Bad Reactions All Around

[venray]

Its all just a bad dream......its all just a bed dream.........its all just a bad dream.

Rob

Hmmmm a bad dream about Shemp is waht started Shempday to begin with so many years ago.....

 

[Fire_Sprite]

It can't be a bad dream. In my bad dreams I'm naked, spaced out, and standing in front of a crowd of people.


So far it's only 2/3.

 

[chicago]

I'm sorry Mairead but this is the most ridiculously overdramatic post I've seen all day in reference to this post.

Causing chaos? Really? They changed the logo and inserted the word shemp over certain language on the forum. Unlike last year's prank, no specific person was targeted and the forum was essentially open for business as usual with a couple very small cosmetic changes. Also, the fact that Shemp Day was upcoming had been discussed publicly in several instances recently. It really shouldn't have been that big a surprise.

Chaos: a state of extreme confusion and disorder.

Peoples personal accounts, PMs, and profiles were altered. There were many threads made by people were confused and many members who were pissed off about what happened. No matter the amount of time or the kind of changes, they do not need to affect all the members here. Hell, even if it affected me, I wouldn't mind as long as those who have no idea what this is about or who really do not want to be a part of it are not affected. No specific person was targeted this time, instead, the whole forum was affected. As for it being discussed publicly? There was one thread that I saw and I am a heavily active member. There was no other announcement and in that same thread, Shemp Day was not really explained and those involved denied anything was going to happen. Now, of course, you and me knew something was indeed "up" but other members may not have. Should they have taken "nothing is going to happen. There is no Shemp" as the opposite of what it meant?

You know perfectly well that the people that do the Shemp Day prank are the complete antithesis of trolls. They have created other useful sites in this community, do radio shows, run gatherings, etc... It's irresponsible to throw that kind of language when you know damn well its not true. These people aren't looking for attention simply for the sake of attention. They are members who give a lot to this community 364 days a year and on one day decide to have a little fun. But heck they messed with our precious forum, lets crucify the bastards.

If any other group of people had access to altering the forum in that way as to affect the entire forum, they would be banned. If any other group of people went around playing pranks and jokes on people and delighting in the negative responses, they would be deemed trolls. Some who do much less than that are called such. Whether they contribute or not outside of this instance, should not excuse the behavior today. They can have their fun in ways that don't affect all the members here. I'm not crucifying anyone. I'm calling it like it is. And again, like I said, I don't think Shemp Day needs to stop altogether, it just needs to be thought out differently in the future.

The prank was not exclusionary or cliquish, it was just a prank. The people that run the prank are not exclusionary because they don't run around asking more people to join in on the prank or give ideas for a prank. Too many cooks spoil the broth in situations like this. And they are not necessarily exclusionary for not pranking everyone equally. You don't prank strangers or lurkers the same way you do friends; you know the friends may be surprised or temporarily irritated, but they understand and laugh about it because they are friends.

The group of people that conducted this prank decided to exclude certain people from being involved, even very close friends, for no other reason than they were not there at the first one. Someone's feelings were hurt by it. That person has mentioned it already and I will not get into the details as that's up to said person if they want to share here. It looks like the broth was spoiled anyway. If my personal account was changed, or my personal signature or name, I wouldn't be upset unless I felt it was malicious. But friends and lurkers and strangers were all pranked alike this time. And that's what I don't like about it.

If you are irritated by pranks and don't like them, that's fine. No one says you have to. But if you or any other of the countless others who have bashed the Shempsters today actually ever went so far to boycott or retaliate, whatever that means, just know there will be a heck of a lot of people like me laughing at you folks for such a ridiculous overreaction.

Next year, either have a sense of humor about the minor interruption to your life or sit quietly and wait for regular programming to resume again imminently.

You have every right to laugh, just as I have to state my opinion on the subject. I have a perfectly fine sense of humor, but I can't play along with this one. To say anyone who doesn't find it funny has no sense of humor, is dumb.

 

[baldadonis]

Ok, Mairead. I'm not going to tell you that you are wrong for being upset with the prank. I'm certainly in agreement that the execution of these pranks has never been anywhere close to perfect, and if people have actually been hurt by this prank in any serious emotional way, not simply saying you are hurt because of the temporary inconvenience, than this is indeed unfortunate.

I guess as someone with an outsider perspective to this whole yearly tradition, it just appears to me that the reactions always seem a bit overblown for what actually has taken place.

Oh btw, don't misunderstand me to mean that if you didn't find the pranks funny you have no sense of humor. I didn't find the prank funny in the slightest this year. Again, I just don't get the overreaction from those that don't like the pranks. But I'm beginning to think I don't want to understand it anyway. I'll leave the issue to those it seems to concern more. Goodnight all.

 

[chicago]

The pranks in general do not bother me. What bothers me is that this has gone on three years now and two out of those three years, the forum was affected in such a way where members could not just go about their daily forum business. Not only that, but there was and is a big negative response to it and rather than try to compromise in some way, this behavior continues in much the same manner and that behavior is defended, at times encouraged. Sure, it wasn't as much as a clusterfuck as last year, which is good, but it doesn't need to affect all the members. No one cares if Shemp Day continues, but it can continue without altering the forum where people are unable to use the forum as they normally would. That's mainly what I've been trying to get across.

 

[Raya]

First of all, I am absolutely appalled at some of the reactions I have seen today, on both sides. The first "Shempfest" was an impromptu event with a group of friends having a bit to drink and a bit of time on our hands. There was NO negative feedback from anywhere on the forum, just some mild confusion and lots of wild guesses.

The following year we did nothing.

Last years ACF was an all out production that took much advanced planning. We were completely unprepared for the negative backlash from quite a few of the forum members, and do regret that it had as much of an affect on them as it did. Sadder still was the finger pointing and blame directed towards many members who had nothing whatsoever to do with the whole thing, with no effort whatsoever to determine the truth. Strangely enough, many still enjoyed the concept - if not the depth.

This year we made a concerted effort to not do anything that would directly target any specific members, as those targeted last year were unfairly blamed by many. We also aimed for a simple prank that would not cause any access issues for the duration. This included a simple header change, along with a word substitution. The word substitutions were up for a very short time indeed, as we had it taken down immediately when we became aware that it was affecting some links and access to certain areas of the forum.


What is absolute bullshit is the ongoing reaction from so many of you...

Mairead, I understand you being upset about last years prank, as you were one of the people who were wrongly blamed for the "major trauma" of two hours of downtime. Your reaction this year is so way over the top that I assume you are still angry about last years prank, and I for one, am sorry about how it affected you. I do ask you to understand that you are in no way helping the situation this year - if you ignored it this would have remained a 45 minute issue -- it's now dragged on for hours...

Adam - I have you on ignore. You have been nothing but a black hole of negativity all day. This is not gaining you friends of any duration - but you are getting attention, if that is what you seek. You simply won't have it from me.

Anyone else who seriously feels that this has been a major upheaval in your lives, I apologize for my part - but do ask you to understand that your own continued venting is the negative part of this event.. not the event itself. I assume you are all at least 18 years of age at this point - put 45 minutes into true perspective - and understand that anything you post at this point has nothing to do with Shemp or Shempfest.. you obviously have a lot of anger issues to deal with and we really don't want to be a part of it.

 

[chicago]

I admit, my reactions were harshly worded. I apologize. I have just gotten many PMs in the last two days about what was being planned and what was going on as some still believe I am one of the people involved. I was told last night, there would be nothing but the logo change.

I just see many people getting upset about it and if it was just one or two people, I would say, "Fuck it." But many are confused and bothered by what happened last year and this year. I think mainly people do not like their normal forum activities being interrupted. None of it is a big deal to me personally. I wasn't even on all day, but the reactions of people tells me that maybe the forum shouldn't be altered in that way anymore. I don't agree with a large group of being being confused or upset over something that should be light hearted and fun between a handful of friends.

I don't want Shemp Day to stop. I like what it is about. I don't like that there doesn't seem to be any compromise that we can come to on this.

 

[Big_Dogg85]

Talk about making a thread into a hornet's nest... post here and you're likely to get stung...X_X {God I hate wasps and hornets!!!}

Anywhosits I'll end my completely random interference to this negatively yet constructive thread by saying that in about 2-3 weeks I think this little debate, which in the grand scheme of life IMO I find to be very trivial, will and should probably be forgotten until next Shemp Day when it will be seen if it goes 4-4.

Peace

 

[venray]

As you were told, that was the only change that was to occur....it didnt...we fixed the error as quickly as possible and activities for a very small number of people were interupted for a miniscule amout of time..
Less time then when the forum goes down for maintenance....

And yet the bitching continues..

WE dont care....wrong...we do, but you choose not to listen or dismiss explanations of errors as excuses because you of course know better....

Believe what you like....bitch as much as you want...it is your right as it is mine to think you have overeacted to the extreme...but that is just my opinion.....

 

[chicago]

HDS explained to me today that a filter was put on the forum and the words "tickle" and "feet" were changed to "Shemp" including screen names and threads. Not just the logo. That is what I'm referring to.

Again, the pranks themselves do not bother me personally. But they did bother many people and the response of basically to just "get over it" is sad to me. I think there is a better way to execute Shemp Day in the future.

 

[venray]

Execute is the perfect word....

 

[chicago]

Alright, I see I am getting no headway here. I think we can come to a compromise on this, just maybe not right now. Hopefully next year, the pranks can become a bit more similar to those of the first year. There were no issues that year and many had fun with it. I see both sides of the coin here.

 

[venray]

There will be no next year as far as I am concerned.....not the get toether among friends ,,,just the forum stuff....wont even log in that weekend...

 

[chicago]

"There is no Shemp."

 

[meangry]

There will be no next year as far as I am concerned.....not the get toether among friends ,,,just the forum stuff....wont even log in that weekend...

