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#216601 - 07/28/04 02:33 PM Can't we all just get along?
P*Q Offline

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Posts: 8,458
Somewhere
Hey gang:
I've purposely for the most part, stayed out of any of the political threads or the other ones considered "hot buttons" because I normally use BOL for banking related issues. (I know some anon will go in and do a search on my posts to see if I'm telling the truth and then post that my statement is a lie )but really, why do some of us have to get so hot under the collar and start spewing venom at other BOLers for no fathomable reason whether it's because someone chooses to voice thier opinion or they happen to spell a word wrong, whatever. I haven't spent as much time on BOL these days because it's becoming a little discouraging when it seems more of the posts are a pi$$ing contest between everyone and who can get the last word in and frankly I don't enjoy the forums as much as I used to. Don't get me wrong, I still find the majority of my banking related questions/answers here on BOL and yes, I still hang at Cleabatsu's occasionally but that's about it. Why can't we all be adults and post/respond in an adult-like manner. Now, all of that being said, let the attacks against me begin.
Last edited by Pizzaz; 07/28/04 02:43 PM.
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Chat! - BOL Watercooler
#216602 - 07/28/04 02:40 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Fork Ate Spoon Offline
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Posts: 2,261
Between Here and There
Quote:

and frankly I don't enjoy the forums as much as I used to.



Same here, just about every thread in the cooler ends up with some sort of attack, debate, argument, or someone taking offense to an obviously humurous and/or innocent post. What happened to the good ol' days, sniff sniff

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#216603 - 07/28/04 02:54 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Skittles Offline
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TN
I feel the same way. I still look at most posts on compliance related issues, but tend not to look at the posts in the Cooler any longer - with exception of the non-debate/policial ones (ex. Best/worst commercials). It's very sad that people choose to say disparaging remarks about others opinions. Everyone is entitled to their own and no one should try to change that.

Sorry - off my soapbox now.
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#216604 - 07/28/04 03:04 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
COMPLIcated Offline
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Posts: 1,035
OK
I agree however, I must say that most of the subject lines are pretty indicative of what lies ahead so I just don't go to those posts. But on the other hand, you can go to a post that is meant to be light-hearted and fun and then you have some getting off on a tangent that turns into some deep conversation about politics, theology, etc...

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#216605 - 07/28/04 03:08 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
P*Q Offline

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Exactly Shannon, kind of like my original daycare post in the couch. Simple response needed on those who had children in daycare and it turned into a farce and whether daycare children were getting the shaft, etc. Now as the great Z says, a single person cannot control a thread but there is a point when some of them are out of hand, kind of like an AOL chatroom versus a bankers thread.

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#216606 - 07/28/04 03:26 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Fraudman CFCI Offline
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I will not disagree with you folks. Suffice to say, one of the elements of the BOL Watercooler is a "place to blow off steam."

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#216607 - 07/28/04 03:27 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
P*Q Offline

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Venting is one thing, attacking is clearly something different.

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#216608 - 07/28/04 03:34 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Anonymous
Unregistered

Quote:


I normally use BOL for banking related issues. I haven't spent as much time on BOL these days because it's becoming a little discouraging ... and frankly I don't enjoy the forums as much as I used to.






Because of the varying levels of posters' banking positions (their actual jobs), it is conceivable to have an executive from a moneycenter bank conversing with a teller from a 3-branch $40 million bank. There is nothing wrong with this; it's just that the professional levels between posters, the maturity, the education, the experience and knowledge, as well as user expectations, are such that a very wide path is covered.

If you know anything about bank product positioning and branding, then you know the importance of consistency, quality, return on investment (including investment of one's time), and meeting or exceeding industry standards and user expectations.

There are very knowledgeable, mature and helpful posters in many of the subject threads (e.g., Gayla Sherry on HR issues, for example). However, there are also some contributors in some of the non-bank-subject threads that are very likely in jobs they don't like, and who have no passion for their industry. Regrettably, this results in poor contributions of little value to the greater audience, and a reduction in the overall quality eventually seeps through.

The general knowledge about professional chat-type/knowledge-exchange websites is that it is easiest for professional sites in specific industries -- such as AICPA.org for auditors, or ALLregs.com for lawyers -- because all of the posters pretty much have an equal passion for a particular subject area, and where their education, writing skills, maturity level and knowledge are fairly consistent.

