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Need to rant?
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Lori, Super Mod
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Jan 01, 2009 12:26PM
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I would like to rant about moviegoers.. WHY go to a movie.. pay the arm and the leg that it is anymore and then proceed to TALK about your kids, your life, through the ENTIRE thing!Seriously?? Go somewhere else!
Or why go to the movies and TEXT to your friends the ENTIRE TIME??? >:(
Lori wrote: "Woah Woah... calls the dogs off. We are not hainvg bickering matches here on this thread, or within the site. Tit for Tat doesnt work with me or any of the members.
Let that be the last of ..."
Lori,
I hope that an open exchange of ideas is cool. I agree that what Bo and I were doing was ad hominem instead of focusing on the issue of stereotyping. My sarcastic, curmudgeonly nature gets the best of me sometimes. In deference to your role as Moderator, I will desist.
I had no intention of responding to Bo's last message anyway as it did not facilitate either discussion or a dialogue. Even if I had, it would have been to his mailbox not on the site.
I feel strongly about a number of things and will continue to voice my opinion. As I'm sure you noticed jeane and I continued the discussion amicably, some in the group, some directly. Fiona also joined in and I get that what they originally said was not meant to be stereotyping, it just sounded that way to me. I'm not apologetic about bringing it up. I do apologize for my exchange with Bo.
If you are going to have a topic on "Rant of the Day", I believe disagreements are going to occur. I also believe that such disagreements should not be directed at the person but at what was said or implied.
Hope this clears up my intentions. Sometimes the written word does not suffice and only face to face communication is effective.
Fiona wrote: "Lol, I remember at uni my London-friend used to be a lot more wary of gangs and groups of people then I was. It's kinda strange I suppose. I'm so used to hearing about all that though, and in a way..."Fiona, you should put yourself an ultimatum to go and live in London. It isn't that far from where you live I noticed, so in case things go wrong, always keep the money for a train ticket back! :-))) I also wouldn't not go because of all the stabbing that happens. So much goes on there even when people don't get news about stabbings.....London is a dangerous place to full time live but a great experience.
Fiona wrote: "Jenn wrote: "I would like to rant about moviegoers.. WHY go to a movie.. pay the arm and the leg that it is anymore and then proceed to TALK about your kids, your life, through the ENTIRE thing!S..."
When living in England I paid the most ever for tickets and what I got was a movie theater that looked like a garbage field!
Ed wrote: "Lori wrote: "Woah Woah... calls the dogs off. We are not hainvg bickering matches here on this thread, or within the site. Tit for Tat doesnt work with me or any of the members.
Let that be the..."
Ed, we had some let's say problems in the past on the site, especially during the american elections where some people went over the line. And I think in a different thread too. So Lori made it clear that it shouldn't happen anymore and even I small sign of that will probably make her jump in.
I don't mind if people understand me different than what I meant, as long as they are open ear to let me explain whta I do mean afterwards. But like you sad, we wrote each other directly and we are okay about it.
Mod
Dont misunderstand me and think that I am saying disagreements are not ok.
What I will not tolerate is what I was seeing above, which thankfully has come to an end. We cannot have members pull the "Im rubber, your glue" cards out when their feelings have been hurt or their points are not agreed upon.
We have had battles laid out before us in these threads, and people suddenly feel the need to defend or be defended. That is all I am asking that we avoid. Let's not place someone in a position where they feel they need to defend or be defended.
Just wanted to post a quick 'thank you' for the enlightening earlier discussion regarding Friends at Goodreads. I'd been getting a lot of friend requests recently from people who have 3 books listed and 1000+ friends. I've since gone through my list and culled it of the people I had no obvious connection with. Personally I don't get the whole Friend thing anyway, but that's probably because I'm an old fart. ;-D
Dorie wrote: "Just wanted to post a quick 'thank you' for the enlightening earlier discussion regarding Friends at Goodreads. I'd been getting a lot of friend requests recently from people who have 3 books list..."So am I an O.F. I limit my friends list to people whose interests parallel mine or are in direct opposition to mine. Then when I get updates, I can see what books they are reading and add the ones that appeal to me to my TBR list. I also value their comments and reviews.
Their are two categories of friends also and I cull the ones who are not on my "top" list regularly. This is, after all, a social networking site so there are times I just want to be social.
I don't know what to make of friends. Almost my entire social contact on GR is in the groups, just a bit on messages so I don't really think that the friends thing has made any difference to me. I cull it every now and again. There are lots of people I like on GR but none of them are rubbing their wet noses over my feet like my cats are right now. Just as well.
