No one is going mind if you join in on the ass play though, and no one is going to judge if eating butt's not your thing. I mostly like to watch myself.
But if you're going to scold people for trying to have a good time in a pretty low stakes environment, you might get a door closed on you.
No one is going mind if you join in on the ass play though, and no one is going to judge if eating butt's not your thing. I mostly like to watch myself.
But if you're going to scold people for trying to have a good time in a pretty low stakes environment, you might get a door closed on you.
No one is going mind if you join in on the ass play though, and no one is going to judge if eating butt's not your thing. I mostly like to watch myself.
But if you're going to scold people for trying to have a good time in a pretty low stakes environment, you might get a door closed on you.
Wait, so you do want ass prints on your door to watch ? It's a dissenting view to evil empress MOM but I guess that's what this thread is all about.
No one is going mind if you join in on the ass play though, and no one is going to judge if eating butt's not your thing. I mostly like to watch myself.
But if you're going to scold people for trying to have a good time in a pretty low stakes environment, you might get a door closed on you.
"There is no in group, feel free to join. But if you don't get with the program, GTFO."
No one is going mind if you join in on the ass play though, and no one is going to judge if eating butt's not your thing. I mostly like to watch myself.
But if you're going to scold people for trying to have a good time in a pretty low stakes environment, you might get a door closed on you.
"There is no in group, feel free to join. But if you don't get with the program, GTFO."
Yeah, this didn’t sit well with me, either. I don’t think anyone here is being malicious, but I also don’t think a lot of people are even trying to take a moment to get that someone was upset enough to say something, a couple of other people have chimed in to say they don’t feel included either, and the response is overwhelmingly dismissive.
This OP may well be a shit stirrer, but that’s not the vibe I got, and there appear to be other people who feel similarly.
And I don’t think it’s intentional but I don’t think anyone can objectively say it’s not cliquey around here. That can be fun, but it can also make people feel left out or ostracised.
In all seriousness, there's nothing stopping anyone from jumping into a conversation if they want. That's what I did when I first joined the forums. It took me a minute to feel everyone out but I started to comment here & there and just made forum friends as I went along. I think I can easily say that none of us here have ever, *ever* intended on making anyone feel left out or like they couldn't jump on in. It's like life though. If you want something, you have to go get it. If you want to make friends and be socially active/'feel included' (however that looks like on the forums), it's up to you to make it happen.
I know that for myself, I tend to drift toward the threads that are less serious - I like to come here to have fun and escape whatever kind of stress I might have had in my day or in life in general. That might be a thread about a tv show or a movie, a character, food/drink, vacation spots, baseball, *whatever*. I know I'm not alone in this, so I think it's easy to see the same people joking around with each other or commenting between themselves in different threads but that doesn't mean it's a clique. They're all here for the same reason and that's to have a good time, and it's not exclusive or closed to anyone else to do the same.
Fwiw, the OP commented the same thing on BM's Twitter a couple of days ago - I don't know if it was the same exact wording but the username was the same. I'd never seen them comment on there before at all, and either they deleted it on their own or Aron deleted it (or blocked him), 'cause I can't find it anywhere now. I have a feeling it's either someone who was previously banned from the forums on a different IP and is now all pissy, or just a troll. They created their profile on Feb 18th and this was their only post *ever*. Maybe it's just me, but I'm taking all of that with a grain of salt and really don't think there was any real 'there' there.
Perhaps I misunderstood the meaning behind "you might get a door closed on you."
Would you be more comfortable with, "Anybody can join in on the fun, but if you point out a flaw in my thinking I'd rather not talk with you?" I feel like the post I quoted was pretty oxymoronic either way.
I feel like I should reiterate. I like each and every one of you here. I think you are all great individuals. I think on the whole, the community is pretty great. Sometimes there are flaws, and that's okay, but if we don't take a look in the mirror and address issues in our behavior as a group when they show up, we will lose that community.
How did A.Ron sign off the most recent 3 right turns? "Help each other. If you see people arguing past each other try to be the translator. Try to see the disconnect and make that connection happen. That's our mission here. That's what I'd like to see happen in our community. Some of us know more things than others. We all have our personal perspectives. We all have our biases and blind spots. I want you to help me see those things. I want you to help each other. I want us all to be able to learn and grow at the same time."
I know that's Swizzbold, but it's a great sentiment for BM too. So there is a disconnect. I tried to shine some light on it in hopes of making that connection.
