Is there room for everyone on the Fluther estate?

Well said, sister. I hate seeing: “I’m really tired of “these” questions”. OMFG! If you don’t want to participate, then don’t, but this is a free site and everyone is entitled to ask about what interests them!

I wish I could give you 50 GQ’s for this.

The original intent was to “Solve problems”. Like “How do I prevent my cookies from sticking to the baking sheet?”

Now it is poll questions. I used to learn something from every question. That was the beauty, I learned about things I never thought of.

Now it is the norm to ask loaded crap to push your agenda and dumb crap about dreams or your favorite popcorn topping.

If it wasn’t for computer questions I would bail.

I am open to all types of questions although you must allow a little bit of eyerolling for the “Why did I dream about this girl (or guy) I have a crush on”-ilk of question.

I also do not like thinly-veiled diatribes posing as questions with which the asker only wants to browbeat the hapless answerers with his or her point of view.

@johnpowell Jinx!

@johnpowell That may be true, but everything changes. If I “bailed” every time something in my life changed, I might as well just jump off a cliff.

I’ll just respond to questions that interest me. The rest, I don’t give a flying fuck anymore. No sense in complaining, as it doesn’t get you anywhere (so I have learned). I am sure that I’ll be lurking more than posting, and that’s a shame.

I guess it all boils down to that ancient philosophical question, why can’t we be friends?

I thought that was the whole idea…
Anyway, I have a timeshare on the Fluther estate, and you are welcome to use it gratis. Plus the Party Room is really cool, and you should go there.

@WillWorkForChocolate :: I found this site through Metafilter. I liked that it wasn’t as strict as ask.metafilter.com. It was good balance so I stuck around.

But poll questions used to get nuked here. Then they were allowed. Now I barely click on anything.

It was by design, they got loose with what was allowed to increase pageviews to make it look better during attempts to sell.

It kinda worked, they didn’t sell but were hired by Twitter.

It’s @bob_ again. It’s always @bob_ again.

@WasCy How typically American, blaming everything on the Mexicans.

How typically something-that-I-don’t-like, @bob_, assuming that anything I do or say is ‘typical’ of Americans.

Besides, I don’t blame much of anything on the Mexicans. I blame most of it on the Demopublicans and the Republicrats.

@johnpowell I understand that, but as I said- everything changes. Nothing can stay the same forever and ever, otherwise it becomes stagnant and boring.

@johnpowell I can appreciate your right to not enjoy changes to something you liked but there are plenty of informational resources on the internet. If I want to know how to remove the air filter on my F-150, I go to the Ford repair boards. If I want a recipe for Chicken Kiev, I go to a cooking site. I don’t check Fluther first when I can get specifics much faster from a specialty source. For me, this is a unique place to explore philisophical, social issues and opinions.

Y’all won. Have fun. :)

Maybe, I just need to take time off. Could be my ovaries.

Kbye!

@WasCy Um, ¿qué?

I’m tellin’ you, it was you again, @bob_. Now you owe that nice young woman an apology.

I don’t even know what you done, but you done it, dude.

@Jude Hopefully the feature(s) Auggie mentioned will be implemented sooner than later. I swill squeal with delight every time I put a “do not show” check next to certain members questions.

@WasCy Yo, I don’t owe nothing to nobody.

@Blueroses

What if you wanted to know how to cook Chicken Kiev on a short block while you drove to Grandma’s for dinner, though? Where else would you find that, I wonder?

@WasCy For that, I would PM you!

@bob_

We all owe a debt to our ForeFluthers.

@Blueroses Then I can’t pay, ‘cause I’m giving it all to @Blueroses. Wait, what?

@johnpowell You mean polls like this? Or dumb crap like this?

Sure! I’ll share my sleeping bag.

@Ladymia69 HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

@Blueroses said it well “For me, this is a unique place to explore philisophical, social issues and opinions.” That’s pretty much how I view Fluther.
I used to think it was an intellectual Q&A site, when I first signed up. But, I’m more likely to find out peoples’ opinions on the usefulness, and subliminal meanings, of Post-its than how to fix a water globe ornament. Whether that’s good or bad ..is entirely up to Fluther members.
I find very specific questions in the General section…but, I also find a lot of questions that I am confused even made it onto Fluther. Dream interpretation questions are amongst those. Teen romance gets on my nerves too ..lol.

Personally, I disagree with @johnpowell. I joined because it gave me the ability to flex my creative muscle.

I joined in spite of the fact that they allowed me to.

The only reason I don’t like the way Fluther has opened up to all is because there are already sites available for that. For jokes, there are joke sites, for mischief, there are plenty of sites that love mischief, and when I first joined, the rules were less flexible than they are now, which is hard to find on the internet.

