CENSORSHIP: the tool of inferior fools who try to control

Rule discussion, feature requests, what have you.
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dolores
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Joined: May 1st, 2007, 8:48 am

Post by dolores »

I'm confused. I thought this was going to be a new, revolutionary board unlike its predecessor?

My very first contribution to a thread was deleted because it dared to refer to 'ranting' -- my first rant was about Oreos, quite inflammatory, don't you think? -- and I have since seen threads, many threads, that allow ranting, in particular about politics. Interesting place here, I thought, the rules change for the person who makes the thread.

Therefore, I put it down to those who have the gold making the rules. The moderators designated certain people they liked (I was not one of them, due to my deliberate, successful actions at TCM) to have free reign, and others were encouraged to only think happy thoughts.

Now I see that it isn't just me. Interesting place here. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

SHolmes, I find your tale to be quite interesting. Guess you'd just better leave this new club to their arbitrary happy thoughts and find other talking grounds. Also, I extend to you a thank you, on this day, for your military contributions.
SSO Admins
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Post by SSO Admins »

dolores wrote:Therefore, I put it down to those who have the gold making the rules. The moderators designated certain people they liked (I was not one of them, due to my deliberate, successful actions at TCM) to have free reign, and others were encouraged to only think happy thoughts.

Now I see that it isn't just me. Interesting place here. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
It has nothing to do with who is liked and not liked. There are rules here, and one of them is no obscenities. SHolmes violated this rule, and the moderator dealt with it. He didn't do it the same way I would have, but it was his call. There was no problem with the content of SHolmes post except for that.

If you want to get down to the basics, free speech here is what I say it is. I own the domain, I pay the hosting fees, and I set up the board. In practice I have abdicated these decisions to the moderators and refuse to involve myself in them, but the ultimate responsibility is mine. I have a pretty broad definition of what is permissible, but some things just aren't.

I have to add that the main reason for creating this was not that people felt like they were being censored on the TCM board, but that TCM was refusing to step in and put an end to endless fighting and trolling. Disagreement and debate are fine here, fighting is not.

SHolmes, I am sorry that you feel like you need to leave. I enjoy your posts and feel like you are a valuable addition to this community. All that I think anyone asks is that you watch your language when posting here.

I have no issue with leaving this thread open, but I am moving it to Site Talk.
pktrekgirl
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Post by pktrekgirl »

dolores wrote: Therefore, I put it down to those who have the gold making the rules. The moderators designated certain people they liked (I was not one of them, due to my deliberate, successful actions at TCM) to have free reign, and others were encouraged to only think happy thoughts.
SUCCESSFUL?

You call what you did SUCCESSFUL?

Well, I for one, beg to differ. I call it hateful, vulgar, rude, mean-spirited, hypocritical, nasty, and extremely disruptive. The trolling you did over there make the actions of various 'others' pale by comparison in alot of people's eyes, Dolores. And I am one of them.

Some of us tried very hard to make that situation over there work, since TCM wasn't doing a doggone thing to pull SEVERAL posters into line - you being one of the main offenders. Instead, we got people like you - one of the MAIN perpetrators of the nastiness - continuously laying the blame at the feet of others instead of taking 10 seconds to look in the mirror and take some personal responsibility for the ghastly state of affairs on that board.

Well, you may have fooled a few people into thinking you are some kind of hero-martyr. But you haven't fooled me. And I know for a fact that I'm not the only one.

Now. You are welcome to post here, as long as you follow the rules. But make no mistake - there is no 'freedom of speech' here. This is a privately owned site. And the site owner and his designated agents make the house rules. One of which is that profanity is not allowed.

It is really a simple concept. You have no 'right' to post here. None of us do in the end except for Jon, because he pays the bills. Each and every one of us is here on a provisional basis - for as long as we are willing to be a good citizen and obey the rules that we all agreed to.

