to judge and say the sites should be shut down.  It’s human nature.  But put yourself in their place.  If you needed someone to talk to, wouldn’t want the ability to do so?  Not all have access to help.  Not all have the desire.  If it isn’t a problem for you then you should consider yourself lucky.  Lucky you don’t have those demons to face. 

    I agree, if it’s involving a person who isn’t an adult, it could be triggering but isn’t that up to the parents to know what their children are doing?  If not, are we the responsible ones?  Where will it end?  Whose job is it, really, to police these xangas and determine what is inappropriate?  Opinions differ…

    If it were a site for the alternative and complementary therapy of cancer and you had a really high chance of not surviving if you didn’t go conventional, would that be considered inappropriate?  Parents are having their children taken away from them for net doing what the western medical community deems as what is necessary and thus putting their child at risk.

    It’s all so subjective…

  • I’m curious about this one. Will you guys refer these people to somewhere that they can get help, or simply kick them off of Xanga? Not all cutters do it for attention or because it’s the “in” thing to do. Kicking them off of Xanga could be a bad thing for them, since some people are here to get help, love, and support to stop doing these behaviors. I think that sites encouraging these behaviors are not a good thing, but they need help too.

  • ick.

    good luck.

    =/

  • I think the kids on these kind of sites need help. Seriously. It’s sad that people would want to do that to themselves and try to influence others to join them. Anorexia, starving yourself, self mutilation etc., is not even logical. I mean what are these kids thinking? I think it would be great to take these sites off or block them from getting into Xanga.  I support the flag on this 100%.

    Cristy

  • I’m not seeing anything against pro-ana in the Xanga TOS. Am I missing that part?

    If these flags are going to be used to keep entries off Featured Content or something similar, then that sounds good to me. I think most people agree that self-harm is not a good thing and should not be promoted. It wouldn’t reflect well on Xanga to have such entries in Featured Content. However, if flagged content is subject to deletion or ban, that’s something else entirely.

    I support Xanga’s right to put restrictions on their service, even above and beyond what the law requires — but deletions for this flag are unnecessary, in my opinion. In particular, if this flag will be implemented as written above, it is vitally important to clearly delineate what constitutes “advocating” self-harm. Many’s the recovering patient who, while understanding that s/he can not forever continue their self-destructive behaviour, occasionally relapses and even enjoys it — for a time. It is also not uncommon to keep a journal, such as can be kept on Xanga, while recovering and possibly relapsing. I would hate to see a fragile person honestly recount their struggle, including sometimes wanting to engage in harmful behaviour, and have their entry or account deleted. Xanga is better than that.

  • I don’t really agree with this one. People who are pro-ana need to be helped. Shutting down their sites won’t do anything to break the bad habit.

  • This is definitely needed.  But you need to be careful about how you regulate this.  A person can discuss anorexia or cutting without advocating it.  So you have to be sure the tone of the discussion is inappropriate.  One easy move would be to terminate all the blogrings that glorify these behaviors.  The last thing a kid struggling with one of these behaviors needs is to join a blogring where all the members can cheer them on in their self destruction.

  • This one’s hard to do, especially since “self-harm” can include a lot of things.
    There’s a lot of xanga blogs out there for the sole purpose of supporting eachother with anorexia. I mean, that’s just wrong but it’s hard to stop it.

    *Shrugs* I guess it’s needed, but it won’t help stop people from being self destructive.

    <3

  • Sounds more like a personal choice to me. People smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. They’re hurting themselves, thus self-harm, whether it’s intentional or not.

  • No.
    No.
    No.
    No.
    No.
    No.
    No.

  • Sure, there are the people that glorify self harm, and those are just sad. But there are people that are sick (anorexia, etc) and are talking about it, and join blogrings to find people going through similar experiences; those people shouldn’t be censored.

  • It seems to me banning “pro-ana” sites is a problem witin itself. What is teh difference between a desire to lose weight and anorexia? How can you verify that? There is no quantitive way to. Furthermore, it seems as if you are discriminating individuals based on beliefs and ideology. Why?

  • What happend to freedom of speech..?

  • where does talking about personal experience end and “advocating” begin? sure i would not advocate cutting or anorexia or other potentially dangerous behavior, but it’s going to be hard to draw a line without being arbitrary. i guess.

    i think separating the more sexual / nude / crude blogs from those that can be read by most users (all ages) without being offended is a great idea. totally with you.

  • I completely disagree with this. I recently wrote you an email surrounding this subject, so if you’d like to know exactly how I feel, you can read it. But just know that this is ridiculous and completely offends me. It’s called freedom of speech, and xanga isn’t exempt from that. No one is going to want to write on xanga anymore if they aren’t allowed to speak their opinion. It’s called a blog. A journal. Where you SPEAK YOUR MIND, regardless of  what others think. By now allowing people to have opinons and speaking their mind, you are making the entire point of having an online blog, and the entire point of xanga, moot.

    All I can say, is that you may monitor them, and flag them, and shut the blogrings down, but they will not go without a fight. We in the ana/mia community will continue to create blogrings regardless of this, and if we must, we will move to another site, which will make you lose a ridiculous amount of business. It’s interesting, because with the popularity of MySpace growing, you’d think the people at xanga would like to encourage people to stay on Xanga. This only makes you look bad and discourages people from staying/joining. By shutting down these blogrings, you aren’t helping anyone. Just because you shut them down, doesn’t mean we’re going to stop making them. It will only serve as an inconvienance, and will, for the most part, hurt you. Taking away our rights is not the solution to this “problem”

    Ohsailor41

  • People come on Xanga to find help. I have friends who are both Ana and Cutters. They need to talk about these kinds of things. I understand pro ana sites but it’s not clear cute like nudity or pronography. You need to be careful. Justbecause Xanga is under the watchdog because of certain articles written about the pro ana sites does not mean that you need to do this – there are pro ana sites everywhere, not just xanga.

  • BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

    If people with eating disorders or who are cutters want a network of support & encouragement they should be allowed to have it. It’s not like members from groups that are “pro-ana” or cutting go hunting people down to join their communities or their way of life. People go join these groups of their own free will. It’s not like anything is FORCED on anybody. Folks who do not like and are offended by these sites don’t have to go to them. They have a CHOICE to stay out of these pages.

  • A very good idea! There is no way this one could go wrong. It’s good for everyone!

    ~Tiff

  • But those are so interesting to read! Where will I go for my insecure girl fix?

  • well you’ll loose alot of members!

  • We’ve built a community within Xanga.  When everyone on the outside world doesn’t understand us, there is always someone here who does.  How could can you take that away from us?  I seriously hope you don’t…

  • doubt it will work – it only takes 2 minutes to reopen a new xanga and less than 1 minute to create a new blogring.

    =aQ=

  • Okay a lot of people here aren’t getting what this flag is about … xanga isn’t planning on ostracizing those who are unlucky enough to suffer with an eating disorder or cutting problems.. it’s about removing those who promote it as an acceptable lifestyle and teach others dangerous tips.

  • in my total honest opinion xanga is a place where people suffering can come to get support and that is soooo important! i personally dont know what i’d do without my xanga girls and can also honestly say that NOT ONE person has influenced me or tried to make me the way i am. it is a personal choice and xanga is a place i can talk about it without fear of being judged and i think that is somthing really special that i would hate to be taken away. x

  • My name is Analisee (no ana pun intended) it just is my name. I have recently started a healthy eating programme for my self, I used to eat badly and have had my ups and downs but that is all in the past. I have had some positive support from other people because at the end of the day I want to loose some weight, I am overweight and when you have down days it means so much for somone to say ‘hey dont worry, dont give up keep on with it’. I live with a dietition andhave really useful tips aswell to improve your health and lifestyle which potentially could help people who go down the road to becoming ana or mia. At the end of the day yes I am trying to loose weight and people who comment on my site understand how difficult it can be

    I do not promote or condone people trying to encourage annorexia or bulimia so I understand the reasons as to why you would want to do this, but from what I have read and researched from other peoples sites as well as mine, we need this because it is a fantasic method of support. Without the love from people on the websites who understand the battle of weightloss it helps, rather than the discouragement and incentive to ruin healthy habits from friends who say ‘oh go on just have this chocolate bar …it wont hurt’ because it does and can make people feel awful about theamselves afterwards.

  • the majority of us that really DO have a real problem with any sort of eating disorder (not just anorexia) don’t really “promote it” because they see what a vicious cycle it can be… no one wants to see someone struggling like that so why promote it? the ones who are really suffering from eating disorders have learned (or at least i have learned) to tell the difference from those who are just trying to sound pro-ana (like self proclaimed but not really… and they turn to xanga to make a site)… i personally had an eating disorder that isn’t just one type for many many years prior to xanga… i don’t subscribe to those who are just there to sound like it and post pictures of pretty girls nor do i ever really read their sites… you can tell who the real ones are and those real ones with eating disorders have a bond with each other that’s even extended outside of the xanga community…

    this is going to be hard and i personally understand why this is an issue… but then again, there are real sufferers out there who lean on each other daily so they don’t feel alone…

    just my two cents… but i really hope you all will make the right decision whatever it may be

  • PLEASE GET RID OF THOSE AWFUL SITES!~!@

    it’s truly unhealthy for those people and most are KIDS

    DO IT. thanks

  • i agree. such sites MUST BE SHUT DOWN. it will taint the reputation of the xanga community. furthermore, the promotion of such VILE and DESTRUCTIVE acts will cause more people, especially younger and newer victims to take part…it should be stopped. i’m glad xanga finally realized this.

    it was sickening to see all those sites.

  • Thank IPU.

    The only way I think that could get better is if the said posters get a feeling in thier stomach of day-old sushi.

  • All America does is complain that people are fat and getting fatter, if these people are trying to lose weight let them. Perhaps going anorexic isn’t the best way to do it. Most of the girls here who talk about it are trying to look for comfort and finding someone who is suffering too. Like many self help groups like AA, NA, Over-eaters Anonymous. Having these sites are beneficial to their well being. I am not ana but I am pro ana I am going about healthy weightloss so would that mean just because I sympathize with them then I would lose my xanga? This isn’t right.

  • Why are you doing this? Do you not realize that the “pro-ana” or “pro-mia” blogs are like mostly made up of HELP sites. If you are going to take down sites where people are skinny and perfect, won’t you take down sites where people are fat and ugly? And not to mention sites that support drinking, drugs, sexual things, cutting, and other things too?

  • If someone is willing enough to post their issues on Xanga about “cutting” or “anorexia” for the mere act of displaying themselves, then they have already established their need for help. If anyone needs to talk, they should seek professional help, there are innumerable help-websites that are waiting for anyone to ask for their help. Xanga is mean to be a safe-fun- blog community; not a helpline. There are more serious repercussions for even attempting to address anyone’s problems. (Most of the time, they just get worse.) Support this Flag and send those who need help where they should be.

  • Edit: Xanga is meant* to be a safe-fun blog community..

  • I come to this site to get support and it helps me get through the day, so please do the right thing and don’t take this from me, nor any other girls.

  • I come to this site to get support and it helps me get through the day, so please do the right thing and don’t take this from me, nor any other girls.

  • Good. I’m tired of those thinspo people. Not like I hate them or anything, but it’s really becoming a problem.

    ~Crystal

  • The young “pro ana” girls find people like them on xanga.
    Without these friends, they would be

    ALL

    ALONE

    with their terrible eating disorders. Though they may begin as a trend, many of them will escalade into full-blown anorexia or bulimia.
    Do you really want to take this away from them?
    This is absurd.

  • They need this one.

    I’m all for RECOVERING anorexics/bulimics/cutters being able to post about their daily struggles, however, there are far more PRO-ANA sites on xanga that promote eating disorders and “teach” other young teens how to be “ana.”

    They are not threatening to shut down sites of recovering cutters/anorexics, only the ones that promote it. And after the publicity with the NY Times, Xanga’s President has to live up to what he said he would do, which is exactly this.

    CLAP CLAP CLAP!!

  • That’s going to be a lot of sites!

  • I disagree with this one.

  • Wow, this ones gonna be a bit hard. good luck

  • This proposed flag is ridiculous.  Again, I see Xanga here trying to be the moral police and present a santized view of the world that conforms to someone’s idea of “normal”.  If someone wants to post about “self harm”, why is it any of your business?  They are hurting themselves.  Some may be crying out for help in their own way and looking for support from others.  Take that away and they may hurt themselves more, not less.  This is a serious, serious slipperly slope that Xanga is climbing.  It’s very inappropriate for Xanga to interfere with a blogger’s content except in very rare cases IMHO.  This certainly is not one of them.  UGH.

  • finally

  • ya know, for all the people that have a problem with low self confondance need a place where they can go and vent and get support from the people that know just what their going through. so what if its on xanga, if it wasnt here it would just be some place else. you guys go around thinking that your helping by getting rid of pro anna sites and pro mia sites, but your not, your just adding drama and stress, just stop trying to be a parent becouse we all already have those.

  • Well, I just reviewed the Xanga terms of use and I dont think you can legally hold anyone to “no self-harm chatter” on Xanga regulation. At least not anyone who has already registered. You see the pro sites are not illegal and they are not necessarily bad. They generally acknowledge ED/SI is a harmful activity and they usually want to stop, they just dont know how. And frankly, from experience, it is hard as hell. Listen, brain chemicals go off and evolutionary triggers have an effect on the development and the conquering of ED/SI.
    I think it harmful to “outlaw” the pro blogs, I see know reason why you cannot require a disclaimer and a flag to warn users.

