Americans- a little brash and maybe uncouth?

[Alan H]

Absolutely, Jock.. MUCH to her relief!

[Geoff Withnell]

Joseph,
Please get involved. We (the moderators) really try to take into account the "settling in" a new member might have in any community. And since we are member flag driven, the moderators don't as a rule initiate any moderation actions themselves, but respond to the concerns of our members. I'm the newest moderator, and I am still feeling my way in that role. But I think I can speak for all of the mods that our goal is to maximize the pleasure and enjoyment of all of us in our mutual interest in kilts and the wearing thereof.

[OC Richard]

For everyone who believes there is a proper way to wear the kilt, there is one or two who believe they should dress however they like.

And quite a few of us who equally believe both those things!

[OC Richard]

With the greatest of respect to all, Americans do not have the monopoly of freedom of speech, or brashness, or uncouthness.

It's been interesting, since I began viewing and participating in a number of forums (not XMarks) which included (amongst others) people in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Ireland, to see the various ways of communicating, various temperaments I suppose one could say.

I was immediately struck by the tendency of Americans and Canadians to political correctness and the avoidance of ruffling feathers to the point of vanilla mamby-pambyness, and the tendency of some from the UK and Ireland to make absolute brash "this is how it is and I don't care what anybody else thinks" sorts of statements.

There was one forum I attended where a group of Scots, Northern Irish, and Irish got fed up with the North American-imposed "play nice" rules and created their own no-holds-barred forum which of course degenerated into everybody yelling at each other.

The fascinating thing to me is how different this is from the way these various nationalities seem in person. I meet people from everywhere every day at work (yes everywhere... even Vanuatu) and in person many Americans can be more open/loud/brash, while the British and Irish are invariably extremely polite and courteous.

Well now... I've probably violated just about every Rule there is! Sorry.

[Tarheel]

Mr. Sinclair is correct. As a fellow native of the "Old North State" the endearing term of (bless 'em) applies to the uninformed not the rude or crude.

[Riverkilt]

Wiio was right on target.

A hard won piece of advice. NEVER EVER post anything about dogs' interest in kilts. No matter how true or how funny at the time.

[Ron Abbott]

It's been interesting, since I began viewing and participating in a number of forums (not XMarks) which included (amongst others) people in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Ireland, to see the various ways of communicating, various temperaments I suppose one could say.

I was immediately struck by the tendency of Americans and Canadians to political correctness and the avoidance of ruffling feathers to the point of vanilla mamby-pambyness, and the tendency of some from the UK and Ireland to make absolute brash "this is how it is and I don't care what anybody else thinks" sorts of statements.

There was one forum I attended where a group of Scots, Northern Irish, and Irish got fed up with the North American-imposed "play nice" rules and created their own no-holds-barred forum which of course degenerated into everybody yelling at each other.

The fascinating thing to me is how different this is from the way these various nationalities seem in person. I meet people from everywhere every day at work (yes everywhere... even Vanuatu) and in person many Americans can be more open/loud/brash, while the British and Irish are invariably extremely polite and courteous.

Well now... I've probably violated just about every Rule there is! Sorry.

That certainly put a smile on my face as I think I know some, if not all of the forums you are talking about.

Personally, I hated the forum with with the 'North American-imposed' rules and got quite angry when they banned a friend, for no reason other than political correctness and I left it; as did several others. It seemed to be controlled by a someone with a rather distinctive colour of hair. Is that the same one?

If the other 'no holds barred forum' that you refer to is run by a Canadian piper who has played in Canada, USA and now in Northern Ireland, then I know which one it is and I have to say that I actually like the forum a lot, mainly because some of the forumites have not been restrained by political correctness or overly strict rules and have come out there shells.

There are people on that forum who have views and have been brought up in what could be referred to as the exact opposite of what my own traditions/upbringing/beliefs are; and yet I enjoy that forum because I'm aware that they know what they're talking about and can often provide very sound reasoning. It's just a shame that the forum is not more active. Could the forum you are referring to be a place where one can go to get a beer?

Then of course there is the other well known piping forum started by a man who sadly died a few years ago. The forum goes on but appears to have changed over the past few years. However again, there have been issues and although some of the moderators are Brits, the North American contingent appear to dominate. I can still recall one thread which got stopped because it mentioned that some piping family were of one religious persuasion, which of course raised some hackles....and yet just a week or so later; one of the moderators started up a thread pertaining to pipers playing in front of the Pope! Double standards me thinks.

However I'm also a member of a forum related to World War 1, and it is a fascinating forum; not only because of the number of experts on it....people who have researched uniforms/weapons/tactics/history etc. for many years; but who are also extremely helpful. Again however that forum has its rules and one that is strictly adhered to is that if any threads are opened that relate to pre WW1 or perhaps WW2, then it gets closed immediately. It very much stays on the subject matter (WW1) only.