People deal with stress and blow off steam in different ways. And sometimes, when the way they normally deal with it isn't working, they try something different. One of the many ways people deal with stress is to complain about things that are bothering them with people they consider friends or feel a connection with. Many people find places like the Escapist, filled with similarly minded individuals, and find it comforting to go there and release some of the pent up issues they have. In this way, they are doing something to help themselves deal with what they feel is an overload of negativity in their life. Ideally, others who find themselves in a similar state of mind can then go to these threads and relieve themselves of their pent up stress as well. In this way, though it may not seem so to someone from the outside, they are actually doing something to help themselves and others. It usually does not help with the source of the problem (although groups actually dedicated to the problem, such as AA, can help fight the source), but it does help the people to express their dissatisfaction, deal with their issues, and perhaps move past them. While it may just seem overly pessimistic to someone who does not share the viewpoint, these things can often be a great help in allowing someone to regain their sense of proportion, and perhaps become more optimistic about their life as a result.