I suspect I've been pretty much cancelled here. Have you cancelled me?

[TooPatient]

Interesting question.... if someone has you on ignore, can they see this post and poll? I have no idea how that all works as I don't ignore anyone here!

 

[Rockdiamond]

I’ve enjoyed so many of your posts Kenny. Somehow we’ve never “hit it off”……I regret that because I enjoy participating on PS with you.

 

[nala]

I don’t put anyone on ignore. I have a thick skin—I am a public high school teacher, after all. I do think I have had my share of disagreements with many here bc I am not a people pleaser. It isn’t that I always have to be right, lol, but that if I don’t try to know why I am
wrong—then what’s the point?
I do like the sense of community we have here but I don’t forget that many are still strangers who have zero impact on my daily life.

 

[kenny]

Thanks all.
I guess lately it's just quiet here.

 

[Betty Baguette]

I'm on and off PS. Sometimes off for so long that I forget all my login info and have to start fresh.

Lately I've been off because it's gotten kinda boring, with no interesting debates, or even polite discussions. There are SO MANY things that are happening in the world in general, and in the U.S. in particular, that are almost never talked about on PS. These are events that could be life changing for all of us in the very near future.

Are these discussions avoided because they might devolve into a political argument? Are they too depressing? Are some folks just unaware of them? Or do they think they won't be affected negatively by them?

Personally I think most topics can be discussed without directly inserting political parties or religion. That said, I think PS does lean a certain way politically. And members who lean the other way might have stopped visiting. That's too bad. There are so many highly intelligent, highly educated people here from both sides of the aisle, unlike in many other discussion forums.

Just my rambling two cents.

 

[telephone89]

I don't have anyone on ignore. What fun would that be!

 

[telephone89]

This, and I just read some very interesting news about the Freedom movie that just came out that I wanted to share...only to find that thread closed because, reasons. If anyone is interested: it's about one of the funders being charged with exactly what you think.

Quelle surprise! I saw the same thing and sent a req for Ella to reopen it. We'll see if it happens.

 

[AdaBeta27]

Thanks all.
I guess lately it's just quiet here.

It *is* quiet here compared to the heady days of early 2000s to 2009 or so. Activity in all these Pricescrop forums has dropped off immensely. Not that may people post what new rings or diamonds they've bought. This place used to be hard to keep up with. Not anymore. I never put you on Ignore. I sometimes find your posts not my cup of tea, but I'm fully capable of backing out or scrolling by anything that disinterests or accidentally offended me. lol

 

[musicloveranthony]

I appreciate you asking this, really. I have a feeling you aren't the only person who has wondered why you aren't receiving engagement

 

[Calliecake]

@kenny, I haven‘t cancelled you or have you on ignore. I enjoy reading your posts. Everytime something big happens (like what happened yesterday) I think of you, @smitcompton, @Demon, @Matata and @ItsMainelyYou and wonder what everyone’s opinions are.

@ItsMainelyYou, I just looked it up. Wow. On second thought, I‘m really not all that surprised.

 

[AGBF]

I don't have you on ignore. I've never ignored anyone. But I think once, many years ago, you had me on ignore.

I'm pretty sure you took me off ignore and that we spoke before I started to spend most of my time elsewhere. For the past three years I have been spending most of my time on a forum that allows discussion of topics that are no longer allowed here, however.

I will always be attached to Pricescope and I mourn the loss of DF and Andrey. I am glad that I have some good friends here who stay in touch and keep me apprised of important events if I fall out of touch. You will always be a part of Pricescope, kenny.

 

[Starstruck8]

I don't ignore anyone, least of all you, Kenny - I just refrain from commenting on posts (from anyone) to which I have nothing constructive to add. This is the vast majority of posts on any topic.

There are any number of other forums for people who like flame wars that change no one's opinion. Also for self-selected groups who like to cheer their own side and boo the other. There are a few forums that support civil discussion on controversial issues. But maintaining this requires moderation. It's just not reasonable to expect the moderators of what is primarily a jewellery forum to provide this.

Now to stir up some controversy [my italics] ...

Personally I think most topics can be discussed without directly inserting political parties or religion. That said, I think PS does lean a certain way politically. And members who lean the other way might have stopped visiting. That's too bad. There are so many highly intelligent, highly educated people here from both sides of the aisle, unlike in many other discussion forums.

As an Aussie, unfamiliar with US politics, this has often puzzled me. Judging by the postings, PSers, almost to a woman, support abortion rights. (FWIW, I so do I.) But lots of US politicians evidently think there is mileage in opposing abortion. So lots of voters must think that way. Are PSers really so unrepresentative? Well, maybe. Being mostly women is of course relevant. Being richer than average (as one must be to make a hobby of jewellery) may also be relevant. But I can't help feeling that some PSers must be biting their tongues. Similar thoughts apply to some other topics that I won't mention explicitly.

 

[Petalouda]

The forums have all seemed to slow down with the exception of the Lab grown diamond forum, which seems to have quite a bit of activity. I do miss all the rings on SMTB that were posted frequently!

 

[pearlsngems]

No ignore list for me either. I haven't been on PS as much lately; I've been occupied with too many other things these days.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

dont be daft Kenny
why would i ever have you on ignore ?
you are way too interesting

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

HI:

No fun in ignoring people.

cheers--Sharon

i actually checked my account settings to make sure im not ignoring anybody incase i did it in error (im not)

 

[jordyonbass]

Did someone say something?

No cancelling or ignoring from me mate, when you disappeared for a period a little while ago I was a bit sad as our banter was always top notch - even if you thought you might have been sexually harassing me at one point

 

[LilAlex]

Of course not! You are a stalwart here and also a (constructive) pot-stirrer. I view you as a force for good! You are certainly opinionated and tend to speak in absolutes -- but your opinions themselves generally strike me as inoffensive and on the mark. As you have revealed more about your upbringing, I have viewed your posts through that lens. I was blessed with wonderful parents (who, nonetheless, still found me irritating or disappointing at various times, but managed to not make me feel small or worthless).

As a high poster, you may be more attuned to the drop in attention that (I think) all of our posts are seeing.

Vis-a-vis canceling, I have never blocked anyone here. I'm sure I have been blocked by a few. Fortunately, my memory for these things is not that great.

 

[dk168]

Not going to lie, I have 7 PSers on my Ignoring list, the OP is not one of them.

DK

 

[Avondale]

As an Aussie, unfamiliar with US politics, this has often puzzled me. Judging by the postings, PSers, almost to a woman, support abortion rights. (FWIW, I so do I.) But lots of US politicians evidently think there is mileage in opposing abortion. So lots of voters must think that way.

Abortion is a populist topic. It stirs passions and makes for a very public debate on which people looking to gain popularity can step on. It's not really a political topic, it's a medical one, and as such should be left to the professionals.

Actual politics should focus more on "big picture" subjects. How to run a country best so that its citizens prosper. Healthcare access, for example, is one such topic. Should healthcare be privatised entirely, as it currently is in the US? Should the state hold control over it, providing universal healthcare to all of its citizens? Should it be some form of blend between the two? Which option among all existing ones would provide the best for everyone?

But that's a boring debate. More so, it's a very complicated debate which requires no small amounts of qualification and understanding in order to be able to form a well-founded opinion.

So why bother with that complex and mentally taxing debate, when we (I mean politicians) can instead scream abortion off the top of our lungs and gain ten times the popularity? I honestly can't blame the people who choose not to participate in these discussions. They rarely lead to anything positive anyway, and I often prefer to abstain from them myself.

 

[Phoenix]

Never!

 

[Bonfire]

I don’t ignore anyone, what fun would that be?

 

[LilAlex]

I think it's new that people feel personnally attacked for holding abhorrent views whereas maybe before they would just think, "What's wrong with my view?" Now, they seem to just take bigger and bolder stands and fail to evaluate their own position critically.

I used to think capital punishment was fine -- fair and just. As an adult, I learned that none of our "peer" nations use it. I learned about how asymmetrically it is applied. I learned about the awful minority of law enforcement personnel who plant evidence or manipulate a report. I learned about our plea-bargaining system and about inequity in access to good counsel. I learned about the failure of new evidence to lead to re-visiting a verdict. I learned of folks coming off death row and even being acquitted based on the interventions of well-meaning strangers. I feel that I was wrong about capital punishment. In a perfect world, maybe there is some justice to it; in our terribly imperfect world, the odds of making a "mistake" are too high.

