Fly-bys on the board...
Has anyone noticed... that every once in awhile our little vegweb board seems to get... well how to put this... gung-ho new members who mention that they "have been vegan for X years" in every post... and the poster replies to posts but never knows any of the original posters background and says something totally "off"... like, "Try nutritional yeast!" and proceeds to explain exactly what it is to another long time vegan... and they are a little... I dunno... uppity... but then in a week or two they disappear never to be heard from again...
Does this makes sense?
Anyway, maybe I'm mean, but I'm glad those kind of people don't stick around and just sort of fly-by...
I'm proud of vegwebbers that we don't harbor and environment for that kind of stuff but aren't cliqueish and accept new people and get to know them. Yay for us!
Dave can be hostile. He can build up quite a head of steam over things. He is, for me, the quintessential angry vegan. I know it takes all kinds of us to spread the word, defend helpless animals, make a stand and be vigilant. That is Dave.
On the flip side, he can be a very gentle and understanding fella with a kind heart. I have seen that part too. It would have to exist because it is the impetus for a lot of what he does. His heart is totally in the right place, even if his tactics strike others as "hostile." I feel he is simply strong-willed and bloody minded.
I usually like bloody-minded people.
Davedrum,
You sound slightly angry/hostile. Most people here are just trying to be friendly and informative. If a newcomer thinks the board is a little cliquish (which is a common experience for new posters) their feelings are not invalidated by anyone else's. In your own words "If people don't have opposing views how is one to learn?" Clearly JKL has an opposing view yet she's being shot down for it. Not everyone has had a warm, friendly welcome. I see many so-called "cliques" on this board. However, none of them are mean-spirited or designed to alienate anyone else. They're just groups of people who clearly have stronger bonds. That does not mean they're not cliques though. So what I learned is that people want to feel included so it's important recognize not only the posts of those you agree with but to say "hi" to new posters too. Remember what it was like when you first got here. :)
Hey Cheezez,
First of all....JKL has probably been on this board longer then I have and is by no means a newbie. She has a real "hatred" of me going back to a thread about dog breeding. I am very very involved in dog/animal rescue and will never give an inch on my position regarding the breeding of dogs VS. rescuing one. She has had it in for me ever since that thread...which goes back a long long way.
JKL, as far as my attacking people personally, I just don't see it. I do see that you have come on this Q&A section before and attacked others (besides myself). You mentioned a while ago in a post that you were sticking to the recipes b/c you "had it" with this section. Sorry you feel like like. I am curious of my attacking others and making "personal" attacks. Feel free to goto my profile, click the last threads....there's over a 1000 of them....and post each and every thread where I personally attack others. Not posts where I may disagree....posts where I attack others.
I've made a lot of friends from this board. People I email with, people I speak with on the phone...etc. There are MANY MANY people that have emailed me personally with dog/cat problems and have sought out my opinions or advice. I've received many emails thanking me for my help.
I don't flame newcomers.....I always welcome others here with open arms. I have not been on the board as much as I used to for a bunch of reasons lately.....the one thing I won't do is sit down and take a personal attack on myself. I'll always defend myself. I'm not really interested in how JKL views me personally, or what she thinks of me...but to say that I attack others here personally.....I just don't find that to be an honest representation of my posts and contributions here.
Dave can be hostile. He can build up quite a head of steam over things. He is, for me, the quintessential angry vegan. I know it takes all kinds of us to spread the word, defend helpless animals, make a stand and be vigilant. That is Dave.
On the flip side, he can be a very gentle and understanding fella with a kind heart. I have seen that part too. It would have to exist because it is the impetus for a lot of what he does. His heart is totally in the right place, even if his tactics strike others as "hostile." I feel he is simply strong-willed and bloody minded.
I usually like bloody-minded people.
Thanks :)
As I've said before here....many many times:
I'm an IDIOT! :o
All I can say is, VegWeb is my home away from home, and the chat room is my local coffee shop. Even tho I usually drink tea while I'm in there. ;)
And the recipes, ladies and gentlemen! The recipes!!
To quote and_it_spoke, Yumb.
And I love creating a recipe of sorts, sharing it on here and having someone take its picture because they liked it. Or telling me how good it is. Really life-affirming to a person with lots of Celtic blood.
"Clearly JKL has an opposing view yet she's being shot down for it."
JKL, I was one of the ones who said that I didn't feel like I have had a hard time getting involved here and have been made to feel welcome. I didn't mean to invalidate your feelings or to "shoot you down". I was just stating how my experience has been. I hope you didn't take any offense from anyting I said, and if you did, I'm sorry. I'm just a new guy but I'm glad you're here.
