USVI-On-Line

I've been involved with the forum for a number of years, first as a lurker, then as a contributing poster. I've looked forward to "hanging out" here pretty much on a daily basis. It's fun and rewarding to hear other folks tell their stories of the jewel of the Caribbean, and to share some of mine with others. Oh yeah, and the great pictures! It's also fun to help newbies out with which ferry to take, which car rental to go to, Cruz Bay vs. Coral Bay, etc. Then a couple of years ago Anthony opened up this "off topic forum" for us to share other things with each other. We've all enjoyed people's stories of other places that they traveled to. We've shared recipes, personal experiences, heartaches of dealing with sick relatives, friends, and pets. The joys of new children, grandchildren and new pets. Photo tips. Memories of times gone by. Music that we've heard and acts that we've seen. Jokes and other assorted humor. For me, it was a gas to share pics from the early days of BT and me. And "Punkin Chunkin" pics and stories. And I feel like I know a lot of you though I've never met you. But for the past year there has been a vibe of venomous banter here that I for one am growing weary of. I've gotten caught up in it in the past, and I'm sorry for some of my posts. It really has mushroomed to a point of people being afraid to post even innocuous subjects for fear of being jumped on, or it turning into a political tirade. I don't think anybody has really wanted censorship on the board, but I think it's almost unanimously agreed that every time someone makes a political dig it ends up turning ugly and it often bleeds over to other threads. My fear is that our moderator will close this OT Forum due to the bullpoop that is going on and I'm sure that I'm not the only one that would really hate to see that happen. I also wouldn't want to be one of the people responsible for that to ever happen....
Just another JT editorial. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

I'm with JT.

What a nice post! This does seem to be a really great group of folks for the most part, and I hope that people can just be kind.
I've been involved with two internet groups that have had a really positive impact on my life. Both were tuned to very specific topics, and friendships developed. I've enjoyed several meet ups with internet friends from around the US, and am thankful for the opportunity to meet people I never would have, otherwise.
Internet dynamics are different than those between people who meet in the flesh (prior to meeting anyway), and people should try to keep that in mind. There is a real, flesh and blood human being at the other computer, and I try to only be positive with people.

To me the issue is the hijacking. If you want to rant, start your own thread. Then at least people can make a choice of whether or not they want to read it.

I really don't like the political talk either because I don't believe people from a travel forum are coming here (off topic) to "learn more" or to listen to arguments in order to help make up their minds.

What should be bringing us to the off topic forum is like what JT said...to learn more about, to celebrate with, to listen to and to support people who have become our friends because of this wonderful thing we share- St. John.

We aren't coming to the off topic forum because of our differences.

I don't post as much as I used to and don't visit here as often, but I still love this forum. If it weren't for finding this forum I may have never found the great group of women that I travel to STJ with (SOTB).
I don't like the political talk at all because it becomes nasty. I like the other off topics.
I don't want the off topic forum to go away either. If the mean and nasty political discussions continue I just won't read them.
I was sad to see Maggy's topic turn political.

As I see it...

I don't care what topics are chosen for discussion... I can read the ones of interest to me.

I don't appreciate being hijacked. I find it to be a rudeness to take control of someone else's thread... the rudeness then affects all trying to follow the original poster's message.

Sticking to the subject isn't too hard for most folks.

I generally can remain polite even when annoyed.
Only two personalities on this board really make me burn and they have been quiet for the past week of so. If someone dislikes or is uninterested in my message, ignoring me is fine. If someone disagrees with me, tell me; I'll live.

For me, participating on these three forums is simple... I'm here to learn, share, and laugh... in a respectable manner.

I think all of it is fairly benign. Oh sure, there are some who make my blood boil, but it also is interesting to read what they have to say. It reminds me how different we all are.

Personally, I wouldn't change a thing on the off topic forum. Heck, it's the interweb, not real life. Roll with it. If you want to join in the tussle, jump in. If it's not for you, mouse click away. It's no thing.

I agree with Pete that we can all just ignore what we don't like but...

There seems to be a small group of people that lurk and then only post when there is somethng political or controversial. That is what really gets me. This forum has turned into a community and there is nothing worse than the neighbor that never attends the great neighborhood/town events but always shows up to be the opposing side when there is a decision to be made.
Yes, that is a personal choice but why bother? If you don't want to be a contributing member, why show up just to disagree? We are not solving the problems of the world here, we are a group of strangers on the internet that all share a love for the Virgin Islands. Through that love, we have made friends and shared parts of our lives; why do some feel the need to always ignore that part and use the forum as a platform for their personal political opinion?

I know that I have been caught up in the discussions, but it is hard not to. I am grateful for Anthony and this forum and have been a member for more years than I remember and I hate the fact that I don't always feel comfortable here because of the political bickering.

Maggy- I am glad that you had the opportunity to see our First Lady and I thank you fo sharing it.

Now, just to prove that Pete and I don't always agree, how about a Group Hug?

Well said, Xislandgirl.

I haven't read a politcal topic here in months.

Just simply choose not to read those threads.

It's not hard.

Sometimes we have to take the good with the bad, the stuff we don't like to get to the stuff we do like.

I would hate it if the OT forum were shut down. I love food porn, I love book talk, I like to send positive vibes to people in need of them, I like other trip reports (.

I wish other form members would relaize this- the forum is public, it is not about you. Read what you like. Don't read what you don't like. Don't ruin it for everyone else.

This is the internet.

I agree with lprof that the hijacking of threads is an issue. I have chosen to not read political threads for quite some time now, but I how can you "ignore" what you don't want to read when you click on what seems to be a "benign" topic just to find out that it's been hijacked as you are reading through it. It's not fair to Maggy and it wasn't fair when it happened to me. I hate having to pre-think what I want to post as to whether or not it's a topic that can be hijacked.

Oh yeah – you really do go through that will this be hijacked cringe factor thought process on posting or replying to any current event topic that is not meant to be political.

I loved djmom’s analogy on this a couple months ago that was LOL funny:

djmom wrote:
I'm thinking of going over to a political forum and just randomly posting in their Off Topic area about the Virgin Islands several times a week. Since a large amount of them don't go to the Virgin Islands, I am going to tell them how stupid they are and how much the places they go suck.

And maybe once a month I'll respond to a On Topic political post, but I'll usually give an answer that somehow weaves in the Virgin Islands and the fact that everywhere but the Virgin Islands sucks.

The way I look at it, it is a matter of respect. Maggy clearly said "please don't make this a political discussion" but she wanted to share her excitement for seeing the First Lady. That would be a big deal to anyone, especially someone who is from another country but is interested in learning how our system works, as she has always seemed to be.

It was disrespectful to her for the discussion to take a political turn. I don't care if you're for Obama, against Obama, for Oprah, against Oprah, anyone who wrote anything political -- Democrat or Republican -- disrespected her.

And that's not cool.

I have said it once, and I'll say it a million times (and then I will duck rotten tomatoes): I don't care if you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Communist, etc. as long as you're not a jerk about it.

I read the thread because I knew she was excited and it clearly said no politics. I haven't been back to it since my eyes burned. I don't care if people talk about politics, as long as they talk about other stuff too. Let's keep the off-topic forum in perspective. It's a valuable tool, and I would HATE for Anthony to take it away.

Just play nice. Use common sense. Really, it isn't that hard.

Much like I wouldn't want someone to start asking about charter boats in my car rental thread, I don't want people to get nasty in an off-topic thread. Just because I don't like it when people are rude to me. Anywhere.

You nailed it Laura, it is about respect.

jmq-thanks for reviving my old quote. I know I'm not supposed to laugh at my own jokes, but that was one of my better moments!

I believe that basic common decency goes a long way and sometimes gets lost in translation in today's high-tech world.

It seems like some people use the safety of the computer screen to act in ways they would not in person. Or at least I would like to believe they wouldn't act that way. I'll just say I have seen people who are very nice in real life act completely inappropriately when they think they are just words on the Internet.

And words hurt sometimes.