Personally, I find it easier to talk to you guys about my problem then someone in real life. Writing them down, that alone helps. I think that posted about your problems is awesome! And really, it does help to write them down instead of talking about them face to face. Face to face just feels too. .. unprivate. That's my opinion.

I think the allure of discussing your problems with people online is that you can't get in trouble for what you say and the idea of not being responsible for your actions is appealing. I mean, if I said that I drown kittens for fun (which I don't) to you you'd probably all hate me, but that's the end of that. If I say that to a parent/sibling/counselor, I end up in a great deal of trouble and most likely on medication. The Admins can't see the IP addresses of who's posting (I think?) so they can't trace the person back to the source. The veil of anonymity just motivates people to place irrational trust in the other anonymous viewers of the website because it is unlikely that we'll ever meet each other face-to-face.

For me, personally, I know what's wrong with me and what's going to happen to me if I tell an adult. Frankly, that terrifies me. I don't want that to happen at all but sometimes I feel like I'm so scared or stressed or tired that I need to tell someone. I usually try to hold it in, but occasionally, once a month or so, I tell one of my friends whom I trust enough not to tell an adult. She doesn't even know my full secret, the only people who do are wrapped up in it themselves and it's not very much more fun for them either so I don't usually like to complain to them about it. What I'm driving at is, I don't always have a choice if I want to vent to someone. I can either 

a) get caught and face the consequences

b) whine to people who already know

c) dump on someone who knows a small portion of the larger problem

d) grin and bear it

Anonymous sources seem to be my safest bet but at this point I don't trust any of you enough to tell you my problems. Oh, rationally, I know there is very little chance you can track me down despite the ample information I've dropped about myself, but emotionally I can't trust you. I've tried, believe me, but I always can't figure out to start and I get too freaked out. My method right now is to sneak around it sideways-ish until I can smack it all together into one big thing. I'm telling myself I'm not doing it while I actually am and only causing myself fairly minor anxiety atttacks. I sounded like Howl in that last sentence, didn't I? Well, all right. I am a coward. But cowardice can be much nice than bravery. 

You're right, Ruby, we have no way of tracing where a comment comes from. The only ID we see is what you put in the name, location, and age fields.

i basically want to say what Corina and Ruby have already said. 

im reallysorry if this is offensive, but you said "Or that could be because I'm 14 and I know the line ..."

Did you mean "the line" as in an invisible line that people 14 and over cant cross because its immature? Frankly, that's wrong. You said it yourself, people here are amazing at giving advice and are a great support system, and there are some things that some people dont want their IRL friends and famil to know about, or dont want to talk about with them, and they dont really have anywhere else to go where they're able to rant as much as they like without being told to be quiet? Because this is an amazing place to  do that, and believe me, I've needed to do that IRL and i have been told to be quiet each time. 

And that is why i think that its OK -no, good, for the drama and personal problems to stay on here. 

Well, I actually like posting my own problems, since I can use random pen names and people can help me, not knowing who I am. I think that while the Chatterbox is a great place for Cricket, support is needed along with everyone and this is also a great place for advice. Ignore the posts if you choose to, but some people might want to ask for help when they need it. Of course you're not rude, you're speaking up! I don't find it rude at all, but my opinion is that it's O.K. to post these problems on the Chatterbox.

Have a wonderful day and of course...

See Y'all!
- Nora the Singer

Everyone's different, though, and while face-to-face talk with whomever about your, as you put it, drama may be viable for you, that's not necessarily the case for everyone else. As other people have said here, there's a certain safety in anonymity that can be very appealing when it comes to personal baggage, et cetera. 

Trust is a big issue. I assume, from what you've said, that you trust someone in real life enough to share your drama. That's not true of everyone. Until I was nineteen, there was literally no one that I trusted enough to even hypothetically dump certain things on them. Now I have ONE, and only because she's never met my mother and has been adequately apprised of the situation (namely, "do not tell my mother any of this because BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN." getting an almost real-time transcript of the week-long anxiety attack I had over the summer because of parent things and phones helped greatly to reinforce that). No trust = no talking.

And even if that trust is in place, not everyone is going to be listened to if they do choose to share in real life. Someone else already mentioned getting shut down—it happens more often than you'd think. I've been bouncing back and forth between delayed sleep phase and irregular sleep phase since I was younger than you, Vida, but only started getting treatment a couple years ago because, when eleven-year-old me told my mother that I couldn't sleep at night, she responded with "you're too young to have insomnia" and never got me to a doctor. I literally cannot remember the last time I got restful sleep or more than four consecutive hours and after the first round of medication stopped working, my doctor told me my options were basically "strictly manage your sleeping schedule and hygeine and aim for six hours a night" or "become dependent on heavy-duty sleeping aids for the rest of your life." The point here being, sometimes adults have a tendency to ignore young people's complaints because there's a cultural expectation that children don't have the same problems adults do.

I think having a space as safe as the CB is is really awesome for those of us dealing with issues. 

I, personally, think that you should keep all of your personal problems to yourself. That's my opinion, at least. I don't want the world to know about all about my personal problems. Some people may feel comfortable about posting their friendship dramas, family problems, etc. but I don't think that's okay. People should keep in mind that whatever they post on here stays on here forever, and that everyone, not just in the United States, can view it. 

Who wants everyone to see their problems on here, anyway? First, you should ask a trusted person your question first, not post it on the Internet for everyone to see. After all, any place on the Internet where you can post things should be stuff that's fun and open, not something that's personal. I would actually never post my personal problems here or anywhere else.

So overall, I'm against the fact that people can post their personal problems on here. Personal problems should be between yourself and maybe another person, but never should be posted on the Internet.

I don't really have a right to post this Anyway...

basically what Ruby said and what TNÖ said that's why I post personal stuff 

I understand where you all are coming from . I guess I watch too many movies xD

But , as much as I'd like to tell people and tell yall , some things I just think aren't appropriate . 

And , to clear the record , I didn't mean it like that . I meant that for me there's a line between what's okay to tell y'all & what's not . 

Mmmm nevermind , I think it's just me . My problems and secrets and issues and anxieties are just too big for anyone to bear . I've only told two people . Whom I trust with my life . So yeah .  I probably would post my problems for support as well , but I just feel like my stuff is too ... mmm inappropriate I guess ? Idk . Sorry if I offended anyone . Keep on posting !!

Red, Tiara thinks you and Ruby are serial killers. She thinks that's your secret. I mean, I don't think that but TIARA thinks that