185 replies to this topic

[Miss Alli]

FYI, when the new teams are announced, I will take care of the new threads so that y'all don't post them all at the same time. So DON'T START the new racer threads, please. I'll do them today.

[M. Darcy]

Would you prefer a separate thread for TAR Premiere Parties or should we just mention a party in the Meet Market Thread and direct people to the appropriate CityCon Thread?

[Miss Alli]

Hmm. If it's a TAR-specific party, you can have a premiere party thread. If it's a TWoPcon that you're incidentally holding on the night of the premiere, just mention it in the Meet Market. I hope that makes sense -- I trust your judgment, and we'll see how it goes. (That's one premiere party thread, by the way, not one thread per party, if you're having more than one.)

[M. Darcy]

Thanks! It makes perfect sense. Now I can check off one thing on my list of things to do (check with Miss Alli about thread).

[Miss Alli]

One more announcement: Around here, nickname suggestions go in the Nicknames thread in Whimsy. Otherwise, it degenerates into people competing to come up with the most obscure and longest nickname that nobody else will recognize, and then we have a bunch of people trying to force their choice into general use by using it when nobody else gets it, so . . . you're free to do it in Whimsy, but I'm done with the broad free-for-all where everybody spits out fifty names for every team, because . . . it's a mess.

"But on my other show, they let us do that!"

Yes. Your mod there probably hasn't been through as much pain there as I have here. Some things work one place and not another place.

[MisterMcGee]

Thank you so much for that, Miss Alli.

[Frenchteacher]

Is "Questions for the Amazing Racers" going to stay in the "Previous Seasons" section?

[Miss Alli]

If you haven't read the special note about spoilers, read it now.

[brave little toaster]

Miss Alli--Sorry to be getting way ahead of things here, but a couple of us were just wondering, do you think will there be a TARCon this year, too? Is there a more appropriate thread for that question? I looked around these forums and the TWoPCon forums and didn't see anything. I know it's a little early to be asking...but we're already planning ahead.

ETA: Cool. Thanks, Piperdown.

Edited by brave little toaster, Jun 15, 2004 @ 11:09 AM.

[piperdown]

As long as there has been TAR there has been the TARcon, so I wouldn't imagine it would be any different this year. In the past it has been organized by Miss Dona, and Poptart. As soon as we get the finale date, they make the plans public. I would assume it would be the same this year.

Edited by piperdown, Jun 15, 2004 @ 12:07 PM.

[Miss Alli]

Yep, it's too early. I would tentatively assume that the answer is yes, unless you hear different, but the planners have put in valiant efforts over a couple of years, and they may run out of steam at some point. I'm sure they'll let y'all know with some advance notice if that happens.

[Mama Tiger]

Miss Alli, if you're going to use "y'all," you need to learn that "y'all" is the singular and "all y'all" is the plural. Although both sound weird with a Minnesota accent, so I always have a momentary disconnect when you use it!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion.

Edited by Mama Tiger, Jun 15, 2004 @ 12:26 PM.

[KingsHearte]

That makes no sense. Isn't "y'all" a contraction of "you all" and therefore already plural?

[auntlada]

Yes. At least in Oklahoma. Maybe Cajuns are different. Here, we figure anyone who says y'all about one person is probably from Hollywood.

[Miss Alli]

Okay, this is really a mod announcement thread anyway, so.

[Mama Tiger]

Sorry for the hijack, Miss Alli, I was just amused by your choice of such a southern term. Papa Tiger's a good Minnesota boy, too, and it would sound equally strange coming from him, hence my far-too-random thought!

[missdona]

Don't worry about TARcon. Plans are alive and well... but expect some changes this time around.

No need to worry about the plans, the changes or anything else until we have a firm finale date.

[Miss Alli]

Hello, TWoP Roxy. I am a Racer, Friend of Racer, Family Member of Racer, Old College Roommate of Racer, Hairdresser of Racer, Debt Collector Who Once Harassed Racer, One-Time One-Night Stand of Racer, or Delusional Person Who Believes Racer Talks To Me Through My Television Using Magic Particles. Can you tell me what special posting rules apply to me?

I'm so glad you asked.

Welcome, Racer or Racer Accessory! You have found your way to the Racer and Racer Accessory Posting Manifesto. It consists of all the special posting rules that apply to you. Ready? Here we go.

Okay, did you get all that?

Yeah. See, it is the blessing and curse of TWoP posting that no special rules apply to you. This is what people who like it like about it. You are welcome to post, to not post, to lurk, to not lurk, or to sit in your living room playing Monopoly and muttering, "Crazy damn internet people." We like to think it's a fun place to hang out, but if you show up, the same rules are going to apply to you in your capacity as a poster that apply to everyone else. Read the FAQ. Follow the FAQ. If you don't, you'll find yourself banned, just like everybody else. This is not a hypothetical. It didn't happen on this show, but a reality show contestant's grandma got booted once. Believe me, we do it. As with booting anybody else, I don't enjoy it, but we do it. But if you think about it, that's why it might be fun. Throw in with the crazies; the water's fine.

Let me elaborate a tiny bit on one point. I have sometimes had indignant Racers or Racer Accessories ask how it's possible that they aren't allowed to post messages telling the people who don't like them that they're dirty bastards, but the people who don't like them were allowed to say they were dirty bastards. The answer is that nobody is allowed to call you a dirty bastard as a poster, but they are allowed to call you one as a contestant, because you are, in fact, the topic, and appearing on the forums can't vaccinate you against criticism. Let me explain by way of a tortured hypothetical of the type of which law school professors are fond.

