You all take this wayy to seriosuly.

[The J Word]

Just popping in to say, while i loved SDMB at a point, and kind of have faith in this board, that you all take things relating to either board way too seriously.
Making snide commets anywhere, getting into actual arguments.
It's just a bit much for message boards.

That's how i know I'm going to be mostly a lurker around here. I don't find a message board (or any of you) very important.

I'm not sure if it's a rant or a plea for any of you to take a look in the mirror.
Maybe i want you to argue back so i can reinforce my own views. Who knows.

J

[Liberal]

Appreciate that, but cut us a little slack if you can. Some of us invested as many as ten years over there. Saying it's only a message board is like saying it's only conversation. Even in real life, that's what friends mostly do — talk. I can't speak for the others, but for me it does help to vent a little.

[BooBoo]

Yeah, yeah, I know, we're nobody to you. Just words on a page, vapor on the internet. Well, I actually know some of these people and their well-being is important to me. Sorry if you can't see past the screen in front of you and realize actual, real people are writing these posts.

[Beadalin]

You know, The J Word, I have yet to encounter you in any threads other than those that are SDMB-related. For someone who finds all this so very unimportant, you sure to spend a lot of time in Beyond Thunderdome.

[TheFlame]

That's how i know I'm going to be mostly a lurker around here. I don't find a message board (or any of you) very important.

Why bother reading the boards at all then :?:

Or, are you just trying to get a rise out of people?

[Chimera]

I said long ago in another place (not the dope);

An on-line message board is like a large party in a huge ballroom filled with people. People wander in and out, and wander from table to table in search of conversation. Very few people stand still and only engage in one conversation.

In this particular situation, I'd say that upon reaching a certain stage, the party grows beyond the control of the host. It ceases to be their party and becomes OUR party. It isn't about who is throwing the party, it's about who is at the party, what can be said, what can be heard, what can be learned, what fun can be had. At this stage, the host has to recognize that he doesn't control the situation. He can merely guide it, he can merely influence it, or he can shut it down completely and tell everyone to go home. He can kick individuals out of the party, and he can go from table to table (thread to thread) asking people not to speak in certain ways or about certain things. But the moment he moves on, the influence is lost and people will revert to acting the way that they choose to act.

Ed stood on the table in the center of the ballroom and shouted above the crowd that we could all stop using certain words, and talking in certain ways and about certain subjects, or we could go find another party. Some of us did just that. He declared that he'd rather work at McDonalds than back down. But back down he did, if only in words, not in actual deeds. But then again, as others have pointed out, apologizing but not changing the actions that required the apology make the apology pretty worthless.

We had a lot of fun at that party. We have a lot of good memories, and a lot of friends that we've made because we went there. That's why we take it seriously. When someone asks us to leave simply because they want to change the rules and we don't want them to, and they then respond by being petty and disrespectful of their guests; then we, as in real life, have cause to be offended and hurt, and to decide to go to a new party.

I'm still a member there. I posted there this morning, although in the last week I've posted close to 80 times here and perhaps twice there. I didn't walk out angry like some others, although I don't blame them at all for doing so. But I have felt the need to step out for a while and see how things settle out.

So do I take it too seriously? Perhaps by your standards. But those are your standards and are not mine. By my standards, I'm being very considerate to someone who has publicly allowed as that he doesn't have any respect for me or anyone else at the party, and who happily showed us the door. That's not normally a behavior that I'm very interested in tolerating IRL.

[Glazer]

I said long ago in another place (not the dope);

An on-line message board is like a large party in a huge ballroom filled with people. People wander in and out, and wander from table to table in search of conversation. Very few people stand still and only engage in one conversation.

In this particular situation, I'd say that upon reaching a certain stage, the party grows beyond the control of the host. It ceases to be their party and becomes OUR party. It isn't about who is throwing the party, it's about who is at the party, what can be said, what can be heard, what can be learned, what fun can be had. At this stage, the host has to recognize that he doesn't control the situation. He can merely guide it, he can merely influence it, or he can shut it down completely and tell everyone to go home. He can kick individuals out of the party, and he can go from table to table (thread to thread) asking people not to speak in certain ways or about certain things. But the moment he moves on, the influence is lost and people will revert to acting the way that they choose to act.

Ed stood on the table in the center of the ballroom and shouted above the crowd that we could all stop using certain words, and talking in certain ways and about certain subjects, or we could go find another party. Some of us did just that. He declared that he'd rather work at McDonalds than back down. But back down he did, if only in words, not in actual deeds. But then again, as others have pointed out, apologizing but not changing the actions that required the apology make the apology pretty worthless.

We had a lot of fun at that party. We have a lot of good memories, and a lot of friends that we've made because we went there. That's why we take it seriously. When someone asks us to leave simply because they want to change the rules and we don't want them to, and they then respond by being petty and disrespectful of their guests; then we, as in real life, have cause to be offended and hurt, and to decide to go to a new party.

I'm still a member there. I posted there this morning, although in the last week I've posted close to 80 times here and perhaps twice there. I didn't walk out angry like some others, although I don't blame them at all for doing so. But I have felt the need to step out for a while and see how things settle out.

So do I take it too seriously? Perhaps by your standards. But those are your standards and are not mine. By my standards, I'm being very considerate to someone who has publicly allowed as that he doesn't have any respect for me or anyone else at the party, and who happily showed us the door. That's not normally a behavior that I'm very interested in tolerating IRL.

It wasn't until we ran out of booze that it turned into a raiding party :!:

[ivan astikov]

A wonderfully detailed comparison, Chimera.

[NinetyWt]

Yes, well put Chimera.

Reminds me of a post by Duck Duck Goose back in the day, where she likened it to a coffee house, with different rooms in it (each room was one forum).

Probably someone has already said this, but this schism also reminds me of what happens when a long-term couple splits up. Some friends take one person's side, some take the other person's side; some people uncomfortably ride the fence; some people move out of that social circle altogether.

The main thing is, people have a need to talk about it; some more than others, but all of them need to get things off of their chests so to speak. That's what's been going on across all three boards. It will die down eventually, just as friends eventually stop talking about The Divorce of the Century. I think it's natural and healthy, this airing out of opinions.

[Q.E.D.]

Thanks for the heads-up, J Word! I sleep so much better at night knowing you're to periodically pop in and remind us all that you still don't care. I tell you, I was getting really worried, wondering "Gee, is The J Word starting to care? I sure hope not, but he hasn't come back to tell us." And by God, here you are. Thank you, sir!

[featherlou]

Au contraire; you don't take it seriously enough. And you suck at spelling.

[Q.E.D.]

Making snide commets anywhere, getting into actual arguments.
It's just a bit much for message boards.

...

I'm not sure if it's a rant or a plea for any of you to take a look in the mirror.
Maybe i want you to argue back so i can reinforce my own views. Who knows.

Also, you do not see any hypocrisy in these two statements?

[Nzinga, Seated]

Thanks for the heads-up, J Word! I sleep so much better at night knowing you're to periodically pop in and remind us all that you still don't care. I tell you, I was getting really worried, wondering "Gee, is The J Word starting to care? I sure hope not, but he hasn't come back to tell us." And by God, here you are. Thank you, sir!

I woke up in a cold sweat last night. My husband had to hold me tightly and whisper, "It's ok...The J Word doesn't care. Not a bit....not a bit..." And though I doubted him then...I see now that indeed he was correct. Thank goodness The J Word came in to put us at ease.

[The J Word]

Are you being smug because you think you're better than me? Or because you don't care what i think about you?

J

[storyteller]

Are you being smug because you think you're better than me? Or because you don't care what i think about you?

J

I think - and here I'm just guessing, employing deductive reasoning a bit - that they're being smug because people who spend a lot of time and effort convincing you that they don't care about something are usually people who care very much about that thing. I mean, I actually don't care about that Diplomacy thread that's got a lot of steam in the Game Room area, so I don't read it. You know?

[silenus]

I mean, I actually don't care about that Diplomacy thread that's got a lot of steam in the Game Room area, so I don't read it. You know?

But, but mentioning it here, you indicate that you do actually care about it. The only way not to care about it is not to know about it in the first place. But then, you have to know about something to be able to formulate an opinion in the first place, so not knowing is the same as knowing. I think.

[prr]

I'm not sure if it's a rant or a plea for any of you to take a look in the mirror.
Maybe i want you to argue back so i can reinforce my own views. Who knows.

J

Are there no mirrors in your world?

[Giles]

But, but mentioning it here, you indicate that you do actually care about it. The only way not to care about it is not to know about it in the first place. But then, you have to know about something to be able to formulate an opinion in the first place, so not knowing is the same as knowing. I think.

You're right, of course. But I know that somewhere on the Internet, on a message board that I've never heard of, in a thread that I have no way of hearing about, three or four people are having some fun. I don't know who those people are, and I'd probably hate them in real life, but that doesn't stop me staying awake at night worrying about it.

[eleanorigby]

[quote=Nzinga, Seated]

Thanks for the heads-up, J Word! I sleep so much better at night knowing you're to periodically pop in and remind us all that you still don't care. I tell you, I was getting really worried, wondering "Gee, is The J Word starting to care? I sure hope not, but he hasn't come back to tell us." And by God, here you are. Thank you, sir!

I woke up in a cold sweat last night. My husband had to hold me tightly and whisper, "It's ok...The J Word doesn't care. Not a bit....not a bit..." And though I doubted him then...I see now that indeed he was correct. Thank goodness The J Word came in to put us at ease.[/quote:1o6rjjtp]


I'm sure it's of great comfort to you--to us all--in these trying times of unrest and uncertainty...



To the OP: please go to typing class and spelling lessons. When come back, bring cogent argument.

[silenus]

Do you worry about the people, or do you worry about the fun? If you worry about the people, is it because they might be bigger than you, with pointy sticks and bad attitudes? If you worry about the fun, as I do, do you fear that, should you become aware of what other people do for fun, you will try it too, and soon head down the spiral of despair that ends at icanhascheeseburger.com?

[Cluricaun]

Are you being smug because you think you're better than me? Or because you don't care what i think about you?

J

Yes.

[featherlou]

I like lolcats! :mrgreen:

[klaatu]

Well, I have been at the Dope since '99, and it is still just a message board. Just like this board or any other board.
It's cheap entertainment. Sorry, but I don't really care about you people. Just words on a screen.

It's fun to interact and talk shit with anon internet personalities, but not something I think about when I am not on the boards.

But I don't go to dopefests or meet board people in real life, and can understand irl relationships that develope from board interaction. Cool!

That being said, I agree with the OP, and have said it many times on the Dope. I like this board, and like the Dopers who have come here compared to Giraffe's board.

But it's still just a message board. YMMV

[eleanorigby]

OK, klaatu, so it won't matter to you if I say your POV sucks and your mom dresses you funny?


I truly am not interested in just pixels or words on a screen. My message board involvement is due to meeting interesting people. People who don't care about that are not interesting to me.

<Colbert> You are dead to me, now! </Colbert>

[Nzinga, Seated]

I like this board, and like the Dopers who have come here compared to Giraffe's board.

I keep reading things like this and it baffles me. I honestly thought that the same folks at Giraffe were the same folks here. If there is some kind of divide, I can not for the life of me figure out what it is.

[tirial]

Just popping in to say, while i loved SDMB at a point, and kind of have faith in this board, that you all take things relating to either board way too seriously.
Making snide commets anywhere, getting into actual arguments.
It's just a bit much for message boards.

That's how i know I'm going to be mostly a lurker around here. I don't find a message board (or any of you) very important.

I'm not sure if it's a rant or a plea for any of you to take a look in the mirror.
Maybe i want you to argue back so i can reinforce my own views. Who knows.

J

Who cares? When it comes down to it, it's just a messageboard.
The SDMB is a messageboard. It was fun and interesting. It isn't any longer, so I moved over here. If Domebo stops being fun and interesting, I'll move on again. What's the problem? I've just been to a Dopefest meet with members of SDMB, Nads, Giraffeboard and Domebo (apologies to any other boards I missed) and didn't see any sign of this "great divide". No one got hurt, and the only argument was over turning the pub's rugby game down, so cross board snark isn't an issue unless you try to make it one.

If you don't like it, then just avoid Beyond Thunderdome. It's what I do.

[Claptree]

I keep reading things like this and it baffles me. I honestly thought that the same folks at Giraffe were the same folks here. If there is some kind of divide, I can not for the life of me figure out what it is.

Agreed. I have a feeling there's a slight difference between the boards, but it's so minuscule it might just be the software they're running on. I read both places, even though I primarily post here. Probably because I started here and don't really have time to engage on more than one board.

[eleanorigby]

I like this board, and like the Dopers who have come here compared to Giraffe's board.

I keep reading things like this and it baffles me. I honestly thought that the same folks at Giraffe were the same folks here. If there is some kind of divide, I can not for the life of me figure out what it is.

Well, I'd tell ya, but then I'd hafta kill ya.

[obnoxious nerd] The difference is OBVIOUS, people! This board is Domebo and the Giraffe Board is the Giraffe Board. Honestly, if you can't see the difference between Domebo and Giraffe, you're beyond help. <walks away muttering>[/ON]

[silenus]

Besides, the OP doesn't know how to spell "y'all," so we can discount their opinion at our leisure.

[Nzinga, Seated]

I like this board, and like the Dopers who have come here compared to Giraffe's board.

I keep reading things like this and it baffles me. I honestly thought that the same folks at Giraffe were the same folks here. If there is some kind of divide, I can not for the life of me figure out what it is.

Well, I'd tell ya, but then I'd hafta kill ya.

[obnoxious nerd] The difference is OBVIOUS, people! This board is Domebo and the Giraffe Board is the Giraffe Board. Honestly, if you can't see the difference between Domebo and Giraffe, you're beyond help. <walks away muttering>[/ON]

That made me laugh, but seriously though, I really am curious by what people are talking about. On the SDMB, people would talk about cliques, and everyone in the clique would chime in to say "Whaaaaaaa??? What cliques??!!!" when we all knew damn well 'what cliques'. But this one is really puzzling. I have seen the exact same posters on both boards. Wtf is everyone talking about?

[silenus]

You don't understand. The Giraffe board is filled with...you know...those people. As opposed to this place, which is filled with...wel...us.

See the difference now?

[Nzinga, Seated]

You don't understand. The Giraffe board is filled with...you know...those people. As opposed to this place, which is filled with...wel...us.

See the difference now?

Ohhh!! I see now. I feel so stupid.

[Claptree]

Assuming you're the Nzinga from over there and not our Nzinga, you should.

[Brewha]

Hey guys. I just wanted you all to know that this thread is not important enough for me to post in. Do you hear me? I will not be posting in this thread. I just thought you should know.

[ivan astikov]

This whole messageboard thing isn't just an amalgamation of pixels. It can be that, but at its most effective it is almost a melding of minds.

A bit like The Borg, but you are allowed snacks and your favourite tipple, or vice.

Mine is wearing no pants while posting, after being put on to this perverse pleasure by another poster.

It's very invigorating but you have to be careful where you are flicking your cig.

[silenus]

It's very invigorating but you have to be careful where you are flicking your cig.

Is this some slang term I'm not familiar with?

[EthelMercaptan]

Not a smoker?

Flicking ash off the end of your cigarette. Nothing more pervy than that I'm afraid. And, it would be bad to do it carelessly while not wearing pants.

[silenus]

This is ivan we're talking about. I couldn't be sure. :mrgreen:

[ivan astikov]

This is ivan we're talking about. I couldn't be sure. :mrgreen:

Drop your guard and I'll be all over you like a rash! :twisted:

[featherlou]

I bet Ivan flicks his cig a lot while posting! A lot!

[garygnu]

I don’t think we’re taking the whole thing too seriously. I think some fucking idiots are putting to much weight on this here blow-off-steam subforum.
We were invited to take our ball and play elsewhere, and we did. But, paraphrasing Bartleby the Scrivener, we would have preferred not to. Just because our new playground is way better than the old one, and we’re not afraid to say so, doesn’t mean we’re being serious.

[ivan astikov]

I bet Ivan flicks his cig a lot while posting! A lot!

I'll take that as a compliment to my virility, if that's okay with you, 'lou?