If you, or anyone else, is not willing to do that, then I suggest you move along and find a site that is more to your liking.
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Lzcutter
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Post by Lzcutter »

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to chime in but, it being a holiday weekend, I was entertaining two different sets of out-of-town guests (waving at one of them, Moraldo Rubini) and have only now had a chance to respond.

SHolmes,

I'm sorry that you feel you have to leave this forum. However, we want this forum to be a pleasant place to come and share our thoughts. Some posters share this site with their children and so one of the provisions from the beginning was no profanity. As to freedom of the speech, that topic has been very well covered by both Jon and PKtrek.

I hope that you will stay and continue to post as I have found many of your posts very insightful.

Delores,

By the end of the most recent meltdown at TCM City, many people who now post here were tired of the strum, angst and the almost hourly drama. Many were unsure of who to trust and who was really who. Many had lost faith and trust in the WebAdmins ability to control the trolling and the flaming.

In the midst of all that, Moira and I began to PM and email one another about what would happen when the meltdown was over. We live on different sides of the country and did not know one another until we "met" via the TCM message board.

We both appreciate the TCM site a great deal. It has allowed us to not only share our thoughts and knowledge but it brought together a group of people who helped both of us appreciate films even more.

In those last dark days at TCM City when we were unsure of what was going to happen to the site and thought that TCM might take the message board down and retool (as they had done once before), one of the things that was utmost important to both Moira and me was that we find a way to keep the community that we appreciated so much from being lost.

One of Moira's goals was to create a haven where we could all come together to talk about classic films and rebuild our community. That became the Yahoogroup and then Jon generously offered us refuge here on a site that he pays for, maintains and works the admin side of things with supportive help from PKtrek.

It is, like all new communities, always evolving and growing.

When Moira started thinking of ways to bring us all together and reached out for ideas and suggestions, one of the first was that there be rules of conduct that everyone would agree to follow so that we would not have meltdowns like those we experienced at TCM City.

But, if we want this community to work, we all have to remember that the rules are there for a reason and without them we all know how easily it can devolve into anarchy.

And having lived through too many meltdowns at TCM City over the last year, I doubt that anyone here wants a repeat of that.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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klondike

Post by klondike »

Dear Fellow Members;
Just to "round out" the field of review, here, so that everyone has a more complete understanding of what happened and how (particularly as it's now become quite a matter of discussion), I have decided to share with my fellow members the process by which I performed my duty as a moderator for this board, though no specific rule compels me to do so.
I chose to utilize the method of deleting an entire reply, due to its content of profane language. As was pointed out earlier in this thread, other moderators likely would not have chosen that method; here's why I did:
Upon consideration, I felt that simply "starring out" the internal spelling of the profanity would:
1) Not, by itself, show any proof of moderation, to
anyone except that reply's author, who might, or
might not, view that alteration as a helpful
reminder of the rules, and might even resent his
message being "sanitized", a situation that, to
my way of thinking, cuts much closer to the
concept of ethical "censorship".
2) Possibly be seen as promoting the habit of
expressing profane or obscene words by
routinely including them in replies, with 2 or 3
central letters disguised as asterisks ("starring
out"), or pound signs, a method which our Code
of Conduct strongly urges us to avoid,except
when quoting public figures.

That was the rationale by which I made my decision.
After I deleted the offending reply, I sent that member the following PM, utilizing my option to issue that member a "friendly reminder", rather than a warning:

>>As you might have already noticed, your reply to the "Over Fifty" thread in our General TV & Media forum has been deleted.
The decision to take this action was mine, and it was one I made with some reluctance, as I greatly prefer to tread as lightly as reasonably possible in my role as a Moderator for Silver Screen Oasis.
I considered "starring out" the internal spelling of the words I found overtly vulgar in your post, but I felt that bounded on suppresion of your creativity (as in editing the content of your expression), so instead opted to delete the entire reply, and leave it to you whether or not you wish to re-work its content, and then re-post it to that thread.
Toward that alternative, I shall conclude this PM with a copy of your original reply.
I am confident that on due reflection you will understand my logic in exercising this moderation on behalf of our entire membership here at the Silver Screen Oasis website.
Thank you.

Klondike


As reproducing his reply to me, via PM, would violate the spirit of our Code of Conduct, if not the exact letter (and also serve to repeat yet more pointless vulgarity), I will instead move along to my next PM to SHolmes, in which I did issue him an official warning.
This followed, by minutes, my posting of the "Warning issued to Member" thread, as per the rules stated in our Code of Conduct:

>>Concerning, and in reply, to the PM you sent to me yesterday:
1) Describing my deletion of your posting as “CENSORSHIP” is irrelevant & non-factual, as one can only censor material which is broadcast, published or announced in public address venues; the SSO website is the intellectual property of its Administrators, and functions as a structured membership entity under a clear & direct Code of Conduct, whose rules & stipulations are agreed to, per advance requirement, by every person being granted membership to this website (yourself included). Further, that Code of Conduct is kept posted, 24/7, as a locked thread document, in the Site Talk forum, to facilitate easy reference by all members.
2) Those words in contention may indeed be found with some frequency in currently released “movies”, but certainly are not being used on U.S. network television, and that is the exact designator specified in our Code of Conduct.
(Vulgar synonyms for urination and defecation may turn up occasionally in various adjective forms, in certain post-10pm broadcast vehicles, but never as verbs.)
3) Calling me “silly”, and then suggesting the likelihood of my being “a prude or religious freak” not only indicates an unfortunate tendency for name-calling, and cultural prejudice, but teeters right on the boundary of flaming, another topic not only addressed & described in our Code of Conduct, but expressly prohibited by it. Personally, I’m not actually offended by your choice of words, but I do feel that the attitudes you expressed therein bode ill for your future as a member in good standing here.
(See also the “Private Message Use” section in the Code.)
Initially, I dispatched my first PM to you simply to clarify how & why your “Over Fifty” reply had been deleted, and to politely suggest a less inflammatory use of language in future postings. I considered that message to be in the realm only of a “heads-up” and/or a “friendly reminder”.
(See the “A Final Note” heading, in the Code of Conduct.)
Given the content of the PM you sent me in reply, however, I can only judge that my efforts to make that notification fair & considerate were a waste of time and etiquette.
This is now a warning, the first (to my knowledge), that you have received as a member at the Silver Screen Oasis website.
The specific infraction you are being warned about involves “Language”, as that topic is described under the “Things You Cannot Do” section of the Code of Conduct.
Though not a mandatory result, you should be aware that a second warning, issued by any moderator, over any Conduct infraction, might result in your being banned from this website, as per the provisions outlined in the Code of Conduct for the Silver Screen Oasis website, and displayed thereon.
Thank you for your attention.

Klondike


His reply to that privarely messaged Notice of Warning is, of course, now well-known by everyone, as he reproduced it to begin this very thread, which was originally posted under the General Chat forum.

To All Whom This May Concern: I have no personal interest at all in whether this individual stays a member or not (although I do find it wryly amusing that within 2 hours of his thunderous proclamation of leaving this site forever, and good riddance to us all, he was cheerfully kicking off a brand new thread on a different forum), but I feel strongly that no member of this site should be allowed to ignore, circumvent or do an end-run on the rules which we all agreed to, regardless of his/her politics, age, gender or social standing.
After all, wasn't that kind of hypocracy at the very heart of the "crash & burn" back at T*C*M ?!!

In service to Silver Screen Oasis,
I remain your faithful
Klondike
filmlover
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Joined: April 18th, 2007, 8:57 pm

Post by filmlover »

I have to admit that I am surprised to see a few certain members on the Oasis board, especially after the continuous knocking of TCM and fiery boards they were involved in over there. For it to continue over here is completely unacceptable. This board was created to allow the good members of the TCM board a place away from the battling, feuding and fussing, a place to just discuss movies.

