Karaoke Forums

All personal info that I deem semi-relevant will be in italics so it may be skipped if you wish to head straight to the issues being addressed.)

It isn’t going to take long for the net-savvy among you to figure out that I’ve been a member since March though I seldom log into the forum and I post even less often, so I’ll address that issue first….  

I have enjoyed this site very much for about 6 months; however, I have only sung at karaoke one time (very drunk) and even though it “brought down the house with rave reviews,” my lifestyle is such that I have not attempted a repeat performance.  Hence, I seldom post as I feel that I should have very little to say in this forum since I do not actively and frequently participate in karaoke as most members do…

Anyway, after about 3 months, I finally figured out that I could read most posts without logging in.  Since then I have been just one of the numerous guests that lurk and read all the (usually) wonderful and humorous posts this site is known for.

btw…to save people the trouble of looking it up, my only post prior to today was a happy birthday wish to a very sweet lady who had long known  my lurking habits.  When she, in her birthday thread, extended an invitation to her actual birthday party - I made my first post to answer her kindness.

I am taking the time to post today because I have seen some changes over the course of the last week that have made this site a lot less fun and I believe it to be directly caused by numerous misunderstandings.  Planet_Bill just did a wonderful summation of what happened to cause such misunderstanding within a single thread.  I would like to make an attempt to state my observations on where I believe a larger misunderstanding began...

In MAO:
To me this is where things started changing.  What most people seemed to have missed (before leaping to conclusions and running off on personal tangents) is that there WERE about 3 or 4 posts at the beginning of that thread that are now missing.  At least 2 of them were made by the person who was banned.  It was the content of those first few missing posts that was very objectionable (yes, I actually read them before they were pulled and IMO that content needed to be removed).  

If you tried to read that thread after it had been censored – NONE OF IT MADE ANY SENSE.  Many members indicated in the latter portion of the thread that they could not understand what happened, but tried to speculate and offer opinions which then fueled the fires.  From there, everyone just seemed to get how the ban and report buttons are used and some seemed to behave as though it was all very personal - IT WAS NOT.   And, over the last week, I have been very shocked to watch as armed camps formed in the aftermath of the confusion caused by this thread.

If there is anything to learn from what happened here… I would suggest that in the future a moderator edit a post and leave the shell in place with something like a very cryptic “edited by moderator” so that members will at least get a sense that something objectionable WAS actually said in prior posts which caused a member to be banned.  


SOME FURTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT EDITING
I won’t say who recently chastised other members for going back and editing their posts (but in the words of the awe-inspiring Mz. Charmin, “ya’ll know who you are…”), however, (IMHO) I think the member’s edit feature is the one thing on this site that actually should be banned.  

Maybe it’s because I read so much more than I post, but I have seen way too many people abusing their edit buttons.  I have seen some people make pretty nasty comments to others overnight and then later editing it out to look banal before the mods come on duty in the morning.  I have seen people go back and edit posts to make someone posting after them look like a total idiot.  I have seen people add more content after receiving a response that related only to their first paragraph.  

And this week, because of heightened sensitivities in this forum, I have seen way too much editing of entire posts to try and please a few who may have criticized what someone had to say.  Does someone actually have to say that the edit function as it is currently used by some members just leads to further confusion and disharmony?  Well, there, I said it!

I don’t post often, but you won’t find me editing anything I say after the fact.  If I said it – I’m going to live with it – and (IMO) I think the forum would benefit greatly from others doing the same.   I’m not naming names or pointing fingers, but way toooooooooo much of the confusion of this last week has been caused by some members editing or removing completely what they originally said.  (IMHO) Unless edited by a moderator, what is said needs to STAY SAID to keep outright confusion from spreading across the forum.  

And, if only mods could edit, those who have a habit of saying nasty things overnight might have to live with what they actually did say come morning.  I will not weep for them.

