Required Reading

The Awesome:
Mario Kart Wii
Agedashi Tofu
Old Overhold Straight Rye Whiskey
Detroit Red Wings

The Suck:
Web Design
Summer
Pittsburgh Penguins

Who wants to go to Dallas with me if it comes down to the Wings and the Stars in the Western Conference finals?

Word.

Cocktails, cigars, fancy clothes, and good times.

There's been some drama in the Houston group lately. So much so that I closed a thread, which absolutely pisses me off because I believe in open discourse without fear of censorship and closing a thread or editing/deleting posts goes against all that.

Basically it boils down to this: the actions and words of one individual have been deemed inappropriate for a regional group by several other group members. This is a matter of opinion, of what is appropriate or inappropriate, where to draw the line.

I firmly believe that free speech must be protected on the internet and that as long as someone isn't being mean or making other people uncomfortable intentionally, then that someone should have the freedom to say whatever they want. If you want to put a book review or a poem or something about your new faith in Christ in my group then that's fine, poor message board etiquette but fine.

If someone in the Houston group makes you uncomfortable, tell them so, or just ignore them. Consider this: at the state level (in Texas at least), you can not make sexual harassment claims against another individual unless you have confronted them about the behavior that makes you uncomfortable and they continue doing it. I am not making this up, I get tested on it every year, and it makes a lot of sense. What is appropriate and in appropriate is a matter of opinion, and you have to keep in mind that someone may not even realize they rub you the wrong way unless you tell them about it. Same goes for the Houston group. I'm not a mom or dad or schoolteacher or guidance counselor or whatever, so I'm not going to go stick up for you until you start sticking up for yourself.

As for the photography issue, it's all spelled out pretty plainly here. A lot of people have been posting that last clause and interpreting it as meaning "offering to take pictures for someone is soliciting, and therefore wrong." I don't see anything of the sort in there. In fact, it quite clearly sates that if you can't get a staff photographer, you "can also try finding a photographer on Model Mayhem, MySpace, or on the SG site" and then brings up a lot of valid points about using common sense and checking references and being cautious in general. If you post in my group asking for local photographers, I'm not going to stop people from responding to you, and I don't see anything about it being against site rules. I think the model faq sums it up nicely with:

There are a lot of issues at play here. Censorship is not the answer, nor is intolerance. Telling people what they can and can't say has been tried many times before, and it never works out well. People are going to have to accept that in a city this size you will run across the occasional person who is openly sexual, or openly Christian, or openly Pagan, or openly homosexual. If you have a problem with someone you should talk to them about it or just ignore them and get over it.

I will continue to support the freedom of expression even if that expression is distasteful and contrary to my own opinions or the opinions of the majority.

-SK-

Roanoke is still boring.

I got a raise. Hooray me.

I am awesome at updates.

Why are there so many groups that require blogs/comments/profile pics for membership?? I doubt there's much of a problem with group spammers, and altho lurkers exist, I don't see how they're much of a problem until they stop lurking and start being creepy, at which point you kick them out. Not that I really want into any of the groups that require some evidence that you are an internet socialite, but I can totally understand if someone doesn't want their face on a porn site (yes it is) or doesn't really care about keeping a journal/blog/mindfecesextravaganza. Honestly...we all paid our money, you'd think on an alt-porn site (yes it is) people wouldn't be so concerned with conformity.