Why GS has some different guidelines

Red Dog said:

As an "old-timer" here, I think GS has actually become softer in tone. Five or six years ago, there were some really scathing remarks made on a regular basis about certain skaters. Although such talk pops up from time to time, I think the atmosphere (and demographic) has changed- shifted in favor of certain skaters, but overall I think discussion is more balanced than in previous years.

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Perhaps certain extremists are less present than they used to be, but I feel that in general the board has become a little more free in terms of what can actually be talked about. I remember sexuality being brought up a couple years ago and people being so scared of the very mention of the word...but then maybe 6 months ago it came up again and there was some actual discussion about it.

Blades of Passion said:

I remember sexuality being brought up a couple years ago and people being so scared of the very mention of the word...but then maybe 6 months ago it came up again and there was some actual discussion about it.

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The majority of people here seem to be liberal or at least Christian but open-minded (hi Toni! ). So I think that sexuality in general being discussed is not a problem, there are loads of threads on that e.g. in the Politics discussion. Not discussing the sexuality / romantic lives of skaters in public is a sign of respect, especially if said skaters expressed themselves that private means private. And respecting the private lives of the skaters does not make a message board old-fashioned or "less free" - just respectful and honourable.

In the other post you spoke about

When you put yourself in the public eye, you are open to criticism. It's rather against the very idea of a public forum to try and "protect" skaters. Bad reviews happen and sometimes they are harsh and cutting. Newspapers don't censor such reviews because they are afraid of the producer/director/actors getting mad at their publication. It's how the World works, in this wonderful age of free speech and mass communication.

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You speak about reviews, so you obviously mean that figure skating fans have the right to criticise the performances all they want. And that's how it's done here at Goldenskate. But then you started talking about sexuality - are these two posts by you connected in any way? Because there is a difference between talking about performances or even trashing performances and talking about sexuality.

Back to whether or not skaters are familiar with various forums: FSUniverse has a facebook page (listed mission: Promoting Voids/Tiffedness/Snarks) with TEB set up as an event - and I've seen quite a few very familiar names in the RSVP lists and in the comments.

Medusa said:

The majority of people here seem to be liberal or at least Christian but open-minded (hi Toni! ).

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Boy, have I got you fooled!

Not discussing the sexuality / romantic lives of skaters in public is a sign of respect, especially if said skaters expressed themselves that private means private. And respecting the private lives of the skaters does not make a message board old-fashioned or "less free" - just respectful and honourable.

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that's it, exactly. just because you are 'in the spotlight' it doesn't mean it's RIGHT to dive into every corner of that person's life. they're human just as the rest of us, they deserve the same basic rights and respect we want for ourselves.

Just wanted to say that I'm a Conservative & a Catholic, and I enjoy GoldenSkate for all the informative articles, news, and forums. But what sets it apart from all others for me personally is R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I cannot stress that enough.

That said, I have to admit my all-time favorite board was owned by Adrian Chew back in 1998/99/2000, I loved it & still miss it. Lol, I was even one of those that paid after he sold it. Alas, that didn't last. Afterwards, I looked for over a year for a board that really fit me, and this was it. Thanks GS!

was that the iSkater site or whatever it was called??? I honestly can't remember all of the different boards... especially the ones that disappeared soon after I got into skating message boards...

Yes, I think it was called iskater, but like you I honestly cannot remember. I just know that Adrian Chew's board was the first ever figure skating board I joined & I enjoyed it tremendously. I was heartbroken when it went away. But alas that was a long time ago, as the old saying goes this too shall pass.

OT: I wish everybody an enjoyable & safe 4th of July weekend! Lol, I'm actually glad I took my vacation during the month of June, as July is going to be hot, hot, hot. Still, everything would be perfect if I could figure out a way to go to Michael Jackson's funeral on Tuesday (we're still trying to figure out a way to go)!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!!

I'm not sure of Adrien was a part of that board or not... the one I was thinking of had commentary from Paul Martini and they'd give screen capture type webcam photos of the programs in the different rinks... I think it got bought up by skate canada or CBC or whoever right before the Olympics and then it went away before the games?