[pinkgothic]

And whilst I'm actually at picking at posts:

Originally Posted by Spiwak

I love the people here but I swear they must all be really sexually frustrated.

You couldn't be more wrong.

Edited to add: If you're bothered by people putting actions between asterisks to denote what they are doing, please, by all means, put me on ignore. This is a useful forum feature you should try out - it hides the post of the person you dislike (putting a placeholder in place instead, and giving you the option of looking at individual posts anyway). It saves you the bother of reading what I write, and me the bother of getting offended by follow-ups like this. I've used it before and am very happy with the functionality.

Coincidentially, the reason I'm getting so riled up is that everyone seems to be trying so hard not to mention names in here, but then makes it so glaringly obvious with descriptions anyway. If you know whom, specifically, you are having issues with, why not approach them about it? You'll find I can be rather apologetic when approached in private. Public floggings like this? I don't care for them. Newsflash: I can't read minds. You can bet this is the first I'm reading of this, and yes, I am furious.

[pinkgothic]

And since I can't shut my gob even when this would be clearly beneficial:

Originally Posted by pinkgothic

...we're worse than Lee and Squinky. Congratulations.

It doesn't occur to you that all of this was a bit tongue-in-cheek?

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by pinkgothic

And since I can't shut my gob even when this would be clearly beneficial:



It doesn't occur to you that all of this was a bit tongue-in-cheek?

Calm down pinskie! Nobody is going to start pointing fingers at you and omloflump, I am sure.

It was obvious that it was tonge-in-cheek.


On a side note, I checked, and Play.com shipped my NWN2 yesterday. I hope it arrives soon.


-

[Sage]

I got a new calendar for work. Check out Ms. June:



Rowr!

[bulldog]

Ha, ha she is cute.......

[pinkgothic]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

Calm down pinskie! Nobody is going to start pointing fingers at you and omloflump, I am sure.

After some thought: You're probably right.

I had a little chat with one of the mods and it seems I may've overlooked something in my haste of making assumptions. I can't say for sure either way, but I have to withdraw my statement that Spiwak's ramblings were clearly and obviously referring to me.

For that (and it was a main point of my rant), I apologise, as much as ego-centricity can be excused, and for any collateral 'ouch' to the uninvolved.

[SCRUGAtes13]

Originally Posted by Squinky

There are much better things in this world than orgasms. Trust me.

did i say there wasn't?! is putting words in other peoples mouths all you are good for or what?! this is the second time you've done this to me in one thread. what did i ever do to you?

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by Spiwak

Yea, you're right AFGNCAAP. Things have quieted down. But I can't deny that there was a point when I was seriously considering leaving because of all the needless sex happening in several threads at once (and other things not necessarily related to that but not necessarily not not related).

Should it happen again, do speak your mind, whether publically or in a private rant. Or clench your teeth and ignore it if you prefer. Just please, don't leave because of it.

Originally Posted by pinkgothic

I had a little chat with one of the mods and it seems I may've overlooked something in my haste of making assumptions. I can't say for sure either way, but I have to withdraw my statement that Spiwak's ramblings were clearly and obviously referring to me.

Being "one of the mods" in question, I'd like to add that such a possible misunderstanding was one of the reasons I didn't like this thread in the first place (but I didn't mention it originally, because I felt my previous post was too negative anyway ). So yeah, I am not a fan of artificial sexing up the forums, too, but surely we can work it out without choosing opposite extreme and antagonizing each other by saying "Let's talk about anything but sex".

(Just my opinion, not to be read as a jab at the thread starter, who should know I like him a lot. )

[AFGNCAAP]

*reads the post above mine*

Sigh. Or maybe I should lock this topic before the flamewars really start?

[Jatsie]

Come on people, make love, not war!!

[Giligan]

Originally Posted by Jat316sob

Come on people, make love, not war!!

Ah, nicely said!

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

So yeah, I am not a fan of artificial sexing up the forums, too, but surely we can work it out without choosing opposite extreme and antagonizing each other by saying "Let's talk about anything but sex".

I should point out that it was meant to be fairly tongue in cheek. More designed to make people think about what they're posting than to actually create some kind of permanent schism. Honest!

Anyway, I'll shut up now. Apologies for any problems caused.

[Squinky]

I've got a few things to say:

First of all, if you actually have a problem with my behaviour, say it to my face. No one's actually said anything other than veiled tongue-in-cheek comments so far, meaning I'm assuming that it's okay to continue. However, given that I'm a staff member around these parts, I don't want to give off the impression that I'm being unprofessional, so if I am, then by all means, take me aside and give me a good talking to and I'll stop.

