As was I.
The Random Crap Thread 2: It Hits the Fan.
- Thread starter North_Ranger
- Start date
M
makare
The use of the word I have always heard just means basically a bunch of troublesome people. But using the worst possible interpretation of what someone says is of course in the spirit of halforums.
@Krisken - Considering the way you and Makare acted in the "ignore" thread, it's no surprise you see things that way.
So, this isn't the first forum I've been on at length; and I've always been amazed at the class and calibre of most people I run into. It's always been fun to chat with people from different backgrounds and experiences, even if it leads to tension because of differences in opinion. I spent 10 years on a MUD for example, making my way up to an admin - which only led to uncovering some of the darker side of the Internet.
Like here, the MUD had little enclaves of people from different areas. My hometown had a significant amount of connectees, but the MUD itself was hosted in Scotland with many Europeans connecting. One enclave was from Grand Island, Nebraska and there was one person in particular who always seemed to cause grief.
His name was Shawn. He was a bit of a twat and he and his 'groupies' caused no end of stress from harassing users or just arguing with the administrators for fun. I can understand that on the Internet, the expectation is that you're going to be a bit of a prick; and so I naturally tolerated it for a long period of time. The MUD is officially shutting down next week after 13 years of service so I went on to check who and what is left of a significant part of my internet life.
There I found an update on Shawn.
http://theindependent.com/articles/2011/01/20/news/local/doc4d38fbba65994153091016.txt[/spoiler]
Part of me is unsurprised, another part of me a little in shock and the final part of me thankful that, while we have our share of weirdos and malcontents and deviants, this kind of thing is something we'll hopefully never have to deal with.
Like here, the MUD had little enclaves of people from different areas. My hometown had a significant amount of connectees, but the MUD itself was hosted in Scotland with many Europeans connecting. One enclave was from Grand Island, Nebraska and there was one person in particular who always seemed to cause grief.
His name was Shawn. He was a bit of a twat and he and his 'groupies' caused no end of stress from harassing users or just arguing with the administrators for fun. I can understand that on the Internet, the expectation is that you're going to be a bit of a prick; and so I naturally tolerated it for a long period of time. The MUD is officially shutting down next week after 13 years of service so I went on to check who and what is left of a significant part of my internet life.
There I found an update on Shawn.
Shawn Sinner, 29, of Grand Island has been sentenced in federal court by Judge Joseph F. Bataillon to 27 years in prison for producing child pornography.
http://theindependent.com/articles/2011/01/20/news/local/doc4d38fbba65994153091016.txt
http://theindependent.com/articles/2011/01/20/news/local/doc4d38fbba65994153091016.txt[/spoiler]
http://theindependent.com/articles/2011/01/20/news/local/doc4d38fbba65994153091016.txt
http://theindependent.com/articles/2011/01/20/news/local/doc4d38fbba65994153091016.txt[/spoiler]
Part of me is unsurprised, another part of me a little in shock and the final part of me thankful that, while we have our share of weirdos and malcontents and deviants, this kind of thing is something we'll hopefully never have to deal with.
M
makare
I agree stienman pretty much hit it right on the head.
What is a MUD?
What is a MUD?
That's the definition. Okay? Just the straight up definition. I'm not sure where you got your definition from, but mine comes from an actual source. It's a little thing we call the dictionary. You should check one of those things out sometime.
Pot calling kettle?
M
makare
After I wrote that I checked both dictionary.com and webster.com and I stand by what I said. snarky mcsnarkpants.
You have the right to do that, I suppose. And I'm sorry if you thought I was being snarky. I'll make sure my disdain for you is much more direct in the future.
I spit my cheerios laughing when I hit this part.
figmentPez
Staff member
For the record, I have no problem with commenting on the physical beauty of cosplayers, as long as they comments are not crude. It is perfectly okay to say that a woman has nice legs. It is not okay to say you want her to spread said legs for you. It's fine to say that you find a woman to be attractive. It is not acceptable to say that you derive sexual pleasure from looking at her. Do you see the difference?
Edit: As to "flowers in need of a defender", that's bullshit. Even the more sensitive cosplayers who really are upset by crude comments (and they do exist) don't need me to defend them. This isn't about making them safe, it's about making things right. Even if no cosplayer ever reads that thread, it's still not right to post sexually harassing comments. I want my thread to be a showcase of cosplay, not the disgusting behavior of a minority of male nerds. I'm sick of seeing geekdom treated as if it's nothing but a cesspool of socially inept males who have no control over their libido. Changing that image is not going to be easy, but I'm going to start doing my part by not simply refusing to take part myself, but by openly speaking out against it and by refusing to enable that behavior in others.