Jesus fucking Christ.

Concede something.

I'll put it bluntly; if you folk want to try your hand at humor, it would be awesome if something actually funny transpired.

Now I can understand folk getting all bent out of shape when you have fire starters using this as an opportunity to swat the hornet's nest, but that's not the case. And you know what? I'm FUCKING SICK of seeing a good friend of mine getting shit on because she had the audacity to not go along with the echo chamber.

Because she dared use something called common sense.

I'm sorry, but you can't refute what she has to say. It's all valid. Completely valid. Especially when it involves using people as props.

If you can't admit that, then sorry, but you folk have no concept of reality.

 

[BlackestLily]

I didn't particularly wish to comment or be involved simply because I hold everyone here in a high regard and think it unwise of me to rock the boat in affairs of which I am uninvolved.

However, after reading through the thread and mulling things over from here, and in other threads, I agree with AnnieHall. Her opinion was very strongly worded, but none the less I agree with the message.

Shempday was cute, but if there are those hurt, feeling left out, or affecting those who don't wish to be part of said activities, perhaps it's better to tone it down a bit...? I know there are some very tech savvy members involved who I am positive can work through it and have everything come out beautifully in the end.

I say it to kids I teach. Joking is okay, but when someone is hurt, is it still worth it?

Everything will come out well in the wash, I'm sure. 🙂

 

[LD_Tickler]

I feel like this is one of those situations where "ought" and "should" become irrelevant. Should these jokes go on? Do people have a right to do these pranks? Should they be stopped from doing these pranks? It's the same with all the NEST posts every year.

Whether or not people have a right to do a certain thing, sometimes it's just not worth it...

 

[Lord Doctor]

What divides the forum is folks that dont know how to express an opinion and then move on...they beat a dead horse and try to stir others into a frenzy....

Folks were not ALLOWED to pay tribute to Michael Jackson after his death cause those that had a personal dislike for him would not respect others rights to feel differently and trashed all of the threads...

A few folks put a similar logo in their sigs and are branded a clique instead of people having fun with friends....

The forum is spoofed and 5 or 6 people out of 80,000 get pissy and just keep throwing it out there trying to get others worked up...

THAT is what divides folks...that and some who like to PM people to call them fucktards....

Fucktards? How'd I miss that expletive all my lives?!?

 

[milagros317]

In the end, all I have to say to the complainers is this:

If you don't like the prank, then log out and come back 24 hours later. It will be over. Get over it.

 

[c7_assassin]

In the end, all I have to say to the complainers is this:

If you don't like the prank, then log out and come back 24 hours later. It will be over. Get over it.

Exactly. I personally thought Shemp Day was hilarious. Bravo, you dashing clique of mystery men who pulled it off. 😉

Just a prank, guys. No need to get our panties in a twist.

 

[MaxSpeer]

A lot of folks who feel like they are outsiders say that: "feel like I'm on the outside looking in". Can you explain that a little more?

We're ALL on the outside looking in. People, we're mostly at home looking into a screen.

I've been here since day one and I don't even have 1000 posts while others who joined last year have so much more.

You each define your own level of participation!

 

[meangry]

In the end, all I have to say to the complainers is this:

If you don't like the prank, then log out and come back 24 hours later. It will be over. Get over it.

Doesn't work that way.

Way to totally miss the plot though.

 

[chicago]

The jokes can continue. As long as they don't affect people's normal activities on here and potentially negatively affect new members experience. People come here to learn about their fetish, to feel more secure about it, and you all just shat all over that. This is the top adult website on the internet, not your personal playground. I don't think it's unreasonable to say "Hey, can you guys do something a little different next time?" and instead of "We will definitely rethink things." or "We will take this into consideration," we get "Get over it" and basically an overall message of "we can do whatever the fuck we want. hahahahahahShemp!" It's not really funny anymore.

 

[meangry]

The jokes can continue. As long as they don't affect people's normal activities on here and potentially negatively affect new members experience. People come here to learn about their fetish, to feel more secure about it, and you all just shat all over that. This is the top adult website on the internet, not your personal playground. I don't think it's unreasonable to say "Hey, can you guys do something a little different next time?" and instead of "We will definitely rethink things." or "We will take this into consideration," we get "Get over it" and basically an overall message of "we can do whatever the fuck we want. hahahahahahShemp!" It's not really funny anymore.

It's because those folks cannot help but paint with the broad strokes of the past, when they were able to effectively deal with people this way.

It doesn't work like that anymore. Their constant statement of this? Is the glaring showing of elitism. And it is undeniable. It's just muddied by enough folks who think they are in on this who have some solipsistic investment as to who they are here that they have to chime in whenever possible.

 

[Morpheus72]

A good compromise for next year, if people still want this to happen, is to leave the PMs and profiles alone. Some feel more like those bits of forum-ville are more "theirs" and don't like them messed with.

FTR I don't mind the pranking itself. It would be nice if it was funnier in general, to more people. Then the reaction would have been more lukewarm, instead of so HOT.