I think that some of the authors use Goodreads to market their books. I have no problem with that except that I don't particularly want them as a "friend" since their only interest is in contacting me about their book(s).One in particular drove me crazy with 5-6 messages a day.
Hi, Fiona,I'm just back from a month in Guernsey. While I was there, I watched a really interesting documentary about the sort of people who seek to cause trouble.
It seems that they are wired to need more "thrills" than most of us. They are the sort of people who go in for extreme sports, or who ignore sensible advice and do daredevil stuff and then need the coastguard to rescue them.
However, apparently, they might turn out useful to the human race if the climate were ever to change suddenly and dramatically, and the human race should need to evolve again.
Grin.
Rowena Cherry
I need to rant. I just inherited (at work) 70 files from another company and they were so lazy that I have hours/days/months worth of work! No wonder our client didn't want to do business with that company. I just hate cleaning up messes!
Mod
Emilee, I feel your pain. I am constantly having to pick up other people's slack at work. I'm part of a 7 person team, and 2 of those people call off at least once a week (one of them calls off for weeks at a time) using FMLA, and a 3rd person just no longer cares as she is about to retire. It's very frustrating! But there's nothing that can be done apparently because FMLA use is an "authorized" absence and is protected by confidentiality and all. Which is fine, but I say that they should be moved to a bigger team so that their absences won't be felt as much. *shakes head*
I just thought I'd stop in for a quick rant... Can someone PLEASE tell the youth of the world that vowels are their friend? Or, better yet, that fully spelled out WORDS are their friend? I mean, this (meaning GR) is a site dedicated to books and book-lovers, right? Why are there people here who obviously aspire to be illiterate?
Ugh. Seriously. I can't even decipher this crap!
"yuk dude, d tots u hv.. lupin n hermione?!
n dude ur supods 2 ad a q..."
"d tots"? "ur supods 2 ad a q"??
I don't get it. I think they're talking about potatoes. =|
Kids don't want adults to understand. They have very few things of their own - and its part of growing up, separating from a dependant childhood and establishing their own identity. The more annoyed adults are, the more they enjoy it.
That's a scary thought, Petra. Can't they just get tattoos?
I despise text talk - I don't even use it when texting, let alone on the computer. It drives me batty! The worst is when adults use it! My stepmom texts me occasionally, and her texts always take me a few minutes to decipher. "Wud luv 2 c u!" I hate it. She's an accountant and incredibly intelligent - but you wouldn't know if from her messages!
Second childhood (adolescence) maybe? lol. Does she have any tattoos?
I can't stand it either Stephanie... It's like the bane of my existence. Well, one of them, anyway. ;)
Becky wrote: "I just thought I'd stop in for a quick rant... Can someone PLEASE tell the youth of the world that vowels are their friend? Or, better yet, that fully spelled out WORDS are their friend? I mean, ..."
Becky wrote: "I just thought I'd stop in for a quick rant... Can someone PLEASE tell the youth of the world that vowels are their friend? Or, better yet, that fully spelled out WORDS are their friend?
I mean, ..."
You guys are too funny, thanks, I need a laugh. I spend my days putting out fires via email that other people create and not only do they act like they are texting in high school but aren't much smarter either!
Petra X wrote: "Second childhood (adolescence) maybe? lol. Does she have any tattoos?"haha - no! As I said, she's an accountant and beyond professional in most aspects of her life, so I don't really understand it. Maybe she thinks she's relating to me ... but you think she'd have figured it out when I text her back using proper speech and punctuation and everything! :)
Ha, I just have one small request about text language and that would be to not find it in the writing assignments I assign students.. but apparently that is too much to ask.
Then what you have to do Vicki, is set the expectation and stick to it. Maybe type up an agreement and have the students sign it..."I hereby agree to completely and absolutely refrain from using 'text message'-esque words, phrases, abbreviations or acronyms in my writing assignments. Failure to adhere to this agreement will result in an automatic failing grade."
... Does that make me evil? (MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)
My mother does it too, Stephanie. Perhaps it is age-related adolescence and motherhood and the other generations have escaped it!
Becky, Evil? Maybe, but I like it. Apparently, I was being much too nice and only taking a few points off per offense.
Petra X wrote: "My mother does it too, Stephanie. Perhaps it is age-related adolescence and motherhood and the other generations have escaped it!"Too funny - good to know mine's not the only one!
Be 
I'm not sure what grade students you are referring to but really it is not too much to expect students to use correct grammar and spelling in school assignments. You are not doing them any favors by allowing anything else.
Spelling only became standardised in 1755 when Samuel Johnson's dictionary was published. Before that communication was key and spelling was very much up to the individual. I don't think it really matters whether words are spelled the English, American or txting way or even completely wrong as they often are by people whose first language isn't English so long as we can understand each other.However, its a bit much to get it in school.
