Make that 28,999, Zenster.

The BBQ Pit
61

I’m a bit uncomfortable with Zenster’s apparent belief that the folks who haven’t said anything negative about him do not dislike him.

Claiming the support of 29,000 people is ridiculous. As has been demonstrated many times by our volunteer statisticians, the vast majority of registered members have never posted, or have only posted once or twice. Quite a few of the people who were active members no longer participate in the board. Many of the people included in the 29,000 figure were active before Zenster even registered. And, if I recall correctly, banned members are still counted. We’ve done a lot of speculation about how many “active” members there are on the board, and of course, we could never come up with an answer, largely because we couldn’t come up with a definition of an active poster. But we all always agreed that the number of people who read the board with some regularity and post at least occasionally–the people that would have had an opportunity to post to previous Zenster threads–is far far less than the number on the front page.

Furthermore, there is no reason to assume that just because an active poster hasn’t said anything, that that poster does not “have problems with [his] online persona.”

I don’t think that I’ve ever said anything negative in previous Zenster threads. That doesn’t mean that I don’t find him annoying. I skip almost all of his posts. I may go back and read part of the post if another poster references it, but usually if I see “Zenster” as the post author, I just skip over it.

Why am I saying something now when I’ve refrained in the past? Well, I just had no particular reason to say anything. I just found him generally annoying, and I thought other posters were explaining things just fine. But his strange idea that there are 29,000 Zenster-lovers out there put me over the edge.

62

Zenster is abrupt, opinionated, and yes, possibly a little rude at times. But this is not what bothers the pile-on merchants. No, it’s his honesty. That doesn’t seem to hold much value in the Pit these days.

Zenster has a basic, deep-seated decency you lot wouldn’t know if you tripped over it. If he is acerbic in his Pit posts, it is because he is defending himself, his friends, or his beliefs. That earns him a reputation as a (insert contrived Python-based insult here)wad. If the regular Pit suspects are harsh or rude, they are doing it for mere shits and giggles, and don’t particularly care about the facts.

It’s strange how I see the same names crop up in pile-ons, time after time. Especially cowardly are those who wait until they can safely see which way the pile-on is headed before they throw in their lot with one of the teams.

I have never known Zenster to do that. He is an asset to the boards (and if you don’t like his recipes, you don’t have to fuckin’ cook them). Zenster’s posting style is consistent with, and respectful of, the ignorance-fighting spirit these boards once held so dear. If he has chosen not to be part of the passive aggressive wankfest so evident now, well I don’t blame him.
Zenster calls a spade a spade. He is good people.

63

I don’t read the boards very often, but when I come across a Zenster thread, I find that he comes of as a know-it-all jerk. But whatever, that’s his right. I don’t really care if he is and I’m sure he doesn’t care about what I think.

Maybe someone should start a “Am I a Cock or Not?” website so we can vote on SDMBers worthiness and get it all straightened out.

64

Hey Green Bean… do you hear that?

If you listen REAL closely, you can hear the familiar sound of no one caring.

65

I’m still really new and all (posting-wise), but I wanted to say that I’ve now interacted with Zenster a couple of times for sure, once in my thread about collectibles and another where he was the only one who could give me a recipe for white queso (and bless his heart, he had to try 3 separate posts before the hamsters let him through – and boy, is that some GOOD stuff!), and he’s always been quite the gentleman to me.

I have read a lot of the stuff where people disagree with his opinions, but I’ve also come across reports of his apparent boundless generosity and kindness. I also think his passion for his beliefs is admirable and something to strive for. So, from that perspective, I definitely cast my vote for him being a good guy and I, personally, like him. Perhaps, just like all of us, their are qualities in his character that needs working on, but before I say anymore about that, I’ll be tending to that moat in my own eye first. :wink:

66

Nitpick:

It’s a ‘mote.’ A ‘moat’ is a ditch filled with water surrounding a castle.

67

Actually, mine is a moat. You oughta SEE that sucker!! :smiley:

[Actually, thanks though. That’s stuff that spell check just doesn’t catch.]

68

The difference is some of us know that even if we HAVE a recipe for white queso, we’re better off keeping our mouths shut since it’s the WRONG recipe because it isn’t Zenster.

69

Actually, no. Green Bean pretty much hit the nail on the head there.

Here, mac let me give you a half-assed analogy:

I don’t like raw oysters. I haven’t yet decided if they have the consistency of slimy gelatin or firm snot. The problem is that I love food in general and seafood (even little baby octopi, the tentacles of which tickle the inside of my mouth when I chew them) in particular. Logically I know there is nothing wrong with oysters and that there are oyster lovers all over the world, so in order to get over my distaste every couple of years I give them another shot. Every time I try them I cringe and get shivers up my back and have to drink a lot of something alcoholic to get the taste out of my mouth.

That’s pretty much the reaction I have to Zenster as well.

There are differences between Zenster and oysters, though. The oysters don’t give a shit if I don’t like them. As a matter of fact, and if they were sentinent, they’d probably be very happy I don’t like them. And I can guarantee the oysters aren’t hanging out in their little oyster beds making pearls and assuming that if I don’t personally say “I don’t like you” that I do. That is overreaching hubris, and I really don’t like having thoughts and feelings attributed to me when I do not hold them.