  • You really need to make very clear what your idea of  “pro-anorexia” or “pro-selfharm” content is. Do you class a xanga site, created by a person dealing with anorexia or selfharm who use the site as an outlet a way to deal with their problems by writing them down and by having access to other who suffer from similar problems, to not share tips and tricks but to encourage each other to take care of themselves and to let them know that they are not alone in the world. Is this advocating selfharm? No. My personal belief is that eating disorders and selfharm is not something you can teach someone, as they are psycological disorders steming from deep seeded personal issue. So i ask you, do you really want to take away the one reason that people suffering from these issues can get possitive support? Because for some the friendships made through blog sites such as xanga are invaluable and in taking that support away from these people i fear that it would result in alot of problem for already emotionally fragile individuals.  

  • “Flags are only a warning sign, not censorship.”

    I saw that comment on a random site just a little while ago. It reminded me a lot of what people were saying when Hitler wanted to “flag” the jews. Don’t believe the jews didn’t see Hitler coming. Because they did. They just didn’t do shit about it. They let some crackerfool slowly invade them and take away their rights. First thing Hitler did was what? Anybody know? Any of you vuvlaheads know?

    The first thing Hitler did was to LABEL the jews. Once they were clearly labeled and distinctively marked, he could then easily round them up and toss them in ovens. WTF?? Now ask yourself, why did the jews let themselves be labeled?

    Flags = Labeling.

    Why did the jews allow Hitler to pass a law which prevented jewish people from owning firearms? Why did the jews allow Hitler to burn their books?

    People really have no clue huh doc? They have no recollection of history. Just a bunch of strungout computer monkeys typing away about their day at the local mall, not realizing that they are either part of the solution, or part of the problem.

    BXU! -member for life. (Viva Revolution!)

  • no… your here to post our thoughts publically. publically we have free speach. xanga is here as a dairy, to post our personal thoughts, on goings, and beliefs. these flags are just making this site useless. if the public doesn’t like it, they don’t have to read it.

  • that stuff isn’t illegial. people can do that stuff if they want. who cares?

  • FREE SPEECH! EVER HEAR OF IT? PEOPLE SHOUD BE ABLE TO HAVE A SITE WHERE THEY CAN TALK ABOUT THEIR LIFES!

  • If people don’t like what they see on a particular person’s Xanga, they can avert their eyes.  No one is being forced to read anyone’s Xanga.  If your concern is minors viewing the content, keep the minors out.

  • Too vague.  Therefore pointless.  Kiddie porn, OK I see the need for desperate measures, although you should still look for other ways to police Xanga than to ask Xangans to spy on Xangans.  It smacks of Hitler’s Germany; it smacks of Stalin’s Russia.  The “crimes” are different, I know.  The so-called criminals in those other countries were attempting to exercise religious freedom or daring to express opinions that didn’t agree with the State.  It’s a different situation here.  Child exploiters, or those who incite hatred — they’re violating laws that are on the books for valid reasons and they should not be able to use Xanga to harm others.

    But this method is wrong.  Hire more people if you must.  But do not institute this flagging system, where Xangans report each other.  It invites abuse.

    I recognize that you need to cover your ass.  But do it in the right way, not the wrong way.

    And make no mistake.  That’s ALL you’re doing, is covering your ass.  You’re not protecting anyone, especially not the kids.  They’ll find ways to get into the trouble you fear.  Just not here on Xanga.  Fine.  Cover your ass.  But don’t try to pretend you’re protecting the victims of predators, or anorexics or bulimiacs, or the victims of hate mongers.  This does nothing to protect them.  It only protects Xanga.  That’s your right and your duty, to protect Xanga.

    Just do it the right way.  Hire more staff and pay them to police the sites.  Don’t use Xanga users to do that.  That would be wrong.

  • ****************************************************
    !!!! Your site is in VIOLATION and will be flagged !!!!
    ****************************************************

    “If you value your Freedom of Expression, If you value all the hard work you have done on your Xanga Pages, If you hate Online Censorship and the rapidly increasing loss of your blogging freedoms then it’s time for YOU to do something about it. Read Non_Featured_Content. Support the efforts of BXU! Send a comment to John and Flags showing your disgust of the loss of your blogging freedoms and the criminalizing of your Freedom of Expression and that you will tolerate it no longer. Send a comment to xanga and as often as possible. Tell them “That’s enough!”

    We are not going to be able to do this by ourselves that’s for sure and there are power in numbers. It either stops now or it never will.

    !BXU!

    SEND A COMMENT TO John and Flags and tell them your disgust of the FLAGGING and CENSORSHIP and as often as possible!

    (((((((((( Spread the Word )))))))))))

    ~VIVA REVOLUTION!!

    BXU

  • i don’t see how advocating self harm is something you should flag for. i mean, its their decision, not against the law, not going to get anyone in trouble, not hurting anyone except those who want to hurt themselves. really.

  • ok this one really makes me mad. i mean alot of people i know cut, and then on their xanga’s express why they do it. it helps them deal. and if their gonna get kicked off xanga for tryin to help themselfs then that’s just retarded. that’s like here’s the knife go die now. i use to cut and xanga helped me to quit… and i’m sure it’s help a hell of alot more people do the same. but not letting people express themselfs it stupid i think. as american’s we do have the freedom of speech and with this your taking our right away… even though it’s on computer.

  • hey. I’d just like to say this world is judgemental enough without our one place of sanctuary becomming prohibited. When the world seems to be turning against me, and I’m unable to talk to anyone real, the words I write onto this screen provide an outlet for my anger and self loathing. The people who then read my site try to help me, making me feel better about myself and my situations. They become my friends. you say Xanga is an online community? well community’s help people who need it, and listen and talk to those who would fall apart without it. I personally would fall apart without the continuous help and advice about how to handle these volatile feelings from people who are going through, and have been through the same.

    You would think it a bad idea to close down the sites of alcoholics or addicts. why? because by allowing them to write about their feelings and reach out to those like-minded, it gives them hope and reassurance that they’re not alone. It is the same for us. Don’t take away the hope we have that we are not alone. Please.

  • please don’t shut down the sites. if you were in one of our positions you would know how much xanga helps. you can talk about things here that you can’t tell anyone else. it’s the only way I can communicate the feelings I have. If you shut the sites down, I would lose my only method of getting through and discussing my feelings. i would be worse off if you got rid of my site. there are so many people on xanga who are going through what i am going through and that’s comfort i need right now. i understand that it’s a corporate thing or whatever, but like another girl said, if it was released or known that people with depression were dying would you shut down their sites too. if not then you can not shut ours down. most if not all of us suffering from anorexia, bulimia, compulsive over-eating, etc. are depressed and our eating disorder like depression is a mental disorder. i hope you make the right decision and allow us to have our sites. they are a sourse of empowerment. thank you.

  • and another thing, do you think mr.corporate man, that if you shut down our sites that there will be less people with an eating disorder in the world??? if you think this you are seriously wrong. trying to stop the discussion about eating disorders is going to make everyone worse off. most people don’t understand what we are going through and that’s because people like you, want to cover things up and pretend that the problem isn’t there, claiming “it’s just a trend.” you could not be more wrong. we need more discussion about eating disorders, more awareness, more of it out there for people to see. the general public thinks people with eating disorders are digusting, trying to fit in, or trying to get attention. these opinions make us feel ashamed and alone. hearing things like this makes us shut down. xanga, however, allows us to talk to others who understand and can sympathize with our situation, and because of people like you, they are the only ones who understand or who care to listen. our one source and you want to take that away. now instead of wanting to shut us down, and think the problem will go away, you should advocate eating disorder awareness so people like myself don’t feel shamed by the world. so we can talk about it with others who don’t have our problem and they would understand. i would love to see that. but i don’t think anyone will take the first step and do that. everyone wants to shove it under the carpet and leave it there. leave us shoved under the carpet so you don’t have to deal with us or see us. i hope you make the right decision. it’s up to you whether you want to encourage the ignorance and unawareness of eating disorders or not.

  • i dont think this one is right..

  • Personally, i think it would be absolutely lovely to have all the pro-anorexia pro-self harm sites shut down.  The kind that only posts pictures of emaciated women and tips and tricks on how to hide an eating disorder or rather, create an eating disorder.  There are far too many sites of such content, run by wee little preteen children and they’re fairly tiresome, not to mention unhealthy.

    However, where can you draw the line?  How can one truly tell the difference between a website supporting harmful behavior, from a website seeking support from harmful behaviors?  Behind each website, there may very well be a person who is desperately seeking help or the attention that they need.  Denying them support and communication would simply be cruel. 
     
    Xanga currently is one of the larger domains hosting material of ‘self injurious’ behavior.  While shutting down the pro-anorexia, pro-cutting sites would be a relief to many, it also runs the risk of shutting down sites that truly could have been of help towards those in need.  By putting a blanket statement over all disorder-related sites; some of the most helpful, supportive, and recovery-empowering voices are being silenced.  It is so difficult to discern the line as to where to stop, and who to shut down.

    If this flag comes into play, I can only say, please, please use the utmost discretion.

  • Discussing encouragement to stop those things is different than encouragement to keep doing it. And I hope Xanga can see the difference through the many, many, flags they will receive on this one.

  • i’m with Silverfoot on this one. Obviously, a blog is someplace to talk about what you are going through, so if it is simply something about going through the struggle, then that’s one thing, but I totally agree that there are FAR too many sites that actively promote it, and were I the one in charge of xanga, it would really bother me too.
    free speech, yeah ok. they’re free to SAY whatever they want, but someone made a great point that these are the rules of a website, not of the US of A. i would do the same thing.

  • There are so many sites like this. I’m so happy that you guys are finally getting around to possibly tearing these self destructive sites down.

    Good luck!

  • good luck with this one.

    i don’t support it all. xanga is an outlet for many people- for me it is. you can’t punish people who think about hurting themselves. thats like telling someone that their opinion is wrong. as long as they don’t encourage it or use it against people, then whats the big problem? but like i said, i really don’t support it.

  • I’m a little confused. Would you be flagging people for merely talking about it or being open with the fact that they harm themself? That’s just not cool.

  • I am totally against this – You are encouraging even more abuse to those who suffer with self harm; people could unfairly flag those who aren’t “Pro-ana” or those who aren’t advocating how self-harm is ’glamorous’. I know many people are against ED-related material on xanga, but this one hits especially close to home. A few of my friends suffer from this, and all they want is to just, maybe for once, feel accepted and have support in their life.

    THE MAJORITY OF THESE SITES are just people who are seeking support online that unfortunately, isn’t available to them in real life. These sites are created to vent, just like all the other xanga sites that are existent. Creating the flag system for this means that you are discrimating against those who suffer from the everyday struggles of their lives; it’s as if expressing the fact that someone is depressed or cutting means that they should shut their site down.

    For goodness’ sake, people could just go to each of the ED-related blogrings and go on a flagging rampage for every site they see connected to the blogring! It’ll wreak total havoc.

    If you do make the flag system, you’re going to have a hell of an uproar, and I, for one, will probably never forgive Xanga for doing it. Xanga will end up having several possible lawsuits and petitions against this…

  • good luck with this one.

  • And why else would you have blogrings indicated under the category of “Weight Issues”? I mean seriously, there are hardly any blogrings under “weight issues” that AREN’T involved in ED-related material.

    If a site advocated the fact that people should eat all the food they want no matter how obese they get or what health problems arise from eating it, isn’t that advocating self-harm too?

  • This is pretty dumb,

  • You can’t do this- itll be your fault if something happens to us because we feel so bad about not being able to talk to anonymous friends about this who are going through the same thing and really understand. that wouldn’t be fair. Good Luck

  • When I signed up for Xanga I THOUGHT is was a PERSONAL journal that you could EXPRESS yourself without being ATTACKED!!!
    I am a ADULT & talk to other ADULTS that are going through the same issues. The idea that Xanga would come and shut us down b/c I am “pro Ana/Mia” is a very sad thing! I come on here as do others and talk about things that have gone on in our daily lives.

    IF YOU ARE GOING TO SHUT DOWN PRO ANA/MIA SITES THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD ALSO GO AFTER THE SITES OF PEOPLE WHO THINK IT IS “OK” TO BE OVERWEIGHT! ALSO THOSE SITES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NAZIS, DRUG USERS, WORKAHOLICS(THEY HURT THEIRSELVES & THEIR FAMILYS!), PORN ADDICTS, AND PEOPLE WHO BREAST FEED! BECAUSE ALL THOSE PEOPLE OFFEND OTHERS AND ALSO SOMEONE COULD CONSIDER WHAT THEY ARE DOING AS HARMFUL!

    I MAY NOT AGREE WITH ALOT OF THINGS BUT I DO AGREE WITH THE RIGHT TO THINK AND BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT…………..ITS AMERICA!

    THIS IS F*CKING STUPID!

  • What happens to freedom of speech! this is racism , and that is not right at ALL

  • If you do this then many people will quit Xanga.  This is supposed to be a place to vent.  To talk through your thoughts and feelings.  By putting this flag on, it ruins all sense of safety and privacy people have.  People have bad habits and they need to be able to talk about it somewhere.  This is where.  Leave that be.  Please!  If not here then where?  Hmm?  Tell me.  People will not have anyone to talk to.  This will do more harm than help.  Don’t do this.  For the people’s sake.

