I'm just going to go out on a limb -

[therealfuster]

and say it...

 

This board confuses me!

 

Not the mechanics of it by TCM, but the people who inhabit it.

 

This promises to be boring, as even I am bored writing it, so prepare yourself.

 

I just decided to show up here recently, as I've been watching TCM for a long time now. Having been on other Internet discussion boards on movies, I was not surprised by some of what I saw. Internecine comments, superfluous rancor and narcissism.

 

On the other hand, there were also many posts which showed a real appreciation of film history, so that was encouraging and gave me hope that there could be some redeeming exchanges on silent cinema, world cinema and the finer films of Hollywood. Being that TCM is the creme de la creme of cable movie channels, maybe I expected too much.

 

I did not have anyone really say welcome or anything, so I just assumed that the status quo accepted each person as a new member, with equal stature.

 

But though it seems to have a lot of people here, it does not seem like anyone is hardly here whenever I am. Or else many are hiding when they see me coming. I am rather obnoxious, being that I am a female, and do have that effect on people. I noticed no one welcomed me here as they did some others who were new, so that should have been a sign...haha!

 

Are the majority of the posters in Borneo, and posting in other time zones? Just how many people really post here daily...does anyone know? I may be used to a faster exchange of ideas from hitting other sites with a big turnover.

 

I will look at the boards, and see not too much action on posts which seem really interesting to me, which further confounds me. If I post, I seem to be the only person doing so, and my name starts showing up all over the place, which is embarrassing.

 

I guess though I thought this would be a spot for film lovers, giving positive reinforcement. I see people saying that all they want is someone to talk about films with, and yet I don't see too much of that in actuality. I'd like to share some film lore with those of a like nature, but I don't see that will be happening. Yes, films are being discussed but more in a negative way often to my mind.

 

But that is neither here nor there. Just ignore this, unless you are a film fan who seems a bit discombobulated here yourself and really want to talk film. If so, then I'd like to hear from you.

 

Maybe we can start a support group for each other?

 

I don't blame TCM or their programmers [whose posts I have appreciated] since the cable channel was nice enough to provide this fine site. I blame myself for thinking there could be more.

 

I keep thinking when I stop in every few days, as Peggy Lee once sang..."Is that all there is?"

 

Well...is it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[garboloygrant]

Welcome aboard, therealfuster! I've only been a member here myself since late October, so I kinda know how you feel. I'm kind of shy by nature, so what I did was go into a live chat room. I got over the shyness somewhat b/c the people there were rude. I don't let my being shy let people get away with being rude to me. Anyway, what I learned was to just jump in and talk (or type). From what I gather, the people who are members of this message board are really cool. I've learned a lot from what I read in here. And I thought I was an aficionado on this stuff. Please don't be discouraged. I live in Florida and the only time I get to check out the threads is when I get home from work, which is around 5:30-6:00. Hang in there!!!

[eddie71664]

Repetition is the killer of Art. Walt Whitman {I hope}

there are a lot of threads that have been discussed over the last several months that are timeless. Go back through the pages and find something that interests you and go with it. people here get bored when you recycle

old thoughts, but if you continue an old thread with a fresh idea Im sure that you may get a response.

The liveliness of this crew has diminished somewhat with the presence of ill mannered trolls and very negative

people that thrive on being ****. But throw us some of your positive energy and liven up the place.

Likes ,dislikes, favorites

Just a thought

Eddie

Oh, and a very belated welcome to the boards, even if you're obnoxious.LOL

[eddie71664]

And besides, people are too consumed with watching films

to spend tooo much time here.

Eddie

[eddie71664]

And besides, people are too consumed with watching films

to spend tooo much time here.

Eddie

[eddie71664]

and besides, everyone is toooo consumed with

watching film to stay here too long

Eddie

[eddie71664]

and besides, everyone is toooo consumed with

watching film to stay here too long

Eddie

[kenwal34]

therealfuster,

I've read many of your interesting posts.This is my second go around on these boards.My first time was with banzi,paty[he had another screenname then].I'm kenwal70,but had to go another name to get back on line .But to get back to the point, this board has really changed over time.There are still the posters who show their interest and love for the cinema,and unfortunately,there are those who use it for everything but that! I may be opening a Pandoras box,and if so ,I apologize in advance.This is the only commercial free classic movie I have to watch,so I put up with repeated showings.Does it irritate me? You bet!! I dont complain because things might get worse!In short,I really enjoy the views from the young[and not so young] about the cinema both past and present.But there were other posts[many of you know what they were],that I could easily have done without!Thanks for letting me speak my views!!

[brackenhe]

I would post more often but I sometimes just can't.

