3402 Good Karma

"nice things written again"

You must be a fan of the Ryanair baggage threads :) :)

I keep getting this feeling I have missed so much :(. Sounds like this forum used to be like the Tuesday Matinee at the Colosseum. :rolleyes:

.....more like Widow Twankey in the Tuesday matinee!
:D

Was it on Tuesdays that they threw the Christians to the Lions? :)

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]
After an Easter break I came back to this forum to find quite a few [I]regulars [/I]missing.Now I know why and if its the case they've been kicked off I think thats dispicable...each one had a real contribution to make.Who wants to read an endless stream of bland nothingness with absolutely no personal comments expressed.I LOVED THE 'OLD' FORUM.

sweetpeg you may want live on a planet of 'sweetness and light' but some of us prefer a less sticky environment! Other nationalites may find it hard to appreciate the British SOH as expressed by folks like [I]Ailena[/I] and [I][I]Wistful [/I]Thinker[/I] but it relies heavily on [B]IRONY[/B].I'm putting it in capitals so people can look it up in their dictionaries coz clearly some dont know the meaning of it!!!

If I get booted off too after these comments ciao tutti!

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

[QUOTE=manopello][FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]
After an Easter break I came back to this forum to find quite a few [I]regulars [/I]missing.Now I know why and if its the case they've been kicked off I think thats dispicable...each one had a real contribution to make.Who wants to read an endless stream of bland nothingness with absolutely no personal comments expressed.I LOVED THE 'OLD' FORUM.
Becky[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Calm down girl, time to go to your happy place again Becky;) I get the impression sweatpea was talking about a while ago.

Mark

[QUOTE=manopello][FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]
After an Easter break I came back to this forum to find quite a few [I]regulars [/I]missing.Now I know why and if its the case they've been kicked off I think thats dispicable...each one had a real contribution to make.Who wants to read an endless stream of bland nothingness with absolutely no personal comments expressed.I LOVED THE 'OLD' FORUM.

sweetpeg you may want live on a planet of 'sweetness and light' but some of us prefer a less sticky environment! Other nationalites may find it hard to appreciate the British SOH as expressed by folks like [I]Ailena[/I] and [I][I]Wistful [/I]Thinker[/I] but it relies heavily on [B]IRONY[/B].I'm putting it in capitals so people can look it up in their dictionaries coz clearly some dont know the meaning of it!!!

If I get booted off too after these comments ciao tutti!

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Quite a few of the regulars left because of all the bickering and squabbling that was going on here. Hopefully if things continue to stay pleasant here they might return.

Humour was one thing, some people were downright rude, antagonistic and destructive to the community that has been created here. To my knowledge no one was banned though, those that left did so of their own accord.

Let's not start again!

........."he's behind you!"
..................."oh, no he isn't!"

[QUOTE=tuscanhills]Let's not start again!

........."he's behind you!"
..................."oh, no he isn't!"[/QUOTE]

"Oh, yes he is!"

Sorry...tried...not...to...answer....not...possible...must...be....part...of...my....genes

got to go and say "Booooo" to someone now

Becky,

Nobody's been banned... yet. And hurling accusations without definite knowledge doesn't help either, I'm afraid.

I'm sure most of us know what 'irony' means, but if it turns into sarcasm & nastiness, then that's a completely different story!

I know of one member who's sadly left of his own accord due to all the bickering. Others were on holidays and not everyone gets online while away from home.

As said before - there's nothing wrong with friendly banter but in some cases this turned to nasty accusations, which we can all do without. We don't take sides in such disputes, as you seem to suggest by quoting 2 members who are incidentally on the same side, but treat both sides the same!

Don't forget - there's 2 sides to every story!! :)

Cheers,
S

Becky,
Just to sling in my two pennorth, several people left because they did'nt like the bickering and ego fuelled nastiness, and, I daresay that some people will leave because they don't like the bland niceness, I guess you take and make your own decisions...

Calm down every body the first lady is still around, was online before as for captain tinks he is up there inspecting new planets in his spaceship , however one particular member is having problems trying to respond to a thread other than that, every thing is normal:)

I always take the view that I can filter out the ego fuelled nastiness, by just ignoring it and thinking "nowt to do with me"; have a chuckle at some good one liners; and read the informative messages.
I have a feeling that one or two rather important absent members, certainly not of the ego fuelled variety have - hopefully temporarily - deserted because they consider the forum to have become a bit of a nanny state...imposing bland niceness.