You are seen on television picking your nose. A flurry of posts follows, saying basically this: "EEEEW! He picked his nose! That was so gross!" You, sitting in front of your computer, cannot stand having this said about you or the racer to whom you are an accessory. "I did not pick my nose!" you say indignantly. "I was scratching an itch." (This, on your part, is fine.) Poster A responds to you as follows: "I don't believe you were scratching an itch at all, and I found the pick filthy and vile." Poster B responds to you as follows: "You weren't scratching an itch, and it's pretty pathetic of you to be posting anyway, and I don't want to hear anything you have to say." Poster A? Is fine. Poster B? Will hear from me, because when posting, you get treated like a poster, and that's rude.

So -- welcome. Take your shoes off. Hang around. Gossip. Correct misunderstandings, nicely. The best thing you can do is to read the FAQ, particularly the "Forums" section. Because those are the rules we follow, and they're not that tough, provided you're not trying to fuck up.

And a note for those of you who are not Racers or Racer Accessories: Every time somebody shows up, there is inevitably at least one post -- and usually there are several posts -- saying, "Oh, I hope you know we're all just kidding! We never mean anything we say! We're all just joking!" Don't do this. (1) It's unseemly sucking-up. (2) It doesn't fool them. (3) I hate it, because it sounds like you're apologizing on behalf of other people, including me, who may not want to apologize. So don't do that. It's gross.

On the flip side, it's also not a dogpile. Don't expect to be a gratuitous asshole to a Racer or Racer Accessory in his or her capacity as a poster just because you can, or just because it's fun. The best policy is as it is with anybody else -- if you don't like them, don't talk to them. Oh, and if they act like trolls? Don't feed.

Short version? Everybody who posts plays by the same rules. If you don't like seeing yourself/your son/your manicurist/your doctor/your husband/your spiritual advisor/your personal Jesus/your red-headed stepchild who is appearing on television talked about in nasty ways and you're not going to be able to take it, this is not the place for you. If you hang around, you're going to have to keep it together. If you do, it's a good time.

Edited by TWoP Roxy, Jun 24, 2010 @ 12:34 PM.

[radiostar]

One more announcement: Around here, nickname suggestions go in the Nicknames thread in Whimsy. Otherwise, it degenerates into people competing to come up with the most obscure and longest nickname that nobody else will recognize, and then we have a bunch of people trying to force their choice into general use by using it when nobody else gets it, so . . . you're free to do it in Whimsy, but I'm done with the broad free-for-all where everybody spits out fifty names for every team, because . . . it's a mess.

Can I ask for clarification on this one? Are you just asking people to not pull the "I'm going to tm "Team Such and Such"! but making up and using nicknames are ok as long as they aren't pushing you to adopt them? Or are you asking for everybody to specify, for example, "Charla and Mirna" instead of "Team HiLo" and so on?

As well, clarification on something else - should this have gone into an email instead? Are we ok to post in here with a question re: your announcements?

Edited by radiostar, Jul 7, 2004 @ 12:30 PM.

[Miss Alli]

Second question first: Usually try email, unless you expect it's something a lot of other people are confused about.

First question second: I'm not going to parse it to that degree. I don't believe that there's anyone who's been here for any length of time who doesn't know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the competitive BS in which everybody tries to get their chosen eighty-letter nickname into the rotation and it turns into a free-for-all. I'm not going to sit here and write rules for it, because if I do, the next sport will be figuring out how to violate their spirit without violating their letter, because that's what happens whenever I write rules.

So I'm not writing rules. You're going to have to use your judgment. What I myself have learned about nicknames over the years is that the best ones really aren't funny. They're SHORT. They're ONE WORD. They're NOT CUTESY. (I think "HiLo," for instance, is entirely too cutesy, and I would never touch it myself.) It's when they get too cute, and too self-conscious, and/or too lengthy, that they tend to make people . . . well, hate you and hate reading your posts. (Not you personally.) If you've ever read a post where six teams are all being referred to with four-word nicknames, you know what I'm talking about.

Use your judgment. Use nicknames as SHORTHAND, and don't try to get cool points for being the person who comes up with the cleverest ones. When I see you doing that, that's when we're going to have a problem.

[Gideon68]

Thanks for the guidelines, Miss Alli! I'm new to these boards and I don't want to step on any toes as I ease my way in here...

(And of course I'll use my best judgement as you said. But do you give warnings first or is it one strike and you're out?)

[Miss Alli]

If you are new here, or if you are not here, please review the FAQ.

And listen up, please -- we are having a problem with tone. You don't need to snort at people that they're definitely wrong, unless you're talking about something that can be undisputably shown. In other words, you can say, "The show definitely showed her getting stuck in the mud," but you can't say, "You are wrong, he was definitely being sarcastic." Just don't act like that.

There is a lot of banning going on, and I'm happy to do more of it, but it's a waste of my time and energy, which I would rather spend making cookies for all of you and sending them in boxes tied with pink ribbons, so let's smarten up.

[PButtercup]

It can't be easy but you do a great job of keeping things civilized around here. What kind of cookies?

[SVNBob]

On the FAQ note, I'd like to add a couple answers to questions that I've seen repeatedly in the last couple episode threads.

1: The Fast Forward still exists, but not in every leg. When there's one available, we will hear about it.

2: If the Yield isn't shown in a leg, it's probably because no one used it.

[Miss Alli]

I'm talking about the site FAQ. I'm unlikely to update the show FAQ during the season, because trying to keep up with changes is too much of a pain.