Can we have a moratorium?

Post by **Dale** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 9:04 pm

jim stone wrote: It gets real OT and gets my goatee,

I make the obligatory groan and then confess I like this line.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 9:06 pm

How kind! I was desperate.

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 9:58 pm

I think the reason why the OT threads draw me in is because I've
been playing the whistle so long (20 years or more), and probably
a little bored with them, but still I enjoy the people who play them...
sharp people.

I moved on to the uilleann pipes shortly after I learned my first 100
tunes on the whistle, and last year when I first joined this board...I
never visited the whistle forum for months, only the pipes forum,
until someone confused me with Loren. so I came over to see what
this forum was all about and quickly learned that it was almost more
interesting than the pipe forum (in a different way), ie, moves a lot
faster with a lot more humor and diversity...a good thing for free-
spirited people like myself.

To restrict us, from casual (or intense) discussions, would be like
someone in band practice, or a sessions, saying "we'll not tolerate
any talking now, we're here to just play music...no visiting please."
So you'd never get to know the great people you play with very well.
I think there's a little parallel there, maybe not perfect. And that would
get kind of sterile.

Roger O'Keeffe · Post by **Roger O'Keeffe** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 1:47 am

Well put, Lorenzo.

Roger O'Keeffe · Post by **Roger O'Keeffe** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 2:18 am

Lixnaw = leach snámha. Does that give you enough of a clue?

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 2:56 am

Azalin wrote:It's that 90% of it's members arent serious about irish music.

Good intuition.
It's the conclusion I don't follow. If 90% of the members were serious about their music (ITM or anything else), THEY would have a problem. :roll:
I know a session which is serious about Irish music. So serious they only play reels. :yawn:

lixnaw · Post by **lixnaw** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 3:02 am

Roger O'Keeffe wrote:Lixnaw = leach snámha. Does that give you enough of a clue?

cad é an chiall atà leis sin? rodheacair. is fearr labhairt nà scriobh

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 4:28 am

Zubivka wrote:
Azalin wrote:It's that 90% of it's members arent serious about irish music.
Good intuition.
It's the conclusion I don't follow. If 90% of the members were serious about their music (ITM or anything else), THEY would have a problem. :roll:
I know a session which is serious about Irish music. So serious they only play reels. :yawn:

If I take anything in life seriously, sure as God made little green apples, it isn't going to be music, Irish or otherwise.

If this board were restricted to NEW posts about whistle related stuff, it would be about as interesting as watching a tin of spam.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 5:11 am

I've avoided some of the political controversy threads of late.

Martin Milner wrote:If this board were restricted to NEW posts about whistle related stuff, it would be about as interesting as watching a tin of spam.

It's Spamtaculicious!

Wombat wrote:If my fellow C&Fers got to eavesdrop on a group of Australians discussing world events through parochially Australian eyes, I'd be very embarrassed. So, when I post here on a serious topic, I censor out anything that would involve me in adopting a parochial stand. So, I believe do a lot of other members of our community.

It can be thoroughly embarrassing, or at least annoying, the kind of issues that are entered on, and tend not to create feelings of goodwill. But what can be done?

Azalin wrote:Actually, I think I know what's the real problem with the board. It's that 90% of it's members arent serious about irish music. Yeah, they might play the whistle, maybe sometimes practice 10 minutes there and then, or have a classical music background and play from sheet music and tell themselves "gosh, I play irish music!".

I don't recall telling myself that, however there is a forum for the form of Irish music you are advocating. It is at http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewforum.php?f=8

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 6:11 am

StevieJ wrote:Interesting as these topics are in themselves, I am beginning to get the feeling that the board is turning into a kind of barroom where American males (mostly) meet to discuss (mostly very civilly) political and societal goings-on in their huge, complex and dare I say dysfunctional country.

Several people have posted that others misread Steve's post and interpreted it as a complaint about the over-abundance of OT political posts. You've said that he's really complaining about the over-abundance of U.S. oriented posts. I haven't noticed any OT political posts that weren't U.S. oriented, and Steve clearly did mention political posts. I don't think anyone misread him.

Obviously, there's not going to be a moratorium on OT political/current affairs posts. However, I think it does help from time to time, to step back and consider the topics we're talking about and the effect some of the debates have on the feelings of some of the participants of the board.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 6:28 am

DaleWisely wrote: I don't really remember asking people to refrain from political posts, but I don't deny it. I don't remember what I had for breakfast much less what I may have posted. I generally don't mind political discussions. I dislike personal attacks and breakdowns in civility.

I'd also add that a couple of the recent threads I've posted "Haiku" and "Emailing the President" I ended up being a bit surprised that they developed in to major threads. Probably just me being naive.

Dale

Yout memory is fine, Dale. It was Rich who asked us to chill back around the time when the US was still dickering with the French and others over whether they'd support a war on Iraq. As I recall, we all agreed. Not that it stopped us, of course. I think one of the problems is we have some very sharp people here and people like that love informal debate.

Besides, look how threads drif here. Start a thread about the merits of different whistle materials and there is a chance it'll drift, sometimes VERY far.

StevieJ · Post by **StevieJ** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 6:52 am

A moratorium is often only a temporary, voluntary measure. And I did say that I didn't think we could expect OT topics of the kind I was complaining about to disappear altogether.

Whatever. I'll tell you one of the reasons I'd like to see the board move a little way away from posts about US affairs - at least a <i>little</i> way away. It's because when I read them - and I do read some of them, because I am interested in politics and world affairs and what my neighbours think - I often feel obliged to bite my tongue. Why?

I have read a number of statements in political topics that I consider outrageous - to be expected in a private bar, perhaps, but hardly in a public forum that can be (and is) read by people from all over the world. On a few occasions I have responded, usually couching my thoughts in extremely careful language - only to have sh*t heaped on me - and completely unwarranted sh*t to boot. (I was going to say "have opprobrium heaped on me" - "sh*t" is to placate those who don't like words of more than two syllables!).

Two posters have referred (on the board and off) to my interventions as portraying the US as "evil". And In this thread, the term "America trashing" was used. This is all absurd exaggeration, and it has the effect (since believe it or not, I don't like raising firestorms) of stifling dissent. Which is why I think the discussions become parochial American-only affairs, so I get sick of them. And sick of biting my tongue.

So, carry on lads, forget I ever pleaded for a moratorium. It was a stupid idea. No doubt I won't be able to resist reading some of the OT topics. I'll no doubt continue to bite my tongue. But no promises.

Good luck
Steve

Roger O'Keeffe · Post by **Roger O'Keeffe** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 6:53 am

Speaking of which: "Spam can blue" - that's Neil Diamond, isn't it? What's that sort of thing doing on a whistle forum?

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 6:55 am

[quote="Martin Milner

If this board were restricted to NEW posts about whistle related stuff, it would be about as interesting as watching a tin of spam.[/quote]

http://www.internet-tips.net/Email/SPAM_python.htm

All the Best, Tom

allezlesbleus · Post by **allezlesbleus** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 8:40 am

PhilO wrote:PC - I don't particularly relish this group in any way, but Rumsfeld may be the best of the lot...

Regards,

Philo

Philo,

Actually, I wasn't trying so much to comment on the political content vs. the linguistic context. If you read your quote in DR's voice, does it sound like him? You bet. Are there going to be a bunch of folks who go back and re-read your posting? Well, that's an known unknown, one we know we don't know.

Check this funny book (if you haven't already):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 92-4886211

PC

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Can we have a moratorium?

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