Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[meep.meep]

TWOP had really good recaps back in the day when if you missed a show and couldn't record it (many people couldn't) you could still find out what happened.  The recap writers were professional and semi-professional writers.

This site doesn't have that, but they have lots of forums where you can discuss shows and pets and whatever.  And it's all free.  I'm willing to follow a few rules like no politics or no discussion of Megan Markle or no boards on boards for that.

When I've had problems on this site, the people I have contacted have been professional and committed to solving them.  The only problem I've come across dealing with them was the person running the Prime Timers who could not understand how Richie singing Love Story in his car on The Bear could possibly be a favorite musical moment.  Sigh.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, kristen111 said:

I was under the impression that lots of people loved TWOP.  They loved reading the stuff the next day especially.  I have no idea what it was like.  How long did it last?

I liked it but I found some of the posters to be a bit clique-ish. They did have really good recaps and some of the forums were really fun. I wasn't there long enough to get banned but I probably would have been eventually if the stuff I've been admonished about over here is anything to go by.

[StatisticalOutlier]

23 hours ago, Bastet said:

I found the 15/15 rule excessive, but I long for a moderate requirement when I come across one too many "Am I the only one who thinks [idea that has been discussed in several recent posts]?" posts in a day.

I think the 15/15 rule was excessive, too.  Something like 10/10 would be reasonable.  Shoot--maybe they actually had a 10/10 rule but told people it was 15/15 because they knew they'd try to push it.

I had a post deleted recently because I questioned a reality TV show contestant's choice to have a beard that makes his mouth look like a monkey's anus.  I'm quite confident that would have been acceptable snark at TWOP, which is why I miss it.  I don't remember being on any of the "toxic" forums at TWOP, or if I was, I'd just stop going.  No discussion among people I don't actually know is important enough for me to subject myself to content I find upsetting.  (Obviously, I'm not on any social media.  😀 )

 

[bluegirl147]

31 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

 I don't remember being on any of the "toxic" forums at TWOP, or if I was, I'd just stop going.  No discussion among people I don't actually know is important enough for me to subject myself to content I find upsetting.  (Obviously, I'm not on any social media.  😀 )

 

That happened here for me.  There was a thread that had what I felt to be very offensive posts and instead of engaging and most likely ending up banned I stepped back from the thread.   It is not my nature to let offensive things slide but in this case I felt it was best for me.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I think the 15/15 rule was excessive, too.  Something like 10/10 would be reasonable.  Shoot--maybe they actually had a 10/10 rule but told people it was 15/15 because they knew they'd try to push it.

I had a post deleted recently because I questioned a reality TV show contestant's choice to have a beard that makes his mouth look like a monkey's anus.  I'm quite confident that would have been acceptable snark at TWOP, which is why I miss it.  I don't remember being on any of the "toxic" forums at TWOP, or if I was, I'd just stop going.  No discussion among people I don't actually know is important enough for me to subject myself to content I find upsetting.  (Obviously, I'm not on any social media.  😀 )

 

I'm sorry but your description of "monkey anus" cracked me up.

[annzeepark914]

10 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm sorry but your description of "monkey anus" cracked me up.

That sounds like the guy on Jeopardy with the little mustache, and hair parted on the side and slicked down. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

I just realized I don't actually know what a monkey's anus looks like, and I'm sure not gonna google it.  But here's what I think it looks like.

[surfgirl]

I totally forgot about MBTV, thanks for the memory jog! That's when I came on board. I don't remember shitty or abusive mod behavior until TWoP got established and the Howard types made posting miserable. They'd follow you around to every thread you posted on and give you warnings until they could ban you. Previously TV was the same founders as MBTV and TWoP IIRC.They'd build a forum up and then sell it. I call it the JJ Abrams syndrome, they start great projects they walk away. I think David Cole created this current place IIRC, I don't knownif he was from MBTV days or not. It was nice for awhile, then the mod squad exploded and there were mods everywhere all the time. Then it got very weird and militant with mods randomly warning and banning and sending nasty DMs to posters because they had the power to do so, and their lead fostered that toxic environment. It was also confusing because mods also posted as posters so you never knew how to interact with them as I think most mods were former posters. I feel like someone should write a timeline of the evolution fro. MBTV to now (if you know 'blah blah blah fishcakes', then you've been around for a long time!).

