MISSING: Mavsluvr (his last picture)

[mavsluvr]

meister, and whoever else feels the same way --

I think you deserve the courtesy of a serious reply to your latest, although I know people must be wondering whether I'm ever really going to take my booty out of here or not. The following does contain a few observations mentioning the mod of the moment, so no guarantees about how long this is going to be allowed to stay up, lol. 

Mavsluvr: Is there any chance to keep following you? Is there another board or anything where you regularly post or would consider to publish recaps and stuff? See separate post below.

I hope that one day, you will be able to change your mind and come back. Thanks, meister, you know what they say -- never say never, but I wouldn't expect it to be real soon. 

From my perspective, posters can from now on become open game for censoring if somebody just dislikes what they are saying.

I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I think this is realistically where we are. If someone in authority wants you out, you’re out. That is true of many organizations, not just this one. When issues arise, the practicalities of being able to move on usually outweigh whatever the merits of the matter in question might be. Kamm has been very open about that proposition — post how he wants, or don’t post. I just don’t think that is necessarily all that important.  For me, it would have taken all the fun out of being here. But I don’t think it should even matter to most posters.

I can see, how your style of writing can (and like in kamm's case) can trigger and upset people - eventually, your biggest strength became the reason for your downfall.

I think you have put your finger on the heart of the bigger issue. This unpleasantness wasn’t going to be over with the resolution of this one episode. One or more people in a “power position” here find my brand of posting distasteful enough to go to the mat to do something about it, and that is exactly why I think there is no longer a future for me here. Indulge me for a few paragraphs of personal description. 


I freely acknowledge having an irreverent style, both on and off the board. I like blending serious material with breeziness and humor and satire and literary devices and references from other aspects of the culture, and the whole nine yards, when it comes to trying to be both informative and interesting. 

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who have an appetite for that type of thing. Speaking and writing have constituted a large part of how I have made a living for many years, and people are often looking for that specific quality — teaching or commenting on difficult, complex, or dry subjects in a relatable, entertaining, and/or persuasive manner. It’s what I do. 

Like everything else, irreverent or satirical commentary has its drawbacks. By its very nature, it irritates a certain type of listener/reader. I like to laugh at myself; it delights me when someone can answer me with a witty retort giving me as good as they got. Knowing that a lot of other people feel that way too, I have a particular tendency to want to poke a bit of gentle fun at ideas expressed in a pompous manner and at instances of authority figures painting themselves as victims. But, the very people who issue those sorts of comments sometimes really hate even a little bit of humor at their expense. Partly in an effort to accommodate that group, I try to balance ironical humor with a personally respectful voice, but that’s still not enough for some readers.

Posting as much as I did, it wasn’t worth it to me to draw a bunch of fences around what I could say, trying to anticipate whether someone else could find a reason to feel slighted over my remarks. (I mean, it’s not like Kamm was sending me a paycheck for doing this.) Given that I wasn’t willing to remove my personality from my communications, I would have kept writing the way I like to write, Kamm and maybe others would have kept being irritated by the attitudes being struck, we would have had a hissy on the board every so often, and it would have been a never-ending story until someone finally decided to send one of us packing, that is to say me. It might not have been right away, but the handwriting was on the wall. Better that I just make everyone’s life easier, including my own, and move out of the way now. I’ll just write something else, and there will be an audience that is more inclined to be comfortable with whatever it is.

Having said all that, I don’t think that most posters here fit into my hapless niche. For people who aren’t always flying around sticking a pin in hot air balloons, so to speak, I don’t see that they would have any trouble at all staying out of Kamm’s way. I don’t think it is being disagreed with that bothers him and others who are put off by irreverence. More like, if they get a sense that someone isn’t taking them as seriously as they want. If a mod does develop an animosity toward you, maybe then you’ll have to decide whether any negatives of coming here outweigh the positives, but there is no reason right now to think it will ever even come to that. 


And this is the saddest part - questioning the culture of this board.

I realize I could just also leave if I don't like it here (while probably nobody will use the word anymore going forward, lol) but I hope everybody can see that I am this blunt because I actually care about this place. I also hope this is not verboten as well. But like I said, some things have to hurt. Nothing worth having comes easy, and that also includes having (or rather keeping) a great message board.

Even if nothing much changes (and it probably won’t), this is a great board! If I thought I could avoid being a perpetual fly in the ointment and still have a good time, I would 100% opt to stay here myself. It will still be my #1 recommendation to anyone who is looking for a place to talk about the Mavs. I’ll probably still check in to see what my favorite posters are saying now and then. Don’t leave now! In a couple of weeks most of this will be long forgotten, and you can choose an avenue based on how it’s going. 


Deciding whether it’s worth it to fit into someone else’s agenda is something everybody faces pretty much every day. It’s not just this discussion board. If the culture isn’t particularly affecting you in a negative way, stick around, if you can, and help make it an even better place!

Aargh, my heart hurts just thinking about all this. I'd better excuse myself.