Second of all, I too echo the "huh? what sex?" sentiment. Things have been pretty much tame since Trep's departure, and it's really been more cutesy lovey doveyness than sex that's been going on these days. Granted, if it's the cutesy lovey doveyness that bothers you, then you should've started a No Cutesy Lovey Doveyness Thread. No sense confusing the two.

Also, SCRUGAtes, I didn't mean to be inflammatory with any of my replies to your statements. Sorry about that. I won't say anything more.

Finally, I think it's worth mentioning that if it were as early as two or three months ago, I would be just as annoyed with my present incarnation as many of you are today. Funny how people's worldviews can be upended by just having one very special person saunter into their lives, innit?

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

Aside from the Squinky & Lee soap, which is annoying in its omnipresence but not particularly explicit, I don't know what you are talking about.

*nods thoughtfully... thinks for a while*
____________________

Lately, the medication I take to compress and manage my bipolar disorder, a little wonder drug called Risperidone (an antipsychotic originally prescribed to schizophrenics), has been failing me. This is not an unnatural occurrence. I'm sure most people here have at one time or another developed a tolerance to some form of medication, and were forced to find a different brand or prescription to replace the old one with.

And yet, par for the course, it's reawakened some old behaviourisms that I haven't had to deal with in a while. In deference to the esteemed RLacey, I will briefly mention that Risperidone is known to dampen the libido, which it has indeed been doing to me for a few years now.

To balance things out, I'll also mention that Risperidone causes you to gain weight. Which I have, particularly in the last year. I went from 130 lbs to 145 lbs in the first couple of years (minor; I was also still doing some manual labour and had very little money, and thus went hungry a lot), but in the last year has ballooned to 175 lbs. I am beginning to shed these pounds, but suspect I'm still in the 145-155 range. I could be wrong.

However, aside from this, the main thing about Risperidone is that it helps suppress the stronger emotional flights of manic depression, including erratic and overreactive behaviour due to stimulus blown out of proportion.

During the last few years of using this medication, I've found that, while I can still get ramped up or bummed out, I rarely if ever reach those soaring highs or precipitous lows. Except lately.

In the last handful of months, probably going back as early as May of this year, I've been having increasing problems getting stabilized. Other medications have and are being tried, and there are discernible effects, but these too are somewhat dubious. Seroquel proved to be a fair replacement for Risperidone for a few days, but afterwards, I started becoming increasingly agitated, given to temper tantrums that were starting to scare my wife. I was switched back to Risperidone, and have also been taking small doses of Ritalin to help with my focus problems when I am starting to ramp up a little. This has been somewhat effective. However, my moodswings are still interfering with my work and my ability to interact with people who are unaware or antipathetic to my situation.

Last night, I took a double dose of Risperidone, and am feeling pretty stable. We'll see how the rest of the day goes before I make a pronouncement.

*starts warily looking around for Tom Cruise to come flying out with a copy of Dianetics to beat me with*
____________________

All of this goes toward explaining why I've been fighting to hold my tongue over the repeated jibes my friend Deirdra and I have been taking. Harmless flirtation between two people who have, behind the scenes, already hashed out the immediate particulars of their actual relationship satisfactorily, but who delight in innocently flirting on a public forum filled with the panoply of human experiences. And yet, somehow, certain folks here find that distasteful.

I may yet again be reading too much into this, and overeacting accordingly, but nevertheless, I am pretty certain that the behaviour exhibited by Deirdra and I is neither harmful nor offensive, and that most if not all of us have more than a passing working knowledge of the concept of flirting, if not the consequences of flirting. And yet, in the last month or two, I've read disparaging comments of a derisive nature about our little side discussions, and have also been alluded to more than once as a cyber-stalker, an insinuation I take great exception to.

Once again, I may have the wrong end of the stick here, and I suspect that this may irritate and enrage a few of the more-righteous-than-I in the room, but I'm pretty sure that the behaviour I've been exhibiting has by and large remained well within the realm of appropriate social conduct. While it may run against the more prudish sensibilities of those who have embraced an outlook that does not easily take into account the breadth and depth of human sexual behaviour, nevertheless, nothing distasteful or rude has been said by either Deirdra or I in the last couple of months. The occasional slightly risque suggestion has been made, I grant you, but nothing offensive or sexually degrading, as far as I can recall.

This is not, after all, the Victorian era, and despite my anglophile leanings, I assure you, this has been proven out to be for the best. The Jerry Springer phenomenon may be a distasteful thing to many, but the mere open and frank discussion of sexuality, even in a forum devoted mainly to the discussion of video games, can rationally be regarded as merely a healthy and educational experience.

The frequent sniggering is more indicative of a sexually-confused thirteen year old schoolboy than it is of someone who is interacting with adults in a public forum. That there are in fact some young teenage males in the forum has not escaped my notice. However, it is rather disconcerting that these topics and modes of conversation, rather than discussed openly and clearly, are treated as if they are somehow infringing on others' rights to remain socially awkward.

What all of this says of the behaviour and attitudes of those who have continued to carp at Deirdra and I is a pretty rich vein of unexplored social politics and private insecurities. However, I doubt any intelligent discourse will arise from pointing this out. So the best I can come up with is to pose this simple question, which I do not expect or even want to receive the answer to; this is a question for you to ask yourself. See if you can answer it honestly:

Why is it that sexuality offends and disturbs you so?

(and to anyone who takes offense at anything I have said here, I do apologize for your hurt feelings. This is not intended as an attack on your personal feelings about sexuality. I have pointed no fingers. I will not take part in a flame war. These are merely my personal views, and an expression of growing concern over what I feel is unwarranted negativity towards a very dear friend of mine and I. Bear that in mind as you prepare to hit the reply button and fire off that nuclear salvo. I won't be replying any further to this thread, so a rebuttal will not be forthcoming.)

And to the forum moderators, administrators and the owner of the site, I apologize for my soap box antics here. I assure you, I will not bring this topic up again.

[Flyboy]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

Sigh. Or maybe I should lock this topic before the flamewars really start?

I realize you're not being serious, although the "make love not war" sentiment has been echoed by others here as well. I don't really see the problem with arguing, or debating or even bitching, if you will. I think these forums would be deadly boring without such a range of opinions about these things.

If people want to talk about sex, let them. If they don't, fine. I don't think anyone here is hellbent on pissing anyone else off. It's inevitable that people will say things that upset others, but there's no need to silence them for doing so, unless they are being particularly malicious. It's important that people who come here feel comfortable expressing themselves without being shunned upon.

Rob (Robert, Robsie, Lacey?? Please someone steer my in the right direction), I think your intentions in creating this thread were fine, although it was clear it would never work. You may want to talk about one thing, while others are happy fooling around and joking about sex. You have to take the good and the bad I guess...

[Spiwak]

pinkgothic - I actually never was referring to you. I've always thought you're adorable.

squinky and lee - your flirting is mostly harmless, just for a while it seemed to be everywhere (just as AFGNCAAP was saying). Not that big a deal.

And in general I don't want to name names (everyone seems to think we're implicating them specifically but I for one was not) because I knew this would happen: if I complain about it I knew I'd offend people and then it'd turn into a big pissing contest. But sorry, I really have derailed this thread now, but I do think this topic is worth discussion...how much is considered appropriate for the public forum. Anyways, sorry to go on about it, I'll just shut up and let this thread roam in peace. In retrospect it probably isn't worth becoming upset over, so I'll simply retract my previous posts.

I got that paper back today, for anyone that cared, and I got a 188/200 - A. Not that that's bad, but it turns out my main problem was in fact trying to do too much in one "5-7 page" paper (and even then, it still went out to 9 pages). Wish I could find out if anybody did better than me...

[pinkgothic]

Originally Posted by Spiwak

pinkgothic - I actually never was referring to you. I've always thought you're adorable.

... aw, crap. I seem to do that a lot, don't I? Exploding on people who meant no harm at all. I'm sorry, Spiwak. I wouldn't be sorry if I'd been right with my base assumption, but precisely that ended up incorrect (as was hinted at me in private message before), and now I feel like the dolt I am. Especially since this's helped no one - not even me! I got all offended for no reason, which hasn't made my day the happiest at all. Way to go, pinkgothic, piss off a couple of people and yourself whilst you're at it. Very wise.

pinkgothic

I'll try the doctor's advice henceforth - think before you post. I hear it does wonders.

[Spiwak]

Nah, pink, don't change a thing. You're one of my favorite members specifically because of how passionate you are about everything. I wish I had that sort of intensity.

(And considering how many times I've gotten to you, perhaps the problem is with me. So don't apologize.)

[pinkgothic]

Originally Posted by Spiwak

Nah, pink, don't change a thing. You're one of my favorite members specifically because of how passionate you are about everything. I wish I had that sort of intensity.

Well, perhaps, but you'd think it'd be nice if my emotions were actually about something substential and not a vague outline in the mists that I randomly take a jab at 'cause it might be an enemy. So, I do apologise. Profusely. So, nyah.

Originally Posted by Spiwak

(And considering how many times I've gotten to you, perhaps the problem is with me. So don't apologize.)

It's been more frequent?
Why was I not informed of this?
*pages back on her own posts to check, confused (as always)*

[Jelena]

Lee and Squinky
Sitting here wondering if you've taken offence to my gibes: get a room, do you want me to pay for the room, when's the wedding and such.

I sincerely hope you understood that it was all friendly part-taking (is that a word?) in your tete-�*-tete. Since you've been flirting openly I figured it was open to anyone to comment and/or take part in the fun.