The original post was a drive-by trolly hit & run that was intended to be nothing more. People knew it & turned the thread into something fun. It's a stressful time in life. We all need some laughter. Was it *that* big a deal? No comments were directed at the OP or anyone else in any sort of a negative way. No one was bullied. No one was ostracized. No one was excluded. No one was prohibited from having fun as well. No one has *ever* been stopped from jumping in and participating in conversations when they might have wanted to. I don't mean this to sound unfeeling or like I don't care. I do care, very much - I would hope that anyone could see that about me by now. The last thing I want is for someone to feel like they can't have fun right along with anyone else. The more, the merrier! But that's in their hands. It's not in anyone else's control.
I see what your true intentions are in terms of righting a perceived disconnect and wanting the best for the forums, and I respect that. I think it's safe to say that for the most part, all of us here truly do want the same thing. And I know your feelings are your feelings, but for right now, in this particular instance, I feel like you've completely 'misread the room' and understood there to be an insensitive, bullying intent that was totally nonexistent, and that is why there was pushback toward you. Not because people wanted you to 'gtfo', but because they felt admonished (for lack of a better word) for something that they weren't doing.
I know you've been here for a long time, so I'm sure you can agree that there aren't many people here at all who have any ill will or malicious nature with or toward each other. The only time I've ever really seen people not get along with each other and totally disrespect someone else is in the political threads. I've seen comments get ugly there, so I can understand *that* being behavior that would need self-examination and correction. However, this thread was nowhere near that at all.
Can we hug it out and move on? *reaches for an olive branch to offer*
(Also, don't take offense at my stupid little gifs. They're all in good fun.)
Ass play is me acknowledging the "group." I realize I'm probably not "in" and that's why I say I like to "watch." It's not because it's exclusive though, I engage as the little as I want on the forums cause that's my preference. There are a bunch of people that are a lot more active and personal on the forums than me and that probably leads to cliquey-ness, but that's ok. I've never felt like I was closed off from engaging more if I wanted to. I'm sorry if you have.
The "closed door" was just a way of saying that you might close people off by trying to intervene on their fun, rather than engaging or not engaging. Are there cases where intervention is necessary, yes. I don't think this is one of them. Either way, it was a bad metaphor, it looks more like everyone is opening the door to see if you want to come in?
I really hate that anyone would feel like they are an outsider here. I had a similar experience to Michelle when I first started hanging around these forums. You just have to start engaging more. The amount of times early on when I would comment on a thread and then it would just die was disheartening. For a while it was like, is it me? Am I the conversation killer? That's just the nature of forums. As long time user and DEFINITELY not an outsider @johnnytruant said, it is a collection of people that have been talking to each other, damn near daily, for quite a while. We've just gotten used to and pretty comfortable with each other. We are definitely not trying to make it an exclusive club other than being fans of Bald Move.
I also didn't want to slam OP for what they were saying but I'm sorry, my bullshit detector was going off a little bit. I'm pretty sure the only thing that was disallowed here, before political talk at large, was defending Donald Trump. If you had opposing views to the majority on other issues, that was allowed to be discussed here as long as it all stayed civil. If you come in here with right wing talking points, yes, you are likely to find resistance. However, if you're not prepared to defend your viewpoints, why are you arguing about politics on the internet in the first place? OP saying though that he is into Progressive politics but was still shut out by A.Ron seems very suspect to me. I could be wrong, so I cannot say that definitively. That's why I tried to direct them to the Swizzbold subreddit. I know it's not ideal for a lot but since Bald Move doesn't really cover politics, it's an understandable one.
I apologize if my original crack about ass eating that started us down this road made anyone feel like I was just outright dismissing the topic. That certainly wasn't my intention at all.
Nah man there is no In/Out Us/Them. No mean girl table. We're all BM fam, fam. Open up. Let us know you. I promise the water is nice and warm and pee-free. We're fragile people too. (Except for Freddy- he's hard as nails) We got all kinds of circles going here. Tabletop group has their thing going and doors always open. The D&D group that was going here for a while. That was cool. Everyone from Cali to East coast Yankees fans like to all dogpile on this one annoying Astros fan in the MLB thread . I secretly wish johnnytruant would share more of what music he's listening to cause I think I can speak for a few of us that he's got some tasty music takes. Just get on in here. We'll scootch over and make you a spot.
