Another "straight talk" thread.

[Hogan]

Its difficult to define who/what an alcoholic actually is. It is another one of those relative terms that mean different things to different people.
For instance, I can sit and drink a bottle of red wine each and every evening of the week and have absolutely no effect on my life or work. SOME would say I am an alcoholic... I say I am someone who admires fine wine.
I have also found that those people and/or animals that consume alcohol can be heavily intoxicated while still not being an alcoholic. If you question the level of his BAC, then I suggest trying one of those "at home" breathalyzers. They are available at most auto-parts stores now and retail for around $50.
In any event, consider your dog damn lucky... cuz' even if he is three sheets to the wind, he has 4 legs to stand on compared to our two!

Well the other night he took down 8 ounces of beer in less then 3 minutes. 1/2 hour later was playing like nothing was up. But when he laid down he was snoring up a storm! LOL

 

[relayman]

OK, Wow, you guys are something else. Anyway, I may be a Noob, but I am a VIP Noob so here is my two cents.

This thread would have been nuked before the first page of posts at some of the other forums that we all drop into. And don't say you don't lurk there because I have seen you the same as I have been seen me. That is why I have chosen to participate as a VIP member on this forum and I am still undecided about others. I think that forums should be open for all to express their ideas and visions (pics) as long as it is not abusive. When does it cross the line? Well that is why we have admin and mods. The success of the forum will be determined by how well the admin and mods represent the wishes of the forum members and still allow for the minority to be represented. I think this would call for a republic type of approach to governing rather than other forms.

So, I for one appreciate the work that the admin and mods do here at this forum and I will continue to participate as a VIP member as long as this type of discourse is not nuked or shoved under the rug.

And go get em CBR, this is a lot better than anything on TV.:biglaugh::biglaugh:

Now, Hooligan. Will I ever be able to wear a Pam and feel the same as I do now when I wear on of my Rollies or PO's?

:jerry:

 

[CBR]

TOPIC 3:

When are the genuine watch raffles going to resume and how do I go about contributing a watch to the process. I have a genuine Rolex mens Datejust (from 2007)with box/papers, tags, original sales receipt that I think would be perfect. Of course I would ship the watch ahead of time to an admin so that they could handle the picture taking and shipping.

Is there even a method by which members may still offer their watch for raffle or are those days behind us?

OR are individuals allowed to conduct their own raffles as has occasionally happened in the past?

What are the desired/requested/demanded donations that must be made to the forum?

What have the results been for the previous raffles? (percentage of donation compared to sum value of raffle) Some great watches have been raffled off in the past I was curious how well the process worked for all involved.

 

[hooligan]

Yes, soon you will ONLY want to wear your PAMs and the Rollies and Omegas will sit, neglected, in your watch box, relayman.

 

[CBR]

For the record this is the exact message I sent to CBR about the pic below. ( the exact pic is very similar and CBR shared this with me.)

So technically speaking CBR removed the pic on his own out of respect for ole R2.

YES, I removed it because you asked me to... Not because I felt the request or my removing it was appropriate. To this very moment, I see NOTHING wrong at all with that picture. NOW, if I had posted the ones I took shortly after that... Well, I may have been guilty of a crime or two! Seriously... what exactly do you see that is questionable? The picture is 150x150 pixels, and you see about 12 square inches of skin. (not including the wrist and arm).


And yet Man Arse still exists... Did that request to remove ever go out?

PS: What did you think of those other pics I PM'd you??? Be honest...

 

[hooligan]

TOPIC 3:

When are the genuine watch raffles going to resume and how do I go about contributing a watch to the process. I have a genuine Rolex mens Datejust (from 2007)with box/papers, tags, original sales receipt that I think would be perfect. Of course I would ship the watch ahead of time to an admin so that they could handle the picture taking and shipping.

Is there even a method by which members may still offer their watch for raffle or are those days behind us?

Nope, those days are behind us for good, from my understanding.

OR are individuals allowed to conduct their own raffles as has occasionally happened in the past?

Absolutely will not happen. I'm not aware that this was ever allowed in the past, either? Admittedly, I only ever paid attention to the raffles that I was interested in winning.