Non-politically speaking, it's fun to read the same news item side-by-side in, say, NYT and FOX. News item -- not opinion piece. One of the venues does not distinguish the two, which says something there. But if you can find two actually parallel news items, count the facts that are presented dispassionately. See who is interviewed for each story (is it a legislator or is it a disgruntled blogger or street rando?). See what graphic they each use. It is eye-opening.

I think DF's MO -- and I only saw a little -- was to engender the "Did he really mean that or is he just winding us up...?" duality. Few folks can conjure that now.

And, about the pandemic, in which the US endured at least a million more deaths than it should have, and with this excess based almost entirely on a vocal and energetic faction re-branding century-old tried-and-true public-health measures as fascism and unlawful abridgment of their rights, a lot of us are weary of willful ignorance masquerading as mere opinion.

 

[mrs-b]

I spend most of my time elsewhere discussing a broad range of topics including those that aren't permitted here. When I come here, I scan the discussions and usually find nothing to which I'd like to respond. PS has become an intellectual desert.

Sigh. I miss you.

 

[mrs-b]

Nope. Never had you on ignore, nor mentally 'cancelled' you.

I often think you're a pain in the neck.

I often agree vehemently with what you say.

Some of your more outlandish opinions exactly mesh with my outlandish opinions.

Some are diametrically opposed.

I think that's pretty true of everyone who knows what they think and verbalizes it.
So, whatever, y'know?

I used to care a lot about what people online thought of me. I saw them as real people and my interactions with them as genuine friendships. Then I had an OUTRAGEOUS bridge partner who cared not one iota what people thought of him. I learnt a lot from him, and learnt to see names and words on a page as just names and words on a page. Nothing more. I also remember one time when someone online was expressing how much they disliked me because I "always tried to get along with people and wanted people to like" me. I was gobsmacked by that, as what she saw as weak-willed and sycophantic, I saw as good manners and being a natural peacemaker. This happened in a scenario where I was eviscerated by a large online group with no way of responding. It felt like being tied to a tree naked, while people threw garbage at me. The hurt it caused was immeasurable.

From that day, I decided I wouldn't be so nice, since it was clearly not appreciated. People take the online scenario as an opportunity to say things they would NEVER have the balls to say face to face.

So now - I push back. You push me, I will push you back, with no fear at all. I'm also an absolute expert at not reading responses to what I write. If I think I've said something that might inflame others, or might give me pushback, 9 times out of 10 I just walk away. See, that's the benefit of being online - I don't have to read a damn word people write. Not. One. Word. And often, I don't.

In the final analysis, I've learnt not to care what you think of me. I only care what I think of you.

 

[kenny]

mrs-b, you rock.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Abortion is a populist topic. It stirs passions and makes for a very public debate on which people looking to gain popularity can step on. It's not really a political topic, it's a medical one, and as such should be left to the professionals.

Actual politics should focus more on "big picture" subjects. How to run a country best so that its citizens prosper. Healthcare access, for example, is one such topic. Should healthcare be privatised entirely, as it currently is in the US? Should the state hold control over it, providing universal healthcare to all of its citizens? Should it be some form of blend between the two? Which option among all existing ones would provide the best for everyone?

But that's a boring debate. More so, it's a very complicated debate which requires no small amounts of qualification and understanding in order to be able to form a well-founded opinion.

So why bother with that complex and mentally taxing debate, when we (I mean politicians) can instead scream abortion off the top of our lungs and gain ten times the popularity? I honestly can't blame the people who choose not to participate in these discussions. They rarely lead to anything positive anyway, and I often prefer to abstain from them myself.

this is one of the best posts i have seen in a long time, i could not have put it better myslef

 

[Mcgregor]

Mrs-b, I have met you in person and spent several lovely hours with you. You are warm, caring, polite, talented, extremely intelligent and humorously engaging. Don’t change a thing about yourself.

 

[Matata]

Don’t change a thing about yourself.

@mrs-b -- except your jewelry. Change your jewelry for the sake of those of us who haunt pre-loved

 

[Tonks]

Nope, @kenny not ignored or cancelled. I don’t always agree with you, but I appreciate your contributions to the forum.