Had to delete a thread

[MP Guy]

One of tghe few times I have had to delete a thread. A member posted a very nice thread and it soon derailed into country bashing. Please lets keep this place civil.

 

[RubenBlaedel]

Thanks Jorge - One of the beautiful things about the RFF is the civil tone and the great humor among the contributors - there are eneugh angry threads on other lists !

 

[Socke]

Sorry to hear this, hope we haven't reached a critical mass yet :-(

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

I haven't seen the original thread, but it might also be equally effective to delete the offenders, rather than just the thread. I hope our great forum doesn't turn into the barbrawl and spitting contest that is the leica forum on photo.net . Keep up the good work Jorge.

 

[kiev4a]

I'm sure lots of us have varying opinions on politics but what makes something like the RF Forum great is that it is a place where folks from from different cultures have something in common -- GAS. Ain't it great!

 

[back alley]

busy at work today, i missed the whole thing.

damn.
joe

 

[reagan]

I didn't see the thread, ... so thank you Jorge for keeping the peace here. If I wanted to hear bashing, I'd dump this forum and watch network news!

😀​

 

[peter_n]

Its a shame you had to do that Jorge. I missed it too, but we have 2101 members now and I too am hoping that we haven't got to the point where we're attracting the types we don't need.

 

[parks5920]

The best thing about this forum is that fact that you can be a newbie (like myself) and have the opportunity to get feedback and insight from some really knowledgeable people without feeling or being made to feel stupid for asking questions. This is the only forum that I belong to and hope be a member for a VERY long time! Thanks Jorge!

 

[doubs43]

Its a shame you had to do that Jorge. I missed it too, but we have 2101 members now and I too am hoping that we haven't got to the point where we're attracting the types we don't need.

Peter, hopefully the fact that Jorge has acted decisively will get the message out that certain kinds of behavior won't be tolerated here.

I didn't see the thread either but if Jorge found it necessary to delete it, I'll assume that it was pretty offensive.

Now, about that Brand-X camera....... 😀

Walker

 

[Pherdinand]

hmm, sad to hear that. In the same time, you've made me terribly curious...😀

 

[Kim Coxon]

It's a good job you are not a cat then 😀

Kim

 

[denishr]

For the curious ones 🙂 - i.e. those who have not seen the original deleted thread - the inquiry about travel to Italy soon turned to rather opinionated views on (national) driving habits, quality of cuisine, etc... - i.e. not really something that promises well argumented and objective discussion related to rangefinder photography.

IMHO, maybe Jorge could have intervened with just a warning, but on second thought, the thread was best deleted - it will serve as a warning to those involved...

it was not really that heated or "out of bounds", IMHO, but showed all signs of a potential (national-based) flame war in a multi-national community that RFF is.

As a reminder to all (relatively) new members:

Please, keep in mind that this is an international forum, and that we have many members from all over the world (wonder if the RFF world map is still alive?). Since we all communicate in English language, this is easily forgotten. 🙂

Therefore, any allusions and generalizations about national habits and/or customs can be potentially offensive, and are best avoided. There are many *soc.politics* and *soc.culture* groups on the 'net, where you can offer your opinions on politics, cuisine, culture, etc.... Please, keep such opinions there.

This is a site about photography - not any kind of photography, but rangefinder photography. With that in mind, almost anything is allowed, as long as it is not offensive and is even remotely related to rangefinder photography. I'm sure that travel tips are also welcome - but please, keep your advice to the point, and avoid any national generalizations.

We're trying to be polite and friendly here - keep that in mind!

On Leica forum on photo.net we might be called "brown-nosing", etc., but I'd rather be called that, than have another Leica forum here - a recent example of the worst kind of that is a recent thread seeking advice regarding travel to Moscow/St.Petersburg... if you scroll down, it soon got very nasty - personally, I was appalled at some (allegedly correct) quotes from earlier threads.... Racist is a mild word 🙁

In short, keep in mind that we're a very colorful bunch of people here - our political and cultural backgrounds may be different, but we all share love for photography and rangefinders. As soon as we stray from that common link, we're bound to show our differences.

I hope Jorge and joe will not mind my little rant here 🙂 It's well-meant.

Regards,

Denis

 

[Pherdinand]

Hm, Kim... CAT??? what am i missing(again)?

Thanks Denis. THAT thread looked very innocent at the start indeed!

I have all the respect for all the nations on Earth; proof to be my list of closest friends here that consists of indian, turkish, serb, ITALIAN too, american, basque, french, south-african and dutch. It's just accidental that i don't have anyone from Kirghizistan.
Believe me, they all are great guys/girls, and all have their qualities (as well as mistakes)
-just as here on RFF we all do.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

It's nice to know that as RFF reaches critical mass that we have good control rods.

 

[Kim Coxon]

Sorry, I am bringing culture into it but there is an old phrase in England which says "Curiosity killed the cat" 😉

Kim

Hm, Kim... CAT??? what am i missing(again)?

Thanks Denis. THAT thread looked very innocent at the start indeed!

I have all the respect for all the nations on Earth; proof to be my list of closest friends here that consists of indian, turkish, serb, ITALIAN too, american, basque, french, south-african and dutch. It's just accidental that i don't have anyone from Kirghizistan.
Believe me, they all are great guys/girls, and all have their qualities (as well as mistakes)
-just as here on RFF we all do.

 

[taffer]

Pherdi, as long as you don't get curious for seven times, I'd say you'll be relatively safe 😉

 

[denishr]

Sorry, I am bringing culture into it but there is an old phrase in England which says "Curiosity killed the cat" 😉

Kim

Kim, my rant above should be taken "with a grain of salt" 🙂

I did not say ALL cultural aspects are a "no-no" 😀 This would be a very boring place if it were so.
I just wanted to remind people that statements like "everyone knows that all [insert nationality of your choice] are [insert generalizaton here]....." should be avoided. Whatever you think of French/Italian/Chinese cuisine, driving habits, religions, etc. should be kept to yourself, particularly if you think it might be even remotely offensive to the nationals involved.

Finer nuances of language and idiom sometimes need to be clarified 🙂

Reminds me of a time last year when I posted my self-portrait in one of the galleries on another site, one of the remarks was: "Nice photo. Did you break the camera?"

I said "Huh? What are you talking about?"

The guy then explained that it is a question asked when someone shows you a less-than-flattering portrait of him/herself. Didn't know that one.... 🙂

But, I sure do look ugly on that photo 😀

Regards,

Denis

 

[Kim Coxon]

Hi,
I used to think I ought to buy a box of small bells. Then I could tie them to peoples legs so that they would know when I was pulling their leg. It must be having what some people call a dry sense of humour and others just call warped 😀

Kim

 

[Roger Hicks]

There is, I think, a certain amount of cultural difference here in the perception of the point at which robustly expressed opinions become offensive. I didn't think I was being offensive, but clearly Jorge did, and I have already written to him privately to express my apologies. I should like to extend those apologies to anyone else who was offended.

Cheers,

Roger