All: I wish to apologize for my recent posts. It is clear that I cannot adequately express my views, and I do not wish to continue to derail threads, no matter how deeply I care about the subject. I'll probably still monitor the what are you reading and watching threads, but will otherwise do my best to stay out of things.
Best wishes,
jimbo
From my perspective, you did nothing wrong and I'm sorry if I gave an impression otherwise.
I felt like there was no way that particular thread could continue as it was, although I think we can try restarting the discussion without some of the baggage.
I would likewise say that you do an admirable job of expressing yourself, as well as of making substantive and relevant contributions to the discussion (indeed, you seem harder to annoy than I am!). I, for one, am always glad to see your posts.
Please stay. We need you.
Quote from: jimbogumbo on June 21, 2023, 06:14:06 PMAll: I wish to apologize for my recent posts. It is clear that I cannot adequately express my views, and I do not wish to continue to derail threads, no matter how deeply I care about the subject. I'll probably still monitor the what are you reading and watching threads, but will otherwise do my best to stay out of things.
Best wishes,
jimbo
Even if you did
Quote from: eigen on June 21, 2023, 10:34:18 PMFrom my perspective, you did nothing wrong and I'm sorry if I gave an impression otherwise.
I felt like there was no way that particular thread could continue as it was, although I think we can try restarting the discussion without some of the baggage.
Quote from: eigen on June 21, 2023, 10:34:18 PMFrom my perspective, you did nothing wrong and I'm sorry if I gave an impression otherwise.
I felt like there was no way that particular thread could continue as it was, although I think we can try restarting the discussion without some of the baggage.
I can identify with the feeling that it's embarrassing to be part of some thread that goes off the rails. It reminds me of the way I used to feel when I would play basketball and get into it with somebody. Once the adrenaline wore off, I'm walking home and wondering "why was I yelling like an doofus and pretending I was going to fight some chemistry grad students." I don't think anything you wrote was at all comparable to some of the dumb stuff I got into a few years ago, but it helped me to just realize that I can be reactive in ways that I don't like about some things and some people and that the trick is to just stay away from responses and threads that are going to get me agitated.
I don't think an apology from you is necessary regarding that thread, but offering it shows grace and thoughtfulness, which is why many of us are hoping you stay active.
Some of us missed the whole thing, whatever it was.
Any of us can get worked up and it can be good to take a break. But hopefully you'll come back to posting after a cool off. Based on the responses above it doesn't seem like you said anything too harsh.
I think I found what you are talking about. You don't need to leave, or even give any major apologies.
Some folks have very narrow visions of how things should work & why they are the way they are (instead of being why they "should" be). People who will challenge that sort, especially when they're stridently hidebound, deaf, and blind about the limitations (and consequences...) of their own views, can be few and far between.
To me, it seems that you're just fighting the good fight - please return refreshed!
I've used this Tom Robbins quote before, but I think it applies: "Violence stinks no matter which side of it you're on. But now and then there's nothing left to do but hit the other person over the head with a frying pan."
No real violence, of course, but you've used the symbolic Frying Pan of Enlightenment judiciously, I think. It does take a lot out of you, though. A breather is probably a good idea.
I can understand wanting to draw back from getting pulled into discussions that are never going to be productive in the sense of changing the minds of anyone else involved in the discussion. But my sense was always that you were making measured points that at least might help people who aren't directly involved in the discussion understand that they have some support. And I never saw any interactions that warranted an apology either!
I hope you will return eventually!
I feel at least partly responsible for the turn that conversation took, because I introduced some of the topics via my early post in that thread that later became contentious. I apologize profusely for that.
Jimbogumbo, you're not the only one who contributed to that thread. Please come back after you've cooled off and continue to contribute to The Fora. Your perspective has been, is, and continues to be valuable.
I just want to say that I too find some of the things I read here as ridiculous to the point of being frustrating, and I know that I frustrate several people here. We all go off the rails sometimes.
You are obviously appreciated, Jim. Hang out and tell us more good stuff.
I wish Jim and others would not leave. We just need to bear with each other sometimes.
From time to time people have expressed disappointment at many of the discussions on the fora. My sense is that some people are mainly looking for discussion of the academic profession, and see topics that stray from that as reducing the value of the site.
For people who share that disappointment, would either of the two following options more or less describe your feelings?
- The fora would be better with less expression of extreme views. The "diversity" which is useful isn't political or ideological; it's in terms of environmental factors such as age, size and type of institution, discipline, etc.
- It's not the views expressed that are the problem; it's the way they are expressed.
For anyone ascribing to the 2nd one, I'd love to hear examples of posters that someone sees as holding "extreme" views, but who they think expresses them reasonably. (Without a concrete example of someone disagreeing with me in a way that
doesn't offend me, my claim that
how views are expressed is the problem is unproven.)