# Grandmaster Hall



## cdhall (Jun 17, 2002)

Howdy everyone,

I'm not targeting anyone and I 'm not going to name any threads as an example, but I have a pet peeve and this seems the proper place to vent about it.

The forum rules clearly state:

"4. Post for a reason. Think before you post. Does your reply add to the conversation? Quoting a previous message and adding "Yup" or "Yeah" along with 50 smilies is not the way to do it. "


I have seen some threads boasting a dozen or more 2-3 word variations on "ditto" and it annoys me.  Especially because I just realized that many of these guys have high post counts and I had been looking to them with some measure of respect and admiration.  But I think maybe 60% of some of these guys posts may be classified as "yep!" and this seems like a waste of resources, time and energy to me.   I consciously try hard to avoid this, but I know I would make "Grandmaster" MUCH faster if I replied to EVERY New post with a smiley or something every time I logged in.

I know this is potentially a delicate issue but if my voice can be seen as a candle in the darkness then lets all be more wary of how we and our buddies post and not be afraid to ask someone to consider their comments, or even to consider that should actually make a comment other than "OK" when they post.

I am not advocating that you don't chime in to validate a previous thought or anything of the like.  I have done this myself. But I think the point in the rules about considering 50 smileys and a quote as pretty much of a waste is a good point.

I like this forum and I like all of you.  Please keep any flames to a minimum.  I'm going out for more sunscreen right now, and I hope that will be all I need to absorb the heat I can see coming at me for this.

"It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
:asian:


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## Rich Parsons (Jun 17, 2002)

When I post, I try to choose my 'battles' wisely. 

I try tp either answer or pose another questions,
or to give my opinion. On Occasion I do stray
from the theme of the thread, but I look for
it provide a good smile to the reader.

I understand that many people post with 'Yep'
or etc, ..., . Many people post once and then 
right again. If they do it for two separate
posts this is not only good but keeps the replies
to to posts clean.

Just my thoughts.

Rich


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## GouRonin (Jun 17, 2002)

You don't tell me how I oughta post and I don't tell you how you oughta post?

Then we'll all be happy.
:iws:


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## cdhall (Jun 17, 2002)

I've already been told how to post and I took offense, so this is me venting in the Locker Room!

I mean, some of my relatives got shot at so I could logon to MartialTalk and say stuff without being told what to say!  Well as long as I logon from the US I guess.  I don't know how many of my relatives got shot at so you could be safe up there in Canada.


Besides that I was  just pointing out that some of the people on here really look the only reason they are posting is to waste space, which is prohibited in the rules, so if you don't like it, yell at Bob, he said it.  First anyway.


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## sweeper (Jun 17, 2002)

I doubt they died specificly so you could post on martial talk 

I think it's a judgement call..  if there are a few yeps/I agrees in a post it just shows that there is support for the perspective..  that adds to the discusion, and most of the time when I have seen discusions wonder off topic it comes right back or arnisador steps in. most of the off topic posts are for humor's sake and I don't think they are nessisaraly a bad thing..  when I don't want to read them I just skim over them untill I find one I do want..

personaly I think you should give people repect for what they say not how much they say it..  I mean I think I'm a green belt here but I'm probably one of the leaste knowledgeable about martial arts..  I could get a blackbelt on the board for opsting a ton of jokes under humor every day and it would be perfectly legal..  if you want to see how long someone's been here than look at their profile.

also sometimes I post when it's late because I don't want to loose my train of thought..  usualy I post again to add something else because I didn't/couldn't think of it when writing it out (and it came to me soon after) I genneraly try not to edit my posts just so it doesn't look like i'm "changing history"


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## Rich Parsons (Jun 17, 2002)

> _Originally posted by GouRonin _
> 
> *You don't tell me how I oughta post and I don't tell you how you oughta post?
> 
> ...



Hey GouRonin,
:iws:

I resemble that remark you made above.  
I must have a sign on my back or something.  