I see what your true intentions are in terms of righting a perceived disconnect and wanting the best for the forums, and I respect that. I think it's safe to say that for the most part, all of us here truly do want the same thing. And I know your feelings are your feelings, but for right now, in this particular instance, I feel like you've completely 'misread the room' and understood there to be an insensitive, bullying intent that was totally nonexistent, and that is why there was pushback toward you. Not because people wanted you to 'gtfo', but because they felt admonished (for lack of a better word) for something that they weren't doing.
Please don't misunderstand me. You believe I misread the room and have ascribed intent to everyone's actions. While I can't write off the possibility that this entire interaction could have gone over my head and been a strange type of kindness and civility I'm not accustomed to, (and I'm from Georgia, so kindness and civility is as inbred as Lannister babies!) I don't believe that is the case. As I said earlier, I do not believe ANY of you intended to be insensitive or to bully. My argument is that intentionality does not matter. “We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behaviour.” (Stephen M.R. Covey) The effective result is the same. I am viewing the behaviour of a lot of the people in this thread as being potentially damaging to some extent to the community as a whole. Most of this thread is thinking to themselves, "I intended no harm."
I also don't think several of you are getting just how ironic it is that I wrote specifically about people on this forum being dismissive, and several of you continue to dismiss that very idea as crazy for 2 more pages of comments.
To further clarify a different point. I don't feel like an outsider here in the forums. I've been hanging around these parts for going on 6 years, so I get most of the inside jokes when they happen. It is precisely because of how long I've been here that I felt comfortable pointing out the behavior. I've seen it happen too often. I've kept my mouth shut about it so as not to disturb the peace. It has bothered me for a while.
With all that said, I am not offended. I am not upset with any of you. I know tone is difficult to read on forums, so if it helps try re-reading all of my posts in the voice of Ben Stein. I just believe with all of the rhetoric floating around in the world, it is too easy to forget to be kind to one another. I just ask we all reflect for a minute on our culture in the forums, and ask ourselves WWMRD?
Given that a) "You're driving away fans like me with your POLITICS (but I won't say which ones because they would make me look bad)" is one of the most tiresome, pointless complaints on the internet, and b) A.Ron literally created an entire other network where you can debate politics, making it utterly ridiculous for anyone to accuse him of silencing dissenting views, there was never any reason for anyone here to take the OP seriously or in good faith. Cracking some jokes about it is not bullying.
Don't get me wrong, I'll complain about stan culture and parasocial relationships and fandoms attacking people who criticize their faves all day, because I feel very strongly that those things are some of the biggest contributors to the noxious hellscape that modern internet and social media discourse has become. And this forum is just as susceptible to those flaws as any community of the same size, which is something we should be mindful of! But this isn't that - I don't think turning this specific incident into a referendum on the Bald Move community really makes any sense.
Does nobody see the irony here? Maybe @Redrum0376 is never coming back to read this thread. Maybe they just hurled a bomb in here out of anger with no intention to discuss their grievance. Maybe the post was made in bad faith. They aren't the first one to do this, and they won't be the last. Am I the only one who can take their post in good faith and engage with that criticism? I get that you're all uncomfortable with the conversation, but the behavior in this thread is a perfect illustration of exactly what I said above. It's a dog pile. You are definitely not required to debate @Redrum0376's position here just because you disagree with it, but that doesn't mean you should all dismiss it with ass-eating syrup memes.
I'll Stan for BM all day long. I love the content, and I love the added value I get with that. Today, I am very disappointed in the community. (@Hatorian excluded, you responded in good faith.)
This thread starts off with a gripe. One that on it's face seems inflammatory and divisive. The first 2 responses are FORUM MODERATORS immediately starting in with jokes. Maybe your intent was to diffuse the situation, but this thread has completely devolved in to bullying. Engage with the topic or let the thread die, I don't care. Just don't hijack it and turn somebodies hurt into a joke.
I agree with all of this post and with Ben. If you're not one of the forum regulars, you seem sort of cast off and get flamed pretty easily for airing dissenting opinions (especially if it's clumsily done). *shrug* I don't pay for BM for the community, since I (like Ben) feel like an outsider. I do want to see them succeed though
Baldmove miss treats its club members by unfairly shutting out dissenting views. Not Jim, but Aron. Aron doesnt want to engage in reasonable debate. He has let his politics interfere with his business. I love their content but now I understand why they are losing memberships.
Let me be clear, I am a 25 yr registered Democrat and believe strongly in progressive politics. Still not enough for Aron. He demands that all his followers on all his affiliated social media platforms tow the line.
