Avoid common sliver misconceptions

The sliverbox is a fun service that the Technique offers and it gives students a forum in which to vent their frustrations. They were first run in the newspaper in the late ' 90s as funny sayings the editors had heard through out the week. Slivers were placed at the bottom of each page, and only a single sliver ran per page.

Later the slivers moved online, and the student body was able to submit their own. The newspaper began printing the students ' slivers to give them an outlet for their day to day Tech stresses.

It is certainly interesting to see what other students have to say.

Each week I read through the slivers, and I ' ve noticed several misconceptions. I hope this editorial will clear a few things up.

Misconception #1: The purpose of the sliverbox is to rant and ramble for pages upon pages about whatever it is that ' s gotten you all hot and bothered. No, it is a sliver, a short phrase that sums up your feelings, and therefore it should be brief. To enforce this key characteristic, there is a maximum character count per submission.

It ' s not intended to restrict your freedom of speech, but simply to keep the slivers short. There is a place for everything, and if you have a lot to say, write a letter to the editor.

Misconception #2: Slivers are discriminated against, and I pick and choose which ones I like the best. No, the number of slivers that run each issue is dictated by the available space. I cut and pasted starting from the top of the list working down. It does not mean anything if your sliver is not printed except that there wasn ' t enough space.

Misconception #3: Everything will be printed in the newspaper. No! There are certain words, expletives for example, that will not run. Sometimes, only these bad words are cut out and other times the entire sliver is cut out. It simply depends on the nature of the statement.

Other things that will not be printed are people ' s full name, phone number, websites, especially vulgar statements and others. The others category is loosely defined to handle special cases that do not fall into any categories.

An example of an " other " sliver would be a statement submitted in some unfamiliar language. If it can ' t be easily edited, it will be cut. There are too many other slivers waiting to be printed to spend time figuring out what you ' re saying.

Misconception #4: Repeatedly submitting a sliver over and over again will increase your chances of getting printed in the paper. This misconception probably falls under misconception #3, but it is the most annoying misconception and therefore merits its own number. Repeated submissions of the same sliver only make me mad. I do not care if you are the most plain, boring man alive, or if you are lieutenant saggy shorts, or you are having some party planned on a big green lawn, you are annoying and need to find a hobby.

On a similar note, repeatedly heckling individuals because of their physical characteristics only shows that you are shallow and insecure. I ' d bet 20 bucks you ' re not any more attractive, so grow up.

Misconception #5: Repeatedly confessing your undying love for a boy/girl you ' ve never met in the sliver box is not stalking. No matter what the other sliverers say, this IS stalking. Not only that, but it ' s incredibly creepy. It will get you no where with them, if for no other reason than they are probably already dating an athlete or greek.

Misconception #6: Your unfortunate dating situation is a result of the lousy Tech ratio. No. Chances are you would have a hard time dating at the College of Charleston, so don ' t blame your shortcomings on the lack of girls. We have a hard enough time sorting through all of y ' all to find the datable ones, the last thing we want to hear is your whining.

Misconception #7: The slivers are/should be posted online. No! They are a special feature that is unique to the printed paper. Those of you who have figured out how to read the slivers online can consider yourselves either very smart or very bored, which ever you prefer.

Misconception #8: Everyone at the Technique is a Democrat. Enough said.