Edited April 26 by surfgirl

[EtheltoTillie]

The super-long scene-by-scene snarky recaps had a moment back when MBTV started, but they have faded away, maybe because they became tedious to read. Sometimes I wanted to just find out what happened and it would take longer to read the recap than to watch the show.  

[bluegirl147]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The super-long scene-by-scene snarky recaps had a moment back when MBTV started, but they have faded away, maybe because they became tedious to read. Sometimes I wanted to just find out what happened and it would take longer to read the recap than to watch the show.  

I remember those. Don't remember where I read them but they got annoying real quick.  It was more commentary on the shows and less recap. I prefer commentary in threads discussing shows.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The super-long scene-by-scene snarky recaps had a moment back when MBTV started, but they have faded away, maybe because they became tedious to read. Sometimes I wanted to just find out what happened and it would take longer to read the recap than to watch the show.  

I'm pretty sure streaming capabilities negatively impacted in the popularity of recaps.
But, actually, some of us find reading (skimming?) a recap was faster than watching a show. An office-suite-mate/work-daughter and I were sharing our TV watching preferences during a free moment one day, and I mentioned my then-current obsession with Battlestar Galactica (the reboot). She said her husband had just discovered that show but didn't have time to catch up on the already aired episodes. I sent her a link to the TWoP recaps. A few days later she said her husband told her to thank me. 
They're still here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080617001628/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/battlestar-galactica/recaps.php

On the third hand, listening to podcasts is probably more convenient than reading recaps or rewatching.

In 2000, I set up a Roswell fan site to preserve some of our online discussions on FanForum. I also included the recaps (not on TWoP yet, IIRC) because, at the time, Internet content seemed ephemeral, and I thought they were worth preserving.
Apparently others saw their "worth" too, in terms of $$$.
I can't find the emails, but before TWoP was sold to NBC, I received a very politely worded Cease and Desist notice to take down the recaps "or else." 
I did take them down.
Thanks to the Internet Archive (which I try to support with a few dollars each year, along with Wikipedia) the Roswell recaps are still here: https://web.archive.org/web/20080620021034/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/roswell/recaps.php

My site is still here: thesmudge.com/shapeshifter/Roswell
And, also thanks to the Internet Archive, my site is here: https://web.archive.org/web/20161022230851/https://thesmudge.com/shapeshifter/Roswell/
— until the sun explodes and swallows the earth unless we are on a spaceship far far away? (as I used to declare to scare/wake up students after lunch when teaching them about DOIs, suggesting they might want to consider becoming astronauts instead of PSYC majors).

Regarding Mighty Big TV (

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

In all its incarnations, a little over 15 years.  It started out as just a site about Dawson's Creek, then became Mighty Big TV when it expanded the next year to snark on TV shows in general.  Several years later, it became TWoP.  Bravo bought it from the site founders about five years after that, and those founders later established Previously.TV, which is now Primetimer.  When TWoP was shut down in 2014, word got around that PTV existed, and a bunch of us joined what was then a pretty small forum that got a lot bigger.  At some point (I don't know if it was when PTV became Primetimer), the founders sold this place, too.

)

the Internet Archive has home page views, but all the links seem to redirect to TWoP, like this:
https://web.archive.org/web/20011121181001/http://mightybigtv.com:80/

Maybe that will change?
I'm noticing over the years that more of the TWoP internal links are working on the Internet Archive/Wayback Machine.
I do not know how that's happening.

