Post by Alan on Feb 29, 2008 0:17:52 GMT -5
So here is the deal.
Everytime I dissapear for a day or two, or for that matter when I'm around and something mildly offensive comes up on this messageboard, I end up with an inbox with two or three complaints in it about the soapbox.
Here is the deal. I started this site to give you, my friends, fellow gardeners, and ADULTS an alternative to the B.S. going on at other sites and to also have a place to share my work. I had my reservations about putting a soapbox on this forum but here is how my train of thought worked:
Every other forum is heavily moderated, to the point that there is no such thing as fairness. I am not Adolf Hittler nor Mr. Evil Lizard man. I have respect for everyone and their opinions so long as they have respect for mine. Surely folks are adult enough to judge what is a conversation they want to read, reply to, and participate in, let your members make the judgement.
Now this brings me to my next point I am not here to hold your hand like a child, nor to make judgements on your actions as adults and so barring completly outrageous hate speech, bigotry, and zeloutry I let everyone post what they want, to this point that has worked pretty well and everybody has been able to turn their head and disagree by not posting in that thread up untill this point and I have not had to edit anything or ban anyone, EVER!
Up untill this point that is. I don't know if it's because election year, people having a hard time at home or what, but from my eyes there are some folks who are having a hard time remembering how to handle things in an adult way and not take things so seriously. You can't take a messagebord to seriously, or life for that matter, you will never get out alive!
What really bothers me is that people seem to think theres to much mud slinging going on. The truth is that there is very little mudslinging going on compared to informative conversations all over this board about gardening, an event which is supposed to bring us closer together.
If you haven't noticed, most other messageboards have systems worse than ours. That is selective editing, destruction of personalities, ego-maniacal control, or totalatarian control and edititing.
So, I have given you the alternative that most of you were looking for. A board where you were free to be you, to behave as adults without someone looking over your shoulder, a place where you could speak your mind freely, experience, love and community and the imperfect perfection of being a human animal and some of you are complaining?
It doesn't make much sense to me really and I find it disheartening, very much so to say the least. Either way, as a person who is running a forum, in the loosest since of the word since the forum really belongs to all of you and not me, I feel I am in a loosing situation. If I edit you some of you complain, if i do not some of you complain. A part of me wants to say get the f*** over it and go on with your life, if you don't like something ignore it, and honestly that's the way I feel as I do not believe in percieved authority nor selective editing which would take away from the person you are, I want you to be you, that is the beauty of it.
This is why this poll only has yes or no. Because it's your decision and in my eyes there is only one right answer. You can't have your cake and eat it to you see, it's either all or nothing with me with very few exceptions.
Now, on to a point that gets brought up fairly often to me by a small, very small group of people. Perhaps there are times when I have stepped out of bounds IN YOUR EYES when discussing another messageboard and seed company and their owner, however you can rest assured that I don't say anything here that I would not say to his face and those feelings are genuinely true. Perhaps I wouldn't have those feelings if I was respected by him in the past and my free speech, way of life, and beleifs were not stomped on and if I didn't believe that this person didn't have some legitamate issues that he is not man enough to step up to. All in all I feel that he is not genuinely passionate as a person or at what he does, that is just me, but don't think for one second that I would say something on a messageboard about someone that I would not say to their face. Perhaps I should tone it down, but there are times when I feel after being disrespected repeatedly that I need to say something, if you don't like it, I'm sorry, shit happens in life that you will not like, learn to deal with it like an ADULT.
Now, I've gotten that off of my chest and that is the last that I will be saying about it. It is up to you, all of you to make this decision. I've declared what I needed to state and will move on with my life like an ADULT.
I will say this, this decision has weighed heavily on me because the very same people who should be working together, overcoming bariers, growing and learning from one another and creating a community without boundaries, the very people on this site who I have come dearly to love are some of the same ones who are doing the complaining and becoming ever more offended by petty differences, something that mankind needs to learn to overcome if we are going to transend this modern day material world of B.S. politics, mateial wealth, and childish he said she said bullshit. The reason it bothers me so bad? Because it actually honest to god makes me feel like what I am trying to do with bringing people together with adventerous gardening, seed breeding, and the extended community of gardeners, friends, and like souls is somehow devalued by the fact that the actions here contradict everything that I am trying to do and prove which is that we are all adults and that we can overcome petty B.S., learn to ingore the parts we do not like about one another and move on to co-operative service to this world.
I desperately hope this has not offended anyone, if it has, I will not say sorry, I expressed the way I feel as an ADULT and if you don't like it then turn your head and go on like an ADULT.
Edited to reflect that this isn't directed at the people who have posted on the soapbox, but instead to those whom instead fill up my inbox and e-mail with requests for me to be a "better parent" to grown adults. I hope this doesn't offend the others of you honestly.
