Greetings all…

I signed into the Club earlier today to check up on the U Tell Us posts and my Private Messages.

I received a PM from one of the moderators, and for the purposes of privacy rights (and keeping my membership), I’m not going to cut-and-paste the message here. [Quick question: does anyone know if it would be okay for me to paraphrase the message here? I’d really rather not have my membership revoked and not have access to any music that might possibly be released this year. Y’know, considering I paid $25 for the year and all.]

Essentially I was told that “we don’t like your kind around here” – at least, that’s what it sounds like to me. Without addressing the fact that the club itself has so far made negative, catty remarks about Tevin Campbell, Common and Ronin Keating, the moderator asked me to stop posting negative comments about the club and Prince, b/c “there is no need for that here.” (That’s ALMOST a direct quote, but we ALL know that nobody who works for Paisley would spell out the word “for.”)

I’m curious as to what y’all think about this (I mean aside from “hell yeah!! You’re annoying as fuck anyway!”). What I mean is, do you think that as long as people don’t cuss and try to respect other’s opinions, should they still be asked to only say “positive” things about prince and the club on the NPGMC discussion board? I find that insulting and ridiculous, personally. Not to mention incredibly depressing.

What do you all think?

Blue, you already know how I feel about it. I kinda felt the no negativity thing was gonna happen as more people agreed with you about the Bohemian Rhapsody/3 Chains, My Medallion/Spill The Wine argument. I don't think that it is cool for them to post something negative such as comparing that Ronan song to Purple Rain and then get mad if people compare Prince songs to others. You have calmed down. You have been more respectful and still? Here's something the could do over there. In the agreement where you sign up, put in there that no negativity, free thought, indepedent thinking is allowed...unless they say so. It's okay to be negative...as long as you agree with their slant on negativity.

Are you saying that all the people who post negative stuff are getting messages like that?
Because I read a lot of negative stuff on there and I see it everyday.
I see members having disagreements and the negatives are still there when I revisit.
Do you think all those people are receiving warnings?
Just asking for clarification.
Melody

Prince would have been perfect for the catholic church long ago...


hahaha

sensual melody, you and i must have different opinions of "negatives," b/c aside from myself and maybe 5 or 6 others, most of the posts i see are cloyingly, artificially positive.

i don't know if anyone else got a Private Message.

Wow, I was wondering why there were so little replies to some of the more critical posts on the NPGMC... This would explain a lot.

Luckily I am not big on posting comments anyway, so I am safe for the time being.

(what did I just do... Oh my god they're surely on to me now!)

I like BlueAngel's posts, I hope they don't silence you. I don't always agree with your methods but you are definitely a unique voice over there, like you imply there's this universal zombie-like mentality 99% of the time.

there is a big difference in having a comment about something you don't like - posting an alternative opinion on things -- and in being spiteful. Lots of people on the NPGMC site post something that could be viewed as constructive criticism. They do it with taste and class. However, blueangel, even you yourself have said you sometimes get carried away and go too far. That is probably why you got that message from a moderator. Plus you've been asking for the moderators to say something to you all along, explaining why some of your posts are not exactly welcome there. It's not about what you say, but about how you say it -- calling people "wack sheep" and stuff.
At least when the NPGMC points things out, they do it without injecting negativity in it. Saying "what does this song sound like to you" is a lot different than how you word things.
peace

deepabove said:

deepabove said:

Absolutely right. It's not what you say but how you say it. Blue, you post A LOT and half the time it's just to interject a quick "yeah, Prince and this club sucks" type of message. NOT all the time, just some times. I can see how that would be tiresome. And there have been times when you were downright insulting, tho you deny it left and right (the victim trip - "who me? negative? I just said he was mindless idiot, what's the big deal?"). So don't be so suprised when they come knocking on your door. Be the nice guy you claim you are and I'm sure all will be cool .

theblueangel said:

I think you have the right to voice your opinion, same as everyone else. NPGMC 2003 sucks big bad gas so far. Fly, Blue Angel, Fly!

Appreciate it for what it is, after all it is a private club, 'it is after all annoying as hell', you could always come here and bark.

There are all kinds of people who love to hate Prince, I think mostly because it's been echoed so much, but my favorite Prince haters are the ones who just stay away.

While I don't agree that you should be silenced, I think people are right in saying look @ HOW you say things - not that you have to be positive, but you don't have to slam him every chance you get either (who would put up w/ that?). I don't know, maybe you'd be shut down anyway regardless of delivery but we'll never know that now... perhaps you should have thought about this while you were so fervently telling the mod's to "fuck off" a few weeks ago - you've left a bad taste in their mouths for no good reason. You spewed all that anger & silliness w/o cause, but NOW you have something valid to say & they don't wanna hear you :::SHOCK & AWE::: I'm not saying I agree w/ them on this matter BUT I can understand how you as a member might always have a cloud over your head w/ them.

If this really is about the whole Ronan Keating thing, maybe they would have done the same to anyone bringing up the counterpoints you have b/c it weakens their stance. But thanks to your past behavior, we'll never know if this is just how they are or if it's the result of a bad first impression...





.
[This message was edited Sun May 11 18:43:42 PDT 2003 by CalhounSq]

Blue,I was witness to your "club baptisim" as it were. ( I knew you would love the religious reference) and I'll freely admit I thought you were being a complete dumbass and was glad you got booted. You were big enough to admit yourself that your behavior was a bit wacked and I've seen some thoughtful posts since then from you.
At the same time I also get the impression that you're acting like the child that is repeatedly warned and keeps gleefully poking the bee's nest to see what will happen. You're going to get stung and that sucks because I can tell you really love the music. I think you just can't accept the other side Prince has chosen to explore or don't think the music and his ideas can co-exist.
I don't mean any disrespect by the child reference, it's just an example of someone testing the boundaries, knowing where they are and continually going over them. I hope you stick around, just take a step back sometimes and think about the best way to express yourself. Hell, I challenged the Bible over there and didn't get a second glance, I just didn't tell the people that believed in it that they were sheep or blind. I just asked for their thoughts and didn't judge.
Would it help if I gave you the Reflection .MP3?

well...calhoun, why is it up to ME to prove whether or not the club was being silly about posting the ronan keating thing? what do YOU think?

do you honestly think that (for example) my medallion does NOT sound very very similar to spill the wine?

why are none of y'all "positivity" people ever willing to actually discuss anything?

this thread has turned into this silly "blueangel, if only you coulda..." thing.

for the record, deepabove, i think WACK SHEEP is not only one of the funniest things i've come up with in recent days - it's also the most accurate description of certain prince faMs that i can think of.

and donniedarko: YER not SERIOUSLY telling ME about being INSULTING, are you? you're so condescending towards anyone on the org who DARES to say anything that's not glowingly positive about the club - so you need to go back inside your glass house, ok?

that being said, you all have your right to your opinions and i appreciate everyone's comments - yes, even yours, donnie darko. although it STILL kills me how someone with such exceptional, unconventional taste in movies can be such a (baaah!) sheep.

calhounSq said: If this really is about the whole Ronan Keating thing, maybe they would have done the same to anyone bringing up the counterpoints you have b/c it weakens their stance. But thanks to your past behavior, we'll never know if this is just how they are or if it's the result of a bad first impression...

I don't know what BlueAngel said exactly, but the fact NPGMC strife ends up here on the Org is kinda symptomatic.

I have no idea what was said by whom or how it may have been interpreted, as I rarely visit the forums in the club. That being said...

It *is* a private club that requires a membership fee to join, and they have the right to run their club however they'd like to. Much like The Masters in Augusta -- they don't want to allow women members, and they do not have to. Should they, from a moral and human rights standpoint? Of course. Can anyone force them to? No. It's not a matter of right or wrong; it's a matter of private and public...legal vs. illegal. One could argue the same about this site -- while it's a "public" site it's certainly privately funded, leaving the moderators to operate it as they please. The only check/balance that's in place is that if enough people are unhappy, they'll leave, thus leaving no place for the club. In the meantime, if you want to post critical comments about Prince or the club, you're probably safer doing it here. Most of the same people are going to read it anyway.

theblueangel said:

I'm not saying it's up to you to prove whether the club is being silly about the Ronan thing. I'm just saying we'll never know if you're being tagged for your present thoughts or your past behavior or both...

