The post on the Dixie Chicks:  a good mention was made about the mob mentality on review boards.  Wow!  Someone actually "gets" it!  
If you are liked you are congratulated even when one of your providers is not up to anyone's par.  If you are liked ALL is forgiven even when you stand one of us up  for an appointment.  I may complain, but the mob will make  all kinds of excuses for the provider.
If you are not liked by one or a few people who are loud and outspoken on these boards--the entire group turns against you.
I have seen this on board after board.
I have seen buddies do this in titty bars.  Acts to dancers that they would never do if they were alone.  Locker room braggadocio.  Showing off to impress collegues.
Maybe we men need some more maturity.  
Most of all, maybe some of us could think for ourselves instead of accepting the mob mentality, huh?  Isn't this how Jesus was murdered?  Isn't this how Hitler came into  power?
THIMK people...thimk for yourselves!!!!

While I can understand your obvious frustration on this particular topic, I find a couple of inaccuracies.

Being a somewhat vocal provider the last 3 years, I have been fortunate to garner a somewhat respected reputation. There have been times I have posted an opinion or two that was not only met with resistance but with outright hostility. This by no means affected me as a provider or my standing in the community, but it offered up a chance for people to really get down and dirty when it came to emotional issues.

The mob mentality is very prevelant these days on any message board. I happen to agree with Natalie Maines views on president Bush. Now was she wrong to do it on foreign soil? Who Knows. Charleton Heston can speak his mind on the NRA in any part of the world and people think of it as "Moses has Spoken" but anyone else says a peep and it goes in all different directions. Bill Clinton was called a liar, and asshole, a pervert and various other colorful names, but never once did I see anyone getting all up in arms. At the time our coutry was in pretty good shape and he was the only thing to dig on. Right now with the war and 9/11 still fresh in our memories, the countries emotional state is volitale and we must take that into consideration when voicing an opinion. That is not to say don't speak your mind, just consider the consequences of your actions. It all depends on the time, the political climate and the emotional state of the country at the time of the debate, as to how the outcome with swing.

This has nothing to do with this message board or any other. It is not the clique of the moment that will sway public opinion. It is the way people present themselves and their ability to do so. I don't believe there are many on these boards that would actually say to a group of people, face to face, what they type here. I have been guilty of that a time or two. But I do speak up when it is nessacary.


The basic context of your post is slamming providers out there for actually having an opinion. Sounds like an issue for you honey, not anyone else. You will always find the so-called mob mentality in every walk of life. Around the water cooler at work, the train station, the bars you frequent on your off time ect. Its just a matter of degree. Don't delusion yourself into thinking the guys here are just backing their favorite provider. It has alot to do with the fact that a vast majority of the people on this message board in particular, have spent alot of time debating lifes issues. They respect each other to a point, and feel free enough to add their .02 on occasion. When a topic as hot as The Dixie Chicks comes up, you can guarentee the thread will be long and heated, but its always fascinating to see the different opinions as they emerge.

But most of all hun....it's just a message board. For the most part, it's not even close to real life. take it for what it is..just words in cyber space and don't let it get you so riled up.



-- Modified on 5/28/2003 6:02:42 PM

What is it exactly that convinces you that people have fallen victim to a mob mentality?  It seems to me that such accusations are generally hurled in the direction of only those who only hold a wide-spread view (not necessarily a majority one) contrary to to those of the accuser.  The same with the name-calling bullshit..."agree with me & you're OK, if you don't then your'e some kind of so & so"--isn't that somewhat of the same sort of mentality?

And I didn't see a single mention of this hobby in the thread to which you've referred, so that much of your point is lost on me, being the dumbshit that I am.

If you don't like the idea of a thread such as this appearing on the discussion board of a site dedicated primarily so something else as this one is, you've failed to make that point clear.  I may not like some also, but I'm not compelled to either read or comment on them...to do so is my choice, as is it is with you, whatever that choice may be.  But IMO your comments about both mob-mentality & the popularity (or lack thereof) of individual posters is a bit juvinile.  Who "gets it" & who doesn't? Do only those who seem to agree with however you think "get it?"  Seems to me that's your definition based on your own feelings about  the subject matter of the discussion.  You know IT IS possible for people to disagree & yet have each thought for themselves. Certainly that concept isn't lost on you....?  

Hitler??  Either get a grip or a little better understanding of history before you start thowing that out as an appropritate analogy.

BTW...Am not familiar with your handle---are you posting under another name?  And if so, why?  Sorry, I'm curious enough to want to know.

regarding a popular lady, some members have voiced their dissents and stood their grounds as in the case last summer in LA board.  (I am partial in that incident.)

Since only the moderator can delete messages or threads, messages, even with unpopular views, are here for others to read and decide.

I could spend hours arguing about the Dixie Chicks (I am against their current views and see no problem at "this point" about some people's choice to boycott them as well as French products) in that thread but I choose not to do so.

I don't agree with a number of members' POVs on various issues just like some don't like my viewpoint or the way I conduct myself in TER boards.  I don't hold that against them in their other worthwhile messages just like they don't hold that against me on other matters.

Having common belief with many others on a particular issue doesn't mean that one is influenced by a mob mentality.  Mob mentality describes a following of other’s viewpoint/action without thinking about the issue/action independently.  Judging from the various messages posted here, I don’t think this is the case at all.

Most members here are mature and successful enough to know that no one is infallible.  Many here are quite intelligent and could easily present a substantial argument to support their viewpoints.  There is, so far as I know, no organized movement to drown out a member's views.

Be optimistic and give members here dues for their independence.

I agree with you.  As Zorro mentioned in one of his previous posts, the views of some hobbyist members, such as LIEWN, have become so skewed from years of romantic failure in their past that they resort to deifying providers.  What they fail or do not want to realize is that providers are human just like the rest of us; some are good and some are bad.  Yet, these spineless creatures are willing to argue for ANY point that they feel will be popular among providers, regardless of its merits, as a way of seeking providers' attention and to build a TER persona as "good boys"; which explains the fact that they are often the most vocal of all the members participating on these boards.

As a point of clarification, I meant that I agree with Emailer, not Greywolf, though I respect both of your views.

...the thread had come to an end as soon as someone made a reference or comparison to Hitler.  

Sort of like finally resorting to "yo momma!" when you run out of clever rhymes while "playing the dozens."

Dear Celtic Lass,

With respect to your beloved William Jefferson Clinton I seem to remember that all of his supporters were constantly on the air in very vociferous support of their "philanderer-in-chief". These butt kissers included many on the DNC (Democratic National Committee" working out of the White House and many federal employees including Donna Shalala, the Seceratary of Health and Human Services.

Of course we can not forget the Today Show softball interview of Hilary Clinton who claimed that this was all a right wing conspiracy.  It is not that he had oral sex with an intern in the oval office it is that he lied under oath about having oral sex with Monica in the oval office. One was his business and the other was PERJURY!

If a president wants to have an adulterous affair in the oval office that may be his business but it certainly does not speak very highly of his moral compass when he lies under oath.

William Jefferson Clinton, my dear Celtic Lass, is a lech, an adulterer, an unindicted felon and in case you have not heard his latest pronoucement (made 5/28 in Boston) a Communist who belives that the government should take your hard earned money and give it people who do not want to work to earn their own money. I do not know about you but I have worked very hard to get an education so that I could have a good job that would provide me with the means to have some of the better things in life and I do not particularly care to see the government take the money I have worked hard to earn and give it to others.

what is an UNOFFICIAL RULE. Is that like being on doubble secret probation? Does that mean that it is not published or distributed. After all once you document it and distribute it does it not become official.

Deifying providers????  If that is what it looks like I am doing, let me set the record straight, for that was NOT my intent.  In the thread that you are referring to clamlick, my only intent was to take issue on  some of Zorros statements.  I personally and publicaly attacked him and that was wrong and I apologized for that.  

But deifying providers???  I guess it could look like that because Zorro, many times, comes from the opposite end of that spectrum.  

For the record, my arguments were fairly unpopular here.  So be it, for they are only my opinions.  

Seeking providers attention?  I have never seen any of the providers that are on this board, nor have I initiated any private emails to them.  Why?  Because I am very partial to local (San Gabriel Valley) Asian girls.  Trying to seek the attention of said girl in a national board such as this would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  Plus, I have only been with one provider in my life.  And I still see her on a regular basis.  So why am I here?  Because I enjoy the conversations.  And anytime I read the reviews, I really narrow down the search to my priorities.  

So you're wrong clamlick.  I would argue any point, just because I like debate, weather it's popular among providers or not.  One of the threads that I started was very unpopular with the providers because I stated that I felt that it was not my responsability to bring them sexual satisfaction, but the other way around.  That I was the customer and should be treated that way regardless weather they were sexually satisfied or not.  That brought in a lot of negative comments, both from providers as well as from hobbyiest.  Trying to be a "good boy" persona?  I don't think so.

I guess that anyone who would disagree with zorro could be thought of as being pro-provider and the antihisis of the "bad boy" image.   And being that you are one of zorro's biggest fans, it comes as no surprize that you would make such a statement.  

Paranoya is more like it IMHO.  It is human nature, given this forum or any other that people will do those things that they may not otherwise do with a large crowd of people versus being by themselves. This forum offers a great deal of anominity and behind a key board, people tend to be more brazen in their actions here then they would be face to face.

Are people treated fair and just in this forum when it comes to issues regarding the hobby?  No.  That is a given.  We are given an armchairs view of what transpires and make our opinions known by the information given to us.  Even TER or any other board can only do so much in making a fair playing field for ultimately it comes down to what has transpired between two people.  Those ladies and gents that do post more often do give insight to what they are all about, some may even meet outside of this forum and it is natural for those that feel they know someone to come to their defense in comparisons to someone they know very little about for the sheer fact that they do not post often or the like.  

There are so many factors that are present in how a board conducts itself.  That all boards, no matter what the subject matter,  have the same tendancies does speak volumes on human nature and their tendancies.

To compare the "mob mentality" in these forums to Hitler and Jesus' demise is IMHO very extreme.  Heated subject matters bring about a great deal of emotion and that is clear and present in these threads.  People become so emotionally charged it does bring about the worst in even the best of us.  Even with the emotional mudslinging that does come about in some of these threads, it does give insight to the differing views people have, but do not think that it effects any of us outside of the forum. If it does, then there is an even great underlying problem for this board is for pure entertainment purposes and isn't intended to become someones life, for it it is as far from reality that one could get.

Lauren

If you want to spin this thread off into your political views of Bill Clinton that is fine with me. But I think your sarcasm and disdain is just the kind of thing that is being discussed in these threads.

Please don't assume anything when reading my posts, it is much better to ask me what I think.

Oh I could go so many ways with this but I will not. I respect your views of our former President and I will not engage you in a disucssion of his morals or merits, because in a realm such as this, I find it silly.

The base point of my post was the discussion of the mentality some people take when you either agree or don't agree with them and thier views. This is yet another perfect example.

Take Care

Lass

Here are my few opinions, you can take them for what they are worth:

I agree with the things that are stated about the way people gang up on you for posting an unfavorable comment.

I disagree with the thought that its a mob mentality.  I see it as a friend taking up for a friend and that is all.  When you post about a provider, celebrity or government official most likely you're going to attract people who like that person and you will get their opinion.  The problem starts if someone attacks another poster, then they argue back and forth making the thread longer and long threads usually attract other people and so on and so forth.  Some may believe this and some may not but if you compare thread types (meaning threads with jokes, serious questions, sex,flames ect) against each other you will see that usually sex and argumentative ones are usually the longest.

I disagree that only men do this, it may seem this way because the majority of posters are men but women are notorious for it, think back to high school.

