# Unheard-of Forums



## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

*Threads You Might Follow In Another Lifetime*.

This way you might be allowed some time for consideration before making a move. Too often we blindly jump into a thread only to notice lions and tigers pacing about, egged on by their enablers and encouraged by the frenzied crowd. And many's the novice that has wandered into something like TC Music Theory without noticing the flaming swords guarding the doors ... Far better to put such ambitions on hold and post on something like "Green Jello Recipes You Simply MUST Try!"


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Funny, but I am not sure I understand.

Are we going to list the topics, which are inflammatory, but the newcomers don't know that ?


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

Mahler 6: Scherzo-Andante or Andante-Scherzo? That's the most recent topic in which I participated that seems to fit your description here.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

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## starcat (6 mo ago)

Any thread that gets into the objective/subjective debate


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

BBSVK said:


> Funny, but I am not sure I understand. Are we going to list the topics, which are inflammatory, but the newcomers don't know that ?


 As background: over the years on TC I've developed a dislike of posters who strike me as too aggressive, and also have expressed concerns about certain threads and contributors on the Music Theory sub-forum. But couching those issues in a mock "warning" to newcomers to beware of what they may be getting into was a bad idea. I was in a bad mood and wrote the OP of this thread poorly, changing it as I went along, and I apologize for the confusing result. 

I appreciate your replies. Don't wish for anything inflammatory to develop. And upon reflection I think it would be arrogant for me to suggest that any specific topics or posters are to be avoided -- it is an open forum and I hope people will feel free to express themselves. Some of my concerns mentioned previously are now in the past. As for others, there is no formula that can ensure general peace and harmony, or the treatment that one might want to see given to any musical area (including Music Theory). Fortunately we have helpful moderators on TC for specific cases. It's fine with me if there is anything raised here that someone wishes to follow up with -- and equally so if there isn't.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I'm impatiently waiting with bated breath for the "Green Jello Recipes You Simply MUST Try!"


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

"Green Jello Recipes You Simply MUST Try!" is screaming "Ideas for Stupid Threads"


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Roger Knox said:


> .... I think it would be arrogant for me to suggest that any specific topics or posters are to be avoided....


I don't know about that. I can think of several topics and a few obsessive posters to avoid like the plague. 😄


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I haven't been around lately until very recently, but back in the day when I was more active, if you just avoided using the term "atonal" you would be fine -- even though we all pretty much know the user of that term means "not common practice." Language is in a constant state of evolution, and though insider jargon has its place, it is unreasonable to expect the entire world to know and adhere to it. 

Thus in science fiction groups for example I have had to accept the term "sci-fi" instead of SF, even though "sci-fi" originally meant what an outsider erroneously perceived SF to be. Now those same outsiders have become fans and have brought the term with them. I have to accept it and not be a jerk about it. It's the same with "atonal." Maybe someday we will even have to embrace "song" in place of piece or work. I know it's hard, but that is how language evolves.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Malx said:


> I'm impatiently waiting with bated breath for the "Green Jello Recipes You Simply MUST Try!"


Wait no longer! Actually I took the idea from a song/recipe collection by the American duo William Bolcom (composer-pianist) and Joan Morris (soprano) who perform it here:


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> "Green Jello Recipes You Simply MUST Try!" is screaming "Ideas for Stupid Threads"


First see my reply to Malx in Post#11!


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Merl said:


> I don't know about that. I can think of several topics and a few obsessive posters to avoid like the plague. 😄


I agree, but I think it's a question of what the members do and what the mods do. I think it's better to take things like that up with the mods.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I just avoid them, as much as possible these days, Roger. If everyone did the same they'd get bored and either stop posting or bugger off to leave the forum to people with less of a fixed mindset. Some of them even bump their own posts to get attention then double post to reinforce how 'right' they are. How sad.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Weston said:


> I haven't been around lately until very recently, but back in the day when I was more active, if you just avoided using the term "atonal" you would be fine -- even though we all pretty much know the user of that term means "not common practice." Language is in a constant state of evolution, and though insider jargon has its place, it is unreasonable to expect the entire world to know and adhere to it.
> 
> Thus in science fiction groups for example I have had to accept the term "sci-fi" instead of SF, even though "sci-fi" originally meant what an outsider erroneously perceived SF to be. Now those same outsiders have become fans and have brought the term with them. I have to accept it and not be a jerk about it. It's the same with "atonal." Maybe someday we will even have to embrace "song" in place of piece or work. I know it's hard, but that is how language evelves.


Perhaps while you were not around much some difficult quarrels occurred on TalkClassical. The problems were more serious than issues about particular words.

In this badly-conceived thread, I wrote the OP as a sort of mock warning to newcomers about where those things might happen, but it was trying to be too clever and ended up being confusing.

As you say, there are some things we may not like but can learn to put up with. For others such as personal attacks and other bad behaviors, it's better to take the problems up with the mods than to go into single combat.


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