Tickers

[shmeep]

I decided to move the discussion of the pregnancy tickers to its own thread so that it would no longer be hijacking the otherwise non-offensive Phobias thread. I hope no one minds.

greenbeing said:

Not to be offensive, but the signature lines with the pregnancy countdowns are actually rather frightening. Is there a way they could be put in the pregnancy thread, so the rest of us aren't tripping over your little fetuses? It's not that I'm not tremendously happy for you, but there's a reason babies wait nine months before they're born...

--GB

[shmeep]

housemouse said:

greenbeing said:

Not to be offensive, but the signature lines with the pregnancy countdowns are actually rather frightening. Is there a way they could be put in the pregnancy thread, so the rest of us aren't tripping over your little fetuses? It's not that I'm not tremendously happy for you, but there's a reason babies wait nine months before they're born...

--GB

I really like the pregnancy signature lines. I don't find nurturing a growing life the least bit frightening. I think our humble - and pregnant - leader along with Kenina should keep their tickers and post them proudly!!

[shmeep]

admin said:

greenbeing said:

Not to be offensive, but the signature lines with the pregnancy countdowns are actually rather frightening. Is there a way they could be put in the pregnancy thread, so the rest of us aren't tripping over your little fetuses? It's not that I'm not tremendously happy for you, but there's a reason babies wait nine months before they're born...

Really? This is under "Phobias"?

I don't love all the avatars and signatures over here, but I defend the right of each person to express herself in whatever way she chooses. That is the reason this board was set up. People wanted a place to feel free and comfortable and this board has been very accommodating of everyone. I'll admit that Mouse and I have, upon occasion, messed around with your avatars to be silly, but we have never once asked anyone to change an avatar or a signature for any reason, no matter what our personal opinions may have been. We don't do that over here.

[shmeep]

maggiethecat said:

greenbeing said:

Not to be offensive, but the signature lines with the pregnancy countdowns are actually rather frightening. Is there a way they could be put in the pregnancy thread, so the rest of us aren't tripping over your little fetuses?

You say you don't want to be offensive, and then you use a phrase like "tripping over your little fetuses?" Huh?

I worry about someone who is that freaked out by a little pink drawing, but that's not the point. If I may quote Carl's beloved Marlo Thomas,"Free to be, you and me." That's who we are here.

[shmeep]

awlrite4now said:

greenbeing said:

Not to be offensive, but the signature lines with the pregnancy countdowns are actually rather frightening. Is there a way they could be put in the pregnancy thread, so the rest of us aren't tripping over your little fetuses? It's not that I'm not tremendously happy for you, but there's a reason babies wait nine months before they're born...

--GB

I don't find them frightening, actually a bit creepy. Just like the billboards on the side of the road, I do not like to see fetuses posted around anywhere outside the doctors' office. I am happy for those who are expecting, but for personal reasons, I do not like having it thrust in my face on unrelated postings. I'm all for the countdown part, that's cool, but spare me the graphic details.

I know that it's "free to be you and me", but when something is really bothering someone, a little bit of courtesy is nice too. So maybe this should be in the Pet Peeves thread. That creepy siglines are a pet peeve of mine.

[shmeep]

spoony said:

To each their own. Pictures don't bother me unless they are intentionally prejudiced or offensive. I see nothing wrong with somebody displaying drawings of pink foetuses.

...now if they were ORANGE foetuses

*hates orange*

[shmeep]

forensicpaws said:

Ah but are you AFRAID of orange?

Personally, i have to agree- I find the foetus pictures creepy but I also respect that others like them and I just take a mental note of the posters that have them attached and skip past their sigs I'm frightened of things that don't have faces/expression (terrified of masks! And many dolls. And ventriloquist dummies. Eep), and well the idea of a tiny person growing inside of someone also scares me

But definately each ot their own

[shmeep]

housemouse said:

When pictures like that are used for propaganda by extremist jerks they are frightening and frighteningly inappropriate. In this case, when two mothers to be, are using them to show pride in the fact that they are building an entire human life, they are not creepy in the least, nor are they inappropriate.

Newsflash: That's where we all started. Its a baby people!

I don't' want to sound too harsh here, but maybe those who are bothered by the signatures should avoid the board for the next 30 weeks or so. Or don't read posts by Shmeep and Kenina. Or at the very least, do as forensic paws suggests and skip quickly over the signature line.