However, in an effort to make this board grow, it was decided to put up for nomination certain other posters of the TCM board. As soon as I saw certain screennames being ventured, I knew we were in for trouble because some were known to be angry people who were part of the destruction of the old board, and I posted I was against this. A nominator would then say this person only got in battles when so-and-so was involved. But, really, some of us saw the person always being negative about TCM and fighting even without that.

And then came the decision that allowed current members to bring over anyone they wanted they thought would make a valuable contribution to this board. I have no problem with valuable contribution, but I guess some people consider fighting and ranting to be valuable contributions - while I do not - and they have decided to bring over their compatriots.

I was glad when a moderator, as such, stepped in on the TCM site (the TCMWebAdmin). And I am glad especially here that we have several admins here to enforce the rules of conduct that have been posted here very clearly (no, you are supposed to read the rules of conduct - not laugh and ignore them).

Based on what I have read above, I can see the destructive force of the people who live to fight already at work, trying to turn this into what we were escaping from. I understand that one of the first actions one negative poster wanted to do here was start up a "What's Your Rant" thread. Oh, please...

Moirafinnie, if I may, I would like to reprint the Code of Conduct here that you posted in that thread:

"Welcome to our community! This community was started in order to provide a lively place for classic film fans to discuss the cinema, the media in general and classic film related topics. We hope that you will enjoy spending time here with us!

To ensure that this community is a pleasant and enjoyable experience for all, it is necessary for all members to observe a few rules. This document lists the rules you will be expected to follow while a member of this community. Continuing to post on this site signifies your acceptance of these rules and your consent to follow them.

Things You Can Do

Topics for Discussion:
As long as you don't violate the rules below, you're welcome to discuss any topic that you like - there's an appropriate forum for every topic that you could think of, and maybe even ones you hadn't considered. As there's sometimes a bit of confusion over certain kinds of topics, here are a few notes on these:

Multiple Threads:
If you'd like to post on a topic, you might find that using the Search feature that appears at the top of each page on the site may be helpful. You can determine if there is an existing thread pertinent to your subject and add to it. While an effort should be made to locate recent threads that relate to a particular film or personality you wish to post about, members will not be required to go to undue lengths to locate and ‘bump’ old threads in order to discuss a topic.

Criticize:
One of the joys of a community is the exchange of ideas. Our goal is to share our enthusiasms, discover new aspects of film and media, and create a atmosphere that promotes diversity without sacrificing civility. It's fine to say a certain aspect of a film is bad, as long as you don't insult the people who think otherwise, and as long as you actually back up what you say. Jumping in and shouting "That film sucks!" is not an acceptable form of constructive criticism.

Choose Words Carefully:
If you want to post about something that you are vehemently opposed to, do yourself a favor. Before replying, take a step back for a moment, take a breath, and ask yourself: "If I read what I've just written, how would I react?" It might be useful to remember that the spontaneous nuances of speech can get lost when seen in black and white print, and without meaning to, may hurt rather than enlighten others when perceived differently than intended.

Things You Cannot Do

Most of the things that you cannot do on the board are pretty obvious. However, in order for each community member to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, here is a list of the things you cannot do, together with notes on what will happen if you do them anyway.

Multiple Accounts:
In order to prevent abuse, you may register only one user name. Should you want to change to a different user name, PM or email an admin and they will change the name on your account. If you are found to be posting with a second account, the second account will be closed. The moderator may decide to give you a warning, and any warnings you received while posting with the second account will be added to your original account and included in any calculation of earned bans.

Registering a dual account in order to circumvent a temporary or permanent ban will result in an immediate and permanent ban from this community.

Account Sharing:
Under no circumstances is it permitted to allow a banned member to use your user account or post yourself on their behalf. Account sharing is generally discouraged unless one is on vacation with no access to one's own account. It is preferable to use your own account when at all possible. The moderator may decide to edit out the content. If account sharing is detected, the moderator may decide to give you a warning.

Adult Content:
In order to protect those posters who are minors, you cannot post NC-17 or R-Rated material anywhere on the site, or link to such material. Material identified as obscene or objectionable by a moderator will be deleted. The moderator may decide to give you a warning.

Language:
To develop a comfortable environment for all members of varied ages and tastes, we encourage you to be sensitive to the fact that there are those who are offended by strong language. In general, we ask you to restrict yourselves to language permissible on U.S. network TV.

"Filter dodging" (the use of symbols or deliberate mispellings to avoid spelling out an offensive word) is frowned upon. An exception may be made when quoting a public figure, but again, we ask you to use your judgement.

Flaming:
You may disagree with someone's opinion, but you may not attack that person for posting that opinion. Insulting another person, whether it be a mild flame (as in "idiot" or "moron") or a more severe one will not be allowed. Don't respond to a flame with a flame. You cannot flame people and then claim to have been just defending yourself. If you have a complaint, please notify a moderator rather than responding yourself.
If you are found to have engaged in "flaming", a moderator may decide to give you a warning.

Illegal Content:
You can't post material that contains threats, or invades a person's privacy, or is posted without permission of the owner. Illegal content cannot be posted anywhere on the site. Don't expect any moderators to be lenient with regard to this issue. Your material will be edited out, and the moderator may decide to give you a warning. If the issue is severe enough, an immediate ban could result.

Privacy:
To respect the privacy of all members, please exercise caution when posting any details about your real-life online or on this site. Do not post any details of another poster's real-life identity on the board without their express permission. Material such as chat logs, emails, private messages or messages from other message boards may not be posted here without the consent of all involved parties. The material you posted may be edited out.
Violations of privacy may result in a warning being issued by a moderator.

Spamming:
You can't post the same thing multiple times on the board, or post the same thing over and over in a certain thread or forum. Further, you cannot continuously make posts that have no real content or relevance to what is being discussed. Spamming can even just be posting too much - as a general rule, don't start more than two or three threads in a forum within a 24 hour period. Do not post more than twice in a row in the same thread. If you need to answer more than one person in the thread, please use the quote function.

Any willful attempt to dominate a thread or forum with an excessive number of posts or an excessive number of threads will be perceived as spamming and is prohibited. The extra threads that you posted may be locked by the moderator or the moderator may decide to give you a warning.

Trolling:
Trolling is an internet term that means you're not posting to start or participate in a legitimate discussion, but simply to anger another member or group of members. Posting in order to bait other users, moderators or administrators will not be tolerated. Additionally, following other members around the board, stalking them, and harassing them is prohibited. The moderator may decide to give you a warning and take whatever steps are deemed necessary to protect the integrity of the site and to insure legitimate discussion is allowed to continue without interference.

Images:
Images You should only post inline images that are housed on web space that you own or for which you have explicit permission for use from the web master of the site on which the image is located. This is required in order to avoid costly bandwidth theft to the originating site owner. If you do not own the web space where the image is posted, please post a link rather than ‘hotlinking’ the image itself. The BBS provides image hosting for members to use at http://plasticage.net/gallery.

Also, when posting images, please make every effort to reduce images to a size that will be conducive to swift web page loading. If you post images you don't have the right to, or if they are too large, the moderator may replace the actual image with a link.

If you persist in posting images contrary to the protocol described above, a moderator may decide to give you a warning.

Film Trading/Intellectual Property:
While the trading of films that are not released commercially is allowed, the trading of ‘ripped’ commercial releases is not permitted. Additionally, sales of films or film-related products of any kind are not allowed on this board under any circumstances. Please visit the FAQ area of The Marketplace on this site for more detailed instruction with regard to the issue of film trading. If it is found that you have engaged in a prohibited practice regarding film trading, a moderator may issue a warning.

No Discussion of P2P(Peer to Peer) computer networking will be permitted on this site.

Private Message Use:
Posters who abuse the Private Message (PM) function by using it to harass or verbally abuse another member will be subject to the same rules that would have applied had the individual posted the abusive remarks publicly.