Edited April 26 by shapeshifter

[EtheltoTillie]

@shapeshifter you are absolutely right that streaming and on-demand showings have reduced the need for catch-up recaps.  But those really long ones had another purpose--to show off the writer's snark capabilities.  To me that just got tiresome when it was almost line by line recounting, and it was very annoyingly show-offy.  Now pubs are featuring shorter recaps, for example New York Magazine/Vulture.  There's an element of snark, but it can be consumed in a couple of minutes.  I can't imagine how much work it took to do those really long recaps.

I just looked at one of your posted entries randomly for Roswell, and I was immediately turned off, remembering the feeling of "when will this be over?"  It was 15 densely spaced pages. 

However, I applaud your librarianship in archiving this stuff! 

[Ohiopirate02]

The recaps I remember enjoying on TWOP were the ones for shows with batshit plots and either really good writing or really bad writing like True Blood, Lost, and Mad Men.  For True Blood and Lost the snark was needed after watching an episode.  And the Mad Men recaps were great for picking up the nuance you may have missed.  

[peacheslatour]

13 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

That sounds like the guy on Jeopardy with the little mustache, and hair parted on the side and slicked down. 

Do you mean Turd Ferguson?

[supposebly]

I got into TWOP when I came across the recaps for Alias. I still miss them and others. The good ones were hilarious and worth reading IMO. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I just looked at one of your posted entries randomly for Roswell, and I was immediately turned off, remembering the feeling of "when will this be over?"  It was 15 densely spaced pages. 

Hah ha! I know! Right? 

[surfgirl]

9 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The super-long scene-by-scene snarky recaps had a moment back when MBTV started, but they have faded away, maybe because they became tedious to read. Sometimes I wanted to just find out what happened and it would take longer to read the recap than to watch the show.  

I felt the same way, but it was because the writers if those recaps became less about the show they were supposed to be recapping, and more.about them trying to be oh so clever and amusing. Like they were trying to grab the attention of TIIC to get real writing jobs, which I think one of them did. It felt like it wasn't writing for us posters and site users, it was more a public resume builder. At least that's how I saw it.

Edited April 26 by surfgirl

[bluegirl147]

3 minutes ago, surfgirl said:

I felt the same way, but it was because the writers if those recaps became less about the show they were supposed to be recapping, and more.aboutbthem trying to be oh so ever and amusing. Like they were trying ti grab the attention if TIIC to get real writing jobs, whixh I think one of them did. It felt like it wasn't writing for us posters and site users, it was more a public resume builder. At least that's how I saw it.

This.  Also some were not recaps but more like editorials.  I thought posters comments were supposed to be opinions but the recaps were supposed to be, well, recaps.  

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

This.  Also some were not recaps but more like editorials.  I thought posters comments were supposed to be opinions but the recaps were supposed to be, well, recaps.  

The recaps on Vulture/New York Magazine are a combo of opinion and recap.  The writer also rates the episode from 1 to 5 stars.

@surfgirl what is TIIC?  I tried Googling without success. 

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The recaps on Vulture/New York Magazine are a combo of opinion and recap.  The writer also rates the episode from 1 to 5 stars.

@surfgirl what is TIIC?  I tried Googling without success. 

The Idiots In Charge.

[Bastet]

I discovered TWoP via a recap; Aaron Sorkin had written a horrible episode of The West Wing, "Isaac and Ishmael", and the recapper took it apart practically line by line, pointing out all the factual errors and stereotypes.  I thought the recap's length was because there was so very, very much to criticize in that script.  When I poked around and read a few more, I was surprised to see, no, they were all that frakkin' long.  It's not often I declare a written work too long, but I lost patience with them.  If a recapper hated an episode of an otherwise beloved show, and I felt the same way, though, that was fun to read for the snark.

[annzeepark914]

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Do you mean Turd Ferguson?