Since Zenster is sentinent, and since he grouped me in with that mythical 29,000 without my knowledge and consent, I wanted to make it crystal clear that his assumption, at least on my part, was utterly and completely incorrect.

This is a big place. I know that in the eyes of 99.9% of the board I fall into one of three categories: “Who?”, “Fuck her, she’s a brainless twit.”, and “Oh, HER! Yeah, I know that name.”. I’m all right with that. I’m not out to win any popularity contests, and I don’t keep score. Most importantly, I am not such an ego slut as to count an anonymous message board member on my side in any given situtation.

And one more thing.

When used in an argument, this type of appeal to authority is the lamest logical gaffe EVER.

70

chique: If you love the tickling sensation from the octopus, you really should try the Japanese dish inago. Whenever I had them, I had to make sure the little critters were feet up when I put them in my mouth. I just couldn’t handle the feeling of their tiny feet on my tongue!

71

Hmm. They don’t have the consistency of firm snot, do they?

72

That’s commendable chique, but I wonder how your ego would feel if there were repeated threads titled “Fuck chique…she’s a brainless twit”. Not necessarily because of your opinions, but because of who you are. I know that I’d be absolutely shattered, and that’s how I feel watching such a vitriolic attack on others as well. It’s hurtful and unnecessary. If you don’t agree with someones opinion, tell 'em so. Tell them they are being an ass, or tell them they are ignorant. But when you tell someone that YOU DON’T LIKE THEM, it is quite another kettle of fish altogether.

Y’see, while there might be a number of people on this board who I would prefer not to know IRL, and some who drive me completely batty, I would no more suggest that I dislike THEM, PERSONALLY, AS A HUMAN BEING, than fly to the moon.

I don’t give a shit that this is an ‘anonymous’ message-board. For many of us here, the board is an integral part of our lives, and we share much together. It is one thing to acknowledge that not everybody is going to agree with my POV, and quite another to open a thread devoted to telling me that I am a worthless and disliked human being.

See the difference?

73

Bloody “Hear, hear!” on that one, kambuckta! You tell 'em!

A lot of the savage, unnecessarily vile crap that goes on in the Pit, and spilling out elsewhere into the board itself, is because of folk crossing that very, very fine emotional line from critiquing the post to critiquing the poster. It’s shit, and it leaves a stain right across everything that’s damned hard to scrub out and make all better.

They may skulk behind the excuse of honesty and “speaking one’s mind” – but personal attacks are a two-edged sword. As I’ve seen, here, with increasing, regretable frequency.

If you disagree with a poster’s use of logic, just tell them that. Uttering the words “I can’t stand you”, and all the rest, is crap, especially here, where we’re supposed to be intelligent, rather than back to playing our cruel playground games.

74

No, I don’t really see the difference. This board is a big part of my life, and I’ve gained quite a few friends, supporters, and better-than-acquaintances from it. I know who they are, and I don’t count the other 28,000-odd among them.

This is what Zenster did and to which I take offense.

75

Just wanted to add that my silence on the subject should not be considered validation of or agreement with either side of this particular debate.

76

Just to take it out to the theoretical level (and thanks, but can we skip the personal attacks on anyone at all if this is to be theoretical?) those of you who have Poster A as a close personal friend and who have never experienced the negative aspects of Poster A because s/he never cuts loose on you in that way… what resort do you think that the rest of the community who are being told to get out of Poster A’s threads, being told s/he is Better At a Specific Pursuit or being attacked by Poster A should take?

In some ways an online community is self-correcting. For some of us getting negative feedback is enough to make us stop and think and consider change. For others it’s not.

I guess it comes down to the ignore function. Love it, use it and make it your bitch. But that goes for both sides of the coin. If our theoretical Poster A cannot bear to be disagreed with, then they should become adept at managing conflict by ignoring it.

77

I have pitted posters before. Sometimes posters suck and they need to be told.

My feeling is that if posters don’t want to be pitted, they shouldn’t piss people off. We’re among “friends” and “enemies” here. Unfortunately we cannot choose which of the two groups will post to our threads or respond to our posts. Sometimes you have to face the hateration to get the lovin’.

I don’t think anyone is petty for admitting they find a certain poster annoying, just like I don’t think anyone has to be obsequious in order to love and respect a poster.

With all that said, I don’t think Zenster deserves yet another pit thread. IMHO, his comment to jarbabyj wasn’t that outrageous to deserve yet another pile-on. But then again, I admit I don’t really have an opinion towards Zenster one way or the other. I actually feel like this about most posters on this board.

78

Nope, chique; they are quite crunchy, the legs tickle the palate, and they taste like barbecue potato chips.

79

I feel like Zenster is someonewith whom I could get ragingly drunk, have an Outraged, Shocked, and Appalled screaming debate over the State of Things, and end up in a smoky bar making fun of Pat Robertson over a glass of scotch.

Good people indeed.

80

But jar, since I can’t cook boiled water even to save my life, I need as much help as I can get! Please, if you have another recipe out there for me, send it my way. Only then can I aspire to at least dazzle the SO with something of my own creation more than a scrambled egg (of the accidental variety). More options, the better.
::: whimper whimper :::

:stuck_out_tongue: