The Cellar

The Cellar (http://cellar.org/index.php)
-   Cellar Meta (http://cellar.org/forumdisplay.php?f=3)
-   -   The Cellar - An American Place? (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=17702)

limey 07-31-2008 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanaC (Post 472815)
Y'know, I really don't understand what is so difficult to accept about a community which began as a Philedelphia affair and then grew into a wider community with members from far flung places, but the largest portion of which are still in America, being an American board. That doesn't mean it is exclusively an American board. It merely means that the dominant culture is that of America. This is not a bad thing. I do not believe members like myself, who post here from other countries, feel like they are any less a part of the community than the American members are.

London is a cosmopolitan city and there are people of every culture and background, cheek to jowl and living as citizens. It is still, fundamentally, an English city. An English city which has become more than that, a world city.

This is an American board, but it is an American board which has become more than that, a world board. It is both.

What she said.
As far as I can tell in this thread none of us non-US citizens have objected to the American flavour of this board, or said we feel excluded. It is simply a description, in the same way that another board I frequent is definitely a British board, because the majority of the content is contributed by a particular nationality/culture.

lookout123 07-31-2008 04:13 PM

I'm deeply offended that you would see this as an american board. i call you a manc tart to make you feel at home afterall.

Undertoad 07-31-2008 04:16 PM

Quote:

AG online users right now:

United States of America (4)
Canada (4)
Awwk, that's too Canadian. Those northerners are a problem.

HungLikeJesus 07-31-2008 04:18 PM

What kind of beer is that in the tip mug? That should answer the question.

DanaC 07-31-2008 04:33 PM

Well it sure as hell doesn't look cloudy and warm..

Aliantha 07-31-2008 04:36 PM

I think limey put it best. The culture is American on this board regardless of how welcoming some members are.

It doesn't matter though. I don't know why some Americans are so upset at the assertion. Why does it matter?

Aliantha 07-31-2008 04:37 PM

It looks like a fourex, but that'd make it NZ nowdays.

Undertoad 07-31-2008 04:47 PM

It was actually a Sam Adams variety that I found I didn't like.

marjoj77 07-31-2008 05:07 PM

I agree with SundaeGirl, DanaC and Limey. This board is an American board from my point of view but it's not a bad thing at all. :) I haven't seen or read anything that would have bothered me because it is "too American" or anything like that.

Even though there are users from many other countries too, I don't think there would be nearly as much discussion of some local events of those countries compared to the things happening in the US. Maybe Australiand and Brits and some others could do that, but not so many other nationalities.

For example, I have no idea how many writers/lurkers from Finland keep coming here, but probably the discussion wouldn't be overwhelmingly active if I started a thread about some things happening here. :) But I visit some Finnish forums where I can discuss about those things, or keep lurking there too and just read the discussion of the more active writers...

Undertoad 07-31-2008 07:07 PM

From my point of view, it's nothing less than thrilling that the Cellar becomes more and more international. In its first 8 years of operation, it was a local phone call to reach, and so we were guaranteed Philly people and nothing but Philly people. People would leave the Cellar because they moved away!

TheMercenary 07-31-2008 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marjoj77 (Post 472857)
I agree with SundaeGirl, DanaC and Limey. This board is an American board from my point of view but it's not a bad thing at all. :) I haven't seen or read anything that would have bothered me because it is "too American" or anything like that.

Even though there are users from many other countries too, I don't think there would be nearly as much discussion of some local events of those countries compared to the things happening in the US. Maybe Australiand and Brits and some others could do that, but not so many other nationalities.

For example, I have no idea how many writers/lurkers from Finland keep coming here, but probably the discussion wouldn't be overwhelmingly active if I started a thread about some things happening here. :) But I visit some Finnish forums where I can discuss about those things, or keep lurking there too and just read the discussion of the more active writers...

Well tell us something from a Finish point of view that you would consider to be a prevailing view among your country men... I mean besides we all suck or how bad the US is, something interesting.

classicman 07-31-2008 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marjoj77 (Post 472857)
I don't think there would be nearly as much discussion of some local events of those countries compared to the things happening in the US.

Give it a shot - I'd love to know whats going on there and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

lookout123 07-31-2008 08:19 PM

Quote:

I don't think there would be nearly as much discussion of some local events of those countries compared to the things happening in the US.
but but but, that's cuz our stuff is actually important. being american and all.

monster 07-31-2008 10:03 PM

I was at a PTO meeting a few months ago, and -as usual- they were moaning that we are "too white". We're a magnet school, so our demographics differ from the neighborhood the school is in. Which is a pretty white area. As usual we debate why/how ..........the more culturally diverse sections of the catchment area are over an hour's schoolbus ride away.....
and at the last moment of the debate, a black mom and former chair of the PTO (who resigned mid-term) pipes up (paraphrased): You ain't ever gonna get equality in the school until you really address the equity issues. Y'all say you want more "minorities", but you keep running it the white way. You're all so polite with whose turn it is to speak and not getting mad with each other. That's not our way. We get mad and in your face and you won't let us do that. That's not how we do it and why we feel alienated.

I got her point. I didn't realise before that moment that there were different ways of doing these things. She wasn't bitter, she didn't expect any change and ahe still is a part of it and apparently enjoys it, but it has hit a nerve for me....
but pretty much the rest of the PTO thought she was hallucinating because they know they have no skin color issues. And they don't. They just don't have any friends who have a different skin color to set them straight on what it is and how it feels to be black. or brown. or coffee. or caramel.... or green........

but the point being, because I was in the majority and was very used to the way thins run, it never occurred to me that anyone could perceive the setup as being biased. But it was. That understood, the mom didn't want us to change it, she just wanted us to realize that it was like a foreign language sometimes.

And I think that's all we non-Americans want. We don't want to change the board, we' don't even need a nod to the fact that you know we're not on the same page. We love how it is, but it is an American board and you guys just can't see that because you are American.

xoxoxoBruce 07-31-2008 10:28 PM

Sure, turn the meeting into a Gansta Ho slapdown, to make them feel more welcome. :eyebrow:


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:04 PM.

Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.