Good luck to Jim.
Just peeked in at the forums and wow.
I guess the ideal response to this would be something along the lines of: I’m sorry you feel this way. That doesn’t sound like the A.Ron that we know. Would you care to expand on your experience or to tell us what happened?
That said, this is not a post that lends itself to being taken seriously and that’s not the fault of anyone here. Let’s break it down seriously though: 1. Baldmove mistreats it’s club members 2. Baldmove unfairly shuts out dissenting views 3. Okay not Baldmove just A.Ron
4. A.Ron’s politics are interfering with his business 5. This is from a 25yr progressive democrat
6. A.Ron demands his followers on social media platforms tow the line 7. Jim is cool though
1 & 2 are nullified by 3 & 6. This is a problem that the OP has with A.Ron on his non-BM social media, not with BM or the forums on which it was posted. Also is the OP a club member, or are they offended on behalf of a group of which they aren’t a part.
4 is more-meaty in that BM knows that politics have affected membership, which is part of the reason that political debates on the forums are discouraged now and that politics are discussed less on the BM podcasts. Whether the actions are enough for some folks, and whether the loss of business is worth it for BM could be an interesting discussion.
5 Looks like some kind of attempt at virtue signaling. You can be a long-time hard-core right-wing member of the GOP and still be a perfectly pleasant person to have a debate with. You can be a liberal progressive and be an intolerable asshole. And vice versa. So this is kind of an empty statement.
7 Yes, Jim is cool.
So to me the only real point that is discussable is 4, but this is from someone who apparently had a beef with A.Ron on non-BM social media so it really isn’t what they seem to intend to discuss.
I suspect this may be fallout from the Swizzbold TERF podcast, just because there is some contentious liberal on liberal disagreement on the topic, but who knows?
I’d welcome the OP to come back and talk about their experience, but it looks like a Twitter or Reddit beef unrelated to BM from what little has been said.
Does nobody see the irony here? Maybe @Redrum0376 is never coming back to read this thread. Maybe they just hurled a bomb in here out of anger with no intention to discuss their grievance. Maybe the post was made in bad faith. They aren't the first one to do this, and they won't be the last. Am I the only one who can take their post in good faith and engage with that criticism? I get that you're all uncomfortable with the conversation, but the behavior in this thread is a perfect illustration of exactly what I said above. It's a dog pile. You are definitely not required to debate @Redrum0376's position here just because you disagree with it, but that doesn't mean you should all dismiss it with ass-eating syrup memes.
I'll Stan for BM all day long. I love the content, and I love the added value I get with that. Today, I am very disappointed in the community. (@Hatorian excluded, you responded in good faith.)
This thread starts off with a gripe. One that on it's face seems inflammatory and divisive. The first 2 responses are FORUM MODERATORS immediately starting in with jokes. Maybe your intent was to diffuse the situation, but this thread has completely devolved in to bullying. Engage with the topic or let the thread die, I don't care. Just don't hijack it and turn somebodies hurt into a joke.
I agree with all of this post and with Ben. If you're not one of the forum regulars, you seem sort of cast off and get flamed pretty easily for airing dissenting opinions (especially if it's clumsily done). *shrug* I don't pay for BM for the community, since I (like Ben) feel like an outsider. I do want to see them succeed though
This is legit, but the in/out dynamic is not intentional or mean spirited. I think it’s a natural dynamic of any group that has interacted for years to feel a little cliquey with their mutual familiarity and inside jokes/history, but I truly believe that the group is open to new entrants if you put effort into interacting on the forums for a time.
I know that’s putting the burden on the newcomers and that’s not great, but it’s hard to change that kind of dynamic with group of folks who are familiar with one another.
Maybe we should start a “Welcome to the Forums” thread for newer people to have a space to introduce themselves and interact with folks while at the same time the regulars would know it isn’t the place for inside humor, criticism of phrasing, or dissenting views?
I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s not an unjustified criticism.
Does nobody see the irony here? Maybe @Redrum0376 is never coming back to read this thread. Maybe they just hurled a bomb in here out of anger with no intention to discuss their grievance. Maybe the post was made in bad faith. They aren't the first one to do this, and they won't be the last. Am I the only one who can take their post in good faith and engage with that criticism? I get that you're all uncomfortable with the conversation, but the behavior in this thread is a perfect illustration of exactly what I said above. It's a dog pile. You are definitely not required to debate @Redrum0376's position here just because you disagree with it, but that doesn't mean you should all dismiss it with ass-eating syrup memes.
I'll Stan for BM all day long. I love the content, and I love the added value I get with that. Today, I am very disappointed in the community. (@Hatorian excluded, you responded in good faith.)
This thread starts off with a gripe. One that on it's face seems inflammatory and divisive. The first 2 responses are FORUM MODERATORS immediately starting in with jokes. Maybe your intent was to diffuse the situation, but this thread has completely devolved in to bullying. Engage with the topic or let the thread die, I don't care. Just don't hijack it and turn somebodies hurt into a joke.
I've been thinking about this and have decided that I mostly agree. My earlier comment that encouraged it was a mistake. The sometimes-exclusive nature of our community is something A.Ron and I have talked about and don't really want to encourage. I appreciate a good inside joke as much as the next person, maybe more, and don't think they're harmful, but what is harmful is treating new contributors like outsiders. The default position should be to welcome different perspectives of all types, even when they're critical, as long as it's good-faith criticism. And sometimes it can be hard to tell.
So apologies to OP. I don't think politics has a huge place in the Bald Move ecosystem but I see why it might not be the best thing for the community for me to encourage behavior that could even remotely border on bullying. A bully is the last thing I want to be.
Does nobody see the irony here? Maybe @Redrum0376 is never coming back to read this thread. Maybe they just hurled a bomb in here out of anger with no intention to discuss their grievance. Maybe the post was made in bad faith. They aren't the first one to do this, and they won't be the last. Am I the only one who can take their post in good faith and engage with that criticism? I get that you're all uncomfortable with the conversation, but the behavior in this thread is a perfect illustration of exactly what I said above. It's a dog pile. You are definitely not required to debate @Redrum0376's position here just because you disagree with it, but that doesn't mean you should all dismiss it with ass-eating syrup memes.
I'll Stan for BM all day long. I love the content, and I love the added value I get with that. Today, I am very disappointed in the community. (@Hatorian excluded, you responded in good faith.)
This thread starts off with a gripe. One that on it's face seems inflammatory and divisive. The first 2 responses are FORUM MODERATORS immediately starting in with jokes. Maybe your intent was to diffuse the situation, but this thread has completely devolved in to bullying. Engage with the topic or let the thread die, I don't care. Just don't hijack it and turn somebodies hurt into a joke.
Thanks man. I think my response was the only one not to get any likes so I thought maybe I said something wrong (maybe I did) But I’m glad someone understood what I was saying. If it was my platform and I felt very strongly about a certain topic I would fall on my sword over it if needed and I would want to inform as many people as possible. I always go back to the quote “the only thing necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing”. It might not fit 100% regarding this debate/topic but I wouldn’t sacrifice my beliefs to appease people.
Instead of the "is this situation real" part of the discussion, let's start from the opposite, "what can be done" part of the discussion.
The OP isn't alleging a personal offense. they are not claiming that someone disrespected their culture, their religion, or their race. Instead, they are alleging that different political opinions turned them off.
In which case, there is nothing that can be done and there is nothing that should be done. Podcasting is about offering interesting opinions that people want to hear. The second you start triangulating as to what someone somewhere may disagree to the point of not offering your thoughts is the second you are not cut out for podcasting. And while BM may be about TV and movies, not discussing the politics of Blackkklansman for example would in itself be political.
Now, let's address the reactions to the post here. Was someone personally antagonistic to the OP, violated a code of conduct, used offensive language? No. What could be done here, from a top down perspective? In the internet, it's garbage in garbage out. People took a post to which there could be no response (because there simply were no specifics to what was objectionable) and had fun with it.
So there's nothing to be done, policy wise, in either case. And it's not like more concern trolling and tone policing would make bald move more popular. Now, I am not saying that anyone here is engaging in concern trolling and tone policing. But that is the inevitable outcome if every post, every random accusation has to be taken seriously or have a 3 page discussion if the tone of the replies is agreeable. "Don't be a dick" is an enforceable policy. "Take every post seriously lest we have a long discussion about community" isn't.
Here's the deal, I don't owe any individual person an exhaustive one on one personal debunking of their political bullshit. I do that more than enough for my friends and family. But you know there's an open invitation at 3rt@swizzbold.com for that kind of thing, so if I have to do it, I can do it once for many people's benefit. I'm pretty agreeable, even to people I disagree with.
