I don't even know where to start with this. Is this a review? A rant? Vent? I have no idea...
If you've never heard of it, CafeMom.com is a community website for moms. (duh) It has the same stuff as most other "mommy sites" including articles, videos, and a message board. The message board is what I'm focusing on for this particular blog.
I've been a member of several mommy boards in the past, and still enjoy a few of them. I joined CafeMom thinking it was just another run of the mill forum. But it turns out that CafeMom is the place people talk about when they refer to vicious online mom-against-mom crime. It's hardcore, name calling, child insulting, emotional assault type stuff.
One of the unique things about CafeMom is the ability to reply or post new threads anonymously. Because the internet isn't anonymous enough, right? You can say pretty much whatever you want, and NO ONE knows who it is. I think this is one of the major crutches of this site. Without this anonymous feature, half of the members would leave. Some, because it would make them responsible (aka we'd know their screenname :/) for the terrible things they say. And others because there is a constant fear of offending someone who would FLIP OUT on you and start sending you threatening messages.
There are the people that get offended over everything, as there is everywhere in the world. But then there are the people who make it their mission to offend others. While on this site, I've been called a b*tch for not wanting to answer my phone sometimes, and someone once called my baby and myself "lazy" because of the fact that she breastfed for 13 months. I mean... What? How does that even make sense? And it's not just that people speak their opinion. They seek out any reason to just be -mean- to anybody/everybody. Calling people fat, ugly, whores, etc. It's ridiculous.
The debates on CafeMom are just pointless. I enjoy reading and occasionally participating in a good debate. But the stuff on here goes way beyond idiotic. You have a good portion of members providing well thought out responses, providing sources and legitimate information. And then you have the handful of people who burst in with the "no, you're wrong because I disagree with your opinions, and that makes you a stupid a-hole" type responses. And that starts a seemingly endless circle of "you're stupid," "no, you," "no, YOU." *sigh* It ruins any chance of either side getting a real understanding of the other.
And then there's the whole food situation. Pretty much anything you feed your kid is going to give them a brain tumor and kill them. Unless you bought the seeds from a special organic farm in Iowa for a ludicrous price, planted it in special (ludicrously priced) soil, protected it from polluted rain water, use homemade fruit & veggie cleanser, and steamed it ever so lightly with filtered water...*inhale*... then you should be jailed for feeding your family "garbage."
Don't get me started on the food stamp feud. Ugh. I don't even have the words.
My final take on CafeMom.com - Join if you want. Post at your own risk. Expect to have your mood plummet after a few minutes of thread browsing. Search carefully and thoroughly for the friendlier groups, and use caution when looking for friends.
