Let's Talk About The Fedora Lounge

[Feraud]

Lol! What is this, a lure to get banned? Kinda like the Cultural Revolution?

Not at all. You mentioned how badly run the OB is and I was wondering what the flaws are. If a private discussion is preferred then it would absolutely be respected.

 

[Mr. 'H']

We're counting on you, all of you, to bring back the informative threads.

Go pursue your passions of the Golden Era and report back here. Share your research. That's what makes this place great.

I have a nice interesting one of these threads coming up... CLEW: 20oz; English Worsted Wool; last tailor left in Dublin; he had the C. Grant book also; Custom Suit; shop up a rickety old staircase....

Will report in due course. But I do feel that 90% of the modern Lounge has most regretably become irrelevent to me. I just don't like to express this - as a matter of courtesy and respect to the founding fathers.

 

[nobodyspecial]

I agree that as the number of members expands the difficulty of attempting to stay on topic will grow. Shutting down off topic posts may have the effect of cutting down participating members. Maybe that's what is wanted, I don't know.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I have a nice interesting one of these threads coming up... CLEW: 20oz; English Worsted Wool; last tailor left in Dublin; he had the C. Grant book also; Custom Suit; shop up a rickety old staircase....

Will report in due course. But I do feel that 90% of the modern Lounge has most regretably become irrelevent to me. I just don't like to express this - as a matter of courtesy and respect to the founding fathers.

Which slows what a gentleman and all around good fellow you are! I'm looking forward to the thread.

Remember everyone, we are the Lounge; the way to make it more interesting and informative is to share more information and more ideas.

 

[scotrace]

In the Observation Bar, conversation is what makes things interesting, that's for sure. None of us wants to stifle good conversation on the topics we want to share with one another.

I think we are mainly speaking of threads that are either personally revealing in a way that doesn't really fit with the overall tone of the Lounge, (my ex SO slept with the neighbor of my uncle's butcher's friend's poodle, the nerve!") or just WAY off the beaten path (none come to mind. Maybe the word "prostate," but that actually had valuable info).

In other areas, there's certainly a creep over the borders and I think the respective bartenders will be working to get things on topic.

Let me ask this outright: Have the Men & Ladies of the Lounge threads reached a point where they could go into a general "Give us Swell Pictures of YOU" or maybe "See & Be Seen" sort of thread?

 

[Feraud]

Shutting down off topic posts may have the effect of cutting down participating members. Maybe that's what is wanted, I don't know.

Participation is an interesting topic to explore..

Any thread that could be shut down are those which we can agree are not technically participating to the Lounge. A discussion of our pets, while a great thread is not what a "Fedora Lounge" is about.
What makes you think anyone would want to cut down on member participation?
That is a very odd thought and insinuation to express..

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Not at all. You mentioned how badly run the OB is and I was wondering what the flaws are. If a private discussion is preferred then it would absolutely be respected.

Feraud, I think he meant "I'll point out specific posts I'd like to have shut down," and didn't mean he thought it was badly run.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Will report in due course. But I do feel that 90% of the modern Lounge has most regretably become irrelevent to me. I just don't like to express this - as a matter of courtesy and respect to the founding fathers.

I've been noticing the same thing myself over the last six months or so, maybe longer. When I was but a mere lurker (for some time) a couple of years back, and when I first joined, there was a plethora of shared information and experiences about Golden Era/classic style-related topics. Of course, it's only human to stray off topic from time to time and I concur that it's a good idea that bartenders prune some of the more OT discussions and help focus the Lounge more on the original agenda for which it was conceived.

 

[Feraud]

Feraud, I think he meant "I'll point out specific posts I'd like to have shut down," and didn't mean he thought it was badly run.

Ah yes. That could be.

When I read "..run fine with the exception of.." that reads like there is a problem with the running of the Observation Bar.
His post could have read, "members contribute well enough to the Lounge with the exception of the OB". The emphasis on where the fault (in the member participation?) lies. [huh]

 

[nobodyspecial]

Participation is an interesting topic to explore..

