You know what, Mag? I don’t really give a shit WHAT you think about my sig. I’d make it shorter if the admins tell me it’s long, but not because someone is going around being a catty ass.
Kellibelli, you said you were in the middle of no where. So am I. Send email and let me know how far out you are. Might be “We” can start a Dopefest thread. LOL Really, you know me so drop me a line. 
Cat and I are willing to travel a bit.
For a nothing thread, this is sure a long one. Yee Haw !!
I dunno Kelli but I’ve felt like this for a while, I know that the boards seem to becoming more of a popularity party, and it’s the newer younger people who are driving it, sometimes I think people should answer who Cecil Adams is and list a favorite column of his before they join…we seem to be losing our sense of community…I know this is probably me being an old fart again but I do feel like this
Keith
I agree completely, and I’ve only been around for about 10 months.
Guinastasia, Magdelene’s saying (and I hope I’m not putting words in your mouth, Mag) that’s it’s respectiful to other posters to not have the longest sig line in the world (really - you can make some of that all one line, and do you have to kiss DRY’s ass like everyone and their mother and their dog? Sheesh). Just like it’s out of consideration that you don’t quote a whole reply, but the part you mean, and it’s respectful to post things that actually relate to the OP, and not make off-hand one-liners about random comments someone sent, IE
.
I think that’s what we’re talking about here. I’m so fucking sick of people poking in their heads to not contribute anything important at all in relation to anything (except maybe a low chuckle from three people). It’s not about making three people laugh, it’s about contributing and making well thought-out replies which consist of more than five words.
Although I can understand how, with the increasing talking-out-of-the-ass thread mentality of late, posters would think “HEY! :rolleyes:” is a suitable reply.
I came back to this thread because I wanted to make some (hopefully constructive) additional points.
Regarding cliques: This board is made up of a great number of posters. Ideally, we would all feel a sense of community when posting here. However, with any community, smaller social groups develop–affiliations form within the larger community. It’s inevitable.
Here, posters who attend doperfests with one another often become friends. Posters who participate in #sd chat might also befriend one another. Other posters will find common interests, develop a friendship via e-mail, ICQ, AIM, whatever. People will affiliate, as they do in everyday life. I respectfully submit this is a GOOD thing.
I could see a clique as a potential problem if it gangs up on an “outsider”. Or if the clique members act exclusionary: replying and interacting with each other and ignoring the rest of the board. But unless either of these conditions apply, I don’t see a thing wrong with the social circles that develop.
With respect to sig line length, I respectfully submit that Guinastasia’s asserting that acceptable length sig is a moderator’s call to make is correct. I don’t see how this can be disputed.
Nacho4Sara, I have nothing against you (in fact, what I know of you, I generally like), but how in the world can you possibly complain about one person “asskissing” another when your very own sig consists of two quotes about yourself that other posters made? Should Lux Fiat or Wally be criticized for “asskissing” you??
Furthermore, you quote Odieman, who says that he feels like the board is becoming a popularity party. Yet Odieman’s sig notes that he was welcomed by Cecil Adams, is virtually married to screech-owl, and contains a very nice bit of praise from Scotticher. Looking at Scotticher’s sig, we see the same sort of sig as my own: she pays homage to her friends here.
In other words, what do the sigs of you, me, **Guinastasia, Odieman ** and Scotticher all have in common? All of us are either praising our another poster (“asskissing them”) or quoting something another poster saying something about us (which I guess would constitute “them asskissing us”). How can you criticize Guinastasia for something you yourself (and me, and Odieman, etc.) are doing? Furthermore, WHY would you criticize ANYONE for saying something nice about someone else? I politely submit that if people did that more often, instead of complaining about each other, THAT would make the boards a more pleasant place.
I should make clear that I’m not criticizing any of the people whose sigs I speak of above. Quite the opposite: any sig which either praises another poster here, or honors another individual for something complimentary that they said about YOU is something I personally find very heartening. I compliment the individuals above (well, I don’t compliment myself).
To the extent that I get “asskissed”, I believe it’s because I did something positive: extended a kindness, cared about someone else, made a friend, whatever. I believe that also holds true for when you, WallyM7, Scotticher, Guinastasia, Odieman and anyone else gets “asskissed”.
Do positive interactions, friendships, praise and kindness have nothing to do with Cecil Adams and the purpose of the Straight Dope? I hope not, for the make this board a more pleasant place.
While I disagree with Nacho4Sara’s criticism of Guinastasia’s sig (particularly with respect to content), nothing in what I said here should be construed as a personal slam of anyone. I’m not a big believer in ripping other posters.
Wally is dead, you half-wit!
How the hell is honoring a dead man ‘asskissing’??
What’s next, matching friendship bracelets? Maybe those safety pins that the kids in junior high used to trade and wear to show their affiliations.
Those stupid sigs contribute to the whole ‘clique’ mentality of this place, which IMHO is what is turning this place into DAWSONS-FUCKING-CREEK!!!
Christ, how old are you people?
I disagree. As Kellibelli pointed out, my Wally sig is honoring a man who died, a man who had a huge effect on these boards. It was an absolute honor of the highest degree to recieve one, and I will use it in my sig line for as long as I post here. And if calling someone a bitch is asskissing them, then you didn’t know Wally very well. Your loss.
Also, the difference between Guinastasia’s FairyPrincessKitty sig and my Lux Fiat sig is that, as far as I can see, Lux never started a thread asking for people to sign up for his cool sig lines. He and I don’t hijack the Board (i.e. “Hijacking the Board: A phone call to Lux”). He and I e-mail back and forth, but we DO NOT (with rare exception - like once) make a habit of posting to each other, hojacking threads that do not relate, or starting entire threads about our friendship. We began e-mailing each other based on these Boards; but our friendship takes place elsewhere, out of respect for other posters, because I know that you guys don’t give a fuck.
I knew WallyM7. WallyM7 was a friend of mine.
You, sir, are no WallyM7.
Jesus Christ-if ONE part of my sig is too long, I’ll fix, okay? Fucking shit!
And what the fuck-if you DON’T like some kinds of threads-don’t bloody read them! How hard is that?
(BTW, am I the ONLY one seeing that DRY was playing the Devil’s Advocate in his question about Sara’s sigs?)
Fucking bloody hell-if you think this place is running with fluff, you’ve never seen some of the other boards I inhabit. Try SAAN-which I love, but is full of fluff and is invaded by trolls every other week! (We just got into a battle with another forum and ended up having to do a Bunny/Kitten invasion of their board after they bombarded us with porn!)
Or go to Hissyfit, which is nothing BUT intellectual, witty topics, but the mod is so anal she closes threads about relationships if it’s anyone under the age of 20, and bans people for signing their names under their posts. (I shit you not). And you’re not told WHY you are banned, and she ignores you if you e-mail her. Or try something like Terrific Chick or Missgirl or what have you. Fuck, this place is about the most UNFLUFFIEST, NO-NONSENSE boards I visit. Or go to Something Awful, if you think people are assholes here.
Fucking hell-I posted something about DRY because he’s my friend. YOu know, people you like?
And once again-Don’t like a type of thread? Don’t. Open. It.
I’ve been reading this thread with much interest since it started, and while there’s been some very interesting points, and some even more interesting suggestions made, I’m starting to lose interest in the nitpicking.
One of the reasons I was drawn to the SDMB was for the level of tolerance that I observed when I was lurking. Fighting ignorance seemed to actually draw intelligent, humourous, thoughtful people together for a common good. There were, of course, issues between a few people that I picked up on, but most of them were dealt with fairly, and at the very least, people had enough sense to just walk away, rather than disrupt the boards for the sake of bitching.
I’m noticing a trend that bothers me greatly, though. Perhaps I’m just NOW noticing because I’m a poster and not a lurker, so I’m more personally involved, but maybe there has been a swing in the mood of the board. The major issue that I see and just CANNOT understand in any way is that people are NOT allowing for all kinds on this board. So you don’t like sigs? Fine. So you think people are clique-y? Fine. So you don’t like that MPSIMS actually contains MPS? Fine. But that’s just you. And like the rest of us, you’re just one person amongst thousands. If everyone posted in the exact same style, I would be frightfully bored here. But, really, people, what happened to the tolerance? What happened to the melting pot? What happened to the ability to have a contrasting opinion, which is the foundation of debate and learning? What happened to the possibility that someone will NOT do exactly what you want them to do? Especially when you consider the sheer volume of people that are here, and more trickling in every day.
I’ve only been here posting three months or so. Maybe I did miss the “golden age” of the boards. Maybe it is shitty now compared to what it used to be. BUT, I still think it’s an absolutely amazing place to glean information, listen to contrasting points of view, and meet people that interest me for a wide variety of reasons. Are sig lines that important? Is making someone feel bad because they LIKE their sig line even if you don’t fighting ignorance?
I just don’t understand how people can feel so superiour that they will try to force their opinions on others this way.
Well that’s a fine way of handling any problem. Don’t. Like. It? Walk. Away. Excellent point. If everyone did that, so many pertinent problems would get solved quickly and we could all just walk around blindfolded, for sure that all we have to do is close our eyes to make all the baddy stuff go away.
I don’t care about other message boards. This is the only one I post at, and I’ve only ever read two others in my life. I don’t want to post at another board, because this one, for the most part, fits me perfectly.
And once again - the problem isn’t that certian types of threads are bullshit. It’s that I open a thread about Nuclear Disarmament and fifteen posts are good answers and relate to the response, while the other six are a conversation going back and forth about that time Asshole #1 went to Russia in fifth grade and whether or not he sent Asshole #2 the pictures, and then Asshole #3 butts in to make a comment about sexy Russian chicks, and then Asshole #4 starts talking about “Back in the USSR” and the next thing you know we;re discussing the Beatles; meanwhile, Assholes #5 and 6 and flirting back and forth in fake Russian accents. That’s what I’m talking about. Methinks that you are blind to this problem because you are part of it.
I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea - I love this Board. It’s a part of my life, of my daily routine, and I wouldn’t walk away for anything. I don’t have any problems with the Mods or 95% of the posters, and it used to be that these problems I mention were rare. But when every fourth thread I open is hijacked into some flirtfest or a conversation about red herrings, then yes I get pissed off. It’s like if I opened up a box of Godiva chocalates and found that they were all the nasty kind with the yellow-lemony filling that I hate, instead of the mixed assortment I usually expect. It’s demoralizing and discouraging and it sucks. Case closed.
As for the sig thing, I maintain my position that it’s out of respect to other posters that you keep it short and sweet. Did ya notice about seventeen inches up in this very thread where Kellibelli complained about sigs and so I chnaged mine? I hadn’t realized it was irritating. If it pisses someone off, than I’m glad to cut it back. No problem.
Nym, you rock, bitch!
Very simply, it isn’t. I really don’t know what was unclear about what I wrote. Honoring anyone isn’t asskissing.
Kellibelli, did you actually read my entire post, or did you merely notice that I used “Wally” and “asskissing” in the same sentence and jump to whatever conclusions you wanted to reach?
Try searching my posts, and see how often I’ve slammed Wally. (Good luck finding any!) I posted to his tribute thread, and when he was in the hospital, I sent a note of support to Amy (I kept a copy, and will forward it to you, if you like). I wrote at least one note of condolence to his close friend Shayna when he passed. In short, I’ve always been a hell of a lot more respectful to both Wally and his memory than some of you are being to me right now.
Moreover, there’s THIS thread, which you posted to. Refresh your recollection and reread it:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=28473
Now reread what I said above.
Nacho4Sara complains about Guinastasia saying something complimentary about me in her sig, labeling it “asskissing”. I pointed out that her own sig contains praise of her from other people, including Wally.
I then go out of my way to praise both the individuals who made the compliments in question (which include Wally) AND the individuals who merited such compliments (which include Nacho4Sara):
I don’t know how much clearer I can make it, but I was *complimenting * Wally and anyone else who contributes kindnesses and friendship to other posters. I opined that Wally’s kindness is exactly WHY other people want to pay tribute to him.
I don’t see what I wrote above as critical of Wally in the least, and I would be quite interested to know if his friends, like Coldfire, TVeblen, Shayna or his daughter Amy think I was “slamming” him above. I would honestly be inclined to apologize if someone coolheaded like TVeblen thought I was criticizing Wally, even if my intent was quite the opposite.
I hope you read the above. I like your sig line, and all such sig lines that compliment other posters, as I said previously, I think they contribute to a sense of community.
You were the one who described that Guinastasia praising me was “asskissing”. I’m pointing out that her complimenting me was no different than Wally or Lux Fiat complimenting you. (Or is it that when someone you like compliments you it’s “an honor” but when people you DISLIKE do it, it’s “asskissing”? That would be an interesting definition.)
I’ll repeat myself, just to avoid a misunderstanding. I like your sig. I think it reflects well on you, WallyM7 and Lux Fiat. But I don’t see how you can complain about Guinastasia’s sig, when she’s trying to do essentially the same thing with respect to her friends. That not only smacks of being cliquish (“the people I like are cool, but the people that Guinastasia likes aren’t”), which you claim to despise, it’s also hypocritical.
As far as complaining about other posters, let’s put the shoe on the other foot: suppose I had a problem with you, Nacho4Sara (for the record, I don’t). What would you be more likely to respond to:
-
my posting a pit thread about what an irritating poster you are.
-
my POLITELY and RESPECTFULLY asking you to cease whatever you’re doing that bothers me.
Maybe neither will work, but from what I know of you, an attempt to browbeat or intimidate you (option 1) won’t accomplish anything–heck you’d probably do whatever it is that bothers me more, just to spite me.
Unless someone is breaking the rules, complaining about them doesn’t accomplish anything positive, at least in my opinion.
Nymysys, kudos on a great post! I agree with everything you said, particularly the part about tolerance. And how difficult is it to tolerate something that the moderators and administrators have chosen to allow, whether it’s flirting, cliques, sigs, doperfest threads or whatever? People are going to participate in such things, and being unpleasant to them isn’t going to make them stop.
Again, if anyone has anything constructive to say, you can e-mail me. I’ll only post to this thread again if further clarification of my “slam” :rolleyes: of Wally is needed.
Look, I take some responsibility for the nasty turn this thread took. So I’d like to clear up a few things, and then go on my evil bitch way:
On DRY, et al: Look, this thread, and Euty’s request to MPSIMS-ers, was about thinking before you post just to post something pointless. The “phone call” thread has been on the front page of MPSIMS for what seems like weeks now, and it seemed to me like something that could have long ago been taken to email. I frequently chat and email with some SDMB friends - that thread, and some of its ilk, seemed like the equivalent of me and my “chat friends” starting a thread on the boards (ie, using a resource of the Chicago Reader and SDMB) to have our personal, ongoing conversations. I stand by what I said. Take it to friggin’ email, already.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with posting to fun, froofy threads. There’s nothing wrong with making friends here. Hell, I make no claims to be a Great Debator or a GQ master. But my friends know who they are - I don’t need to attach a fervrent paean to them onto every post. Apparently y’all do.
And maybe I made a mistake picking on only DRY and his harem. For example, oldscratch, rasa, and nymysys, I love you all, but do you like search for each other’s posts so you can chime in, or does that just happen naturally?
On sigs: Some of them are damn funny. Some of them have deep sentimental value to certain posters. But ALL OF THEM wear on the eyes if they show up in every single post you make (Yes, even yours Nacho, although you ARE a badass ninja rock star), especially when you post more than once to a thread. While I’m happy for him and his accomplishments, Satan’s cigarette meter (Hi Brian!) used to make me want to put my eyes out every time I saw it. Keep them short and sweet and use them sparingly. Please.
Anyway, this is just my opinion - do whatever the hell you want to. Thinking about it more, a lame sig will probably help me weed out more idiots more quickly.
On the good old AOL days: I wasn’t here for those days. I don’t know what anyone is talking about when they refer to them. I’m with the “newbies” who get annoyed when people wax poetic about them. But I’m also with the “oldbies” who pray that a lot of the idiots who have swarmed us via Bored.com would just hurry up and get sick of the place and go back to Yahoo teen chat from whence they came. The answer to that, for me, has been to be more selective about what threads I click on in MPSIMS. But when good threads are moving off the front page so that some idiot can celebrate his 100th post or so that two people who apparently talk to each other all the livelong day can continue their conversation, yeah, it bugs me. Ditto for introducing my friend so-and-so - we’ll get to know your friend soon enough, by his or her posts.
Look, sorry. I’ll try to let it bug me less. Again, this is just my opinion. I don’t pretend to speak for anyone but myself.
Nymysys - you made a lot of good points about diversity of viewpoints and tolerance. This is an incredible place. You ( the global, plural you ) can never assume that anyone here thinks like you do. And I’m sorry if my bitchy comments in this thread seemed like some kind of directive from “on high.”
If only this high horse weren’t so incredibly comfortable…
You know what I hate…
All those extra spaces in sigs…
What’s the purpose?
You’resoright,**oldscratch.**Let’sformacommittee.
I was going to leave this thread alone… been here, done this.
No, I don’t search on Nymysys or oldscratch’s posts, and read or post only to those threads. If I see one of them as the last poster to a thread, yep, I open it up. They often amuse me, and I’m interested in what they say. Hell, I live with oldscratch so it’s hard not to know where he’s been. We’re both currently unemployed so we post lots–well ok we do other stuff too, but I won’t talk about that even here in the Pit ;)–I’d have to try real hard to avoid threads he’s been in.
Since the last time I heard this complaint, I know I’ve made a concerted effort to not be a “me too” poster or to address friends specifically in a thread unless it has something to do with the OP. I thought I was doing decent job there.
I didn’t read this whole thread, so I have no idea who said this originally, but all I have to say is why the fuck do you care to whom other people post more often??? Do you go around keeping a little tally sheet or something? How ridiculous is this complaint???
Hon, don’t you dare change your posting habits to conform to the freaks who like to dictate other people’s behaviour. You go right on posting to and with whomever you enjoy posting with. That’s the whole point of interacting on these boards.
Sheesh. What the hell is wrong with some of you people?
Just wanted to point out that at the first quote attributed to me in Shayna’s post was actually one from magdalene. Not that y’all aren’t bright enough to know that without me pointing it out!
Sorry if that was confusing, Rasa. That’s why I put the quote within a quote thing, to show that you were quoting someone else. What my first sentence below the quote should probably have read, in order to be more clear was, “I didn’t read this whole thread, so I have no idea who said this to you originally, Rasa.”
The fact that it was magdalene and I happen to like her, doesn’t change my sentiments on the stupidity of keeping track of who posts to whom. That, of all things, should not matter one lick on these boards.