All I can say is, VegWeb is my home away from home, and the chat room is my local coffee shop. Even tho I usually drink tea while I'm in there. ;)
And the recipes, ladies and gentlemen! The recipes!!
To quote and_it_spoke, Yumb.
And I love creating a recipe of sorts, sharing it on here and having someone take its picture because they liked it. Or telling me how good it is. Really life-affirming to a person with lots of Celtic blood.
Thank you for the positive post! :)
;D LOL, Dave.
Dave can be hostile. He can build up quite a head of steam over things. He is, for me, the quintessential angry vegan. I know it takes all kinds of us to spread the word, defend helpless animals, make a stand and be vigilant. That is Dave.
On the flip side, he can be a very gentle and understanding fella with a kind heart. I have seen that part too. It would have to exist because it is the impetus for a lot of what he does. His heart is totally in the right place, even if his tactics strike others as "hostile." I feel he is simply strong-willed and bloody minded.
I usually like bloody-minded people.
Thanks :)
As I've said before here....many many times:
I'm an IDIOT! :o
but you're a good idiot ;D
It's true. DaveDrum once rescued me from an angry robot.
Would a bad idiot do that?
Don't think so.
It's true. DaveDrum once rescued me from an angry robot.
Would a bad idiot do that?
Don't think so.
I've heard stories about angry robots - they're psycho killers. Bad idiots would run, run, run, run, run, run, run away. It'd take the courage of 10 vegans to take one on. Only a good idiot could do that. 8)
We don't really have true trolls around here, but I can't imagine why not, we just don't is all. I got pounced on once here recently because I was filling someone in on something about a question they had asked. I was basically accused of being a know it all and that she already knew all about "everything" I had posted. Well pardon me all to hell! I am older than most of you here and forgive me, I have been at this for over 30 years and my library of vegan and vegetarian books goes back that far too. I know the old thinking and the newer thinking and I read a lot about food topics. I don't know it all, but I am far from clueless, thank you very much. If you ask a question and I have an answer, I'll give it because you asked for it.
I'm curious to know if that person you're referring to was me, regarding my post about carb alternatives. If it is, I apologize if I came across as brass, but in all honestly, I did happen to know everything you spoke of. I might be younger than you, but I'm certainly not clueless. All in all, I apologize if I made you feel inadequate.
As for the actual topic at hand, I can definitely see why people might be hesitant to post on here, or only post once and awhile. I'm not going to lie.. some people on here can be quite intimidating. I've been lurking on here for a few years now, and have only recently really begun to post a lot. From what I've seen, there's definitely, DEFINITELY a couple of "cliques" in here. Cliques not being a bad thing, but people who seem to have more of a connection with each other than with someone else. And I can see why new vegans would be hesitant.
BOO!!!! I am know I am scary, frightening, needless intimidating, overbearing and, well, arrogant as all H-E double toothpicks.
I try to be nice. It is good I have a wide ummm berth to sit on, it hurts less when I fall off my self-appointed pedestal, which is just high enough to look up my dress. Obviously, the air is thinner up here.
I think vegweb is amazing. I love reading the posts to learn more about the veggie world. When I have a question, someone always answers it. I never feel like an outsider because not everyone jumps on my topic/question. I don't feel the need to reply to every topic; if I have something to contribute, I do.
BOO!!!! I am know I am scary, frightening, needless intimidating, overbearing and, well, arrogant as all H-E double toothpicks.
I try to be nice. It is good I have a wide ummm berth to sit on, it hurts less when I fall off my self-appointed pedestal, which is just high enough to look up my dress. Obviously, the air is thinner up here.
Ouch. That's a little bit, umm, harsh, don't you think?
LD1 - You crack me up! ;D
Amen to megakimi's post.
Also, I understand what jkl is saying. There does seem to be a lot of 'up with people' & 'we are family' talk on this board. I'm uncomfortable with that sort of thing but, to be fair, although I often disagree, I rarely post. Mainly, because I am far too private (and I don't have DaveDrum's energy) to discuss issues that matter to me in a public forum and I don't have much interest in water cooler talk. So maybe I'm a black sheep, I can live with that. Even though I don't share the positive community vibes, I can appreciate that other people do.
Cliques are a fact of life. Comment if you have something to contribute, disagree if it's worth it, start new threads, set up a profile and contact people privately. You aren't obligated to read every thread or agree with and like everyone. We're adults.
I think this sums it up perfectly:
You aren't automatically friends with someone because you both drink at the same coffee shop; you just have something in common.
LadyDragonfly
http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2005/12/lets-celebrate_31.html
Scotch is gluten free! mmm, scotch. :D
;D beautiful!
Hmmmmm....
I think VegWeb is great, and I certain hope that it is and will remain a comfortable place for everyone to learn about veg issues and make friends.
I think posting on a board is always what you make of it. If you're shy, it's more difficult to feel comfortable posting. If you're angry or defensive (for whatever reason), you might see attacks in the posts of others, even if they are completely unintentional. The way you feel at the time you read or write a post can seriously color the meaning for you and for others. Sometimes it's hard to determine the exact intention of another's post, so it's certainly possible to take something the wrong way. If you are a lurker, it might seem difficult to chime in, but from my experience at least, when you do, you will quickly be welcomed by the group (once we know about you!) ;)
LD1, I think you're great! Don't let the stress, allergies and health issues get you down. We're here if you need us. :)
Dave, you aren't an idiot...you're passionate! 8)
To the person (I can't find your name on the stupid list below!) who said they don't feel comfortable posting because English isn't your 1st language: Keep posting! It's OK if you make a mistake. We all do - I sure do... :D
I've been thinking about this all day...
At first I was confused by JKL's 2nd comment, I didn't understand how we are belligerent but all agree with each other.... ???
I was simply voicing MY OPINION and I don't think I was particularly belligerent. But everyone really piled on. Davedrum, you are the worst offender. You raise the tenor of the exchange and really bring it into the personal arena.
If you want this to be a board where someone posts and everyone else says "amen" or "you can say that again" -- that is fine, but I don't think that is a very vibrant board.
But now I think I got it.
If what you're saying JKL, is that we "gang up" in threads where debate exists then, yes, I agree we do.
If there is a debate it becomes team debate and team effort arguing (often on both sides), as this has become. I am guilty myself.
I also just want to entirely agree with OperaChic,
If you're angry or defensive (for whatever reason), you might see attacks in the posts of others, even if they are completely unintentional. The way you feel at the time you read or write a post can seriously color the meaning for you and for others. Sometimes it's hard to determine the exact intention of another's post, so it's certainly possible to take something the wrong way.
NOW since I started this thread... I say, THAT discussion is over. ;) If you want to belabor it, start your own thread. :P
I'd like to change the subject.
This is a board on an internet website. I always thought it was here so that people can share ideas and perspectives. I have a perspective that is quite different than that of a lot of people on this board, partly due to my profession and life experiences.
Please share. What is your profession JKL? (In a roundabout way if you don't feel like saying exactly)
Why do you feel it makes your perspective different? Do you mean your veg perspective or your perspective on life in general?
(Hard to set the tone here after the last few pages of posts but I'm not 'priming for debate' I'd honestly like to know... I'd private message you with this but you don't have a profile so I can't. :( )
For a while I felt my position in life made me very different than many people on this board. Someone privately messaged me (who doesn't post) but is in a very similar place in life. It was a very odd to me because I don't come across vegans in my current real life arena. I supposed I figured there wasn't anyone out there in my place. I think I made a poor judgement...
Perhaps there is someone here who is not so different from you?
Hi hi hi! Wow, now that was an interesting thread, no?
I'm packing today for my family's vacation and I need to focus on this and TURN OFF THE COMPUTER lest I forget the diapers and bathing suits, but I did want to respond first that:
1. I'm glad I posted that comment because it brought out a lot of comments from people who don't ordinarily post;
2. I'm 42 years old and hopelessly out of step with the internet age. I've never been on myspace or youtube and I don't really know what trolling or stalking are. I don't have a digital camera so I can't post pictures. And, honestly, there's a lot of youthful energy on this board which sometimes makes me feel OLD.
3. Davedrum, I do not hate you and that is a silly thing to say. Really. I don't think we get enough information from these virtual interactions to truly know other people, and certainly not enough to decide that we can "hate" or really even dislike them. I don't agree with some of your tactics, mostly because I see them as a bit bullying, but you said yourself you can be . . . um . . . extremely enthusiastic.
4. I actually really like people. Sometimes on this board someone will write "people are stupid" or "I hate people" . . . . I do think that there are practises and behaviors -- both individual and societal -- that need to be changed, but most people, when you get to know them, are pretty decent (in my opinion). I try to have a generous spriit and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I always hope they will do the same with me.
5. I DARE NOT post my profession at this point, but I will say I pay attention to words and tend to use them precisely when I write my posts, even though I do seem to ramble on. It gives my posts less of a warm fuzzy tone, and I do think that it leads to a bit of misinterpreting my intentions.
Thanks JH for the thread. When I come back I will try to figure out how to do a profile.
5. I DARE NOT post my profession at this point
OK, well that will only force us to guess then, Let me start........................
Defense Attorney?
5. I DARE NOT post my profession at this point
OK, well that will only force us to guess then, Let me start........................
Defense Attorney?
Did you say she was a defense attorney for Michael Vick?
Just kidding, you see, that's how to get rumors started. ;)
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