To Bitch or not to Bitch.

[Rag]

Mornin’ all, This has the potential to turn into a rant, so buckle up.

This is about the amount of bitching that has gone on recently and the associated replies. It is not aimed at any individual or intended as an attack at anyone, even tho names will be used for reference. That said, if any one does get upset by it… feeling defensive much??

There are a couple of threads that have decayed from their original topics into bitching and placation. I don’t have much of a problem with that to be honest. We are different people with different points of view. It is inevitable that we will disagree at some point, and I personally welcome that. I love a good (friendly) arguement. The world would be a bloody boring place if we all agreed all the time. What I object to is the fact that the original threads are being hijacked for the ongoing debate over who’s right, who’s wrong and who’s downright naughty.

OK, Bonnee likes to wind people up occasionally. He gets bored and mixes it up to get a rise out of someone. I can’t condem this as I have been known to argue points completely contrary to my beliefs, just to have a heated debate. There was no malice involved, just mental sparring. If you don’t like his point of view, by all mean call him a tosser, but then let it go and move on.

Mandara and ADM have been disagreeing over what appears to be a misinterpretation of each others posts (sparked of by a glib posting by me… my apologies for this). Again, I don’t mind this. But the fact that the discussion takes up 2/3 of the thread which is about a completely different topic irritates me.

People who want to read these threads cos the topic of interest to them have to wade through long paragraphs of unrelated ‘debate’. I’m not saying don’t have the debates. Just, please, open up a new thread for the purpose of the debate, reference it from the thread you are in and leave that thread for the topic it was originally intended. Interested parties can then follow the debate in the new thread, whilst those who really don’t give a damn won’t have it forced upon them.

Also, on a losely related subject, I have noticed a couple of posts along the lines of ‘… don’t slag off that show here’. Why the hell not. These forums are supposed to be here to premote open discussion on subjects that interest us all. OK, our views may not mesh exactly, but where better to air our views. As long as there are no personal attacks, why not let people express their point of view. Even if you don’t agree. It gives you the chance to come back with your views and a chance to ‘subvert’ someone to your way of thinking.

If everyone agreed on everything on these boards, and there was no lively discussion, I for one would not hang around long.

I’m not saying don’t speak your mind, quite the opposite infact (within reason), but I am asking that consideration is given tothose who may not involved in, or don’t actually care about, your debate. And please don’t hijack threads, there are plenty to go around.

Ok, I’m done.

Oh, Big Sad. The Pub may not be the desired place for this post, so please feel free to shift it to the resting place it deserves.

Cheers. [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[ADM]

Rag, I should point out that you don’t know Bonnee as well as you might think, he has a long history of getting people agitated, which goes back long before you joined the board.
He has upset not only Flame, but Aleck, Squishy and our dear FX (now you’re gotta be real bad to upset FX!!!), and when he first came here he decided to deride Lexx on a daily basis, Lexx fans can take a few shots, but this was constant.
He calmed down for a bit, and we thought we’d seen a good side to him, yet there was still the odd occasion where he’d try to whip up a storm. Recently he went back to his nasty ways, and I think the Big Sad (I like that, I can imagine the geezer getting his hair bleached blond!!!) had decided that he’s given him enough rope to hang himself and called time on his antics.
As for Mandara and myself, well a simple misreading of each other’s posts is at fault there, certainly no intention too flame each other.
The difference with DT and Bonnee, is that DT made some remarks which he didn’t realise could be mistrued, Bonnee knew exactly what he was saying and none of it was by accident.
Personally with Bonnee gone I can only see less flare-ups between board posters, but yes having a good healthy go at each other is certainly better than being sweet all the time!!!(it can relieve a bit of tension).
ADM

[Rag]

Yeah, I know about Bonnee. I tend to lurk before I post to boards. I lurked here for several months reading through the back postings before leaping to the forefront (not the Lexx threads admittedly, cos I’d never seen it til I came here).

The point I was trying to make wasn’t really centered around Bonnee. He/she (?) was just a convenient point of reference. Probably a bit too convenient.

I, for one, will not condemn someone unless I know the intent behind the action. That’s not me being judgemental on everyone else, saying that you’re (that’s a general you, not a specific one) wrong for speaking out against such action. But I do know that on occasions I have inadvertantly caused upset by playing devils advocate for the sake of a rousing debate (ok, let’s call a spade a spade – argument!). On one occasion I upset a number of people cos I was arguing pro-racism. Something completely contrary to my beliefs, but I didn’t agree with the arguments that the other person was raising. So I lept into the opposing position to force that person to question the thought process behind what they were saying (yeah, pretentious I know, but I was a student at the time).

It’s not what people say but the sentiment behind it I take issue with. If someone can prove to me that Bonnee is a malicious ******* who’s soul purpose was to **** people off for no reason, fine count me in on any witch hunt that ensues. Until then I will reserve judgement.

Incidentally, that was not a request for floods of posts highlighting his/her short comings. I really don’t give that much of a toss. Especially if he has been booted (has he, or is that just a rumour?). As I said at the top of the thread, I bare no ill will to any here, quite the opposite in fact. I’m completely down with the Big Sad’s (ADM – yeah, made me chuckle too) “We are family” comment in ‘AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!’. It’s not even about the bitching. Bitching is good, as long as bad feeling isn’t carried around as a result of it. I believe in free and frank discussion (as long as no-one says bad things about me [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] ).

So big hugs and sloppy kisses all round. [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[FX]

hello rag and adm! you have both posted very good points, without getting anybody (i think!) mad…the important thing is that we can all talk here, or rant, or have a bad day for that matter…and i was really looking forward to a good discussion about why people diss trekkies, and train spotters, and so forth…and then suddenly, another great topic gets derailed [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

so let’s try again shall we? and, yeah, if you don’t mind terribly, i will move this to the angst forum, which was created for all sorts of rants [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] , and maybe we can continue the trekkie discussion? love, fx

[Anonymous]

YOu know, it’s threads like this that make me feel that all is right with the world [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

No. I swear, I’m not being sarcastic. Good points from Rag and ADM. I have ;lots to agree and dissagree with but they were well put and interesting.

Completely in the wrong place and moved elloquently to the right one by FX.

Ok, that asside, for goodness sake please post angst stuff and dissagree! It’s ok. It’s [b]not[/b] ok to get too personal (I don’t think we can avoid getting a little personal when we dissagree with someone).

I am absolutely opposed to censorship for someone dissing a show in the forum a forum set up for that show – PROVIDED that they are not trolls!

Trolls are a blast (if you are troll) but a pain in the neck if you aren’t. This is not a board for trolls and they are not tollerated under any circumstances.

FYI a troll is someone who posts an inflamatory topic simply to inflame and not as a contribution to an argument.

Unfortuantely (I and I know a few others) can get a little heated in our chats and exaggerate a little) – this isn’t troll behaviour but it can come close. It’s a fine line between winding a community up for the sake of it and being involved in a heated argument with someone that you dissagree with.

But lets face it, how is all this defferent from real life?

If we were all in the pub and one of us said something really silly, he/she’d be jumped on and verbally chastised and at worst thumped. You’ll get that here but you wont be thumped you’d be bumped (edited) or banned (just as bad in my opinion).

So, all in all, I think we have a happy balance. You can be assured that mistakes and the odd personal comment will be tollerated provided you demonstrate that you are not a troll or that you are being perposfully antagonistic or writing a post solely to inflame the emotions of other posters.

Moderators are posters just like you and me and they also have the responcibility of moving threads if they are in the wrong place and editing texts that are bad or maliciaous.

As a result, I think we have one of the best sci fi boards on the net. I am continually surprised at the level of knowledge and the passion that some of the posters have for the shows that interest them. I like to see their opinions about stuff in the pub and see their fave jokes in the laughterhouse-5 forum. Sometimes that works against me (ie I don’t have the nerve to contribute because I might say something stupid) but on the whole I think we have got it right.

[Rag]

quote:

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Originally posted by SadGeezer:
Sometimes that works against me (ie I don’t have the nerve to contribute because I might say something stupid) but on the whole I think we have got it right.

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[i]And he runs the show around here!!![/i]

No one should hold back saying their piece simply because someone might think what they say is daft.

I think Sad is right. I think this is the best set of Sci-fi boards I’ve found, which is why I keep coming back. And that’s down to the people that post here. There is a minimum of flameing and inane bitch slapping. The majority of the posts are intelligent, thought out posts that obviously come from the heart.

So for all you lurkers out there. Don’t just spectate, POST! Your opinion may not mesh exactly with every one elses, but it’s still valid. And I for one will not slap anyone down for having the (metaphorical) balls to put their thoughts and feelings up here (but I do reserve the right to disagree with you at times [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] ). The more people posting, the more diverse the points of view, and the more interesting it is for everyone.

So pick a topic and get stuck in.

If I kept my gob shut every time I though I might say something daft, I’d rarely speak.

[Author]

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