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I need to make a comment about this topic. First of all I am shocked that adults are speaking in a public forum like this. Knowing darn well that young kids are reading this <br
My 13 year old son was thrilled when he found this site. As a single father who lost his wife 10 years ago, I am trying very hard to keep tabs on my son. I thought I would try to get involved in my sons fascination for appliances. So today I decided to check out this forum, be a part of it for my sons sake. He has talked so much about it. Let me tell you, I was really shocked to read what was being said here. And what was even more surprising was to see some of the ages of the people saying what they were saying. And it was not just this posting, I saw others with some sexual references being made <br
I am sure my son is not the only young person who reads this. So please explain why these things are being said <br
I am sure there must be other parents here also, and I am hoping that you can understand where I am coming from. I do everything possible to protect my son, and I was hoping that a forum like this would have been good for him. But after reading some of the things I have, I have my doubts <br
Thank you
Chris
 
An empty stocking for Veg?

Toggle <br
I was thinking more along the lines of a switch and a lump of coal! <br
Let's try to keep this PG-13 for our younger viewers please. These types of topics can be discussed on adult forums. <br
Remember....we are about vintage appliances, and although they may not post, young people are ALWAYS watching; my young people are ALWAYS watching. We may know which topics to bypass, but a youngster might stumble onto something we would consider inappropriate for juvenile eyes. Would you really want your niece or nephew to read this?
 
Since I Have No Idea on How To Handle This...

Hmmmmm, I've been extremely busy lately at work and at home and have not had much time to monitor what's going on the site. While I read this story on CNN and Canada.com and I couldn't have been more thrilled that once again our neighbor to the North has shown us here in the "free" USA what it really means to be free. But with that said, I don't know if its worth the price of the bandwidth to discuss this topic here at automaticwasher.org <br
I'm just curious, Gary'sDad and Venus what troubled you guys the most about this thread? Was it the fact that a news story and link like this was posted or was it the funny but unnecessarily adult conversation that followed? Would it have been OK if that link was posted and then the conversation that followed was a serious discussion of how the Supreme Court had ruled <br
Another question for the club, should this thread be deleted??? I too cringe (sometimes not always) when I read stuff like this, but many times I really don't know what is best, censorship is bad but protecting the kids who are interested in washers is also extremely important, so no matter what I decided to do, I lose <br
I'm interested to hear what others think <br
Singed, confused in Minnie.
 
I find this thread interesting & fun, but some of the posts are clearly R rated and it's clearly way off topic.
I don't think anyone would be hurt if it was deleted. Anyone disagree <br
Inuendo is ok if it's subtle, but..... <br
Ken D.
 
Dear Confused in Minni <br
This one went wayyy overboard in my mind bordering on explicit, some would say it was explicit and I probably wouldn't argue with them either. I'm no prude and enjoy well crafted innuendo but this thread lacked anything of merit.
I say delete it.
 
Unimatic1140 and retromom, thank you for your concern. I am not so sure the topic of the link was very appropriate for a vintage laundry forum. Although I also dont beleive in censorship. The topic should have been discussed more of an adult manor. The innuendoes that were flying around were very inappropriate <br
As retromom said, would someone like their nieces, nephews or children read what was being said? We're supposed to be role models for the youth of today <br
Thanks
Chris
 
Hit Refresh/Reload Everyone. I'll leave the message up, but I removed all the posts in between the first and Garysdad in case we want to continue this discussion. I also removed the link.
 
If I close my eyes, will it go away?

Ditto kenwashesmonday, petek, and garysdad! I laught at innuendo and office humour as much as anyone else, but this got a little too smutty for this particular forum.

Robert, I think it would have been far more interesting if there had been a discussion on the implications of the ruling rather than on what everyone in Canada could now start doing. It wouldn't hurt my feelings in the slightest if we could "transport" this thread to another dimension!
 
Well, wouldn't you know it.........

Well wouldn't you know it. I missed the WHOLE thing. Man, don't check the site for ONE day, and this! Mark
 
Well it's only been a day and already the pastor of a local evangelical church here in town has denounced the ruling as another step in the detriment to our society. Sorry but I don't agree with him, what consenting adults do behind closed and locked doors is no ones business but their own. I say "locked" because part of the case was that these "clubs" were in fact physically locked to prevent anyone from inadvertantly walking in from the street and getting an eyeful.
 
my 2 cents

I think you have pretty well handled it, Robert. At the risk of bruising any egos, I would like to say that I thought the thread got "out of control" not necessarily to an extreme,
but at least to an excess. I would like to think that Garysdad
would be able to have a meaningful and educational converstation with his 13 year old son about what he may have read in this thread.
 