[QUOTE=Relaxed]I always take the view that I can filter out the ego fuelled nastiness, by just ignoring it and thinking "nowt to do with me"; have a chuckle at some good one liners; and read the informative messages.
I have a feeling that one or two rather important absent members, certainly not of the ego fuelled variety have - hopefully temporarily - deserted because they consider the forum to have become a bit of a nanny state...imposing bland niceness.[/QUOTE]

I wish I could say that you have taken the words right out of my mouth, but you have put it far better than I ever could.

I must of been dreaming. Too bad for me:( Sorry I brought it up.

Peggy

I always adore flattery - but this is overdone - I have a sneaky suspicion that you write for a living :)

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]Sorry.
I knew when I posted that some people would be offended.I am a pretty confrontational person in 'real life' if you know what I mean! Not like you I would say sweetpeg so no offense intended.

I don't like the very [B]personal [/B]and nasty attacks that rear up once in a few months and I've been the subject of one or 2 myself, but I also like it when we get some humour and banter.Those of use who were witness to the 'Abruzzo is Puglia without the toilets' (yes we were all puzzled then too) thread sometimes look back with a chuckle and a bit of nostalgia!

Anyway I'm sure some more gobby (opinionated) types like myself are at this moment waiting in the wings ready to stir things up a bit!

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

I have just noticed you "Would love to live in Siena"! Great choice of location - are you working towards making it a reality!

Sorry your Karma got a bit messed up - though I think Mark, tuscanhills and I were in a good aura. :) :)

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Hi

Despite some member's assertions there [B]are[/B] people who previously posted funny,ironic,[B]very useful [/B]and yes sometimes a bit sarcastic posts on this forum who have been banned.

Why haven't those who did the 'banning' stated this is the case? Some of us may have been wondering where these people had disappeared to and got a bit concerned in case of ill health or an accident ...now I know having logged on to expats in Italy!

The only time that I've ever read anything truly upsetting and distrubing on this forum was about 6 months ago when some really personal comments were being hurled at one member by (I suspect )a banned person.

I have heard that its now considered cool among some kids in Britain to have an asbo and they are even being traded on ebay! Perhaps Italy mag could issue their own version of this and it may become a status symbol of certain middle class types?

Ciao ....dont all leave at once

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

Becky,
at the time the original post was made, no one had been banned, however, circumstances dictated that a ban was necessary, the banned poster was informed by the administrator as per the rules, and the matter will remain private so far as the Forum is concerned.

Having looked at the expat forum and read Ailenna's posting I can only say that my suspicions regarding she who must not be named are absolutely right. Is it fair and correct then that our friend Ailenna has been barred whilst the drama queen seems perfectly able to post whatever she likes.

Having worked in the courts system there is a name for such people who just like the thrill of issuing proceedings and who hope to profit by causing mayhem wherever they pop up - they are known as vexatious litigants - vexatious being the operative word!!

Jackie

Hi Jackie

There are various names in our little red book of people whose posts we are watching very carefully... so the person you mentioned can't just post as she pleases either.

Just in case I keep repeating myself... here it is again: We're not taking sides! If a certain member is banned, its due to extensive & continuing trouble-stirring. Sadly this has now had to happen...

Cheers,
S :)

I think that this police state that has been created is ridiculous and rather sad. We are after all adults.

Its hard to see how this forum could ever return to be the fun that it once was - especially now that Aliena is banned. Those of us who know a bit more about the Umbria story (and its all out in the open now in expatsinitaly.com) wouldn't have chosen to pick on Aliena in this way.

This post probably won't be deemed to be "appropriate" and therefore will never be seen ;), but if it is, does anybody agree that the forum should be more for its "members" in that they should have some say in whether certain people are allowed in or not? Personnally I wouldn't see anybody "banned", unless they were persistently doing immoral/illegal/obscene or otherwise did consistently unpleasant things. I might not like some people or posts on this forum, but so what. I'm sure some feel the same about me and my posts, but so what. No one is forcing you to read it. :)

So anybody want to open a vote on the subject?

Glad the good karma is still 'out there'!

