Banned From FPN?

[Jon Szanto]

Indeed, and I have, and you are so right. I don't fit in anywhere. I shouldn't have spoken at all.

I think you are being unnecessarily harsh on yourself. Give yourself a chance, and give us a chance.

There are definitely cliques in existence in both forums though.

Certainly: populated by humans, exhibiting human behavior. A little over four years ago, I had never set foot in a single pen forum. I'm now in four of them, to varying degrees, and connecting with various numbers of 'subsets' of members. It takes time, patience, a bit of understanding on your part, and you'll find an area of common ground with some people. I honestly believe that.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Perhaps you are right, probably are. Unfortunately I come to the table with, well, nothing of any interest, so a bit hard to find common ground I guess.

[carlos.q]

Perhaps you are right, probably are. Unfortunately I come to the table with, well, nothing of any interest, so a bit hard to find common ground I guess.

The only thing of interest that we bring to this forum is our interest (or love, passion, obsession) for fountain pens. Once you have that, you are part of the community.

[Crazyorange]

Indeed, and I have, and you are so right. I don't fit in anywhere. I shouldn't have spoken at all.



There are definitely cliques in existence in both forums though.

I believe it takes time to develop connections on the forum. Just in general - a thought - not directed at you.....just my own belief. When you see a post that interests you, tell the OP that and ask a question., request a pic. Interact with people. Be helpful when you can. I've learned a lot by taking that step. I've developed report with people by doing that and writing letters/going to shows.

I've been on the forum for about a year and finally connecting with the people. That's the best part, but good stuff is not instant. It takes time.

[mhosea]

Perhaps you are right, probably are. Unfortunately I come to the table with, well, nothing of any interest, so a bit hard to find common ground I guess.

I generally like your posts on both sites.

[Titivillus]

I could say something but I've tried to move on. I could point to some things over there but it seems that I've been erased partially.

[fountainpenkid]

I've had a fake FPN account since 2012 when I was banned, and check the site weekly or so...the larger and different community there combined with the depth of information of so many great topics (mostly older ones) brings me back. I am very torn however about their extremely heavy-handed control--as a place where people gather and interact, FPN is a community, and a 'business' (oh...sorry, 'nonprofit'--yeah right! ) whose intrinsic value is a community bears a certain responsibility to that community in an ethical sense drawn from the existential nature of their relationship. They need to consider this as people, as the individuals that they are when they sign off, not from the corrupted perspective of a gang of people in power. They need to consider the ethics of what they are doing.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Well, I have been both a good boy and a bad boy over there and been treated accordingly. I have no problem with that. There are members that irritate more than others, as I am sure some (most) feel the same way about me. And there are some who behave in a manner that can only be described as bullying. You get them here too. Same old, same old.

The other thing though is that I'm not trying to hawk my wares through the site, so that side of things has zero impact on me.

[Scrawler]

Indeed, and I have, and you are so right. I don't fit in anywhere. I shouldn't have spoken at all.



There are definitely cliques in existence in both forums though.

I am not sure if "clique" is the right word. There are groups of people with sufficient interest, and time on their hands, who post and respond more than others. There may be people who share a closer interest in a certain type of pen, but "clique" seems to me to be exclusionary, and I have not seen any of that in here. You do fit in, with me anyway. Maybe you and I should form our own clique. The problem is that just about everyone else here would also be eligible.

[Silverbreeze]

I never got banned. Just feel everyone here is nicer both Members and Admin like Dan

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Scrawler, there are small closed groups on FPN (a little less so here because I haven't been here long enough to notice it). Over there it is kind of obvious. I am not sure what the raison d'etre is for these closed groups, suffice to say that not being in one means that certain levels of aid and access to particular resources are denied. That is my impression/perception. It may be that because I am always on the fringe that it simply more noticeable for me, and that most people are more enmeshed so don't get affected as much.

[Scrawler]

Scrawler, there are small closed groups on FPN (a little less so here because I haven't been here long enough to notice it). Over there it is kind of obvious. I am not sure what the raison d'etre is for these closed groups, suffice to say that not being in one means that certain levels of aid and access to particular resources are denied. That is my impression/perception. It may be that because I am always on the fringe that it simply more noticeable for me, and that most people are more enmeshed so don't get affected as much.

There are? I have never seen one, but then I suppose I would have to be in one to be aware of it. How do they get members? Do they send invitations to likely candidates? My participation is reduced to such a trivial level these days, that most people will likely have forgotten me, anyway.

[nagod]

i think these small closed groups might exist in your mind and not reality.please cite examples if i am mistaken.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

No. I will not cite examples. I did say that it was my impression/perception. However, that impression/perception is driven by how other members behave. You can draw your own conclusions if that pleases you, but these were mine.

[Farmboy]

Scrawler, there are small closed groups on FPN (a little less so here because I haven't been here long enough to notice it). Over there it is kind of obvious. I am not sure what the raison d'etre is for these closed groups, suffice to say that not being in one means that certain levels of aid and access to particular resources are denied. That is my impression/perception. It may be that because I am always on the fringe that it simply more noticeable for me, and that most people are more enmeshed so don't get affected as much.

There are? I have never seen one, but then I suppose I would have to be in one to be aware of it. How do they get members? Do they send invitations to likely candidates? My participation is reduced to such a trivial level these days, that most people will likely have forgotten me, anyway.

There are, or there were, I moderated the very exclusive Lamy Forum on FPN until recently...

I'm curious as to which resources have limited access.

[Jon Szanto]

Tippi Hedren knows all.

[ainterne]

Since there are so many different personalities thrown in the same pot, there is always going to be misunderstandings on forums isn't there? With people trying to share a thought in sometimes a single sentence, and then, without others benefiting form seeing the facial expressions or body language, that can give a sentence a completely different meaning, all coming from different countries, continents with various traditions, it's hardly surprising there is a bit of misunderstanding now and again? , "said with head cocked to one side, question mark facial expression, sat in a relaxed position... oh, with a small smile at the end" :-).... I think it might be quite fun watching what people wrote if everybody did this:-)

[Crazyorange]

Tippi Hedren knows all.

Only if you know who Tippi is. We're dating ourselves.

[Scrawler]

Scrawler, there are small closed groups on FPN (a little less so here because I haven't been here long enough to notice it). Over there it is kind of obvious. I am not sure what the raison d'etre is for these closed groups, suffice to say that not being in one means that certain levels of aid and access to particular resources are denied. That is my impression/perception. It may be that because I am always on the fringe that it simply more noticeable for me, and that most people are more enmeshed so don't get affected as much.

There are? I have never seen one, but then I suppose I would have to be in one to be aware of it. How do they get members? Do they send invitations to likely candidates? My participation is reduced to such a trivial level these days, that most people will likely have forgotten me, anyway.

There are, or there were, I moderated the very exclusive Lamy Forum on FPN until recently...

I'm curious as to which resources have limited access.

Alright, it is true, I concede the Lamy forum. But that was a special situation, and if you remember I did occasion to participate in it myself.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I am an outsider to both places and generally get treated with the same disregard no matter which place I visit. At least it's consistent I suppose.

Once we post, none of us are outsiders. You might also consider the common denominator in the equation.

We have enough people for a really interesting dinner party. I might run out of chairs, so in addition to BYOB, it's BYOC.

Pens and inks will get you through the door.