Updates And Announcements
lepperochan said:http://deepundergroundpoetry.com/poets/lovethph/
got ourselves another scammer spammer. beware !!
Huzzah! I finally got one of these spam things. Now where's the badge for that? Definitive proof of spammer if they are barking up my tree...
got ourselves another scammer spammer. beware !!
Huzzah! I finally got one of these spam things. Now where's the badge for that? Definitive proof of spammer if they are barking up my tree...
MadameLavender said:I've had some queries about where to post certain things, like links to blogs, websites, poetry competitions outside of DUP, etc. so I thought this thread might be useful as a central place to post it all, and as a one-stop shopping go-to for information, rather than people having to start tons of separate threads for these purposes.
If you have something you'd like to share with the DUP community, be it a link to your personal blog, a webpage you've created, a webpage that may be of interest to the writing community, or information about publishers and the various contests they run from time to time, post it all here.
Or if you have some sort of announcement/news, etc. you'd like to share that would benefit/be of interest to other members here, add it in, this way, we can keep it all contained in one spot.
Please no flaming, judging, arguing--this is purely for what the title suggests: Updates and Announcements and Information.
I'll start us off: We have quite a backlog of abandoned competitions that need to go to voting, but only 5 at a time can be put up. Please take a minute to vote on the ones currently listed in "Competitions", if you haven't already, so we can move the list along. Also, if you've received a message from me regarding an abandoned comp of yours, please choose a winner and close it up--it'll help the process along, in fairness to those who gave their time to write a piece for your comp. Don't leave them hanging. Thanks.
,
The initial quest seemed to be for useful external sites. Engp responded with his amazon site, but then the thread drifted sideways a little. Does anyone have any external sites they'd recommend. I'm taking a meter course on http://allpoetry.com/, but I could do without the requests for money and the requirement to review two more poems after hitting submit. I understand things cost money, I just don't have any. And, the review requirement doesn't seem to generate any actual critique review anyway. Other sites I've visited are either populated by zombies or bot programmers...
If you have something you'd like to share with the DUP community, be it a link to your personal blog, a webpage you've created, a webpage that may be of interest to the writing community, or information about publishers and the various contests they run from time to time, post it all here.
Or if you have some sort of announcement/news, etc. you'd like to share that would benefit/be of interest to other members here, add it in, this way, we can keep it all contained in one spot.
Please no flaming, judging, arguing--this is purely for what the title suggests: Updates and Announcements and Information.
I'll start us off: We have quite a backlog of abandoned competitions that need to go to voting, but only 5 at a time can be put up. Please take a minute to vote on the ones currently listed in "Competitions", if you haven't already, so we can move the list along. Also, if you've received a message from me regarding an abandoned comp of yours, please choose a winner and close it up--it'll help the process along, in fairness to those who gave their time to write a piece for your comp. Don't leave them hanging. Thanks.
,
The initial quest seemed to be for useful external sites. Engp responded with his amazon site, but then the thread drifted sideways a little. Does anyone have any external sites they'd recommend. I'm taking a meter course on http://allpoetry.com/, but I could do without the requests for money and the requirement to review two more poems after hitting submit. I understand things cost money, I just don't have any. And, the review requirement doesn't seem to generate any actual critique review anyway. Other sites I've visited are either populated by zombies or bot programmers...
JVP--this thread can basically be used for any sort of update or announcement that anyone has, from external sites, contests, a heads-up about spammers/plagiarists, etc. All threads drift eventually, but hopefully we can keep this one heading along in it's general direction. :)
Try http://darkstarpoetry.proboards.com/board/7 it's a proboard site so you'll not have a lot of the navigation choices you'd get on DU, but it's very poetry driven and the critique is pretty good
MadameLavender said:And for today's update: Just some thoughts on the topic of the "DU Welcome-Wagon"...
What is that, you ask? It's all of us who are already members, and the way we interact with newcomers. As we have a large, diverse group here, so are the newbies a diverse bunch; some catch on to the workings of DUP right away, others take a little longer, and some, you wonder if they ever will.
But the overall point I'm making here, is cut them a little slack at the start. It does take a little time to figure out how to navigate around here, what's cool and what's not cool, so perhaps we could offer our assistance in a non-threatening manner, to mentor and instruct new members, so they feel welcome? Most people will usually get it after being given an explanation as to how something works, what not to do, etc., but yes, there are some with whom it takes more than once to tell them, no, you don't have to make a new "look at me" thread, on a daily basis.
There, it gets a bit complicated, with the repeat offenders, and there's probably many reasons for that from language and cultural barriers, to just plain not getting it. So what do we do now? Perhaps the "report" button would be a good start, instead of a go for the throat tongue-lashing? That way, a heads-up will be given that someone needs additional instruction and we can attend to it.
