Why can't we have negative threads?

[garfield_cadets]

garfield_cadets plops on couch with popcorn.....hope I haven't missed too much yet! ROFL

[bawker]

In order for improve upon yourself in your job, your relationships, your horn...and, well, pretty much anything in life, you have to able to take a measure of criticism. No one person or thing is infalliable.

Just as in any other activity, we have our bad spots. We have artistic issues, where sometimes programming is above kids heads. We have personal issues, where people just don't get along in the activity. And, we have criminal activity, where things like abuse of power can lead to some uncomfortable situations.

In order to look at the activity as whole, all of these must be taken into account. It's disingenious to look at drum corps with rose colored glasses ( the"rah rah" syndrome) as much as it is to decry the death of it every day. Neither viewpoint takes into account the myriad issues we have within the activity...it's similiar in some ways to political parties in the United States, where a few people can paint an entire group as wrong-headed.

As an unbiased news source (and that may or may not be true, I'm not privy to DCP's inner workings, but it's what I understand it to be), there is a responsibility to keep threads of both kinds alive and well here, and to generate discussion from them.

That doesn't mean there needs to be a "Corps X sucks" thread, or "Director Y is a #########" one, but there does need to be ample discussion of "What were the design issues with Corps X" and "Is corps Y really a good environment to be in?"

I think it's easy to get keyboard courage sometimes and overblow the issue. I've done it a few times, as have we all. It's hard to reign in something you're passionate about, but the way things are phrased can often times lead conversation astray.

Regardless, in order to have a understanding of things, you have to look at it from all sides. Whether it be a celebration of how great a show is, or why a corps has finanical problems, to whether or not changes in the activity are in its best interest...all have a place in the discussion.

Otherwise, this place just becomes a mouthpiece for DCI/DCA, and we lose all hope of trying to really accomplish DCP's "Inform. Support. Connect." mantra George issued back in 2002.

People should have nothing to fear from constructive criticism here, no matter who you're a homer for. No one who posts here truly hates all of the drum corps acitvity, or else they wouldn't have bothered to even come here in the first place (obvious trolls excpeted).

I say create those negative threads, and post those negative thoughts. Let the mods sort it out, if need be. If you have a problem with a post or thread, bring it to a mods attention. More often than not, though, if it's presented in a manner that invites discussion, things will work themselves out.

Edited February 27, 2006 by bawker

[MaxwellNotes]

Man I hate threads like these. They suck and they're always so god-awful negative. They just don't do anything for me.

hehhehheh B)

:P

[jwillis35]

When it comes to whether negative threads are allowed, I would first say that not all negative threads or posts have been banned from this forum. There is plenty of negativity or criticism, so I am not sure that this is a valid concern.

Sure, from time to time a post or two has to be removed, perhaps because it goes too far. Some posts are not negative, but more angry, hateful, and mean-spirited. To make matters worse, some people complain and whine about situations or people, and they do it in a very harmful way, yet they have relatively few facts on the situation. Opinions are important, and I have never seen a situation where one person has been told to NOT give their opinion on this forum. How they give it is, and always will be, the important thing.

There are those that always seem to be whining and crying about something. They are the minority here, but it sometimes seems to me that they never have a good day, or that DCI can do nothing right, and that they have all the answers and everyone else is wrong, and so they _ _ itch, whine, cry, moan, and insult in order to make their point. They come across as sounding immature, less educated, selfish (because everything has to be their way), and sometimes it seems they are trying to dig up dirt on corps or people in order to be harmful. There is a difference between offering opinion in a constructive way, with a mix of your point of view, facts, and theories, and acting like a 3-year old who does yet understand how to share his toys or to accept that others like different aspects of this art form.

Very simply, most of what I see on here is all good. I enjoy it. I love the debate and I think it has been helpful to me. I love to hear what all of you have to say. That the best part of this forum (that and reading reviews in the summer). For me, it's just the ultra negative, selfish, mean-spirited posts that bother me. But I suppose we have all been there. I know I have!

Jonathan

[Jeff Ream]

True, but at the same time, we have folks who will misinterpret even neutral comments as negative and snap back. I put a post out last year wondering when the last time neither SCV or BD finished in the top 3. It was as innocent as can be -- if anything it was complimentary of those orgs pointing out their long successful history. The immediate first response was along the lines of "Here we go with another SCV, BD hater happy that they are doing worse." I try very hard to be constructive in any post I write, but responses like that make it difficult to say anything short of "X is great, Y is great, Z is great."

yep. in this time of Ultra PC, anything can and will be taken out of context and made an issue.

[Matthew]

Sometimes I feel so emotional about a subject, that I just cant begin to try to be constructive, because my thoughts are just going all over. I feel this way right now about something, so I will be using the private message feature a lot tonight! :)

[xelanosa]

to answer your question...it's because many drum corps fans need to lighten up.

simple as that...