Seriously, If people want to post they do. I have
asked people to give their opinions many times,
knowing it will differ from mine. Does it hurt my
feelings??? NOPE!. Just opinion.

I might ask if I have offended and offer an
apology if I have. For that is not my intent.

Go ahead and vent, sometimes it helps. 

Rich


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## Yari (Jun 18, 2002)

To some extent I agree.

But somethimes it's usfull to just say you agree. In that sense you telling everbody were you are. It's like an discussion. If nobody said anything, we wouldn't know were people stood.

BUT, there are people loggin in just to pull  up their count. But in my eyes they just kill themselfs, because I don't think they are that seriious anymore.

/Yari, who doens't always follow rules......


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## Seig (Jun 18, 2002)

Doug,
Here is something else to consider.  If you stay on topic with 100% seriousness all the time, it can become pretty dry reading.
The internet has given us a wonderfull gift by allowing us to "meet" and communicate with people all voer the world that we would have other wise probably never have met or communicated with.  So thinking about that, how much of the off topic and funny stuff or sometimes not so funny, is as much about building relationships as it is passing facts?


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## GouRonin (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by cdhall _
> *I don't know how many of my relatives got shot at so you could be safe up there in Canada.
> *



Probably the same amount as my relatives who got shot at so you could be safe down there in the USA.


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## cdhall (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Seig _
> 
> *Doug,
> Here is something else to consider.  If you stay on topic with 100% seriousness all the time, it can become pretty dry reading.
> The internet has given us a wonderfull gift by allowing us to "meet" and communicate with people all voer the world that we would have other wise probably never have met or communicated with.  So thinking about that, how much of the off topic and funny stuff or sometimes not so funny, is as much about building relationships as it is passing facts? *



Sir,

You make an excellent point and I do not dispute it.  I was just irritated at one of the threads that seemed to have a dozen smiley posts particularly after I noticed how many posts some of those guys had.  That is all.  I agree with you and I don't want to turn this into a dry, esoteric discussion.

Believe me, in class I get told to shut up plenty enough.  As an aside, in a 2week training class at one of my old jobs, I came in one day and before I even sat down the trainer said "Doug, don't say anything.  We have a lot of material to get through today."

I used to make her laugh so much over the course of a day that we'd lose 30mins to an hour waiting on her to compose herself.  So I'm with you sir, it just seems sometimes it gets out of hand.  But perhaps that is what the Mods are for.  I think I have seen them jump in to say "Stay on topic, please" once or twice.

Thank you.
    :asian:


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## cdhall (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by GouRonin _
> 
> *
> 
> Probably the same amount as my relatives who got shot at so you could be safe down there in the USA. *



I don't know, but I'm happy to drop it now.  Thank you.
:asian:


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## Kirk (Jun 18, 2002)

I agree with Mr Hall, it's a peeve of mine too, although I have 
given in to the urge to post a ROFLMAO or two, because it was
TOO funny.  


Gou ... I'm throwing myself on the coals here, but I don't care.
I admit to appreciating your humor, and your bluntness.  But it
sure seems to me that if anyone replies in the negative to YOU,
with equal bluntness, that you take it personally!   In other 
words, you can dish it out, but you can't take it.  


I admit that you're a more intelligent man than I, and I admit
that you've been studying martial arts much much longer than I,
but to quote Sergeant Elias in the movie Platoon, "take a break! 
You don't have to be a prick every day of your life, you know."


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## GouRonin (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Kirk _
> *Gou ... I'm throwing myself on the coals here, but I don't care.*



Look out! A man on a mission. My Grandfather said always be wary of the man with nothing to lose. He also said never back a woman into a corner but that's another story.



> _Originally posted by Kirk _
> *I admit to appreciating your humor, and your bluntness.*



Yes. My greatness is often recognized by the few who actually have the insight. The rest, well, they are cretins.



> _Originally posted by Kirk _
> *But it sure seems to me that if anyone replies in the negative to YOU, with equal bluntness, that you take it personally!   In other words, you can dish it out, but you can't take it.*



WHAT!? You take that back you bastard!

Actually, I very often mirror what I get. People get surprised when I respond so bluntly and mean to a playful verbal jab. In truth, I respond accordingly. More often than not these playful jabs are really thinly disguised venomous strikes. I'm just not fooling myself into thinking otherwise. It's like a boxers jab is used to probe and find out what he's dealing with. I like to take that jab and crush it before it gets too smart for it's own good. Then it just doesn't feel like flipping about with no serious intent.

That and you have no idea what I can take and have had to take.

I'll give you an example. When my wife met my close circle of friends she was almost in tears at the way we tore at each other verbally. We do not, as most friends do when verbally sparring, progress in a chartlike way to meaner and meaner barbs until one gives up. We go right for the throat and use the meanest things we know. Having been friends with many of them for 20 years means that you know exactly what hurts and what doesn't. We don't hold back. However, try and join in on that and you get turned on like a pack of ravenous dogs because you're not one of our pack.

So really, when I talk with most of you and most of my other friends I quite often hold back instead of go right for the throat because I am quite used to it. I have no problem with getting what I dish out. However, since I don't bullsheet or try and puff my feathers up most of the time I usually am only saying what most people want to say. Except I am not as eloquent as most. I seem to lack that tactfulness to slowly escalate in barbs and comebacks that many people here are able to do. I like to roll right into what I have to say. I often find myself biting my tongue in here. I try very hard to joke and play around. Just that my humour is very mean so I try not to be because most people are not that way.

In short. If it had been me in charge of WW2 the nukes would have come out right away. Which if you think about it would have saved lives and resources quickly. But I digress. I am well aware it's not the politically correct thing to do.

So it's not that I take these things personally, in fact I rarely if ever hold a grudge. (Except against my ex-girlfriend. That %$#@! can rot in....ahhhh...nevermind...more on that later) It's just that when I see something I call it. Sometimes it gets me into trouble.



> _Originally posted by Kirk _
> *I admit that you're a more intelligent man than I*



Don't feel bad. I'm waaaay smarter than most people. A lot of people are threatened by that. Especially those who want to think of themselves as some sort of wise all seeing mentor or wizened one. I run by the rule of thumb, _"Don't B.S. me and I won't B.S. you."_



> _Originally posted by Kirk _
> *and I admit that you've been studying martial arts much much longer than I*



Big deal. I am always fond of telling people that the amount of time studying an art does not make someone wise or smart or even well educated. That's a myth. The best martial artists I know are able to put aside their ego and learn from their students. Actually, most teachers in the martial arts just pay lip service to this.

So go ahead and call me on whatever you want. I don't care. Usually, like this response, I will try and explain why I am doing something. Or I will justify it with my reasonings. I'll always try to explain why at least. You may not like it just as I may not like what you have to say but there it is. On the table at least.



> _Originally posted by Kirk _
> *but to quote Sergeant Elias in the movie Platoon, "take a break! You don't have to be a prick every day of your life, you know."*



Sure I do. It keeps everyone honest.

I responded to CD Hall with my opinion based on his opinion. He came back with something that I suspected as something stinky. I responded. He decided to let it go. I have agreed. Maybe we misunderstood each other, who knows. But there it is. Out on the table.

I like ya. S'why I responded with such a long diatribe. If you ask the few people here who have met me I'm actually a great guy to be around. I think...


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## Kirk (Jun 18, 2002)

Thanks for not tearin' me a new one, and thanks for clearing it
up.  I know where you're coming from now!   I have an old H.S.
buddy that I'd like to send in to challenge the pack.  Even if he
lost, it'd be bitter sweet


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## cdhall (Jun 18, 2002)

Sure he does.
I think Gou covered it.
I'm chiming in because I was going to jump in with Kirk, but there is no need for that now.

I've met Gou on some other boards and I think he comes off as unecessarily rude much of the time.

But he is consistent about it and this makes me think that he deserves some slack.

So, while I don't think I'll invite him to my birthday party, I do like having him around because even if he is being a snot he often makes a good point.

I'm also glad to see that this got "cleared up" like Kirk said.  If Gou were truly evil, he would have thrown some more gas on the fire and made it worse just because he could.

And BTW, the nukes did get used in WW2 as soon as they were ready.  And for that very reason, it saved more lives than the "firebombing" that had been going on for several days beforehand.

I also always like Truman's policy of "Total Retaliation" which was used in Korea I think.  I think he said something like "If China moves into Korea, nuke 'em at once."  Or maybe it was just after WW2 and the general US Policy was stated as "attack us and die."  Or maybe both.  I'll probably go look that up.

Which reminds me, now that I'm WAAAY off track.  Did Sun Tzu say to kill all of your enemies so that none could be left to take revenge? If not, did anyone or did I make that up?  Maybe Gou posted it somewhere else.


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## GouRonin (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Kirk _
> *Thanks for not tearin' me a new one, and thanks for clearing it
> up.  I know where you're coming from now!*



No worries. That's not what I am about. You said what you had to say and I respect that.


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## GouRonin (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by cdhall _
> *Sure he does.
> I think Gou covered it.
> I'm chiming in because I was going to jump in with Kirk, but there is no need for that now.*



Ganging up eh? Well I feel better too. I won't have to kill you both. I'm too good looking to go to jail.



> _Originally posted by cdhall _
> *I've met Gou on some other boards and I think he comes off as unecessarily rude much of the time.*



Yeah, I'm not exactly a wall flower am I? But if I believe your cause to be right I'll fight to the bitter end for you. I just don't spare anyone in the analysis. Even myself.



> _Originally posted by cdhall _
> *But he is consistent about it and this makes me think that he deserves some slack.*



Heh. Thanx. I guess if you're rude only some of the time you're sour grapes. Otherwise you're just a jerk like me. I try to be who I am so what you see is what you'll get. Anyone I ever turned on knew why I did it and that it was coming at least.



> _Originally posted by cdhall _
> *So, while I don't think I'll invite him to my birthday party, I do like having him around because even if he is being a snot he often makes a good point.*



I don't get to come to the party? Again? Man, what is it you have against me?

Of course I make good points. Even a monkey falls out of the tree sometimes.



> _Originally posted by cdhall _
> *I'm also glad to see that this got "cleared up" like Kirk said.  If Gou were truly evil, he would have thrown some more gas on the fire and made it worse just because he could.*



Damn, I'm slacking off.



> _Originally posted by cdhall _
> *Did Sun Tzu say to kill all of your enemies so that none could be left to take revenge? If not, did anyone or did I make that up?  Maybe Gou posted it somewhere else.*



I dunno.

I know it was Conan who said the best things in life are to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamindation of the women. With an Austrian accent of course.
:iws:


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## Dronak (Jun 18, 2002)

I believe that most people post with a reason in mind, not simply to say "I agree with this post" or up their post total.  Sometimes it will happen, no doubt, but most people have something to say beyond just "yup" and a smiley or two.  I agree we shouldn't have a bunch of one-line posts of that sort, but if you want to agree and post some thoughts, too, that's fine.  That's what I tend to do when I'm posting in agreement with someone.  I try to add some of my own thoughts to it.

As for replying to your own messages, I don't think that's a big problem.  I've done it a number of times, mainly to update people on my training and there just weren't any replies in between.  If you check, you'll see that there's normally a fair amount of time between replies to myself.  Except maybe once or twice when I tried to do an edit and couldn't because you can only edit posts for like an hour or something.

As for simply posting to increase your total, I don't think people do that as a general rule.  I have to admit that I did it once though.  I was going away for about 2 weeks and was only about 3 posts away from the next belt level just before then.  I would have gotten the posts in sooner or later, but I kind of wanted to have the new belt sooner since I figured I wouldn't be posting at all while away.  So I added in a couple short replies to humor posts, probably.  But even those weren't just "yup" posts, I still tried to say a little something in them.  If someone's posting specifically to increase their post total, you can usually tell.  Oh, and remember there are a few moderators on the board who have to read almost everything that's posted.  That's part of their job.  In the process of doing that, they'll probably also be posting replies to a lot of things and that will naturally increase their post totals more quickly. Plus, the more forums you read, the more posts you'll probably make.  Someone like me who sticks to a smaller number of forums will probably have a lower total than someone who knows a variety of styles and checks a lot of forums.  There are a number of legitimate ways you can get a high post total without having to make "I agree with this post" posts.


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## arnisador (Jun 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Dronak _
> 
> *If someone's posting specifically to increase their post total, you can usually tell.  Oh, and remember there are a few moderators on the board who have to read almost everything that's posted.  That's part of their job.  In the process of doing that, they'll probably also be posting replies to a lot of things and that will naturally increase their post totals more quickly. *



Yes, that's a big part of my high post count.

It is usually easy to tell when someone is just posting to up their post counts and we occasionally send a PM and in extreme cases have removed a string of "Me too" posts that seemed only to serve the purpose of upping the post count. Almost always a short PM solves the problem though. We try hard to err on the side of letting people post what they want.

I don't see a lot of contentless posts--one or two people posting a  ROFLMAO or similar actually helps communicate appreciation for someone's post.

-Arnisador
-MT Mod-


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## Bob Hubbard (Jun 18, 2002)

Alot of times, lately especially, my posts are very brief and short.  Time constraints.  

If 1 person says your wrong, I take it with a grain of salt... if 20 say the same thing, I have to think on it, unless they are all brothers...in which case, they only get 1 vote. 

In otherwords, post as you like, try to stay within the meaning of the rules, and if we see a problem, we'll let ya know. This also means, don't report all the 'mee toos', and 'smiley wars' that go on.  Some thread wander is ok, when it gets major, we try to split it up or direct traffic.  

MT is a more laid back forum. We like it that way. 

Peace
:asian:


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## Seig (Jun 19, 2002)

> I've met Gou on some other boards and I think he comes off as unecessarily rude much of the time.But he is consistent about it and this makes me think that he deserves some slack.So, while I don't think I'll invite him to my birthday party,


He could have come to mine, I think it would have been great!



> Ganging up eh? Well I feel better too. I won't have to kill you both. I'm too good looking to go to jail.


Nope, as pretty as you are, you would be a big hit in jail.


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## tonbo (Jun 25, 2002)

Okay, I gotta raise my hand as someone guilty of posting a "me too" post or two.  It happens.  Most of the time, I feel like I am overly verbose, rambling on until I have to smack myself into shutting up.

Occasionally, however, yeah, I do put in a simple "ROFLMAO" or smiley post.  But doing it to up my totals?  Please.  Now *that* I take exception to.  I may be wrong, but I think the majority of my posts are actual answers and responses......even though they are probably not all on in-depth MA topics (yeah, I'm in the humor forum, too!!).

I didn't take this personally, so I'm not trolling for a flame war.  I do agree there are those that "me too" their way to Black and beyond.....but that happens in the MA world too, no?

Ah, well....back to my corner of the net....

Peace--


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## Bob Hubbard (Jun 25, 2002)

For those folks who only post to up their tally, who have 1000 'me toos' for every good post, dont worry.  We have a 'Specul' title reserved for them...Hopefully we never have to crown our first "Howard Stern Black Belt".


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## Kirk (Jun 25, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Kaith Rustaz _
> 
> *For those folks who only post to up their tally, who have 1000 'me toos' for every good post, dont worry.  We have a 'Specul' title reserved for them...Hopefully we never have to crown our first "Howard Stern Black Belt".  *



HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Too funny!  I'm  hoping you
DO hafta crown it!  :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


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## arnisador (Jun 25, 2002)

Maybe a Six Sigma (Master) Blackbelt.


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## tonbo (Jun 25, 2002)

Okay, now *that* was interesting.....So, someone with a Six Sigma Master Black Belt could *financially* kick your a$$?

That was really interesting.....I'm still confused, though....but nothing new *there*..... 

Peace--


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