Why I donated, and will continue to lurk...

[planetc]

It was a pitiful donation, first of all, but as my income here in the glorious land of retirement is composed of 89% social security and 11% other, it was all I felt happy throwing in, because the car, although a glorious 23-year-old Volkswagen, will not actually last forever. Although it seems determined to try. Etc., etc.

I donated for two reasons: 1) I spend a lot of time here, browsing other people's work, looking for articles and opinion pieces I would spend hours looking for myself. McCamy Taylor posts here, and n2doc collects toons. The place deserves a contribution on those grounds alone. And 2) Skinner and Mrs. S. produce some of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen. We cannot let him fall into despair--it would be bad for the babies, both of whom are toddling by now.

Why I spend a lot of time lurking is the linguistic atmosphere of the place, and I suspect I'm not alone. I just can't take seriously a discussion board on which almost every other post is titled "Fuck (fill in the blank)." On which assholes and other basic vulgarities are relied upon so heavily. These terms are perfectly valid expressions of emotion, but they turn the air blue, and discourage quieter communication. If, and it is a big if, posters who rely on fucking them to extinction wonder what other expressions might serve the purpose, I would like to remind them that the English language is rich in dismissive terms and idioms. The English language is rich, period. Allow your prose styles to be blessed by the work of dead authors and live writers who rarely fuck their enemies, who instead impale them with logic, facts, and quiet disdain.

Lastly but not leastly, what are the chances of getting the Toons made into a topic forum? It would be easier to find them, and harder to miss a day's batch.

[Scurrilous]

1. K & R

You're right about the f-bombs. :thumbsup:

[notadmblnd]

2. I'm looking at the front page and there's nary a one beginning with the word "Fuck"

I think your statement is absurd and just can't take seriously a discussion board where posters use such a trivial excuse as their reason for not posting.

[Scurrilous]

5. A quick search shows 7 active threads in GD with the F-bomb in the title.

And 3 in GDP.

[notadmblnd]

6. It's still an figment of the OPs imagination

there was none on the front page as I posted and hardly every other one as the OP suggested. If one is so sensitive to the use of a particular word, then maybe it's better they don't post. After all, I can see how difficult it can be to just skip the ones a reader may find offensive. :sarcasm:

Are we going to have a new group railing for the censorship of curse words now?

[Forkboy]

3. "I just can't take seriously a discussion board" full stop.

;)

[lillypaddle]

4. Great post

with great points. We could use more of your posts around here. :hi:

K&R

[progressoid]

7. A toon forum...

that sounds like fun. :thumbsup:

[planetc]

9. Should we start a 'support for toons forum' thread?

And test the waters?

[Fly by night]

8. Thank you -- and you're dead-on about the IQ test that is the F-bomb.

I have posted my own revulsion at the bone thug wannabes here at DU who don't seem to be able to post anything without "f" or "m-f" in the title. After 18 months locked up in a federal Bureau of Prisons facility with folks who are truly language-deficient and who are in need of protecting their space at all times, I always hold out hope that DU and the rest of the non-incarcerated world would celebrate itself by acting differently.

Of course, we can always start a "GD-F***" forum, and save ourselves from the stink and the clowns that sometimes seem boorishly overbearing (and omnipresent) around here.

K&R

[planetc]

10. I am old enough to remember when all the fucking started,

and it was in the immediate aftermath of the 1960's. In the sixties, anti-war protesters first broke the convention that people who wanted to be taken seriously as adults wouldn't use vulgarities in public, only in the privacy of a group of their friends. By the mid-seventies, junior high school students were cursing like sailors, and the fashion has lasted until today. In the sixties, young people perhaps felt that vulgarities gave their speech punch, vigor, and authenticity. These days, it's just wearisome.

[lamp_shade]

11. You are a breath of fresh air, planetc. Thanks for the post.

[planetc]

12. You are welcome, but ...

you forgot to say where you stand on a toons forum. I'm seriously thinking of polling the group. As soon as I work up some energy.

[lamp_shade]

13. N2doc is one of my favorites. A toon forum has my vote for sure.

[Skidmore]

14. Don't just lurk--work.

No one can afford to sit back and just observe. Not now. It is too important for us all to reconnect at the most basic level and teach each other how to hold civil discourse again.

[rosesaylavee]

15. Great post... Any way we can get some more of this?

I like the toons too... one of the few things I can point to that I have liked from the past 10 years. Bob Geiger used to post Saturday toons here and I miss those threads greatly.

Glad you lurk. But am looking forward to more 'f***-less' contributions from your corner of the world. Perhaps start a Journal?