tony awards discussion etiquette

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:36am

i apologize for being so late in posting this as i'm sure that an earlier posting could have helped alleviate many of the blood feuds that have erupted in the hours since the tony awards were handed out. let's all take a look at some ways that we can discuss the awards and our reactions to them in constructive ways, k?

first off, when faced with an opinion with which you disagree, attack the opinion, not the poster.

for example: say poster a opines that, "the wedding singer was robbed in the best musical category! it so totally blew away everything else! the tony voters are blind deaf and biased against the 80's because they are so old they can't even pee without assistance!"

now while it might be tempting to question this poster's sanity, taste and or grasp on reality with the liberal use of expletives, the proper method for dealing with such a post is to point out flaws in their argument, "omg, like you even know the tony voters! the only thing reasonably resembling a factual statement in your argument is the use of the word 'blew' and 'wedding singer' in close proximity!"

thus you manage to point out flaws in their argument without attacking them personally.

another common problem during these trying times is the fact that opinions are like a**holes: everybody's got one. the tough thing is that in such a closed community as this passion often outweighs logic when it comes to talking about other people's opinions.

an example: poster b has expressed the sentiment that sweeney was the greatest revival in the history of the musical theatre and as such should have been awarded every award without even the necessity for voting as the brilliance of the show is obvious for every sentient being even dolphins.

this is an opinion. often such statements get confused with facts. know the difference and react accordingly, "that is your opinion and you are welcome to it. i respect your right to have an opinion even if i do not respect the opinion itself. i might think that the thoughts expressed in your opinion are wrong-headed, preposterous, ill thought out and quite possibly the result of severe head trauma, but i respect your right to hold those opinions. we'll have to agree to disagree."

often posters will confuse their own opinions with facts try to present them as accepted knowledge, "everyone here knows that drowsy was robbed by that charlatan juke box abomination."

the previous response works adequately in this situation with the possible addition of a reference to the idea that the poster in question should not attempt to speak for anyone but themselves lest they manage to accidentally ingest both feet.

these are just some rough guidelines that i hope will be able to raise the level of discourse here at bww.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:45am

Day late and dollar short, papi. And if you really believe all that crap you are an idiot.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:47am

sueleen, that is your opinion and you are welcome to it. i respect your right to have an opinion even if i do not respect the opinion itself. i might think that the thoughts expressed in your opinion are wrong-headed, preposterous, ill thought out and quite possibly the result of severe head trauma, but i respect your right to hold those opinions. we'll have to agree to disagree.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:47am

"an example: poster b has expressed the sentiment that sweeney was the greatest revival in the history of the musical theatre and as such should have been awarded every award without even the necessity for voting as the brilliance of the show is obvious for every sentient being even dolphins."

...but that's not an example, that's a fact!

[bostonbroadwayfan]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:54am

I just wish people would discuss the post and not the person who wrote it.
Too many silly posts about posting style, grammar etc..

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/12/06 at 10:56am

doodlenyc, that is your opinion and you are welcome to it. i respect your right to have an opinion even if i do not respect the opinion itself. i might think that the thoughts expressed in your opinion are wrong-headed, preposterous, ill thought out and quite possibly the result of severe head trauma, but i respect your right to hold those opinions. we'll have to agree to disagree.