If these signatures were racist, mean-spirited, or genuinely gross, then I think we would be remiss if we didn't remove them, but they are not, they are a part of life.

[shmeep]

dogma said:

let's just all remember that it is g/b's right to post her opinion without being tromped upon for saying her feelings,
we all have the right to agree to disagree,,
the main reason we have our own little board was the horrific situation that few people witnessed over at the other board

there needs to be a compromise here, and let that be that
that said,, let's just have fun with this board , and realize that opinions are like a-holes,, everyone has one,, some just stink more than others that is not meant to be offensive at all,, trust me
i personally don't have a dislike for the little pink beings,, i've just had so many biology classes with all those pix,, it's just like a review for me

[shmeep]

housemouse said:

As a woman who has given birth three times in the last eight years, I have to say the feelings that need considering are those of the mom's to be. With all the hormones corsing through their bodies right now, they are on pins and needles to begin with, and comments like that don't make things any easier. Characterizing looking at these signatures as "tripping over little fetuses" is rather offensive.

GB absolutely has the right to state her opinion but she could have chosen a better way. Right off the bat I wonder why she picked the "Phobias" thread for her post. GB, are you saying you are terrified of slugs, mustaches, and babies in utero? Maybe a private PM to either Shmeep, Kenina, or another administrator was in order, but referring to them as frightening - in a thread called "Phobias", that is just beyond the beyonds.

[shmeep]

kenina said:

I agree, everyone has the right to his/her opinion. I also believe that in expressing opinions, one should consider the feelings of others, and how you express it is as important as what you're expressing. I think since this particular opinion applied to only Shmeep and me, a private message or email might have been more...tactful, I suppose is the word. Since it's public, though, we'll work through it as a group.

I can only speak for myself that it absolutely never crossed my mind that a drawing of a developing human being would be offensive or creepy--or frightening (?). (Outside of the confines of anti-abortion propaganda, that is.) Especially from my perspective, which is that I have gone through 3.5 years of infertility, testing, and painful treatment to get where I am, and I'm SO excited and emotional about it that I just want to share at every possible moment. Which, of course, just goes to show how different people and their experiences and mindsets are. I just hope that despite our differences, maybe we can all compromise by tolerating each other's quirks and drawings and whatever else, even if it's not our cup of tea? At some point, we as a group may have to draw a line at a signature or a post that we all agree is offensive and not permittable. I hope that line isn't my pregnancy ticker. Other thoughts?

[shmeep]

admin said:

dogma said:

let's just all remember that it is g/b's right to post her opinion without being tromped upon for saying her feelings,
we all have the right to agree to disagree,,
the main reason we have our own little board was the horrific situation that few people witnessed over at the other board

This is all absolutely true except for one thing. Everyone has the right to express their opinions, but there's never any guarantee that those opinions won't cause a stir or that people must agree to disagree. On the other board, the admin (the bad one, not Kyt) would have deleted this entire thread by now and most people would never have even known it had existed. She did that whenever things got ugly and that happened more than most of us knew. I will not do that because I think that if anyone wishes to speak their mind, everyone has a right to witness the ramifications. If feelings are hurt, you all get to see it. If people get mad, fine! That's life. I'm shocked at some of the strong feelings expressed over here over a little ticker that Kenina and I both thought was quite special and beautiful. It was never my intention to frighten anyone with cartoon images of the biggest event in my life. I do not intend to take down my ticker because it makes me happy to see it.

[shmeep]

inuvik said:

I think with any signature, it is easy enough to look at them, or scroll quickly past them and ignore them.

[shmeep]

spoony said:

On a related, but different topic, kenina and shmeep, I find it interesting that one has a blue ticker and the other a pink one. I assume you are both too early in your pregnancies to know what sex the baby is, so I am curious to know if the chosen colour is wishful thinking as to your baby's gender.

[shmeep]

admin said:

spoony said:

On a related, but different topic, kenina and shmeep, I find it interesting that one has a blue ticker and the other a pink one. I assume you are both too early in your pregnancies to know what sex the baby is, so I am curious to know if the chosen colour is wishful thinking as to your baby's gender.

Actually, we're both hoping for girls but will be thrilled with whatever we get. Kenina liked the blue--hoping it would somehow end up meaning it will be a girl after all--and I did pink so we wouldn't have the same one. Once we know the genders, adjustments may need to be made.