I don't get it.....

[fnord]

It's been quite a week here at the Pipe Magazine Forum. We've been informed about death, the dying, terrible accidents, impending surgeries, job loss and everything else that goes into the day to day life cycle.
What also caught my interest were several eruptions of bad feelings amongst a group of individuals who, normally, go out of their way to be polite and considerate of differing opinions. I don't know if it's the post-Thanksgiving blues but it kinda' sucks for us bystanders who enjoy being here because we're still trying to learn this pipe mess.
You know, it's one thing for a couple of three, four or even five digit posters to duke it out over dating and grading classic English burners. Opinions are like assholes and belly buttons: we've all got a few. But, earlier this evening, I read an exchange where a seasoned veteran put the smack down on a noob looking for a specific pipe rack. His childish and churlish response was to send him to a great website where the pipe rack of his dreams could be had for a buck and a half.
Those builders are true craftsmen, and I'm sure their work is worth every dollar in an invoice, but referring an FNG to a rack source where the price could be quadruple his pipe is really counterproductive.
(Just for the record, politically I sit to the right of Genghis Khan, but bad manners should never be tolerated or overlooked.)
Whatever is pissing everybody off, I hope, will be gone soon.

 

[mrgunnar177]

+100000000000

 

[matchstickman]

This is exactly why Baron, myself, and a couple of other guys around the forum started the joke about the whole one person a month starting the "I've Had It With All You People and This Place and You All Suck and I'm Sick of This Shit and Leaving for Good" thread. Baron and I have threatened this a couple of times but never made good on it. :mrgreen:
In all seriousness, as great as the people are on this place and as close as we all are, I feel like this is kind of a family for most of us, and as with any family, eventually, if we all hang around together long enough, we are going to have the little idiosyncrasies that grate on each other and one of us will make a smartass comment and it will be taken the wrong way, but that is also why I am glad that we have the mods that we have as they are quick to keep everything friendly and keep everyone in line. Just one of the hazards of forum life I guess.

 

[joshwolftree]

Yeah I've been online a long time too. and unfortunately it does seem to be a fact of life with online forums. Still hopefull though an I still have this guy framed and sitting next to my monitor.

"The Hacker Manifesto" By the mentor(contains some profanity)

(rant)

yeah like the link says it contains a bit of profanity so I won't post the whole thing here. But it was written in the days when "hacking" was if you could generate the right tone do get a pay phone to work without money. and when online forums were collections of text documents that you logged in and edited manually if you wanted to establish a dialog.

and it's a rant against the people thinking everybody was using their personal computers to rob banks. but there is a few hopeful sections that is what the internet was, and maybe still is, supposed to become. and since I can safely add those sections, here's a few excerpts

a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found. "This is it... this is where I belong..." I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud.
We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias
after all, we're all alike.

remember folks this forum like the internet is a living thing. It grows with every letter we type. It grows with every new member added to our small band. We, the practitioners of the ancient art of pipe smoking, move our joy into a new world of electrons and servers. Keystroke by keystroke, we impart the wisdom handed down to us by our elders and won by our own hard fought experience. It is our greatest task, that in this world we may give over our knowledge to those who come after us that they not miss the memories, the simple joy of stuffing some dried up leaves into a container of wood,clay,meerschaum,corn, brylon, or whatever, touching it with a match, and letting go of the troubles and being transported to a whole different world. Not a world of servers and screens, not a world of concrete and steel, an older more primal world, of smoke and man and wood and fire. Where our thoughts are free to roam where they will. We shape that world too. We shape it by the way we shape this forum, and eventually it all shapes the world of concrete and steel.

(/rant)

so here's me praying with my pipe, after the way of my ancestors, being hopeful that the internet and this forum is headed into that place that refuge where we all know each other. But I haven't been here long so maybe it's headed back to that.

 

[tbradsim1]

I know what and whom you are talking about Fnord, caustic and curlish comments should be ignored and shunned like the Amish, answering them only gives them ammo to crawl back in their little kingdoms, we are better than that, I thought long and hard about this post, but it has kinda got out of hand, my thoughts Be Gentle, Be Calm, Squeese the trigger slowly and kill the bastard, Merry Christmas The old cajun

 

[bigvan]

I thought I was helping a guy solve a problem. He lamented the absence of 7 pipe racks, I pointed out nearly two dozen on ebay.
He then said he wanted a NEW rack, straight, with slots instead of holes. I meant to copy a link directly to the "San Francisco Rack" which is only $85. Instead I sent a link to the whole catalog. My bad.
Maybe I was a bit too blunt. If so I will try to be more sensitive in the future.

 

[irishsmoker]

@fnors and everyone for that matter. I was talking to my fiancé about this very subject last night. It troubles me to see seasoned veterans of the briar chastising a new member due to a lack of knowledge. If I had been greated with that behavior I would have never found how wonderful pipe smoking can be!

 

[ohin3]

I still think everyone's skin is a little too thin.

 

[nsfisher]

Which takes me back to a comment that I made in one of my threads this week.

"If you are going to be rude, don't bother to post in my Thread"

We are here for information, fun, relaxation, and to associate, NOT a Pissing contest!

We should try to remember that we are all Adults here, enjoy

 

[ohin3]

I just am not seeing this big "mortal sin" that bigvan committed. Maybe I'm an insensitive prick too I dunno.

 

[jpberg]

I still think everyone's skin is a little too thin.

Yeah. While I gave a secret pinky shake to Kevin to be on my best behavior (which I will honor), I still sometimes struggle with the gap between real and forum life.
In real life, I don't shy away from confrontation or disagreement, and sometimes those things can get a bit unruly. And honestly, I'm surprised by the sensitivities of some here when confronted. My natural instinct is to follow through and get things worked through, lumps and all.
Be that as it may, this is not the place for that type of response, so I promise to help old ladies across the street, be kind to timid animals and say "pip pip cheerio Old Boy!" when I come across any form of nonsense.

 

[bigvan]

I guess I should be more sensitive, but if I was I'd probably take offense to the Old Cajun calling me a "bastard" and calling for my execution.
But I gave his comment some thought, put it into context and understanding his past contributions to the board I realized that it was nothing to be concerned about.

 

[instymp]

whats wrong with the Amish? Except for the fact they don't use zippers? :lol:

 

[gnatjulio]

I don't understand why/how anybody can have a gripe here. If you have a problem with a thread just move along to the next.

 

[tbradsim1]

Big Van I think you are a good man, but you have a way with words that doesn"t ring like you are trying to help, please except my apology if you thought I was gonna kill you, not my intention, Cajuns don"t think good in English, The old cajun. By the way I think the Amish are an extrodinary people

 

[bigvan]

No apologies necessary, Cajun. As I wrote, a little thought and context go a long way towards understanding.

 

[zonomo]

Not that it makes it right but I have a few other passions too. Guns, SportBikes, and Mustangs. It's EXACTLY the same over there. People get into these eFights and its really just silly.98% of us will never meet each other so I think that may give us a protective shield to mouth off. I used to mix it up a bit on the gun forums but I realized what a colossal waste of time that was. I'd rather be shooting, riding fast, playing guitar and now smoking than dukeing it out with faceless words on my computer screen ....

 

[captainprophesy]

I still think everyone's skin is a little too thin.

This! Now I dont know what transpired as I was with the family all day yesterday and not here... but I know this to be true.

Ive been part of many forums over the years and to date this is BY FAR the best and most civilized... but as Pipenovelist stated, when people are around each other (virtually or in person) with time someone will grate on someone else... its the way of things and people need to not take shit so personally.
No one should ever dictate how you feel with their words or opinions (Especially on the internet!), at the end of the day you are the one responsible with your own emotions! handle them! ... this is just one of our major problems in this country right now... we are pussifying our men! :|
With that said I hope whatever DID happen, that its now over... so far I truly enjoy everyone here and would hate for this place to become some childish elementary school playground!

 

[cortezattic]

I'd have been outta here long ago except that I'm so long on merchandise I can't afford to leave just yet.

Anyone want to help me out the door? PM me with your orders (quantity discounts available.)

There's more, but I don't want to hog all the bandwidth.

 

[morton]

Cortez, I'd be all over some of that stellar merchandise if I hadn't spent all my money on Blackhouse and EBay PAD. Man, that's some nice stuff you got there. Any word on the backordered latex tobacco pouches?