BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Why am I here?

kazza474 · October 6, 2012 12:10 pm

Interesting question at times.

First & foremost I am here as a fan of BBC Sherlock and also of the ACD canon. I wanted to find a place to discuss aspects of both these works and landed here in the very early days after checking out things on the Sherlockology Facebook page. "Sherlock Holmes' (the forum admin) sent me a link & off we went.

Yes, I also have a moderator status, between myself & Davina we help keep things neat & tidy, we offer suggestions on sites to look at, articles to read etc etc. Because the cobwebs re starting to grow on us, we know mostly where everything is posted and WHAT is posted in these pages & so act as guides for the members. We also do a little 'security' work but we have a separate Mind Palace to do all that.

But please read again, first & foremost I am a fan. I am NOT a censor, I am not a dictator who will tell you what you can & cannot say.
I WILL post my personal opinions as we all have the right to do that here, Davina & I have no restrictions on us to NOT be regular members; we're just 'jumped up janitors' in our spare time.

My 'forum speech' is quite strong at times, I have been a presenter/speaker for many years now and it is natural for me to present my side of discussions/arguments as strongly as possible to get my message through. I do tend to type exactly how I speak, so some will be thinking now 'thank heavens I don't have to meet her face to face', lol.
So this 'attitude' can be quite daunting to some people, I cannot apologise for being exactly who I am.

I have very strong views on several things about the series & the fandom, and I am not about to shy away from saying them simply because someone says differently. It is the essence of a forum that people DO speak their minds, yet when I do I am told exactly that!
Meaning that I should let others post what they believe.
I'm not stopping them, so why should I not post my opinions too?

It would take ages to explain all my views but please, if you have a particular interest in knowing why I say what I say, just ask! I don't bite heads off, the nasal hairs get stuck between my teeth.

Davina · October 6, 2012 12:22 pm

I don't have much to add to Kazza's post however I did have an overpowering image of the janitor in Scrubs leap into my mind at one stage...hmm...I may have to go and buy some new blue overalls. I am also the one who dusts off old threads and bumps them up from time-to-time and occasionally have to clean up the mess left after over-indulgence or fisty-cuffs. Just imagine me with a mop and bucket.

Mattlocked · October 6, 2012 12:31 pm

Davina wrote:
...... and occasionally have to clean up the mess left after over-indulgence or fisty-cuffs. Just imagine me with a mop and bucket.

LOL "Sherlockians! The mess you've made.....!"

I'm wondering now: Is this an invitation for all of us to post why we are here? I would like to see the reasons (I doubt they differ much, though ) or is it just meant as a statement regarding to the latest "events"?

kazza474 · October 6, 2012 12:49 pm

It can be either.
Feel free to post whatever you like, although 20 pages of 'cos I love Sherlock' and all it's derivatives would be boring !
And yes, it is a statement to all the comments I've chosen largely to ignore over the time.

One thing I was remiss in saying however is this: My comments are made to posts. Those posts contain ideas and they are what I am criticising; not the people tapping the letters on a keyboard.
Until I say " you are a stupid idiot" all I am posting is that 'your idea is stupid/idiotic/inane.'

The day I launch an attack on someone personally through a computer is the day I will cut the powercord & throw the whole thing out the window.

Mattlocked · October 6, 2012 1:10 pm

kazza474 wrote:
It can be either.
Feel free to post whatever you like, although 20 pages of 'cos I love Sherlock' and all it's derivatives would be boring !

lol
Yes, that were my thoughts when suggesting that all could post why they are here.

kazza474 wrote:
The day I launch an attack on someone personally through a computer is the day I will cut the powercord & throw the whole thing out the window.

Your comments are made to posts. The problem is: These posts are made by people. And even though I prefer people telling me right in the face what they don't like (about me OR my opinions), instead of talking behind my back, I find some posts really offending sometimes. (Not only by you and not only posted to me. In general.) But enough of that. Just saying.

Which leads me to Why I am here:
I love Sherlock.
And I want to share my interest with others. I want to have fun. And that's not because I'm a stupid idiot (using Sherlock's words) thinking: "Hey, life is just fun, so what!?" but because arguments, conflicts and insulting things I find enough in the "real world". Here it's a bit like escaping.
Fun is what Moftiss have and what I am searching for. Nothing else. And if I casually can learn a bit.... and get to know nice people - this is just great!

So again: Thank you for offering this platform - and cleaning it up from time to time.

Harriet · October 6, 2012 1:19 pm

Kazza: It seems to me that you barely wish to question your attitude and style.
Funny, reminds me of someone

I'd rather expect a moderator to consider being more both balanced and balancing.
(After all, the term comes from "moderate".)
But I also gave you kudos a while ago, know what good work you also do, and can deal with the situation.
It doesn't have to be perfect here.

I liked your last sentence.

Last edited by Harriet (October 6, 2012 1:20 pm)

kazza474 · October 6, 2012 1:35 pm

Mattlocked wrote:
Your comments are made to posts. The problem is: These posts are made by people. And even though I prefer people telling me right in the face what they don't like (about me OR my opinions), instead of talking behind my back, I find some posts really offending sometimes. (Not only by you and not only posted to me. In general.)

