PT was down for about 5 hours this morning. The host server was down. I am staying in today and making some updates. I should be publishing 5 stories from members, as well as a new pictures page from member submissions. Want to have your content considered for the site? Send it along to pretty.thin@yahoo.com

Questions? Comments?

A member shared an article with me about a week ago.The title is

Plus Size Bodies, What Is Wrong With Them Anyway?

I was initially going to write up a whole article about it, and actually just sat down to do so. And then I thought of a better idea - you write it. I am working on a format to let people submit articles right to the homepage, most likely though some form of simple approval process, but for now, here are the ways you can contribute:

You can discuss it in the forum. I'm adding it to PT30.

Or write your own article on the topic in the blog.

Or, come and discuss it on Facebook.

Or, hmmm......how should we utilize tumblr? Eh....make suggestions.

Do these things even belong on PT?

(PT)anEDcommunity




.

For those who have been asking, yes, I am going to make new unity bracelets this year. They should be coming out sometime in February. I'll make the update on the homepage so don't worry, you won't miss it.

I do have three bracelets left from the last batch. So I figured I would give them away for free. If you would like a chance to win one of them, keep on reading.

I was trying to come up with a way to figure out who gets the bracelets. Do I use some contest on this site? Do I use tumblr?
I have three of them, so I'll try three different things.

The first way is to send me something. The address is:

PrettyThin at The Capitol
PO Box 78122
Washington, District of Columbia
20013

DEADLINE for Letters : February 1, 2012

Whatever you send may appear on this website! I might scan them all and somehow share them with the community. If you don't want yours to be published on the site, please let me know somehow.

What should you send? Up to you. This is not about bribing me, so please don't send anything of value. Send a postcard, a drawing, a letter...anything you want.


Don't want to use the post office?
Want to put in two entries for a bracelet rather than one?

The second bracelet is being given through Tumblr. Post a picture that has all these requirements and you could win one of the bracelets:

1. Create a blog post on Tumblr between now, January 17, and 11.59pm Sunday, January 22, Eastern Standard Time (NYC timezone). I'm not going to be a stickler about time, but once I start looking on Monday morning, I'm not going to wait for more, last minute entries to come in. The post can be ANYTHING, but it has to have the words "PrettyThin" in it. If you write something, type the words. If it's a picture, make sure to have the words on the picture somehow. 
2. Link the picture (entry) back to http://www.prettythin.com/
3. Tag the entry with PrettyThin. You can have other tags too, but that is how I'm going to find them all.

What kinds of things should you be blogging? That really is up to you. A picture with some words that describe your relationship with your ED, or something about PT. It can really be anything. I had a laundry list of things that I would say are not permitted, but I think this is a good way to better understand individual expression from members here.

What you post on Tumblr will most likely find its way onto this site!
DEADLINE for Tumblr - January 22, 2012

Okay, observant ones. There is still the third bracelet to be accounted for. Who gets that?

There are other ways to contribute to PrettyThin. Come up with something and get in touch using the Contact link on the corner. Let me know what you did, send me a link, and you'll be in the running for third bracelet. Just do something unique, and something truly you.

DEADLINE for last option - January 24, 2012
Yes, you can enter all three!

Questions? Thoughts? Problems? Discuss them in the forum under PT30.

For those of you who have been on this site for a while, or have read about the history of PrettyThin, you know a few things to be true. That PrettyThin was not always the way it is today. That the site is what it is because of the members of the community. That all kinds of things go on here - from support to fighting to love to hate - and that those who come here do so for many, many different reasons.

I used to have a guy get in touch with me a couple years ago asking if I would join with him to create the worlds biggest site about "beautiful girls." This guy used to email me, post on my profile, and send me private messages through the members tools at least three times a week. What he was asking me to create our of PrettyThin was a pseudo-adult site with "thin girls." We had and possibly still have creepers come to the community to prey on young and possibly vulnerable girls.

The site, when it first became a community, had a member that went by the name of Bethystar who was a troll. She would come onto the site and terrorize the community with harmful and hurtful comments. It was a mess. I remember thinking that we should just forget this site and that it was a bad idea...someone was going to get hurt. Not because of eating disorders, but cyber-bullying.

We've had a lot of members who joined this site for reasons that were either misguided or misdirected, and we even started listing them on a banned members page (if they were repeat and truly bad characters).

But we have also had people on this site who are regular members and who have created as much drama as those members that I just mentioned. I for one, the site owner, have created that much drama. Over a banner (among many other things). It makes me wonder, what the f&^% is it about this site that keeps people coming back? With all the madness, what is it?

On a normal day, about half the members who come on the site are returning members. The other half are new people. Not just new usernames - these are not a second account from the same person - these are new computer addresses (according to Google analytics). And about the same number of people come on this site each day, though the number is always growing just a little bit.

I refuse to believe that the reason people come to this site is to be involved in dramatic and possibly traumatic experiences. And in relation to the amount of other activity that takes place on this site, those less favorable moments are minor. I think for the most part, people find what they are looking for.

I receive messages all the time from members saying "I like how PrettyThin was in the past." I got one on the PrettyThin Tumblr page and gave a response earlier today. But it got me thinking. Yes, things DO change. And people keep on coming. And more and more people keep on coming. But those members who are not returning.  Or for those who do return in hopes of seeing the PrettyThin of the past restored to it's glorious days of old....what exactly do you dislike, why do you dislike it, and how do you propose we change it?

I am starting a thread in the community forum where you can help me understand and fix some of the issues on PrettyThin that are specific to changes and the better ways of the past. Please be respectful when entering this discussion. People don't always have the same beliefs and that's not only fine, but what makes us unique.

Stay beautiful, just as you are,
James

PS - PrettyThin YouTube Channel coming in February :-)

It's 2012. It's PrettyThin. And the constant question is: what now? Well, here is the answer.

PrettyThin means a lot of things to a lot of people. It also means different things to different people. But no matter why you're here, I want to make PrettyThin a place for you.

This is not going to be an easy task. I can already here the grumbles. People are going to be worried (and they have the right to be) that a lot of people are going to come to PrettyThin looking for tips. People are going to fear that there is going to be a lot that might be triggering. But the site is also going to have a lot more about recovery. A lot more information about what eating disorders are all about. And hopefully a lot more stories and experiences.

For some, some of this might be triggering. And for some, it is going to be inspiration. They way you can help is to be involved and to be a part. How you do it is entirely up to you. As is what you take away from this site, and what you contribute to it.

I'm going to make sure that the many channels we have available to us are updated more regularly. That includes our Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. But I'm also going to start a YouTube channel. We'll also be able to use Google Plus and create a group discussion. If people want to interview me or the community, you can join and be a part of the discussion and part of the interview, if you like. 

The goal is to spread awareness. to remove the stigma associated with eating disorders. And if you want to be a part of it and don't want anyone to know, then you can do all of it anonymously. If you want people to know, then you can do that too. There are going to be a lot of ways to participate, and that is what 2012 is going to be about. Giving you, the members, the resources, the channels, the avenues of asking questions, getting answers, and sharing from your own unique experiences.

But like I said, this is not going to be easy. A balance needs to be found. And to find that balance, PrettyThin is going to need your help.

It's not always going to be easy, but it will be simple. See something you don't like? Participate in the discussion. Let people know that you do not wish to offend, but that the topic strikes a cord with you. Tell them why. What is your experience that brings you to believe and be the way you are. Be involved. And be respectful. You will have different opinions than others; they will have different ones from you. If you treat people with respect and understanding, then maybe they will do the same with you. If not....you have stated what you needed to, and you can now move on. And remember that the words you write and the things you share are an expression of who you are, and no body else. Be aware of the things you put out into the world, for they represent you.

So what's next? A little clean up, I hope. And a lot of updating. I'm going to have a little more time on my hands over the next few months, and could use the help of anyone who wants to help.

Oh....pst.....Unity Bracelets are coming back. I'm almost done making them. They will be announced on Facebook first, and then on the site. Just stay posted. Why Facebook? This site is intended to spread awareness. To help people. To be there for you. Everything PrettyThin does is to be to that end. If it's failing you, contact me. There are many ways to contact me. Just look around the site. The easiest is to click the button that reads CONTACT. 

Okay....what else. Happy New Year :-)

And Stay Beautiful, all of you, just as you are,
James