Diatribe

[MEHope]

Just a whole out rant about poor manners and short fuses and little pissy people who believe that words have some transforming power and that the very label poetry enables some transcendence and they are enabled to spew and tell me what is Great.

People who come and shop, but leave their trash and shit without a moment of thought to those who live here and must walk through it or around it. The revolving door sitters, the one shout-out and I’m gone goers, the this comes from my heart-slimers and soul-gigolos who take the stance that if poetry has rules they’re all anarchists and Fuck you!

The pedigreed MFA’s and PHd’s and Doctors of Feel-Good that have had poetry silver-spoon fed to them from prenatal checks until last Wednesday who know Poetry and if you don’t know what you’re are reading is real poetry then you don’t know poetry!

The homeboyZ and homegrrlZ the waNnBeDefPoetZ new voice, the delicate butterfly wings and halo-kissed parents who have to write about the moment that is birth and toilet training because that is Poethood. The Angst laden, the GOD IS GREAT shouters that
Proselytize, crystallize and alibi-us to sleep.

Oh all of these, oh all of these, oh all of these I hear in my sleep shouting at me,

“I am Poetry!”


~~Thank you, just needed to get that off my chest. Have a nice day.

[Andrea345]

ME,
I'm with you, but you forgot to add those who write gripes about wanting "nicer" crit. It's the "It's not for me, it's for those others that I'm asking" gripe which might put me over the edge one day. At one point, I think I got so aggravated, I went and did a search & hyperlinked about twenty threads from here on that same topic to demonstrate how redundant they were being. erg!

Hey Howard, how about putting together a linked page in the Blurbs with all those "be nice so that you can encourage my barfing on the page" threads so we don't have to repeat ourselves next time? There must be only about forty million of 'em in here. Maybe title it, "You made my eyes bleed and now you want me to - what?!" That link to nasty criticism really doesn't cover the scope of how old that topic is.

Have a gin on me,
-a

[tbm]

ME:

It's called Board Burnout. You're going on six months here, so that's not surprising. My acute case flares up from time to time, but that's probably because I'm a closet misanthrope; for many people, I think, the feeling passes with time.

If you're going to interact with any sort of writing community, you'll have to deal with all the sorts of people you mention (me included); that's just the way it goes. There's nothing wrong with despising them (I certainly despise many), but I've found that ranting accomplishes a lot less than, say, gradual psychological torture.

As far as I know, no one's keeping you here.

bates

* Oh, and, contrary to popular belief, you can always just ignore people. That's how I stay out of prison.

[Scotty]

Personally, I like people like them in that they serve a useful purpose. They remind me that my own poetry, with a little bit of effort from me, has actually reached a level of 'reasonableness' over the years, and (no offense Scavella) they work far better sometimes than reciting 'The Mantra" simply because there's so many of 'em.

They also remind how well-balanced and receptive I am - I'm happy to be me, 43 and still learning...

Scotty

[MEHope]

Originally posted by tbm
ME:

It's called Board Burnout. You're going on six months here, so that's not surprising.

Nah, it's from seeing the same thing(s) over and over at every board since 1998 -- even as "moderator" at one -- sometimes you've got to have a fun getting out of your system rant.

Purpose served.

Thanks.

[HowardM2]

Just for Andrea, a string of Golden Oldies:

http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20933&poems

http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19972&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18705&poems

http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16178&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13378&poems

http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5211&poems

http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5188&poems

[Jeanne G]

Originally posted by Desity

Well, I gave this forum a shot, and I have to say, In the General crit forum, that not many know what they're talking about. All I saw was a bunch of crap critique. Mostly, "it doesn't make sense" whines. Poetry doesn't have to make sense to the reader. It can be a bunch of jumbled words and sentances, if it has good lyric, rhyme, imagery, etc., then it might be a great poem! You decipher too much! In one particular they said, "that's just not possible the way you have it written" meaning it wasn't possible in real life. Ever hear of Surreal? Poetry is all about surreal.



Jeanne

[Andrea345]

Originally posted by HowardM2
Just for Andrea, a string of Golden Oldies:


ahhh, our very own "link space" started. Thanks Howard. This 'un's better than the flogging brush I got for my birthday. I'll be back here to add some more. Probably do a search for "nice" or something & see how many hits that gets.

[Martha.A.]

I think that anyone who deals with the public is going to experience these same frustrations at some point, and yes - it can be a sign of burnout.

