ThreadKillers Anonymous

Originally posted by nikelbee
In Duzey's defence I have to say that looking at it in that light and in that way, I can see why she would think you were a woman. Your posts are sane, organised, intelligent, logical and thought provoking not to mention brilliant and wonderfully intuitive - like the posts of ALL women.

(Disclaimer: Please note that the aforementioned ironic comment is not endorsed in any way, shape or form by the author)

*opens can of beer (at 10am)...farts...picks nose...scratches armpit...and burps*

Um... I don't know what posts you're talkin' about... Is my wife using my account again? Dammit!

Now I will boomerang you your own question and ask why you think it would be any different?

*loam leaps deftly into the air and catches said boomerang, displaying his manly athletic prowess*

It's an issue I'm undecided upon. I suspect some women censor their statements in the presence of men. I can promise you the same is true in reverse. I suppose to some degree that is an inescapable fact. But this 'virtuality' you describe does have the interesting consequence of potentially removing a significant portion of the items humans utilize to assess and guide their interactions with one another. Words become their physicality. If all great literature was created anonymously- even without pseudonyms- would it be assessed and interpreted differently? Which then raises a slightly different question. Without knowing the context of gender, can any reader truly understand what is really being conveyed by an author? It occurs to me that the risk of inaccurate assumptions being introduced into any interpretation of an anonymous author's statements shares the same infirmity of inaccurate assumptions where the author's gender is known- which, in short, I think, means that people have no chance in hell of understanding one another...

The comment about the virtual lowcut sweater, generated on its own, a dozen U2s. *wink*

I have to admit. I keep thinking of your present avatar in a low cut sweater and the visualization is simply hysterical!

On a more serious note, I would suspect such "spammers" are prone to engage disrespectfully in their other interactions with people, regardless of the gender of the recipient. Civility, after all, has become a dying art.

Originally posted by nikelbee

Originally posted by loam

And finally, I am certain that I have had the MOST ULTIMATE AND UNIQUE of all TKing experiences. While done unintentionally, I believe it qualifies nonetheless.

Observe.

Now, there ain't no way nobody is gonna touch that thread. It's deadlier than plutonium.

Too right. That thread is like mercury, the Freddy kind. Grrr. You are so radioactive right now, I feel we should douse you down with one of those hose thingies they used in Silkwood before letting you enter our headquarters.

Too true. Perhaps I should exchange my battle-armor for a HAZMAT suit. Logically, if it can keep stuff from getting in, it can also keep stuff from getting out! Maybe this will be my new avatar:




[edit on 14-10-2005 by loam]

Have I told you all lately how much I just LOVE this thread!

Now to catch up a little. First, gender:

Most people assume I am male and I chose my username for much the same reason Nik did.

I tend to treat men and women the same. I am an equal opportunity flirter. I can totally sympathize with the virtual sweater. I actually had a t-shirt made up a few years ago. It reads 'They don't talk back'.

loam's death wish:

Dude, you rock. What else can I say? The whole thing is just bloody ridiculous and it was a pleasure to see you come out and call it as such.



fritz:

I got you something today!

external image

I can't help picking you up, you're just so darn cute!!!!

*scratches fritz under the chin*

Who's the good kitty? Who's the pretty fellow? Now be nice, I've heard Zaph mention the 'n' word. You know, neuter. He's getting tired of you spraying on his throne when he's not looking.

Originally posted by loam

*opens can of beer (at 10am)...farts...picks nose...scratches armpit...and burps*

Um... I don't know what posts you're talkin' about... Is my wife using my account again? Dammit!

Ahhh, much better. Now I know how to deal with this. If you just wait about 45 minutes for me while I powder my nose while simultanously giggling, fluttering my eyelashes, applying a coat of lipstick and drooling over Zaph's jewellery.

It's an issue I'm undecided upon. I suspect some women censor their statements in the presence of men. I can promise you the same is true in reverse. I suppose to some degree that is an inescapable fact. But this 'virtuality' you describe does have the interesting consequence of potentially removing a significant portion of the items humans utilize to assess and guide their interactions with one another. Words become their physicality. If all great literature was created anonymously- even without pseudonyms- would it be assessed and interpreted differently?

Another good observation and one I was coincidentally thinking about today. It is no accident that in the past and still today, many literary women take on as pen names, or intitials, sometimes sexually ambigious or plain out masculine names as they feel their gender will not get them the respect or following they desire. Note Joanna Rowling - J.K Rolling and the Bronte sisters, who published poetry with names like Acton and Euclid Bell.

One seems to find this transgender modification, more in the sci-fi and fantasy genres where it seems to be a literary asset to possess certain body parts if you know what I mean. Although, I've read that it works in reverse too, with men doing the same to try to break into a more feminine readership.

I would say that your question above is a good one and a LOT of literature WAS written anonymously back in the day before we could turn to the back page and see the trendy black and white artist photo, people had to do with just the name and word of mouth.