Respectfully, you don't know me or you'd realize that I fully intend to treat comments towards male cosplayers just the same as I do those towards women. If I have used gender-specific language, that is because the majority of crude comments are directed towards women. I apologize for being unclear.
The deleted comments were continued mockery of the rules set out by the moderators (Dave and myself). There is no ban on general discussion of cosplay in that thread. There will be a ban on off-topic discussion in the new threads that are going to be stared, so that they can be as purely about the cosplay being presented as possible.
First, my health is crappy and I'm spending the time I otherwise would use for sorting cosplay pictures for responding to this drama, as well as taking breaks to deal with intense pain. (My oxygen machine malfunctioned last night, so my legs hurt like a truckload of gravel got dumped on them, and my lungs ache like someone stuffed them with dry tissue paper.)
There is a difference between polite criticism of artistic/aesthetic merit and and a personal attack. Saying that someone's costume has flaws, however serious, is a completely different issue than calling someone a "whiny bitch" because they asked to be treated with respect.
Sorry, I haven't been following the rest of the posts in this thread. I just posted that out of the blue because I just found it. It's just an incredibly strange coincidence that kinda weirds me out where it ended up.
Fair enough, Pez. As I said, I do agree that things should be held to a certain standard. I agree wholeheartedly that crude or blatantly rude comments should be kept out. I think once you have some rules posted the issue will resolve itself. The currently ambiguity combined with any level of moderation makes it all a bit touchy.
And now we're not allowed to mock Dave, one of our most cherished traditions.
Do you people see what happens now?
Added at: 00:16
Yeah, I wish I'd started a new thread. I didn't think things were going to escalate so much or else more people would've been complaining in the cosplay thread, and only now do I realize the logic that even if people had, those posts would've been deleted. I should've started a new thread.
M
makare
Yeah we should be able to mock Dave even if we can't mock the rules. So we can mock Dave the person not Dave the moderator. Dave with the saggy manboobs, not the Dave with the.. mod powers I guess.
man and making fun of his flappy man hooties was one of my favorite pass times!
Yes, now we can't have a credible conversation about finding out a long term acquaintance of mine from Nebraska has been diddling a 3 year old for a couple years now and was just sentenced to 27 years in jail. Instead it's about moderation which is, frankly, boring!
M
makare
Adammon that's depressing. you should be moderated for being depressing.
It's definitely -10 Espy Points. I'm hoping the smoking baby avoids the thread so I don't get penalized for it.
M
makare
at least you knew the guy was weird so this didn't completely blindside.
It definitely doesn't need a lot of exposure. I think it just underscores how little I know about you, or makare or anyone else on here. Brings me back to the original Image forums and the "I killed someone" shut down; any thing strange we experience probably has a kernel of truth to it somewhere and it should probably be treated as such, even if we're humping personas in the meantime.
M
makare
honestly that kind of stuff is why i am reluctant to put pictures of myself up although now I don't care as much but initially I was just worried about not knowing people. Now I realize there is no protecting yourself anyway so *shrug*
I don't think you'll find anyone more open with their personal life and details than me - but damned if this didn't give me pause. Being a fairly big dude, I'm not so concerned with my physical safety - and I long ago lost any kind of sensitivity to mental duress - plus I don't want to be a chicken little alarmist banging the "Protect your chilluns" bongos but I do want everyone here to be safe. I mock Shego's propensity for hiding her eyes in her pictures she posts but I'm not going to do that any more.
M
makare
Whatever makes people feel comfortable online is fine with me. Whether they don't want to show anything or they are complete cam whores lol. It is their comfort level. Mine is visually restrictive. I don't know why I just feel more exposed when pics are out there. I actually weirded myself out seeing my own house on google maps LOL. I need help. haha.
Okay. I'll just say this. You should just drop any notion of dealing with the cosplay section until you get yourself in order. No sense in letting undue drama get in the way of taking care of the really important things. Don't let trying to deal with one screw up fixing the other.
figmentPez
Staff member
That pizza must be delicious. Not like that mild flavoured Klark Kent pizza.
That Pizza will be so chewy, that it will be considered bullet proof.