How about we give that a try?
Yes I know all to well first hand the negative side to this site as a newbie in 2012, but I have to mention, no one knows quite as well as my son found out the hard way. Although it is worth mentioning that even when you do try and blend in the right way, sometimes once you're marked here it is very difficult to reverse the opinions! Some long time members seem to enjoy being thoughtless and down right hurtful to newbie, seeming to enjoying in there mental pain that they cause others...
JMO
What is that, you ask? It's all of us who are already members, and the way we interact with newcomers. As we have a large, diverse group here, so are the newbies a diverse bunch; some catch on to the workings of DUP right away, others take a little longer, and some, you wonder if they ever will.
But the overall point I'm making here, is cut them a little slack at the start. It does take a little time to figure out how to navigate around here, what's cool and what's not cool, so perhaps we could offer our assistance in a non-threatening manner, to mentor and instruct new members, so they feel welcome? Most people will usually get it after being given an explanation as to how something works, what not to do, etc., but yes, there are some with whom it takes more than once to tell them, no, you don't have to make a new "look at me" thread, on a daily basis.
There, it gets a bit complicated, with the repeat offenders, and there's probably many reasons for that from language and cultural barriers, to just plain not getting it. So what do we do now? Perhaps the "report" button would be a good start, instead of a go for the throat tongue-lashing? That way, a heads-up will be given that someone needs additional instruction and we can attend to it.
How about we give that a try?
Yes I know all to well first hand the negative side to this site as a newbie in 2012, but I have to mention, no one knows quite as well as my son found out the hard way. Although it is worth mentioning that even when you do try and blend in the right way, sometimes once you're marked here it is very difficult to reverse the opinions! Some long time members seem to enjoy being thoughtless and down right hurtful to newbie, seeming to enjoying in there mental pain that they cause others...
JMO
Ok--today's update is a thread I created for a central dumping ground for all the "Look at me", "Critique Me", etc. threads that are getting created and going downhill from there. Let's give this a try to see how it works, and established members, please (nicely) direct any newbies to the new thread, should you come across any newbies in need of direction, etc.
Here it is: http://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/workshop/read/7129/
Here it is: http://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/workshop/read/7129/
Time for another entry into this thread, and the topic for today's post is:
Who's Your God?
^^And by that, I mean, who do you worship or follow? Not necessarily in the sense of a supreme, divine being, but hey, some people think they are supremely divine and should have their own band of devoted minion.
Now who am I talking about in reference to this? Well, that's just a broad, general statement, and it could apply to any number of people in the world, though it's not my place to mention any names, so I won't. Just gonna keep this on the surface.
So then! If you have someone or something that you worship and follow, it stands to reason that you might feel that that person or thing/concept, is somewhat of an authority figure in order to have attained your devotion, and perhaps knows what's best in some, many or even all situations.
Example: "So-and-so" seems to really know a lot about this, really is in line with me on that, etc., therefore if "So-And-So" decides to pull a Jim Jones, then I should follow along. (and for those who don't know who Jim Jones is, he was another one of those cult leaders that worked his flock up into a frenzy that they all agreed to a mass suicide.)
Thought process seem logical? Ok then, given that there is that sort of thought process out there--the one where someone says "jump!" and a bunch of others say "Okey dokey, then!" just because that someone is so charismatic that they've amassed their own cult following, it stands to reason that there should be a thought process to counter that, or an internal "red flag" that should go off (your conscience) that says "Um....wait a minute..."
So now bringing that concept into the realm of DUP, we can see that yes, there are cliques around here, and groups that flock together, just as in the world outside the internet. Pretty typical stuff of life, right? Sure it is. But the problem arises when it turns into a Jim Jones scenario, and a bunch of followers of one person, do just that--follow suit with whatever that person says to do, say for instance, bad mouth someone around here, or block them, until you end up with a mass-bad mouthing or a mass-blocking. Seems kinda like sheeple being led down the road of "whatever he says is cool with me, or whatever she says, is the answer."
In light of that, I'll say that we seem to have such a situation going on here right now, mostly behind the scenes, but not entirely. So now what do we do? Well, we first take a look and see what the actual outcome of the mass-following is going to achieve--is it a good outcome, or a not so good outcome? Yes, if someone starts a thing where they message a whole bunch of people and say "hey, let's send in a donation to this charity, or let's give this other person some encouraging words on some issue they're having," then yes, such a thing is good in that respect.