  • If you do this… then I’ll just leave.. I won’t even wait for this stupid flag system to go into progress… I’ll leave and take… lots of people with me….. I used to be one of these people who wrote about all my problems on my xanga so I can try to reach other people that share the same problems as me……..

    By mentioning it… I’ve actually helped bring someone out of a depressive state of mind and from hurting themselves just by talking to them

  • Outrageous.  Ever heard of the first ammendment to the constitution of the United States of America?  Not everyone on Xanga may be American, but we still should have rights.  This is a safe haven for people.  Those of us with problems can’t always say it out loud.  Sometimes we feel like it bothers others when we say it, but here it’s different.  No one HAS to read another person’s Xanga.  This helps people express themselves and often saves lives.  I know it’s helped me a lot.  

    I have helped so many of my friends that I met on this site.  I talked them down when no one else would even give them the time of day.  In addition to that, I have been helped by even having a place to express myself the way I do.  If this were taken away from me, then I might go back into my shell.   When I can’t reach anyone else I have my friends from Xanga.  We have support networks on this site that these flags would destroy! 

    If you do this, I will leave along with my best friend.  With her comes a lot of people.  With me comes more.  And with some of the people we bring, well, you won’t have many people left.  Chain Reaction.  It’s called the “Domino Effect.”  Is that you what you want to happen?  Also, are you prepared to be responsible for the deaths of more people than I can count? 

    Think about all THAT before you institute something like this now or anytime in the future.

  • well if you flag people for this than you will lose A LOT of your people…because everyone goes through a phase like that…and your examples might make people think differently…but you have to consider that people need to tlak bout it…and i only got this to tlak to my friend who lives in a different state and he knos i have mental issues nad i have cut and everything and i might not be one of those people that come out and say it but i might mention it or somehting…but it needs to be said for some people…in this day of age these problems are more common…

  • As someone who has been through ana, I support flagging pro-ana sites (and the like), but I share the concern that people who are struggling with EDs or other self-abusive behavior will be flagged when they themselves are not necessarily promoting it. It’s been a long time since I was ana, but there are still days that I struggle, and I want to know that I’m safe to post those struggles online and get the support of my caring friends, many of whom only keep in contact with me via our xangas.

  • OPPS I FORGOT TO ADD THIS IN MY LAST POST ON THIS BS…….

    I GUESS XANGA JUST WANTS TO LOSE 100′S+ OF PEOPLE TO SITES LIKE MYSPACE! I AM ALSO NOT TALKING ABOUT PRO ANA/MIAS & CUTTERS I CAN SEE ALOT OF PEOPLE LEAVING FROM THE BS FLAGGING SHIT!

  • Here is the letter I sent to Xanga because they were shutting down our sites….& now I know why. Just hear me out. I don’t think I can change your mind, but I do hope that you’ll look at this & at least thoroughly read through every one of these sites you come across BEFORE you immediately (& naively) label (or judge) them as encouraging self-harm. Most of us are a SUPPORT GROUP — not a suicide-cult! I see (& post!!) messages & comments all the time telling fellow members to watch out, not to die because it’s not worth all of the effort if you’re just going to hurt yourself in the end!! Do you know how isolating diseases like anorexia & bulimia & eating disordesr are??? Of course you don’t!! I’m aware it’s something you can’t relate with on any level unless you’ve directly had it. But it’s a lifetime thing, & something that whittles away at you & so many people with these things go through their life, day after day, & maybe even die thinking they’re the only soul that has this problem, never even coming to a complete understanding of what this “problem” is because they’ve never had any contact with somebody who doesn’t judge them. I was one of these & spent months & months searching for some kind of validation, some kind of source that says “You’re not a freak & we can’t encourage you but we can support you & love you & be there for you,” but I couldn’t because that’s the opposite of a society. But this community has helped me so much in understanding it & my own self & now I’m at a normal weight but with people who understand it never goes away…Any way, back to my letter, & then I’ll let off…Some people have no sense of perspective…

    “This isn’t about an article. Instead, this is about your reaction to articles.

    First let me state my inquiry…ever since the press has been posting various article about “Pro-Ana” or “Pro-Mia” etc. communities, Xangae have been shutting down, & the rumor is that Xanga is doing it (like Yahoo did a while back with their groups in messenger & such). I contacted the Press section of Xanga because I need you to confirm or deny this…& I need to ask why your choice is to shut us down. Is this violating the Xanga terms? Are you intimidated by the media (I’m not trying to be mean or mocking with this question…it’s just a straightforward, purely honest one that needs a straightforward, purely honest answer)? Do you have some false concepts of our community — thay we’re harmful, etc.? That may seem like an obvious truth (& it can be, I admit, though I’ve never seen it on Xanga), but let me argue my case if it is…

    The Xanga Pro-Ana community is not Pro-Death. We’re not helping each otehr kill each other (Note: I’m speaking for the vast majority here, but not all) — in fact, ever since I found them & discovered I was NOT so isolated & after months & months of searching for something so essential to the human psyche — validation — I have GAINED weight to a normal weight, & most of the girls I know encourage that…we’re not triggering people, we’re not intending to — I know chicks that receive IMs from naive girls (“omg I need to lose ten pounds so can you help me be Ana for like a week??”) & they just block them or warn them (“that’s NOT a good idea…lose it the healthy way) — we’ve posted eating plans for girls in recovery, healthy work-your-way-up-to-1000-calories-at-least diets, & you’re not going to get that at treatment centers & clinics where they don’t understand you & shove plates of bacon in your face the first day, which is so insensitive it’s ridiculous.

    I know how hard it is to understand us when you’re not anorexic, or bulimic (in which there is NO pride, these girls just need support & love to stop purging which they’re not going to find anywhere else in our society so shutting them down is really hardest on them as well as the rest of us) or haven’t ever been — but all I’m asking for some answers. I know this may not be the case…I’m truly hoping this is one big misunderstanding: Anti-Ana groups hacking into other people’s accounts & closing them down…something you can do something about & prevent.

    Because these girls (& guys particularly who are even more isolated than we!) are freaking out. We’re concerned that our support, our encouragement, our strength & our validation & our love, incredibly-bonded community is being threatened.

    I only wish to know if it is, & if this is indeed the case, I just need to know why. Thank you, please reply, or send it to somebody that can answer me or send me an e-mail to contact…

    I know you may have been receiving other e-mails lately, but please reply to this one & I can tell everyone else, calm them down, at least let them know so we can decide what to do next (not a protest, but we need a another form of communication if you can’t allow us to have it here) — & for this reason please don’t shut down my site for a while, at least. Or let me know before you do. I don’t know if you can do that much…I’m sure you’re all very busy & I know this e-mail is almost ridiculously protracted, but I’d appreciate it, & it would benefit you. Thank you.
    Sincerely, Kedzie”

    Thank you for hearing me out if you read this. I hope I at least helped you see what this announcement is doing. Without this community, I think a good number of us would be dead, because isn’t that what suicide is? I’m not threatening something like that…too dramatic. But in all seriousness…we can’t turn to our family (they’re probably the root of the cause), we can’t turn to most doctors (once we’re at a normal weight or if we’re not on the brink of death they don’t take us seriously), we can’t turn to most of our friends (they don’t understand & try to be controlling — “You should eat, you ought to eat, we’re going to make you eat). I’ll admit, this does not apply to all of us…we do have our pockets of “to-the-death” Anas, but we’re not encouraging those. At least, the vast, vast majority of us don’t. That’s all I’m going to say for now. Thank you, sincerely, Kedzie.

  • a FAQ for fat people

    am i overweight?
    probably. to tell for sure, follow these simple steps!
    1. weigh yourself.
    2. compare your weight to what you should weigh.
    3. if you weigh more than you should, you’re a fatty!

    oh no! now what do i do?
    there’s only one thing to do, hon. kill yourself immediately.
    or, at the very least, stop eating altogether.

    trust me, you’ll be doing humanity a big huge fat chunky overweight obese service (no pun intended!).

    Cheers!

  • WOW my bad…I left props — wth is wrong with me? Well here’s a little edit on my part…I wish there was some kind of negative props system…If you shut down these connections, you’ll be shutting down my sole line of true support & true venting & support. You’ll be shutting down that for everybody else, because you know what??? MOST OF US AREN’T “ANOREXIC” (aka emaciated, “unhealthy,” on the verge of frigging death) TO GET HELP!!!!! You’re releasing so much more force than you’re aware with this one…

  • i think this is a great idea, but i think hey_its_my_lifex3 is right, you need to make sure you don’t rip that line between helpful and not helpful apart as you do this.

  • I deff have something to add to this one. About 2 months ago I stopped cutting myself. I still feel really depressed. But my fam knows, && although they aren’t doing wack to help me through it, I think it’s up to the parents. I mean, I agree. It is VERY wrong to encourage self destructive behavior. My friend does that. She thinks anyone who cuts is awesome. But if you want to do something to stop it give advice. I mean, my friends all say I should becom a counselour because of the advice I dish out. But we can give them advice, try to help them, && get their parents involved. that’s prob best. Shutting down their sites will only make them go elsewhere to do the same thing

    You have to be carefull with sensitive people. I know, I am one.

    <3×3

  • Oh and I meant to give you 0 eprops. If I could, I would give you negative eprops. I have lost the little respect I had for the xanga creators and editors. Whoever thought this idea up, know that you are a extremely hated now.

  • well honestly im confused by this! im in no way advocating anorexia to ANYONE! i would never wish anorexia on anyone, however it helps me to talk to people who understand me. too all of thoes people who are commenting here : more power to you,  or stop them.if our sites are anoying to you then stop looking at them. i will be the first to admit that anorexia isn’t something to look up to. but no one who has never been anorexic or bulimeic will ever understand what these “pro-sites/pro-blogs” do for us. in no way do we try to make more people become anorexic, we are not a cult! xanga is supposed to be an online journal. journals are where you write about your normal days. its not my fault that most of my normal days are made up by my desiease. are you going to shut down sites about cancer? they talk about their diseases alot. how about any site that talks about their depression? i have depression. some days are good and some days are bad, just like my anorexia. so are you really going to shut down my site beacuse i have chemical problems in my brain?  because i dont sugar coat my life? because im brutally honest about my experiances with my diseases? check out erika’s lighthouse , an organisation about a girl i know who commited suicide. do you really think that site should be shut down because it admits that people with sever depression cannot control most of their actions? or that people with depression dont understand the concequences of self harm? not beacuse they are stupid, or beacuse they just dont care, but because they have brain problems? honestly, to me shutting down all these sites is like telling people with depression or anorexia or other socially unacceptable problems (that are not a fault, they are a problem and the people with them are victoms! ask doctors and they will tell you that mentally people with these problems dont understand them the way other people with normal brains do.) that their life isnt ok, that they are bad or stupid beacuse they cannot control themselves as normal people can. these desiases are not a choice. they are not a game. none of us woke up one day and decided “hey i think ill go starve to death.” . if anything you should be banning the sites that say “anorexic people suck” or “anorexic people should die” . yes there are blogrings that say that. now you tell me, do you think that is helping people with their disorder or pushing them further into it. i know that when i saw thoes blogs i felt so awlful i felt suicide was not permanet enough. i got this way becaus e of people who told me i was stupid or ugly or unworthy. thoes site are the only ones that i can see as harmful.  are you helping solve the problem or are you a part of the problem? from where im standing your a part of the problem. my friends site was just shut down by you guys, jane. jane never advocated anorexia, she never told anyone they were fat asn should consider an eating disorder. all she did was post daily on her intake her weight and how she was doing emotionlaly. all she did was suffer and you punished her for it.-congratulations, really great job, you guys got rid of a site that was ‘tainting’ your reputation! really wonderful! but wait what was she doing wrong? having a disease is wrong? she never told people it was cool or that it was the latest fad or how fun it was. she never gave tips to people in hopes that their anorexia would get worse. luckly before you cancelled her site and destroyed her only connection to people who understood her we found a way to keep communicating. want to know what she is up to now? well since you lovely people cancelled her site she lost so much weight she almost died because in HER words “im so alone with out you all, i can;t make it wiht out you. i have no controll anymore. i wsih that i could just go back and talk to you all again. will you tell everyone  to have me in their prayers? i really miss everyones support……” and with out being able to get uplifted by the only people who know how she has been hospitalized 3 times for attempted suicide. saying that she did it because she was so lonely and couldnt open up to people who didnt know what she was meaning.  so i ask you, do you want to create more janes? caus eyour well on your way! so for that i say congratulations! consider this, whos more harmful? then make the decision to help instead of hurt and keep our support systems going, if anything stopm out the sites that advocate the death of desieased people.

    ~Jenn

  • oops i left props, that was a mistake! no props here. to me your the only ones who are pro-death.  i have had commetns form normal people asking if i could help them be ana to lose soem weight (my friends have also had such comments) immediately they get about 10 comments from anorexics warning them that anorexia is no fad-not somethign that they should try to do. we also block them. anorexia is serious we dont recruit like a cult. we support thoes whos bodies have already been claimed by the disease. when any one who asks me how to lose weight i simply say eat healthy and exercise. i also include a little warning that anorexia is not somethign to be proud of, or to want . its a curse. how is that harmful?

    no props on this comment or my other one. i dont want to encourage your mistake.

    ~Jenn

  • It’s bad that there’s so much of it, but Xanga alone isn’t equipped to deal with these subjects at all. Knowing of these sites is only good to you if you can refer them to experts living in the same locale as the author(s). Otherwise, your meddling, however altruistic, will not have the intended effect.
    And if being picky about who makes a good member is your forte, then you can be held accountable in part for their suffering, at least in my books.
    Be careful about how you handle this one – something needs to be done, but it is a very hot potato.