[eddie71664]

ouch sorry about multi posts

[loveoldmovies04]

I have felt the same way as you sometimes therealfuster, I have even looked at some other forums but after looking at them I came running back to these. The other ones were so unorganized and most of the discussion seemed kind of annoying and the people posting seemed not to be the true classic fans that you find here. One of the discussions was people arguing about whether or not greas was a classic, another one was this guy talking about how he loved the line "here's looking at you babe" from casablanca. Now call me crazy but I've always thought he line was "here's looking at you kid" Anyways people here do just want other people to talk with about classic films or at least thats what I want and this site is pretty swell if you really think about it.

P.S. Even though I wasnt part of these boards when you joined, I wanted to tell you welcome!

-phoebe

[loveoldmovies04]

sorry typo I meant "Grease"

[pgm80s]

Welcome therealfuster. I try to check into the boards all the time,but I just don't always post. Most of the people around here are very knowledgeable and you mentioned before maybe in a different thread about film buffs. I'm definitely not a buff compared to most people here, but I'm only 24 and just got into classics maybe five to six years ago.I also don't know much about the technical side of film so I don't get into those discussions often but i like to read everyones comments because it gives me ideas as to which movies I should keep an eye out for. Its kind of funny reading some posts on here because I feel like I hardly know anything about movies yet with my friends they all think that I know so much about movies. Anyways welcome aboard.

 

Pete

[gingerrogers25]

I don't get 100% of my film discussion gratification from these forums - I've got a couple of friends that are as head first in classic films as I am so I only come here for creative posting, not necessarily discussion. I hate to disappoint, dontchaknow. Maybe TCM should hit the refresh button every 3 months or so and clear the forum topics (saving the responses in your own profile deal, same as watches) and start afresh. I don't much go back 4 or 5 pages to see discussions of yore.

 

By the by, what is meant by "I am rather obnoxious, being that I am a female, and do have that effect on people." I do hope it was sarcasm or, as Miss Bingley once remarked "You are so severe upon your own sex."

[KeithFromKC]

I think this board is pretty wonderful. Sure, there

have been some nasty exchanges and I will admit to

being in a couple of them. I'm passionate about film

and was called an idiot for my love of Silent film,

for example. Not one to back off from a fight, I took

the bait when I should have walked away. But overall,

I feel that people here know their cinema and I find

many exchanges here to be rather enlightening. It

seems that you (therealfuster) are looking for deep,

academic discussion on Classic Film. Nothing wrong

with that. But essentially, this is merely a message

board for a cable channel that we can all agree that

we enjoy (well, MOST of us anyway). It's not rocket

science.

 

I hope you can find some of what you're looking for

here, therealfuster, but after reading your post,

well, it came off a little bit elitist. I don't want

that to come off rude here. I truly don't. It seems,

at least by my interpretation, that you are

disappointed not only by the content, but by many of

the people here. You're basically stating that this

site does not live up to your expectations, which is

your opinion. All are valid.

 

I don't know, though. I see a diversity of folks here,

from teenagers to well beyond, and we are all together

in our support of TCM. Many of us, myself included,

are not film critics or scholars. We just know what we

like and we discuss it here with great passion. I have

learned quite a bit from many of the great folks here,

yourself included. Again, I truly hope you find what

you're looking for here.

 

By the way, I never got a welcome when I came onboard

here either. It doesn't bother me. I'm just happy to

log in here and check out the discussions and

hopefully add something useful every once in awhile.

[venerados]

Sorry, fuster, if I didn't welcome you to the board. I only do that if I notice an announcemnt of arrival. You're not obnoxious.

 

I don't know what to tell you about the board. It's hard enough for me trying to find things to talk about with people. It would be impossible trying to find people who talk about what I want to. (Is that clear?)

[blonderbbt]

Well, as one strong female to another, no one welcomed me either, so I'm now welcoming myself.

 

WELCOME BLONDE RABBIT!

 

And welcome to you too, my dear therealfuster.

 

Let's rattle these boards in a positive constructive, yes, fun manner. We have a whole century of filmmaking to discuss and not a moment to waste.

 

Blonde Rabbit

[ljenson71]

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of how the board is set up. And do you have to log in everytime?

 

I've been to a few message boards, and the layout and options for this is by far the worst I've seen yet.

[silentfan66]

Hey now...women aren't obnoxious, they are strong-willed...

 

I don't think anyone here is a high hatter. I would agree that we are probably all in different time zones or have particular times when we use the internet for posting purposes. Also, there are a number of good forums out there besides this one, so some of us may spread ourselves a bit thinner. In my own case, I've got a husband, a kid (okay, let's make that two kids), work, homework, band practice, pick up this, run this errand, do this do that...you get what I'm saying. My internet posting time is a precious commodity. If I see a topic that perks my interest I'll readily join in - if nothing else I do read everything.

