Once I have a decent photograph of myself to post (and I hope you or some equally kindly fellow will scan it for me Christopher, as I can't do that here), I will also reveal my REAL NAME.

Maybe THEN I'll get my profile in the Top Ten!

Chris, while I can see the ally you are coming from, I am utterly shocked (to say the least)that you would agree with Lou. I could see if you agree with certain points, but totally agree with him? What happened dear brother? I am shocked to no end.

PeterK...I don't envy you.

Rocco...who cares what your real name is, I don't. What's inside is what counts, and judging from your posts, your a fine fellow indeed.

Scott...it's time to shut up about this, for it's all fleeding anyways.

Scott

Let us first recall that PeterK isn't just running a website, he's running a business. Peter has created an environment which carefully balances freedom of speech with moderation of content, and I don't have a problem with that.

For example: Lou brings up extreme vulgarity, which I say is completely unnecessary here. I would compare it to a smoker standing outside a restaurant who blows smoke at people as they enter or exit. I came to that restaurant to eat food, and having smoke blown in my face diminishes the experience. Does the smoker have a right to smoke? Sure. But the manager of the restaurant has the right to put up a no-smoking sign when it begins to adversely affect his business.

PeterK is like that restaurant manager. Sure, it would be nice if everyone at every table could just sit around talking loudly, making raunchy jokes and never ordering any food.

But what about those of us who go to the restaurant to talk over food with friends, and just want a fun, quiet evening without a wild party going on five feet away?

A manager in such a position might decide to set aside one or two of the back rooms, enclosed from the other diners, for the purpose of such raucus merrymaking ... which is exactly what PeterK has done. Even then, if things got violent or completely outrageous, the manager would have to look out for his property first.

Sure, Chris, half of a restaurant is the patrons. But the other half is a RESTAURANT, and not just a big room where people eat. And PeterK is a GOOD manager. He doesn't mind if some of us show up and only order water. He graciously lets us do more than come in, sit, eat, pay, and leave.

But like a restaurant, PeterK can't cater to the whims of every individual customer. He has to look at the broader scope of his patron base and find a workable medium. That group of barhounds over in the corner may be his best and most frequent customers, but that doesn't come close to qualifying them for ownership. And when the bartender tells them that if they're going to start singing and dancing they'll have to go outside, the most ungracious thing they could possibly do would be to launch into a long-winded speech about how things ought to be run, and how it's a shame the bartender's controlling attitude has prevented them from growing closer to each other ... which is what some of the whining I've seen amounts to.

Lou, your attitude of "I don't like it, but instead of leaving I'm going to stick around and continually lobby for change" stinks. That works in government, not privately owned business. PeterK is the one and only authority here, and he's not going to cave in because you keep complaining. All you're doing is stirring up discontent and making it less enjoyable for the rest of us. This isn't a democracy and you know it. You're not after votes. What you're doing is setting yourself up as an example of malcontentedness that you hope people will imitate. This gives Peter three options: cave into your demands, crack down even harder thus harming the moderates as well as the extremists, or ignore you and let his patrons handle your contrary attitudes on their own. Either way, the original purpose of this website -- and community -- is diminished. That hurts us and it hurts him. So please stop it. You've filed a complaint with the manager. Leave it at that.

You all have the right to your own opinions. But if I invited you over to my house and you complained when I wouldn't let you jump on the bed, my knee-jerk reaction would be to show you the door. PeterK is struggling valiantly to create dialogue instead. But there comes a time when you have to say "Okay, it's your house. If I want to party over here, I'll respect the boundaries you've set to make sure everyone has an equal shot at enjoying themselves." Lou, you're the guy who stands over in the corner and complains about how the lighting is bad, the music is old, and the wallpaper is atrocious ... but you have no problem helping yourself to the free snacks. In other words: a "party-pooper."

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a restaurant. It's not a church, it's not a playground, it's not your living room. I'm very happy to have a place to meet friends, enjoy the main course, and learn more about each other as we dine. Most friendships are forged over meals, after all.

couldn't have said it any better.

For the last year or so my emotions have been tangled over the untimely passing of three people who were very near and dear to me.
I still have not recovered from the shock, and grieving is a state that I am altogether unfamiliar with. I don't seem to be dealing with it very well.
I'm not offering this as any kind of excuse for bad behavior, because there IS no excuse for bad behavior.
I'm stating the fact that I have been emotionally impaired for over a year now, because I find that it shows up HERE more than anywhere else. I can hold myself together perfectly until the end of the day, and the end of the day is when I visit this place.
These circumstances have served to convict me of spending too much of my daily time in front of this computer, pounding out messages to people who I may never meet, when I could instead invest that same time into the lives of those near to me...

I thought about erasing all of my prior comments, but that seems to me to be a lie. Besides which, I tried that once before and quickly found myself being hurled out of the frying pan into the fire.

I resolve hereby to limit my contributions at this board to "entertaining" topics (like film music), and to forevermore refrain from dealing with any "personal" issues which spring forth from the well of my emotions. I have proven openly and quite clearly that until I am back to normal (whatever that is), I need to exercise discretion.

Peter, Rocco...fellas, I'm sorry.

I agree that no apologies are necessary. I myself have gone through the valley of the strange and peculiar in the last few months. I know the stress that can attach itself to our spirits like a nasty spider that you just can't shake off, no matter how hard you try.

Yet, I have found that God indeed works in mysterious ways (gosh what a cliche, Kross would just love this Dinosaur saying, hehe), for had it not been for the support and concern of many from this board, I would have had an even harder time getting through these tragedies.

I firmly believe that God led me to this place. I mean. Really. I have met many through the John Williams conceret. Jeron, Brian, Justin, Jason, are probably the four people I talk to most over AIM and they have been there for me EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. Were it not for this board...this would not be the case. You, yourself, have enspired me in several ways. Gosh, and there is Mark and the lovely Laura, Bistis and many more. All of you have been such a great blessing that I can see Gods handwriting on the wall. And you know what? Most of them I haven't even met. Dude (I AM in California ), I haven't even met my brothers and sisters in New York yet. That however doesn't prevent me from pouring out my love and caring for them just as much as I do if they were right here next to me in the flesh. Virtual reality. Na, I don't think so, for at the end of these bits, bytes and bps'there is a bonafied human being, with the same emotions, same dreams and desires as me and you.

Chris, you and I know that we don't need to see a person to love them, to understand them, to respect them and to talk to thme. We do it everyday, and have done it for a long time. His name is Jesus Christ. We have never seen Him. We don't hear him audibly. Yet, oh my , do we love Him , respedct Him, honor Him, praise Him and talk to Him. Why should it be so hard for us to extend this type of abiltiy over the interent, the next big frontier for the spreading of the gospel?
You get what I am saying?

The people on this board are some of the finest the world has to offer and I am way too fortunate to count myself a member here. I have learned so much, but most of all, i have found some of the greatest friendships ever through this site. Gosh, my little neph keeps asking when he is going to see Jeorn amd his parents again. Aaron is a constant subject at my house (wrestling is a big thing and that's another thing we share), Norman McCay is always on our minds and my little neph wants to meet Justin, who has been helping him with his science hw. You guys have touched the hearts of many...for that you have earned yourslef a place at the table of the great.

So, Chris...grief,if you must...spend more time with the people next to you, if it is needed...but dont't forsake these people here on the account that you haven't met them. For at the end of the day, they are as real as anyone else, and you know what? If they are this way over the net...no telling the blessings they may bestow on you should you ever meet any of them in the physical world. Sure, you may get burned by a fake. But that is a very small price to pay, for the grandeur that are the people that are part of this wonderful experience.

Gosh, I feel like passing some collection thingie around... , j/k.

I'm out.

Scott

No. More like the climax of the Canada visit.

********************************************************************

Like I said before, my emotions have been spinning out of control for awhile now as a result of dealing with three unexpected deaths during the last year. Part of this has to do with the fact that I grew up in a large family, and we simply never experienced ANY deaths until I was past 30 years old! I'm not accustomed to this.
We have all heard about "road rage"...well, I have been exhibiting symptoms of "internet rage". At the end of each day I find myself here, and most of the time that I spend here is filled with reading the dialogues of others, and perhaps adding a comment of my own. However, if something that I read irritates me, even on a trivial scale...BALLOOEY! I go ballistic, scorch-the-earth, turn off the computer and go to bed.
The next day, I'll read those comments, and the first thing that pops into my mind is the image of Boris Karloff in Abbott And Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde!
As I look back over the statements that I wrote earlier in this thread...I just don't know what I was thinking. I don't agree with what I said. I can't believe that I said it.
(I don't do drugs, folks...but you'd never know!)
Sure, I sometimes disagree with PeterK's administrative technique, but that is such a trivial point, and totally unworthy of the rebuke that I issued.
It's a fact that I have carried on extra-internet relationships with a bunch of you (you know who you are!) and yet I seemed to disavow all of that...

Do men experience menopause?

Seriously, though...I deeply appreciate the support shown here, and I thank you all.
I DO value the friends I have here, and I'm sorry that you had to see me at my worst..

But of course you knew that...

First Chris--I'm sorry you've had tough times recently. I know what it is to feel caught up in the dramas on the board, but they really are trivial in comparison to the events you have to deal with in reality. If listening to me led you to cross your own boundaries, I'm sorry. I don't mind Pete or Wedge. I like to be rude and outspoken when it comes to [better keep this out to be on the safe side.]

Pete--Yes, you've backed off the board overall and you haven't deleted this thread or re-banned me, for which I'm thankful--that is really the right attitude to take. Keep it up.

Still, in the end, why does it effect you in the slightest what I have to say about you, the place, or even film music? It's all just opinions, just words, they can't hurt you unless you let them.

And, everyone else, what do you care if I'm flogging a dead horse? Can't I do that? Everyone knows what this topic thread is about, if you don't like it, don't click on it, don't read it, don't post to it, ignore it. Chris is right, you all take everything way too seriously.

Wedge--This isn't a restaurant. There's no smoke, no loud noise, nothing of the kind. It's a place where people type words at each other from afar, in some cases, continents apart. I could be smoking right now--no chance you're going to get a whiff of it.

Yes, this is a private site, a business. Pete has every right to kick me off if he doesn't like my behavior, he has every right to set up the board to his pleasing, etc. I have never said otherwise. But despite how user-friendly the site is for posting messages, there are times when that private aspect creates situations that I'm critical about. Should I just keep quiet? Despite the hassles Ford has given Pete and others, I still don't think he should have been disallowed to post. But it's a private site and I have no say. His outing diminishes the place--now I don't have Ford to argue with. And that would go for anyone else who got bounced. I might have no power in the outcome, but I'm not a rubber stamp either. But you say I should just accept the situation quietly and go on with business. Well, I do come here to talk film music. I've started a number of topics in the past week on film music, in fact, so why don't you read and reply to those.

OK, you like the board, you like Pete, you don't like my views, think I should take things as they are, stop being critical, stay on topic, what have you. Fine, you've said so. Now, I'll continue to criticize when necessary and you're free to object to it when I do.

Scott--You've got every right to raise your charges as you see fit. And while you want the **** and I don't, Pete and others agree with you. All I can do is powerlessly disagree.

Now I'd like to have the last word, so break it up, go home, there's nothing else to see here.

Perfectly stated.

You might as give up that attempt. My mom tried that a long time ago...never worked. I just have to have the last word.

the sequel has already been done. Just don't' know when PeterK will premier it.

Scott