Please Note:
New posters who immediately start trouble may be permanently banned from this community. Any users who the board ownership believes participate in the community in order to troll, irritate, upset or harm the general membership of this website, its administrators or moderators may have their accounts locked without prior notice or announcement in order to protect the integrity of this community.

A Final Note
Of course, the above doesn't necessarily mean that if you meet the definition of any of the above infractions you will immediately receive a warning. The ownership and staff of this board would like this to remain a friendly place where a reasonable amount of flexibility is maintained. Therefore, a staff member may decide to issue a ‘friendly reminder’ to an individual who breaks a board rule unintentionally for the first time.

Warnings and Bans:
To promote a positive, above board community, the administrators and moderators will, when necessary, issue warnings and bans publicly.

One warning will be followed by private message from the moderator to the offender to clarify the behavior that prompted the issuance of a warning and the expected change in that poster's future behavior.

If a member prompts another warning within one month of the initial warning, it may result in a suspension of membership for a designated period. In some cases, a significant offense or a disregard for warnings may result in the immediate ban of a member by this site. Any ban issued by the staff will be posted publicly on this site when it occurs.

The measures described in this document are intended to respect our members' individual diversity without sacrificing civility here on this website. We hope that you will find it a pleasant and enlightening place to visit.
Thank you."
filmlover
Posts: 76
Joined: April 18th, 2007, 8:57 pm

Post by filmlover »

I have no personal interest at all in whether this individual stays a member or not (although I do find it wryly amusing that within 2 hours of his thunderous proclamation of leaving this site forever, and good riddance to us all, he was cheerfully kicking off a brand new thread on a different forum)...
Hmm, that does sound familiar, Klondike. I recall someone with other names on the old board who would do that. It's what I was afraid of getting in here.
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moira finnie
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Post by moira finnie »

Hi all,
After taking complete leave of the internet for about a week to attend to family obligations in the real world, I returned to find that, sadly, we have a tangle of emotions and viewpoints--which, our fallible human nature being what it is, is inevitable.

Going forward, this situation reminds me that while many participants in this message board may know--all too well--the decimation of the formerly friendly TCM message board that occurred within the last year, many others may not understand the background events that indirectly led to the creation of this forum as a peaceful, civil alternative to that shambles. Using language as a blunt instrument, name calling, personal invective, chronic negativity and public and private bile were among the weapons that a relatively few individuals used against others there. Many who, perhaps initially in good faith, chose to call the perpetrators on their behavior, but became caught up in the truly vile atmosphere and destroyed their credibility and increased the level of aggression and hatred on that board even further.

And what made all this possible?
Passive moderation that did little or nothing for far too long.

Ideally, in our little site, no Code of Conduct or moderation of a forum would be needed, but none of us live in an ideal environment. Civility and diversity aren't mutually exclusive and I think that all the members here are capable of self-restraint and articulating their ideas without resorting to language of the street. Btw, because Anglo-Saxonism language is common in everyday life, it doesn't make it the best choice for our site, especially if we hope to make this a family friendly environment for all, not just those who reflect my or your views.

As incidents inevitably occur, each moderator will deal with events somewhat differently while following general guidelines, but, as I've mentioned to several individuals with whom I've corresponded privately about this matter, each time any action is taken, each moderator and member will most likely react a bit differently. My hope would be that we'll all learn from this.

We are all in this together and I'd hope that this site and our efforts to forge some sense of shared community will continue to evolve, as long as we each bring a positive attitude to bear on our discussions. To avoid some of the problems that we all witnessed on TCM's site, some moderating will be necessary from time to time. I believe that our moderators, who are also members, approach their rights and responsibilities here with an open mind and an eagerness to do well, not just to exercise control, which ideally would be something that each of us practices ourselves.