The problem with text speak is that it seeps into everyday communication. It's fine if its confined for communication between friends and the friends don't mind making sense of the gibberish. However, when text speak starts creeping up on school assignments and even professional communication then it becomes a problem. Most people do not know how to turn it off and some don't realize when they are doing it.
Emilee wrote: "I need to rant. I just inherited (at work) 70 files from another company and they were so lazy that I have hours/days/months worth of work! No wonder our client didn't want to do business with that..."emilee, I am coming over!!!! I love doing that, even if I ahte it when people leave things like that. The girl that did my job before left in mid November and I am wondering what she did. I had to (re)archive all the documents. You know she had files named kinda like 'mix of everything'....how can you arrange your things like that?
Now it looks so much better in files, divided and clear names on it. I love archiving and wish I could do it more!
Becky wrote: "I just thought I'd stop in for a quick rant... Can someone PLEASE tell the youth of the world that vowels are their friend? Or, better yet, that fully spelled out WORDS are their friend? I mean, ..."
haha, don't have a clue either. sometimes I think it is complete laziness...but there must be more to it.
Stephanie wrote: "I despise text talk - I don't even use it when texting, let alone on the computer. It drives me batty! The worst is when adults use it! My stepmom texts me occasionally, and her texts always take m..."I think I never text like that. I mean before I know how to write it like that I cna finish my message in a normal writing already. I do know that whenever i find a word too long to write in a sms, I switch with languages. For isntance when I am writing my boyfriend in english and the italian is shorter, I might sometimes put in the italian word. But that happens also without realizing. At work I noticed today that while taking notes I was writing sentence starting in english switching to dutch and going back to english. My team leader wanted to explain me something and was watching my notes, when I realized i switched languages in between! Find it very weird.
Jeane wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "I despise text talk - I don't even use it when texting, let alone on the computer. It drives me batty! The worst is when adults use it! My stepmom texts me occasionally, and her t..."I'm jealous! I wish I was versed enough in more than language to the point where I could switch back and forth with ease. As it is I can dole out only a small bit of Spanish. My bf is from South Africa and speaks Afrikaans - I tried to learn and it is so hard! My dream is to live in a non-English-speaking country for at least 6 months and see how far I can get at picking up a new language. I figure if you're immersed in a language that's not your own, it's sort of like sink or swim. :) How many languages do you speak?
I seriously can't even read text talk! I bought a cell phone with a keyboard, so I could text like I'm sending an email, because I hate shortening my sentences. I use correct punctuation in most of my texts as well.
Since I found this ranting area... I think Jeane said she was in customer service, so will probably understand. I have been helping a customer with a contract dipsute since before Christmas. We have had numerous phone conversations. I had to relay her resolution to her this morning, and even though I was able to get quite a bit waived, she was unhappy with that. She disconected the call after screaming at me about not working hard enough for her. About 3 minutes later my direct line rings, I recognize her voice as she says "Ain't you that bitch that wont help me?" I kid you not! She KNOWS my name and has never spoken this way before! I calmly said I was not sure, could she identify herself, and proceded to spend the next 3 minutes being cursed up and down and ended transferring her to a complaint voice mail.Now I ask you, after being addressed in such a way, what more did she want from me?
Let's see, a few things to rant about! 1)I'm back at work after almost 6 months of maternity leave to a new Congress filled with a lot of stupid issues.
2) Roland Burris -- what a debacle that has been. I'll be so glad when they swear him in tomorrow and we can stop dealing with him. My office is the office who told him his credentials were not in order and it as true. Oy!
3) Inauguration - I'll be happy when we stop talking about it. It's a truly historic event and I'm happy I will be in attendence, but they've screwed up the city so bad and made it so difficult for those of us who actually need to come into work that day.
4) Working Sundays! My first week back at work and we've already put in a weekend. During my first year here in my office, they only worked two weekends and I was on maternity leave during those! Who knows what this year has in store for us!
Fiona wrote: "Obviously I would probably get the sack too!"Yes, that's true! However, keep thinking and feeling that way as long as you can!!!!! Honestly, when people act so ignorant and scream, curse and holler, I'm not offended. I find it harder not to laugh, than to be polite and listen. I had just really worked hard on her dipsute and gotten her quite a bit more than she deserved.
It wasn't so much calling me a bad name, as it was not using mine!
I feel better for having vented. Thank you:)
I'm in customer service too, and the department that I work in would have been the one that you got to transfer her off to, Kandice. :)I've noticed that the majority of people are less likely to be rude in person though, so it's definitely worse if you do customer service over the phone. But, it really amazes me that people are so rude and nasty to people regardless of if its on the phone or not.