A Possible Thought

Dear Robert...
From what I can gather, you've created this whole site yourself, using your own time, programming skills and talent and not those of some sort of packaged website programs. So this may be more time and effort than it's worth. But what about an over 18 year old forum? Some sort of code tied into ones sign-on, or something like Yahoo has for their adult type forums, an acknowledgement of being over 18. It wouldn't be foolproof or underage proof, but it would be away from the regular discussion areas.

Many other forums have a sort of "lounge" type area where very much off topic discussions take place. I also think many of the people here have been here for a number of years, they feel very comfortable with each other. And with that comfort level, sometimes people just forget others are watching.
 
Michael (Ironrite), the Super Forum is already the "Lounge Area", it is meant for off topic (other than washers, dryers and dishwashers) discussions.

I'm not a prude (you can't be in my country LOL), but I think it's a bad idea to have an over 18 forum. There is a lot of hassle with over 18 forums and I don't think we should have Robert do more work than he already does. If somebody else wants to start an over 18 group for our members then simply go to Yahoo and start a group there. But please no link to it on this website, all kinds of laws and rules make that very difficult lately. And we don't want our webmaster to carry that responsability. If somebody starts a group like that he (doubt if there is a she that wants to participate) can post a message on this forum that he started one and that you can mail him for the link to that group (again, no links on this forum). That's as far as we can go I think.

Thank you Robert for handling this well.
 
I think Robert handled this very appropriately and he certainly does more than enough work on this website. Why should we ask him to take on more?

I am against censorship as much as the next person, but there simply have to be limits.... and is it so wrong to behave with concern for others? I think we can manage that...
 
I agree, no need for another venue for off-topic messages. All, don't take what I'm about to say as "moralizing", however, I believe a renewed emphasis of RESPECT for the Automaticwasher.Org website & viewing community is in order. Censor your own message(s) for decency before posting.

Leslie
 
My 2 cent s - revoke my membership if necessary

I could see this thread was headed in a bad direction and I opted out. So, I didn't see everything that was posted. I pick and choose the threads I'll participate in and if the thread is of a political nature, I'll bypass it completely or I'll post something completely unrelated to pull it in another direction.

I spent that last I-don't-know-how-many years participating in another hobby chat site that at one time was the best place on the Internet. Everyone shared their hobby, everyone got along, it was a wonderful community. And then one day one woman started posting her political views and would not stop. Eventually other people with opposing views got irritated and started shooting back. It got ugly. The community broke into factions. Previous friends became enemies and chat became almost all political. There was no longer any discussion about the reason why people came to the place in the first place, to discuss their shared hobby and other shared interest. People who had been there for years and years started to leave, including myself. Two weeks ago, the webmaster asked people to vote whether the site should stay up or be killed. I voted to kill it, because it disgraced the memory of the beautiful place that it once was. Last week, after about a 7 year run, the site was executed. Gone.

Some people think that can't happen here. It's happened in a bunch of places where it could never happen. Just my two cents, but make this site a no politics zone to avoid one potential problem area. I joined this site to get away from that.

Secondly, this is the funniest place that I know of on the Internet. I find the whole concept of this site hilarious in and of itself and seeing a new member calling himself Pulsematic, for example, to me, is inherently funny. It just doesn't get old. And many of the people here are absolutely hilarious. They write well and they are imminently skilled in turning a phrase just the right way to make you laugh. I have never seen so many skilled humorists in once place and that is one of the reasons why I love this site. I have literally had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard here. Having said that, it is possible to write in such a way that you get your point across so that adults know what you are getting at while it is PG or less. Someone mentioned clever innuendo above. I find humor to be better and funnier when it is executed in such a way where an adult can pick up on the double entendres or the turn of the phrase while it seems perfectly harmless on the surface to the casual (read younger) reader. I'm saying that if we police ourselves, we can retain our wonderful sense of humor and never cross that line into vulgar or explicit. They are not mutually excusive and in fact, challenges you to hone your skills. It's easy to be vulgar and explicit and it's not as funny, in my humble opinion. Someone could point out that I may have gotten dangerously close to crossing the line a couple of times and I'd accept that, but I have consistently made every attempt to never cross the line and if we all measured what we posted carefully, there wouldn't be a need to be monitored.

And finally, here's where I think I run the risk of getting into trouble here. It obvious that the majority of members here lean in a certain direction. I was born artsy and have lived an entirely artsy existence, so I am perfectly comfortable here and I have never been offended. Everyone should feel free to be themselves and be comfortable doing that. However, when the discourse in this direction is so overwhelming and overt and manages to find its way into so many threads, you run the risk of alienating other appliance lovers who do not have the same leanings. If you don't care, you don't care, and that's fine. But I tried to make this point in a subtle and humorous way in the past, because I think the best humor has a grain of truth about it. Everyone wants to feel comfortable and free and accepted for being who they are and INCLUDED. From an outside point of view, because of the overtness mentioned above, this place can give the impression that it is exclusionary and not inclusionary. Which I think is somewhat ironic, because wanting to be accepted and included is the fight, is it not?

So, that's my 2 cents on the subject. Bottom line is self-policing and measured restraint while retaining all the qualities of what makes this place the greatest place on the Internet is the way to go.
 
Very Well Put Mike!

While I am not shy about responding to posts and expressing my views and feel morally obligated to do so, I would also prefer to keep it light and humorous. Geez...if I want to get all heavy and stuff, I can just turn on the news. This place is an escape for many of us to enjoy and discuss the things we love, have fun, and laugh. We don't need to be Boy Scouts here, but we can utilize our common sense with respect to what we write.

Thanks again Versatronic!
 
Save the children.

I full-heartedly agree that children should be protected from the ugly things in life that will rob them of their innocence.

I also apologize for my writing style, with the proviso that I be understood that I tried to be as tastful and cryptic as tody's television shows that say grown-up things in such a way that a child would miss it. (i.e. dot dot dot, you figure out what I am REALLY trying to say).

I am hoping that the parents who wish to protect their children (and who doesn't?) will also be the ones to love and embrace their children unconditionally. Let's just assume that some will eventually discover that their orientation differs from the mainstream. Protect the children also from the intensely unjust discrimination they will face in the real world. Let the hatred not begin at home. These kids will have enough self-loathing without judgemental parents.

My parents "protected" me from reality to the point that I had to seek out a balanced view of life and the world from outside sources. When I was emerging as a whole human being, they could not understand my depression and (unknown to them) suicidal thoughts. Hiding behind religion proves to be fruitless eventually. It's bad enough to be torurted in school, by society, and in the workplace. The biggest slap in the face is to be hated by your religion and your parents, especially for something you can't change and you did not choose. In fact for a life so tough you would not wish it upon your worst enemy.

My mother simply stopped worrying about me when she took me to high-school in Manhattan by bus and train. We had to walk through a park. Well, when she was offered to buy drugs and had NO IDEA what was going on, I had to drag here out of there and EXPLAIN what the deal was. I was 16 y.o. and she was 39 y.o.

I am not so certain that if I were also clueless and that would have turned out too well.

My physical survival LITERALLY as a gay man depends on my ability to read people and assess situations very quickly and accurately, because there are still peole who want to beat "it" out of me. We are more alert because we HAVE to be. We are more "in-tune" because we HAVE to be. We are more aware of what society says should be versus what really happens, because we HAVE to know what the rules are to be able to know how and when (by necessity, to survive) to break them.

In summary-- please be there for your child if/when (she) comes out. Protection means guidance,and teaching the young a proper thought-pattern; not denial. The life you save may be your child's.

Thank you for you kind audience.
 
I was having dinner with some friends. Michelle is a lovely lady with two teenaged children, a boy and a girl. She had a husband. Her partner is now a person of the other gender.The two kiddies were minding their P's and Q's for most of the evening. When the straight people had gone, they (the children) "let their hair down" and I heard them openly joke about some of the stuff they were watching on TV. I mean I heard things out of their mouths that I didn't know about till I was over 30. I was not expecting them to be so up-to-speed.

Even they knew the different sets of standards of politeness to follow in each crowd and flowed into and out of each "world" with ease. You see they get grief about their mother and apparently are smart enough to know what not to say, when. So please forgive us if we occasionally forget who is listening. When you are used to dealing with cold, hard reality other ways of processing life and information are harder to adhere to, without slipping.

Just as we learn to close the bathroom door when there are children and strangers around, you just as much learn not to when these are not around.
 
To Toggleswitch and WIMC. So now, I understand why you were so concerned about knowing the age of people on this forum. Almost from the minute I joined, you started in. I KNEW something was up and I was right. I knew that if I started sniffing, I would find something-and I did. The super forum is supposed to be a forum for the discussion of vintage detergents, soaps, ect. Not some kind of lewd sexual lounge! When a person's mind is depraved that depravity will touch and color every aspect of that person's interactions with others!! And that is a fact. That concerned dad shouldn't EVEN HAVE TO ask you guys to clean it up (no pun intended)!
 
Thank you for your input.

If you feel the need to further express your views, please feel free to send me an e-mail directly.

I am very pleased to offer my sevices as scape-goat. Just keep in mind I didn't inititate this thread, nor did I go beyond a tongue-in-cheek comment in the part that was deleted.

I send you blessings and peace.
 
Ok. But all of my comments will be made on this forum. My e-mail is personal. As I told you before, I don't give out personal information.
 
Ok. I just assumed the e-mail in your profile (I just checked it. I don't memorize or scrutinize these things.) Would have worked.

Please bear in mind that an underage person posted something the other day that I very quikly diffused. IMHO. Due to being able to research the age, and recalling a name from prior posts.

I am not pure anything. That includes pure evil. :-)
 
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