Yeah this is where things get interesting.
Whether an opinion 'stinks' or not, to be acknowledged that it IS an opinion (in other words, saying 'yes that is one way of looking at it') is acceptance in itself.
to be more clearer:
Yes, you have an opinion and you have said (hypothetically) that you believe red jelly beans are the best ones.
No I don't agree with it, red ones in fact stink. Black ones are far better, the aniseed in them gives them a medicinal quality that red ones will never match.
You don't stink, but your opinion does.
Now unless that opinion is part of your make-up; such as a religious or cultural belief, it really should not hurt you if others don't have it.

And I want to share my interest with others. I want to have fun. And that's not because I'm a stupid idiot (using Sherlock's words) thinking: "Hey, life is just fun, so what!?" but because arguments, conflicts and insulting things I find enough in the "real world". Here it's a bit like escaping.
Fun is what Moftiss have and what I am searching for. Nothing else. And if I casually can learn a bit.... and get to know nice people - this is just great!

The forum is made up of many people. I would say all have come to share their interest in Sherlock on some level , have fun, relax but in saying that 'fun' and 'relaxation' comes in many forms.
A serious discussion can be 'fun' for some where as others just don't want to get that deep.
And conflict is always the spice of any good forum.

kazza474 · October 6, 2012 1:46 pm

Harriet wrote:
Kazza: It seems to me that you barely wish to question your attitude and style.
.

Why would I question my attitude or style???
It's mine, I've not changed in nearly 5 decades so I can't see it happening anytime soon, lol.

I have strong opinions, no-one's found a cure for that yet, thank goodness.

And as for the part about 'moderator'...

I'd rather expect a moderator to consider being more both balanced and balancing.

Are you telling me I am unbalanced?
Look around the millions of forums on the web, there are trillions of 'moderators'. I'm nothing special, I hold no power and I am equal to all other members. Yet I cannot be myself?
I'll go now & work out how that is a more 'balanced' state of affairs.

Last edited by kazza474 (October 6, 2012 2:09 pm)

Harriet · October 6, 2012 2:08 pm

kazza474 wrote:
One thing I was remiss in saying however is this: My comments are made to posts. Those posts contain ideas and they are what I am criticising; not the people tapping the letters on a keyboard.
Until I say " you are a stupid idiot" all I am posting is that 'your idea is stupid/idiotic/inane.'

You try to separate the sender from the message from the receiver.
Hermeneutically, this is no more state of the art.
I'd say it is more like: The receiver creates part of the message - and I'm afraid you won't be able to help.
I can't either control what happens to my posts
If you then choose to ignore the feedback of others, you are on a safe but isolate side.

kazza474 wrote:
Why would I question my attitude or style???

This you could only answer yourself.

kazza474 · October 6, 2012 2:23 pm

I'm sorry Harriet, I cannot follow much of what you say.

What I can follow is this:
:The concept of criticising ideas instead of people is a well known standard on all forums I am part of. I'm not sure where the sender/receiver thing comes from, it wasn't from me.

:You tell me I don't want to question my attitude, I asked why would I and your answer is 'only you can answer this'. You are speaking in circles. You started with a point & when I queried what that point was, you turned that point onto itself & made a dot.

You assume much of me and of my posts.

Harriet · October 6, 2012 3:14 pm

kazza474 wrote:
I'm sorry Harriet, I cannot follow much of what you say.
What I can follow is this:
:The concept of criticising ideas instead of people is a well known standard on all forums I am part of. I'm not sure where the sender/receiver thing comes from, it wasn't from me.

I brought it in here. Modern theories of communication suggest that you can't just put a neutral message like "in a box" and the receiver will get it "just as it is".
First, the sender has an influence on the message, and then - worse the receiver creates an own interpretation of the message.
The sender has only little influence on what a receiver makes out of the message.
So, if a sender expects that there will be no "loss" or "misinterpretation" when a receiver gets a message,
and if the same sender expects that the receivers are simply receiving according to one's own standards, the sender is in trouble already.
This is a way to explain why people could be offended without any intention of the sender, and why it still none of them need to be idiots.
"That's how people talk"
I hope this helped

kazza474 wrote:
You tell me I don't want to question my attitude, I asked why would I and your answer is 'only you can answer this'. You are speaking in circles. You started with a point & when I queried what that point was, you turned that point onto itself & made a dot.

I read what you wrote and told you my observation.
I don't know actually, if it is a real question for you? Or if it just was a rhetorical one.
If it was a rhetorical one, ok, why not. And if it was a real one, I cannot answer this for you.

And yes, I prefer moderators who use their role less to polarize as I see you doing and as you know you do but call it quite strong forum speech, but to integrate. This is what I meant with balance. And I kindly ask you to be more moderate in the future.
But this is your style and it still works anyway, and you do a lot of good work and I also agree with lots of what you say.

