Penny Lane

I almost hate to mention this, but if it bothers me, I figure that I can safely assume it bothers others. In the past twenty-four hours, I have seen two threads in the Other forum in which distateful comments have been made about my state. While several others may think that they live in more preferable parts of the country, I do not think that they should be able to insult residents of other states simply because of the area in which those residents live. Regional stereotypes in no way account for a population as a whole, and I and others from my state should be able to post in dvdtalk without being unfairly labeled as, in this particular case, ugly or inbred.

mikehunt

did they insult the state or it's residents?
I might insult CA, and it's politicians, but never the general population of CA

Penny Lane

the residents. One of the threads has been locked, and the other is still floating about somewhere.

Bushdog

I actually caught that thread around the time you posted this, it seems. As to any other comments, please email me or any other mod, and we'll deal with them as is appropriate.

Alyoshka

As the originator of that thread let me offer my sympathies.

However, I'll defend myself. It was an immature thread to say the least, but it was only meant to be that, immature. It wasn't meant to regionalize attraction to one place or another. That is ridiculous. I would never claim that and I doubt that anyone else would claim that.

Unfortunately the thing about threads is that most of them can become offensive to one group of people or another. I didn't really see much that was too offensive in that thread. It just seemed like most people were having fun. I also think that some stereotypes were being shown and some were being broken down.

there would never be a consensus that one stay is particularly uglier than another. That was my point going into it. I enjoy debates and that was an easy way to get people going on one. I think that you did a great job of showing that your state doesn't hold true to the common stereotype and you even seemed to be having fun with it.

For the record, if anyone has a problem with any thread I start or a post I make. Feel free to email me. I don't seek out to damage one states reputation.

Penny Lane

I guess you could say I was having fun with it, but I was telling the truth.
To be honest with you, I was referring more to a different thread than I was to yours. I actually posted something in that particular thread to show my distaste that was a bit more candid than what I posted in yours. Your thread simply made me think that it should be addressed.

Alyoshka

Well, I happen to agree, you Alabama girls look just fine. And that Southern accent is one of the bests. Anyhow, good luck with your fight to end regional criticisms...especially when it is way out of line.

Penny Lane

When what is way out of line? My "fight" or "regional criticisms"?

Alyoshka

regional criticism/stereotypes/etc. Not your fight/crusade/cleansing.

Heat

See, right here, you are either baiting Alyoshka or you are fishing for compliments.

(for people reading this thread) the thread in question is:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=121379

I think you need to relax and not take things personally. Anyway, as Bushdog indicated above, if you feel that a thread has crossed the line, email a moderator.

matta

See, I have a problem with the way this is being enforced... sure people made comments about populations of states, but i think it was made clear that the comments were made as a generalization, meaning that the comment was not directed towards any particular person (which would make it fall under the idea of personal attack).

There have been many threads in the other forum about different nations, particularly France and the US, which tend to be attacks against those nations. Does that mean we have to close those threads too?

I{f this is allowed to happen, no one will ever again be allowed to post something negative.

Boot

Penny, no offense, but I think you need to relax a bit. I saw nothing in that thread which condemned any particular group of people. It was more poking fun at existing stereotypes. I live in Arkansas, so I know what I'm talking about. You have to learn to laugh at yourself.

jfoobar

While I certainly understand those that feel Penny is being a little too sensitive, the whole bashing the deep South thing does get pretty old, especially from people who have never even been there (I anot just speaking about the Otter Farm, but in general).

I spent several years in Alabama (where Penny is from) and have also lived in 7 other states. Every state has a high population of "hicks" but if you never leave your secure little suburbna cubbyholes, you just don't see them. The only difference between Alabama hicks and Illinois hicks and Maryland hicks is the accent.

Bushdog

Kind of off-topic, but this is a surprisingly true point. I grew up in an affluent area of New York, yet in the more rural areas of where I lived I ran into plenty of guys with the gun racks in their beaten up pickup trucks, etc. . .

I closed the thread because it was getting ugly, not because of the content. Sometimes you have to close threads down because things will only lead to personal attacks, etc. . .

Much as I appreciate the constant criticism of the job we do, here is a newsflash, we (1)have experience in moderating, and (2)we were selected as moderators due to our good judgement. In other words, you may not always know how to moderate better than we do.

Alyoshka

As much as I didn't criticize in this I feel the need to comment. One of the most dreadful things is a person who starts to feel he is above constructive criticizing.

I'm sure that you're speaking of other threads here because this thread doesn't seem to be "criticizing" at all. Really just communication.

Nobody should ever feel themselves at the point where they can't accept constructive criticism as that is one of the only ways we ever truly learn.

I know from being an Resident Assistant that I hate it when residents complain about how I handle situations. Nothing makes me madder. However, they often have points to what they are saying and part of my responsiblity is to listen to my community and learn from it.

Bushdog

The comment wasn't directed at you at all. And the criticism of the moderating that I referred to was not constructive. Just because someone criticizes does not mean it is constructive.

And as wise as you are, being in college and all, sometimes we learn a lot from real life, too. I remember when I was your age and thought I knew how the whole world worked. Not a knock, a statement of fact.

If you think I don't listen to this community all the time, all I have to say is, guffaw. But then, you can believe whatever you want.

As usual, feel free to use email to discuss any concerns you have with the job a moderator is doing, either directly to a moderator, or to Geoff (or both).