Unfortunately, though, the situation at hand right now, is of the "not good" kind, and really serves no useful purpose and will just cause discord and dissention among the members here. So what gives, you ask? Well, let's look at our PM function. If someone sends out a mass-NastyGram that would probably insult many people. Also if someone sends out a mass message saying "hey, I think we should do this, or say that, to this other member", then that, too, should send up a red flag and make one think "Gee, should I really join in on this?"
The answer is in the form of a question: Should you join in on this? You'll have to figure that one out for yourself, but if you think of it in terms of the playground bully who says "hey, let's push Tom to the ground and stomp on him because he's a nerd." Are you going to join in and do just that, or are you going to ask yourself "wait a minute--just what kind of person am I about to follow and go along with?"
Hopefully the latter will pop to mind, as it should, and that said, the same should apply to any "following" that goes on here--ask yourself "Who am I following and why? What will this accomplish in the end?"
In otherwords, evaluate who your "gods" are and what their ulterior motives are, and make your own decisions as far as what they'd like you to do for them or do with them. Just because one person says you should all do this thing, doesn't mean you actually have to do it, and you certainly aren't obligated to please anyone by acting how they want you to act. If they decide not to be your friend anymore because you didn't do what they wanted, or thought otherwise because you did evaluate the outcome and decided that it wasn't such a good one, then guess what: they weren't really your friend in the first place and no loss on your part.
So in closing, let's all think for ourselves and use our PM function properly, in a positive way that doesn't bring distress or harm to anyone else. Okey dokey?
Who's Your God?
^^And by that, I mean, who do you worship or follow? Not necessarily in the sense of a supreme, divine being, but hey, some people think they are supremely divine and should have their own band of devoted minion.
Now who am I talking about in reference to this? Well, that's just a broad, general statement, and it could apply to any number of people in the world, though it's not my place to mention any names, so I won't. Just gonna keep this on the surface.
So then! If you have someone or something that you worship and follow, it stands to reason that you might feel that that person or thing/concept, is somewhat of an authority figure in order to have attained your devotion, and perhaps knows what's best in some, many or even all situations.
Example: "So-and-so" seems to really know a lot about this, really is in line with me on that, etc., therefore if "So-And-So" decides to pull a Jim Jones, then I should follow along. (and for those who don't know who Jim Jones is, he was another one of those cult leaders that worked his flock up into a frenzy that they all agreed to a mass suicide.)
Thought process seem logical? Ok then, given that there is that sort of thought process out there--the one where someone says "jump!" and a bunch of others say "Okey dokey, then!" just because that someone is so charismatic that they've amassed their own cult following, it stands to reason that there should be a thought process to counter that, or an internal "red flag" that should go off (your conscience) that says "Um....wait a minute..."
So now bringing that concept into the realm of DUP, we can see that yes, there are cliques around here, and groups that flock together, just as in the world outside the internet. Pretty typical stuff of life, right? Sure it is. But the problem arises when it turns into a Jim Jones scenario, and a bunch of followers of one person, do just that--follow suit with whatever that person says to do, say for instance, bad mouth someone around here, or block them, until you end up with a mass-bad mouthing or a mass-blocking. Seems kinda like sheeple being led down the road of "whatever he says is cool with me, or whatever she says, is the answer."
In light of that, I'll say that we seem to have such a situation going on here right now, mostly behind the scenes, but not entirely. So now what do we do? Well, we first take a look and see what the actual outcome of the mass-following is going to achieve--is it a good outcome, or a not so good outcome? Yes, if someone starts a thing where they message a whole bunch of people and say "hey, let's send in a donation to this charity, or let's give this other person some encouraging words on some issue they're having," then yes, such a thing is good in that respect.
Unfortunately, though, the situation at hand right now, is of the "not good" kind, and really serves no useful purpose and will just cause discord and dissention among the members here. So what gives, you ask? Well, let's look at our PM function. If someone sends out a mass-NastyGram that would probably insult many people. Also if someone sends out a mass message saying "hey, I think we should do this, or say that, to this other member", then that, too, should send up a red flag and make one think "Gee, should I really join in on this?"
The answer is in the form of a question: Should you join in on this? You'll have to figure that one out for yourself, but if you think of it in terms of the playground bully who says "hey, let's push Tom to the ground and stomp on him because he's a nerd." Are you going to join in and do just that, or are you going to ask yourself "wait a minute--just what kind of person am I about to follow and go along with?"
Hopefully the latter will pop to mind, as it should, and that said, the same should apply to any "following" that goes on here--ask yourself "Who am I following and why? What will this accomplish in the end?"
In otherwords, evaluate who your "gods" are and what their ulterior motives are, and make your own decisions as far as what they'd like you to do for them or do with them. Just because one person says you should all do this thing, doesn't mean you actually have to do it, and you certainly aren't obligated to please anyone by acting how they want you to act. If they decide not to be your friend anymore because you didn't do what they wanted, or thought otherwise because you did evaluate the outcome and decided that it wasn't such a good one, then guess what: they weren't really your friend in the first place and no loss on your part.
So in closing, let's all think for ourselves and use our PM function properly, in a positive way that doesn't bring distress or harm to anyone else. Okey dokey?
Anonymous
MadameLavender said:Time for another entry into this thread, and the topic for today's post is:
Who's Your God?
^^And by that, I mean, who do you worship or follow? Not necessarily in the sense of a supreme, divine being, but hey, some people think they are supremely divine and should have their own band of devoted minion.
Now who am I talking about in reference to this? Well, that's just a broad, general statement, and it could apply to any number of people in the world, though it's not my place to mention any names, so I won't. Just gonna keep this on the surface.
So then! If you have someone or something that you worship and follow, it stands to reason that you might feel that that person or thing/concept, is somewhat of an authority figure in order to have attained your devotion, and perhaps knows what's best in some, many or even all situations.
Example: "So-and-so" seems to really know a lot about this, really is in line with me on that, etc., therefore if "So-And-So" decides to pull a Jim Jones, then I should follow along. (and for those who don't know who Jim Jones is, he was another one of those cult leaders that worked his flock up into a frenzy that they all agreed to a mass suicide.)
Thought process seem logical? Ok then, given that there is that sort of thought process out there--the one where someone says "jump!" and a bunch of others say "Okey dokey, then!" just because that someone is so charismatic that they've amassed their own cult following, it stands to reason that there should be a thought process to counter that, or an internal "red flag" that should go off (your conscience) that says "Um....wait a minute..."
So now bringing that concept into the realm of DUP, we can see that yes, there are cliques around here, and groups that flock together, just as in the world outside the internet. Pretty typical stuff of life, right? Sure it is. But the problem arises when it turns into a Jim Jones scenario, and a bunch of followers of one person, do just that--follow suit with whatever that person says to do, say for instance, bad mouth someone around here, or block them, until you end up with a mass-bad mouthing or a mass-blocking. Seems kinda like sheeple being led down the road of "whatever he says is cool with me, or whatever she says, is the answer."
In light of that, I'll say that we seem to have such a situation going on here right now, mostly behind the scenes, but not entirely. So now what do we do? Well, we first take a look and see what the actual outcome of the mass-following is going to achieve--is it a good outcome, or a not so good outcome? Yes, if someone starts a thing where they message a whole bunch of people and say "hey, let's send in a donation to this charity, or let's give this other person some encouraging words on some issue they're having," then yes, such a thing is good in that respect.
Unfortunately, though, the situation at hand right now, is of the "not good" kind, and really serves no useful purpose and will just cause discord and dissention among the members here. So what gives, you ask? Well, let's look at our PM function. If someone sends out a mass-NastyGram that would probably insult many people. Also if someone sends out a mass message saying "hey, I think we should do this, or say that, to this other member", then that, too, should send up a red flag and make one think "Gee, should I really join in on this?"
The answer is in the form of a question: Should you join in on this? You'll have to figure that one out for yourself, but if you think of it in terms of the playground bully who says "hey, let's push Tom to the ground and stomp on him because he's a nerd." Are you going to join in and do just that, or are you going to ask yourself "wait a minute--just what kind of person am I about to follow and go along with?"
Hopefully the latter will pop to mind, as it should, and that said, the same should apply to any "following" that goes on here--ask yourself "Who am I following and why? What will this accomplish in the end?"
In otherwords, evaluate who your "gods" are and what their ulterior motives are, and make your own decisions as far as what they'd like you to do for them or do with them. Just because one person says you should all do this thing, doesn't mean you actually have to do it, and you certainly aren't obligated to please anyone by acting how they want you to act. If they decide not to be your friend anymore because you didn't do what they wanted, or thought otherwise because you did evaluate the outcome and decided that it wasn't such a good one, then guess what: they weren't really your friend in the first place and no loss on your part.
So in closing, let's all think for ourselves and use our PM function properly, in a positive way that doesn't bring distress or harm to anyone else. Okey dokey?
Dang, if I get any emails telling me "Follow us or you're next to get slapped", it's going straight to every mod. Ban the dang trolls.
Who's Your God?
^^And by that, I mean, who do you worship or follow? Not necessarily in the sense of a supreme, divine being, but hey, some people think they are supremely divine and should have their own band of devoted minion.
Now who am I talking about in reference to this? Well, that's just a broad, general statement, and it could apply to any number of people in the world, though it's not my place to mention any names, so I won't. Just gonna keep this on the surface.
So then! If you have someone or something that you worship and follow, it stands to reason that you might feel that that person or thing/concept, is somewhat of an authority figure in order to have attained your devotion, and perhaps knows what's best in some, many or even all situations.
Example: "So-and-so" seems to really know a lot about this, really is in line with me on that, etc., therefore if "So-And-So" decides to pull a Jim Jones, then I should follow along. (and for those who don't know who Jim Jones is, he was another one of those cult leaders that worked his flock up into a frenzy that they all agreed to a mass suicide.)
Thought process seem logical? Ok then, given that there is that sort of thought process out there--the one where someone says "jump!" and a bunch of others say "Okey dokey, then!" just because that someone is so charismatic that they've amassed their own cult following, it stands to reason that there should be a thought process to counter that, or an internal "red flag" that should go off (your conscience) that says "Um....wait a minute..."
So now bringing that concept into the realm of DUP, we can see that yes, there are cliques around here, and groups that flock together, just as in the world outside the internet. Pretty typical stuff of life, right? Sure it is. But the problem arises when it turns into a Jim Jones scenario, and a bunch of followers of one person, do just that--follow suit with whatever that person says to do, say for instance, bad mouth someone around here, or block them, until you end up with a mass-bad mouthing or a mass-blocking. Seems kinda like sheeple being led down the road of "whatever he says is cool with me, or whatever she says, is the answer."
In light of that, I'll say that we seem to have such a situation going on here right now, mostly behind the scenes, but not entirely. So now what do we do? Well, we first take a look and see what the actual outcome of the mass-following is going to achieve--is it a good outcome, or a not so good outcome? Yes, if someone starts a thing where they message a whole bunch of people and say "hey, let's send in a donation to this charity, or let's give this other person some encouraging words on some issue they're having," then yes, such a thing is good in that respect.
Unfortunately, though, the situation at hand right now, is of the "not good" kind, and really serves no useful purpose and will just cause discord and dissention among the members here. So what gives, you ask? Well, let's look at our PM function. If someone sends out a mass-NastyGram that would probably insult many people. Also if someone sends out a mass message saying "hey, I think we should do this, or say that, to this other member", then that, too, should send up a red flag and make one think "Gee, should I really join in on this?"
The answer is in the form of a question: Should you join in on this? You'll have to figure that one out for yourself, but if you think of it in terms of the playground bully who says "hey, let's push Tom to the ground and stomp on him because he's a nerd." Are you going to join in and do just that, or are you going to ask yourself "wait a minute--just what kind of person am I about to follow and go along with?"
Hopefully the latter will pop to mind, as it should, and that said, the same should apply to any "following" that goes on here--ask yourself "Who am I following and why? What will this accomplish in the end?"
In otherwords, evaluate who your "gods" are and what their ulterior motives are, and make your own decisions as far as what they'd like you to do for them or do with them. Just because one person says you should all do this thing, doesn't mean you actually have to do it, and you certainly aren't obligated to please anyone by acting how they want you to act. If they decide not to be your friend anymore because you didn't do what they wanted, or thought otherwise because you did evaluate the outcome and decided that it wasn't such a good one, then guess what: they weren't really your friend in the first place and no loss on your part.
So in closing, let's all think for ourselves and use our PM function properly, in a positive way that doesn't bring distress or harm to anyone else. Okey dokey?
Dang, if I get any emails telling me "Follow us or you're next to get slapped", it's going straight to every mod. Ban the dang trolls.
Anonymous
AND THANK YOU FOR CLOSING UP THAT DEEPLY DUG PIT, MADAME.
Congratulations to the winners of 2014 acrostic-tanka poem competition. You are now published, to see click on the links opposite your names below:
1. LobodeSanPedro AKA C.Z. Heyward - http://engrvv.wix.com/acrostic-tanka#!cz-heyward/c1ams
2. Rina AKA Vee - http://engrvv.wix.com/acrostic-tanka#!vee/c1rv1
3. snugglebuck AKA Kimmy Alan - http://engrvv.wix.com/acrostic-tanka#!kimmy-alan/c137d
1. LobodeSanPedro AKA C.Z. Heyward - http://engrvv.wix.com/acrostic-tanka#!cz-heyward/c1ams
2. Rina AKA Vee - http://engrvv.wix.com/acrostic-tanka#!vee/c1rv1
3. snugglebuck AKA Kimmy Alan - http://engrvv.wix.com/acrostic-tanka#!kimmy-alan/c137d