Now, let's build on it & "feel the love" :D

Hi Stephanie

I am sure that your job as mediators is one that few of us would like to take on - you need the wisdom of Soloman and at times must feel like exhausted parents dealing with recalcitrant children - you have to make decissions which are not going to please everyone or even anyone a la " you can please some of the people" etc.

This forum is a great area to learn about Italy and it's lifestyle and we have found it a font of knowledge when it came to buying our own property. We have also enjoyed the lively debate and made some good contacts. - Manopello don't think that you are the only beligerant member - we obviously sing from the same choir sheet!!

It is right and proper that some threads are closed but is banning some contributors the answer? Actually the answer is yes as if I hear a certain person bemoaning how life has dealt her a bum deal one more time I will scream. GET OVER IT. Life is hard but you just have to deal with it like the rest of us.

Well done mediators - keep up the good work

Jackie

[QUOTE=jackie C]Hi Stephanie

I am sure that your job as mediators is one that few of us would like to take on - you need the wisdom of Soloman and at times must feel like exhausted parents dealing with recalcitrant children - you have to make decissions which are not going to please everyone or even anyone a la " you can please some of the people" etc.

This forum is a great area to learn about Italy and it's lifestyle and we have found it a font of knowledge when it came to buying our own property. We have also enjoyed the lively debate and made some good contacts. - Manopello don't think that you are the only beligerant member - we obviously sing from the same choir sheet!!

It is right and proper that some threads are closed but is banning some contributors the answer? Actually the answer is yes as if I hear a certain person bemoaning how life has dealt her a bum deal one more time I will scream. GET OVER IT. Life is hard but you just have to deal with it like the rest of us.

Well done mediators - keep up the good work

Jackie[/QUOTE]

So am i to understand aliena has left? well if its true, then with johns absent
as well, 2 of the most informed ITALIANS have been shafted..

This forum has now lost two members that REALLY understud the heart
and soul of Italy, and the fact that sano too is taking a break! makes the
forum a worse place for all.

It really does not matter if you agreed with them all or any of the time,there
imput was essentual to making this forum a balanced and well informed site.

Life is not always rosey, nor are the people all the time,and we have now lost
to people who could really give advice on Italy and all things Italian.

HOW ON EARTH CAN THAT BE GOOD MODERATING?

giovanni - this is supposed to be the "nice" cuddly thread! :) :)

Hop over into the circolo to get the low down on Aliena - it will be pretty obvious from the thread title where you should look - and you will find a lot of people agreeing with your point of view.

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Hi there Giovanni

I am pretty mad about all of this and glad I'm not the only one.Agree with everything you say.

If people don't want to read [B]frank[/B] and [B]honest [/B]discussions peppered with irony and a bit of humour find another forum.Don't ruin this one.

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

I (personally) think this discussion should be continued in the circolo, where hopefully we can batter out a mod free zone! Seems a shame to be disturbing the Karma here :)

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]These things can get a bit obsessive so I'm now going to shut up and concentrating on b........g my geometra for not replying to my emails while trying to figure out if I've done the right calculations for my ICI!!!

Until next time.....ciao

Becky[/SIZE][/FONT]

I've been reading the responses and how do I write this so it sounds eloquent and where it doesn't sound as though I'm "bashing" anyone; This is exactly what was happening not too long ago and I guess when I wasn't reading all the post. Then when one (me) writes that it's nice to have "good Karma" on the forum, then snide sarcastic remarks are made instead of just being appreciative that someone said something positive, all the negativity has to come out. It has nothing to do if someone knows the meaning to a word, or understands "British sense of humor" it was a positive heartfelt comment and those of you who can't seem to find positive things in your life have to be negative and take a comment in a whole different direction. My feelings were not hurt, I will still post/or not, I still feel as if there is good karma out there, but for heaven sakes can't some of you just get over yourself and see the nice things and helpful comments about what someone writes, or do you have to always have that sarcastic moment or as one comment "sense of humor"? I know good sense of humor whether it be from the UK or in the United States, some of you... not so funny. There said my peace, sure there will be some really negative comments, but I needed to say it. I'm not "Pollyanna", but there are just so many positive things to see and read I felt as though I needed to address the positive and not the negative, but as with some people, they only see the negative or dwell on what was, or who got kicked off, or who left...

