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Did (Most) Everyone Get a Headache?
Submitted by fyl on Mon, 2010/01/18 - 16:23.
While our usual political mudslinging (that is, everyone to the left of Atilla the Hun gets called a leftist) has slowed down a bit, there have been some really strange posts in the last few days. Maybe it was a serious FdC weekend for a lot of people—I just don't know.
Here are but three examples:
- I asked Billy Bob why he lived here. (I actually think it is a good question and maybe a good idea to ask everyone who does live here why they are here.) I didn't say "live it or leave it", I simply asked his reasons for living here because his posts indicate he doesn't like it here. The responses are a combination of picking on me for asking the question and suggesting I might want to move.
- A post about Venezuela has turned into a fight about how people feel about/how they should relate to Nicaraguan politics.
- My post that suggests we think about where a poster is coming from (best clarified in my comment that says, in part, "I am simply suggesting that when we read a post from someone, saying "they are Nicaraguan" (meaning born with Nicaraguan citizenship) should not be the only criteria one uses to decide 'how Nicaraguan' a post is.") receives an equally strange followup.
Now, I am used to be picked on for saying it the way I see it but these three examples just don't make sense to me. It also seems to fit into the problem of thread hijacking. Let's take the Venezuela post (which I happen to have nothing to do with).
The first comment has nothing to do with the post (thus, hijacking) but it does raise some things by a person who doesn't yet live here. While I think there is more to the picture than she sees so far, I didn't think it was particularly off base from what she seems to know about and have experienced. Someone with more time in Nicaragua could probably talk about what she brings up and tell her what she missed.
But, instead she gets attacked. And the war continued. It doesn't offer anything useful for her, for me or for someone else reading the site.
The same can be said about the "Billy Bob" thread. What it could have/should have been was Billy Bob answering the question (which he did) and possibly some clarification followups.
While my opinion of the Honduras situation is more in line with this editorial than Billy Bob's opinion of the situation, he is at least responding to the subject rather than heading off to another planet or picking on the poster (generally me) because you happen to not see the parallels between what happens in Honduras and what happens in Nicaragua.
Ok, end of my editorial for today.
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equally strange
Golly guru, thanks, I guess. The title of your original blog threw me, and a couple others, off the communications track. It sounded like a self-sponcered pissing contest. I expected grades on users to follow.
A headache, huh? Athena, goddess of wisdom, so popped out of Zeus' head, as a headache. But should something similar befall you, I'd suggest you get it checked for a tumor.
Picking on ya, huh? When's the last time you listened to the Beatle's "The Fool on the Hill"? Not that there's any mention of monodomes, mind ya.
The most helpful information here
Has been your posts, FYL. Because they list a method approach of how you've accomplished some of your goals. I read your posts about creating Cool Top with keen interest and the linear way they were set up were incredibly helpful to me. This information told of your experiences, obstacles, and a great deal of information that helped me determine a direction once I reached Nicaragua.
They were non-judgmental posts filled with a wealth of information. And that was exactly what drew me to this site.
There have been others here too, filled with information about the immigration process that helped me discover how to pursue my situation. These are the posts that make this site valuable to people like me, considering the move to Nicaragua...for whatever reasons a person chooses to move there. I thought that was what this site was about.
Maybe isolating political commentary and political humor to certain locations would keep this site on track?
FYL, I thought you meant it that way.
I mean, the way you say you didn't mean it. Sure you didn't finish the line with "cos if you don't like it why don't you..... but the posts defending Billy Bob seemed to me to have added that in their mind. I have no idea of the history between the 3 of you but from an outside looking in, i didn't understand why you needed to turn on him and ask him that?
private message
i would not have made a big public post about this. if i wanted to know why someone lived hear i would have sent them an email not make a post and about someone calling them by name and asking them directly for everyone to see.
but then again this is just me. like i always say if i dont like something i just say something or look somewhere else. i never want to tell some one what they can say or not say.
i also never want to tell someone that their questions or commits are stupid and anything. what is important to someone may not be to others.
fly about 99% or the things you write i just glance at and every now and then i see something that i like but most of the time i read the first sentance then go somewhere else.
i am not saying that your writtings are stupid or anything i am sure that allot of people like them just they dont interest me. so keep on i know that some like them.
point is you cannot please everyone so i dont even try.
Asking publically
I have talked about this privately. I asked here because this site is supposed to be about sharing information. He regularly tells us what is wrong with Nicaragua but he lives here. If I didn't live here and was reading NL to help make a decision where to live, this is a reasonable thing to want to know. I know him and I asked—not for me but for others.
Now, I have decided this is a question I want to ask everyone who has moved here but I haven't decided how to do it yet. But, I think it would answer a lot of questions for those unfortunates that don't live here yet.
If my last 5
blog posts aren´t about sharing info, I don´t know what to say.
As always, I extend the courtesy of sharing my experiences here with other people to make it easier for them to make the transition once they have made the decision to move here for whatever reason.
That doesn´t mean I´m going to hide my concerns about the downhill political situation, or the fact that I think there may be better places for retirement for people who are not locked into Nicaragua for family, property, or political reasons.
¨Latin America devours its revolutionaries¨ -Simon Bolivar
Suggestion
Just ask.
Make a few simple rules.
Have two forums.
1. Must live here for some set time each year...say 6 months or more and have done it or 3 years.
2. Live here full time for at least one year. Also specify that they need to include how many years here,
Limit all responses to 50 words or less.
Make it about NICA positives...not "I got tired of the snow" or other comparative stuff like I got thrown out of Russia.
Be a great pair of firums. Allowed to post only one time and 50 words...after that you cut it on word 55.
Be great if you could ho;d all the posts for two weeks so that they all appeared at once. maybe you cannot but that would make for more original and deeper stuff.
ZZT
I like that concept. Maybe this is worth pursuing
I feel in many cases 50 words are not enough to explain procedures or details.
How about if the person posting on his/her blog, (Sorry Nicole her/ his blog :-)) can moderate that thread. That way much of the highjacking of threads could be eliminated and it would reduce the administrators workload.
If threads still get out of hand it would be much easier to control.
Survey?
What I am thinking about is a survey. The reason is am thinking survey is that having a table of information might make it easier for people to understand it. It still needs a "fill in the blanks" question or two but having age group, relationship status, ... in tabular form seems pretty handy.
Too busy to do it today but that's where my thinking is going.
Better free form
I think some of your "tabbed" info is good..age, relationship, etc. Just have them put that in the lead paragraph with length of time here.
But predetermined questions are not as good as reading 20 or so short "essays". If someone interested in coming here, that is not a lot to go over and it gives a lot more flavor (and info) than some predetermined question survey. That kind of makes it what you want to know, rather tan what people really want to say. if you were doing 100 or 200, tabbed pre questions would be a must but not here.ZZT
OK
100...but let's not have a book.
People need to get the essence of a lot of them.
ZZT
I got to agree with fyl
Damm it. Ok on the first...he did just ask a question, which quite frankly has crossed my feeble mind a number of times. He did not say..leave...he just asked wh aar you here? I have to say, from the tenor of the posts, I get the same feeling. That is not to say that BB did not have good info on occasion. But the tone was "this is a shit hole"...at least to me. Please don' t tkake too much offense BB...just how it stuck me and I am no one to cllaim communications niceity.
On the other two...#2 is right on.
And on # 3 I don't understand it from the get go so a toss up.
Let's just pick on fyl for being a commie, not this. ZZT
PS
It was a big FDC weekend. Usually that clarifies some of the thinking on here so not sure we can blame that.ZZT
Yes
Yes, big one. That's it.
FdeC, Tony or Vicky Headaches
You know, we have meetings for that in SJdS. English speaking, with all levels of bi-lingual help if you need it. In all seriousness, not many people know we meet here, so if you ever hear of someone needing help, send em our way or PM me for details. Proud to say we have saved a few on their travels through this wonderful "but oh so good rum" country.