OK, I've just started a big fucking flame war in the Lounge

[JeffR]

Y'all want me out of the group, I'd accept that. This just ain't my day, or year.

[Blue_In_AK]

1. Where, JeffR? I don't see it...

Speaking just for myself, I would never want you out of this group, no matter how big a flame war you started with the lizards.

[JeffR]

2. Thanks

It's the PORNOGRAPHY THREAD #3.

I honest to God didn't mean to stir up anything. I just ventured an opinion on something I thought was wrong. They love to pride themselves on slinging shit, but they get a tad over-sensitive when some is slung their way, it seems.

[babylonsister]

3. I tracked it down; no worries here. You were just defending this

group. All by yourself, I might add, so thanks!

[JeffR]

5. Thank you

[F.Gordon]

4. Ahhh.... a member of the "Raw Fish Society"

We calls em' "talksies" where I come from. Experts :eyes: on photography but you'll never see them post a pic. Let it go my friend. One of his "buddies" was tombstoned awhile ago.... figure his day is coming soon. An asshole is an asshole is an asshole.

Walk away dude....
:hi:

[JeffR]

6. Thank you

[F.Gordon]

7. I wish I hadn't seen those threads

I'm on my way out.... things to do... places to go.. people to see....

I'll reserve comment but you can put me down for ONE VOTE for not doing any contest threads in the Lounge again. Geez.. is this what passes as "a life" for these fucks?

Later Dude
:hi:

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Must have been some good stuff, JeffR

I see they deleted most of your posts. I think I'm with F.Gordon on this one. Maybe we should just keep our contests to ourselves if all they want to do is make fun over there. Sheesh....

[JeffR]

11. I should be so used to outrage, I could keep it to myself

But no. Actually, I was called far worse than I called anyone else. "Dope" was about as pointed as I got. But I shoulda just let it go unremarked.

The arrangement of posting contest threads in the Lounge works well enough. I sure as hell don't want to upset the apple cart over my opinions. Anyway, I've issued some public and private apologies. At least one of my antagonists over there has been big enough to accept an apology.

[regnaD kciN]

9. I don't want you going anywhere, Jeff...

...especially not to the Lounge, unless you've got armed bodyguards. ;-)

Seriously, one thing about the Lounge is that people like to post copycat threads, just to make puns on words in other thread titles. (I admit I've done so myself on a few occasions.) In virtually every case, it just stems from the desire of one poster to show off his or her ability at wordplay, rather than any desire to torpedo another discussion or topic.

Of course, there are a handful of people who really don't believe that photography takes any talent (remember the "I guess it's impossible to take a bad photograph around here" comment during my art fair fiasco a few weeks back? :grr: ), and a few others who just like to stir up flame wars for the sake of insulting others. Screw 'em. However often they post on a given thread, they only represent a tiny minority of Lounge Lizards. I've seen enough contests go by to know that most people in the Lounge appreciate both the images and the talent and effort of those creating them.

[JeffR]

12. The nearer it gets to the midterms

the more on edge I am. I was just going to groan, sigh and kick the contest threads, but that little irate voice in the back of my brain just took over. It was a completely unnecessary disruption of the contest. I'm gonna duct tape my fingers in a moment (not that my typing is so great sans duct tape, of course.

[Samurai_Writer]

10. I found that thread pretty disgusting too...

And am glad you had the guts to say something. And I agree, maybe we should just keep the contests in this group. We'd actually get some educated votes, perhaps. The people who really want to see the contests can come here.

[JeffR]

13. Nah, let's stick with the current system

and I'll try to keep my mouth shut. I think that's better all round.

[Eurobabe]

14. That's it, I am emailing Skinner again to see if we can do

threads in GD. I couldn't find your flamethrower threads, but I don't particularly care for the crowd in the lounge anyhow. Too immature for my tastes. We need a more discerning audience.

48%er.

[JeffR]

15. They were just messin'. I shouldn't have taken it so seriously.

I don't mind the idea that nothing is sacred in the Lounge, but it struck me as cheap riffing, while the real contest threads were stuck halfway down page 2. I once walked into a bar in a rough part of Chicago and realized right away that going in there was a bad idea; last night I waded into the Lounge with the equivalent of a broken bottle and an attitude, or so it was taken...

DU should really have a standalone Gallery forum where photographers, artists, graphic artists and writers could all post, and where all the contests could be held. Since we're all hotlinking to offsite files, the bandwidth use would be no worse than it already is.