There is also the issue that BOL is trying to offer a good product to as broad of a brush as possible, while also trying to maintain a common denominator of interests involving compliance, security, consumer issues and CRA, audit, risk management, etc.

What makes any site succesful over the long term is value, quality contributions and input, and professionalism.

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#216609 - 07/28/04 03:36 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
COMPLIcated Offline
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,035
OK
Quote:

I will not disagree with you folks. Suffice to say, one of the elements of the BOL Watercooler is a "place to blow off steam."



And the other element is to have fun so let's just keep the steam blowing separate from the fun. If a fun thread sparks a tangent then just start a new post with that as the subject. The truth is that once I start reading a fun thread and get bogged down in the first 2-3 threads of a tangent starting I just leave it and don't take the time to wade through it to see if we get back on track later. It's kind of a shame for the original poster too who loses out on some responses.

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#216610 - 07/28/04 03:49 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Snowqueen Offline
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dreaming of a warm beach......
Hey Pizzaz...I have to agree with you. Some of the posts get to be such heated debates and attacks against people. That bum's me out too!

I try to respect everyone's view on certain topics. I believe quite awhile ago a very frequent poster stated that politics and religion shouldn't be discussed because of the heated topics and the personal attacks. Lately, it seems like every topic is heated and all the "anons" posting such strong argumentive posts gets to be quite annoying.

Have a great day! Maybe a chat at the poolside bar is on the menu for today!!! Yo, bartender.............

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#216611 - 07/28/04 03:51 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
P*Q Offline

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Hey Snowqueen, I'll head over with you. Can't take the hostility anymore......

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#216612 - 07/28/04 03:54 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
La. Lady Offline
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Posts: 1,873
I have to agree with you guys....and at the same time, I am sorry for posting some of the question that I asked.....Whether or not BOLers were going to see 9/11....and also the post on whether the Democratic and Republican conventions were relevant anymore.........Both have caused quite a stir.....I should have known better..Sorry again....

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#216613 - 07/28/04 03:57 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
P*Q Offline

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P*Q
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Go 4 It, you should not be apologizing. Asking simply whether someone was going to see a particular movie should not spark all of this debate and argument. And again, same for your conventions post. There is a polite way to post your thoughts/opinions without slamming someone or being overly sarcastic and you should not apologize for posting a topic. What ruins these threads is when one person slams someone and that starts the tangents and then everyone starts slamming everyone or people "gang up" on others and that is why I steer clear of them now.

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#216614 - 07/28/04 03:58 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Deena Offline
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Quote:

Hey gang:
I've purposely for the most part, stayed out of any of the political threads or the other ones considered "hot buttons" because I normally use BOL for banking related issues. (I know some anon will go in and do a search on my posts to see if I'm telling the truth and then post that my statement is a lie )but really, why do some of us have to get so hot under the collar and start spewing venom at other BOLers for no fathomable reason whether it's because someone chooses to voice thier opinion or they happen to spell a word wrong, whatever. I haven't spent as much time on BOL these days because it's becoming a little discouraging when it seems more of the posts are a pi$$ing contest between everyone and who can get the last word in and frankly I don't enjoy the forums as much as I used to. Don't get me wrong, I still find the majority of my banking related questions/answers here on BOL and yes, I still hang at Cleabatsu's occasionally but that's about it. Why can't we all be adults and post/respond in an adult-like manner. Now, all of that being said, let the attacks against me begin.




AMEN - and please don't take that as a cue to start a religious discussion!
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#216615 - 07/28/04 03:59 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
P*Q Offline

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LOL Deena!!!!

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#216616 - 07/28/04 04:04 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
DawgFan Offline
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I haven't posted as much lately, either. The primary reason is that I need less time in the Watercooler and more time putting my nose to the grindstone . I don't mind debating political and cultural issues, but they mostly end up going in circles at some point or they get personal. Now, debating NCAA football isn't a problem for me at all!

In any case, have a good one folks. I am going to remove my nose from the grindstone now and take a couple of days off.

(I hope someone here knows the expression "putting your nose to the grindstone", it was one my mother used to use, I don't know where she got it or why in the world anyone would want to put their nose to a grindstone).
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#216617 - 07/28/04 04:56 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Retired DQ Offline
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Quote:

(I hope someone here knows the expression "putting your nose to the grindstone", it was one my mother used to use, I don't know where she got it or why in the world anyone would want to put their nose to a grindstone).





Hmmm... now that could start a controverial thread!

J/K...

I am still going with Ken/Pegasus' "Why can't we all get a longneck?"
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#216618 - 07/28/04 05:27 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
RVFlyboy Offline
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Quote:

I hope someone here knows the expression "putting your nose to the grindstone", it was one my mother used to use, I don't know where she got it or why in the world anyone would want to put their nose to a grindstone




Here you go:

In the milling of flour in old mills, the fineness of the grind is determined by the separation between the two grinding stones. If the stones are too far apart, the flour is coarse. Too close, and heat builds up and can burn the flour. The most diligent millers, who produced the finest flour, learned to close the gap down until they could just smell the flour browning, then ease the stones apart enough to prevent burning. This required constant attention and much effort to keep the stones aligned at this optimum distance. Hence the origin of the expression, "Keep your nose to the grindstone," to mean for someone to pay close attention to what they are doing and to work hard.
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#216619 - 07/28/04 05:52 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
HMS Pippii Offline
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snorkeling in warm, clear wate...
I agree - I used to think the Watercooler was a fun place to get a quick, enjoyable break. Not lately (with the exception of a few threads). I don't object to healthy political or theological debate, but I object to people hiding behind the ANON fort and throwing grenades. Presumably we're all adults at this point or we wouldn't be here, right? Seems like it just changes the name-calling to different words. Have to admit, I've learned a few new words, I remember why I stay out of political debates with people I don't know, and at this point, I still respect the banking opinions of a few posters but no longer respect them based on their treatment of other posters and that's pretty sad
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#216620 - 07/28/04 06:00 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
P*Q Offline

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Quote:

I still respect the banking opinions of a few posters but no longer respect them based on their treatment of other posters and that's pretty sad


My sentiments exactly and I agree, it's pretty sad.

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#216621 - 07/28/04 06:55 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Anonymous
Unregistered

Quote:

Have to admit, I've learned a few new words.





This is a good thing. You can learn, or you can spend all of your time paying insincere accolades to marginal posters who discuss frivolty. By learning and expanding your career substratum, you develop as a person, as a writer, as a leader...and as a banker.

One day I was shown some of our bank's board minutes, letters and memoranda from the 1930s and 1940s. Many of the bankers back then were only high school graduates, at best, but their writing style and grammar was flawless. Today, there are many college graduates in banking who are unequipped to write convincingly.

If you've learned a new word, then that's better than being absorbed in other silliness.

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#216622 - 07/28/04 06:55 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Tink Offline
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#216623 - 07/28/04 09:36 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
TTC Queen Offline
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,119
Oklahoma
I agree with you. I have not been involved in the BOL Threads very long, but even I have seen a distict difference since I became a BOLer. My mother always told me "Never discuss politics, religion or personal finance with family or friends, because you might not have either family or friends left after the discussion." For that very reason, I stay out of the those topics and the topics that turn into those types of discussions. I cannot for the life of me understand why posters feel the need to get ugly to other posters.

I believe BOL Threads are great for sharing information and getting help from other bankers. I hope all of you still feel like sharing with those who do not want to participate in the "ugliness". I don't mean just me--I think there are quite a few BOLers who feel the same way. I have noticed a distinct difference in who is posting and who has maintained a silence that used to be positively contributing to a discussion.
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#216624 - 07/28/04 09:59 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
HappyGilmore Offline
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Pulling people out of the ditc...
As someone who is fairly new to this site, you will never see me attack. However, you will see me defend and/or repel attackers. I find it funny when people spout rhetoric they heard elsewhere and try and make it their own. It is too easy to point this out.

And having had my ass kicked by Bob Barker, you know why...
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#216625 - 07/28/04 11:10 PM Re: Can't we all just get along?
Cowboys Fan Offline
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Quote:

Quote:

I still respect the banking opinions of a few posters but no longer respect them based on their treatment of other posters and that's pretty sad


My sentiments exactly and I agree, it's pretty sad.




That sums it up for me too. There was a time when I would post in the Watercooler for fun or to ask for help. Now I analyze every word and wonder if I'll be confronted for not agreeing with the majority or using incorrect grammar. Geez, I can call my mom if I want that on a daily basis.
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