Another Forum Disses DS Boards

[David]

The Latarnia Forums is a board for fans of Euro Horror. I never post there but I do read it.
At a thread for Depp Shadows, DS Boards is referred to as a place run by "facists" with no respect for free speech.
It's said that no constructive criticism of the show, or new film  is allowed--and that we're expected to applaud all things DS as though we were "applauding the Nazis marching into Paris", according to one poster.
There are people on the thread who clearly like DS but were agreeing with these sentiments.
I was taken a little aback by some of this, as I find this board to be a supportive safe space, and the mods here have been very kind to me. But there have been posts that have been deleted from here that made me say "huh?" So, are Latarnia posters just being bitchy, or might we need to be more tolerant of differing opinions here? Discuss!

[David]

Here's the link to Latarnia:
http://thelatarniaforums.yuku.com

Scroll down to a section called On My Mind, click it. There you'll see a 6 page thread called Tim Burton's Dark Shadows. Comments about DS Boards are on the last two pages.

[michael c]

i imagine that they're just bitchy trolls.

i've been posting here for nearly a decade and have never once had a post deleted. and as one can see there have been MANY differences of opinion in the film threads. many people have made it abundantly clear that they're not happy with the film and their posts have not been deleted.

people mind their manners here. it's really the only safe haven for DS discussions in an otherwise insane internet community.

[Gerard]

Well, I don't know what they're talking about.  We cousins have been having a good deal of conversing and bantering here about the new film, running from "can't wait to see it" to "I'll never go see it." 

And what else do they mean by saying we have absolutely no criticism of DS here?  We've had plenty.  There's been lots of complaints about our beloved DS, from poor acting to illogical plots, some down right awful plots, the lack of consistency and characters that were about as enjoyable as root canal.  We've never swept the "negative" things about DS under the rug.

Gerard

[michael c]

true,

when the comic series recently went south(in a big way)that was called into very sharp criticism. no one was scolded.

there's really nothing wrong with controlling one's emotions and maintaining a polite demeanor. i'd be horrified if some of the nonsense one reads elsewhere came over here.

the mere references of "fascism" and "nazis" in regards to a soap opera is indicative of the sort of people who would object to the tone of this board. thank god they stay away.

[Gothick]

This is unbelievable.  but a sad reminder of why the board guidelines here stipulate, as a rule, not repeating or discussing stuff posted on other sites/forums when it's material that descends to the level of gossip/unfounded speculation etc.

I will comment that the topic of Depp Shadows seems to be bringing out a really strange side in some fans' personalities.

You know, it's only a movie, based on a TV show that is supposed to offer us some fun and diversion?  Just stop for five seconds and think about what's going on in the country and the world in what is laughingly described as real life.

cheers, G.

[michael c]

apart from not really wanting to schlep out to tarrytown the outrageous behaviour of this fanbase in recent months has really made me question whether or not i want to attend this year's fest.

it's leaning towards no.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

First off, thanks so much for all the supportive posts. I've said it before, but the forum would actually be nothing without its wonderful members. And Midnite and I are thankful for you all.    But you know - it's not the first time that because this forum is moderated it's been accused elsewhere on the Internet of being run by Nazis. But that's quite possibly because some people just can't wrap their heads around a moderated environment.    And as has been pointed out, there is plenty of criticism posted in the topics here. As far as the original show is concerned, one really needn't even go back any further than reading some of the latest posts in the Watching Project to see it. Not to mention that, for one, so far as I can see, LOOKE300's reply #3301 is still very much in the film's production topic. So, obviously whoever posted whatever they have on that other forum doesn't actually know what really goes on here. Though if they're referring to instances in that topic where a supposed remark that Tim Burton is rumored to have made has been removed, well, no source has ever been given for the supposed remark, and we don't allow any sort of thing like that to remain on the forum without a source being cited to prove that such remarks actually were indeed made. If it's being a Nazi not to allow rumor and heresay to rule the day, well, so be it. But in other instances it might seem as if whoever is posting is simply seeing what they want to see and ignoring or possibly aren't even aware of the rest. No biggie. As I said, we've seen it before, and we'll surely see it again...

[Midnite]

Well, one person complaining has posted numerous negative viewpoints here about what s/he has seen so far of the new movie, which flies in the face of any argument the poster can make elsewhere that negative comments are deleted here.  But, (sticking to what has occurred here rather than addressing statements made on another site) I did publicly edit two of this person's DS movie posts.  MB mentioned one of those issues, and all the poster had to do was tell us the source of a statement and the edited mention would have been promptly restored.  That's all they had to do, but they didn't.  The 2nd edit (again, I'm not revealing an action that isn't visible to a casual reader) was to remove a nasty remark directed toward another member, which is something everyone agrees not to do during the registration process.  If somebody insists on his or her right to make nasty remarks toward other posters or the right to repeat unsubstantiated rumors, then I'm sorry, this really isn't the place for you.

As MB said, bad press isn't new to us.  It's all good.  And if everyone's opinions about DS were the same, what a boring place this would be! 

[jimbo]

I never heard of that other discussion board and have no desire to go there. Of course negative comments on the film have been posted here and have not been removed. On the IMDb board I only posted once and was immediately called a Nazi. This is the only discussion board I participate in. It is run fairly and objectively. I thank the moderators here for running this wonderful board.

[David]

I made a few inquiries about the owner of that other board to horror mag editors I work with--he's a known troublemaker, so I guess that sums him up--he's banned for life at the Classic Horror Film Board--he does complain about the Classic Horror Board in the DS thread.
I posted the info here in part because I thought the issue was worthy of discussion & in part because I thought the mods & members should know what was being said about us, in case anyone wanted to respond over there.
That I thought the issue was worthy doesn't change my revulsion over  the Nazi comparison they made--talk about going too far!
I do agree with the responses here. I have had about 2-3 posts deleted from here that I wondered about, but I've also been extremely well treated and supported here. Midnite in particular has been very kind to me, and I thank her for that.

[madscntst]

Gosh, I've certainly come across discussion/fan boards where people aren't free to express their opinions, and this is definitely not one of them.  I can't imagine why they would say that.  Luckily, I'm not familiar with that site, so I will certainly not seek it out now   

[Gerard]

I think MB and Midnite have been wonderful in moderating.  They have never censored - they've moderated.  They have given only two specific rules:  1) don't post unsubstantiated rumors (and, at times, they've even been very liberal in applying that), and 2) don't personally attack anyone here (and they've even allowed some rather heated remarks to go back and forth).  They've treated us like adults, only asking us to be responsible.

Deleting a post that says "I've got it on a very good word, having heard it from a friend's brother's cousin's girlfriend's aunt's hairdresser that it's really Michael Jackson, who's been living in hiding with Elvis, who's playing Barnabas, not Johnny Depp," or "you're a real poopy-face for thinking Jeff Clark was the best character ever" does not constitute "censorship."  Both MB and Midnite have set the rules, and quite often they have allowed them to be bent a great deal.  Calling this "fascism" or "nazism" is simply ludicrous.

Hey!  I think this is my 2,000th post!  Do I get anything?  If I don't, I'm gonna go on other boards and tell everyone you're all just a bunch of poopy-faces.

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

How about a nice congratulations on 2000 posts.    (And lest anyone think I'm just sucking up to someone who's said nice things, we've frequently congratulated members who've reached similar milestone post (and curse) totals. On occasion there have even been entire topics devoted to it.  )


And again, thanks so much for all the nice things being said.
(The checks will be in the mail on Monday.)

[Nancy]

Frankly, I do not think the issue is even worthy of discussion.  I have no interest in even looking at the thread on that other board.  I mean, who really cares what they think?