AC, baby. It doesn't even matter anymore. We've reached a point where people like Kurt Deutsch, who relies on the same people who post here to keep his business alive, has started bashing us along with actors who don't want to be talked about. This whole thing has just become ridiculous and strangely it's not "our" side that's being childish and short-sighted.
I've seen actors physical appearance, sexuality and even marital history insulted and used as amo against them which would certainly be defined as cyber bullying.
For example when Kelsey Grammer took hiatus from Finding Neverland, the fact that he was divorced was somehow used as proof that he can't commit to a show. I mean come on!
Jordan Catalano said: "Right?! Has anyone EVER said anything bad about him??"
Actually... I was stagedooring Hamilton against my desire to do such things, since I got a Public Theater poster at the Flea Market, and could only go before the show to try and get two missing signatures, one of which was his now-fiance Philippa. So, I was there about 75 minutes before showtime, standing there. And Pasquale came out of the stage door, and I said, "Oh no, I don't want to be seeing you coming out of there. That means she's already in there." And he said, "Yup, sorry buddy." So, that was negative?
Sunny11 said: "I've seen actors physical appearance, sexuality and even marital history insulted and used as amo against them which would certainly be defined as cyber bullying.
For example when Kelsey Grammer took hiatus from Finding Neverland, the fact that he was divorced was somehow used as proof that he can't commit to a show. I mean come on! "
I'm not wholesale defending those comments, but a rude or un-called for comment does not a cyber bully make. I think it's one thing to have abuse directed towards a person- like via Twitter or Facebook or something like that, and of course a threat on any kind of platform is absolutely wrong. But someone saying a nasty remark on a message board that you can very easily avoid is not cyber bullying or abuse.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
"Yeah, I have seen far worse behavior on twitter. I've heard of actors getting death threats and similar there. Heck, celebrities aren't even nice to each other there.
I will repeat myself but these people should really read the New York Yankee board sometime if they really want to see people being nasty and mean.
This whole conversation is based on actors and other industry professions objecting to the content of these boards so even if the comments haven't been directly sent to them, they are obviously aware that, in general, they exist.
When posting on a public message board you have to be aware that there is the real possibility that the subject of any post can read it. I guess don't say anything about someone that you wouldn't say in person to their face?
I'm not denying that actors can and do read the things posted here. But nasty comments can exist anywhere on the Internet, and as I said, this isn't explicitly directed at them. If someone attacks you on Twitter and tags you in it, you're forced to see it, but no one is forced to see the things posted here. That's an important difference.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Then how should we respond to the people who want boards abolished because of that negativity?
I think that we should be held partially responsible for keeping the culture of this place overall accommodating. Yes have constructive criticism but not so nasty and toxic that people are put off coming here.
ClydeBarrow said: "AC126748 said: "So, I have a serious questions. Can anyone in whatever constitutes a position of power here explain to me why FindingNamo and PRS are suspended, yet this Margo person is still allowed to post with impunity? She has very clearly violated the stated guidelines -- "No personal attacks - we all have different opinions - disagree with the view, not with the person. This includes other posters, performers and artists. You can not like a show, performer, performance, etc. but insulting the person, their mental state or intellect, physical appearance or anything of the sort will be removed". Go read her post about Kanye West that ClydeBarrow shared, then read her defense of calling him "mentally ill". That's to say nothing of the lies she spread about me. "
I'd like an answer to this as well.
"
Has anyone "reported" her? (Maybe you have, I wouldn't know.) Were we told how long a suspension lasts? And I wonder if the poster is told WHAT post(s) were used to determine a suspension.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
I mean, maybe I'm sounding callous here, but why do we have to respond at all? If someone doesn't want to read what's posted here, that's their right, and they are free to have that opinion. I'm happy to call someone out if I think a comment is uncalled for or needlessly cruel, but part of that comes from the fact that I'm actually a member of this message board. Why, exactly, should anyone here care about the opinions of people who don't post here and don't want to read any of it? It's not like this is a discussion happening between members here- it's a group of people who choose to be on the outside, which they are free to do, but still feel the need to critique it. Again, I'm all for a more constructive level of discourse here, but I can't really get around the fact that no one is being forced to read any of this.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Dramamama, I reported her. 10086sunset also reported her and Clyde might have as well. The guidelines state that initial suspensions last 3 days, followed by 30 days, 90 days, then permanent banning.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
There are truly heinous accounts of cyber bullying. The recent "GamerGate" scandal, which saw many women who work in the video game industry receive constant harassment, death threats, and invasions of privacy. People raked through the coals publicly because of dumb Twitter posts. College students who have committed suicide because of invasions of privacy and constant, direct harassment.
Things like that, in which someone is made a target and cannot actively avoid anything, are cyber bullying.
The worst that happens on this board is tantamount to people talking behind your back in another room. Is it particularly "nice"? No. But is it bullying or harassment? NO.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
This new, and more clear and communicative warning and suspension system will indeed alert posters as to when something was removed, and why. My hope is that will help in never needing to use those 'higher levels' of bans, etc. As we solidified this late yesterday, I don't think it would be right to go back and make it something retroactive.
That said, if there are past posts that you feel we missed that violate our (unchanged) guidelines, I encourage you to hit the 'report' button on them. I'm reachable via PM as well if there's any specific why/why not cases or questions.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Rob, does it matter at all the Margo has lied about me on this thread and impugned my character? Is that not a personal attack?
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Looking through Margo's most recent posts, he/she also utilizes profanities in describing the Kardashians. Are certain public figures fair game? I'd like to know where the guidelines stand in that regard.
I know at this point I'll only be reiterating the theme of what posters before me have mentioned, but I would not be the theatre enthusiast I am today without this board. I stumbled upon it seven or so years ago while in high school in the midst of an all too cliche Wicked obsession, and I owe this board more than I can put into words for opening my eyes to artists, works, and ideas that have had an immeasurable impact on my life.
Motivated by the zeal posters here had for theatre happening in New York, I spent much of my time in high school crammed on overnight busses to the city for 10 hours each way to catch Saturday matinees. Being too young to check into a hotel, I was always right back on the bus the very same night. Either way, the happiness the shows gave me made it all worth it. I'll never forget the unadulterated joy I felt after seeing one of my very first shows in New York following a recommendation I received on BWW, the 2009 revival of Finian's Rainbow. I felt like I was floating for days. I had trouble sleeping for several nights after the fact because my mind was too enamored to rest. Catching the radiant Kate Baldwin coming out of the stage door that day but being too starstruck by her magnificent talent to approach her was just a bonus to one of the most whimsical experiences of my young life.
The words that are being so carelessly flung around on social media about this board are truly insulting. Yes the hate they're describing exists, but they're painting with much too broad a brush. To see this debate slipping into a matter of "who's creating the theatre" only makes it all worse. It's spitting in the face of those of us who would do anything to support the art form we love. For me, it's spitting in the face of the young boy who would spend 20 hours on a bus in a single weekend just for the chance to leave the world behind for 2.5 hours. I truly will be thinking twice before I elect to support any of these individual's personal endeavors.
devonian.t said: "I would like Mr Deutsch to point out any post where I have been abusive at any time in my 12 years posting here.
If he can't find an example, do you think he might apologize for his false accusation?
Until this is resolved, he has just lost at least one customer."
I completely agree. I paid for every single cast recording I own because it's important to me to support the things I love. From here on out, though, I will be able to listen to future Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight releases just as easily without paying for them through my local library. He has every right to spend his money selectively and so do we.