The problem lies in the fact that you have seen the same questions, ideas, comments, complaints, and yes - simple, heartfelt, cliche ridden poems over and over again.

For you, the 1000th time you see the same thing sends you over the edge. For the poster, they have no idea why you are "overreacting" to their post/poem.

One suggestion - assign a moderator to reply to the first post from new members, regardless of the forum it is posted in. Rotate this assignment, with a frequent scheduled change. I think this could help you stop tearing your hair out while new members get their bearing.

good luck,
Martha

[HowardM2]

"assign a moderator to reply to the first post from new members"

[SIZE=4]AWK![/SIZE]

Since we have as many as 20-25 new members per day, leading each one gently by the hand is not feasible. That's precisely why we have gone to so much trouble to prepare such things as the "Posting Guidelines," the "New Posters' Orientation," and the detailed forum descriptions. New posters have the responsibility of using those materials to learn about PFFA before they rush into posting in ignorance; we simply can't do it all for each one of them individually.

[Martha.A.]

Since we have as many as 20-25 new members per day, leading each one gently by the hand is not feasible. That's precisely why we have gone to so much trouble to prepare such things as the "Posting Guidelines," the "New Posters' Orientation," and the detailed forum descriptions. New posters have the responsibility of using those materials to learn about PFFA before they rush into posting in ignorance; we simply can't do it all for each one of them individually. [/QUOTE]

Actually, my point was that since you DO address many new members, often in a similar way (checks the blurbs, read the rules, etc.) that you try and relieve the boredom and frustration of that by rotating the job. But for me...back to poetry,

take care

[Donner]

Originally posted by mtnbreeze
One suggestion - assign a moderator to reply to the first post from new members, regardless of the forum it is posted in. Rotate this assignment, with a frequent scheduled change. I think this could help you stop tearing your hair out while new members get their bearing.


You have got to be kidding me.

Put the responsibility for learning how the site operates where it belongs--on someone who chooses to register and post here.

Donner

"Rotate tires, not moderators."

[Rik Roots]

Originally posted by mtnbreeze
One suggestion - assign a moderator to reply to the first post from new members, regardless of the forum it is posted in. Rotate this assignment, with a frequent scheduled change. I think this could help you stop tearing your hair out while new members get their bearing.

I thought it was everybody's job to maintain the standards of the pffa. You don't have to be a moderator to point a newbie in the direction of the Blurbs (though you do need to be a moderator to cuss them while you're doing it - all pffa moderators have diplomas in Effective and Humiliating Cussing).

[Harry R]

Originally posted by Donner
"Rotate tires, not moderators."

'Srotaredom ton, serit'

[Kim]

Originally posted by mtnbreeze

One suggestion - assign a moderator to reply to the first post from new members, regardless of the forum it is posted in. Rotate this assignment, with a frequent scheduled change. I think this could help you stop tearing your hair out while new members get their bearing.


You know that we're not all in an office together, right?

At least, not since the Christmas party. They're still rebuilding the cubicles and trying to get the nog stains off the ceiling tiles. And who knew that Howard's stirring karaoke rendition of The Beastie Boys' "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" would drive Gary into a Pernod-soaked frenzy of office-chair demolition derby?

Kim

[HowardM2]

Jeez, so much for the "sworn to secrecy" pact.

[Kim]

Hey -- At least I didn't let slip about Harry's Streisand medley.

Oops.

[Martha.A.]

alright, alright...

stop!

geez - I was just trying to help :-)

[SarahJF]

There's always the option of kidnapping a computer genius, and then getting said boffin to design an automated pffa guide along the lines of 'powerpup' in works, if powerpup isn't so aged now that people can't remember it.

Anyway, this little icon could then gently guide all the new members through their first bambi-like sorties into the forum - popping up occasionally and directing them to blurbs, etc. When they start a sentence with 'my crystal eyes drowning in your..' or whathave you, icon would nip out and say:

'It looks like you are writing a cliche. Would you like any help with this'.

Or it would simply divert them to the relevant thread. Icon could be, ooohh, Bard the badger or something. It could wear a cod-shakespearian ruff, and tights.

Actually, I don't mind people writing the same thing over and over again in error, and thinking that they're writing great masterpieces. I find it kind of heartening that the world isn't hunched up blowing up green oookie things on a computer screen. Possibly I haven't been here long enough to get the full annoyance factor, though.