  • Only if there was negitive props………wouldnt that be grand!

  • I’m not going to get mad ,but I come to Xanga to write about my eating disorder because no one else knows about it these other girls help me and support me. If you do this I don’t know what I’ll do.

    ~Sincerely~  

  • This is ridiculous and awful. Although I am not anorexic or bulimic and I feel for those who are, you cannot shut their sites down just because you think they might cause other people to become anorexic. That’s not their fault, people should be smart enough to understand how awful it is to have an eating disorder. This will not help people with eating disorders, or stop eating disorders in general. People who want to have an eating disorders will find information other ways. You are only causing harm to yourself, because many people will leave because of this and you will lose business, and you will be leaving the people with true eating disorder’s in the dark, because many come onto to xanga to find support. Not to mention that this is supposed to be an area where you can write down your thoughts, regardless of censorship. If you do this, me, and thousands more, will leave xanga. If you go through with this, I suppose good luck is the only thing I can say because you will have a revolution on your hands.

  • AngelVoices: Don’t cite the First Amendment when you don’t understand it. It only says that Congress can’t pass laws prohibiting free speech. Businesses like Xanga are allowed to put restrictions on what is acceptable.

    People with eating disorders don’t need to come here to get support for their disorder; talking about it and seeking help to get better is one thing, but talking about it and seeking help to continue is something else entirely. And let’s face it – Most of the sites are for continuing eating disorders. I think if someone truly wants to get better they should be allowed to talk about it, but I agree with Xanga’s decision to avoid perpetuating the amount of pro-ana/pro-mia blogs.

  • Making comments here and there is okay, in my opinion… but things like blogs and blogrings devoted to self-harm of any kind should be against the rules.

    It’s like giving people a guide to hurt themselves. Or saying that “Yes, it’s okay. We don’t mind that you do this.”

    Follow me?

  • I don’t know what “proana” is, but I myself have discussed my problems with cutting on my Xanga site. I have a Xanga site to work out my issues and connect with others. I do not advocate cutting, I just discuss my own experiences with it. Does that mean I’d be kicked out? I love Xanga. I’d hate that. This is the very first thing Xanga has proposed with which I’ve disagreed.

    If an “online journal” is going to be reduced to a place I can’t even share my own thoughts and struggles, I think it ceases to be a journal of any type. In reading others’ blogs who struggle with the same thing, I have found help and hope. It is therapeutic in a way.

    The other issues for flags I have no problem with, as they are aggressively destructive towards others, but my own struggles and victories are mine to censor, not anyone else’s. I do hope you understand this and limit your censoring to those sites which proactively encourage others to self-destructive behavior, without infringing on the rights of those who need to discuss their own maladaptive behaviors on their journey to wellness.

  • you don’t get it do you? … people use xanga to get out their emotions and vent. no one on here especially a lot of my friends are promoting ana/mia or cutter/burner … we give each other support and help each other through shit. i’m not an advocate to any kind of self harm at all. i am a recovered cutter and yes i am an anorexic but that shouldn’t matter whether or not i can use xanga. if you  decide to use these flags more than half of the users of xanga will disappear. you have to realize that tatletales are tatletales. they only care about themselves and what they like. i know you’re the creater or this site and that’s great, but please look over what you’re trying to prevent. i agree with most of the stuff that you’re wanting to prevent but seriously … why do you want to do away with ana/mia/cutter people. by no means do they advocate it….i’ll say it again, it’s a support system!! i will admit this, i had one xanga[before my current one] and people that hated me would report my stuff all the time. and there was nothing wrong with it! the people who find stuff offensive, when it’s about oh this is what i did last weekend … they are stupid! if they don’t like it then they shouldn’t read it and they shouldn’t try to get people’s sites shut down. there’s no logic behind it. and if it’s parents of kids who use xanga … i have one comment about that, if they’re so concerned about what their kids are reading and doing they can block out sites like this to prevent them from reading it. uhhh, hello .. parental blocks. duh! i am asking you to rethink this flag idea. i’m sure you have more comments than you thought you would have about how this is not a good idea. if you use these flags … then you will loose business by more than half of your users. including me. i will find a different blog site.

  • I understand that sites that promote or encourage self destructive habits should be banned, common sense.

    However, people should have the right to discuss what is going on through their heads, that’s what this online journal is all about.

    So, if someone would like to talk about their recovery or their struggle with anorexia or cutting, I think it would be horrible to ban them for it.

    I know I received much encouragement from fellow xanga users that actually helped me recover from my disorder.

  • I have to say I am anorexic..I’m nto proana though ut I enjoy talking to others who are ging through the same thing I am…I mean I bond with them in a way I can’t bond with my closest friends..I can tell them things that I would never tell my normal friends…that is why I turn to xanga…yeah we encourage eachother when we know they are in the same boat we are and can’t stop but most of us will also tell girls trying to become ana or mia that there are better ways to lose weight. I have never encouraged someone to become ana or mia…in fact my friend started considering bulimia at one point and time and I yelled at her for hours telling her how perfect she looked. Sure we encourage each other but when it comes to someone thinking of recovery you’ll see even more support than anything else…the fact is we have mental problems and cannot help it…you should not shut us down because of this…I know I never mess with the normal people..it’s them that hunt us down and yell at us…if you want to ban us you should also ban those that tell us constsntly we’re stupid and need to get a life…I mean I’m perfectly fine with you taking us off featured content..I mean then maybe people wouldn’t mess with us but we are only talking about our struggles…would you ban someone because they are struggling with AIDs and are looking to others with it for help? I think not that’s a community service…but noo if we are struggling with and eating disorder and go to others for help thats horrid and we should be thrown in jail…both are dieases…and support has never been illegal..we don’t teach people to become ana/mia…I believe it is impossible..and I don’t try..I don’t give tip…because 90% of the time they don’t work…so why ban us we don’t mess with others..

  • This is so ridiculous! Xanga is supposed to be a place where we can express ourselves and you’re just taking that away. No one is supporting anorexia or trying to “recruit” anyone–it’s a disorder not a club! We don’t choose to have this, we just want to meet others who go through the same things as we do so we can talk about our experiences. What I don’t understand is why you’re deleting the sites of people who have a disease and talkg about it and not the people making blogrings like “anorexics should die.” No one is promoting anorexia–this flag is just ridiculous.

  • I may agree with most of the flags *i.e. porn, spam, underage kiddo’s* but not this one. This flag is ridiculous. And I think you shouldnt have a flagging system anyways. It just shows how much you guys dont do your own work. Stop being so lazy. If your so worried about being sued. You might as well shut down the whole effing site. Because your not going to stop it from happening, no matter how hard you try. Now your just going to have a bunch of people on your case for the violation of their first ammendment. Our founding fathers didnt give us freedoms, just for you to take them away.
    sorry

  • Okay so this whole kicking people off of xanga for having a lifestyle that not everyone agrees w/ is ridiculous!!!!!!! I don’t agree with a lot of stuff that is out there but I’m not going to tell them that they cannot communicate their emotions. I use xanga as an outlet for all the emotional crap I go through and the issues I have with food. Getting rid of our sites will only hurt us even more than allowing them to stay. What many people don’t understand is that our lives are not easy and happy… some girls might make it come off that way but that pretty picture is far from the truth. I know that there have been a few times that a comment a fellow ana has made on my site has saved my life. Just knowing that I have support no matter what it said helps me in my everyday struggle. So please consider carefully before you go and destroy a way for people to communicate and help each other through issues that the world doesn’t understand.

  • i appreciate a policy on deleting sites similar to these they are horrible in my opinion when they support each others’ disorder it just makes it easier to continue with it

    i agree with deleting these sites thank you for your consideration and filtering what your site is promoting

  • I say ban the advocacy groups, not the support groups, because as hey_its_my_lifex3 said, there are people who turn to Xanga members for support.

  • i think xanga is supposed to be a journal. yes a public journal, but a journal all’s-the-same. those sites help people find other people like them so they can support eachother because people who are like them tend to be quite a bit more understanding.

    a journal is about a person’s life. and if being anorexic or a cutter is a part of someone’s life, they are going to write about it. if you are going to host a place for people to write about their lives, then let them write about their lives.

    what’s the use of censoring what is actually going on in the world? to shelter people from the truth? that will just make people more oblivious and naive to what’s going on around them. at least if they aren’t so thickheaded about it and realize what’s going on, maybe they will make a damn effort to do something about it instead of pretending it’s not there.

    honestly, pretending something isn’t there, isn’t gonna do shit.

  • i think its a good idea that you know you flag people that write way to much about it but i am recovering from cuttin and an eating disorder so you know i have been to treatment 4 times for it and i talk about it alot to get it off my mind and i use my xanga to talk about it i just dont think that if they are talking about it but not like i cut so deep or i dint eat for like 10 dayz or that they used exlax or something then it should be fine

  • This is a great idea…but…well…*ahem*…this may be a silly question, but does this extend to BDSM lifestyles?
    I’m not trying to be an ass, but some people would lump it all together.

  • I think this is something that needs attention, but good luck trying to filter all these sites out.
    I’m going to be a jerk for a sec and throw my opinion in about most of the previous comments
    It’s really not logical to complain about how most of these “flags” fall under the first amendment of free speech.
    While that may be true, I wonder if it has occured to anyone that xanga and the American government are not in fact the same thing.
    The orginization of xanga can pretty much do what they want, and nobody’s opinion, including mine, can dictate what they are and are not allowed to do.

  • margaret_strikes_again:  Thank you! Finally somebody understands what “freedom of speech” means.

  • I think that if we want to do this to ourselves…it should be up to us. Because it’s up to other people if they wanna look at it, and if they don’t, they should ignore it. But if people like us are delteted from xanga, we will have nobody to talk to that can relate with us. And this could result in severe lonliness and depression…which could result in suicide. So either way…we will hurt ourselves. Let us do what we want.

  • This I’m not happy with…A lot of these flags can be taking up with the police or FBI…And besides what can you do about it besides kick them off the site or report them to the police…and if you do that you will lose a lot of users and you won’t have a site any more…

  • As someone with eating disorders Xanga is a place that I come to express my thoughts since I can’t do it to people I know.  It’s a place to vent, unload, talk to others that are going through the same thing.  I realize having an ED is bad, it’s unhealthy, but I can’t stop.  With or without the Xanga I’m going to continue to have this problem, at least with Xanga I can talk with others, and I know I’m not alone.  If they want to flag me off being featured then go for it, but if you want to delete my Xanga because I use it to deal with my disorder and to express myself instead of using other methods than that would hurt.. a lot..  Seriously think this over.

  • I have seen sites that encourage suicide on zanga they need to be dealt with

  • HA! right.

  • Take your flags and stick them up your ass, where they belong.

    Xanga you anger me.

  • I dont think that pro-ana site should be shut down

    Do you really think that separating the eating disordered person in question from others, ie isolating them will help?

    Will you be shutting down the day to day journals?

    Because ive seen hundreds of them who do not give out ‘Tips’ or any such thing.

  • Great idea.  I’m all for this.  I’ve seen way too many sites that only encourage stuff like this.

  • Anorexia and bulimia, as well as other eating disorders, are diseases. If a person develops one of these diseases, it is not because they viewed “thinspirational” pictures or participated in a challenge to lose weight. Glorifying, advocating, and encouraging eating disorders is wrong, but viewing a web site that does that will not cause someone to develop an eating disorder. Other factors (genetics, environment, personality traits, stressful events) are responsible for the development of an eating disorder. The “proanas” on Xanga.com that are truly in danger are not sick because of any content on a blog, no matter how much it glorifies, encourages, and advocates eating disorders. The majority of “proanas” on Xanga are attracted to the lifestyle (most likely because they are seeking a place where they can belong) but will never develop an eating disorder.

  • While behaviors such as anorexia and self-mutilation are very high on my “Not Good” list, this one would be a toughie to enforce.

    Some people feel as though this behavior isn’t bad, that they deserve it, or that it is no one elses business what they put on their xanga.

    Frankly, you’d be shutting down a whole not of people if you were to do so for information about cutting.

  • FREE XANGA!

    There are plenty of “safe” conservative anti-adult blogging communities already.  Why turn our Xanga into another dilluted sorry excuse for a blogging community?

    Help us keep Xanga FREE! from restrictions.
    Help us keep Xanga FREE! from regulations.
    Help us keep Xanga FREE! from flagging!

    Support the efforts of NFC.
    Join the BXU!  and help us FREE XANGA!

  • I don’t think this is a good idea. What’s worse–starving yourself or gorging yourself on artery-clogging fried chicken? I don’t think pro-ana sites are any worse than KFC commercials. And as for cutters, you’ll just push them into worse self injury by rejecting them. Don’t hurt them. Please…

  • Hi, I would like to report user VIXEN21,  she is advocating self harm. By supporting censorship she is indirectly advocating self harm against all Free Americans. She is advocating self harm against freedom of thought and freedom of expression in Online Blogging.  Please see to it that her site is ShutDown immediately.

    Thank you xangagods.

    -nuke. (Proud member of BXU! -viva revolution!)  I read banned books.

    http://www.xanga.com/Non_Featured_Content 

  • I’m kinda wondering what is going to be the definition of “pro-ana”. The DSMIV requires that the BMI is 17.5 or lower… and doesn’t put a definite regulation on the amount of food the person conusumes. I’m wondering where Xanga is going to draw the line on what is and what isn’t “pro-ana”. I don’t ever encourage people to starve themselves, but sometimes I do dip into the realm of unhealthy eating myself. Will my site be shut down because of it?

  • Oh, yes, I’m such an advocat of self-harm. Oh… Wait.

    I’m an advocat for businesses using the rights they were given to get rid of assholes who think they understand how the American government works. Do you honestly think they’re going to ban me for supporting their system? You tool.

  • Um, there’s so many people that do cutting and anarexia, that it might be a bit hard to keep under control…

  • Not a good idea. It would too easily turn into an all out deletion of people who need a place to talk and turned to the internet. too risky, not enough guidelines. I disagree.

  • ITS THERE LIFE LET THEM FUCK WITH IT!

  • I am not anorexic, bulimic, suicidal, and I warrant no other disease that could label me as “self-harmful” nor do I promote these problems.  However simply shutting these journals down because the owner has a serious problem is not the correct solution to the problem.  Yes, I said problem because I feel that possessing of these diseases is a problem, not that the journals or their users are a problem.  
     
    All people have problems, be they big or small, and many look for an outlet to express these problems and look for help.  Professional help may not always be the best answer because the physicians rarely have gone through the problems that they are giving advice for and many cannot foot the bill in the first place.  The next logical step is to seek out free help, the best coming from peers who share the same experiences and thus offer advice that is relevant, not esoteric to the person with the problem. 
     
    In addition, what exactly constitutes as “self-harmful” behavior?  A person without an eating disorder feels that starving oneself is self-harmful while people with eating disorders feel that eating every other meal at McDonalds is self-harmful.  How can a website that promotes freedom and speaks out against discrimination turn around and discriminate based on what they believe to be self-harmful?  That in itself could be regarded as promoting hate and I believe that hate promoters are under the new flagging system so then wouldn’t Xanga have to be flagged for hating against people they believe are promoting self harm? 
     
    As I said before I do not have one of these problems nor promote them but I believe that everybody should be able to express their true feelings in an online journal, otherwise having one serves little point.  All humans are born with the freedom of choice and if certain things bother you then you can choose not to look at them. 
     
    To those who read this, thank you for your time. 
     
    Amanda
     

  • You can NOT shut down the one place that we can unite. It’s unfair. This is one of the only places that people will support you through recovery. It’s not that we are promoting eating disorders, because we aren’t. You can check every “real anorexic’s” site and they will say the same thing. That they are tired of girls comming on her and pretending. Half of this site is pretend. And the real ones aren’t going to look at the site and all of a sudden become anorexic. There’s no point in shutting this down, because people will find another way whether it’s on your site or not. I honestly can’t believe you are even considering not allowing this. Remember, It’s called freedom of speech. If anyone claims they “got” an eating disorder from looking at these sites, they are full of shit. That is not only unrealistic but impossible. We do nothing but complain how we want to be normal and how miserable we are. If people look at that as something they want, then they were screwed up to begin with.

  • This is an infringement of freedom of speech, you will lose major bussiness due to your beflief of misinformation, propagated by ignorant witchhunters

  • okay so this could be a HUGE problem. how can you shut down someones site for them being anorexic. YOU DONT CHOOSE TO BE ANOREXIC , trust me thats not something you choose and many people who have had it or have it would tell you anorexia is not something you want to go through. sometimes these peoples online blogs are the only way they can REALLY express their feelings and if you take that away then that is just messed up. i dont think you should punish somone for having a mental illness, thats wrong. if you had someone who was mentally handicapped on here you wouldnt take their xanga way for their misfortune and thats what these people with eating disorders, a misfortune. NO ONE choose to have depression or an eating disoder, theyre not something to mess with. so xanga, think of that next time you choose to shut down someone site.

  • i do have to tell you though, pro-ana sites are disturbing and they need to be taken care of. they encourge deadly activites because having an eating disorder is “cool” or “glam”. eating disorders are the totally opposite of glamour. i do believe sites incouraging othersto become anorexic or bulimic should be shut down because there is nothing cool about starvation

  • Well, renee, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I think that sites supporting self-mutilation are immoral and should not be allowed. It’s not a crime to talk about your problems to other people, but I think that saying that hurting yourself is cool only spreads the problem to other people. If you want to be able to discuss subjects like this, you have to be able to do it in a rational manner.

    To all those out there who are considering hurting yourselves, just remember that there are people out there who love and cherish you, and that you need to remember who they are.

    I recently lost a friend to suicide. I really can’t say if talking about it would have helped him, but I can tell you that it is the friends and family of people who commit suicide who suffer. It wouls be great if talking about someone’s problems could save their life, but it would also be awful if someone’s influance caused someone to destroy themselves.

  • honestly, i think you’re fighting an uphill battle. to do that, you’d be eliminating probably over half of the xangas on this site. in addition to this, you’d be taking away something they need: support. there are jsut things you don’t talk about because they’re so much easier to write about. but it’s ok, i can switch to LJ, and i’m sure other people can too. it’s just that xanga was a journal for me for a long time. i’d hate to see that taken away from the people who really need it.

    end of speech.

  • oh, one more thing:
    it helps to write about problems. it always helped me when i really needed help. i lost a classmate of 9 years to suicide about a year ago, and communicating my feelings to my friends from school on xanga always helped. they knew how i felt and i had an outlet.

  • there is a place inbetween advocating and recovery. i dont advocate a “proana” lifestyle, and have never used the term “ana” in my xanga because i think that glamorizes the disease. but i’m not in recovery. i’m not ready to be, and you really can’t force it.

    shutting down people’s sites isn’t going to stop anyone from becoming anorexic, because xanga wasn’t the reason anyone became anorixic to begin with. it’s a place of support, though. you’ll find support no matter if you don’t eat at all, or if you eat healthy while trying to lose weight. that’s the great thing about the community that’s been built here. you have people who understand what you’re going through. yea, some people are doing it because it seems like a fad or for attention…but those people don’t need help because they’ll get over it soon enough. the ones who do need help aren’t going to be helped if you shut down their link to others with the same problem. i’ve been struggling with this since i was 12. i count calories. i know i should eat more, but i can’t. i keep track of my exercise. i’ve never had anyone who i could talk about and could relate to all of that, but on here, there are so many supportive people.

    please don’t take this away.

    and if you do start shutting down sites…there are SO many other blogs people can go to. you’ll only be hurting yourself and not really helping anyone.

  • i don’t think you’ll get a good response on this if rules are enforced…. but indeed, this is not good for xanga, but some xangans do do this…

    but for xanga’s saftey and liability, i vote pro-eliminating it.  because god forbid if nething was to happen to some1 or some people and others decide to blame it on the opportunity that xanga gave… not good… =X

  • p.s. support sites are a-okay!

  • i totally agrree. no more sites with ppl cutting themselves. that would be great

  • Once again, censorship has gone a little too far–if kids are actually dumb enough to be influenced by this, it’s only a matter of natural selection at that point….

  • NFORMATION FROM ANRED: http://www.anred.com/faq.html

    What are pro-ana Web sites? Why do people visit them?

    These sites provide a bizarre and mutually destructive support network for people who have anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Regular visitors to pro-ana sites offer each other unconditional approval and understanding. They also swap starvation diet tips and advice on how to hide their disorders from family and friends. Pictures of emaciated celebrities, and even themselves, are posted, together with envious comments and delight in their wasted appearance.

    Pro-ana people (there are pro-mia people too, those who believe that bulimia is to be celebrated, not recovered from) insist they do not need to recover or be “fixed,” that being emaciated is a lifestyle choice, not a mental illness, that being unhappy and miserable is just fine as long as one is thin, thinner, thinnest. Some maintain that being emaciated is healthy, much more so than being fat. Severe underweight is, of course, never healthy.

    People with anorexia have always been noted for their defiance, and now the Internet has given them a way to easily band together. They seek one another out for consolation and acceptance, and to escape pleas for healthier behaviors from concerned family members and friends. They reinforce each other’s denial and learn to compensate for what, deep down, they know is a deeply flawed way of being in the world. It’s as if they have given up trying to make a place for themselves in the world of normal, healthy people and have settled for membership in a society of the defiantly self-deluded and self-destructive.

    According to Steven Levenkron, author of Anatomy of Anorexia, “If you’re stuck with something that you know makes you different and not so healthy, you’re going to develop a whole repertoire of self-deluding statements to make yourself feel better, recruit more people into your group, and take you out of your isolation and depression.”

    Parents and advocacy groups have tried to ban pro-ana sites from the Internet, but as soon as one is shut down, two more pop up. In the U.S., freedom of speech issues make suppression difficult, and if an ISP is persuaded to remove pro-ana material, supporters can easily move to a Web site host overseas.

  • it’s sad this is even an issue.  you don’t want to kick someone off when they obviously are hurting and have serious problems and there may be positive sites that are there to help them recover from these problems–but i think that’s definitely not a behavior that needs to have sites that encourage it…

  • PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!

    I’LL CRY! :*(

    PLEASE IT’S WE’RE BING SAFE… WE’RE NOT HARMING OTHER PEOPLE…. PLEASE!

    -MANDA

  • I personally support your decision to flag these types of sites, but, I think you will be hard pressed to do so without severe opposition from the folks who, uh, need to eat a sandwich?

    Perhaps if you could impose the flagging only on those who are underage whose journals contain this type of material?

  • I agree with tabin and his comment on the first page of comments — What are the terms for getting flagged and does anyone who mentions feeling in some way mentally unbalanced get flagged as well?

    Xanga is a website that’s number one priority is to provide a space for users to write journals; those same users have already agreed to the terms of use whereby they must be 13+ to begin with. You can’t filter out real life. It is happening and there’s a larger reason for it, which I don’t think Xanga has a right to try and filter it’s users. The users choose to come to Xanga, paid account or not, Xanga cannot choose its users.

    After that, how can you possibly filter out something that is an ongoing problem for both teens and adults? I say instead of going all crazy banning users, why not simply offer links to counselling or a help line of some kind? Either way, the issue of anorexia, bulimia and suicidal tendencies and the reality of the situation will not go away – those same users will find another means to continue writing about it whether you try and weed them out or not.

    Xanga is supposed to be here for users, no matter how crappy or wonderful they feel, so that they may write as they please. This includes people from all walks of life, and regardless of where they came from or who they are, they bring with them their baggage.

    I agree that the ProAna communities aren’t necessarily helping anyone – but give them the chance to help themselves instead. Don’t take the position that this is easily solved or that you’ll succeed at getting rid of people like this, because you’re sorely mistaken if that’s the case.

  • You need to be able to understand the situaiton about self harm TOTALLY before you flag. Very few WILL have that understanding. There is a difference between setting up challenges and encouraging a self harmer.

    I have self harmed, and my psychologist helped me make a breakthrough when he ALLOWED me to do it. My psychologist works for the NHS here in UK and is not a fly by night alternative person, but a sensible solid intelligent guy.

    When one is serioulsy ill, with an illness of the emotions, then it is poossible that self harm is the only way for that unwell person to express emotion. Unless YOU have beent here you will NOT understand.

    Being allowed to self harm, being encouraged in fact to do so, was the start of knowing I was accepted as I was, and the beginning of stopping self harm and starting to express myself differently.

    Someone flagging about self harm could actually be the cause of a sufferer killing themselves. That is not scare talk, but logic. I think this flag is dangerous ground.

    I ran an internet site for people with depression, for 5 years. I met others who self harmed and I encouraged them to understand why they were expressing emotion that way. Over the years individuals faced their deep traumas and slowly began to express emotion in  other creative ways, and slowly stopped the self harm. The key is acceptance and your flag system will possibly do great damage to someone.  The problam is that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and some will use the flag and cause untold distress.

    I realize there is the other side of the issue, but is it your job to police xanga this way?

  • Yes yes yes. My step-son learned self cutting through the internet. Anybody who tells step-by-step instructions on how to harm yourself evidently has issues and who’s to say that their next post won’t be on suicide and how to commit it without failing.

    That does not count for the ones who do it and write their feelings or how it affects them in a post. They have a right to get their feelings out without being harrassed. Maybe someone could encourage them to make their post private or their whole journal private.

  • OK, so I have looked at some xanga sites of memebrs who posted here and who are obviously hurting, emotionally. One site has shut down, because of this flagging idea, which she saw as a threat. I tried emailing her, but there was no email available. I shall try to conenct with her via AIM.

    Self harm is not a morally BAD thing to do. If the above person’s stepson learned self harm, then he has at least SOME way of expressing his emotional pain. Without that, who is to say what would happen to him? Try and imagine how you could express deep pain if none of your feelings were “working” reliably or sensibly?

    Flagging this topic is seen by many to be intrusive, judgmental and frightening. So take note, xanga, and think before you act.

  • This is SO stupid. Don’t ban them, espeshully the cutting sites. Those um actually help people, hello?!?! Banning the sites ISNT going to help them, it’s just going to MAKE IT WORSE!

  • I HOPE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS ILLEGAL… IT’S CALLED FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREE WILL… LOOK IT UP!

  • i’m not sure i understand.  if a user posts information that is construed by one user, two, how many?  that they are advocating self-harm, you’ll do what? shut down their site?  i don’t know if this is the best way to go.  it’s a grey area, determining what is people’s outlet for expression/need to vent, and what is truly detrimental to the web community.  i mean, “pro-ana” could be construed in so many ways.  i think more definite parameters for “flagging” these sorts of sites would be in order.

  • Let me come out of the closet here; I’m a survivor of sexual abuse, and I spent years under treatment for “mental health problems” before training to help others. I can appreciate why you’d want to do this, but because of my own issues, the idea that people will be denied the chance to use blogs to help “work through” their issues – *and advocating their behaviour may be a step in that process* – angers me because two decades ago I was an outcast teenager doing self-destructive things with nowhere to express myself.

    I’m not saying all of the stuff out there has therapeutic value, but I’m worried that Xangagods who, to my knowledge, have no professional knowledge of or training in mental health issues, would be making the value judgements.

    Okay, it’s not your job to look after people’s mental health. It’s just that casting out people who already often feel like outcasts doesn’t seem to me like a very good solution.

  • i firmly believe that anorexia is a disease and NOT a lifestyle choice.i also believe i am suffering from anorexia nervosa.

    listen, any tips people provide, the real anorexics are gonna already know them.they’re just common sense really.the wannabe’s will flirt with AN but never actually develop it.as for those that do…by seeking out pro ana sites, they’ve demonstrated an illogical disordered thought.they’d most likely develop it anyway.i know i started starving before i even knew what xanga was.

    you can’t deny that these journals are a space for people to vent their awkward emotions among people who understand.its a kind of therapy.its nice to know im not alone.its good to have people who truely understand me, it makes this life a little easier to live.

    self harmers and anorexics are like alcoholics: they’ll do it one way or another, no matter how much control you think you have over it.if they’re going to starve or cut or hurt themselves, they’ll do it.with or without xanga.taking away the one space where they can express openly how they feel about it is not going to help, you’ll only isolate them more emotionally.

    i can honestly say i did not pick up any starving tips or cutting tips on xanga that i did not know already.

    and some people are giving this information in an effort to save the health of the affected.if im going to self harm, isn’t it better that i know how to avoid the major arterys, use a clean blade and learn first aid then go it alone and end up bleeding out?isn’t it better that my anorexic contacts can say to me “love, you’re getting too obsessed, time to find help” WHICH THEY DO rather than being completely blinded to the truth?

    just think it through before you take away the lifeline of thousands…

  • I support this a lot.

    By the way, people, stop talking about “Ana” and “Mia” like they’re your best buddies. They are DISORDERS that do a lot of damage to millions of people. Same with “Casi”. Stop giving them cutesy names and start calling them what they are. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and self-inflicted mutilation. There IS something wrong with all three of them, and just because you’re a teenager who feels bad doesn’t mean it’s right. You need help, not a place to tell others how to join your disordered thinking.

    Talking about them is one thing, but promoting them should never, EVER be allowed.

  • By the way, yeah, a pro-ana site won’t “make” you anorexic.

    But I have a friend who RELAPSED BECAUSE OF A PRO-ANOREXIA WEBSITE. It does happen, so maybe we should care less about “free speech” (which, legally, this might not fall under anyway – do some research) and start caring about the people that you’re convincing to harm themselves to the point of hospitalization. It’s not only you that you’re affecting, so try caring about the well-being of others, even if you can’t care about your own health.

    Again, yes to the flag.

  • not liking this one so much..

  • good luck.

  • ummmm, good luck with that one… this is such a can of worms.

  • I severely doubt that this will even be read, but I must speak out anyways.

    I have an eating disorder. I live a very destructive life at times. Now that that’s out in the open, I can freely say this and hope you understand.

    The sites that have “ana love” are completely different from those suffering from Anorexia Nervosa, or any other eating disorder for that matter. I completely understand the desire to get rid of “challenges” or sites that promote the beginnings of disorders, but for some of us, this is all we have. I have fallen very low at times, coming close to death on more than one occasion, and the only thing that pulled me through the rough times were my friends on Xanga that had suffered and experienced the same issues. Without their sites, I would not be here today. A lot of the girls whom are truely suffering need to feel supported and need to know they are not alone in all of this mess. This system could take away the very life support that some need.

    Of course, there are sites out there promoting unhealthy behaviors, but that does not mean that the readers of such sites have to follow instructions. It’s their decision to listen to the words on the page, the writer has no control over how much food a person eats or how much blood a person loses.

    If this is read, and you’d like to debate the issues or get a further understand, my e-mail is B3lov3dB3tray3r@hotmail.com

    <3

  • I think you should take the “hide” part out.  What if some people are struggling with a self-harm behaviour that they can’t stop but are getting help for, and just want a way to keep “the whole world” from knowing about it?

  • what about the people on here who come for support from other people who suffer from eating disorders?

    we don’t promote this stuff.  we deal with it.  and talk about it.

    but to the “pro-whatever” sites, those I can’t complain about being shut down.  these people seem to think that an eating disorder is a diet or something you do for fun.  it’s not, it’s an illness and it annoys me that people consider it a game.

  • this one;s gonna be difficult to do, to say the least.

  • I agree with tabin being a cutter and dealing with depression and an eating disorder wasn’t easy, I talked about it in my site…..would that be considered avocating, would my site be shut down?

    I should say thank you for xanga so I could talk about things like this it’s easier than approaching someone face-to-face, I reached out to friends before I only knew as aquaintances at school, and got help, xanga helped me recover. I found help and I’ve been recieving treatment and made enormous progress and I’m living and loving life again!

    I understand the need to monitor topics like this, if you could find a way to define avocating and reaching out for help/talking about it be my guest and enforce it that would be amazing! Just keep people like me in mind when deciding    

  • YES. Yesyesyesyesyes!!! I’m so glad xanga is recognizing this problem.

    That said, there are probably going to be many loopholes in this one in particular.

    This one is probably my favorite.

  • You’re going to have a really hard time defining who stays and who goes with this one.

    I, personally, disagree totally with the shutting down of sites that Xanga doesn’t feel meets it’s criteria of ‘safe’. There are many illegal activities that go on that are discussed daily on blogs and in blogrings, but these are not up for being shut down.

    Mental illnesses such as eating disorders and depression are real, it’s sufferers are real, and shutting down these sites will not make the owners stop the ‘self-destructive’ behaviour. They will continue to act as they see fit, only they will no longer have that crucial support-network to help them out when they are at their lowest point. I personally know of several ladies who have told me that without the support that they found in women on Xanga, they may have taken their own lives.

    Xanga provides a safe-haven for those who suffer to talk to others who are going through the same thing, and helps them to realise that they aren’t, in fact, as alone as they thought they were. Shutting down these sites is far too drastic.

    I think that a pop-up that explains that the content of the site is adult or triggering would be better. A banner at the top of the site would work just as well. I do agree with removing pro-ana/pro-mia sites from featured content, because not only do some people not want to find those sites on the front page, but also the owners of the sites usually don’t want random strangers walking in on their personal page and, usually, leaving hateful comments. I have had this happen to me in the past, and found it extremely distressing.

    I don’t advocate my eating disorder, and never have. I don’t advertise my site, and most of my entries are protected to stop strangers reading about my struggles, but what if I were to one day forget to privatise an entry, but disclosed details about the daily struggle I endure as a person who suffers with an eating disorder? Would I then be flagged and have my site shut down?

    If you keep this flag it is a huge violation of the right to free speech. As people have already pointed out, if you click on the link, you take the risk that what you read might offend you. Usually people’s personalities or the content of their site is somewhat indicated in their username and profile picture, so if reading about eating disorders offends you, and you come across a link to a site of, for example, I_love_being_skinny, and there is a picture of a very thin model as the profile pic, use your common sense and don’t click on it. It’s basically about the individual’s discretion.

    Sorry for the essay, but this really struck a chord with me and I think needs to be thought about long and hard before any further action is taken on these sites.

  • Might as well just remove all under 15′s..

  • I agree with the comment above.

    - squee

  • If a person places an actual threat to harm themselves such as a suicide note, law enforcement should be notfied so that they can intervene and get help for that person.

  • I am torn between weather or not to support this category. If you could understand, that some people are strictly blogging for recovery and positive encouragement. Yes, there are few who do instigate and mock others negatively, even some who fake their identities to fit in with certain crowds. But really, isn’t it their right to that? I know that this is a site created by apperent computer geniouses, but can you deny people, their freedom of speech in their blog? Other bloggers already put those with mental illnesses down enough. And, if there were blogrings created for specific mental and social illness topics, then why are you trying to censor them now? Though, I do not know if you people really have any control over the blog rings. As stated by fellow commenters, this will most likely cause more harm than good. You just can’t label a person by what they post in their xanga.

  • wait, so suicidal thoughts are illegal? is it punishable by death? haha.

  • I’ve seen a lot of crap like thinspiration.

    I can understand people needing to lose weight

    however these “challenges” where you go on a liquid diet for a week and get points for taking laxatives, diuretics, and purging isn’t healthy and prolly will result in some one going to the hospital or even dieing.

    So I say the sooner the better for these flags.

  • I think this is definitly needed. There are way too many sites and Blogrings that support very harmful lifestyles. I wish all those people health and happiness. I know banning their sites won’t stop them from starving themselves to death, but maybe it will remove one source of support for this terrible way to deal with problems and will prevent one person from starting.

  • Personally I believe that everyone is entitled to a chance to talk about whatever they want….xanga should make a new page listing rules about how far a person can take it before they’re are kicked off.  That way everyone knows what to expect and can make their own choice and take their own risk in putting it on their site.

  • What about people who eat TOO MUCH?  People do all sorts of self-destructive things.  (I ate an entire box of donuts, then mentioned it on my site.  Will that get me flagged?)  Anyway, I’m all for getting rid of the sites that promote these behaviors.  I’m not sure I like the thought of blocking these kids out all together.  Further isolating them socially could have negative effects as well. 

    It’s a complicated issue, and I don’t have the perfect solution.

  • people are people man……people do what people do….and thats it

  • I dont know about all this flagging business. In all fairness, these are peoples journals, they can write whatever they want to write as far as I am concerned. If others dont like it, they dont have to read it. Unless I am getting the flagging all wrong and it exsists mearly to inform others before they enter a site if it contains nudity or something. But come on, too much personal information? It is a journal site, right? Just my opinion, but I dont like them much. Dont get me wrong, Im addicted to xanga, so I will keep using it, I just wont like the flags and may leave annonomous comments on how I dislike them. LOL. Anywho, its my opinion that we write to express, and we are going to write things that may offend others. It just happens. I vote NO on the flags.

  • PS Shutting down someones site, their vent, perhaps their only vent, to their problems of everyday life.. congo rats on the genious who thought that up. If you are worried about kids killing themselves, give them more room to express, not less…

    Again NOOOO to the flags and shutting down sites and whatnot!!!1

  • I don’t really agree. I think that things like challenges and whatever should go and not makeing the very “pro” sites featured, but I think that if someone wants to lose weight regardless of how fat or skinny they are they should be able to talk about it.
    But further…what would you say is “proana”? Is just talking about haveing an eating disorder considered that? and even those recovering have days when they’re like: “I want to be 90 lbs and yayad-yadda…” so would you shut it down then?
    I think this is a very misunderstood thing…as is most mental illness. Also…as with ALL mental illness it’s not something that you can learn or catch by reading “pro” material. It may trigger something, yes, but nothing that wasn’t already there and would probaly be triggered later anyway.

  • i think people should be allowed to post what they want…we have parents…i mean these are our own personal blogs so who gives xanga the right to tell us what we can and cant right about.

  • dont do it… i use my xanga to release myself from the tension of cutting most of the time, that could be taken and glorifying it on some occasions when, actually, i never want anyone to do it let alone try it…

  • I just wanted to let you know,

    not all of us are “proana.”

    Anorexia’s been a battle for me for a loong time,  I’ve been in and out of treatment who knows how many times anymore… This is the one place I come where these girls and guys understand me and what I am talking about.

    None of us, want to have anorexia, unfortunately, it’s harder than you’d think to get help. None of us support “pro-ana.” There’s a difference between “I think I’m fat, help me lose some weight. I am anorexic.” and actually being anorexic.

    Just letting you know. I hope you take time to consider everything I write in  here.

    I mean, of course, some sites could be deleted for being “pro-ana.” We wouldn’t mind. Because “pro-ana” is stupid. But, our blogrings, are just ways we can get to the people who need us most or who we need most faster. It’s so much more than just tips and tricks and whatnot.

    I just posted this on my site yesterday:
    there is a biggg difference between “pro-ana” (which is stupid.), and anorexia. just letting some of you know that, who think it’s fun to be “pro-ana.”

     

  • As long as it is still acceptable to talk honestly about my anorexia -which includes my ambivolence towards recovery – I dont have a problem. In fact, I dont think there are many truly ‘pro-ana’ xangans, not in the sense of promoting eating disorders to the wider world. There are, however, lots of blogrings and individual blogs for those of us who are already eating disordered and intending to continue with our behaviour but are not in any way promoting that behaviour to others. There is a BIG difference between promoting EDs and offering each other support. Recognising this is the greatest problem I forsee with the flagging system.  

  • Good on Xanga for wanting to protect its readers from destructive behavior. However, there’s a HUGE difference between the “I have anorexia, and I just want to type my struggles,” sites and the “Everyone should be pro-ana, fat people suck, I only weigh 86 pounds, here’s my TTT’s!” sites. The latter need to go with great haste. The former do not. The trick is to determine which is which.

  • In all honesty, I think the flagging system will do no good for xanga in the long run. A ton of people read the article about the proana sites in the New York Times, giving xanga not the best image on earth. Talk about negative publicity… It only makes sense that xanga would want to do something to fix its image after that blow.

    Regardless, so many of us have noticed how xanga is starting to get old anyway. This is extremely noticable, so noticable that xanga knows it too. People are abandoning their xangas for a myspace account and even for Facebook. This just goes to show that any anorexic or bulimic can go somewhere else. You shut down one site, they can start up another.

    Just because xanga shuts down a persons page, it doesn’t mean that a person is going to stop with their destructive behavior. It simply means that they’re going to be angry with xanga and take their woes and potentially their business elsewhere. Not to mention, in this day in age, it is so easy to simply get another e-mail account and start a new site. it takes all of three minutes. If girls want to look at “thinspiration”, Google image search can provide them with that.

    Whereas things like kiddie-porn, porn in general, and racist-threats ARE illegal, being anorexic or bulimic and wanting to talk about it is NOT.

    Truth be known, it will be hard for xanga to draw the line between “encouragement” in the long run.

    I think it’s sad that xanga really only cares about its self image, as much as it would like to pretend it’s keeping an eye out for those people who are Ana/Mia/Casi. Truth be known, you can’t stop it, you can’t help them. But way to try being valiant anyhow.

  • You are gonna have a hard time getting all of these

  • you cant just delete proana sites etc. xanga doesnt work like that. thats discrimination. what if anorexic people or people who cut etc..need to talk to other people in their situations about that stuff. you guys will have no luck at this. whatever go fuck yourselves.

    *Nicole*

  • Theres always some other way in…….. besides, do you ever concider this being  sort of a psychologist for some? I was extremly depressed, but getting to write out my feelings really, really helped. Talking to a person face to face, isnt always the best. Being “proana” is a sickness, and needs treatment.  Doctors cant always help. Xanga – friends can.

  • Just food for thought:
    and please don’t misread this as any pro disorder ideology, but here are a couple of things that medical science has found to be self-destructive mental disorders in the past:

    homosexuality.

    slaves who wanted to escape their masters.

    That said, some things, yes, should probably be looked at. Whether it’s better to put bandaids on the symptoms (these sorts of websites) or frankly examine what might be a source of the problems (our sexist, heteronormative, capitalist culture, maybe) is up to … well, it’s certainly not up to me. It would probably be much more cost effective to do the flag thing, but could we please also flag sites that glorify corporations, “retail therapy,” fast food, fossil fuels, Hummers (like the cars, not the sexual act.) and possibly staying out until all hours of the night, smoking cigarettes and drinking cheap, lousy beer with your old college buddies?

  • this one really stinks. kids need places to vent and be accepted

  • i think it’s a good idea.

  • omg yes, there is nothing more infuriating than these sites that gleefully promote self-injury. By the way, self-harm is in no way “normal” or a “teenage phase”, its an indication of SERIOUS MENTAL DISTURBANCE and should be taken very seriously, which is hardly what these blogrings on xanga do! Rather they seem to celebrate self-harm which i doubt xanga is out to advocate.

  • This flag is complete crap.
    Sorry, but it is.
    People have a right to free speech.
    It’s guaranteed in the constitution.
    Just because somebody doesn’t like it mean that it can be taken away.
    Who is Xanga to say people can’t have one of the rights America supposedly prides itself upon?

    If you shut down their site, they’ll just start another one.
    If you shut down that site, they will start yet another.
    And the cycle continues.

    If this flag goes into effect, I will personally violate it with new xangas at every possible opportunity.
    I will encourage others to do so as well.
    And so help me god, for every site that is shut down, five will appear.

    Have a nice day,
    Jessy

  • Advocating and the consequent action are two different entities entirely.

    If I am a cutter, then I am a cutter, if I am so foolish so as to expose my heart to the wide wide world that is the Internet, that is my problem and my problem alone.  Perhaps I wish to connect with others like myself for, if nothing else, a bit of constancy and peace.

    If my hypothetical pictures of me slitting my wrists encourage you to begin (or continue) cutting, then congratulations, you’re stupid.  There is a tremendous intellectual bridge to span between the field of self-destruction and the field of the propagation thereof.

    This is absolutely harmless free speech.  The only harm done is when you take the razor blade to the underside of your arm and decide that it’s not worth it anymore.  I am not one of their number, but for some peers of mine, Xanga is the only refuge they have, a refuge where they can associate with their like and do so in the anonymity of the Internet.

    Crushing free speech and expression on Xanga will not serve to erase the emotions and sentiments behind said speech.  All that is accomplished is that a sterilized, safe, and poorly cross-sectioned part of the world remains.  And there is a bigger question at hand.

    Where do you draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable?  Where will the domino fall next?

  • And by the way, these Orwellian types who refer to self-harmers as “diseased, abnormal individuals” are the type that will crush the world under their heels.

    The new neo-Nazi.  Trading in swastikas and genocide in for shopping malls and apathy.

    Godspeed.

  • I hope you’re prepared for the censorship lawsuits that this will bring.

  • A FORMAL PETITION

    The parable of the village

    (Dedicated to NFC.)

    There was once a community I knew and loved. I lived there for three years. It was a very friendly, nice, open town– one of the ones you see in old movies, where everyone knows each other, and even if they didn’t they’d take time out of their day to say hi. Even though it was big, it was still familiar. You could stay there a night or ten thousand nights, and still feel the same: as if you belonged. You could always find your place where you’d be appreciated.

    It sat in a county with other communities similar to it. You know, kind of like the suburbs: drive for twenty minutes and you’ll find an eeirily similar replica. But the wonderful thing about this one was its openness. Really, it was unparalleled. I think that’s why it went wrong.

    Of course we had our problems. People living there weren’t perfect; no one is. I remember some horrible things happening; the kind of things local news programs just eat up. Mostly theft. A kidnapping and a few rapes, I think. And of course there was death. Where there is life, there is, ultimately, death. But whenever there was a death, the community would rise up in a wave of support. Though most had never met the dead, they would still give their comments of support for the family, or wishes for a content afterlife. Even though someone had left us, it was still almost an uplifting experience to see everyone living and going on in spite of what happened.

    It was diverse without meaning to be, too. That’s also why I liked it so much. The place I live now is basically all one skin tone, mostly conservative Christian, and even the liberals are more moderate than anything else. Radical thinkers need not apply. But where I used to thrive was teeming with new people, new ideas– as close as you can come– and even the silly kids (emos, goths, annas, the like) were endearing if only because they added to the mix. I could be in a bible discussion full of middle-aged moms one week, and an argument about whether Elliott Smith or Conor Oberst would win in a fight with some indie kids the next.

    But most everyone ignored the glaring differences and focused on the similarities. They all wanted the same thing, that’s why. They all wanted a community where they would be accepted and appreciated and loved. Together, we were all able to deliver that. Only together did it work. If you didn’t want to be friendly, you wouldn’t make problems; you would simply stay in your little corner. There was a certain amount of conformity involved in the community: be nice or we won’t really tolerate it. It was a conformity in exchange for a relatively safe, hapy community. I didn’t mind. I liked it. I felt safe and loved and intellectually stimulated.

    Then. Oh, then. The reason I moved away.

    The neighborhood town village whatever thing next to us had this huge investigation. Apparently there’d been more than the usual amount of underage illegal activities. The place I live now is going through this as well. Lots of underage drinking, drug use, and of course everyone’s confused about the cutting and anorexia obsessions. Plus, all this stuff was leading to more rapes and kidnappings. A lot of out-of-towners were coming in and, instead of joining the open community, were staying on the fringes and causing trouble.

    Parents were getting worried, paranoid, and distrustful of newness. Kids, if they weren’t getting paranoid too, were getting taken advantage of.

    I remember the day I realized I had to leave. I went to a neighbor’s house. It was a neighbor I wasn’t all that close with but we still recognized each other and talked occasionally. When I knocked and no one answered, I went to open the door. This isn’t unusual; usually if you did this, nine times out of ten you’d get an open door. People were used to their friends and neighbors dropping by unannounced and making themselves at home. That’s why we were all so close.

    But the door was locked.

    This sounds absurd, in retrospect. But it was like a physical blow at the time. It was the first realization I had that now, we were not a community. We were individuals who happened to live close together. We were protecting ourselves from each other. It was ridiculous, I thought; why would I need to be protected from the people around me? We all want the same thing. Why would someone want to ruin that? And why, if there were people like that, would we allow them to continue to exist?

    But then I wondered how, if not through protection, we would be able to get rid of those strangers who didn’t share our vision for the community. I didn’t know. I couldn’t think of anything. I wanted to protect everyone, but I didn’t want to lose our openness. I wanted to have it so that everyone was safe, but so no one had to think about it. Basically, I wanted the impossible.

    But my community? My lovely, open community? No. It couldn’t be happening.

    Things went downhill from there.

    Like me, most people didn’t know where to start. They didn’t really want to protect themselves, and so eventually they were taken advantage of, or made to protect themselves. In an attempt to curb this violence and paranoia, the police, or the mayor I don’t know I wasn’t really paying attention to politics then, tried to put some curfews and new regulations in place. This didn’t work at all. They were too rushed, too vague, too restrictive for a community that was used to seeing their police officers in the bar with them on Friday nights, laughing about the weekly gossip and antics of the teenagers in the Commons. Now, they had to enforce rules they didn’t want to; they witnessed things they never thought they’d see. They had left to get away from this. In the deep of their minds, it felt like the badness had followed them.

    Everyone had that feeling.

    I live now in a place where no one would ever think to leave their doors open, or even their windows. They know what to do with people who mean harm: lock them up, drive them out– or, even better, never give them the chance to enter in the first place. Everyone has security devices and all this fancy stuff that I mostly don’t understand. I don’t understand because I never had to deal with it before. I was never threatened before.

    The fun, the innocence, the basic goodness that made the community so special was being destroyed by the unstoppable waves of change, the bleak change that local news channels love to just eat up.

    My life was in that community for three years. I left before I could see it die completely. I felt it for a place that was already dead.

    -Ren

    *****************************

    To: The Xanga Team

    On April 21st, Xanga announced that it would seek to establish a system of flagging in response to recent litegation involving other online communities. Effective immediately all user interaction in exercising free thought and expression will be stopped and/or regulated.

    This is a formal petition to please ask Xanga to reconsider their decision and continue in preserving this last bastion of FreeSpeechOnline -as the Only remaining free_thought internet community that we so dearly cherish. For a more detailed description of the situation please see this effort and support: http://www.xanga.com/Non_Featured_Content -the no_censorship community

    Sincerely,

    TheUndersigned

  • What about smoking? Drinking? How much drinking? Does it go by volume, certified BAC at time of typing, bodyweight, description of inebriated renderings of Christmas carols outside the Jewish neighbors home on Passover? The pro-ana sites are disgusting- but would you rather have those troubled kids in the open talking about their problem, and being exposed to the public’s reaction, or hiding their problems away in secret and shame- as if THAT ever cured anyone of a mental illness?

  • I think it’s a really bad idea. Whatever happened to free speech? People can’t become anorexic or bulemic just by reading about other people who are. Are you going to shut my site down because I have disorders?! WTF. Seriously. Try walking in our shoes.

  • I think this is a great flag, as long as it is, in fact, used for “A site advocating, encouraging or glorifying self-destructive behavior (such as anorexia or cutting).” I don’t think a flag on a site which is not actually glorifying self injury should result in the site’s closing, even if the owner of the site ISN’T in recovery like others suggested. Xanga would just have to be very wise when dealing with these flags in making sure they’re not shutting down users whose intention is not “pro-ana” or triggering others, even if they aren’t in recovery.

  • outrageous. this won’t stop peopel with eating disorders, and it certainly won’t help. Peopel need to open their eyes to everyhting in the world, not shut it down, in a attempt to “help”

  • there’s alot of those around there! even on featured!

  • are you people idiots?! they arent trying to STOP eating disorders…theyre trying to stop people inspiring others to HAVE eating disorders

  • here’s something just for this ban you assholes (check my pic haha) flag me silence me destroy me freedom of speech and castrate me while you’re at it

  • thank  you. those sites really need to disappear. there is a difference between venting and making a spectacle of one’s self for everybody to gawk at.. i have friends who have gone through similar problems and it irritates them to know that cutting/eating disorders have become fads.. but yeah, be careful with this one.. it might cause a bit of controversy.

  • ABOUT TIME! Jesus Christ….Sigh. No one even has anorexia anymore. They just do this as a sort of “diet” because they’re fucking lazy and won’t eat veggies or exercise. I hope the other blogging sites will do this too!

  • Um, isn’t this really just tossing aside the people who need the most help? Banning it won’t get them help and you can’t report them.  When people post stuff like that, it usually means they want help and attention.  Talking to them about it would be better.  Simply banning them will ensure that they’re dead within a few years, at least.  All that this method does is succeed in ignoring people who need help.

    All people want to do these days is ignore society’s problems.  I don’t see how it will do any good.

  • news update: slitting your wrists is fun!

    Cheers!

  • No. This is fucked up its there lifestyle. 50 years ago if xanga had existed you could’ve made the same argument that someone homosexual was hurting themselves, and that they need to go. WTF, if you want to turn a blind eye to this part of society do so at your own disgression…

    I guess thats what the xangians are doing.
    These rules make me not want to write anymore.

  • i dont like this one….only..

  • i know of a lot of people that i need to flag
    but there is no flag feature on their xanga.
    help!
    -sam

  • by the way, i think this flag is amazing.
    there are kids on here that need help and aren’t getting it because they aren’t looking for it. they are looking for people to encourage their behavior. i think this is amazing.