Oh nooooo...Turd is handsome 🤗

[Gramto6]

I don't remember how I found TWoP and just vaguely remember my user name. I scrolled through more threads than a sane person should to see if anything jogged my brain, but no luck. Anyway I enjoyed it and stayed away from most of the weirdness. I was probably in Bates Motel, Dr Who, Amazing Race, Big Brother and maybe a couple more. At that point I was pretty new to forums and didn't post a lot at first.

As far as all the "rules" I did kind of like the 15/15 rule for reasons already mentioned. I do it basically out of courtesy to posters. I did it here in this very thread reading all the past posts before posting.

TWoP did get tense after a while and when it was announced they were folding I landed here and haven't looked back!

[ABay]

I found TWoP from a friend's recommendation and for a long time only read recaps and forums without posting. It made work so much more fun. When I did post I mostly stayed in lower traffic places like The Daily Show and Commercials and threads like this one with a few exceptions (like Angel as referenced above). At least, that's how I remember it.

The Lost forum was so overwhelming that I didn't post in it, I think, until the show was over and we did a rewatch.

The Dr. Who recaps were raved about in the forum but I thought they were horribly overwritten and read like a broody adolescent's attempts to be profound. I stopped reading them because my eyes were rolling too hard to focus. I also remember getting so sick of one recapper constantly referring to characters as ThePoorMan's whoever and those who kept referring to characters in a show by the name of a character played by that actor in a previous series.

[JustHereForFood]

I learned about TWOP from another, more international forum for A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones. TWOP had a thread (or maybe an entire subforum?) dedicated to a part of the fandom that called themselves Unsullied (a reference from the books/show) and they were dedicated to watch the show without any book spoilers or even any trailers or interviews. They then posted very detailed speculations based only on the aired episodes, some of which were completely wrong but very interesting to read. People on the forum I was visiting were mostly book readers and they were fascinated by the Unsullied group and even had their own thread where they commented on them and how right or wrong their theories were. It wasn't that interesting to me, to be honest, but it made me aware of the website and I was really happy to find discussion about some shows that I haven't seen discussed anywhere else. I was mostly hanging out on a comic book forum, so shows based on comics or some sci-fi shows got plenty of discussion, but something like The Mentalist or Sherlock didn't. I wasn't registered there though and then I took a break from being on forums once I graduated and got a job and had much less time. I only came back here maybe a year before the pandemic and then got an account much later, when I felt confident enough to post.

On 4/24/2024 at 11:41 PM, peacheslatour said:

I've got three big red warnings on this site. I don't dare tell you about them but they're still in my profile.

I got one that I was very confused about. I was told we don't mention political parties here, which I knew, but I wasn't doing that. All I said was something that contained word "liberal" and I believe it was clear from the context that I wasn't referring to any political party but to people with liberal opinions.

And the wording of the warning was so humiliating, something about me having to click and acknowledge I did wrong, or I wouldn't be able to post here again. I think I'm usually reasonable, but I can get very stubborn when somebody is condescending to me, so I had to breath through it and remind myself that I want to discuss TV shows here that I don't have anybody else to discuss with.

[annzeepark914]

I just wished my childhood friend a good Passover. And a good Passover to our friends here, who celebrate. 💙

[Quof]

26 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

the wording of the warning was so humiliating, something about me having to click and acknowledge I did wrong, or I wouldn't be able to post here again

I got a warning that required an acknowledgement.   I refused, so I waited out a 1 year suspension and it disappeared.  

In case you were all wondering why you didn't hear from me for 12 months.

[Absolom]

52 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

I got one that I was very confused about. I was told we don't mention political parties here, which I knew, but I wasn't doing that. All I said was something that contained word "liberal" and I believe it was clear from the context that I wasn't referring to any political party but to people with liberal opinions.

Yep, some of the old rules/mods were beyond ridiculous.  I once referred to the Duggars' conservative religion and was warned.  When I questioned it, I was told the word conservative was always political.  Apparently they didn't own a dictionary.

