I do not deserve this treatment.

[Shanazel]

Wow, I stay off line a day and come home to a new flapdoodle. Never a dull moment at OD.

A number of people here at OD (including me) have their own challenges that range from bi-polar disorder to major depression to dissociative disorder. Using any of those challenges as an excuse for antisocial behavior is not acceptable, perhaps especially to those of us dealing with our own issues. There are enough stigmas and steoptypes connected to psychological disorders without reinforcing those them on-line.

Medication for psychological disorders exists and it generally works quite well if the a person takes it regularly and according to directions. If a person is having a particularly bad day it is a good idea to check medications, call one's counselor, one's doctor, and get it under control before going out in society, be that society your home town K-Mart or Oriental Dancer.

No judgement here, just personal experience. Another bit of personal experience is that forum members are compassionate folks who are willing to forgive a bad mood or slip of the computer keys and who are also willing to deal with an occasional lapse in medication or deal with a person whose disorder is not controllable with meds. (Anyone seen our dear Dan of the cartoons lately?)

We aren't quite as good at accepting personal abuse, but we do accept sincere apologies and allow bygones to be bygones.

 

[Avariel]

Ismalia I'm only reading this thread now; I would simply hope that you come back and converse with us again, and I hope that you don't leave and believe that we're all against you. I wholeheartedly agree with what Shanazel said; we're all human and we all make mistakes, lash out at each other and then sometimes are too embarassed to come back and try to make amends, but everyone here is always willing to let bygones be bygones.

I also think your initial post may have upset a lot of people, and they in turn lashed back at you, quite possibly for reasons that have nothing to do with you. We all have things that set us off and you may have pushed a few buttons, despite the fact that what you posted really wasn't that abhorrent. Al of us have baggage from past circumstances with other dances and we tend to sometimes over-react ourselves when someone sets off that certain button So please, I hope that you realize that this is a community of people pulled together by the love of an art form above all else, and like every artist community we're completely imperfect. I hope you stick around and keep posting, and maybe open up a little bit to us so we can get to know you better and show we want you around

 

[Lydia]

Habibty Sitara...i have many many times in the years hade trouble logging in i dont want to tell you how many times....But i know it is my own stuppidety...forget pw or pc crashed or?? but al those times i have send emails to THE FORUM AND THEY HAVE ALWAYS HELPED ME OUT!!!! never let me feel it was my fauld or the feeling i was banned...please dont forget dear this forum has lots of nice people great info you make friends its free of charge enz...they are the ones that dont need ,,to be treated in the way you do,, i dont want to sound bad but i think you are angry at something else in your life or upset with something else in your life and just ,,trew,,it ...trow your frustartion here...but habibty its the wrong place...please try again follow the steps on the screen untill you get it ok and you be fine...be cool!!!!!! please try again ......have a great day dear and be happy life is to short and to crazy sometimes....most people get a break from that when they visit here...so come on habibty just be happy.....

 

[Greek Bonfire]

WHOA! I was away for a couple of weeks and look at what I missed! For a minute I thought I was on Bhuz or something! What in the world got into her?

Good advice here - do not feed the troll!

 

[indrayu]

This may not be completely accurate as I haven't been keeping records on it, but it seems that sometimes someone shows up, makes a lot of posts in a short period of time, then disappears- silently or with acrimony, but suddenly.

For what it's worth, this "syndrome" is succinctly described in the description of a Tarot card meaning I read once in a book at a friend's house. The Page of Swords (I think) represents someone or a situation of high energy which appears suddenly and ends just as quickly (and this is the memorable phrase) leaving a certain amount of chaos in its wake.

Whatever the cause, these things happen sometimes. Unfortunately, those dealing with the chaos have to dig a bit deeper personally to sort the practical and emotional consequences.

Keep up the good work, mods!

 

[Shanazel]

How very interesting, Indrayu. I've never thought of the phenomena as a syndrome but you are right, of course. "Page of Swords Syndrome" or "POSS" shall now enter the lexicon of Oriental Dancer.

