you guys are my fweinds!

Personally, I am constantly awed by both the amount of knowledge & learning nonchalantly offered up by the folks involved with this ILM/E venture, and the relaxed, good-natured atmosphere engendered by these very same folks. Finding such a combination of brain power and general humility is a rare find, and I'm mighty glad I found this place.

But I'll stop before I get all emotional & stuff. *sniff* Oh, damn, I promised... *snort* Must have something in my eye...

(We will do that when it becomes necessary.)

(Or amusing.)

I 'like' people - the same people, often - more on ILE than ILM, as a rule, because it's a looser atmosphere.

I misread this as coming from the other Ally, and I was like 'whh-aatt??'. Then I read her actual response and all was right with the world.

I want to be liked by everyone. It's my character flaw. However, there are lots of people I don't much care for on ILE & ILM, and plenty more who are great online but would probably not be great at all in person. That's why the interweb is so great - you can get away with being a social retard.

Nick: Quite frankly, I think most people who come off as likeable online are really irritating in real life. That's why I just hate everyone blanketly.

To be quite honest this has been a very depressing week for me so this was kind of the last straw for me. I don't real feel much inclination to write anything now.

I'm not irritating in real life. In fact I'm really great. Although I'm told I don't swear as much.

Babe, don't worry, everyone loves you, at least the important people. That message board is useless (and no, I'm not trying to start a this- board-is-better-than-your-board pissing contest here so don't worry DG :), it has been for ages because it was taken over by pedants and sad boys and fan boys and quite frankly who needs it? Hell, I'm going to just start posting about music here anyhow if I feel like talking about music because there are certain people (who are in no way psuedo-famous, no of course not) who if I read ONE MORE WORD BY, I will shoot myself thru the forehead, never mind the class wars and the threads about bloody mixtape segs.

Rant over. I like you, Nicole, but what do I know, I'm a boring useless self-promoting git too. ;)

I've got to say I'm with Ally vis a vis ILM. Not posted there since this has been up and talking about music here in the ramshackle manner we do is fine and dandy.

I'm also blocked completely currently when it comes to talking abt music so take the above with a pinch of salt.

The test for a themed message board like ILM is how to accomodate opinions and styles with mutual respect. The test for an online community (ILE being the first thing I've ever participated in which feels like one - interesting how I was totally anti internet community say 2 months ago, like Mark S. talking about falling in love, it was something I discovered which I did not know was there to be discovered) is what happens when the online group is tested by offline developments i.e. real life encounters, pairings off (and it will happen), dislikes and disappointments....

1/ nicole's posts = fine by me & most often very interesting. Please do not stop posting.

2/ likewise ally. I had the big row with ally at one point, but so the fuck what. She posts loads of interesting/funny/insightful etc stuff.

I don't think there's anyone on this board who's company I'd avoid. You all rule.

Apologies for gushy crap. Blame that ILM thread, which was quite upsetting. Normal service now r3sumedx0r.

xoxo

It's just that I don't see the point of a completely strict topic of conversation. It's like you're back in school to go on ILM some days. Which is great but doesn't anyone want to talk about things tangentially related to music? I understand that the board is called I Love Music but it's an offshoot of Freaky Trigger which discusses things tangentially related and sometimes not at all related - so what's the big deal? *shrugs*

Pretty much all the things sensible that can be said have been said. I freely admit that I still inhabit both boards because, well, the subject matters interest me. *shrug* The people, that's a different story. Doompatrol can just go hang, but then again he's stringing himself up quite nicely, thank you.

Nicole ist rad -- said it before, said it again. Spare her a thought, folks, she's said she's had a bad week, so let's make it better for her. And right now I know Ally is the all-around happiest she's been in a long, long time, and believe you me, I am very, very glad for that. :-) Knowing good people like both of them makes life worth it, and what's even cooler is that there are many others out there equally deserving. :-)

And thanks to Kerry! Hey, I just bop around, call me the egomaniacal aggrandizer of self-pantheons who likes laughing at himself every day. ;-)

I'm afraid I think that reports of ILM's decline have been exaggerated. OK, ILE has filtered some stuff off it - maybe some good stuff, some bad stuff. But ILM is still, in principle, a good place for talking about pop music, which is a thing most of us like one way or another. I think both fora have some good things, some not so good things; in both places, some posters I enjoy more than others. Which is probably kind of predictable, really.

Like I say, I keep expecting to wake up and find that i) I want to write about music and ii) I want to write about music in a way that will fit with ILM. Currently it's not really happening, but I agree that ILM is probably not to blame for that.

Ned, you are far too smiley faced! Don't worry about any rubbish about starting threads or whatever, no one started anything but the person who said the comment that is tweaking everyone out right now. So chill, you're all good. And yes, I am annoyingly happy and drippy and ridiculous, I don't even know if I can pull off being an asshole at the meet in August, damnit.

pinefox: No, you're right, neither board is perfect. It depends on how much time you have to devote, how many issues you want to discuss, and how much thought you want to put into things. The posting styles on either board are also very different so depending on your POV one is going to be better than the other. Clearly ILM isn't doomed or about to keel over; it's just that for some people it has no use anymore, or very limited use. It's all good.

Everything is all good.

Look here, i'm sorry, but Ally is a regular poster here and you can't just go round nicking her name and e-mail address like this. We've had problems with your sort before.

I'd rather more interesting things were happening in music. That would generate the discussion on its own.

Keeping in tune with today's slightly para air, have y'all received directions to the free jazz jamboree yet (which I am still v. v. nervous abt.)

Didn't they tell you? The person with the highest score when the Internet closes gets a Land Rover and a puppy.

I did not mean win, as in win an argument, I meant win, as in... well, more as in the sense of, they win a moral victory over us which they have no right to claim.

I am *trying* very hard to avoid threads which just turn into personal arguments, and simply state my opinions without bringing down any judgements. I refuse to leave because of anyone there. Just because I wouldn't want any of them to leave simply because they disliked me.

What I am saying, is that if we give up and let people force us off that board, then the culture of badness and confrontationalism wins.

The only person I have *ever* asked to have removed from any board was DP, because he seems unable to conform himself to even basic human laws of decency, let along netiquette.

Anyway...

It's people who are flaming arsewipes and then act wounded, like they've done nothing wrong, who get up my nose. But no more bitching...

Luv always.

I think I should probably put "so-and-so eats babies" in the catchphrase thread.

And yes, it has already happened. I am like Storm, I control the weather and make lightning destroy people's homes.