Days like this, I can't believe anyone pays me to write.

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Since no one else is posting I'm guessing this isn't the deal I thought it was.

For what it's worth, I read the original comment the way you did, as an invitation to try a different thread. I didn't bother to read much further than that, because I was kind of amazed that such an innocuous comment about not liking a promo generated the response it did (not just in thread, but elsewhere). I didn't read the second post and the discussion that followed it until now.

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Joe, I'm not sure that I was that unclear.

Here's the relevant section without any elisions, just added emphasis to make my reasoning clear.

But you know, I reserve the right to go mental on anyone who says that Tim or Kristen are talentless hacks who smell of poo. That's Stompy-worthy, I think.

Does this make sense? Just putting it out there. Again. I'm unsure if Monique gets that same feeling of defensiveness, but it's where I went with Juliebird's post.

My initial kneejerk reaction was to metaphorically punch her in the nose

Maybe I misintrepreted the juxtaposition of "talentless hacks" and "it's where I went with Juliebird's post" as causing your reaction instead of just being sequential thoughts, but that's how I read it. And ultimately her post said, I like Tim & Nathan so much that even though I'm underwhelmed by the promos I still plan to watch their show. Which isn't at all like calling them talentless hacks who smell of poo.

Sorry about the late response which will make it seem like I'm belaboring the point even more than if I responded promptly, but I'm at work & being at least semi-conscientious. I also apologize if it seems like I decided to pile on by not saying anything in Minearverse & jumping in here. The conversation had already jumped threads by the time I got to it.

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(not just in thread, but elsewhere)

Out of curiousity, do you mean elsewhere on the board or other threads? Because if you mean elsewhere and are referencing what I think you are referencing, it's interesting that it wasn't Allyson who mentioned the post first. So the way Juliebird's post pinged HER is not unique to Allyson either.

I'm amazed at Allyson's response (sorry to pyschoanalyze, sugar), but not surprised. Allyson has a fierce loyalty to those she loves, and that includes Tim and Kristen. I think because she knows sort of the background of whom wrote what on promos and it makes her even more fiercely protective (misplaced perhaps).

That being said, it's a tough balance between biting one's tongue and being protective, and one that we all face. It's a tough balance for me even over things I generally agree with, because, for example reading

I didn't bother to read much further than that... I didn't read the second post and the discussion that followed it until now.

makes me want to jump up and protect Allyson who is certainly capable of protecting herself. On my read, it's almost as dismissive in tone to me as Allyson's original comment (which itself was harsher than I'd like).

So I don't have a solution, because I think EVERYONE gets protective of people. Should it impede our discussion? Probably not, and I think it's fair to say, it probably won't. But she did apologize in thread which for me is an okay, we can move on signal.

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Since no one else is posting I'm guessing this isn't the deal I thought it was.

Joining in late (hey, today I actually concentrated on work—cue startled people fainting) to say that I got a similar feeling of unease to that bon bon and Joe got from that set of posts. While ALL conversations here should maintain civility toward all posters as a matter of course, I don't like the idea of people who aren't captivated by a buffista's creative work feeling they should slink away and never comment on the subject. The tone of those posts read to me as "I can't tell you to get out if you're not complimentary toward the new show, but know that you'll be unwelcome."

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I never took the "go mental on...talentless hacks...poo" statement to refer to me. I thought that was a declaration of action for future incidents that overstepped bounds that I had not.

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she did apologize in thread...

agreed

...we can move on...

please?

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But Joe, you're completely ignoring the first half of the post:

I am not reasonable, and thus sit on my hands as much as possible so as not to go apoplectic on someone who says, "That promo did nothing for me" or, "The only reason I'd watch is because of Nathan, Tim, Kristen, the guy holding the boom...".

It feels like, if someone were to pop up in Lit and say, "I couldn't get past the first essay in Vampire People, it was boring, do the rest get better?"

I'm a big girl and can get that and welcome the criticism, but I imagine a handful Buffistae might get uppity about it, because they love me and wouldn't want to see my feelings hurt, and it's natural to get defensive about people you love.

Maybe I misintrepreted the juxtaposition of "talentless hacks" and "it's where I went with Juliebird's post" as causing your reaction instead of just being sequential thoughts, but that's how I read it.

You misinterpreted.

Which isn't at all like calling them talentless hacks who smell of poo.

Which is what I just said.

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So the way it pinged HER is not unique to her either.

As I said, I was surprised how many people took a remark that seemed innocuous to me so negatively.

To me, it's almost as dismissive in tone to me as Allyson's original comment

Maybe it was. I don't hang out in Minearverse. I only went there because I read something elsewhere that indicated there had been some kind of blowup there, and I wanted to see what happened, both out of curiosity and stompy duty. And as I said originally (and you edited out when you quoted me) I was surprised at how much offense seemed to have been taken out of something so small. But the flame war I was led to expect hadn't broken out either, so I didn't see the need to keep reading.

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General thoughts about sharing opinions on shows we watch. I’ve watched a new hit show, let’s call it Walk. After viewing I see it is being discussed in thread and pop in to share that A) It is the most brilliant flawless show evah B) It is unlikely I will watch again because I didn’t like the premise C) It was ok; I’ll give it one more try. I expect one of the following to happen. 1) Enthusiastic validation of my opinion 2) Vigorous challenges and debate of my points 3) To be completely ignored.

What I don’t anticipate happening is being popped in the nose metaphorically, or being told only positive words are spoken here. I expect that opinions on all shows will be varied and will note that lively discussion doesn’t happen unless people are freely expressing those opinions.

The worst case would be that we didn’t have anything to say!

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