I mean, the person they're insulting on the other end of the phone could have their credit card information, their full name, address and phone number, and any number of pieces of personal information about them. Do they really think that we come in to work every day hoping that some ungrateful greedy jerk will insult us and scream at us?
When I have to call a customer service line for anything, I'm as nice as pie. I know that with a few clicks on their end, I could have a "cancelled by request" note on my now cancelled account. Or, have "upgrades" added to my account that take 6 months to remove and eternity to be reimbursed for... I don't risk the wrath of an over-worked and vastly underpaid customer service person.
But, more than that, I don't insult people on the phone because I don't like to be insulted on the phone. It's just common courtesy.
Becky wrote: "I'm in customer service too, and the department that I work in would have been the one that you got to transfer her off to, Kandice. :)I've noticed that the majority of people are less likely to ..."
Amen!
Actually, I am her last resort as far as speaking to a "real" person. Other people take the calls, handing me disputes if they are warranted. Whatever I can get her... that's it!!!! She can leave as many voicemails at the extension I transferred her to as she likes, but it wont do her any good.
I am also "nice as pie" when I call somewhere, or am given customer service by anyone! I can't tell you how many times I have grinned and bore it, all the while contemplating the horrible things you just mentioned!
My husband says we are "special" because he, like Fiona would be sacked in about 3 minutes! Do you feel special Becky?
Special... Not really. I think sometimes I must be crazy though. ;)
ughh i did customer service this past summer..and i could go on about stories about horrible people! i mean really..how hard is it to not be a complete monster to someone you are talking to on the phone?! i mean..i am a human TOO. that should count for something. haha there was this one lady that we all would try and avoid when she came up on the caller id..if she would come up on my phone i would suddenly decide i need to pee and let it ring over. lol.but now..after working that job..no matter how incompetent the person is on the other end or how frustrated i am about something..i will never ever be rude. NEVER!
Stephanie wrote: "Jeane wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "I despise text talk - I don't even use it when texting, let alone on the computer. It drives me batty! The worst is when adults use it! My stepmom texts me occasiona..."I think I would understand a lot of Afrikaans!!!! After living for six months in a non-englsih speaking country you will for sure have picked up some of the language but of course only if you don't suround you only with englis speaking people and if you make sure the people living there don't only speak english with you so they can practise!!!!
My mother tongue is Dutch/Flemish, second language French. then I also speak English and Italian. I used to be pretty fluent in spanish but now I only understand written things and a bit of spoken Spanish. Don't start speaking it anymore because I end up in Italian! Understand some to sometimes a lot of written German, can say soms things and I learned to say some Polish words but didn't continue. I f I can stay some years in Ireland then I hope I will be able to study Irish! i am trying to pick up the pronunctiation of words for now.
Kandice wrote: "Since I found this ranting area... I think Jeane said she was in customer service, so will probably understand. I have been helping a customer with a contract dipsute since before Christmas. We hav..."You are right Kandice, I worked for more than a year in customer service and I was th eonly one speaking Dutch, so all those customers only got me at the line.... I have been going through some moments like that too sometimes...luckily I don't have to call much in my new job. It is quite a change. From having head phone son the whole day and getting calls in from morning till evening....I know am in contact with the customers by e-mail and only called twice a customer in two weeks (and it was to get a correct e-mails address!).
Becky wrote: "I'm in customer service too, and the department that I work in would have been the one that you got to transfer her off to, Kandice. :)I've noticed that the majority of people are less likely to ..."
becky me too. If a customer became very angry and insulted me, I jsut repeated and kept going on in the same polite, neutral voice. I don't want to get to such a low level like those customers. Only once I almost put the phone down. After repeatingly telling the customer nice and politely not to insult me like that and ask if he could please listen to me I was about to put the phone down when he changed his voice and hung up. But fromt hen on he only got a neutral voice and I only did strictly what I ahd to do without any emotion. that was the only customer that made me change how I served him in 13 months.
Fiona wrote: "I have to confess to being a bit shirty to a poor customer service assistant on the phone when trying to deal with BT.But we had been passed around for over a month trying to get internet connect..."
Fiona, ever had to deal with Royal Mail? I wonder how you managed or would manage?
Jeane wrote: "I think I would understand a lot of Afrikaans!!!!"Since you speak Dutch, I'm sure you would! It's pretty much a derivative from Dutch, as I understand it, which is probably why I have such a hard time with it. I pick up Spanish pretty easily (but just as easily forget it!), but the more guttural, harsh sounds in Afrikaans are really hard for me to pronounce. I'll have to give it another go sometime.
The Next Best Book Club
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