Last edited by Harriet (October 6, 2012 3:18 pm)

Mattlocked · October 6, 2012 4:02 pm

kazza474 wrote:
Yes, you have an opinion and you have said (hypothetically) that you believe red jelly beans are the best ones.
No I don't agree with it, red ones in fact stink. Black ones are far better, the aniseed in them gives them a medicinal quality that red ones will never match.
You don't stink, but your opinion does.

No. As you said yourself, red beans stink. Not my opinion. My opinion is as good as yours, just different.
So when you say my opinion stinks, it's already an offense for me.
In comunication it can also help to add "I think red beans stink" or "IMO red beans stink". Then it is your opinion against mine and everything is fine.
But as you pointed out before, you have a more direct style. So as soon as I got used to it it shall be okay for me, too.
So not different opinions hurt me, but the way they are brought out sometimes.

....have fun, relax but in saying that 'fun' and 'relaxation' comes in many forms.
A serious discussion can be 'fun' for some where as others just don't want to get that deep.
And conflict is always the spice of any good forum.

Nothing to say against the fact that "fun" has different meanings to different people. Here even learning is much fun for me. As I already said. An objective conflict (or better: discussion) can belong to "fun", too. As long as it doesn't start to get annoying.
Humour also does help. IMO Harriet was joking by saying "Kazza: It seems to me that you barely wish to question your attitude and style.Funny, reminds me of someone" I understand it as a compliment being compared with Sherlock.
Also, I sometimes envy people with a more fixed attitude and style than I'll ever manage to have....

Last edited by Mattlocked (October 6, 2012 4:04 pm)

SusiGo · October 6, 2012 4:49 pm

Hm, this is getting difficult. I absolutely appreciate your commitment to the forum, Kazza. There are many different views on various subjects in this forum which is a wonderful thing in itself. I'd never question your opinions as everyone has a right to his own opinion. It's not the content I sometimes find hard to accept but the packaging. E.g. if someone is new to this forum and asks a question that has been discussed at an earlier point it's okay point this out and post a link to the thread in question. But I think you don't have to tell someone off who's just came from lurking in the shadows and is making his/her first steps in the forum. And it would be a daunting task to read everything in every thread before contributing yourself.
Of course the individual personality and style of the members are reflected in their posts and you seem to be a very different person from myself which is a normal and healthy thing. I try to live according to a very simple and important Buddhist motto: "Be kind." This doesn't mean that I don't speak out against things that bother me but I try to do it in a friendly way. And I appreciate the funny and friendly atmosphere in this forum.
I look forward every day to come here and I love communication with people from all over the world because we have one thing in common: our love for Sherlock.
Don't know if this fits the thread but I needed to say this.

Dramagod · October 6, 2012 7:20 pm

I originally came here because of the show. Then I noticed majority of users here are females (and lovely ones may I add) and since the show is now on hiatus and I'm not reading any Sherlock books at the moment, I mostly come here for the day to day discussion with the ladies. There, I said it. Don't you judge me.

Davina · October 6, 2012 7:26 pm

I saw you had posted here Dramagod and I thought to myself ' I bet I know what he's going to say' and yay! I was right! Made me giggle.

Harriet · October 6, 2012 7:33 pm

Honored by an honest word! This is how it should be, ha!

Dramagod · October 6, 2012 8:16 pm

Davina wrote:
I saw you had posted here Dramagod and I thought to myself ' I bet I know what he's going to say' and yay! I was right! Made me giggle.

I'm that predictable, huh? And please, call me Drama. Or D. Or The Mighty Finn. I mean I sang about you as The Davinator, didn't I? No need to be shy, love.

veecee · October 6, 2012 9:13 pm

kazza474 wrote:
It can be either.

One thing I was remiss in saying however is this: My comments are made to posts. Those posts contain ideas and they are what I am criticising; not the people tapping the letters on a keyboard.
Until I say " you are a stupid idiot" all I am posting is that 'your idea is stupid/idiotic/inane.'

.

Thank you for that fine distinction, kazza!

Dramagod · October 6, 2012 9:19 pm

@kazza - if you ever call my ideas stupid, idiotic or insane, I'll pull your hair and steal your lunch on the schoolyard. I hope we understand each other.

kazza474 · October 7, 2012 6:28 am

Ok, I am not negating all your post, just keeping things as simple as possible.

Mattlocked wrote:
So when you say my opinion stinks, it's already an offence for me.

Probably rarely would I use that exact phrase "it stinks' actually, so bad example I guess. But I do say that something is 'improbable' or 'illogical' or even 'rubbish'; always if I refute something I will have good reasons why. Our opinions will be questioned, ridiculed sometimes everyday in real life, surely you don't get offended each time do you?

. As long as it doesn't start to get annoying.

'Annoying' is in the eye of the beholder believe me.

Strangely, I am not here to argue, but I do like to challenge what is posted if I don't believe it is true. I think through my posts, think through my ideas well in advance. I can predict the reception most will get because they challenge others' opinions. The way this thread has gone, the posts made are all pretty well on track with what I expected in fact.