I spend far less time here now that I have to skip the majority of questions I see.

What Yarnlady said.

Perhaps all questions are equally valid but I don’t get how Fluther is a site where it’s all about validity or fairness. Frankly, if you can’t figure out to take a pregnancy test or go to a doctor if you’re bleeding, what’s wrong with you?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir So what is it about?

@bob_ I don’t know anymore. Annoyance. Conversation.

Yes. There’s room for everyone here. I think any question that anyone has is as valid as any other (note that I don’t say that every question is equally intelligent or equally worth a lengthy discussion or debate).

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Well, the rules do allow that in Social…

@bob_ Right, was I saying something about that?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir To be honest, I’m not quite sure I understood what you said.

@bob_ :), it’s okay.

Personally, I couldn’t give two shits about cookies sticking to a baking sheet. I’d much rather debate something political, religious, social, etc. That’s the main reason I come here, but I will answer a variety of different types of questions. I’ll admit I don’t care much for dream questions and I don’t participate in many game questions, but I’ve asked technical computer questions, general polls, and more issue-oriented debate questions plenty of times. Fluther may used to have been only about one type of question but now it allows much more and there does seem to be something for everyone and that’s why I keep coming here. :\

I like a dream question every so often. I’ll even dip into the absurd relationship questions, if only to award an Orange Tree.

It seems to me that there’s plenty of variety so that there’s something here for everyone, and that theres’ something that ticks you off, as well. It’s a decent balance. Is does make it clear that some basic information is not getting transferred to many of our teens. Scary.

I find it interesting that the dream questions are more accepted from long time users (as in, a dream question asked by a long time user). What’s up with that?

@Ladymia69 :: “Specifically.. What are good Resume Fonts?” is retarded. Try reading the details. And I also faked a question about my mothers brain surgery to let people know she was alright.

And the beer one was a joke that was posted on a weekend when there were only a few questions per day.

Nice. And true. I mean, the more variety we have, the more shit we learn. Even that which is, seemingly banal and mundane. You have quite an open mind, and I like how this question is snapping me back in line.
I get annoyed by some questions, some types of questions, and some methods used to present them. I often go, damn, this subject again? But people shouldn’t view things like that. I don’t know why people do it, myself included, or what it means, but when one thinks they’ve learned it all to the point of dismissing things their feelings tell them to, it means naught hath been learned. Or something.
It’s awesome enough that Fluther allows pretty much anything, all we have to do is watch our step on the guidelines. I get annoyed by relationship questions…but hell man, the person asking them might really want to know. Who are we to judge them by telling them their question ain’t valid? By telling them to get a life? I’ve never really voiced this opinion beyond nasty humour, but I sure thought it. Reminds me of like, how if someone tells you their nightmare they had last night, you might laugh and scoff. But it was scary to them. A problem is always a problem to someone if it affects them, even if the other thinks it’s insignificant. One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure and other such tralala.
Fluther allows for variety, why not use it instead of pissing all over the place trying to mark territory, yea? Awesome question, totally gives em cogs in me noggin’ a much needed turning.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that trollery, spam or pure imbecility (wow that’s a word? my spellchecker didn’t even kick in, well I’ll be damned) should be allowed, which is why we have guidelines. I’m also not treating censorship, which Fluther may, or may not have. I think I dissected my main point away from such examples that would otherwise render my whole answer void, though.

So if there isn’t room for everyone, there should be, given the premise of the site, and our so called calling for learning and wisdom.

Let’s look at the Fluther Guidelines as they are today. These pertain to crafting questions.

Then there is the Activity That Isn’t Allowed on Fluther.

There are also the Writing Standards.

In re-reading through these, it is understandable why some of those that have been around longer than others may not be open to some of the questions and answers that are now being posted. There are some posts that do not meet these standards. I will be the first to raise my hand and say “Guilty”, although none have been intentional.

I have never been content with the orientation offered when we join Fluther. It comes through a variety of ways, none of which are intrinsic or obvious. More likely than not, most of us have experienced a chewing out for breaking rules before we we had any clue what they were. I wish there was some type of online orientation that each member has to go through within a short membership timeline to guide them on how to participate within standards.

If the rules have changed, then they need to be updated and the existing members alerted.

@Blueroses So, to answer your question from this member’s perspective, yes, there is room for all of us. We just need to understand the rules, play by them, and learn to accept that there may be a slap on the wrist when we break them.

And I should add that all the shit here resulted in a mod here and myself making another site for the bangers to embrace. So thanks for the kick in the ass.

I personally adore @johnpowell – and I don’t care if he knows it – even though he thinks I’m a dick. I do not agree with him or with @yarnlady for one simple reason: been there, done that. I have seen what happens when a place stagnates and does not change with the jellies times – it closes down.

Show of hands: would you prefer Fluther were exactly as you want it, tailor made to suit you (hint: it aint happening) or to close? That’s the real question.

Ryan, Auggie, Marina and a handful of others who were here before me (and I mean the second time a round a few years ago – not 06–07) have seen dramatic changes here – and many great people leave as a result. I myself resisted the change and thought of leaving more than once.

But when you take a step back and realize two things – your (my) perspective changes a bit: 1) I didn’t create this place and I don’t have control over it – nor do I have to deal with the business aspect of it – and I’m not always aware of everything that must be taken into consideration, and 2) Like family, or like a bunch of close friends – you don’t bale when something changes. You don’t leave your family – even when someone pisses you off real bad. You go to, for sake of a similie, to another question.

What’s the definition of a friend? Someone who knows all about you – and still likes you.

Sure there is, be better if the hostile fuckers were herded into the “ghetto” though.
Still, never mind, can’t have it all my own way ;¬}

Sure there is. Everyone is likely to have some kind of question(s) they don’t appreciate. The beauty of it is, no one is forced to participate in those. We created Social to allow for some lightheartedness in an appropriate place. Some people love it and some people hate it. Again, no one is forced to participate there, either.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. The guidelines we have now are actually stricter than they were when I first joined. There are many, many questions from ‘the good old days’ that would never be allowed, now. I think we have a tendency to romanticize the past, to view things through rose-colored glasses, but we’re fooling ourselves in doing so.

Yes, @Blueroses, I think there’s room for everybody (within the guideline parameters) here.

I’m sorry that the “veteran” users are often (and quite vocally) dissatisfied, but really, if you don’t like the Q, don’t click on it. And how redundant a statement is that? The polls and games are pretty obvious, don’t click. The dream and crush Qs are pretty obvious, don’t click. If they really bother anyone that much, then flag. There are still all sorts of options here, personally I like the variety. But then, what would I know? I’ve been here less than a year, I guess that still makes me a bit of a newbie by some user’s standards, but I’ve explored a lot of the early Qs and don’t find them to be more intelligent than the intelligent Qs that appear now, nor less inane than the inane ones that appear now.

And I keep clicking the GA button for you, @augustlan , but it’s only showing up once. Damn.

I love lamp.

I love noobs. Rhymes with…

…tubes?

Pffft no. LUBES!

Aw, hell naw. It’s cubes!

pubes?

moobs (man boobs)?

Way to “game” my thread, guys :D Reminds me of a Meta question (was it a zen incarnation?) about how many serious answers need to be given before a Q can be legally hijacked.

Oh, and “rubes”

brb dinner

nekked pancake parties

@Blueroses Sung to the tune of Dylan’s song

Thanks zen. I knew it was you.

It was some little zenele dude.

It’s all good (cuz I have a delete button on the ole lappy!)

…as a free site to give people the opportunity to ask about things that interest them, shouldn’t it be allowed to represent the vast spectrum of human interests?

Why should one type of question be more “valid” than any other?

That should be the case but sadly it seems many, or at least too many, want to make Fluther an exclusive country club where if you are not in a Gray flannel suit you are asked to leave or given the cold shoulder. People should be able to ask challenging, thought provoking and outside-the-box questions. People being people have a hard time living in the spirit of the question and logically dealing with it even if on issues they don’t agree as oppose to living through the question emotionally. Maybe it hits too close to home with something in their history but there are hardly any invalid questions. Frivolous questions about if another loves you which no one who is not an observer can determine might be there but most other questions be it gender relations, race relations, laws, ecology, etc should be able to be asked and dealt with in a civil, calm, and logical manner.

I want to second @DominicX: questions like “How do I install such and such” or “What’s the best product for this purpose” are boring. You get a staightforward answer and the discussion is over. That doesn’t create a community. It’s just a glorified Google.

I know that more relaxed guidelines means that more stuff that you dislike will be posted, but if you don’t like the nature of a question, just don’t click on it. I can’t imagine that the added effort on your scrolling finger is too much to handle, and I don’t understand why it warrents complaining.

What’s more fun – walking into a computer programmer’s convention (no offence) and being able to ask googeable questions, in a very certain polite way – and waiting for an answer – and then the conversation is over – or going to a crazy nightclub in the Village – surrounded by all kinds of people and genders, carrying on all kinds of wild, interesting conversations about what ever they feel like? I’ll take the latter.

I tend to want to have more fun than researching on “how to solve problems” questions. I mean just how many problems out there exist that you may need answers solving compared to having a good laugh so as to enjoy life at that moment? How about this, what if Fluther does more than separating practical q & a and silly questions by labeling them social or general. They tend to overlap no matter what so a special label and spot just for silly questions?