I'm not sure if My Medallion sounds like Spill the Wine, I'd have to listen to both & compare. I haven't even heard the Ronan Keating clip yet, none of this is a pressing issue to me. But when & if I do listen to any of those songs, I'll gladly post my thoughts. It's not that I'm unwilling to discuss it, I just haven't gotten around to it.

Sorry to contribute to the "coulda, woulda, shoulda" aspect of this thread but what I said is what I genuinely feel...

and THAT'S why i fuckin' LOVE yer azz!



CalhounSq said: "...what I said is what I genuinely feel..."

I think,if they dont like critisism,they shouldnt f**k up so much or should do something that feels as if they actualy care and want to do more than the bare minimum

theblueangel said:

If that is really what they said, then it is no surprise to me, judging by the way they have handled the "U tell us" subjects the last couple of years. No "negativity", whatever that may mean each day to the moderator, is allowed, they only want the postive U to tell them.

And btw, perhabs you need to take into account that they have the right to read and transfer your personal messages as well, judging by their "privacy policy"...

The NPGMC message boards are not a place to critcize Prince and the club. It is supposed to be a place to hang out and have fun. I hope they ban everyone who posts negative and mean-spirited messages.

I hope that site gets burned to the ground.

TonyC said:

YAY BANNINGS!!! I think more people should be banned, just in general. Somewhere along the way, this harmful message got sneaked into our culture that banning was somehow "wrong" or "dangerous". I think banning is great and should be done more often. We need LESS books in our libraries, MORE albums in our dumpsters, and I think we not only need to BAN MORE PEOPLE who say negative things on the Internet, but we should consider passing legislation to make disagreeable speech a fineable misdemeanor (at least).

I think we've gone far enough with all this "Freedom Of Speech" crap, it's time to show some respect.

Sadly, you just don't get it, do you? The good thing about a private club is that you can ban people are are idiots and who try to bring everyone else down with their negativity. Well, it's a moot point anyway because Prince's people feel this way, and they will apparently remove the riff-raff and whining little babies from the club. I applaud them as do most other club members. The trouble makers are a small group that will be systematically elminated from the site.
.
[This message was edited Mon May 12 11:36:43 PDT 2003 by TonyC]

This thread is reason #47 I decided against joining the NPGMC this year.

For the record it is very silly for the NPGMC to post the Ronald Keating thing as Prince "borrows" very heavily from other songs all the time. For christ sakes Habibi is Machine Gun with a new name.

lovemachine said:

Borrowing and stealing are two different things. It's one thing to be influenced by another musician. it's another thing entirely to blatantly rip off a song like that Purple Rain ripoff.

TonyC said:

Dear FAM listen to Habibi.

i haven't been to the message boards yet and only once to the chat room. i know i'd find it highly irritating to be censored for speaking my perception of the truth and i guess for that reason i'm staying away, because at times i have trouble keepiung my big fat mouth shut.

but really, did anyone expect anything less? i mean - did we really think he'd let us walk in and challenge 'his' reality?

it's just too bad it doesn't go both ways. i guess for me, after listening to TRC and its race-baiting, jew baiting and the slander prince included regarding lincoln, why after that i felt basically licensed to bash larry graham, prince himself, etc.

but only over here, on the safe side of things.

TonyC said:

You clearly didn't read a word of what I wrote. I think NPGMC needs to ban a LOT of people, so there's more room for unexpurgated praise and adoration of Prince and everything he's done for us. I think it's ugly and unnecessary when anyone has anything cross to say about anything Prince has ever done, because I'm sure you will agree with me when I say that the man has NEVER done anything worth criticising, and to doubt that...to have the gall to OPENLY doubt that...makes you not a real FAM.

I think banning is awesome. If I had the power, Tony, I would ban you right now.