|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
All right--for some time now there have been complaints about a supposed controlling clique here; and now a statement has been voiced that people here are "disrespectful and bullying" to newcomers. I feel that I am too close to the situation to be able to judge accurately, so I thought I would propose an OPEN VOTE , with two conditions*: I invite anyone who cares to, to post here whether their experience has been as described above, or different. In other words, do you agree or disagree?
*The first condition actually has two parts (sorry): 1.) I would ask that you keep in mind that the members here are individuals, so--if you have had negative experiences, please try to note whether they came from one or two people, or a whole bunch (i.e., please don't let one bad apple spoil the whole barrel for you); and 2.) here, as in life in general, you tend to receive what you give; therefore, if you feel that you were respectful and considerate (though perhaps a bit ignorant) but still were treated badly, I would consider that to be much worse than someone who has been disrespectful complaining about receiving disrespect.
The second "condition" I would like to propose is that, if the complaints are shown to be in a clear minority, that future public complaints about past ill treatment cease.
I have no idea what, if anything, will come of this. Perhaps no one will post. That will be all right--at least I will have tried. I won't mind getting PM's, but I would really prefer not to be asked to post someone else's vote for them; I would rather keep the "slate" as credible as possible. My hoped-for outcome is that feelings will become unruffled and that the number of complaints/allusions will drop.
Today is November 4th. I'd like to give this thread either until the end of the month or until I notice that no first-time-in-this-thread people have posted in a week. This should allow enough time for those who don't look in too regularly to see this. Thanks, everybody.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 389
enthusiast
|
|
enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 389 |
I’ve been around here, on and off for about 2 yrs. I have never felt slighted or unwelcome. I may have been some silly and even ignorant on occasion, but even then, I was no more than gently and humorously pointed in a better direction, (inhale). I love the wisdom and warmth of this place.
A dear friend of mine sketched a picture entitled “Don’t hide your light under a bushel” and was about to throw it in the trash when I asked for it. It has hung, lovingly framed, in my music room for over 30 yrs. and is admired by all who notice it.
“Modesty is a shining light; it prepares the mind to receive knowledge, and the heart for truth.” Madam Guizot. Peace, be well, O’bow
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
It was November 2000 when I first posted. In those four years I have asked questions, made comments, been teased and always informed. The patience people have shown this 75-year-old is greatly appreciated. When I was nominated as the Board's High Priestess (by AnnAS ?) and confirmed by The Great Anu with a lifetime appointment it was a great day! At present I am exchanging Private Messages with one newcomer who wants input to improve his English - and we have had delightful exchanges. (He is doing so well he will soon outstrip his mentor!)
This is not to say there hasn't been the occasional misunderstanding - but they have been quickly resolved because of the good nature of the contributors and the willingness to accept that printed words without benefit of spoken tonality are sometimes not "heard" as intended.
The AWAD Board is a place I come to warm my heart.
Blessings on you all.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475 |
Well, I've been here less than a year, having come aboard on Epiphany of this year. I was directed to the board because folks were discussing an entry I made on my blog regarding the wordhood of epicaricacy. Jackie thought I might be dissing tsuwm, and AnnaS wondered if my mother language was German or English, but within a post or two I was welcomed aboard, given a nickname, and started posting about words and language. There are people on the board whom I get along with and those with whom I don't, and a largish amount of folks whom I don't even know that well, but I recognize their names. In this way AWADtalk seems like a normal cross section of the offline world. As for a cabal of carpal tunnels machinating behind the scenes to repress people, I'm sorry, but I just don't see it.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Yes and no. I think that when new people come here, they see a group of people who already know each other and seem to be at ease with each other. They may even have met with each other and perhaps share some small bond which might affect their postings in some unintentional way and which is detected by newcomers.
Does this constitute a clique? I'm not sure. But this is the way it works - not just here, but everywhere - on the net or off. Newcomers will always be at a disadvantage. The standing 'clique' can try to make them feel welcome. But everyone has to make some effort to socialize, if they want to develop successful relationships here. And everyone has to make some effort to not take offense - or give it.
One other thing - I know it's a cliche, but it's true. Things aren't always what they seem. Sometimes people can seem to be getting along and then BANG - there's turmoil for reasons that you don't understand. Something that helps me is just asking myself this question, "How would my image of an adult behave in this circumstance?"
