On the Importance of Reclaiming Chowk

Re: # 97 hamidm

I do not maintain a list of such people. You must listen to your inner voice, it will tell you where do you stand on such a list.

It is my observation that hindu indecency is directly proportional to the rate of India`s annual GDP and inversely proportional to the Pakistan`s annual GDP.

#73, Saminasha, {``When they are ignored, this is some of the drivel they come up with: ``}

Mrs. Tally Ban, in trying to ban poetic expression of humor and wit, you are behaving much like the right-wing fanatical fundamentalist killjoy Mullahs that you often try to complain about. But then, even in his day, the great poet Iqbal had to face the wrath of useless, self-righteous Mullahs who objected to his poetry. I should feel honored to get your wrath. Try to laugh and cheer up - not everyone cares about your feminazi, amazonian, lesbian causes.

Re: # 99
re: malikjahanzeb:
you say that if the restrictions are enforced then the meat and fun of the place will go away - that is, if people are not allowed to abuse, are not allowed to make personal attacks or are not allowed to make statements that are inflammatory to race, nationality, ethnicity and religion, chowk will be less palatable and less appealing to you.

Fine, that`s your opinion. I respect that. However, if that is indeed the case, and if there exists an overwhelming body of opinion on chowk that believes so, change the rules. All I`m asking is that you either

A)Change or remove the rules
B) Enforce the rules.

Reasonable?

cheers
aha_snark

I thought that this issue had earlier been done to death. But even dead horses have a way of coming alive and start galloping all of a sudden. I am including below an updated (and a little shortened) version of something I wrote earlier on this issue.

One can talk about “trashy” interacts. Is there a standardized definition of trash. The way I understand it, it may be seen as one of those things that you know it when you see it. Please note the YOU part of it, i.e., it is highly subjective. To use the hackneyed phrase: one person’s trash may be another’s treasure.

Also, if one constructs a strong building, should it not be able to withstand the onslaught of “trash” or “filth”? If someone throws trash at a building and that building comes crashing down do you blame the trash or does it mean that maybe, just maybe somebody did a lousy design which was not based on realistic assumptions. It would be called a highly faulty design.

Another interesting issue is the expectation of privacy while choosing to enter the public domain. (Sometimes called the “look but don’t touch” expectation, also known as “eating your cake and having it too” expectation.) It is a myth. In this day and age, putting personal information up (e.g., whether you are a man or woman, etc.) on the web then expecting that some people won’t get creative (or “filthy” from somebody else’s perspective, and who is going to define “filthy” for the rest of the crowd?) with that information is highly unrealistic.

Who are we kidding? Anything one says or does on this site does not mean diddly-squat! Great civilizations have always risen and fallen based on their inherent strengths and weaknesses and will continue to do so. All that a site like this can accomplish is to let some people vent themselves for a moment. When they do that, like people breathing, sometimes they smell good, sometimes they stink (except to themselves). This is not going to change.

Let us not take ourselves too seriously. If we do that, we end up looking even more foolish than many interactors here. It is all temporary anyway!

This `Aha_Snark` being is so fay.Very often it is homosexuals who are the victim of abuse and discrimination themselves, often turning abusive and dismissive of other viewpoints and customs.Same with feminists.The victims often turn into oppressors.I was ordered around by a policewoman in bandra recently.I was sitting in my car on a ``No-Parking`` street, while my wife went to the ATM.This woman was downright gruff and rude and showed me no mercy, even though i was nice and respectful, telling her the reason i was there and that i`ll be gone in a few minutes.I had to drive around the block and come back.I found that in similar situations, policemen are more courteous and show some understanding and give a little leeway.Do i hate all women `cause of this?.NO.Policewomen in india are quite butch, have big bosoms and one swipe from them will send a skinny desi flying across the street.We poke fun, but we respect them for their position.The DCP of Delhi is a woman by the last name of Roy.She wouldn`t be there if she wasn`t qualified.

I feel like Rodney King.Why can`t we all get along?.If this site blocks access to me, i wouldn`t mind.Life goes on.Why don`t we practise what we preach?.Apply the same rules to writers , then the readers will automatically abide by the same.I did send the article by `farzana versey` to the home ministry.I am an indian and it is my duty to protect my country against sustained vicious attacks.This `Aha`` being asks me to back up everything i have alleged with links.All what i have alleged i found out by reading and watching news and related articles in print and on the air over the years.It is common knowledge and can be substantiated.Today there is a corruption scandal brewing in the highest level of canada`s govt.If i quote this news next year in relation to something else, and i am asked to provide back up, i would be hard pressed to do so.That is why the Home Ministry can research all this and contact the site for info on the author who alleges things about India.Who, what and where are her sources from?.Who is `jaffer``?.Is he real or a creation of his/her imagination?.I am determined to get to the bottom of this.

Re: # 87

I had met him sometime back at a party. He is a chilled out kind of guy - and the (OH) groups of HC liquids dont do much to him. His wandering attention span didnt notice it but I put it down the party and the women around ;-)

``email me and I`ll tell some all his dirty secrets, including the embarassing first year ones ;)``

hey would love to know the detaisl....but I dont think he would like it since i dont know him that well ;-)

some observations to help thinkers think:

- once an article got it through to getting published because chowk might have been short on money to pay the net host`s bill. that article generated so classy profane comments that after reading them, i laughed like i never did without having a roll on my head.

- once i got very disterbed by a very gentle comment that no profanity can bring.

- when i joined chowk, i identified some bad sheep very quickly. since then, i am not giving much importance to their rants, i even don`t read their post till the end. i have no hard feelings for poeple who write them.

- i usually don`t use exotic and offending langauge and i think as a result, i have seldomn been abused here.


- when i see many folks articulate their point of view which is 180 degree different from mine, i get a good feeling of completeness, of reality. i am a part of something which has all the elements of our society. this makes me think that chowk is not any bubble.

- there is a chinease saying, `a wise man is who knows how to remain happy`.

and i am cool with how things are......

i don`t think these restrictions are appropriate. if really enforced, we will lose the meat of fun at this place. at occasions, human nature enjoys very odd looking things. like scolding, blasphamies, stereotyping and swears wrapped nicely.

if the writer convinces chowk staff for this, i fear that we will lose a number of old timers. examples are echoboom for his profanity and voluntary spaming, urstruly for his companionship with echoboom, hamidm for his attacks on organized superstition and his country of birth discompassionately(my emphasis), temporal for being too ambigous and me, perhaps, for no crime (as it happens under communism).

i think a little more liberal guidelines will do.

Re: # 91
re: harimau:

you contend that chowk is some kind of circus maximus without the blood - where screaming interactors fight, while the traffic-carrying multitudes look on. Well, this definitely seems to be what chowk is for you. What is more, you were not able to present this simple idea without also resorting to insults as well.

Well, the only people who can answer you are the chowk staff - they`ve stated what kind of space for interaction they consider chowk to be. Now the question is, will they take action to back up what they say?

cheers,
K

let`s clean house ........

...... i thought everyone on chowk was a gentleman or a lady until echo pointed out that there are some haramzadays, ghulamzadys, cantonment kay kutay and kanjars that frequent this site ............. i don`t know who these people are, but i would request the chowk staff to identify these bad folks and throw them out ..........maybe echoboom and his soulmate urstruly can provide the list ..........

Nothing wrong with Chowk. Let it evolve out of its own osmosis.

Some new comers miss out on the puns of Hamidm - and take them literally. While others take the `at your face of Urstruly` a bit too seriously.

And since we are aware of the stated positions of Jay and Arjun - so why get worked up. Especially when there is considerable truth in them.

Kardesh is an exciting new entry - will give tough compitition to Hamidm in wit.

I will skip Veeresh-Manto conflict - it is almost needless. And the good Editor of Dawn should let things go easily some time. Who cares about Jinnah, Gandhi, Lahore or Dehli.

I miss Isphahani Sab. God knows where he has vanished.

nhk

Assimilation organically by democracy, growth through chaos, who are we to give direction to a chowk? Who are we to decide who are the bad guys and send them to the hills.

Does it matter if the munseepulty built it and the lala sponsored the fountain while the miya fed the pigeons? Or if the hookers sat in the same space at night as did the thinkers in the morning, the lovers in the afternoon and the families in the evening?

Though I do think that the seniority of nicks should be reflected automatically next to the handles, it shall make it aspirational. Like this: veeresh = 7 years or 3500 days or something like that.

(When I finally leave for the great big motorway in the sky, maybe my handle will be worth like a transferable club membership, something?)

Re: # 90

echo,

......... please stop posting gibberish in arabic or urdu or whatever ......... in case you haven`t noticed, this site is for the civilized english-reading crowd and not the riff raff that is interested in some third world language ......... if you really have to then at least have the courtesy to post this stuff in roman script ........ shukria ....

soysauce:

is brother harimau right when he says All this gupshup about poetry and art is just that. ?...

and what of travelogues and tsunami stories that he writes about?

and what of those tall tales of the great unwashed leader in white blah blah he regales us with?

Hello chusni/echoboom

tea?