As a child I read, nay devoured books, never really caring who wrote them. I had no more respect for Kafka over Harper Lee because they were of different genders and loved them both equally. To be honest it wasn't until I became older and a jaded, literary snob, that I realised gender had a lot to do with how people wrote or percieved writing.

Based on essays, interviews and research I conducted a few years ago on online relationships, I can tell you that sexual (virtual) perception is something I'm very interested in. There have been chats and forums I've been part of - not as FRANK - but as MAC (for example) where the reaction to me were completely different than if I had called myself Holly or Minxette or something. I always felt then, that I was automatically relagated to southern belle, incapable of doing anything other than getting men to fetch my monogrammed hankies.

I like gender playing through the written word. I feel secure enough in my own sex to know it only matters on these forums what you say and the words you use. I've been told I write like a 'man' or that I'm a no-gender writer, which I take as a compliment, despite the implicit slight to my sex. I know what it means though - I am clear headed and not prone to Freudian lapses of hysterics. *rolls eyes*. Which you TKAers know is not true. I enjoy my dramatics as much as the next person. If the situation calls for I can be as rational and controlled as anyone - not a gender thing - a discipline thing.

This proves to me that it isn't so much that we write differently but that men still have and women as well, some prejudice about how we approach ideas. Are all women huggy, cuddly writers talking about 'sensitive' issues and over emotional? Yes, sometimes - but so are men. One should be judged by their concepts, values and intelligence - not by the sex attached.

You Loam will continue to be green to me. That's how I knew you and that's how I see you. It is nice and more personable to have more details about you - but it won't change in terms of how I view your posts or the intelligent way you speak.

In a way, virtuality is a lot like wearing a Chairman Mao worker uniform - an attempt to reduce or eliminate perceptions and differences in sexuality through a sexless grey garment. The theory is sound, but only works if one is comfortable with anonymity instead of individuality. I think in terms of ideas and words it is possible to do - I am also happy getting to know people better and sharing (or shedding) some of the greyness to show what is underneath.


[edit on 14-10-2005 by nikelbee]

Originally posted by Duzey
I can totally sympathize with the virtual sweater.

I don't know, Duzey. My visualization of that sweater in conjunction with your current avatar is harder for me to complete...

Originally posted by Duzey
loam's death wish:

I have not once asserted that I had any sense! Some compulsions are hard for me to resist.

Originally posted by Duzey
Dude, you rock.

Thank you.


nikelbee:

I'm pleased you continue to see me as green...



EDIT: BTW, I neglected to mention in my previous update....Has anyone happened to notice the number of my ATS points? Yup, I was the lucky beneficiary of MEGA POINTS for having successfully answered one of SO's contests.

*takes bow*


[edit on 14-10-2005 by loam]

You people are weird, and type way too much, way too fast.

I could be serious... if I so chose, but I think its more fun giving in to "the Random". My whole life until community college was spent in the corner, trying to be invisible. Now, I gotta say, I'm totally different than where I was about 2 years ago, random comments, prentending to have ADHD, its all in good fun. Especially in public, like making up your own language and shouting in jibberish in supermarkets, or telling strangers on the street that pirates live in my sleeves made of versatile titanium. Or making up insults like "go die in a fire" or "Smellyfaced piratehooker" or "jerkface uglybutt" I could go on...

As for the sexuality thing, I tend to be more serious when women are around, I admit it. Not really serious, but more prone to make SENSE or care about grammar mistakes. At least enough to go back and edit obvious ones =).

Nah, you're all normal, I'm still crazy, just how it should be. HEY FRITZ CAN I SLEEP IN YOUR KITTY BED?

Originally posted by loam
My visualization of that sweater in conjunction with your current avatar is harder for me to complete...

I really should have an avatar. :shk: Just another thing I've never gotten around to doing. One of these days I will ask one of our extremely talented members to help me with that.

I have not once asserted that I had any sense!

At least it's not just me.

Common sense is just so, well, common.

Originally posted by Kalapadea
random comments, prentending to have ADHD, its all in good fun. Especially in public, like making up your own language and shouting in jibberish in supermarkets, or telling strangers on the street that pirates live in my sleeves made of versatile titanium.

My long-lost twin!!! I do stuff like that all the time. Except for the pirate. I've gotta get me one of those.

Life is fun when you really don't give a hoot what people think about you.





PS. Saw the points loam. Congrats on your big win!

[edit on 14-10-2005 by Duzey]

For those who use it, this is my brother's away message, we come up with new ones weekly.

Thanks to the plunger, we can all safely utilize the toilet to its full potential. Having said that, I would like to inform you that I am either:
A. Away
B. Eating
C. Sleeping
D. Doing some sort of schoolwork
E. Talking to the mysterious beings that live in old peoples ear hair

Now, imagine that, but saying it to people, while walking across the street. That's me on a friday night. Let my underage friends go get smashed, while I find new uses for words people never knew existed, then go use them in convenience stores.

Ahh, classic fun. Clean too, well, mostly.

NEWEST UPDATE:

Originally posted by Duzey

I have not once asserted that I had any sense!

At least it's not just me.

Common sense is just so, well, common.

*pssst*....do you think they read this thread before I was bestowed this?



Doesn't everyone realize by now that I never know what the hell I'm talking about???!!!???


[edit on 14-10-2005 by loam]

Nice message! Random silliness is a great thing!



Hey loam, I just noticed you're an FSME. Is that new or am I just completely clueless?

OOPS! Question answered. Congrats!

[edit on 14-10-2005 by Duzey]

Hey, CONGRATS!!!

Wait, what is that?




EDIT: Might help if I explain why this is funny, *ahem*. Maryland's MVA license system requires driver to go through a "learning permit" where drivers must be have a 21 yr old adult in car at all times. During this time, the car needs to have a sticker on the car that says "Rookie Driver". Now in this picture, myself and 2 friends are reflected as I took a picture of creative thinking....

[edit on 10/14/2005 by Kalapadea]

Congrats Loamy The new title looks good on you. Here's a drink in your honour. Now drink up before they figure out they made a mistake.

mauahaahah


:w:

Originally posted by Kalapadea
Now in this picture, myself and 2 friends are reflected as I took a picture of creative thinking....

Nice legs, Kalapadea!

Originally posted by nikelbee
Congrats Loamy

Thanks!

The new title looks good on you.

It creates an odd festive look, which I suppose will be more appropriate after Oct. 31. But what will this look like in August? As has been made quite clear by now...I am rather partial to green.

Here's a drink in your honour. Now drink up before they figure out they made a mistake.

mauahaahah

When they read this thread, that will be made quite clear.....

1. Make race car noises when anyone gets on or off.
2. Blow your nose and offer to show the contents of your kleenex to other
passengers.
3. Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering: "Shut up,
dammit, all of you just shut UP!"
4. Whistle the first seven notes of "It's a Small World" incessantly.
5. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
6. On a long ride, sway side to side at the natural frequency of the
elevator.
7. Shave.
8. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: "Got
enough air in there?"
9. Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator. Wear yours
upside-down.
10. Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without
getting off.
11. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open,
then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
12. Lean over to another passenger and whisper: "Noogie patrol coming!"
13. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask
them to call you Admiral.
14. One word: Flatulence!
15. On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stay open
until you hear the penny you dropped down the shaft go "plink" at the
bottom.
16. Do Tai Chi exercises.
17. Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce:
"I've got new socks on!"
18. When at least eight people have boarded, moan from the back: "Oh, not
now, damn motion sickness!"
19. Give religious tracts to each passenger.
20. Meow occasionally.
21. Bet the other passengers you can fit a quarter in your nose.
22. Frown and mutter "Gotta go, gotta go," then sigh and say "Oops!"
23. Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected.
24. Sing "Mary had a little lamb" while continually pushing buttons.
25. Holler "Chutes away!" whenever the elevator descends.
26. Walk on with a cooler that says "human head" on the side.
27. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one
of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
28. Burp, and then say: "Mmmm... tasty!"
29. Leave a box between the doors.
30. Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for them.
31. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers "through" it.
32. Start a sing-along.
33. When the elevator is silent, look around and ask: "Is that your beeper?"
34. Play the harmonica.
35. Shadow box.
36. Say "Ding!" at each floor.
37. Lean against the button panel.
38. Say "I wonder what all these do" and push the red buttons.
39. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
40. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the
other passengers that this is your "personal space."
41. Bring a chair along.
42. Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger: "Wanna see
wha in muh mouf?"
43. Blow spit bubbles.
44. Pull your gum out of your mouth in long strings.
45. Announce in a demonic voice: "I must find a more suitable host body."
46. Carry a blanket and clutch it protectively.
47. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
48. Wear "X-Ray Specs" and leer suggestively at other passengers.
49. Stare at your thumb and say "I think it's getting larger."
50. If anyone brushes against you, recoil and holler "Bad touch!"

[edit on 10/14/2005 by Zaphod58]

Mmm, we did "elevator office" took a desk put it in the elevator at work and demanded appointments of anyone who got onboard.

Then we did disco elevator, which got really boring really fast as it was really hot.

I have come to the conclusion that TKers have these traits in common:

1. Can be serious if the need arises and on average (smart) rational, together people
2. Nice and at times a wee bit sensitive
3. Have a compulsive need to be silly, strange, utter random phrases, act like pirates and do very weird things on elevators


Do we really wonder why we kill threads?

:shk:

But if we didn't do those things we'd be the most miserable people around. It's part of who we are. It's almost a compulsion. I learned a long time ago that making people laugh might not make them like me, but it also kept them from being mean to me for the most part, and if they were I could use humor to laugh it off. Since then it's become who I am, and I don't think I could go back to the way I was before. Besides, I like making people laugh.

And that is why you are our leader. Here is a little morning bow for you.




and a little dance



(you get no banana)

Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today.

I'm missing Tinkle. I composed a little ditty for her last night, but my computer crashed and took to the underlair. Just as well it wasn't very good and looked like this: