The Kilt Kops

[piperdbh]

Well, you carry on with your paying attention and complaining, it is a beautiful afternoon here in Norfolk and I am off to help my wife in the garden.

Regards

Chas

And that's the best thing I've read in years.

Boys, it's time to turn off the computers and go do something else for a while.

[CMcG]

<snip>
There are no, and will not be any, Kilt Kops on X Marks.

Xmarks is a great online community but it is also the cyber-property of Steve Ashton. He fired this shot over the bows and anyone who doesn't like his main point -- that this an inclusive place for all kilt-wearers -- should go grind their axe elsewhere.

I chose the quote above to highlight the fact that no-one is being called names. Steve is very clear that there are no "Kilt Kops" on Xmarks... the warning was made to remind people to steer clear of a certain type of behaviour that is not acceptable.

In my humble opinion, saying that there are not to be any Kilt Kops is a way of improving discussion. It means that people must explain and justify their opinions if they wish to be persuasive. There is no recourse to discussion ending statements that read like inviolable laws.

[Chirs]

Xmarks is a great online community but it is also the cyber-property of Steve Ashton. He fired this shot over the bows and anyone who doesn't like his main point -- that this an inclusive place for all kilt-wearers -- should go grind their axe elsewhere.

I chose the quote above to highlight the fact that no-one is being called names. Steve is very clear that there are no "Kilt Kops" on Xmarks... the warning was made to remind people to steer clear of a certain type of behaviour that is not acceptable.

In my humble opinion, saying that there are not to be any Kilt Kops is a way of improving discussion. It means that people must explain and justify their opinions if they wish to be persuasive. There is no recourse to discussion ending statements that read like inviolable laws.

I think that, CMcG, has brought things into focus for me. As is my wont, I've been trying to read the underlying assumptions in this thread and I think you have hit it. "To those who think they have the authority to command: knock it off; you don't. To those who feel put upon by others: relax; you're not."

If you were in the street and a police officer told you to do something, you need to do it. That person has the authority to command and has no need to explain. No matter how wrong that person may be, you need to do as you're told without question. Such a person does not exist on this board.

There are people on this board who express authority when it comes to kilts. Some have this authority through years of study, while others have come by it through lived experience. The two who come immediately to mind tend to offer clear opinions when it comes to the kilt but, in my experience, they do not command but rather, they offer with an explanation - clearly not Kilt Kops.

There are also those who offer (although, sometimes, what they do is more forceful than the word 'offer' would suggest) opinions without the benefit of explanation. These people might want to re-read posts before submitting them.

There are people on this board who express dismay at postings that seem to be telling them that they are not welcome (and perhaps many more who feel this way but do not express it). These people may wish to take to heart that, here, there is only one authority and he has clearly stated to one and all that he grants no authority to command to any one else. He, alone, has commanded that all are equal. So, if you are feeling the urge to command, re-think you position. And if you are feeling commanded, re-think your position. "There are no Kilt Kops on this board."

I may be completely off-base but that seems to be the message, so far as I am understanding it today.

[Bugbear]

Chirs,I don't know if this will add much, but... I have gotten the sense over my time here that some traditionalists feel that the terms, like "kilt cop or worse," are referring to someone who is a traditionalist. I've also gotten the sense this is partly from past events (old wounds), and possibly from things that happened outside the forum; it's on an emotional level.

I can understand the underlying feeling, almost from the opposite perspective, but I do not associate those terms with traditionalism.

I do not use those terms, like "kilt cop," so have been staying out of this thread.

[luath]

If you want to treat this discussion with respect, and imbue it with a genuine sense of Scottish historical and socio-grammatical accuracy...you should be using the term "Kilt Polis".

[Peter Crowe]

If you want to treat this discussion with respect, and imbue it with a genuine sense of Scottish historical and socio-grammatical accuracy...you should be using the term "Kilt Polis".

Aye, soon to be a nationalised Kilt Polis

[Downunder Kilt]

I don't post on a regular basis on this or any other forum, mainly because more often than not what I have to say wouldn't be very nice, and as mothers have said down the generations "if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all",
I do however read almost every post on here on a daily basis, and I am bemused at the cause of this thread, not once have I seen a mandatory statement by the hyperthetical kilt police, I have seen many a thread from knowledgeable folk here and across the big pond on how we like to see the kilt worn, and worn with what here in the Highlands of Scotland, a place after all that is said to be the homeland of the garment, a place that I might add has it's fair share of kilts worn in all manner of ways that us old school do not always approve off, there are respected members of this forum who look a million dollars wearing the kilt and others that look like a sack of spuds trying to pull off the look, but at the end of the day we all wear the kilt because we have a personal reason to do so, and each and every one of us has a different view of others wearing the kilt, we are all different, with different opinions, as long as we are respectfull to one another I see no reason why we cannot state how we wear the kilt and in our opinion it should be worn in this way or that, I would hate to see this noble forum reduced once again to members blowing smoke up each others back passages with "Nice Kilt" comments

Hit the nut on the head RedShank.

All the posts I read are peoples opinions. I don't like kilts worn too low and hose worn too high, so if I see a photo of a member wearing his kilt that way I will probably give my opinion on it. I try to do this in a respectable way, and for my part I think members on this froum do the same. Am I a Kilt Cop for having an opinion on what I prefer? I don't think so. I have put photos of myself up on the board, and received opinions from others advising that they thought there was something not quite right. I don't class them as Kilt Cops, they have expressed their opinion, also in a couteous way and if I think they have a valid point I may incorperate their idea in future, if I don't agree, it goes thru to the keeper.

In every part of ones life, there are people ready to give opinons on what you do, some you take on board, some you don't, it's up to you.

[tpa]

CMcG,

When Hank first set up X Marks he set the standard that this forum would be different from others out there. I'm sure you've all seen other sites. The flaming and the discord are rampant.

Hank also set the standard that those who wished to be members here would treat each other with respect and civility.

It was this atmosphere of civility that first drew me to this place. The respect that members showed to each other was noticeable even on my first visit.

We can't control the feelings or actions of others. We can only control what we do and say. My call was not an attempt to control or impose myself on others it was a reminder of why we have chosen to gather here.

It was a call to keep this special place, the sort of place, we are proud to refer our friends to. A place we can share with our spouses and families. A place that welcomes, with open arms, any and all that choose to join us.

Well said and long may it remain so. There are plenty of discordant sites out there for those that choose that route, but there you never know whether what is said is said for effect (to be deliberately provocative) or through belief. Here you feel the opinions are honest and respectful, but without pulling punches and laced with a good degree of humour, one of the most important elements.

[James Hood]

Steve Ashton for Emperor of Earth.
Praise be for common sense and respect for individual expression.
Soon, kilts will be as popular as blue jeans, and too difficult to police, anyway.

[luath]

Aye, soon to be a nationalised Kilt Polis

I can feel that saving me money already.