Had to say it...

[kaminari]

Kiff said quite a few things that I had chosen not to mention.

Believe it or not, Anime Beta leaves that impression on more than a few people.

[Cloud]

What kind of people are you talking about?

[kaminari]

certainly not dancing bots

[Cloud]

Oh I get it.

[aernath]

Ichigo to work today and Ichigo got a cold.
The Ichigos were so bright last night. Ichigo, Icigo, ichigo,
ichigo, ichigo...




I trust you know I don't mean it!

<--- achoo!

*Ichigo!*

Thanks!

Okay, maybe you just wish you could change the channel?
Ranma Ranma Ranma Ranma Ranma? *chuckle*

Ichigo?

I apologize for intimidating you kitt, or anyone else. And I certainly don't intend to be mean.
And I can't believe what a motormouth I've turned into on here! I'm not really in real life. Mostly because no one in real life "gets" my anime obsession.
And please relist your gallery Kitt! What if your gallery is what inspires another person? Even if they don't feedback/email you, I'm sure there are many folks out there that enjoy it! Just as there are lurkers here, there are lurkers through the galleries as well.

Okay, maybe I should go back to my Ichigo ravings.

[tex-chan]

I apologize for intimidating you kitt, or anyone else. And I certainly don't intend to be mean.

You know ... I'm so glad you said this, Perv-chan. 'Cuz I was just sitting here thinking about how much you have intimidated me.

Bad! Bad Perv-chan!

(And, no, you're not supposed to like that! *snickers*)

In all seriousness, you know I luvs 'ya, right? Right, you silly pervy-woman, you!? *huggles Perv-chan* You have got to be one of the nicest folks around. You know that, right? Right? *hugs some more*

[graymouser]

Actually I have to say "thank you" to Kitt for coming out and saying some things that need to be said. I agree that there are a good number who do not post much, if at all, for the same reasons.

Even though I do post occasionally, I don't do it frequently. My reasons are a little different. I am not particularly shy and I don't really care all that much what people think of me.

On the other hand, I don't want my rather strong opinions to hurt anyone's feelings. I have noticed that there are a number of very sensitive people here that get very upset if someone disagrees with them. This really throws me off. I enjoy a good debate (my favorite part of the newspaper is the opinion page) but feel I have to constantly restrain myself.

Maybe I'm just insensitive because in my job I have to deal with much uglier realities. In comparison, getting upset about whether everyone feels downloading is right or wrong is just not important enough to get up in arms about. I have my opinion on it, and I don't expect everyone to share it. I certainly don't think badly of anyone who disagrees. I understand that debates can get rather heated, but that's just a reflection of how much we all care about the hobby. I don't see any reason why people should have hurt feelings over it. (So please don't be offended or hurt by my statements either here or in the future)

This thread is along the same lines. Yes, it is a little rude to join only to sell stuff. At the same time, I feel that just because someone's only posts are to sell things, doesn't automatically mean that it was the only reason they joined. There is no way for the rest of us to mind read other people's motivations. Like many people have already said, just enjoy the increased opportunity to get nice cels and other anime goodies. Judging a seller's motivation is pointless and may lead you to some unfair and very wrong conclusions.

[Cloud]

I am surprised to hear that you are not shy. Not really? What do you care about, graymouser ? Aw. Wow you are very polite. I was not trying to be a offended or hurt by his or her statements either here or in the future

This thread is along the same lines.

[graymouser]

Is this where I start crying because I'm being made fun of?

[duotrouble]

Yes, it is a little rude to join only to sell stuff. At the same time, I feel that just because someone's only posts are to sell things, doesn't automatically mean that it was the only reason they joined. There is no way for the rest of us to mind read other people's motivations. Like many people have already said, just enjoy the increased opportunity to get nice cels and other anime goodies. Judging a seller's motivation is pointless and may lead you to some unfair and very wrong conclusions.

While I agree with this statement, I will have to say I don't like people who only post sales. Maybe it's their only motivation . . . maybe not. I joined this board to talk to other people who are into anime. I try to keep everything on an anime level of hey you know what? It's all make believe and fun. When threads turn ugly, you typically don't see my user id. Of course, half the time I don't know about it because it's happening in a section I don't read often or I've been too busy with work to hop online.

I'm one of those top 15 posters. I'm also a shy person and was very shy when I started here at beta. I was like Kitt in that I felt like nobody even knew I existed. Then, I clicked with a user and then another and then another. Now like aernath, it's hard to shut me up. I do think it's hard for the newbies and infrequent posters to feel like people like them because they don't take the risk of posting much. No one can get to know ya if you don't talk. It's a 2 way street.

I sure hope I don't offend people with my posts. I have never posted intending to anger someone. In fact when a thread upsets me, I either don't post or wait until I'm calmer to post. To me, it's just common sense.

[Kitt]

Aernath, you silly! You are not one who tends to scare me away (much ). The light and fun posts make me smile, even when I can't think of anything constructive to add to a thread, and therefore, don't.

I remember a saying one of my grade school teachers had: "An empty can makes the most noise." It was her way to remind us that the ones who talked the loudest, shouting over everyone else, often had nothing important to say. If I don't have something important to say, I keep quiet.