Sincerly,
Your Friend,
Alan Reed Bishop
Everytime I dissapear for a day or two, or for that matter when I'm around and something mildly offensive comes up on this messageboard, I end up with an inbox with two or three complaints in it about the soapbox.
Here is the deal. I started this site to give you, my friends, fellow gardeners, and ADULTS an alternative to the B.S. going on at other sites and to also have a place to share my work. I had my reservations about putting a soapbox on this forum but here is how my train of thought worked:
Every other forum is heavily moderated, to the point that there is no such thing as fairness. I am not Adolf Hittler nor Mr. Evil Lizard man. I have respect for everyone and their opinions so long as they have respect for mine. Surely folks are adult enough to judge what is a conversation they want to read, reply to, and participate in, let your members make the judgement.
Now this brings me to my next point I am not here to hold your hand like a child, nor to make judgements on your actions as adults and so barring completly outrageous hate speech, bigotry, and zeloutry I let everyone post what they want, to this point that has worked pretty well and everybody has been able to turn their head and disagree by not posting in that thread up untill this point and I have not had to edit anything or ban anyone, EVER!
Up untill this point that is. I don't know if it's because election year, people having a hard time at home or what, but from my eyes there are some folks who are having a hard time remembering how to handle things in an adult way and not take things so seriously. You can't take a messagebord to seriously, or life for that matter, you will never get out alive!
What really bothers me is that people seem to think theres to much mud slinging going on. The truth is that there is very little mudslinging going on compared to informative conversations all over this board about gardening, an event which is supposed to bring us closer together.
If you haven't noticed, most other messageboards have systems worse than ours. That is selective editing, destruction of personalities, ego-maniacal control, or totalatarian control and edititing.
So, I have given you the alternative that most of you were looking for. A board where you were free to be you, to behave as adults without someone looking over your shoulder, a place where you could speak your mind freely, experience, love and community and the imperfect perfection of being a human animal and some of you are complaining?
It doesn't make much sense to me really and I find it disheartening, very much so to say the least. Either way, as a person who is running a forum, in the loosest since of the word since the forum really belongs to all of you and not me, I feel I am in a loosing situation. If I edit you some of you complain, if i do not some of you complain. A part of me wants to say get the f*** over it and go on with your life, if you don't like something ignore it, and honestly that's the way I feel as I do not believe in percieved authority nor selective editing which would take away from the person you are, I want you to be you, that is the beauty of it.
This is why this poll only has yes or no. Because it's your decision and in my eyes there is only one right answer. You can't have your cake and eat it to you see, it's either all or nothing with me with very few exceptions.
Now, on to a point that gets brought up fairly often to me by a small, very small group of people. Perhaps there are times when I have stepped out of bounds IN YOUR EYES when discussing another messageboard and seed company and their owner, however you can rest assured that I don't say anything here that I would not say to his face and those feelings are genuinely true. Perhaps I wouldn't have those feelings if I was respected by him in the past and my free speech, way of life, and beleifs were not stomped on and if I didn't believe that this person didn't have some legitamate issues that he is not man enough to step up to. All in all I feel that he is not genuinely passionate as a person or at what he does, that is just me, but don't think for one second that I would say something on a messageboard about someone that I would not say to their face. Perhaps I should tone it down, but there are times when I feel after being disrespected repeatedly that I need to say something, if you don't like it, I'm sorry, shit happens in life that you will not like, learn to deal with it like an ADULT.
Now, I've gotten that off of my chest and that is the last that I will be saying about it. It is up to you, all of you to make this decision. I've declared what I needed to state and will move on with my life like an ADULT.
I will say this, this decision has weighed heavily on me because the very same people who should be working together, overcoming bariers, growing and learning from one another and creating a community without boundaries, the very people on this site who I have come dearly to love are some of the same ones who are doing the complaining and becoming ever more offended by petty differences, something that mankind needs to learn to overcome if we are going to transend this modern day material world of B.S. politics, mateial wealth, and childish he said she said bullshit. The reason it bothers me so bad? Because it actually honest to god makes me feel like what I am trying to do with bringing people together with adventerous gardening, seed breeding, and the extended community of gardeners, friends, and like souls is somehow devalued by the fact that the actions here contradict everything that I am trying to do and prove which is that we are all adults and that we can overcome petty B.S., learn to ingore the parts we do not like about one another and move on to co-operative service to this world.
I desperately hope this has not offended anyone, if it has, I will not say sorry, I expressed the way I feel as an ADULT and if you don't like it then turn your head and go on like an ADULT.
Edited to reflect that this isn't directed at the people who have posted on the soapbox, but instead to those whom instead fill up my inbox and e-mail with requests for me to be a "better parent" to grown adults. I hope this doesn't offend the others of you honestly.
Sincerly,
Your Friend,
Alan Reed Bishop