I'm also not concerned about your subjective opinion of what we decide to cover, and how we cover it. Especially when your subjective opinion is phrased at maximum obnoxiousness, and is omnipresent. And if you think I'm exaggerating, his go to move was posting this on every other podcast post.
Everytime I saw this image on my timeline, my molars would explode. I told him I'd unblock him if he'd just stop all that shit, and this thread is the result. I try to be a real sweet heart to everyone. But if you can't respect boundaries. It's not worth $5/month putting up with you.
Comments
But if you're going to scold people for trying to have a good time in a pretty low stakes environment, you might get a door closed on you.
johnnytruant said:
Felt like a good time.
In all seriousness, there's nothing stopping anyone from jumping into a conversation if they want. That's what I did when I first joined the forums. It took me a minute to feel everyone out but I started to comment here & there and just made forum friends as I went along. I think I can easily say that none of us here have ever, *ever* intended on making anyone feel left out or like they couldn't jump on in. It's like life though. If you want something, you have to go get it. If you want to make friends and be socially active/'feel included' (however that looks like on the forums), it's up to you to make it happen.
I know that for myself, I tend to drift toward the threads that are less serious - I like to come here to have fun and escape whatever kind of stress I might have had in my day or in life in general. That might be a thread about a tv show or a movie, a character, food/drink, vacation spots, baseball, *whatever*. I know I'm not alone in this, so I think it's easy to see the same people joking around with each other or commenting between themselves in different threads but that doesn't mean it's a clique. They're all here for the same reason and that's to have a good time, and it's not exclusive or closed to anyone else to do the same.
(Edited for grammar.)
Would you be more comfortable with, "Anybody can join in on the fun, but if you point out a flaw in my thinking I'd rather not talk with you?" I feel like the post I quoted was pretty oxymoronic either way.
I feel like I should reiterate. I like each and every one of you here. I think you are all great individuals. I think on the whole, the community is pretty great. Sometimes there are flaws, and that's okay, but if we don't take a look in the mirror and address issues in our behavior as a group when they show up, we will lose that community.
How did A.Ron sign off the most recent 3 right turns? "Help each other. If you see people arguing past each other try to be the translator. Try to see the disconnect and make that connection happen. That's our mission here. That's what I'd like to see happen in our community. Some of us know more things than others. We all have our personal perspectives. We all have our biases and blind spots. I want you to help me see those things. I want you to help each other. I want us all to be able to learn and grow at the same time."
I know that's Swizzbold, but it's a great sentiment for BM too. So there is a disconnect. I tried to shine some light on it in hopes of making that connection.
I love you guys.
The original post was a drive-by trolly hit & run that was intended to be nothing more. People knew it & turned the thread into something fun. It's a stressful time in life. We all need some laughter. Was it *that* big a deal? No comments were directed at the OP or anyone else in any sort of a negative way. No one was bullied. No one was ostracized. No one was excluded. No one was prohibited from having fun as well. No one has *ever* been stopped from jumping in and participating in conversations when they might have wanted to. I don't mean this to sound unfeeling or like I don't care. I do care, very much - I would hope that anyone could see that about me by now. The last thing I want is for someone to feel like they can't have fun right along with anyone else. The more, the merrier! But that's in their hands. It's not in anyone else's control.
I see what your true intentions are in terms of righting a perceived disconnect and wanting the best for the forums, and I respect that. I think it's safe to say that for the most part, all of us here truly do want the same thing. And I know your feelings are your feelings, but for right now, in this particular instance, I feel like you've completely 'misread the room' and understood there to be an insensitive, bullying intent that was totally nonexistent, and that is why there was pushback toward you. Not because people wanted you to 'gtfo', but because they felt admonished (for lack of a better word) for something that they weren't doing.
I know you've been here for a long time, so I'm sure you can agree that there aren't many people here at all who have any ill will or malicious nature with or toward each other. The only time I've ever really seen people not get along with each other and totally disrespect someone else is in the political threads. I've seen comments get ugly there, so I can understand *that* being behavior that would need self-examination and correction. However, this thread was nowhere near that at all.
Can we hug it out and move on?
*reaches for an olive branch to offer*
(Also, don't take offense at my stupid little gifs. They're all in good fun.)
The "closed door" was just a way of saying that you might close people off by trying to intervene on their fun, rather than engaging or not engaging. Are there cases where intervention is necessary, yes. I don't think this is one of them. Either way, it was a bad metaphor, it looks more like everyone is opening the door to see if you want to come in?
I also didn't want to slam OP for what they were saying but I'm sorry, my bullshit detector was going off a little bit. I'm pretty sure the only thing that was disallowed here, before political talk at large, was defending Donald Trump. If you had opposing views to the majority on other issues, that was allowed to be discussed here as long as it all stayed civil. If you come in here with right wing talking points, yes, you are likely to find resistance. However, if you're not prepared to defend your viewpoints, why are you arguing about politics on the internet in the first place? OP saying though that he is into Progressive politics but was still shut out by A.Ron seems very suspect to me. I could be wrong, so I cannot say that definitively. That's why I tried to direct them to the Swizzbold subreddit. I know it's not ideal for a lot but since Bald Move doesn't really cover politics, it's an understandable one.
I apologize if my original crack about ass eating that started us down this road made anyone feel like I was just outright dismissing the topic. That certainly wasn't my intention at all.
Also, syrup
I also don't think several of you are getting just how ironic it is that I wrote specifically about people on this forum being dismissive, and several of you continue to dismiss that very idea as crazy for 2 more pages of comments.
To further clarify a different point. I don't feel like an outsider here in the forums. I've been hanging around these parts for going on 6 years, so I get most of the inside jokes when they happen. It is precisely because of how long I've been here that I felt comfortable pointing out the behavior. I've seen it happen too often. I've kept my mouth shut about it so as not to disturb the peace. It has bothered me for a while.
With all that said, I am not offended. I am not upset with any of you. I know tone is difficult to read on forums, so if it helps try re-reading all of my posts in the voice of Ben Stein. I just believe with all of the rhetoric floating around in the world, it is too easy to forget to be kind to one another. I just ask we all reflect for a minute on our culture in the forums, and ask ourselves WWMRD?
Don't get me wrong, I'll complain about stan culture and parasocial relationships and fandoms attacking people who criticize their faves all day, because I feel very strongly that those things are some of the biggest contributors to the noxious hellscape that modern internet and social media discourse has become. And this forum is just as susceptible to those flaws as any community of the same size, which is something we should be mindful of! But this isn't that - I don't think turning this specific incident into a referendum on the Bald Move community really makes any sense.
I agree with all of this post and with Ben. If you're not one of the forum regulars, you seem sort of cast off and get flamed pretty easily for airing dissenting opinions (especially if it's clumsily done). *shrug* I don't pay for BM for the community, since I (like Ben) feel like an outsider. I do want to see them succeed though
I guess the ideal response to this would be something along the lines of: I’m sorry you feel this way. That doesn’t sound like the A.Ron that we know. Would you care to expand on your experience or to tell us what happened?
1. Baldmove mistreats it’s club members
2. Baldmove unfairly shuts out dissenting views
3. Okay not Baldmove just A.Ron
5. This is from a 25yr progressive democrat
7. Jim is cool though
1 & 2 are nullified by 3 & 6. This is a problem that the OP has with A.Ron on his non-BM social media, not with BM or the forums on which it was posted. Also is the OP a club member, or are they offended on behalf of a group of which they aren’t a part.
5 Looks like some kind of attempt at virtue signaling. You can be a long-time hard-core right-wing member of the GOP and still be a perfectly pleasant person to have a debate with. You can be a liberal progressive and be an intolerable asshole. And vice versa. So this is kind of an empty statement.
7 Yes, Jim is cool.
I suspect this may be fallout from the Swizzbold TERF podcast, just because there is some contentious liberal on liberal disagreement on the topic, but who knows?
I know that’s putting the burden on the newcomers and that’s not great, but it’s hard to change that kind of dynamic with group of folks who are familiar with one another.
Maybe we should start a “Welcome to the Forums” thread for newer people to have a space to introduce themselves and interact with folks while at the same time the regulars would know it isn’t the place for inside humor, criticism of phrasing, or dissenting views?
I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s not an unjustified criticism.
I'm also not concerned about your subjective opinion of what we decide to cover, and how we cover it. Especially when your subjective opinion is phrased at maximum obnoxiousness, and is omnipresent. And if you think I'm exaggerating, his go to move was posting this on every other podcast post.
Everytime I saw this image on my timeline, my molars would explode. I told him I'd unblock him if he'd just stop all that shit, and this thread is the result. I try to be a real sweet heart to everyone. But if you can't respect boundaries. It's not worth $5/month putting up with you.