That's not to say that someone who posts a lot and has a lot of friends on the forum has nothing important to say! Not in the least! I think my problem is with those posters who automatically discount anyone who disagrees with them, especially if there are tones of ridicule involved. Those posters who are so busy defending their position or point of view, that they never just sit back and listen (read) with an open mind. I have very strong opinions on some things. I have "an over-developed sense of justice".* (I guess I'm a bit like Graymouser in this -- if I'm holding a definite opinion about something, I have to stifle it. That's when I tend to go away from the board for a few days whenever there's a heated thread just to keep myself from posting and making things worse.)

Just because I don't post doesn't mean I don't have a point of view. Often, I don't post because I can't calm down enough to post something in an even-tempered enough way to be any sort of good to anyone. I can't tell you how many times I've written a post, reread it, started to rewrite it to tone it down, then just erased it and went on to do something else. There are a few people whose opinions are so set in stone that they will not really listen, not matter what I say. Why should I bother? Why add even more negativity to a thread that's already gone south?

I'm glad that there are a few people who like my gallery. Thanks to everyone who's sent me PMs or RS feedback messages of support, as well. It's just disheartening to go through all the time of paying off on a cel, getting it, realizing that it's really something special, crafting a theme for the update to show off that one, single cel like the rare jewel it is --

And then watching the number of hits do nothing. It's not just that people didn't click through to read what I might have written about the cel, but even my gallery hits did nothing (there were a few hits, but I know exactly who those wonderful, tried-and-true friends were who did come and see what I had in my update *HUGS*) I know, I know, "collect cels for yourself". I do. But, I show them on-line to share them with others. I have the cels in my cel books to look at whenever I wish. My gallery is my attempt to share my cels with you. *shrug* If no one's interested in looking, why should I go through the time and effort to scan them and have a gallery?

Well, I've written more than enough in this post, I'm sure. (I can see it now: Remember the good old days when Kitt was still a lurker? Ah, good times...) Time to go dabble in another of my hobbies, and play some ROSE NA (gotta grind a few more levels for my dealer -- anyone who plays, I'm ClowUzuki, usually to be found on channel 3. )



*A cyber-cookie for the first one to correctly identify the quote! ^_^

Oh, and as for the original post (so sorry to have diverted it as far afield as I have) as long as the posts about items for sale are in the proper section, it doesn't bother me if that's all someone posts. Perhaps they are reading, testing the waters, so to speak, forming opinions as to which sections, threads and topics tend to be "safe" from drama, and developing relationships within the community in different ways. I know I use the PM function more than I ever post in the forum. One-on-one tends to be a lot more comfortable for me. Perhaps it's this way for some of the sale thread only posters, too? Just a thought.

~K

[Lynxa]

Well....I don't really care if someone joins just to sell stuff. Like (i believe it was Sensei) said, the more stuff out there for me to buy the better! And someone with a verrrrrry low "i only post to sell stuff" post count won't be getting large sums of money from me because I don't know them or trust them (not that they're not nice people or anything, but I won't pay a lot for something on e-bay if the person has a low # of feedback either )

I'm sad that people are intimidated or feel like they'd just be ignored This is the friendliest forum I've ever been on (seriously, I can give you a link to my MMORPG's forum if you want to see what it's like out there). I'm sure that what you have to say would be welcomed, but it IS the internet and ya gotta keep your expectations low I mean, I've had my rubberslug site for a little over two years and my hit count is barely over 4,000. I like to think I'm a pretty popular gal though

AND, if you don't post, I can't get to know you!!!!! Goobersmooches!!!!

[Cloud]

Not really? But I care about it.

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

I hate to simply restate what some others have said, but it's kind of hard
not to when you agree with what's already been said. I do agree that Beta
can be spooky (but I think most forums are). There tends to be circles
that develop of certain people and new comers may have a hard time
penetrating those circles. They probably feel left out because so many
topics get derailed into inside jokes and personal insanity. I'm not saying
this should stop, but I'm merely pointing out the things that might turn
off new people, lurkers or low posters.

As Duo said, getting to know people is a two way street. You can only
feel included if you attempt to include yourself.

I'm definitely tired of the thin skin. I don't understand why stating an
opinion different from someone else's must be viewed as a personal
attack. Look, I like to eat lemons like apples. I do. It's true. I'll even
eat the peel. Sounds gross right? Probably to you, but not to me.
But I can totally see why someone would NOT want to eat a lemon
the way I do. And I would never view that opposing opinion as some
sort of personal attack. It doesn't say anything about me as a person
(except perhaps that I'm an utter weirdo..) With that said, I strongly
encourage Kitt and Graymouser and anyone else who said they have
strong opinions yet refuse to post them to please post those opinions!
I want to, I NEED to hear what you guys think! Chances are, some people
will agree and some people will not, but it's not fair to the community
as a whole to withhold a different perspective. Diversity is what makes
life interesting and I don't think it's fair to the posters or the readers
if a point of view is withheld. How can I learn if I cannot collect all
the possible data about a topic?

I know my post is branching in a different direction, but this thread
has become about something else, it seems. I already stated that I
don't really care why people sign up to this forum. They are free to
do whatever they want. Even if it did bother me (which it doesn't)
you can't force or make other people do things. It's ultimately their choice.

[crackpot27]

not sure I should make comments either way becasue the "For Sale" section is the first area I check when coming to beta I do remeber moments when I wondered if that was the sole motivation, but since it's out of my control...