[athousandclowns]

This discussion brought back a memory about TWOP. I think when things were becoming difficult a poster I liked and chatted with  told me to go check out Crown  Princess MarieChantal of Greece where she also posted. I decided to see if it was still around and it is.  Needless to say I didn’t remember my user name but changing my password the confirmation email said it.  They had a forum for TWOP and where posters stopped in 2018   I skipped to the end where someone mentioned a moderator(? ) Strega had passed away. 
I recognize few names there.  

[Blergh]

IMO, TWoP  had started out a fun way to banter about TV trivia, plots,etc. but it got bogged down in its own draconian rules that were made for no reason but to have the mods dump on posters. I'll never forget once I was speculating about a show that had just aired in my time zone so I put a spoiler bar to give the West coast posters/ viewers the option to not have the plot twists. ..spoiled. Well, soon a couple of posters whined about the spoiler bar's existence [like they couldn't just click it away to read it for themselves if they'd wanted to] then before I knew it the mods chimed in about how it somehow was against the rules to have them for folks in other time zones because. .. it was so BOGUS!

 

 I'd long since quit participating but the last few months would pop in to see if there might be still some interesting TV talk but I was frankly relieved when the whole thing just self-imploded!

[annzeepark914]

Well...it's a quiet Friday night and I was searching for something to watch on TV (we don't have any premium channels) and, voila! I found Tootsie. The second half (where I came in) is the best part IMO. Great actors, whether stars or characters. 

[chitowngirl]

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

I discovered TWoP via a recap; Aaron Sorkin had written a horrible episode of The West Wing, "Isaac and Ishmael", and the recapper took it apart practically line by line, pointing out all the factual errors and stereotypes.  I thought the recap's length was because there was so very, very much to criticize in that script.  When I poked around and read a few more, I was surprised to see, no, they were all that frakkin' long.  It's not often I declare a written work too long, but I lost patience with them.  If a recapper hated an episode of an otherwise beloved show, and I felt the same way, though, that was fun to read for the snark.

To play Devil’s Advocate-“Isaac and Ishmael” was written and filmed quickly so it could be inserted as a stand alone TWW episode after the 9/11 attacks. So, yes, not a strong episode.
 

But the snark on TWoP was glorious!

[emma675]

4 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

And the wording of the warning was so humiliating, something about me having to click and acknowledge I did wrong, or I wouldn't be able to post here again. I think I'm usually reasonable, but I can get very stubborn when somebody is condescending to me, so I had to breath through it and remind myself that I want to discuss TV shows here that I don't have anybody else to discuss with.

Ha, same! I was livid about the wording of my warning and a few years later I feel some vindication that the mod who gave it to me was fired.

[JustHereForFood]

11 hours ago, Quof said:

I got a warning that required an acknowledgement.   I refused, so I waited out a 1 year suspension and it disappeared.  

In case you were all wondering why you didn't hear from me for 12 months.

Respect. 👏

[Quof]

I hold a grudge like it's my job.  

[shapeshifter]

34 minutes ago, Quof said:

I hold a grudge like it's my job.  

🤣
Or maybe you’re better at walking away from unhealthy situations than I am. 😉

[BetyBee]

I never got a warning on TWoP, but my sock puppet got banned, for one post. I snotted at a poster (on the Oprah thread) who corrected everyone all the time. She also boasted endlessly about living in NYC, like the rest of us were backwoods bumpkins! I got props for it on the TWoP Sucks forum, which was an anti-TWoP site I joined. I can't even remember that poster's name. I think I cared a lot more back then. Now, if I got banned, I think I'd probably just go elsewhere. There were fewer options back then. I'm better at scrolling past annoying posters now. With age comes wisdom, I guess!

[ABay]

The ignore feature is a godsend.

[EtheltoTillie]

10 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Well...it's a quiet Friday night and I was searching for something to watch on TV (we don't have any premium channels) and, voila! I found Tootsie. The second half (where I came in) is the best part IMO. Great actors, whether stars or characters. 

Unpopular opinion:  I never liked that movie!  I also dislike Some Like It Hot.  Upon seeing mentions here and on the TCM thread, however, I decided to rewatch Tootsie this morning, after a 42-year hiatus.  I still don't like it.  He's so horrible to Teri Garr.  There are a few funny scenes, though.  But he seems so fake as Dorothy, I just couldn't buy the whole premise. 

[JustHereForFood]

54 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Unpopular opinion:  I never liked that movie!  I also dislike Some Like It Hot.  Upon seeing mentions here and on the TCM thread, however, I decided to rewatch Tootsie this morning, after a 42-year hiatus.  I still don't like it.  He's so horrible to Teri Garr.  There are a few funny scenes, though.  But he seems so fake as Dorothy, I just couldn't buy the whole premise. 

Same. Also with Mrs. Doubtfire. Yes, I despise a Robin Williams movie. The horror.

[EtheltoTillie]

Yes, Mrs. Doubtfire is also a misfire for me.  And Robin Williams was always too over-the-top for me.  The one cross-dressing movie I can stand is Victor, Victoria. 

And back to Tootsie, I couldn't stand the simpering Southern accent. 

[Yeah No]

i never got banned on TWOP but I learned after a few mod. wrist slaps that I'd better have a backup account just in case.  I used my primary name on most threads but on those that seemed contentious I used another one I didn't care so much about losing.  Back then people didn't know me personally so it was easier to do that.  It's different here.I never did get banned there on either account though.  I don't know how I managed to survive TWOP and yet here I got banned once for a bogus reason.  In some ways I think the former mods. here were even more arbitrary at times and took things too literally.  At least on TWOP I felt that even though they were harsh they were often more reasonable in their "discipline".

@kristen111, I think a lot of us had a kind of love/hate relationship with TWOP.  When it was good it was very, very good, but when it was bad it was AWFUL.  Mods. with Napoleon complexes, LOL.  Yeah, I can laugh about it now. 

I never even knew about a TWOP sucks forum.  Back then I was running my own chat board on the Myers Briggs INFJ type and a member of a few others (like the "What Not to Wear" forum on HGTV, now gone) so I didn't have the time to focus on TWOP the way some people did.  

As for here before the big mod. change of '24, I used to bristle at some of the wrist slaps I got for the most bogus of reasons such as I've previously mentioned.  Having to acknowledge it and then know that questioning the mod. about it would only make me a future target pissed me off.

15 hours ago, Quof said:

I got a warning that required an acknowledgement.   I refused, so I waited out a 1 year suspension and it disappeared.  

In case you were all wondering why you didn't hear from me for 12 months.

Wow, I have to hand it to you for sticking it out!  I probably would have used an alternate account for that time.  You were actually lucky it was only for a year.  My banning here was permanent and I didn't even do anything against the rules.  I guess I stumbled on a land mine in my situation.  My luck.

[kristen111]

55 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Yes, Mrs. Doubtfire is also a misfire for me.  And Robin Williams was always too over-the-top for me.  The one cross-dressing movie I can stand is Victor, Victoria. 

And back to Tootsie, I couldn't stand the simpering Southern accent. 

Speaking of Robin Williams .. I was watching “ the Bird Cage “ for the fiftieth time yesterday.  Too funny with Hank Azara in the kitchen making soup.  Funny.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, BetyBee said:

I never got a warning on TWoP, but my sock puppet got banned, for one post. I snotted at a poster (on the Oprah thread) who corrected everyone all the time. She also boasted endlessly about living in NYC, like the rest of us were backwoods bumpkins! I got props for it on the TWoP Sucks forum, which was an anti-TWoP site I joined. I can't even remember that poster's name. I think I cared a lot more back then. Now, if I got banned, I think I'd probably just go elsewhere. There were fewer options back then. I'm better at scrolling past annoying posters now. With age comes wisdom, I guess!

I hear you.  I saw similar on the old "What Not to Wear" board over on the TLC site (which no longer exists).  There was a clique of women from NYC that were deep into fashion and were very catty and critical about it like they were the "fashion police".  They put down people for their body types and fashion choices all the time and no mod. ever made them stop.  Once when they were being snooty about how the tall, straight model figure is the "ideal" figure type that clothes look best in, I had the "nerve" to say that I thought there was no one ideal figure type and that women could be beautiful in all shapes and sizes.  I also complained about how the big fashion houses and boutiques in NYC didn't have much clothing for anyone who didn't have a "model figure" and how I wished they did because it made those of us that didn't fit those clothes feel left out of fashion.  Mind you this was years ago before my opinions became a popularized idea.  Well, they hated me after that. 

We used to post photos of our own outfits and I once posted a photo of me from the neck down in a work outfit and got told right on the board by the ringleader of that clique that my shoes were "frumpy".  Seriously, they were 2.5" work pumps.  What did she expect me to wear to work, 5 inch Manolo's?  What a bunch of fashion snobs!

Then if you can believe this, this clique had started a mailing list for off the board chat years before this and forgot I was a member of it.  I never participated so they had no idea I was getting their emails when they started snarking behind my back about my reply on the board.  They said very nasty things about me like I must be jealous of model figures and my opinions sounded like sour grapes.  I then replied on the public board that I was not jealous of model figures and it sent them into a tailspin as they wondered on their private list if I knew that they said that about me, LOL.  Got them back, LOL.

I don't know about there being more choices to chat about TV today.  I have seen similar sites disappear (like the ones on TLC and HGTV) and anything new that's around I don't personally love but that's me.

[peacheslatour]

4 hours ago, kristen111 said:

Speaking of Robin Williams .. I was watching “ the Bird Cage “ for the fiftieth time yesterday.  Too funny with Hank Azara in the kitchen making soup.  Funny.

The Bird Cage is the only Robin Williams movie I like, he's very toned down. None of his usual OTT hijinks.

Edited April 27 by peacheslatour

[kristen111]

On 4/10/2024 at 12:34 AM, athousandclowns said:

It was so nice today at one point it was 77 here in CA , it lifts my mood tons.  My condo community has had several of our cluster mailboxes opened and emptied with master keys 6-7 times in the last 6 months

Then 2 weeks ago I was sick for couple days and had an RX  taken and a package from Jockey.  Lucky thief got heart medication and black briefs, very sexy.  I changed the RX mail order address to my sons house and of course they sent it signature required so had to get the slip and then to the post office to pick it up.    I went to to pull my license for ID out of my phone and it’s not there.   My son finished my taxes yesterday and took a picture of my license and I didn’t put it back.  The song and dance I did for the postal employee convinced him to hand over my medication.   If this the procedure I’ll switch my address back since I don’t have to sign for them here obviously.    I had a package stolen off my porch 3-4 weeks ago so now my subscriptions from Amazon are going to my sons too.  My HOA is $655 a month but unfortunately cluster mailboxes are the post office responsibility and we only have part time security ( who I’ve never seen) with no phone number to call.  I feel very vulnerable being a older woman living alone. I wouldn’t go to a movie at the shopping center at night and I wrap up grocery shopping before dark too.   Age+ increased crime 

The earthquake discussion reminds me how my late husband from PA would get pale during a quake where I hate storms and lightning.  I was at work in a tiny bathroom that had a couple of empty medal revolving greeting card holders in that 89 quake. Pitch black with metal racks falling on me and I’m thinking so this is how I’m going to die with my pantyhose around my ankles?  I NEVER went to the bathroom at work so my fellow employees thought I must be locked in the walk in refrigerator that had big medal electric sliding doors has been a bank previously . ( floral designer ) 

 

Just reading this now.  I feel terrible that you have to go thru all this being you are a widow now.  Condos are costly.  We are up to $800 with no mailbox .  Now have to go to the Post Office.  Thank God for Sons.  Even tho I have my husband, our Son does so much for us.  He takes care of all the electronics, puts items together, fixes the plumbing, etc.  you name it.  You are very lucky in that department.  Oh, and I love Jockey underwear also.  Have all colors.  Non binding.  So comfy.  Lol.❤️

[BetyBee]

That's so interesting, @Yeah No! Did you ever wonder if those snooty posters themselves had perfect model bodies? There are other sites, but I like the way this one works best. It always brings me to the last post I read and it has a great variety of shows, plus small talk threads where you can chat about whatever. I hope this site never shuts down. 

The first forum where I posted regularly was S.H.E. forum, kind of a frustrated housewife type of forum, based on the Slob Sisters aka "Sidetracked Home Executives" for people who had read their books back in the 70-80s. People were pretty nice there and I'm FB friends with one friend I met there and email friends with some others. We were a group who got mad at a cliquey type leader and started communicating privately. That was my first experience with board drama!

[Yeah No]

6 minutes ago, BetyBee said:

That's so interesting, @Yeah No! Did you ever wonder if those snooty posters themselves had perfect model bodies? 

I did wonder, but of course they never posted any of their own photos.  Convenient, right?  LOL  I do wonder if they would have defended the model figure as "ideal" even if they didn't have those figures themselves.  Probably not.  The ringleader went on and on about how the "boyish, straight figure" was the most ideal figure type.  I figured that was her figure type for sure.  I remember also getting her goat by posting that what women find attractive in a female might be different from what men are attracted to and linked article about the certain "waist/hip" ratio that men seem to prefer, LOL.  She had seen my photo so I'm sure she knew I was within that ratio, LOL. 😉

[kristen111]

54 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

i never got banned on TWOP but I learned after a few mod. wrist slaps that I'd better have a backup account just in case.  I used my primary name on most threads but on those that seemed contentious I used another one I didn't care so much about losing.  Back then people didn't know me personally so it was easier to do that.  It's different here.I never did get banned there on either account though.  I don't know how I managed to survive TWOP and yet here I got banned once for a bogus reason.  In some ways I think the former mods. here were even more arbitrary at times and took things too literally.  At least on TWOP I felt that even though they were harsh they were often more reasonable in their "discipline".

@kristen111, I think a lot of us had a kind of love/hate relationship with TWOP.  When it was good it was very, very good, but when it was bad it was AWFUL.  Mods. with Napoleon complexes, LOL.  Yeah, I can laugh about it now. 

I never even knew about a TWOP sucks forum.  Back then I was running my own chat board on the Myers Briggs INFJ type and a member of a few others (like the "What Not to Wear" forum on HGTV, now gone) so I didn't have the time to focus on TWOP the way some people did.  

As for here before the big mod. change of '24, I used to bristle at some of the wrist slaps I got for the most bogus of reasons such as I've previously mentioned.  Having to acknowledge it and then know that questioning the mod. about it would only make me a future target pissed me off.

Wow, I have to hand it to you for sticking it out!  I probably would have used an alternate account for that time.  You were actually lucky it was only for a year.  My banning here was permanent and I didn't even do anything against the rules.  I guess I stumbled on a land mine in my situation.  My luck.

Once or twice I had a very hard time getting back on.  My kid had to set me up again with new everything.  Plus, I didn’t say anything that warranted such a punishment.  It was very mean of the Mod.  Until now, I never knew thst so many posters had trouble.  IMO, “YeahNo” never said anything to warrant a ban at all.  Maybe some don’t like that she’s so smart.  It as sort of a disability for her unfortunately.  You go girl !

[kristen111]

Pardon my typing errors.  It’s either long nails or typing too fast.  Don’t know how to fix it either.  That’s all.