I had hoped that all our members were aware that, as implied in our Code of Conduct, found here, we ask that you consider the fact that there are members who view this site with their children and grandchildren, and there are some tenderhearted older members who are offended by obscenities.
Political or aesthetic opinions that differ from mine or any moderators are not to be treated with disrespect--but to encourage our newborn site to develop beyond our current infant stage, I believe it's important to maintain a higher level of civility here. I'm sorry if your feelings were hurt by the actions taken by a moderator. It would be great if we could remind ourselves that each of us is learning too.

And, since I consider all members to be part of this site's family, I think it's inevitable that--as occurs in real families--things will sometimes get misinterpreted and unfortunately blown out of proportion. I still think that this experience can be a useful one, since rather than seeking any kind of censorship from above--ideally--I'd like everyone who's taken the trouble to join us to remain and continue to contribute, while practicing self-restraint and consideration with one another.

I hope that this will help to make our tenuous bonds stronger as we all try to reason, discuss and persuade one another about the points that we're trying to make--and remember that, at all times, it is "only a movie discussion board."

Thanks again for your patience and forbearance, but most of all for your participation in our "little experiment in civility and diversity."
Moira
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mrsl
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Post by mrsl »

Thank you to Moira and Klondike both for your explanations and your moderating abilities. I understand the first weekend in June is generally busy with graduations, communions, school vacations etc. but it's been awfully lonely here on this site for the past 4 or 5 days. Some posts haven't been touched since May 31, and that is highly unusual. Hopefully the 'moderating exercise' has not chased some people away. I, for one, gratefully acknowledge it. I still render hard feelings towards TCM for their lack of interest and their turtle pace in correcting the situation there. One ban would have solved the problem but they waited until tempers were at the highest pitch, and I don't care to give them the satisfaction of returning and contributing to their site. I was happy as a pig in sunshine to see this, and the yahoo site start up. I didn't want to go to the Classic Movies site and start all over again. I liked having familiar names to debate with.

I know sometimes I get a little rough in my opinions, and I've tried to curb my enthusiasm, or lack of, with opening statements like 'the voce of doom' or something similar. In that way, a reader is given the choice to either read or ignore, but if they choose to read, they must accept the probability that what I say may upset them.

As for being 'tender hearted' about language, I can have a mouth like a longshoreman occasionally, but I find that language is a personal thing to relieve tension in myself, and is not necessary to inflict on others. Therefore, there is no need for it on a site board like this. Our language is made up of many foreign phrases which are accepted and known by everyone, so there are many choices to make in voicing an opinion. Some folks use Jewish invectives, some Italian, some French, and that's fine because most 6 year olds who happen on this site are not going to understand. In addition, in my day (the invention of the wheel days), it was improper to use foul language in front of a lady. If that makes me old and dated, so be it! Common sense and a respect for others, as far as I'm concerned will never be out of place. For all I know, I may be one of the ones Klondike and filmlover were talking about considering some of the open letters I wrote on the TCM board, but they were all attempts at pacifying one particular member and returning to normalcy. When nothing I did worked, I contacted someone and asked if there was somewhere we could go to do our thing in peace. Thankfully jon had the means and knowledge to do so. I, too, was surprised at some of the names invited to join, not for what they said, but how they said it.

I'm through now, but I hope this site will continue. Yesterday, I felt like 'someone who shall remain nameless', because my name was on so many threads, then I realized I was the only one on the board and had been for three days already, with the exception of only 2 other members.

So HAPPY SUMMER TO ALL, (you're welcome to it, because I hate summers in the city, and its suburbs - I live in my A/C since I can't handle the humidity).

Anne
Anne


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klondike

Post by klondike »

mrsl wrote:Thank you to Moira and Klondike both for your explanations and your moderating abilities. I understand the first weekend in June is generally busy with graduations, communions, school vacations etc. but it's been awfully lonely here on this site for the past 4 or 5 days. Some posts haven't been touched since May 31, and that is highly unusual. Hopefully the 'moderating exercise' has not chased some people away. I, for one, gratefully acknowledge it. I still render hard feelings towards TCM for their lack of interest and their turtle pace in correcting the situation there. One ban would have solved the problem but they waited until tempers were at the highest pitch, and I don't care to give them the satisfaction of returning and contributing to their site. I was happy as a pig in sunshine to see this, and the yahoo site start up. I didn't want to go to the Classic Movies site and start all over again. I liked having familiar names to debate with.

I know sometimes I get a little rough in my opinions, and I've tried to curb my enthusiasm, or lack of, with opening statements like 'the voce of doom' or something similar. In that way, a reader is given the choice to either read or ignore, but if they choose to read, they must accept the probability that what I say may upset them.

As for being 'tender hearted' about language, I can have a mouth like a longshoreman occasionally, but I find that language is a personal thing to relieve tension in myself, and is not necessary to inflict on others. Therefore, there is no need for it on a site board like this. Our language is made up of many foreign phrases which are accepted and known by everyone, so there are many choices to make in voicing an opinion. Some folks use Jewish invectives, some Italian, some French, and that's fine because most 6 year olds who happen on this site are not going to understand. In addition, in my day (the invention of the wheel days), it was improper to use foul language in front of a lady. If that makes me old and dated, so be it! Common sense and a respect for others, as far as I'm concerned will never be out of place. For all I know, I may be one of the ones Klondike and filmlover were talking about considering some of the open letters I wrote on the TCM board, but they were all attempts at pacifying one particular member and returning to normalcy. When nothing I did worked, I contacted someone and asked if there was somewhere we could go to do our thing in peace. Thankfully jon had the means and knowledge to do so. I, too, was surprised at some of the names invited to join, not for what they said, but how they said it.

I'm through now, but I hope this site will continue. Yesterday, I felt like 'someone who shall remain nameless', because my name was on so many threads, then I realized I was the only one on the board and had been for three days already, with the exception of only 2 other members.

So HAPPY SUMMER TO ALL, (you're welcome to it, because I hate summers in the city, and its suburbs - I live in my A/C since I can't handle the humidity).

Anne
I think that for many of us, on this board, and back over on the Mothership, "Anne" is Italian for "ray of sunshine".
And the older I get, the more sunshine I need!
Like yourself, Anne, my aversion to profane & obscene language has virtually nothing to do with any background of chasteness, nor any sort of delicate sensibilities.
As an ex-GI, an ex-cop, a former logger, a longtime musher and life-long pubcrawler, trust me: I can commence to cussin' & swearin' long enough, hard enough & loud enough to make a blue-water sailor cringe til he cries like a baby.
I just feel that, as with so many other extremes of life in modern society, there are times & places for that kind of expression, and many more times & places where it doesn't belong at all.
Allow me to share this anecdote with you:
Several years ago, while debating the merits of the then-new Patriot Act with a fellow pubcrawler of dubious IQ, I was asked, provokingly, what I "had to hide", where government surveillance was concerned; I told him that there was a pretty significant difference between "secret" and "private". He demanded an example, so I asked him if he used toilet paper after having a bowel movement; after he stopped laughing he conceded that sure, of course he did; I asked him if he was ashamed of doing so - and again, after braying like a hyena, he said no, of course not!
Then I asked him if he'd enjoy seeing a nice, big covert photo of himself using that TP, gracing the front page of our local daily newspaper. No laughter this time, though his eyes said I'd gone insane - NO, he sure wouldn't want to see anything like that, he assured me!
Why, I countered, got something to hide?
Well, no, he mumbled, it's just that . . well, you know . . . !
Yeah, I know, it's not secret, it's just private, I finished for him.
So he bought the next round, and then left, frowning, convinced that I was Satan's brother-in law. 8)
But, not meaning to sound cute about any of this, that's really my whole point about all of this: there's nothing inherently shameful, or even secret, about using profane or obscene language . .
It just needs to be kept private, as in between people having private conversations.
Not logging posts & replies on an internet site!
So that's my story and it's stickin' to me! :wink:

Klondike
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