[Eurobabe]

16. Oh boy, I just read the flamefest...dang they had you going!

But I still think the pictures should be shared with a wider audience. The lounge is just "too out there" for my tastes sometimes.

Bunch of pot-smoking liberals

JUST KIDDING LOUNGE LIZARDS!!

[JeffR]

17. Little pot might have done both sides of the debate some good

alas.

[NashVegas]

18. Damn

I missed it.

[Cobalt Violet]

22. I really like your idea of a standalone Gallery.

The lounge is just too much the lounge sometimes.

[Cobalt Violet]

23. I really like your idea of a standalone Gallery.

The lounge is just too much the lounge sometimes.

[F.Gordon]

26. "They were just messin'"

:wtf:

The threads seem to be gone now but I did skim them. You were being treated like a Freeper. You got slapped down by the mods while the Children of the Lounge were given a free pass to attack you. I know... it's over and done with.. move on and all that... but it appeared to me that the only thing you did wrong was piss in their sandbox.

Maybe I should go over to the Lounge and start a copycat thread when someone has cancer, or has lost their job, or..... (you fill in the blank). Sure, a photo contest isn't as serious as any of these things but if a copycat thread is an acceptable form of "entertainment" then I say anything goes.

The amount of time that a Host/ess has to put into one of these things.... the exposing of the soul that some probably go through when they decide to "compete" and enter a photograph... not to mention that some actually put a considerable amount of effort into coming up with a photo to enter. Apparently none of those things matter. What matters is that the Children of the Lounge can put the pig head on the stick and dance around it.. giggling and having a grand ol' time. :eyes:

I've said all I say on this.
:hi:

[JeffR]

27. OK, messin's a polite description, I guess

Then again, I didn't kick the debate off in a circumspect fashion, and I shoulda been clear from the outset that I was speaking only my, and not the Group's, opinion. The deleted posts are a puzzle; there was nothing in them that approached the vitriol of the responses back to me. But I'm gonna write that off to "new mod" syndrome.

The Lounge is a waste of bandwidth as far as I'm concerned, but at the same time there are a lot of DUers I'm really fond of who spend a lot of time there. To each their own. I've been in some GD flamefests, but had no idea how ugly such a thing can be in the Lounge. Live and learn...

And yes, I still consider their hijinks to have been really disrespectful to the Photography Group. And it tells me something that only one of the 3 to whom I made a public apology has bothered to respond at all.

[NashVegas]

24. It Would Be Nice, But I Don't Know That It Would Solve All the Issues

The copycat bothers me less than the trend of ... right now, in one of the threads, there are two *wonderful* photos that are evocative up the ying-yang. And neither are generating the kind of votes that the "jizz" shots are.

A juried contest in here would go further towards helping people discern and learn. What people say, "oh, cool," to isn't necessarily something they'd pay money for and hang on their own wall and it's rarely something an editor would choose to publish.

[JeffR]

25. I know the idea of in-house contests has been debated a long time

Personally, I like the idea a lot. But at the same time, it's cool to see what happens in a more public square. At least until curmudgeons like me get all irate... The seemingly ill-fated round table concept was a sort of self-juried variation on the idea, but it seems we can't keep up the momentum for them.

Oh, BTW: heh, heh... you said "jizz".:D

[regnaD kciN]

28. I like the idea of a separate gallery where contests could be held...

I'm not so sure about throwing the contest into GD, which I think is more intended for serious issue discussion. I think having photo contests there would draw the same number of flames, just from different directions (i.e. "what is photography crap doing here???").

And I don't much like the idea of holding the contests in this group -- I don't want voting restricted to donors, not many non-photographers (or non-active photographers) drop by here and I get the feeling that lots of people would simply vote for their own photograph, leaving the tie to be broken by those members who had decided not to submit that month.

If the Lounge Lizards do anything similar to this month's finals, though, my opinion would change.

[JeffR]

29. Dunno if a Gallery forum has been discussed before

It's always seemed a bit nuts to me that an online community this size doesn't have such a thing. I'd PM the admins about this, but EarlG stopped returning my calls a long time ago, for some reason that escapes me.

[NV Whino]

19. I think the lounge should be locked for a while

and all the lizards thrown into GD.

[Blue_In_AK]

20. They'd never survive out there... n/t

[NV Whino]

21. That's the idea.

:)

[unhappycamper]

30. Locking.

From the detailed DU rules:

Do not start a new topic in order to continue a flame war from another discussion thread.

Peace,
unhappycamper