"Places in Chains" or "Let all my guests come

[tom.d.stiller]

Some know that I'm regularly chatting on the IRC linked to this forum, some don't, some probably don't care. But I'd like to find out what you think about this:

I've been approached in the channel #cohenfans. The words were these (I'll leave the name of the other user out, of course):

- ah mr stiller you have found your way here
[...]
- as a point of pedantry i find that newbies to the forum do best taking time to find their place in the chain, not wading in with ill thought out opinions
[...]
- we do seem to get a newbie every now and again who gets posting fever too

Well I don't blame anybody for having opinions different from mine, as I pointed out more than once, and I don't even care if they're called "ill thought out", but to be bluntly told to shut up and take my place in the chain seems not exactly like an echo of Leonard's words from "Recent Songs". As far as I remember he didn't invite his guest to be but silent listeners.

Others have encouraged me to keep on posting, by the way, in the same IRC room, which I intend to do.

Those who know some of my previous posts will know that I like to close my contributions with a quote now and then. This one is from an old Woodie Guthrie song:

Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards?
Is the is the best way we can grow our good fruit?
To fall like dry leaves, to rot on the topsoil,
And be known by no name except deportee?

Tom

[George.Wright]

Tom, none of the other forum members have the right to censure your opinions
Keep on postin...............
Georges

[Partisan]

Tom dear boy, I am a little confused. Nothing written there tells anyone to shut up. Secondly, even if it did the comments were not aimed at you. Rather that you objected to my points made in another thread to someone who in their first post came on and said he was not going to NY2004 and a whole lot of other spurious nonsense. When Tysh, or George(s), or Paula or any other people come on with that i have no problem. But for a first post it was really very rude. It was so bad as to make me seem a model of courtesy and politeness.

Anyway, like i said those lines were not about your posts per se, rather why i had put what i had in reply to that post and what i felt about your objections.

Tom, i have always stood by what i say both here and in the chat, even when Jarkko chooses to remove it . Please feel free when you quote me to put 'partisan' next to it.

If i can be of any further assistance don't hesitate to private message me.

p.

[George.Wright]

Tom, sounds like this is as close to an apology as Partisan will go to (i mean meander to).
Georges

[lizzytysh]

Dear Tom/antropos ~

And I say, despite any/all of the shock value, enter or exit here in whatever manner you like. Is it better to wait to be considered by some to be rude? Or, is your truthfulness and honesty about your strongly-held feelings when you posted such a post not to be admired? I admire it. Obviously, you're the one who's willing to take the chances on how you're perceived by others. That's your choice. Not necessary that I agree with what you said, and obviously, you were open to change. I don't recall your insulting anyone here when you did it. That all was re: antropos. As far as how you responded to him, Tom, I also feel that's your right, period. Free speech. I don't recall your insulting anyone in your so doing, either.

~ Lizzytysh

[tom.d.stiller]

Dearest partisan of all,

I take for granted that you didn't want to intimidate me, or p... me off this Forum. Since I am small, obnoxious and hard to get rid off, I wasn't thinking that much about myself. But I felt this issue should be made public, because a similar thing, of course, could happen to other "newbies", and some really might get scared.

As to not having quoted your name... You'll be aware that nick names aren't exactly copyrighted in the chatroom, so someone else could have presented herself/himself as "partisan". It would have been very bad style indeed to attribute the conversation to the partisan I know from the Forum, when maybe another Guerillero made "illegal" use of your famous blue pen name.

Thanks to those who (using the various possibilities given to us by modern communication technology) encouraged me to keep on posting. And it would be trying to add water to the Atlantic Ocean, if I wanted to encourage them to step in for others as well who feel inclined to join the Forum, to post their opinion and get reproached. I know they did in the past, and will continue to do so in times future.

I will keep on stating my views, though some recent developments in another thread make it seem possible that some hooded posters are forming a lynch mob right now. There will have to be another statement made...

Cheers
Tom

[tom.d.stiller]

"Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose"

To state a few facts:

Never before so many different members posted that frequently.
Never before so many viewed this forum without being members of it.
A very few "old members" might have left, but right now we can see many who were quiet for a long time come back - and they don't join the "mob of hooded brethren".
Many "newbies" have come here, and most of them stayed more or less active contributors.
This board might have changed, but the more it changes the more it is the same.

Another lynch mob is now burning crosses somewhere, giving more than dubious reasons.
An old Klucker might have said: "The only reason why we kill people is: some traitors still try to be nigger friends. They are to blame."

"Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose"