Chowk is 9 Today

HP: Arjun`s post had picked up on godot`s references to his personal habits (which you can see for yourself and i dont need to cut and paste it for you i hope), and made a similar remark in the same vein as follow-up to what godot wrote. all i am saying is that chowk staff is to enforce its guidelines, it should do so consistently.

As for the rest of what godot writes, i agree with some of what he says, e.g. ``Chowk has become a garbage site.`` I disagree with some of what he says, e.g. ``I have no respect left for it.`` But that is not the issue.

btw, what`s the deal with this ``khasi`` trip you have been on recently? :-)

In the 9 years on chowk, and mind you I was present at Wagah/Attari on the 14th/15th of August 1997, I can add one more small fact:- it is easier now to travel to China from India than it was in 1997. Probably not as easy as traveling by road from Pakistan to China, but getting close.

To many of us on chowk, life is India-Pakistan in black and white. ``Nothing else Matters``, in the opening bars of a famous song.

But.

To many of us in India on the ground, India-Pakistan is just another part of the larger colourful patchwork quilt we live in. This quilt is becoming bigger / better / varied / worse in parts, whatever, but it is simply growing based on co-operation with whoever will co-operate and going around rivalries.

It takes an eMail and a phone call after that to get the minimal paperwork started for a drive into China from India, lately. And as for trade, that big leveller, don`t even ask.

When will that simple message seep in to us in our little Indo-Pak worlds?

There is something that I am kind of reluctant to say and it may annoy some people but the fact is that if chowk has to remove posts from a thread extolling chowk’s achievements authored by chowk staff herself, then it may actually be a good time for chowk to analyze where the whole thing went wrong.

Godot,
I agree with you a hundred percent. Sometimes we do get caught in a net that spirals out of control. But the nature of this beast is that if you don’t show the mirror the other party just keeps going and going like the energizer bunny.

#191 by ZahraJ
Zahra,
It is nice to see you back after a long time....

Yes! You are right people have to make decisions themselves. Based on what people think it is their choice to recommend this site to anyone. Some posters on the site feel that it is not worth recommending…They too have a right to make that decision. What do you think?

#188 by tahmed32
“since you took away arjun #187, for consistency, please take out godot`s #184 to which arjun responded –“

It seems that you are stepping a little too far in your new found love with khasi_m.

Godot did not abuse anyone he showed his own helplessness and used some strong words. Those words are not directed at anyone but himself. Whereas, your new favorite interactor clearly not once but twice abused Godot.

I think you just don’t understand what we are talking about here even though after romair, you are the most abused poster by this particular interactor.

I recommend you read Godot`s post more than once to understand what he is saying...

Belated Happy Birthday!

Hope the 10th year covers the best of humor, travelogues, memoirs and political ain-bain-shain.

I think it is a personal choice to read or subscribe to a website or a perspective. No one should feel guilty or double-minded to recommend Chowk to their family and/or friends. Let the family and friends form their own views. This world is full of everything - good, bad and ugly. In today`s unpredictable world, retarded fellows are using lipsticks and moisturizing lotions to cause pain and agony to fellow human beings. Could we ever think of that? Deplorable! Should we stop using our aromatic lipsticks and deeply-hydrating and nourishing lotions?

Despite all the ups and downs, Chowk-Administrators` efforts to continue their journey with full vigor has to be appreciated.

Good Luck.

why are people so bothered about abuse on a website?.......

This has been a really fascinating thread. IMHO too many interactors take themselves (and chowk) too seriously. Personally, chowk is a nice addictive place to visit, read about the subcontinent from differing (often radically so) points of view. The fact that people tend to slip into their designated skins every now and then is part fo the fun. So is taking contrarian positions (as Godot did in his puff piece on Jews). All in all, if I am enjoying the experience here and in the rare instance make a real friend or two (mostly from across the border) , I don`t bother too much about ``editorial policy``, ``Alexa rankings``, ``interact guidelines`` etc. You guys need to chill out a bit.

Chowk staff: since you took away arjun #187, for consistency, please take out godot`s #184 to which arjun responded - godot`s words about decency in that post dont add up when you see his unnecessary references in the very same post to his personal habits that i am sure are of no interest to anyone and merely add to the garbage that he has been complaining about.

i am all for implementing your guidelines - but please be consistent. and be prepared to spend a lot more time doing this (or get volunteers from among chowk posters to help you if you dont have time). but this hit and miss removal of posters is not the answer.

=== Interact Removed ===

=== Interact Removed ===

godot#184:

I do agree with quite a bit of your post. Yes, a few bad apples do turn the whole barrel rotten. And we all agree that the chowk needs to apply its guidelines more rigorously and consistently. I have been here on this site for a long time and I have seen many decent people leave, especially women who feel more uncomfortable with the kind of filth sometimes thrown here.

I have mostly been spared filthy attacks, perhaps because of the well-known south asian respect for age. But when I am attacked, I simply ignore these posts and posters who generally stop their abuse in due course. But this does not always happen; romair/bulleya continues to be attacked and abused even though he has never sunk to the level of his attackers.

DM

The question is not using king’s/queen’s language. To address someone with a filthy language and in derogatory terms does not leave any room for a debate or a dialogue. There are some, not many, Chowkies who do not know how to speak, and that opens a downward spiraling vicious cycle. I’m not happy with it if I am a participant. I disgustingly do what I have to do. These few have driven decency out. They rule. A few bad apples have destroyed everything in the barrel.

Chowk has become a garbage site. I have no respect left for it. I will never recommend this site to anyone I know. It’s a bad reflection on me. I visit here as I would walking through a red-light area glancing at half-naked women sitting in a showcase. I will not like my children, friends and family walk through that street, just as I masturbate but don’t tell anyone. There you have it. Chowk to me is a mental masturbation. I loathe doing another translation for Chowk. Chowk has brought out the worst in me, and it has made me hate myself many times. It has stripped everything that was good and decent about me. I cannot tolerate insults and personal attacks. Chowk does not want to control it, and I cannot control myself. I must retaliate. I have no respect left for Chowk for its interact policy.

Yes, I do read the New Yorker, NY Review of Books, Financial Times, among other publications. Compare to that, what is Chowk? An easy mental masturbation.

Re: # 177
[....What exactly do we celebrate? The past or the present?...]

good question... the past is ghastly, the present is nothing much to write home about...

On indian side - the partition affected only a small segment of people in north-west corner of the country... it doesn`t really play a big role in the conscious of the nation... not any more... so any ``celebration`` would basically in the hope of a better future...

godot:

I am sorry that I wont be able to oblige with your request of posting from those papers because of my limited navigational skills on the Internet. But I might add that none of those references are interactive; therefore one cannot really compare them to chowk as far as the use of such words in an interactive mode is concerned. But I think that I have seen words like ``clueless`` used on the New York Times interactive section as well as frequently on TV, even during debates by leadership candidates.

Of course, I would be happy if everyone used only King`s/Queen`s english over here.

hamidm #167 Thanks for posting that picture - this is the first time ever I can recall seeing something published (assuming posting on chowk equals publishing) that refers to the terrible events of 1947.

Every ``independence day`` let us try to remember all those - hindus, muslims, sikhs - who were killed or forced to leave their homes in 1947.