Peace to All,
Ellen a.k.a. “Blondie”

one of the sites i go to has edit features only for 15 mins... other than that, you can only delete your original post.

Sometimes it makes reading things hard... but I gotta admit I like the way it works... if only because I've been a member there for a long time, and I'm probably used to it.

knightshow  Re: What happened...
Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 7:25 pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

one of the sites i go to has edit features only for 15 mins... other than that, you can only delete your original post.


nah if you have/had the gumption to say what you felt in the first place then at least be grown up enuff to stand by your original statement.
I live by the following...
1. Bugger popular opinion do what feels right
2. If you are wrong or have done wrong admit it.
3. Apologise only if you are truely sorry, not just because someone thinks you should. Better to be a nasty piece of work than a hypocritical nasty piece of work
4. Take responsibility for your own actions but dont feel responsible for others
5. treat zealots, do-gooders and political correctness with the contempt they/it deserves.


Ellan you have a nice logical way of putting thoughts into type and I agree with most of what I have seen you write  :)

Blessed be

_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

I was told I was a stuffed shirt (among other insults)  for even mentioning my opinion that I thought going back to edit one's comments was bad form (and y'all know who you are that said that--sorry if intelligence is frowned upon in your world). It's fulminated to the point where you can barely even say something that is your opinion only and without anything that could possibly be construed as a deliberate attack on someone else without somebody from The High and Above descending on your personal character, or treating what you are talking about as idiotic--maybe it makes them feel superior.  I never have been overly fond of smugness, especially when it is founded upon witlessness.  Someone, at any time, can and will take what you say as a direct assault on them individually when it's not the case.  Perhaps if we all were a bit more careful about what we are saying none of this paranoia would exist. Well, this is my last trip over to this side.  Take care, I'm going back to reading books again.

I think we agree on a great deal here, Morgan.

I like your list for the most part but will freely admit that most Americans (including me) have a hyper devoloped sense of political correctness.  A lot of it has to do with the historically puritanical culture upon which we were based, but even more it is a result of a lot of our more recent history.  

I admit I am culturally biased and PC conditioned by my environment and I guess that's why I find your outsider's view of us Americans to be a breath of fresh air.  

Peace be to you
Ellen

hahah then I would have to say a lot of the culture of the Antipodes stems from the colonies convict heritage  LMAO  That of course is more prevalent in Australia than NZ. Here we just do amazingly inventive stuff with no 8 fencing wire
Oh and the men with sheep  :shock:

_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

I don't know what else you have in OZ but I love your sense of humor!

Give me some time to recover from baring my very private soul in here and I may just hit you upside the head with a few of my favorite blonde jokes!

Peace Be
Ellen

I hope we were suitably nurturing toward said exposed soul

Hugs Ellen with 2 es

_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

The EDIT function is one that I use a lot; but I have yet to abuse it; not to say that others are abusing it. different people may see different use of it.. I use it to correct my grammar and spelling etc; mostly.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Tis an easy mistake to make Ellen, but I am not an austruckinfailian, its a bit like calling a Canadian a Yank

New Zealand is a small country where men are men and sheep are terrified

_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

How much is a one way ticket to New Zealand?

Very interesting post. I never took in consideration I might be reading
posts that have been changed. I mainly use edit for grammer. As everyone probably knows I am one of the worst spellers.

Although you're probably right about the editing going on we've always had an
underlying problem with how the Discussion Forum should be used. I think it just
blew up in the past week maybe because of the reason you explained. (Please I'm not trying to rehash the topic.)  :D

I wouldn't mind the edit feature being only 15 min. I've experienced that in other forums. It usually gives me enough time to fix a problem with my post.