Peggy

If indeed, Aliena has been banned, I will miss her informative and helpful advice. I hope that the others that have been banned are not also ones that have offered so much insightful advice. What about an amnesty for them all?
While I don’t wish to support mean spirited postings, I do feel that those with experience that is helpful for those of us either new to living in Italy or wanting to live in Italy is what is truly important. We need as many people as possible who have experience living in Italy as ex-pats or who are Italian.
I think Nataio on another link put it best (and excuse me for misquoting you) by comparing it to a family. And who can hurt or disappoint you more than your family. He said something like this – there’s the batty aunt, the grumpy grandfather the disruptive teenager, etc. and yes, that’s it. While I don’t look forward to being personally insulted, I think we should let things pass. Maybe this is modern humour? I think that many of the “nasties” actually thought they were being ironic only irony needs the vocal inflection and facial expression to work, on paper it’s flat and mean. Irony seems to be greatly misunderstood by the writer and apparently the reader.
I notice that quite a few are mislead in thinking that to be entertaining you must be provocative or nasty to be interesting. How sad. It must be reality TV’s influence. True wit (which I lack unfortunately but appreciate) is never misunderstood or out of fashion.
While I have been shocked at the attacks of some of the postings – one against a woman who had obviously had a very bad experience – I would still like to see some form of amnesty for our emotional uncensored but informative former members. Of course the site is very helpful and it is up to the owners to decide but if I have a vote, I would vote for the return of our banned brothers and sisters.
Although I don’t look forward to personal attacks, I think we all must just ignore things that we don’t like and maybe if when a member says something mean, if enough of us just say “hey, that was uncalled for,” the bullies would temper their posts. No one likes to be treated badly and there is nothing wrong or boring about being nice or polite. But please consider re-instating the banned members. If we are to be a family, we will all be different but that’s life.
sarah
sorry this is soooooooo loooooong! I await the attacks!

[CENTER][CENTER][COLOR=black]It's a good post Sarah but the problem is deep rooted because the situation was allowed to happen in the first place, even supported, so very difficult to back track. A bit like letting a child run riot and then telling them off for bad behaviour. Also very difficult if the adult doing the telling off is not so well behaved either. Like an adult smoker telling their child off for smoking, if ya get what I mean.[/COLOR][/CENTER]
[CENTER][COLOR=black] [/COLOR][/CENTER]
[CENTER][COLOR=black]This is a family and we have to just get on with it, the good and the bad. Aliena is the only member banned as far as I am aware, others have left under their own free will, which is a shame that anyone has left because as you say they all had their valuable contribution but hey kids leave home and come back again sometimes.[/COLOR][/CENTER][/CENTER]

Having read swetpegs latest post,i too believe good karma is important.

so heres a shorty on all things italain.

when you finally move to italy, don't worry about it everything will be ok from
start to finish.

The sun will shine, the move will be perfect, the neighbours will understand
whatever langauge you speak.

Whatever builders or plumbers you may need, don't worry they will start and
finish on time. Whatever price you are quoted to start with, will be honoured.

If you need to use a property agent,then its fine to use whichever or whoever
you like,because you will have no problems,everything will be alright.

Wherever you choose to live, is of no importance as it will be alright,so don't
worry,everything will be ok, as the country is full of good karma.

Infact on second thoughts,why do we bother to ask for advice or opinions,as
with so much good karma, what could possibly go wrong!!!!!!!!!!!

Giovanni - with respect - I think you are quite misunderstanding sweetpeg. I do not think she is looking at Italy through rose coloured spectacles, but she is saying be optimistic about life - if a small problem arises address it with understanding, and friendliness, rather than calling in the lawyers.

I agree that a lot of people come to Italy having given very little consideration to anything at all, and - of course - they find themselves in difficulties.

But in my experience the people who have the same open attitude as sweetpeg get into many less problems than those who arrive with a powerful and aggressive attitude - and there are, unfortunately, plenty of people who bring this attitude with them. It is their fault (or because of their arrogance and know it all posing) that they get into difficulties. No one is keen on helping types like that. They are just stupid.

Thanks Trullo for your explanation. If the "parents" did indeed "encourage" and then got upset, that's too bad.
I look forward to learning more from all of you and to continue to get your good advice. I also hope to find somewhere to live in Liguria!
sarah

Sarah, I'm sure with all the advice from here you will find a beautiful home in Liguria. :)