Any thread that could be shut down are those which we can agree are not technically participating to the Lounge. A discussion of our pets, while a great thread is not what a "Fedora Lounge" is about.
What makes you think anyone would want to cut down on member participation?
That is a very odd thought and insinuation to express..

I'm not insinuating anything here. As membership grows, keeping on topic will simply be harded to do, here or in any forum, web or otherwise, for that matter. Forcing the issue of staying on topic may possibly drive away current members or slow down the growth in new members. Therefore staying on topic becomes easier as you have a smaller group with a potentially narrower set of interests. Essentially a chicken and egg situation.

My $0.02 is this observation bar, as it has been recently run, isn't broken so really doesn't need to be fixed. Members can always skip topics that are not of interest to them.

 

[Jovan]

I actually think a more "general" area might be useful. This forum is a rare thing, one where people seem to respect each others opinions, by and large, and where people have friends. Asking for advice outside the vintage arena is sometimes necessary and I don't why that shouldn't be allowed

Smuts <----------- renegade

I wholeheartedly agree.

Why not a general "off topic" subforum? A lot of forums have these sort of sections where people are free to talk about all kinds of crazy things that don't necessarily fit into the tone of the rest of the forum. It seems to work out pretty well on the forums I've seen it. [huh]

 

[Martinis at 8]

In the Observation Bar, it was supposed to be a bar where people walk in to discuss anything (but politics). This is what I was told by you, the moderators.

Problem 1 - Inconsistency

So when I see a thread going on about guys & gals I think this is okay. When I see a thread about a prostate exam and a colonoscopy, I also think this is okay. People are talking in a bar.

But then when I see another thread about a colonoscopy via medical tourism summarily locked with an accompanying lecture, I have to wonder what's going on here when the other thread about essentially the same subject is allowed to continue. Huh? [huh]

Problem 2 - Nepotism

The College Girl in the 50's thread. I think Paisley and myself were probably the only ones who actually read the whole article that was linked when that thread started. She has apparently read Kerouac also, as have I. I stated an opinion on the article. Another respondent replied with name-calling. Huh? [huh] A pile on begins by that respondent's cyber-buddies to include some moderator buddies. This was phenomenal! Then some of the mob actually go and read the linked article, including the member who initiated the name-calling. Ruh-roh! In a comical pseudo-recant they all go back and start editing their posts. Posts start disappearing from the mods who joined in on the pile-on. The thread becomes sanitized. Clean up on aisle 7! Then I get a note in the background saying the mods would like me banned even though I didn't start the name calling, so I had better watch out because "I am in a bull in a china closet that brings his own china" :eusa_clap

Similar situation to the above with the thread about dressing up to go out.

The problem is this: When there is a rational debate taking place, the rules of engagement with regards to that debate change based on nepotism here at FL. What this means to me is that direct personal attacks and name-calling are allowed and tolerated once logic has prevailed over the other party. It also means that the adjudication of ad hominem attacks is not dependent on the offense, but is dependent on who your friend is in the jury box.

My proposed cure to the mods is for me to stay out of the Observation Bar. Plus I'm not here that much anyways. Last couple of months I have been working in West Africa.

M8

 

[Foofoogal]

This is probably not the place or time but I also don't understand the consistency here. Like why did the thread about bidding get moved from the powder room to now the Observation room? It was about buying or not buying vintage clothing. I guess it then moved to finances. Is that why?
Not sure where to go or what to say anymore.

 

[Warbaby]

I wholeheartedly agree.

Why not a general "off topic" subforum? A lot of forums have these sort of sections where people are free to talk about all kinds of crazy things that don't necessarily fit into the tone of the rest of the forum. It seems to work out pretty well on the forums I've seen it. [huh]

I'm relatively new to the lounge, so I don't have the perspective of one who was here in the 'good old days', but I find it far and away the most friendly, informative, civilized forum I've ever seen - and I've been online for a long, long time. I do agree, however, that we should try to adhere as much as possible to the primary focus of the lounge - vintage and golden age style, and the acoutrements thereof. I mean, that's why we all joined in the first place isn't it?

I think that Jovan's suggestion of an 'off topic' forum (maybe call it 'Anything Goes' after the song of the same name) might be worth trying. I'd suggest sticking to the 'no politics' rule, though. There are plenty of political forums for that, and if people start talking politics, the animosity it generates will inevitably spill over into the relationships and attitudes in the other sub forums.

The OB seems to be working as it was intended - that is, discussions of a generally vintage nature - but a few threads seem totally out of place, though well-intended. An 'off topic' sub forum would provide a handy place to put our prostates, pussycats, costumed squirrels, and discussions of Eva Braun's underwear (no, wait...that *would* be vintage).

 

[Jovan]

Anything Goes! That's a wonderful name suggestion, keeping with the style of the forum. I agree that politics aren't necessary either. The Observation Bar could be reworked as a sort of current events section, but all this is up for the moderators to decide anyways. [huh]

I hope you consider our suggestions... I do want to see this forum flourish for both those who come to hang out (it is a lounge ), need info about things in particular, or do both as I do. I think it's fun just to discuss what makes some styles really last through the ages and why some things, although they are better, have died out. I like that sort of conversation and hope it doesn't fall out of favour here.

 

[JazzBaby]

The Observation Bar could be reworked as a sort of current events section, but all this is up for the moderators to decide anyways. [huh]

To me, that's kind of what the OB is anyway - a place where we're all friends just having a chat about general topics. I mean we all love talking about the Golden Era but too much of a good thing... I suppose it's a case of choosing your topics wisely.

 

[KittyT]

Whenever a group comes together, people enjoy the opportunity to socialize and relate to members of that group on a variety of levels. I see the OB as the forum where the majority of this takes place, and I know there are a lot of members who find this type of socializing pleasant - it helps many [who aren't surrounded by people in their local communities with similar interests] feel like they have a place within a group, and there is some value in that.

I think the easy solution to this problem would be allowing the OB to maintain it's current level of social gab while trying to keep things more on-topic in the rest of the forums. This way, those of us who want content can find it, and those who want to socialize have a place for that too. For people like myself who aren't as into that, we'll just continue to mostly stay out of the OB as we already are. It's easy to deal with if it's limited to one particular forum.

 

[CharlesB]

Whenever a group comes together, people enjoy the opportunity to socialize and relate to members of that group on a variety of levels. I see the OB as the forum where the majority of this takes place, and I know there are a lot of members who find this type of socializing general - it helps many [who aren't surrounded by people in their local communities with similar interests] feel like they have a place within a group, and there is some value in that.

I think the easy solution to this problem would be allowing the OB to maintain it's current level of social gab while trying to keep things more on-topic in the rest of the forums. This way, those of us who want content can find it, and those who want to socialize have a place for that too. For people like myself who aren't as into that, we'll just continue to mostly stay out of the OB as we already are. It's easy to deal with if it's limited to one particular forum.

spot on

 

[DeaconKC]

As a moderator on another forum, I totally appreciate the effort required to keep this place so civil. It is a never ending balancing act to keep the place fun and still on track. Good luck and good job and ESPECIALLY thanks to all those who do it here.

 

[dhermann1]

Just to elaborate on that point, what I appreciate is the opportunity to discuss contemporary non "Vintage" issues and problems with people who I know have similar vintagey perspective. (I HATE the term "Vintage". Will somebody please come up with something better? I also don't think much of the phrase "Mid-century". I don't think there's much prospect of anything better appearing, however.)
I too applaud the Bartenders.
I must say, I think what has been called "nepotism" is just the fact thaat people who have been in the Lounge for a while build up an identity and credibility. Bartenders know that they may go a certain direction, but won't go too far off the track.
I also love the threads that start off sensibly and then burst into long streams of rampant silliness. The mutual inspiraton thing is one of the best things about the Lounge. I'd hate to see that stifled. To paraphrase Flip Wilson, the silly people know who they are.