 

Classic film lovers are a rare breed indeed. We are like the last of a lost species and are dependent on one another to breathe. Any posts are appreciated, the more we can know and learn and share is a good thing!

 

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled work day!

[deeanddaisy666]

Oh yes, ljenson, once and twice and thrice and mas on Sunday and even more if you open more than one Window. Oh yes, the logging in code written for this site was done in Ding Dong School by kids with crayons. A wonderful site? You betcha. Programming 101? You betcha again.

 

Internecine? Holy crap, that's a cool one, gotta work that one into my conversation more. Internecine? You betcha, ain't it great? No censorship, no banning, no warning by percentages, no nuthin' in the way of pompous **** moderating. We don't need no stinkin' moderators.

 

Wonderful board, ain't it? Welcome, welcome, welcome, realfuster.

 

When are we all here? Who knows. I'm here now, I think. When I'm not here, I don't think I'm here. But ain't it fun? Film folks are fun.

 

You want something to complain about? Go to A&E, go to Television Without Pity, go to aboutfilm.com. Three of the most horrid, obnoxious boards on the planet. Bet you'll come back here and don't worry, be happy.

 

 

[gwtwbooklover]

Hello and welcome theralfuster sorry it is so late a welcome when I first started I logged on and said Hello I'm new... and went from there. I also when I see newbies I try to say Howdy. Sorry I missed you. Yes, the website could improve(the logging part) but I love it. Everyone is so friendly, funny, and thought provoking and at times discussions get heated but I love my TCM family. Your right though there doesn't seem to be anyone on when I am on but those are the breaks. I have to log on when the chance comes between the kids being on the computer,housework and the job and my most important job being a mother.

[blonderbbt]

Classic film lovers are a rare breed indeed. We are like the last of a lost species and are dependent on one another to breathe.

 

Thanks silentfan66 for those wise words. Reading these boards is a bit like discovering part of your lost tribe after thinking there's little chance left of finding them. Then you read posts by the smart 16-year-old gingerrogers25and feel happy knowing that new members join all the time.

 

THERE'S HOPE!

 

Blonde Rabbit

[therealfuster]

I have written down all your user names, as I did appreciate all your most sincere and elucidating comments. Watch out...I will now be looking for threads by you all since you all seem like such super film fans.

 

I may have been reading too many posts by some refugees from the Peanut Gallery. I now feel much better, having been given some input that made lots of sense.

 

I got some insights from all of your most thought provoking posts and agree with Blonde Rabbit that time is a wasting, when there are a hundred years of films to discuss.

 

To clear up any confusion, I believe that just criticism is always equitable, I just felt bad when I thought there were so many posts criticizing the TCM schedule, which to my mind is a movie lover's dream, and quite amazing.

 

It made me sad. I feared that such chronic whining might cause TCM to eventually just close its doors, and wanted to express to them how much this film fan does appreciate their fantastic schedule and elicit support from others who also love the place.

 

Wow....the silent shorts shown on Sunday nite were super. Charley [Charlie?] Bowers and his matchbox friend were simply out of this world! I laughed out loud at the ship labelled S.S. Hoot Mon.

 

And getting to see Rin Tin Tin saving his pups from the fire was a trip. I also really liked the Fleischer brothers bit about how to treat one's office phone.

 

Historically, it was a most enervating night of film and I really enjoyed it. Who else but TCM would devote time to such shorts?

 

Thanks, TCM!

 

Thanks again everyone for your opinions on my plight.

[Guest]

A thousand welcomes, therealfuster, blonde rabbit, and anyone else who hasn't been hailed by any of their classic movie compatriots! I honestly don't read every post on each thread, but tend to pop into the boards about once or twice a day, so I may have missed your arrival. Aside from the annoying login flaws, I think that you'll find that this is a much friendlier and thoughtful message board.

 

As I mentioned once in another post, it's a little like stumbling into a Shangri-La where people--for the most part--want to hear your ideas when they're expressed politely. I usually learn something each time I read the posts of these guys. Please don't let any recent tiffs that appear on the board discourage you--the natives are friendly!

 

No matter how you say it--it all means YOU ARE WELCOME:

Akwaaba Welkom Bienvenue Willkommen Benvenuto F?ilte

Witam Dobro pozhalovat' Isibingelelo

 

[therealfuster]

I've been enjoying all your posts since I first landed here.

 

I agree this is a Shangi-La for movie fans. If only Ronald Colman would show up as a poster, I could die happy...