  • I agree with tabin. I myself am a cutter. I don’t post anything on my site about how to better hide your scars or what tools to use or anything like that. But sometimes I do post about cutting. Not all the time, but once in a while. When I do post about my cutting, it’s about how I hate doing it and how I want to quit, but sometimes I post about how I want to do it. Honestly, I love xanga. It’s a journal for me, plus I can get advice from other people. I would NEVER advocate cutting–I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but sometimes I need to talk about it to get my feelings out. I hope there is a difference to xanga about what is advocating and what is talking about it to get through it. I’m really glad about the flagging system, but I just hope that the wrong sites aren’t being shut down.

  • I’m sure everyone has different oppinions, but seriously,

    Xanga is right. IN A WORLD WHERE YOUR BODY IS EVERYTHING, GIRLS TELL OTHER GIRLS TO STAY STRONG, KEEP STARVING YOURSELF.

    Please,Xanga is right.  If they flag down xangas about eating disorders, then the girls have no one cheering them on. Maybe they will realize it’s BAD.

  • “If they flag down xangas about eating disorders, then the girls have no one cheering them on. Maybe they will realize it’s BAD.”

    If they flag down gays, maybe they’ll stop being gay. What about socialists? We can show them the evil of their ways by shutting down their site. And the hell with Republicans, we’ll just ban them right out.

    Censorship is nothing but a slope to disaster, where freedom of expression and individualism is feared. It is a way to keep the powerful in power and the commoner in check. If you doubt this, you need to look at history. Censoring knowledge is censoring power, and thus keeping the people deprived of a fundamental human right: the right to know.

    End ignorance, promote free speech.

  • Ooh…this one won’t end well.  Good luck with that.

  • This flag is a bad idea.  There’s no real way to determine if someone’s glorifying something or just talking about it.

    Just because someone talks about cutting themselves or being anorexic/bulemic doesn’t mean they’re telling everyone else to do it.  No one has to listen.  The reason they post those things are because they’re looking for help (for the most part…some just try to encourage it and glorify it.).  So, why should you try to shut them down for looking for help?  Some people aren’t willing to go to a psychiatrist or anyone like that, so they look to their peers for help.

    I used to be a cutter.  I got help from some people on Xanga, and I managed to stop. 

    You will have to be really careful if this flag goes through.  I think it’s bull, to be quite honest, because they won’t stop talking about it no matter what you do.  They’ll just open new sites.  Track their IP’s, you say?  Doesn’t matter.  They can make a new site on a new computer everyday if they have to.  They can go on the move and post wirelessly or use a cell phone as a modem.  It just won’t end, and there’s not much you can do about it.

    To a certain extent, I agree with the flags.  For things like this, I disagree.

  • And I think I made no sense in that last comment…fuck.

  • I’m in recovery from Anorexia, also cutting. I don’t support keeping these pro-anorexia sites, or trying to promote this emo stuff with cutting. Many of the people on here who do cut, have an actual disorder. But - Recovery sites should be kept up. PLEASE.

  • Most on here say those types of “behaviors” should not be tolerated. Why is that? Just because you think it’s offensive or demoralizing? Most people on here as well as other blogs post about things like those because they have no other outlet to do so.

    I used to be one of those people that was self mutilating. While I got help elsewhere, some are not so fortunate. Please consider the lengths at which this will be enforced.

  • wow, i think this is a really good idea, all of the different flags are. i hope this works, b/c you never know, it could really help someone.

  • hey, let the masochists have their fun, not that im one…

  • ok the flagging system may be a violation of freedom of speach but the owners of xanga have the right to refuse service but they must check the flagged sites themselves not just kick a user because then some jerk could flag the persons site and it gets deleted for no reason the anorexia thing is wrong and people talking about self mutilation those shouldnt be on the list we all have our own life styles now suicidal instructions or an advertisement for a porno company would be terribly wrong

    )|/(!†<|-

  • ok the flagging system may be a violation of freedom of speach but the owners of xanga have the right to refuse service but they must check the flagged sites themselves not just kick a user because then some jerk could flag the persons site and it gets deleted for no reason the anorexia thing is wrong and people talking about self mutilation those shouldnt be on the list we all have our own life styles now suicidal instructions or an advertisement for a porno company would be terribly wrong

    )|/(!†<|-

  • SUPPORT THE FIRST AMENDMENT

    THIS FLAG IS A FORM OF OPPRESION

    SOME PEOPLE NEED XANGA TO TALK ABOUT THEIR CUTTING/EATING DISORDERS

    I AM MOST DEFINITLEY ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE

  • So you’re going to shut down one place that we as ana’s and cutters can come to feel like we belong some where? Like we have people we can talk to and relate to the same things as we do? ProAna I can understand, because I would NEVER in my life wish this on a healthy, normal girl or boy. I would NEVER try and tell someone how to be ana or cut. That is just wrong. But as of support, I think this Xanga a lot of people.

  • well heres how i see it, when you start cutting and shit. it hard to talk to people in real life and its very stressful. if you cant post somehting like that so people can recognize the problem and at least try to help let it go, but yes let the sites that promote it die and burn in a hole.

    bubba!

  • ^^ ‘Kay. To all the annoying jackasses who say “i’m sick of seeing these sites” or whatever..

    You have the choice of not reading them, ya know? …… Everyone has the choice of not reading them. Just let the people deal with their shit their own way.

    This flag’s stupid.

  • Hmmm….not sure i’m a big fan of this flagging thing. what about people trying 2 committ suicide?? yeah i know tons of those pplz, but there getting better and they just like to vent about it i guess. no affence but idk if i like this of not…leaning twards not thou! sry.

    ****Katieee****

  • i need this site. i am anorexic and bulmic, and here at home
    i have last alot of friends. i have one friend but she does not understand
    where i am comeing from. i have a theraphist, but going to talk about somethings is fine, but somethings i have a hard time telling her. and i will write it down on my xanga and she will read it everyday that i post and then she talk to me about it. i hope that made sense at all. PLEASE dont take this away from us… it also helps me to tell her what i am eating on weeks. i am not tring to make people made or anything. but when younger girls ask me on how to be anorexic or bulmic i dont tell them. this is more for me then anything.. thankx for reading this…

  • I highly doubt that this will work. I really don’t think that there will be a lot of “flagging.”

  • This whole thing is bullshit. Our sites are not telling anyone else that they should be anorexic themselves. We have every right to post information about ourself and others like us. We can write whatever we like. It’s called free speech. It’s the first fucking amendment. You can’t shut us down because you don’t like our lifestyle. If xanga doesn’t allow free speech, then they should put it on their homepage. It should say “Here at Xanga, you can have a weblog. Unless of course you have self-harm issues. Then you are banned. Go off and suffer by yourself.” We have the same rights as everyone else on this damn site. And we will exercise them, no matter how many times you shut down the sites. We will continue to make more.

  • “”"If they flag down xangas about eating disorders, then the girls have no one cheering them on. Maybe they will realize it’s BAD.”

    If they flag down gays, maybe they’ll stop being gay. What about socialists? We can show them the evil of their ways by shutting down their site. And the hell with Republicans, we’ll just ban them right out.

    Censorship is nothing but a slope to disaster, where freedom of expression and individualism is feared. It is a way to keep the powerful in power and the commoner in check. If you doubt this, you need to look at history. Censoring knowledge is censoring power, and thus keeping the people deprived of a fundamental human right: the right to know.

    End ignorance, promote free speech.”"”

    Well said. You can’t discriminate one group of people, but allow others. It’s hipocritical. This flag is really pointless and grossly unfair.

  • You can’t possibly expect this to work? Not this kind of flagging. If you shut down the site of a person who is a SI, Mia, or Ana, they are just going to put another site up. These people have friends who won’t report them. There won’t be enough flagging from a Xangan who disagrees with that kind of site. If a person is determined enough, they will keep this up; putting up xanga’s until their message is across. You’re just fighting a losing battle, a wild goose chase.

    Spend your time trying to get rid of online predators. It will be put to more use.

  • so many people are gonna be pissed at me for saying this.

    to all the people who are gonna say bad things about this one,

    ANOREXIA IS NOT A DISEASE! ITS A STATE OF STUPIDITY AMONG STUPID PEOPLE.

  • as a former cutter it hurts to read the “pro- cutting” sites, but there are a lot of sites that describe trying to get out of that pattern of behavior. for some people this is the only venting and feedback they get, dont punish the ones who are surfacing just because there are some that still want to breathe underwater.

  • How many of you do this???

  • I agree with hey_its_my_lifex3…….to a certain extent.  I have not experienced it firsthand, no, but I do have a lot of friends who have.  I think it’s awesome if you’re talking about support from other people to stop self-harm.  But if you mean encouraging something dangerous, that’s not it.  I think hey_its_my_lifex3 is on a roll here.  People who do it need to vent, and talking about it is the way to go.  If you’re looking for a release, then release.  But talk about it.  Talk to a trusted friend, a counselor, and in some cases your parents (some people can’t).  So please, if you’re gonna stop this, then do it right.  Think about what you’re doing.

  • I didn’t know anorexia warrants a spot on this.

  • Incase you are selfish people at xanga let me tell you you will be losing A LOT of buisness if you do this.

    If you are trying to be good people
    if it doesnt happen here it will somewhere else, trust me.
    People are idiots that think proana sites actually cause people to have eating disorders, take a single psychology course and you will realize this is just ridiculous. In most cases blogs like ones on here about eating disorders make girls realize they arent alone which is THE FIRST STEP TO RECOVERY

  • Before like shutting down a website make sure to like look at it first, i flagged my self on accident cuz i didn’t know wut it is, is my xnaga gonna be shut down? wut if people just flag you so that u loose ur xanga?

  • WAY TO GO! Proana sites need to be shut down! These girls are killign themselves and dragging others down with them. Just because they think it is okay or they should have “Free speech” doesn’t make that lifestyle healthy or safe. It’s for their own good that such blogs shouldn’t be allowed.

  • like emo?

  • http://www.xanga.com/fatskiinny

    Get it off your site. It’s disgusting.

    Thanks

  • skeeter davis, and a blade; u can fu*k the world we live in goooooooooood bye

  • http://www.xanga.com/ThinspirationxGalore

  • I fully support the deleting of sites that advocate self harm.  Xanga is a business, therefore they have a legal right to limit their services.  In addition, Xanga has more than just a moral obligation to prohibit the sites that tell others how to harm themselves.  Think of parents who have sued companies, the music industry, and the film industry for distributing harmful content.  It doesn’t matter if Xanga wins such lawsuits, they still cost Xanga money. 

    As for those that are concerned that people with self injurious behavior who write about their problems may be have their sites deleted…you obviously can’t read.  Xanga said, sites ADVOCATING (that means endorsing or promoting to you illiterates) will be shut down.  Xanga obviously isn’t interested in shutting down the sites of people who talk about their attempts at recovery. 

    I applaud Xanga.

  • Well done! I am so glad you are cracking down on the pro-anorexia/pro-self harm blogs, it’s getting bloody rediculous, you can’t go anywhere on Xanga without finding someone offering a stupid “fasting challenge.” Eating disorders kill thousands and these thick people can’t even see that copying the behaviors of someone who is ill is dangerous. *sighs*
    THANK YOU FOR SAVING MY (and many, many others’)SANITY
    I can’t wait until this ‘fad’ dies down.

  • Oh, and for any idiot pro-ana people who comment after me trying to play crap; I actually -have- anorexia nervosa, and have had this illness for some 25 years. It’s destroyed my life, don’t bloody think I don’t know what I’m talking about when I mention pro-ana, it’s bloody disgusting.

  • w00t w00t cracking down on proana sites!!!

  • No-one can flag half of these sites even if they want to – most layouts don’t show the link. What are you going to do about that?

  • There is a person who posted info (who has a “friends lock” on their account) about wanting to commit suicide. I have looked all over Xanga on how to get her help (have even sent TWO messages to try to get help for this person). I called the 800 suicide hotline to try to get her help and they said I had to call the police. So I called the police (twice). Someone came to take a report from the local sheriff’s office yesterday morning – - but I don’t think she’s gotten the help she needs yet. Very, very frustrating.

  • What’s the point of this if you haven’t shut a single site down? God, the xanga team is fucking lazy….

  • So i can go flag all those thinspo freaks? YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • @SarahJWebb - 

    it’s not people who have anorexia and are on here talking about it that are the problem. It’s the groups that are advocating anorexia, having contests to see who is the thinnest (their idea of thinnest on one site is a 5’3” woman who weight 41 pounds), group fasting, sharing “tips and tricks” on how to hide their disorder and/or lose more weight, posting “thinspiration” (which is pictures of skeletal women supposed to inspire you to lose more weight). These groups are incredibly dangerous to everyone, especially people with anorexia. Because they fuel their eating disorder, and brainwash them in a sense into thinking that what they are doing is okay, and even honorable. I think it would be defeating the purpose of this entire thread if I showed you a link to one of them, but if you want to see what they are talking about, just type in “proana” in google and click around.
    Some of these site/groups try to say that they are support groups and such, but don’t buy it. Those groups that contain any sort of thinspiration and/or tips & tricks, are proana. Compare one of the proana sites to a real support site that has information, and links to getting help: http://www.somethingfishy.org

  • I guess I haven’t read such unique material anywhere else online.
    hgh safe

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