Unwarranted escalation.

September 6, 2003 10:31 AM

Either my skin isn't thick and warty enough, or this place is merely for those into intellectual masturbation. I thought this comment was uncalled for in response to mine.

I don't feel like getting into the sandbox, and I haven't been to law judgement school. Next time I guess I'll just keep it to myself. /end vent
posted by yoga to Etiquette/Policy at 10:31 AM (65 comments total)

It wasn't the nicest way in the world to frame an objection, but if that's the limit of abuse you're willing to take, you're cheating yourself out of some venom-dripped retorts that will make "fuck yoga" seem like a compliment.
posted by rcade at 10:40 AM on September 6, 2003

That's pretty tame compared to what we usually expect to see called out on MeTa.

On preview: What rcade said.
posted by riffola at 10:42 AM on September 6, 2003

I read it as "Fuck, yoga," i.e., "Holy smokes, yoga," not "screw you yoga".
posted by timeistight at 10:47 AM on September 6, 2003

Fuck yoga, black and white worldview much?

Taken in context, it's hardly insulting. It's an expression of surprise/disgust. It could have been worded "Damn yoga,..." or even just "Wow yoga,..."

Fuck yoga, you need to relax.
posted by eyeballkid at 10:52 AM on September 6, 2003

"Can I get you something?"
"Chi, mo' fo buttuh layin' into the bone, 'sjackin' me up. Tightly."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"Cut he say can't hang."
posted by Stan Chin at 11:04 AM on September 6, 2003

er yeah the first one. I agree with tit, for a change.
posted by carfilhiot at 11:09 AM on September 6, 2003

so is it the use of profanity that bothers you, yoga?
posted by crunchland at 11:12 AM on September 6, 2003

This place is merely for those into intellectual masturbation.

I am master of my domain. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
posted by PrinceValium at 11:16 AM on September 6, 2003

my sandbox smells like cat turds.
posted by quonsar at 11:39 AM on September 6, 2003

my skin isn't thick and warty enough,
probably, yes

or this place is merely for those into intellectual masturbation
and it took you 13 months to figure that out?

comments like "fuck", "fuck you" et similia are childish, dumb and certainly a disgrace -- they make MetaFilter look like Usenet (and it's the worst thing you can do here)

but frankly, yoga, your "Depp doesn't owe any explanation at all. His analogy hits the bulls eye dead center. People who disagree don't want to admit he's right" comment wasn't exactly constructive or leading to polite discussion. definitely a little too tranchant
especially if you're a little thin-skinned and cannot take a "fuck you" without opening a MetaTalk thread about it
posted by matteo at 12:22 PM on September 6, 2003

"fuck yoga"

On the bright side, no one's lining up to list the intellectual merits of a statement like "fuck yoga," and it probably did more to discredit the commenter's argument than anything else. Then again, too many comments like that discredit MeFi, too.
posted by Shane at 1:09 PM on September 6, 2003

"fuck yoga"

Yeah! That shit's hard to do.

...what?
posted by FunkyHelix at 1:15 PM on September 6, 2003

this place is merely for those into intellectual masturbation.

Oh, intellectual masturbation? I'm in the wrong treehouse then. Damn. Gimme a kleenex and lower the rope ladder, ok?
posted by trondant at 1:25 PM on September 6, 2003

I got all excited for a moment, I thought I was being invited to fuck Yoda. Oh well. *zips up*
posted by bargle at 1:35 PM on September 6, 2003

bargle Same here, same here...
I've got a mind like a Welsh railway. One track and dirty...
posted by twine42 at 1:45 PM on September 6, 2003

don't worry, bargle and twine...my sources indicate that ken stringfellow has a stash of yoda porn, and he likes to share.
posted by pxe2000 at 1:47 PM on September 6, 2003

degenerated quicky, this thread has...
posted by trondant at 1:50 PM on September 6, 2003

degenerated quicky, this thread has...

Yeah, well, blame it on the fact that the thread prominently discusses the provocative word "fuck." Find a way to slip the words "anal," "vinyl" and "pancakes" into a discussion and you'll see it go to hell even more quickly.

Actually, that sounds like a fun idea. Where's jonson? He's always up for a good sociology experiment.
posted by Shane at 2:06 PM on September 6, 2003

I'm with you guys.

I fucking hate yogurt.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:10 PM on September 6, 2003

Fuck yoga.
posted by angry modem at 2:13 PM on September 6, 2003

"LPs were like grooved vinyl pancakes that spun around, giving us all the gift of music. Sometimes, people pretended they were grooved vinyl pancakes, impaled anally on the spindle and spinning around endlessly."

I forgot where I read that.
posted by trondant at 2:14 PM on September 6, 2003

Yeah, right on, fuck Yogi!. Damn dusty old bears after my pic-a-nic baskets.
posted by Space Coyote at 2:28 PM on September 6, 2003

Fret not, Mr. Coyote: we have a man on the job.


posted by trondant at 2:57 PM on September 6, 2003

Point(s) taken. I guess I figured with all the acid flying, a little more would go unnoticed. (Dermatologists must make a mint from all the patients here!) As for the 13 months, I read for a year or two prior while membership was still closed.

On self analysis, it wasn't the 'fuck yoga' that got to me but the assumption that I view the world in black & white. Which may be true on occasion. However, snyder doesn't know me from adam, it seemed a sweeping derogatory comment. I didn't think it worth a retort to explain that I got Depp's analogy the first time around and it didn't need to be dumbed down for me. Maybe that's what I should've written to begin with, along with some flowers and chocolate.

Was this the wrong place to vent, or have I misunderstood MeTa as well?

[unbunching panties]
posted by yoga at 3:06 PM on September 6, 2003

Yoga, it looks like there are two issues here. Firstly, the 'fuck' part... that, as distasteful as many find it, is a pretty mild flame around here. Secondly, is your concern that you were viewed as "seeing the world in black and white".

Neither belong in MeTa. The first because it just isn't severe enough to warrant a calling out. The second because if your words are misconstrued in a thread it is incumbent on you to clarify your position, in the thread.
posted by cedar at 3:12 PM on September 6, 2003

i hear ya yogi (is it ok to call you yogi?, 'cause he and booboo are like little old-school terrorists which is kinda cool) and i've noticed many times a reaction to something i wrote thinking, 'wait a minute, that's not what i meant at all!', but then again i realize that they really don't know me from adam and it's hard sometimes to clearly explain yourself to complete strangers in words.
posted by poopy at 3:20 PM on September 6, 2003

I disagree, cedar. Therefore: Fuck cedar.

Heh, that was fun!
posted by Shane at 3:22 PM on September 6, 2003

er. the first one. seriously yoga, you trying to be the next bunnyfire? you dont need to consult 50 people before standing up for yourself.
posted by carfilhiot at 3:27 PM on September 6, 2003

fucking christ carfilhiot. yoga seems to be pretty cool about it (definitely not in need of comparison to bunnyfire) so it's all good.
posted by poopy at 3:33 PM on September 6, 2003

ahhh, bunnyfire. Whatever happened to her?
posted by bshort at 3:51 PM on September 6, 2003

"snyder doesn't know me from adam"

Dude(tte), that has driven more of us to madness than anything else. "You don't know me" is the killer phrase of the community blog. (I know, I've said it myself {but since I can't seem to shut the fuck up my posting history is too vast to bother searching for it}.) All anyone here knows of anyone else is what we give them in our words.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:56 PM on September 6, 2003

Shit Yoga. I've been called a dogfucker here and I barely batted an eye. Do I actually fuck dogs? No.

Your comment in that thread was pretty everyone-who-doesn't-agree-with-me-is-in-denial crappy. It does express a black-and-white worldview. It's not really anyone's responsibility to assess you as a whole and total person before making that kind of judgment of your comment.

If you have a problem with it, clarify your views in the thread -- don't cry to metatalk.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 3:58 PM on September 6, 2003

Intellectual masturbation? Yeah, I can occasionally rise to that level. ;-P
posted by mischief at 5:13 PM on September 6, 2003

ahhh, bunnyfire. Whatever happened to her?

reincarnated as fishfucker.
posted by quonsar at 6:43 PM on September 6, 2003

ahhh, bunnyfire. Whatever happened to her?

Email me and I'll tell you.
posted by konolia at 7:04 PM on September 6, 2003

I know what happened to bunnyfire. What happened to Evanizer?
posted by timeistight at 7:10 PM on September 6, 2003

ehe watch your language there poop
posted by carfilhiot at 7:19 PM on September 6, 2003

What happened to Evanizer?

spontaneous lagomorphan combustion.
posted by quonsar at 7:35 PM on September 6, 2003

What happened to Evanizer?
posted by Shane at 7:58 PM on September 6, 2003

I'm amazed there are still posters here who haven't figured out whatever happened to bunnyfire.
posted by ook at 8:51 PM on September 6, 2003

Honestly, I haven't. Figured out what happened to bunnyfire, that is. Anyone care to enlighten me, or do I have to email konolia?
posted by jonson at 8:58 PM on September 6, 2003

On her user page, she states that she is still permanently banned.
posted by orange swan at 9:38 PM on September 6, 2003

permanently scarred too, but it's truly amazing what they can do with skin grafts these days.
posted by quonsar at 10:01 PM on September 6, 2003

You have to email konalia. She accepts paypal.
posted by timeistight at 10:52 PM on September 6, 2003

She accepts paypal.

as her personal savior?
posted by quonsar at 1:06 AM on September 7, 2003

quonsar, one more peep out of you and I will permanently capitalize your username. And encourage others to do so.

