Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Francis
i agree with your last statement tore imo this place needs a friendlier vibe and though mods can set an exmpl by participating in the community while enforcing the rules it's also up to us the community to behave properly
what i mean by friendlier vibe is just acknowledging ppl and trying to be nice to them not just respecting someone for how much they know about music
sometimes i feel this forum as an elitist undertone to it and that you have to be a professional music critic to stand out or even be acknowledged so its ok for ppl who know more to inslut or offend someone who knows less to prove that
i don't blame anybody in particularly for this, sometimes ignorance needs to be stopped right away but instead of first degrading an ignorant person we should try to educate them not just use our knowledge to justify superiority over them and degrade them.
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Francis, I love it! You've just invented a cool new word!
Also, picking up your point somewhat. Oh no wait, first, let me echo Jamsz's welcome back to you. You have been missed.
Now, when I first joined here in 2008 I did indeed feel that there was an elitist, you-dont-know-jack-about-music attitude, and that people were laughing at what they saw as my "pedestrian" music preferences. I left. Some time later |I rejoined and changed my attitude, to the point where I now think hell if people don't like my music then fine; there's music here I wouldn't listen to. But I made the effort to get out and meet these people and found them all, mostly, to be really nice people. I used to think Urban was a grumpy so-and-so who had it in for me, now I know he's a grumpy so-and-so who doesn't have it in for me. I actually really like him. A lot of it is about perception. Are you feeling marginalised because you're letting yourself be? Are you taking things too seriously? Hell, if someone talks about my "crappy prog albums" or "stupid genesis fetish" or whatever, I just laugh. Doesn't mean anything, and isn't meant to. It's just someone's opinion, and it could also be meant as a joke.
In the end, as everyone here knows, you make the forum better by how you approach it. If everyone here was gloomy, tight-arsed and up themselves about their music, it's likely we wouldn't even talk to each other, or stay here. Some people bring drama with them like the Irish summer brings the rain, but that doesn't mean you have to join in, or be affected by it. If you make it your mission to enjoy, and try to help others enjoy the forum, chances are it will work. Maybe not all the time, but I find more often than not it does.
One last point, to everyone. I noticed myself laughing at a post today (can't recall which, think it was Urban's comment about my power metal in my journal) but it set me to thinking, how often do I laugh here at posts and how often do I scowl or get angry/insulted/take offence? It's weighted far in favour of the former, and I think that has to be a good thing. It also hinges a lot on how you see, and use, the forum.