 

[Salome]

The entire recovery/resetting password system is 100% automated. The only time a human gets involved is if they have difficulty using the system. For example they can't get into the email account they signed up with to retrieve the password... and the admin, and only the admin, (me) has the permissions set to noodle with passwords. That being said, creating multiple accounts is against forum rules.

 

[indrayu]

Actually, on reflection (haven't got the book to refer to) I think it's KOSS, Knight of Swords. I like some Tarot interpretations for their psychological insight and wisdom.

 

[LunaXJJ]

I'm bipolar, but I don't attack my friends over something that may or may not have involved them. Don't use bipolar as an excuse, I make mistakes influenced by my bipolar, but I don't deny my personal role, and responsibility, in the situation

 

[Janene Aliza]

Troll??

On a (hopefully) lighter note:

I have never heard the expression "don't feed the troll" -- what's the history behind this?

[My brother calls me "The Troll" as a nickname/term of endearment, but if he weren't my brother, he'd be in a LOT of trouble ]

 

[Sirène]

I have never heard the expression "don't feed the troll" -- what's the history behind this?

Troll (Internet) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Experienced participants in online forums know that the most effective way to discourage a troll is usually to ignore it, because responding tends to encourage trolls to continue disruptive posts – hence the often-seen warning: "Please do not feed the trolls".

 

[Darshiva]

"don't feed the troll" is an interesting phrase.

Trolls are people who stir up trouble for fun. The phrase means 'don't bother replying to these people, they aren't worth your time.'

 

[Farasha Hanem]

I just wanted to say, many thanks to all of you who have shown your support for us, it is much appreciated. <3<3<3 Also, many, many hugs to all those who do struggle with bipolarity. Kudos to you all for not using it as an excuse to behave badly and/or try to gain sympathy. I'm sorry that there are those who do so, and make your suffering even worse by causing a bigger stigma than ever.

Hopefully, whether or not the OP comes back, all this trouble will soon die down, and we can get back to being a happy forum again, and discussing what has drawn us all together in the first place: our love for bellydance, and ultimately, our friendships with one another.

 

[Janene Aliza]

Troll (Internet) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

OK, I got it now....this is my first online forum, so I'm not familiar with the lingo. You learn something new everyday !!!

 

[Shanazel]

It was my first on line forum, too, and I have got to be coming close to nine or ten years of devoted attendance here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have, Janene.

 

[PracticalDancer]

A little humor . . .

I found this . . . somewhere . . . on the internet years ago. I wish I could remember the source (geekdad, maybe?) so that I could bow down and kiss the toes of the person who made it. There are times when looking at this calms my blood pressure and helps me regain my composure, so I'll be sure to always keep a copy of the pic available at work.

 

[Janene Aliza]

It was my first on line forum, too, and I have got to be coming close to nine or ten years of devoted attendance here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have, Janene.

Absolutely, and I am learning so much about bellydance -- thanks to Salome and everyone here !!!

 

[LadyLoba]

That was odd. I dont come here much anymore as my belly dancing has become rather sporadic...but wow...when I read that title I thought someone actually did something..

I agree...what she did was out of line. But I hope that whatever is really going on with her...she's doing better.

I know a lot of people...when faced with something they should be angry at..but are afraid to display anger in any form...lash out unfairly at "safer" targets. I imagine there is something going on in that person's life she truly cant deal with, so she decided to take it out on a bunch of people who really couldnt hurt her.

That's still not an excuse. If you know you're in that type of mood...staying away from people (online and off) until you can calm down enough to treat them fairly and decently is a much better thing to do. Just saying...I read the thread and have read other threads with her...and nobody did anything to her at all...you guys just happened to be there and made "good targets" for whatever else is really going on.

Im sorry that happened to everyone who got lashed out at. I had a friendship end a little over a year and a half ago because someone did that to me. It's hurtful...even when its not really about you or not deserved