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
under the conditions stated, and also since I seem to be one of the accused as one of the "pack", it would appear that I have been disenfranchised. but I will say this: if it posts like a troll and responds like a troll, it's probably a troll. http://lotsofkids.com/LOK-Features/Articles/troll.htm
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 176
member
|
|
member
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 176 |
As a relative newcomer, I can write that I have neither observed, nor felt any pressure or bullying from any group of members on this board. Neither have I observed anything resembling a clique here. Yes, there are many long-time members, but I have not observed them acting like a clique.
When I first joined, several of the confirmed members of the board (no pun intended), “Carpal Tunnels”, along with other long-time members of the board, sent me kind words of welcome and encouragement, both in posts and in personal messages (PMs). Since then 99.9% of the members responding to my posts and PMs have treated me, my posts, and PMs with kind civility, at the low end of the spectrum, and affectionate appreciation, at the high end of the spectrum.
As I have mentioned to other members in PMs, I have wondered about a few responses to my posts, which seemed to me to be purely argumentative (in the pejorative sense) in nature, and specifically designed to annoy me with the hope of getting a negative reaction from me. I can only write, “seemed to me” however, because I don’t truly know the mind of the person who posted the reply, and it may only be their personality. I can’t really say for sure because I have not had enough interaction with the person to form a firm opinion. Nevertheless, the few replies from this person constitute the remaining 0.1%.
The only shadow in the picture (if I may borrow a line from Isak Dinesen) I’ve seen is the irritation caused by the person who, as I’ve read in some posts, seems to post using many different personae and names. One of this person’s personae (at least) apparently seems intent on behaving in such a disagreeable way as to incur the rancor of many of the members. Perhaps this is the same person I mentioned above; I don’t know. Perhaps this person with the Multiple Persona Disorder is the same person claiming there to be a bullying clique here as well. Unfortunately, I am still trying to match this person to his many personae, so I can’t really speak (write) to this point much more than I already have.
To conclude: my overall experience here has been quite enjoyable and stimulating, and I am happy to have found such a board.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
I've been here for just over three years--my word, has it been that long??!! When life in the real world presses me and I don't have time to check in here, I miss the board. Technically, I'm a carpel, but that's just because I type fast, think fast, make lots of mistakes because I don't edit, and sometimes have to pay for not having done so.
But this is the place to discuss the language. I have a link posted on my educational web page, and I encourage my students to come here if they have questions about language.
I think AWAD is fun and that newcomers are welcome. It's gratifying that some people decide that what we discuss is worth sticking with. Most leave. But I don't think they leave because they've been bullied, but because they're not interested in the topics and don't have topics that they think would be discussed. However, most topics I've read have been discussed to some degree. Admission: I do not read every thread because some threads don't hold any interest for me. But if others enjoy those threads, terrific.
The only problem I see here is when sweeping, categorical statements and criticisms are cast by people who somehow believe that the regular posters are against those who make appearances. Perhaps some people need to have a fight to fight even when among people who simply enjoy writing about the language. I see absolutely no need to join in a fight that shouldn't have begun in the first place. If people want to argue, cast stones at groups of people, accuse groups of people of bullying others, such people should find a board in which accusations are enjoyed and desired. I believe that this is largely of group of peaceable people with very much to offer in terms of time, research, sincerity, and conviviality. Do we have our bad days? Yeah, sure. Who doesn't. But the bad moods aren't the regular feature--they're just the reflection of the fact that we are real human beings behind the words, and, as real human beings, we're going to have those days we're in lousy moods. Or overly sensitive ones. But those moods are short-lived.
Words. Language. Puzzles. Jokes. Questions. Answers. Possibilities, if not answers. Shared information. Generosity.
Those of some of the elements of AWAD that draw repeat visitors to this place. And I'm thankful that those elements have remained fairly constant in the three years I've been here.
Peace to all,
WW
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
I look forward to checking in, especially after a rough day. I was made welcome when I arrived and have not felt otherwise since, I have even made friends with some people I have never and may never get to meet in person which is a new and fun experience for me. Yes I have been corrected but that is one of the reasons that I come here. (That, interesting posts, interesting people and TEd's puns)
A clique managing to control this group - not possible let alone probable.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Dear Chums ~
I have been a member of this board for fifty months. In that stretch of four years, I have posted enough messages to stand on the cusp of "promotion" from Old Hand to Veteran (in two more posts, but who's counting?).
One of the reasons that there are not more posts with my name on them is that I don't read all of the threads -- there is not enough time in my bivocational life, especially with a bride who insists (for some odd reason) that I pay as much attention to her as I do to my computer. Another is that, on two major occasions, I have backed away from the board for a period of time in angst.
As a priest and a judge, I deal with upset people all of the time and have, I think, grown a thick enough hide that, when people project their distress onto me, there is little internal damage. But, frankly, I don't need more of the same when engaged in an "off-duty" pursuit which ought be relaxing and enjoyable. Thus, on those occasions when I have felt the brunt of someone's hostility on these pages, I have wondered "Who needs this excrement?" and withdrawn.
Thanks to Jackie for nudging me gently back into the fold on these occasions.
The learning from all of this is contained in the maxim: "Don't feed the trolls." Now, when someone is rude or appears to bait a trap, I adopt a policy of masterful inactivity and don't respond.
As to my own sins, they are too many to catalogue. As a lawyer and a judge, I tend to see things in jurisprudential ways, which is doubtless annoying to non-lawyers. As an unashamed Anglophile, I know that I have annoyed others by my persistent use of terms like "The Mother County" and "The Colonies." As a Christian, I clutter these pages with references to Holy Scripture and to the traditions of the Church ... but what would you expect from a clergyperson? As a somewhat whimsical and perhaps deranged person, I find it hard to stay on topic and have been responsible for leading many threads astray ... even to the point of discussing matters culinary, to the great distress of Jackie.
One would hope that those who are occasionally (or perennially) annoyed by my many faults would do as I do when I feel attacked or snubbed or baited by a responsive posting: ignore me.
And there is no cabal ... save in the minds of those who apparently need an enemy onto which to project their own anxieties. Any cabal worthy of the name would have encouraged me to exit permanently on those several occasions when I have been silent for a term.
Affectionately ~
Father Steve
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 725
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 725 |
Dear Fellows and Friends~
I have been a member of this board, on and off, for a couple years. I have been teased, cajoled, impressed, inspired, congratulated, deflated, annoyed and addicted. The majority of folks here are kind, witty and downright fun!
As a newbie, I felt welcomed and encouraged. There were a few stepped-upon toes, but hey...that's life in the big city. I'm a big girl and I quickly got over it.
My life, like Father Steve's, is bi-vocational. Sometimes I have time for AWADtalk, sometimes not. But I have always felt WELCOME.
Thanks, everyone. My pastor used to say "You can't keep the birds from flying overhead, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair."
CB
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
My pastor used to say "You can't keep the birds from flying overhead, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair."
This sounds a bit more like a Zen koan than one of the aphorisms of Jesus. I think I'd like your pastor, Bean.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
These are the high and low points of my visits to the Awad Discussion Board... *** My initial posts were met with some reserve but not with unfriendly comments. Posters xxxxx and xxxxx welcomed me with enthusiasm. Awad was fun. Good and thoughtful people post here. NOTE: --> [ I have deleted this portion of this post because I've been asked to.
I've been accused of trying to start a flame war (you know, like children do)
and of misstating the facts (when what I said was a sanitation of a set of uglier truths)
and of being a troll (the electronic equivalent of a Salem Witch).
Womenfolk are funny creatures. ] <--
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
> Then one day a poster named Max called Keiva a "jew-baby" A correction is in order here. I called Keiva many things, all epithets I felt, and still feel, he deserved, based on his character as displayed here. I NEVER used racial slurs of any kind . The very idea is repugnant to me, as those who know me would attest. Think of me what you will, Milo, but please, at least do me the courtesy of getting your facts straight before vilifying me. And, thanks for making me smile with this surreal frippery: In reply to:
"if a clique of regular Awad posters still have a separate board where they continue to conspire to act collectively with regards to matters pertinent to Awad,"
The above sounds like something out of The Da Vinci code. Yes, some who made real friendships here "meet" elsewhere, to talk about all sorts of things: Shoes and ships and sealing wax, cabbages and kings, why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings. Fewer than 1% of all the posts there are about AWAD, and none are part of a conspiracy to act collectively here. Given the wide range of views expressed among those friends, and the forceful nature of the disagreements voiced, the very idea of a unified cabal is laughable. So, for publicly expressing such risible nonsense, I thank you. Yours civilly,
Juanita.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
keiva threatened to sue anu too, not just jackie--and to, in effect shut down AWAD. it was an unpleasant time.
as for the alternate BB, it did have an active word thread for a while.. mostly it was Jo's interest she was engaged looking for USvsUK terms (we've had a few thread about about stoves vs cooker, and biscuit vs cookie or scone vs biscuit.) but mostly its chatty.. i check it out once a week or so, and rarely find anything worth commentary.. its a social calender as much as it is anything.. birthdays, wedding, births, moves (and since its private, home addresses and telephone numbers)jobs, love lives (or the lack there of), but hardly a place a place where people conspire!
don't forget, too, Keiva went off and started his own word board too--and i've heard its somewhat successful. no doubt plutarch could do the same if so minded. there are some who post here and on keiva's board. this BB is not the only word board, and yes, there are a core of old timers like myself, there are also many newer members.. (and many lurkers.. (hi nancy!) )
--as to the start of ill feelings, as i recall, keiva was called an a**hole or some such insult, it wan't anything racial or religious, just a crude comment. but i could be faulty in my memory.. i do recall the offending comment was removed, but that didn't really satisfy keiva..
since he had been behaving like a bit of a boor before the comment was made, i didn't quite agree with his anger--yes, it was rude, but it was deleted..i sort of saw both sides, and thought fault lay with both those involved--but i honestly don't remember who started it!
Keiva's behavior, before (and shortly after he left) was disturbing.. by that, i mean i had real reason to physically fear him. (yes, he lived in chicago, but there are planes.. and he hopped on one on one occation!)
as for me, i found my self welcomed here.. and still feel welcome here (and nearly fell of my chair at comment faldage made this week,) i still enjoy coming here, and being cheered up, with back handed compliments!
i miss Mav, and others who's lives have changed and they no longer post here..
i know i am sometimes cool to new posters.. i got attached to some who posted, and now, they are gone, and i am slow now to warm up to new posters.. i guess sometimes i don't want to get to know them, and have them disappear (as you did for a while, milo!) after i have developed a small affection for them. (there its out--i like you and your quirky post, milo, and missed you when suddenly stopped posting!)
i don't think i am alone in this behavior. but i don't think i am rude or unkind to any posters here, except when i am sorely provoked by repeated nastiness.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
Er...the problem with being forthright is that one must be sure of his facts and not impugn the innocent. I apologize XXXXX, for saying that you called XXXX a XXXXX. Maybe no one did. The archives have been purged of the unpleasantries of that time. As maybe they should be. But anyway, please forgive my brash mouth. And as for you of troy, please don't misunderstand. I think that you are a rare treasure of the Awad board. But to be honest I'd sooner stuff a wildcat in a tote sack than exchange quips with you when you are mad. Few mortals this side of unholy Hell have witnessed such wrath and can still close their mouth and eyes. Thank you for just being you.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624 |
Waaaaaaaal, I thought about replying to this thread for some time before I decided to actually do so, and that is mainly to support Jackie, who, whether she's right or wrong, always tries to get it right!
I'm a Carpal Tunnel and Bar - some 5,000 posts in total - spread over two noms-de-guerre and I've been around since 2000. The reason I changed my moniker was to do with personal circumstances rather than any attempt to deceive or disguise myself.
Boards such as this are two-edged swords. When they work well, they provide a refuge from everyday stresses and problems. For two years, this board served both as a discussion forum about words - without taking itself too seriously - and as a kind of social club. Quite a few of us, old and new (and I was one of the "new") became off-board correspondents and quite a few of us have met personally and will continue to do so as circumstances permit. The other edge is the angst caused when one member "goes off the rails" and becomes abusive or takes on the characteristics of a troll. We have had, in the past two years, one abuser and one troll. The abuser actually eventually took our advice and left to form his own forum, where he became, and continuse to be, be king, judge, jury and executioner without let or hindrance from us. The troll is just that - a small-minded little man without the sense to realise that he's unwanted, not because there's an organised conspiracy against him, but simply because he's unequal to the intellectual challenge of sharing without needing constant affirmation of his innate superiority.
The fact that both of these individuals were what appear to be failed lawyers is neither here nor there. Or is it? I dunno, there may be a moral in there somewhere.
AWADTalk has actually been lucky, in that there have only been two such individuals in the past five years. Some forums that I frequent from time to time have an ongoing problem with the bullshit brigade and I typically take Father Steve's approach under such circumstances. I withdraw until the climate improves.
I PERSONALLY find accusations such as that baseless charge of racism levelled above at sjmaxq utterly reprehensible, and belated retractions do not improve my view of the accuser at all. It shows an appalling lack of judgement on the part of the poster. But there is nothing I can do - or any number of us can do - to censure such an individual beyond ignoring anything and everything s/he posts.
Talk of a conspiracy of "old-timers" aka Carpal Tunnels is just so much rubbish. Yes, several of us have discussed the situation, but the consensus is clearly that we actually cannot control people's activities on this forum - that is the bailiwick of Anu Garg, who chooses not to exercise his jurisdiction as bailiff - so we have shrugged and moved on. And, yes, we have another board where we discuss lots of things which are totally inappropriate for this board. That rarely includes the negative activities which sometimes mar this board. There are so many more interesting things to discuss, as friends typically do.
But the fact is that most of us still post here. We haven't quite given up on this forum. Some of the newcomers are very interesting; all are welcome. At least, they are until they prove themselves unworthy of that welcome, but that would have applied to no more than three or four newbies over the past four years. Any suggestion of a blanket "panning" of newbies is, again, just so much rubbish. People come along, dip their toes in the water, and either stay for a while and leave - and often come back - or they just stay. Not every forum suits everyone. Personally, the really serious language boards give me the heebie-jeebies.
Tact, patience and some small level of scholarship are all are required from anyone who posts here. The rest matters not at all.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
keiva's wife informs me, that what i took as threat wasn't one, and she claims keiva never deleted his posts, and anyone can look and see i am wrong.
however, as i recall, keiva often went back and edited posts.. even if he didn't delete them. so while there might not exist any threat on record, it doesn't mean comments weren't edited to make them less threatening.
and we must remember, keiva is a lawyer, and no doubt he know how to strongly word something so that it technically isn't a threat, (even it sounds like one to a non lawyer)
so maybe he didn't threaten, he just implied (and i inferred the wrong intention.)
of course, he did actively stalk members of AWAD. and his intentions might have been totally harmless, but i was frightened none the less.
ewein comments to me
Helen,
I cannot believe your post. Show me the facts. Keiva, unlike many here (including myself), left a record of what he said. He deleted no posts. Find the threats, and give me the link. If you can't, well, that my dear lady is heresay. Emotions were high then. If Anu and Jackie perceived a threat, that was in their minds. Ken clearly did not threaten anyone on AWAD with a lawsuit.1--emphisis added by me, 2--so i guess i wasn't the only one who thought there was a threat, even ewein admits that.
I have asked Jackie to delete the comments about Keiva. If she doesn't, I surely will have to comment, and I expect Ken will too.
it clear, just mentioning his name is the beginning of a flame war.
notice she didn't ask me to delete the comment, she wrote jackie.. and note her comments about hearsay--and about how she will have to comment.
(as if i wasn't here and as if i didn't read comments i took to be threats, but i am just repeating something someone else said about him) how wonderful a tone. of course i don't (and never did) maintain a data base of every word posted by every person every day --and I am sure she is perfectly correct there is no clearly stated threat in any of the post that are open. but since many posts were edited, and since several threads have been closed, i can only repeat I FELT THREATENED by him, and i pereived (perhaps erroniously), that he threated legal action against anu and jackie.
the comments posted on every page of AWAD
Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.
started at the time of NON threat. i am sure the timing was just a random event.
i will make no further comments on this issue, as its just going to feed the trolls.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508 |
I've been around this board for more than 3 1/2 years, including through the unpleasantness mentioned above. I'm not a frequent poster, but I've always felt every bit as welcome and part of the board as others who've posted in the thousands. Jackie said at the beginning of this thread My hoped-for outcome is that feelings will become unruffled and that the number of complaints/allusions will drop. I'm appalled that some of you have used it instead to dredge up the specifics of a time we'd all prefer had never happened. What good is served by rehashing the details - whether accurately or inaccurately remembered? I don't want to speak for Jackie, but I'm fairly certain that was never her intention. Give it a rest, people. Ignore whomever you have to ignore in order to keep enjoying AWAD. If that's beyond your abilities, vent via PM, not in public. 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Thank you very much, nancy--you have kept me from posting something that I might have regretted later. Postponed but not forgotten...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6 |
Keiva speaking, under this name because the software does not accept my own. Please excuse me for interrupting to confirm what max said. I check this board periodically to assure that I am not referred to in a way that makes a response necessary, and until now my name had not been mentioned here for more than two years.