I disagree that the author of this post is flaming providers.  IMHO he's stating a fact that if you post a complaint about a well know well liked provider you will get attacked and its true however as I said before its just friends trying to back up a friend.

I also disagree that Bill Clinton is evil.  He's a man, he and a large portion of famous men all do the same thing, they cheat the only problem is he did it with the wrong girl and she told on him.  IMHO she didn't do it because she thought it was the right thing to do, she did it for attention and publicity.

That is all

-- Modified on 5/29/2003 9:50:44 AM

I believe the "Mob Mentality" exists on three levels, on these boards. The first being those who genuinely, disagree with the poster and have something to add to the discussion, which then incourages others to speak up, those that usually would have just remained silent. Then you have the "pot-stirers', who throw in a comment, even out of context, just to get a rise, the equivilant of insighting a riot,OR (yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre),then others jump in to keep the momentum going. Then you have those that are intimidated by strong, intelligent women and "Cutting her down to size" publicly, brings out the few other spinless, "Bottom Feeders" that jump on the Band-Wagon to release some hostility. I'm usually a victim of the latter, being accused of everything from misspelling a word, to being an unhappy Bitch. Since I'm not emotionally fragile, I take my critics for what they are and consider the source, but I've never had a problem with a good healthy debate, over varying opinions, with those that are intelligent and open. All and all, IMHO, the commonality of all these examples is the fact that they open up the "Pandora's Box" of cowards, thus the general use of alias's in this forum. They're easy to spot and tend to lose their credibiliy with me. Sadly, if those posters are otherwise, highly reguarded on these boards, others may simply remain silent rather than risk the wrath of one of their peers. I consider them to be cowards as well. Turning a blind eye to Bullys, lies, injustice and ignorance, is never a good thing.  

-- Modified on 5/30/2003 1:05:05 AM

How you got that one out of what was said,  I will never understand because that wasn't even inferred.

I won't waste too much of my time responding to your message, but I have to take up the spelling issue with you, since I'm sure it was directed at me.  One of the reasons I pointed out your spelling was that, in previous posts, you've accused, whether directly or implicitly, other posters of being unintelligent.  If you were so intelligent, I'm sure you'd know the difference in spelling betwen common everyday words such your/you're, accept/except, and then/than, without the need for a spell-check from Word.

First of all PLEASE show me where I've accused anyone of being unintelligent...I don't believe that's true...!!! Second of all, spelling has never been my strong suit and I've never claimed it was.IMHO, I don't believe simple spelling errors makes one a moron...I know alot of over-educated folks that haven't got the common horse-sense the good lord gave them, so education is all relivant. Now if you aint got no good things to be sayin, ya all best just chek yourselvs.!!! Peace, R

-- Modified on 5/30/2003 1:21:24 PM

through.

Back to the days of the usenet, and even back further to the Arpanet!  So if you don't get the reference, do three tequila shooters and re-read the post, repeat until understanding or unconsciousness occurs.

HPG

-- Modified on 5/31/2003 12:15:21 AM

And then you wonder why Lass says you are slamming providers... honey, read your own post!

If I were to steal a clients wallet while he were in the shower... you CAN BET you would hear about it on the boards. And regardless of whether some stood by me in the ensuing controversy or not, my reputation would be irreperably harmed. How could you possibly think otherwise?

BTW your comment on Hilter, like others have said, shows a simple lack of knowledge about history. It had nothing to do with mob mentality and everything to do with a deep seeded hatred of Jews that existed in Eastern Europe for centuries and still exists today.

Sincerely,
Nicole

As soon as someone says something that a provider does not like, all of the sudden they're "slamming providers."  I've noticed that the knee jerk reaction of most providers who hear something they don't like is to make this accusation.  Relax, take a deep breath.  As to his mention of Hitler, I think what he was referring to was that the people of Germany were misled by a few individuals with loud voices.  Over time, as people saw some of their friends becoming Hitler supporters, they followed.  Your comment about the wallet raises an extreme example; if that were the case, other providers would also be against you, and the spineless followers would argue against you for that reason.