it is clear that many people on this forum think that a questioning mind is a hostile mind

and I think that smileys do help the tone of a conversation,
when you can see people face to face it is easier not to get the wrong idea

Ah, you've put your finger on what's bothering me this year, it's the censorship posts telling us what is and isn't unacceptable on the board, we've never had that many of them before have we? Usually, people are too busy ripping whoever's left to shreds and running round the board screaming fix.

I think maybe it's because the show hasn't actually had any shocks, so they've all gone out in pretty much the right order so there hasn't been much to be righteously indignant about.

What we obviously needed was a shock elimination to distract our minds, we didnt get one this series.....except Lulu and Dan would probably disagree.

What? That they both lasted that long?

both of those once they opened their mouths their fate was obvious and when they danced it was completely set in stone

so not so much a shock but an inevitablity

Dont misunderstand me.....I wasnt shocked they went...but I think they both had an inflated opinion of their own skills.

I have been thinking about what's been happening - as far as I've witnessed this year (never having ventured beyond the sanctuary of the Colin Jackson strand before) and - for what it's worth - I feel that the written word, such as a post is often open to misunderstanding. I can't remember the exact percentage but human communication is something like 70 - 80% non-verbal. Given that the choice of smilies is limited, some may not understand their meaning and others don't wish to use them, there is a greater than odds-on-chance of misunderstanding another's post. Especially if it's quoted out of context by another poster.



Of course it wasn't (your intention) and you haven't (added to the animosity). If it didn't happen here, it was likely to happen on another thread.


So (takes deep breath) maybe we could remember this. Many a time recently I have been tempted to put a poster on my ignore list, only to see elsewhere, in a different context, on a different thread, we have a similar opinion on a certain topic.

*ysbryd gets down off of her orange box*

You misunderstood me .I didnt mean the thread itself or the opening post .I mean the way the thread went afterwards .

I'd love a Doh smile too Abba because I often feel a bit daft after misunderstanding.

Three years ago I would agreed with your first paragraph, but not any more. Pressing the Alert button when posts are 'not well within the forum rules' doesn't work most of the time and and I have told Tom Miller that too. Personally I hardly ever press the Alert button and tend to leave a post when I see the direction a thread is taking, especially if certain posters have joined in. At the risk of being over sensitive, If I'm the one you have cast in the roll of Lord Chamberlain then quite honestly I don't care. I've already decided when this series of SCD is finished I'm not posting on DS any more. I've got better things to do with my time than pick my way through threads that look friendly enough to join in on.

I honestly don't think it's aimed at you Buddy, or my follow up certainly wasn't. I love reading your posts, sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't but everything you say is said with respect to other posters and an open ear and I think that's the most we can do.

Thats true , a shock elimination keeps people out of mischief and we can unleash our anger at the daft public insead of each other .

r.







So (takes deep breath) maybe we could remember this. Many a time recently I have been tempted to put a poster on my ignore list, only to see elsewhere, in a different context, on a different thread, we have a similar opinion on a certain topic.

*ysbryd gets down off of her orange box*[/quote]

I hope that wasn't aimed just a me
I very rarely put anyone on ignore and when I do it is generally after a few posts when I have given them the benefit of the doubt

I hope that wasn't aimed just a me
I very rarely put anyone on ignore and when I do it is generally after a few posts when I have given them the benefit of the doubt[/quote]

OF COURSE NOT! NO!! NOT EVER!!!

So I think my - poorly made - point is proven. Most of the time most of the aggro is down to misunderstanding.

I've ALWAYS thought you lived up to your lovely name.

None of my points were aimed at any individual at all. I was just trying (and failing) to summarize what I'd seen happening to others!

oh oops sorry

my name came because of a combination of names but I hope to live up to it

See , I told you we need a DOH smiley !!!

my friend who works for microsoft says we also need a DWIM button for computers

DO WHAT I MEAN

I need a DOH hat for everyday use!

I find the ignore list very useful; whenever I see someone on my list quoted in someone else's post, where I can see them, it's inevitably a good demonstration of why I binned them in the first place.

I've made use of the ignore list for the first time ever this year. There have been people I have disagreed with in the past, but I haven't put them on ignore because I still respect that they eloquently and generally politely express their opinions, and therefore I still read them.

This year the has been so much vitriol and sheer rudeness that the ignore list has become a necessity, and I think that's just a bit of a sad state of affairs really. This part of DS isn't the fun place it used to be.

Hmm..

It's amazin' how on earth people like Shakespeare and all the other great masters of literature, managed to convey exactly what they meant without smilies.

I can't be doing with the ignore button because I hate the idea of missing part of the discussion and I'd rather not post than resort to ignoring some posters.


Well I'll admit I've never found Shakespeare easy to read and much preferred seeing his plays at the theatre! I was also well into my twenties before I started to appreciate some classic literature (then I couldn't get enough of it).

But I do love smilies!

And that's because his plays were first performed and not written down.

I actually think Shakespeare is very difficult to understand when reading for yourself, it's why so many people make so much money writing books about interpreting it, I love Shakespeare but I'm no expert and so I miss all the meaning when I read it for myself but when I see it on the stage, as I have many times, the meaning becomes clear from the actor's faces and tone of voice and it transports me away.

Each to their own.

I'll give you Shakespeare takes some getting used to, if you aren't familiar with his writings, but I quoted that example for maximum effect. Did that really need a smiley?

There must be literally millions of books where you can completely understand the written word, surely you wouldn't need a smiley to interpret each of the emotions expressed?
Or maybe notes in the margins?

I think people rely too much on smilies on message boards.

Touche!

Lol! Never thought I'd be discussing this about SCD. Shakespeare has very few stage directions, it's true. But it's suggested by the punctuation. It was Fiona Shaw (I think) that said the punctuation and the iambic pentameter was the pulse wherein you felt the lifeblood of the meaning.

Not sure it's so true about too many of our threads, DR,tbh!