Max, you are 100% correct. You've expunged your posts from the time (thank you!), which makes it somewhat hard for you to defend them, but I am probably the one best-positioned to remember and confirm that you at no time used racist or ethnic insults – neither in your name nor in any other name I suspect to have been you. Whatever one may say about your comments about me, they were emphatically never racist.
I'll go further. Given the sad fact that there are anti-Semites in this world, it may be statistically inevitable that a board of this size will have people of that sort. But I saw remarkably few posters here whom I ever felt might be at all anti-Semitic (fewer than the fingers on one hand) – max not being among them. Also, even of those few who made comments that might perhaps be considered anti-semitic, only one person – who is not a prolific poster – ever directed such remarks personally at me.
Secondly, someone had ventured the thought, now deleted, that I might be the person who posts as plutarch. I can see that he is a [fill in pejorative term of your choice], but rest assured that I am not he (and have not posted here under any name since the shall-we-say "unpleasantness"). Your administrator, whose judgement you trust, can probably verify this for you by comparing our IP numbers. Frankly, it would be stupid of me to post here in plutarch's manner, for it would be entirely against the interest of my own board to stir up controversy with you AWAD folks.
Finally, I quite agree with nancyK that there is nothing to be gained by rehashing the past, but a great deal to be lost. For that reason, I much prefer not to respond to negative comments about me, however extreme or inaccurate they might be. As Capfka notes, "tact" is required. Jackie, I trust, would agree that kicking up that old hornets'-nest isn't in the interest of this board.
Thank you. All the best to you.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
Wonderful! A page has been turned. Much good can be gotten when people are open and direct. Good luck, Keeva, may your future be blessed with many grandchildren.
Milum
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 67
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 67 |
In my experience, there is no "controlling clique" here on the Board. I've only been aBoard for - gasp - three months short of a year (it seems like so much longer), and even in my first posts I was welcomed with (as far as I can tell) open arms. Concrete example: On a recent post, I was worried that my contribution might be misinterpreted as showoffy. I need not have worried, for as belMarduk posted later:
We're all here to have fun and to learn. As you see from all of our posts, everybody is welcome to add their two-cents' worth. I'm sure nobody thinks you were trying to be a know-it-all so opine away!
So, essentially, I say no - we're all equally equivalent equals here. 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 133
member
|
|
member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 133 |
If I had known the scholarly qualifications of those who post here, I would probably never have posted anything but an occasional question, but after having rushed in where linguophiles tread, I was welcomed and enjoy the board more all the time.
My early errors were ignored or corrected kindly, and if I've expressed a misguided thought or two I've never felt that I was slapped on the hand and told to go sit in the corner! I love the diversities and common interests to be found here, and enjoy sharing the questions and oddities that we all come up with.(Iknow, dangler--with which we all come up? No way around it!)
If a thread gets tangled with animosities and angers, I don't feel obligated to read all that or stir it up. I've had a couple of private posts that I really appreciate, I just don't spend enough time on mail, e- or snail.
My complaint about AWADT is that it probably should have a warning label--"May be addictive!"
Thanks for letting me look in, and especially for "talking"
with me!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
My complaint about AWADT is that it probably should have a warning label--"May be addictive!"  HA! That's the best description yet, Jomama. But it's a good addictive - like chocolate...yummmm.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
Talking of chocolate, I saw this yesterday: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041122/325/f74zl.htmlDo you think we could get it prescribed in its natural form rather than as a pill? And claim the cost of repeated doses off medical insurance? Bingley
Bingley
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
I heard that on the radio yesterday. I'm waiting to find how many hundredweights of chocolate you need to eat to get the benefit! I'll bet it's not just a bar a day.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
...and you should remember this: two pounds of anything will kill a one-pound rat.
[back on topic?]
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Thank you, tsuwm.
Okay, one thing: this month will be over in six days (counting today, which there is still a fair amount left of, here); I probably ought to have done this sooner, but. I was a bit belated in realizing that perhaps some of the people who had a bad experience(s) here might not have wanted to post about it. I hereby invite any or all of them to send to me privately about it.
I am genuinely concerned about this--meaning that I really want to know, if a bunch of people have been unhappy. But so far, I am aware of only one person who has widespread complaints. (I am keeping in mind that there is a difference between having a negative experience with one or two people and having one with several.) Thanks.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 74
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 74 |
>I really want to know, if a bunch of people have been unhappy
Of course, that's it, Jackie. No one else dares to post anything negative here for fear that ALL of the carpools will come down on him en masse with Online Nastiness of the Third Kind. And isn't that enough to give anyone else bad dreams during study hall.
ai, caramba!
P.S. : Talk about being shunned; I don't think anyone has ever responded to anything serious I've posted here.
The Lone Haranguer
The Lone Haranguer
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
snoot, you are very bad. (Talk about ai carumba: I first typed your name as snott!!) HA!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661 |
Yeahbut ®, Jackie wouldn't believe me if I did. P.S. : Talk about being shunned; I don't think anyone has ever responded to anything serious I've posted here.Must.... fight.... temptation....
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Well, the stated month has gone. Majority opinion is clear, according to the posts; nor did I receive any* PM's about negative experiences.
*Other than from the same person who had been sending them for some time prior to this experiment.
I don't know what else can be done, truly. I would get indications that the one was speaking for a "silent minority", but. Without knowing who these others are, I can't write to them and ask for clarification or make any attempt (and attempt is all it could have been in any case) to try to put things right. So, failing any evidence to the contrary, I think I must say that for someone who believes "the whole world is out of step but me", there may come a time when that person ought to check on the rightness of his or her own steps; and I think that time may have come for this person.
You know, sometimes this place reminds me of Star Trek: there's the crew of the Enterprise, sailing through space; and when they come across new aliens, they have no way of knowing: a.) what these particular aliens' intentions are--friendly, curious, cautious, fearful, agressively hostile, etc.; or b.) whether they will be able to communicate with them in a meaningful way. And I think that so it is with internet boards/chat rooms. I know that we've had many who read but never post, for whatever reason; and many, including myself, take a while to get up the courage to post for the first time. But I think the (b) part is more important. We have had quite a lot of, "Oh, but I didn't mean it the way you thought I did". And this is a good thing.** If someone has been upset by something posted, he can either keep that fact to himself, or bring it up. And much more often than not, in the latter case, the situation gets resolved satisfactorily. Quite often, the post-er did not intend upset or know that someone was. Sometimes the reader is more paranoid than warranted; sometimes the post-er is harsher than warranted. Quite often it is a matter of communication between "aliens": for example, if someone who communicates with real-life friends by using insults (meaning, to that person, "Hey, I know we know each other well enough that I can trust you not to take offense but to understand that this trust is actually a compliment") does the same thing among strangers (here)--well, that can take some pretty fancy explaining.
One of the problematical things is that here (as in the show; must have new episodes, you know) new people continue to come on Board. And of course each brings their own way of communicating. But a bigger problem has been that they take a look at the established group which has already been through explanations and understandings, and may feel left out or at least bewildered--or upset. And I don't think there is much of anything we can do about that--that's the way society is. I used the example once before of a new employee coming to a huge workplace: some individuals may go out of their way to make him feel welcome, but no one is required to; and it nearly always will be up to him to figure out how to fit in, or be forever a loner. If he tries to change the group's interaction to suit him...well, that just ain't gonna happen.
**(Nope, I didn't forget!) We worked hard, long ago, to try and ensure that these questions-and-answers are polite and not ugly. Accusations and threats tend to evoke similar responses; a simple request for clarification is not likely to invite retaliation--just information.
Thanks, everybody.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
problematic al? thanks, Jackie.
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Why did this thread move up today? There's no post under et's... Weird.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7 |
hello. I looked this message forum since some months under other name but not posted. This my first post.English is not my mother tongue. This is nice but I fear from put the wrong question and then, the grapho will not be pleasant. or the putarch. I see some many names - are they same person?
thank you.
Dieter
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Do not hesitate to post Dieter. All are welcome here and you will see for yourself that it is a nice place. People on this Board are always happy to see new members.
You should go see the thread entitled "Tips for newcomers" in this same section. It has a lot of helpful hints.
Also, don't hesitate to ask for clarification when you don't understand something. People here are quite nice and I'm sure you'll get the help you need.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
Sure thing, Dieter, please overlook Jackie's unwelcoming post to you that has been replaced by Belmarduk's post welcoming you. You 'fraid. You talk funny. You 'fraid Plutarh get you. You phony. May God help us all! Do you people have no shame? 
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,344
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
782
guests, and
2
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