What are the desired/requested/demanded donations that must be made to the forum?

I have no idea. I was never involved in the setting up/collecting payment/etc for any of the raffles.

What have the results been for the previous raffles? (percentage of donation compared to sum value of raffle) Some great watches have been raffled off in the past I was curious how well the process worked for all involved.

Whoooooooo, boy! You're asking for it, now. Well, you wanted the truth. To my knowledge we made only $400 for the forum off of the LOS/PAM000 raffle. You can imagine how gutted I was to find this out - seeing as how I was the first one to run over to RG and defend LOS when the membership there were questioning how much money the raffle was generating. Fool me once...

Needless to say, I don't really consider LOS a friend anymore. Friends don't abuse/betray one another like that.

You wanted the truth. There you go.




CBR - you honestly don't see what could be deemed offensive about pic of a female crotch and her hand inside her panties? Really?

 

[relayman]

Thanks Hooli I think.

:facepalm::wacko:

 

[hooligan]

Tell me about it, relay. Tell me about it.

 

[acharria]

CBR - you honestly don't see what could be deemed offensive about pic of a female crotch and her hand inside her panties? Really?

Mmmm Are you sure is a woman?? looks FAKE to me...... :headdesk:

 

[wat44]

I wasnt offended! I reckon watches and girls go together quite well

curves, beauty, cycles... unexplained problems...

 

[CBR]

Whoooooooo, boy! You're asking for it, now. Well, you wanted the truth. To my knowledge we made only $400 for the forum off of the LOS/PAM000 raffle. You can imagine how gutted I was to find this out - seeing as how I was the first one to run over to RG and defend LOS when the membership there were questioning how much money the raffle was generating. Fool me once...

Needless to say, I don't really consider LOS a friend anymore. Friends don't abuse/betray one another like that.

You wanted the truth. There you go.




CBR - you honestly don't see what could be deemed offensive about pic of a female crotch and her hand inside her panties? Really?

HMMM, that is both alarming and disturbing at the same time. Werent there several raffles? Was that the average "donation" for each of them? In which case, it would appear that the person/persons providing the watches actually made out very very well. Considering in some cases the sum total of raffle proceeds probably exceeded even the retail value of the watch being raffled.

Now from the perspective that someone could pay $100 and get a $5000 watch... Hey thats great! But at the point that it becomes a FOR PROFIT endeavor it seems shady at best. And the forum staff should have (and still should) be willing to disclose the details of ALL of the raffles. If transparency is what you claim to offer, then lets see it!

NOW, bridges are an interesting thing (I digress for a moment)... they can sometimes last through the most horrific of natural disasters and the passage of great amounts of time (I watch the series AFTER MAN HAS GONE all the time...). And some times those same bridges can be burned down with little more than a can of gas and a match (or metaphorically speaking a bit of deceit or deviance from the perceived truth)

I too have lightened my load of friends recently. But a good SERE instructor once taught me that friends are not always worth having... and that the fewer you have, the more likely you are to survive in some situations. (a friend today is a knife in the back tomorrow...).

I once thought I had a plethora of friends here. When my integrity was called in to question they all ran for the hills and did not wish to associate with me any longer (accept for a few whom I TRULY consider friends and would shed blood for even today). It has been only recently that I found that some of those very same friends had their own agenda's to look out for, and my reputation... friendship or feelings were so far down their list of things to consider that it was nearly laughable.

I have only the satisfaction of knowing that my adversary and accuser (dmncmichaels) is now known to be the person that I knew him to be then. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he received the watch that I shipped and the refund that I gave him... But yet there are still those that think of me as someone capable of stealing from someone else.

BUT ANYWAY. As mean as this may sound, it was a pleasant surprise to see that he had been scamming others all over the place for quite some time. BUT, it made me even more angry that those whom I considered friends walked away simply because he was a better bullshit artist than I was.

So Hooli, I can relate to your losing friends over RWI related issues... I fear that it is possible that it could happen again. (at least for me) and Im alright with that.

And as for your last question... I truly, with all my heart and soul see absolutely nothing objectionable in that picture. Not in the slightest. As I have said, I see PCSAMS avatar as MUCH more disturbing and that is the truth and not just my playing to the crowd.

But back to the transparency concerning the raffles, and the integrity of those involved. You may not have been in charge of the raffles, but Im sure you currently have access to all the information necessary to provide a clear analysis of the results.

 

[hooligan]

I wasnt offended! I reckon watches and girls go together quite well

curves, beauty, cycles... unexplained problems...

But can you understand how someone might find it offensive or inappropriate?

CBR, I didn't ask if YOU were offended, I asked if you couldn't understand how OTHERS might find it offensive. Can you honestly not fathom why anyone would find an image of a woman apparently masturbating to be offensive?

 

[CBR]

But can you understand how someone might find it offensive or inappropriate?

LISTEN, anything can be found to be offensive or inappropriate by some. But you say that a staff of 15 or so are responsible for making the decision about decency for a population of thousands.
It seems to me that the staff either has a very conservative nature in which the thoughts and opinions of the membership is not taken in to consideration. OR they cater to a very small minority.
If people were able to be HONEST without feeling threatened by what others might think, I am confident that the GREAT majority would find absolutely nothing wrong with that picture.
I dont see how ones moral compas can allow the general subject matter of this forum to be acceptable, yet that picture unacceptable.

And the quoted text above was not my post...

 

[hooligan]

Yes, I know, but I didn't quote your post specifically (I didn't feel the need to) so the forum automatically merges it with my last post, if no new posts are in between. You'll notice the first part of my post is directed at wat, the person quoted.

People here can be completely honest without feeling threatened. The facts are, your avatar was complained about. The staff talked about it and didn't have much trouble understanding how it could be perceived as inappropriate, thus the request to take it down.

I don't know what else there is to say on the matter.

 

[CBR]

People here can be completely honest without feeling threatened. The facts are, your avatar was complained about. The staff talked about it and didn't have much trouble understanding how it could be perceived as inappropriate, thus the request to take it down.

I don't know what else there is to say on the matter.

Ok, well as I said... it appears that unless you had thousands of complaints pouring into your PM box, that my assumption was correct and that a FEW are able to deem what is appropriate for all.

And to be clear, ALL members then have the same ability to convey their each and every objection to material on this forum? Until which time the staff feels they have overstayed their welcome and are asked to stop wasting their time.

SO, hypothetically speaking if I as a single member had 143 open web browsers with 143 individual PM's ready to send to each of the staff members(143x 12)... each registering a complaint about either a piece of text or image that I find unacceptable the staff would honestly bring each item up for discussion and make an HONEST decision as to each items acceptability?

I find that VERY difficult to believe. And I must ask, are the answers you are providing YOUR answers? Or are each of these questions being brought to discussion?

AND if the membership needs to feel no fear of retribution for asking questions... then why am I getting emails (off forum) from members who state that they agree 110% with me but would never post that in the open forum? Its obvious... what is perceived to be the thoughts and feelings of the membership are at least in some cases incorrect.

 

[reeder139]

I love this forum but ever since I found out replica watch forums existed there have been a few burning questions on my mind and this seems like a great place to maybe get answers.

1) Selling replica watches is illegal and the forum provides a place for this to happen between members and also promotes dealers. Would it not be very easy for a trademark infringement officer to join, get lots of information and close the forum down in a second?

2) How was the forum founded, by who and when, was it just a hobby or a business venture?

3) Are all the staff friends in the real world and are they paid?

4) I'm a trainee accountant so this one is just of personal interest. Is the forum a real registered company with accounts that are signed off each year?

Can't think of anymore for now.

Thanks.

 

[hooligan]

Ok, well as I said... it appears that unless you had thousands of complaints pouring into your PM box, that my assumption was correct and that a FEW are able to deem what is appropriate for all.

There was more than one complaint and the staff had no trouble seeing how this pic could be deemed offensive. Period.

And to be clear, ALL members then have the same ability to convey their each and every objection to material on this forum? Until which time the staff feels they have overstayed their welcome and are asked to stop wasting their time.

Yep. Are you mapping out your exit strategy here, CBR?

SO, hypothetically speaking if I as a single member had 143 open web browsers with 143 individual PM's ready to send to each of the staff members(143x 12)... each registering a complaint about either a piece of text or image that I find unacceptable the staff would honestly bring each item up for discussion and make an HONEST decision as to each items acceptability?

Uh, no, 143 complaints from the same member about the same thing = 1 complaint, not 143 complaints. I get the funny feeling you knew the answer to that question already.

I find that VERY difficult to believe. And I must ask, are the answers you are providing YOUR answers? Or are each of these questions being brought to discussion?

The answers in this thread, you mean? These are my answers alone. I don't believe I've ever stated anything that would indicate anything to the contrary. If I have, I apologize for misleading you. It was not my intention. Some answers have already been discussed in the Admin forum, prior to my starting this thread, however.

AND if the membership needs to feel no fear of retribution for asking questions... then why am I getting emails (off forum) from members who state that they agree 110% with me but would never post that in the open forum? Its obvious... what is perceived to be the thoughts and feelings of the membership are at least in some cases incorrect.

I can't speak to why any members would or wouldn't do anything. I don't presume to know their motivations. I have never seen any incidents that would indicate to me that anyone needs to be afraid to post their opinions, however. If you have, please feel free to point them out.

That's it for me for the night, I'm off to bed...

 

[CBR]

Yep. Are you mapping out your exit strategy here, CBR?


Uh, no, 143 complaints from the same member about the same thing = 1 complaint, not 143 complaints. I get the funny feeling you knew the answer to that question already.


The answers in this thread, you mean? These are my answers alone. I don't believe I've ever stated anything that would indicate anything to the contrary. If I have, I apologize for misleading you. It was not my intention. Some answers have already been discussed in the Admin forum, prior to my starting this thread, however.


I can't speak to why any members would or wouldn't do anything. I don't presume to know their motivations. I have never seen any incidents that would indicate to me that anyone needs to be afraid to post their opinions, however. If you have, please feel free to point them out.

That's it for me for the night, I'm off to bed...

No, not yet... And I would make it much more interesting than this!

Roger that, and that was my assumption as the answers to these questions differ (in some cases greatly) from answers I have had to the exact same questions from others on your staff.

So 143 complaints about 143 DIFFERENT objectionable items = 1 complaint and it would not be considered?

Ok, get some rest Hooli... tomorrow is another day!

And Reeder... VERY good questions. I am currently on Topic 3 of 6. Your questions are included in my 6th Topic. I personally chose the order of my topics based on the chances that the questions would actually get answered. Although the term transparency gets thrown around often, I dont think it is going to include clear answers to many of the questions you have asked. Much the same is expected to be the case with my questions regarding the numerous raffles of watches for profit of the individual providing the watch and the forum. Seems it might be a sticky legal situation...

 

[R2D4]

YES, I removed it because you asked me to... Not because I felt the request or my removing it was appropriate. To this very moment, I see NOTHING wrong at all with that picture. NOW, if I had posted the ones I took shortly after that... Well, I may have been guilty of a crime or two! Seriously... what exactly do you see that is questionable? The picture is 150x150 pixels, and you see about 12 square inches of skin. (not including the wrist and arm).


And yet Man Arse still exists... Did that request to remove ever go out?

PS: What did you think of those other pics I PM'd you??? Be honest...

I only said this twice in VB's thread, I did indeed contact PCSam about man arse and he didn't want to change it. All I did was ask. Since it's as I mentioned pushing the boundaries, technically there is nothing I can do unless others complain. I am not perfect CBR and the decisions I made yesterday I don't look back on to be honest. I will say this, I appreciate that you respected my request. Are the other pics that you sent from the nsfw loony bin post considered porn? No brother I am old but not dead. But you should know, something very bad happened in my childhood, so I do have biased feelings. So even though I personally don't condone those types of pics on this here Internet forum, I do live to tolerate some of it as I do on the outside of the darkside. If the membership feels my bias is effecting the way I do work here then let's discuss it. I really don't want to turn this into another similar watch forum by making and enforcing some strict set rules that big companies and corporations set. I think that is what makes RWI different. I will continue to volunteer my time here and do what I feel is right unless told otherwise.

If someone, more than one, specifically, complains, I will act on it.

 

[markh]

has anyone seen my keys?