I'm glad you are no longer a lurker - welcome to newbie status  LMAO

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

My guess is that admin can see all changes in the script of what transpires, so they are not in the dark as to what is happening. If changes are made with edit, I'm sure they can track it down to see the original post. Anything internet leaves a pretty easy trail. Edit is abused but also saves a lot of people from saying something that they shouldn't say or do a double take on in the next minute or so. If you go back and read a post and you decide it is too much or not what you meant edit is a great thing. Some will use it to their own interests but that's the problem with having the feature. If you see something you think is totally uncool and want it there, submit a quote and then it cannot be changed on your reply. That's how to take care of that problem. I edit maybe 10% of my posts because I have a tendency to be a little harsh. I just wrote one that I am considering editing. Full House Entertainment has been on my back about an issue and I would prefer it to go away. The last comment I left was a little harsh and I never meant to hurt anyone's feelings, but the backlash has been just stupid so I put out one of those enough is enough type posts because I really don't feel an apology is warranted (or more than I have already written). If she read my previous posts there is an apology in there to an extent and she chose not to see that. Anyway, we're all open to mistakes, so edit is better there than not there.

In the movie The Terminator, Arnold's character is in a little dump of a room cutting damage to his eye out, and the landlord is outside his door saying "Hey buddy, you got a dead cat in there?"  The Terminator software inside his head pulls up about 5 responses and suddenly one of them starts glowing and the classic line of ____ you _____hole in the Arnold style. Ahhh. That was a movie!  But what if Arnold had chosen another response?  "Here we go again!" (as Chicken Little dances next to the line)  Now that would have been classic!  

_________________
Who loves ya baby?

You obviously don't know the way I post!

I RARELY use the edit feature or delete button. Only in severe cases, or when I'm asked to, and that better be for a  good thing.

Recently, I posted about how Hoster (MTU) had claimed they would sue anybody that has a conversion tool against their KMA files. A friend of mine said he had one or knew of one, and I posted the above about it. Then I was contacted by the owner of the thread and asked if I'd delete it, and explained he didn't want to stir up a hornet's thread in HIS room... so I did. I've also done it where a member of that site was VERY sensitive to any mentioning of his mother. I heard she was sick and offered my condolences, and it blew up in my face. I was asked to remove ALL my entries as were two others to settle the place down, and we did that too.

Personally, I hated doing it. You can't do that in real life! L O L!! In real life, if you do a fubar, you just gotta grin and bear it, and take your punishment.... but along the way, you also show what a stand-up person you really are by standing by your words, even if they're wrong, and trying to make reparations for them.

Well, we all say things we wish we could take back and to some extent, here, you can.  

_________________
Who loves ya baby?

EDIT is no big deal to me. It is just a tool like any other to be used or abused. I think there are many more important issues in the world to be concerned about before we begin fearing THE POWER OF EDIT!

Those that live by the sword, die by the sword.

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The Truth Is Out There

Yes, I'm editing......

Yes, I said some things I shouldn't have.....

Sorry to those who read it already. I'm done with it.  :wave:

And Michael..... whatever your beef with me..... sorry for my part.


.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Come on everyone, let's bury the hatchets(no not in someone's head).....believe it or not, I'm actually trying to be serious here(it doesn't happen very often). Sometimes when we try to funny, we don't realize that the people reading our posts, can't see our faces. When we speak in person, your face conveys more of a message than your words. I think this is one reason, some people get offended at what is written sometimes. Also, we all have some color of a chip on our shoulder, and if that color is called, the chip falls..........so let the chips fall where they may, and let's be a little more understanding, and tolerant of one another. It's easy to get mad, and fight with each other, but it takes real gumption to get along in this world.........let's pretend we ride ponies, and not the high horses, that make your butts, and noses stick up in the air.......sorry, scratch that butt part.......those sticking up and out can be a good thing.............you are all good people, with deep feelings for life.........God bless you all...........johnny

Arguments on internet forums tend to suffer from last-word syndrome, where two (or more) posters start snapping back and forth and they both feel that they can't leave the other's last insult unanswered, lest they give the impression that they are admitting the other person has "won" the discussion.

The irony is that most of the time no one else really cares and just wants the argument to be over.

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.