Sarah

[tbm]

ME:

I think I just discovered a little of what you're talking about. (http://gazebo.alsopreview.com/discus/messages/3/28262.html?1080798302) It's really totally hilarious. And some good press for PFFA:
First, let me welcome you to Gazebo and assure you that you have, indeed, come to the right place--if only in the sense that had you made these posts on PFFA your poem, comments and account might have had a lifespan of about an hour.

Good people.

bates

[Dani B]

That link is insane. INSANE. Oh, I'm so glad PFFA is well-moderated...That thread would need its own "Outside" forum. Garish ego on that Terri. Oof.


-dani, appalled

[Rik Roots]

Originally posted by tbm
ME:

I think I just discovered a little of what you're talking about. (http://gazebo.alsopreview.com/discus/messages/3/28262.html?1080798302) It's really totally hilarious. And some good press for PFFA:
First, let me welcome you to Gazebo and assure you that you have, indeed, come to the right place--if only in the sense that had you made these posts on PFFA your poem, comments and account might have had a lifespan of about an hour.

Good people.

bates

I do enjoy a good spat.

That Colin - isn't he a card! I don't think he's very popular over there - the usenet attitude to poor poetry posturing doesn't translate well, I think.

The esteemed Doctor has also posted a rather good flounce note (near the end of the thread). I do enjoy a quality flounce.

[B.D.]

That is some damn fine reading. I can't wait to google the Doctor's work. She must truly be the darling of the literary world.
In a related story, courtesy of The Onion:

VOLUME 33 ISSUE 08 — 4 MARCH 1998
Sixth Grader Begins Work On Pony Trilogy
CANTON, OH—Canton-area sixth-grader Melissa Wright announced plans Tuesday to begin work on her much-anticipated "Pony Trilogy," a three-part series chronicling her adventures with fictional pony Star Rider. Volume one, tentatively titled Melissa Meets Star Rider, is expected to be completed sometime this week. "It's gonna be about me and Star Rider having all this fun together, and I'm also gonna talk about how much I love to ride her," Wright said. While Wright did not give exact details of the second and third installments, they are widely expected to touch on Star Rider's amazing ability to fly, as well as the pony's acquisition of a magic emerald which grants Wright the power to eavesdrop on anyone she wants to by speaking their name. "Expect this work to take sixth-grade pony fiction in exciting new directions," said George Toffel of Doubleday Press.


Pause before giggling. This maybe the direction we're heading.

Cheers,
Brian

[River Not]

In a related story, courtesy of The Onion:

VOLUME 33 ISSUE 08 — 4 MARCH 1998

While Wright did not give exact details of the second and third installments, they are widely expected to touch on Star Rider's amazing ability to fly, as well as the pony's acquisition of a magic emerald which grants Wright the power to eavesdrop on anyone she wants to by speaking their name.

Pause before giggling.

Cheers,
Brian


heh. -a has cooties, i told ya, i told ya!


This may[ ]be the direction we're heading.

you're all going to heck in a nitpic basket. I swear.

[tbm]

Well, I guess she looks a lot nicer than she sounds:

http://theliteraryreview.org/Featured_P&W/Terri_Brown-Davidson/b-d.jpg

bates

** Ah, and she's even better with prose! From "Christina's World", The Paumanok Review:

Because everybody’s had a friend like that, I think. At least one—at least once. A secret friend that they could confide in, that they could sit with in the long, cool silence of dusk, the fireflies rising with their green-bulbed shinings at twilight. And for me, that friend’s Christina. I touch, so gently I know she’ll never awaken, the contours of her heavy breasts. Then, feeling the energy that signifies Paint, I ease her head down gingerly on the floor, I stand up before the landscape while Christina still sleeps, and render her, finally, as I see her, pure dark eyes in a smooth-skinned face, the Christina I never met but have always missed, a lovely, slender girl in a simple pink dress, her brown hair wind-blown as she stretches her body in yearning toward a house she’ll never leave until she’s free.

[Rik Roots]

Ah, and she's even better with prose! From "Christina's World" ...

Tom, stop it! You're scaring the horses!

[Empty Chairs]

I wonder if she really is a doctor, 'cause I have this rash....

[tbm]

Yeah, Rik, I think that author photo permanently Hi-ho-Silvered my lone ranger.

bates

[B.D.]

Quoting River Not:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This may[ ]be the direction we're heading.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Umm, yeah...that's what I meant. Damn this uneducated 'puter.
I swear...it twists my words.

sighs. slumps.
Brian

[River Not]

Originally posted by lear
Umm, yeah...that's what I meant. Damn this uneducated 'puter.
I swear...it twists my words.

sighs. slumps.
Brian


there is the alternative excuse (one which I stole from some awfully strange burptists over-th'-land):

"There must be a demon in your computer because the message looks fine to me." (or something)

so, Brian, you'd tell me that my computer was hosting a ghost instead of blaming your own.

I'm not trying to encourage any corruption, don't even start!


wait a second - what're we talking about? Oh ya... grrr.

[Melanie]

Originally posted by Rik Roots

The esteemed Doctor has also posted a rather good flounce note (near the end of the thread). I do enjoy a quality flounce. [/B]

*Including this tidbit -

but this site, in my opinion, just needs better moderating.


RedRover, RedRover.

[garyg]

Originally posted by Kim
You know that we're not all in an office together, right?

At least, not since the Christmas party. They're still rebuilding the cubicles and trying to get the nog stains off the ceiling tiles. And who knew that Howard's stirring karaoke rendition of The Beastie Boys' "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" would drive Gary into a Pernod-soaked frenzy of office-chair demolition derby?

Kim


**We needed new chairs anyway.

[Rachel Lindley]

Originally posted by tbm
I think I just discovered a little of what you're talking about. (http://gazebo.alsopreview.com/discus/messages/3/28262.html?1080798302) Jaimes Alsop has asked me a number of times to consider moderating the Gaz. I've occasionally been tempted to say yes simply so I could say "be careful what you wish for."

That and to see just how much blood spatter would be possible before they swarm, gag, and shackle me. Based on the length of that thread, I'm guessing quite a bit.

Rachel

[HowardM2]

That thread isn't even the half of it; there's another, longer, and still-continuing one (http://gazebo.alsopreview.com/discus/messages/32/28293.html?1080922919) in "Karen's Pub," although it has somewhat strayed from the original topic; but never fear--determined Gazzers keep bringing it back into focus. Heh.

[Harry R]

I do sometimes have my misgivings about the ruthless moderating stance we apply here, but at least it usually keeps the squabbles brief.

The illusion of peaceful coexistence - gotta love it.

Harry

[River Not]

I took it back, ok?.

[mindsweeper]

Originally posted by HowardM2
That thread isn't even the half of it; there's another, longer, and still-continuing one (http://gazebo.alsopreview.com/discus/messages/32/28293.html?1080922919) in "Karen's Pub," although it has somewhat strayed from the original topic; but never fear--determined Gazzers keep bringing it back into focus. Heh.

I do wish you'd stop posting these links. I've wasted hours of valuable critting and writing time following these hugely entertaining arguments. Damn it! It's even better than The Passion of Christ - well, I guess it is because I still haven't been bothered to go and see it, yet. But I can't get enough of Dr Terri-Brown Davidson and all the pontificating Pilates. It's brilliant entertainment!

Ruth

[MEHope]

just wondering, is the (mehope) that stated: "Is it naptime yet?" in the thread over at gaz the same MEHope that started this thread?

oh, this could be fun.

(on second thought -- no, nevermind, I'm crossing my fingers and spitting in my hat)


How many ME Hope's are there?

[B.D.]

Can we post the Doctor's poem here and crit it? I've been over it quite a few times and I just plain don't like it. Of course, I am
without sheepskins.

Brian
obviously pedestrian, at my best

[SarahJF]

I don't understand (I really don't). Surely peer review is peer review, and it doesn't matter how one applies it, it's still a good bloody thing in that it shows one how people are reading one's latest funky thang.

I so hate that linked thread. What it says, to me, is that the world of letters are pretty damn risible little inkies who don't like sharing. The parading of the 'I'm a whozit' is simply awful .

Euurrch. If I met that female, I'd hit her over the head with several interesting canvasses. Social climber, she.


Sarah
(I've had two glasses of wine, and Howard M[SIZE=1]2[/SIZE] is God. Rachel Lindley I'm scared of, as well.)

[River Not]

Originally posted by MEHope
How many ME Hope's are there?


how am I supposed to know?

besides, after basing too many critiques on erroneous assumptions, I've learned to ask for clarity first, even if I don't really need it.

However, I apologize to you for whatever reason, and I don't want to argue with anyone about spring fevers.

I'll still say a prayer though, for my own well being.