(I don't accept paypal, but Matt can always use contributions.)
posted by konolia at 3:23 AM on September 7, 2003

Get the t-shirt.
posted by liam at 6:47 AM on September 7, 2003

Yeah, QUONSAR! Nyah! ;-P
posted by mischief at 7:00 AM on September 7, 2003

Fuck all that eastern mystic shit
posted by johnny7 at 7:28 AM on September 7, 2003

QuOnSaR, I bite my thumb at thee!
posted by orange swan at 7:30 AM on September 7, 2003

Um, not to interrupt in the way the thread is going, but everyone is pretty much correct. "Fuck yoga" was meant as an exclamation of surprise, not a fuck you. I did consider using "holy shit," or "wow," or something, but I assumed that the only thing it would be confused for is some quasi-Tantric exercise or something.

Also, I really don't see what's so all-fired intellectual about my masturbation anyway.
posted by Snyder at 8:36 AM on September 7, 2003

She accepts paypal.
as her personal savior?

oh fuck me, that was funny.

so konolia, what is it like to be related to the reagans then? must be damn cool eh?
posted by carfilhiot at 9:04 AM on September 7, 2003

As I said in my second post in this thread, point(s) taken. I can see how my words were antagonistic (maybe too strong a word, but I can't think of another one at the moment). Being human, it's hard [for me] not to take on tones (not necessarily yours) present already. As for the broad brush comment of intellectual masturbation; I don't think I'm the first to make the comment along the lines that people here sometimes just add to the noise with no real content. The comment was directed to that population, not to you, Snyder. My miscommunication, and no offense intended.

I do see, after having read other threads in MeTa, that my post is a trivial one by comparison (though I do wonder how much more/less important it is than the "spit on my monitor" thread :).

Having been on other boards, it does get frustrating to see the same posts/questions over and over from new (or those who have been silent up until then) folks who aren't in the loop (unwritten or no). In that light, I fully understand the responses here to me - I can't blame them! Does the fact that similar questions arise repeatedly point to a need for another way to avert it? Or did I just drop the ball and am the only one to do so?

By the same token, I was trying to follow the protocol specified by MeTa itself. Had there been some kind of ranking system for priority/common issues, I'd have refrained from posting. So now I have a better feel for future posts.

I must say I have a lot of respect for those here who can discuss with minimal emotion. What keeps me coming back is in effort to learn from them, because I know I suck at it. It is indeed a fine line between sarcasm and flame.
posted by yoga at 9:21 AM on September 7, 2003

all's well that ends well
posted by clavdivs at 10:26 AM on September 7, 2003

I must say I have a lot of respect for those here who can discuss with minimal emotion. What keeps me coming back is in effort to learn from them, because I know I suck at it.

Hey yoga, do you actually practice yoga? It's a good way to develop equanimity.
posted by homunculus at 10:31 AM on September 7, 2003

so konolia, what is it like to be related to the reagans then? must be damn cool eh?

Well, I didn't think so back when we were getting phone calls in the middle of the night from drunks telling us the missiles had landed. Heh.
posted by konolia at 11:11 AM on September 7, 2003

all's well that ends well
But it ain't over till the fat lady sings.

Oh, I DID sing this morning. *Roseanne Rosanandana voice* Never mind.
posted by konolia at 11:12 AM on September 7, 2003

Or did I just drop the ball and am the only one to do so?

Yoga, you're just one of thousands. It's rare to see a MeTa post whose very existence isn't loudly denounced by many of the respondents, and we've all made pointless (or worse) comments at one time or another. The question is how you deal with the resulting ruckus, and your last comment is the work of someone who listens, learns, and adapts. You get a gold star (the one Stan Chin is no longer using).
posted by languagehat at 7:52 AM on September 8, 2003

fuck yoga

P.S. konolia: You mean Emily Litella, right?
posted by soyjoy at 8:02 AM on September 8, 2003

no, that was Mr. Fader form Fort Lee, New Jersey
posted by clavdivs at 10:19 AM on September 8, 2003

fuckyoga.com is taken.
posted by thirteen at 11:10 AM on September 8, 2003

Stanwardess - I speak jive.
posted by scarabic at 2:05 PM on September 8, 2003

Thanks, languagehat.

One afterthought I had was related to the sarcasm factor. It seems that the more folks post, they develop their own posting style, which may be tolerated in different ways from a new or less vocal poster.

So if Poster A is known for caustic remark, it's more likely to be written off as their style, rather than a catalyst for a flame war, as might be the case with a less visible Poster B.

And maybe it's just a matter of picking battles.

Just thinking out loud about the nuances of the culture.
posted by yoga at 6:35 AM on September 9, 2003

Yeah. It also helps if your skin is thick and warty.
posted by soyjoy at 6:57 AM on September 9, 2003

I don't see why you keep going on about this, yoga. Snyder has said that "fuck yoga" was an expression of surprise, not a put-down directed at you.
posted by timeistight at 8:30 AM on September 9, 2003