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<p>[QUOTE="Nathan B., post: 4601829, member: 112852"]Hi Medoraman. I decided to take up your challenge regarding looking in the mirror, and I appreciate your writing where you were coming from. But now, I would like to tell you where I am coming from.</p><p><br /></p><p>To be honest, I think I partially misinterpreted your post.</p><p><br /></p><p>You see, I came to your post having read some very negative, recent comments on these forums about modern collectors. Here's a sampling, with emphasis mine:</p><p><br /></p><p>"[Modern collectors] <b>usually </b>do a <b>drive-by-shooting</b> of one post each, <b>not paying attention</b> that they are in the Ancients section. They have been so <b>brainwashed </b>to Modern US Coin Collecting, <b>sanitized</b>, <b>marketing induced</b>, slabbed, commodity, "How Much is it?", and "What is its Grade?" mentality versus truly enjoying a Hobby."</p><p><br /></p><p>"<b>Did you happen to notice</b> that this is the Ancients sub-forum you're posting in? <b>Your comment is utterly inappropriate and, frankly, wrong</b> in the context of ancient coins....<b>Your inane comment</b> can only spoil the enjoyment of new collectors by making them needlessly paranoid about damaging their collection."</p><p><br /></p><p>"What's annoying is that these modern collectors who <b>stumble in here pretty much never say oops, sorry, after they arrogantly give advice</b> that's misleading at best, flatly wrong at worst."</p><p><br /></p><p>In addition to these, I was admonished on another thread with the phrase, "<b>since you insist on discussing modern coins in the ancient section, you may not know</b>...."</p><p><br /></p><p>Only the last-mentioned item affected me, but it sounded condescending. I also did not appreciate this comment because I don't "discuss modern coins in the ancient section"; I have mentioned modern coins by way of analogy, or background, but I have never made them a subject of their own here.</p><p><br /></p><p>But the first three quotes concern me because they are, quite frankly, extraordinarily uncivil. And I thought that this forum was supposed to be a welcoming place where civility was prized.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, I don't believe that <i>anyone </i>on these forums is a bad person, and that goes for the authors of these quotes, too. But words have meaning, and they can cause damage even when the author does not intend harm.</p><p><br /></p><p>So I guess that was my "baggage" when I read your post. What bothered me about it was that you seemed to be insulting the modern collectors behind their back. And then another member here kind of doubled down on this with his mention of wanting to scare off a certain kind of collector to whom he seemingly out-of-the-blue attributed certain undesirable traits.</p><p><br /></p><p>At that point, I decided to write something provocative--to stick up for the underdogs (in this case, the moderns).</p><p><br /></p><p>I will take you at your word that I misinterpreted the meaning of your post. Going back, I can see that I did interpret your writing uncharitably. For that, <i>I</i> apologize.</p><p><br /></p><p>But I would also like you to understand where I am coming from. For example, you wrote something about "good-natured ribbing." Where I come from, "good-natured ribbing" is teasing--perhaps with a bit of a bite--but without intending offense. But the key is, it's said directly to one's face, and you were saying it behind the backs of the moderns. That's why I did not perceive it as "good-natured ribbing," instead interpreting it (unfairly, I now see) in light of some of the more aggressive comments here.</p><p><br /></p><p>In any case, I will admit that I've been upset about some of these things. But that's not because I don't like anyone here, but rather because I am a very passionate person, and that passion extends not only to coin collecting, but also to the collecting community. I want new people to feel welcome just as I have been made to feel welcome here. (Although it's a good thing I hadn't read the above quotes first!)</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, regarding "political correctness," I would respectfully request that we avoid this word because...it's political. If we focus on "respect" and "civility" then we don't need to worry about politics. I actually really prize the apolitical nature of this forum because (you guessed it) I am a very passionate person in politics, too, and I know others with different viewpoints are here, and they are just as passionate as I am. There are so many opportunities to get into flame wars about politics online that I don't want to do it here.</p><p><br /></p><p>So that's where I'm coming from. I hope that you and all others here, including those who do not see eye-to-eye with me even on these matters, will receive this post in the spirit in which it is intended.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Nathan B., post: 4601829, member: 112852"]Hi Medoraman. I decided to take up your challenge regarding looking in the mirror, and I appreciate your writing where you were coming from. But now, I would like to tell you where I am coming from. To be honest, I think I partially misinterpreted your post. You see, I came to your post having read some very negative, recent comments on these forums about modern collectors. Here's a sampling, with emphasis mine: "[Modern collectors] [B]usually [/B]do a [B]drive-by-shooting[/B] of one post each, [B]not paying attention[/B] that they are in the Ancients section. They have been so [B]brainwashed [/B]to Modern US Coin Collecting, [B]sanitized[/B], [B]marketing induced[/B], slabbed, commodity, "How Much is it?", and "What is its Grade?" mentality versus truly enjoying a Hobby." "[B]Did you happen to notice[/B] that this is the Ancients sub-forum you're posting in? [B]Your comment is utterly inappropriate and, frankly, wrong[/B] in the context of ancient coins....[B]Your inane comment[/B] can only spoil the enjoyment of new collectors by making them needlessly paranoid about damaging their collection." "What's annoying is that these modern collectors who [B]stumble in here pretty much never say oops, sorry, after they arrogantly give advice[/B] that's misleading at best, flatly wrong at worst." In addition to these, I was admonished on another thread with the phrase, "[B]since you insist on discussing modern coins in the ancient section, you may not know[/B]...." Only the last-mentioned item affected me, but it sounded condescending. I also did not appreciate this comment because I don't "discuss modern coins in the ancient section"; I have mentioned modern coins by way of analogy, or background, but I have never made them a subject of their own here. But the first three quotes concern me because they are, quite frankly, extraordinarily uncivil. And I thought that this forum was supposed to be a welcoming place where civility was prized. Now, I don't believe that [I]anyone [/I]on these forums is a bad person, and that goes for the authors of these quotes, too. But words have meaning, and they can cause damage even when the author does not intend harm. So I guess that was my "baggage" when I read your post. What bothered me about it was that you seemed to be insulting the modern collectors behind their back. And then another member here kind of doubled down on this with his mention of wanting to scare off a certain kind of collector to whom he seemingly out-of-the-blue attributed certain undesirable traits. At that point, I decided to write something provocative--to stick up for the underdogs (in this case, the moderns). I will take you at your word that I misinterpreted the meaning of your post. Going back, I can see that I did interpret your writing uncharitably. For that, [I]I[/I] apologize. But I would also like you to understand where I am coming from. For example, you wrote something about "good-natured ribbing." Where I come from, "good-natured ribbing" is teasing--perhaps with a bit of a bite--but without intending offense. But the key is, it's said directly to one's face, and you were saying it behind the backs of the moderns. That's why I did not perceive it as "good-natured ribbing," instead interpreting it (unfairly, I now see) in light of some of the more aggressive comments here. In any case, I will admit that I've been upset about some of these things. But that's not because I don't like anyone here, but rather because I am a very passionate person, and that passion extends not only to coin collecting, but also to the collecting community. I want new people to feel welcome just as I have been made to feel welcome here. (Although it's a good thing I hadn't read the above quotes first!) Finally, regarding "political correctness," I would respectfully request that we avoid this word because...it's political. If we focus on "respect" and "civility" then we don't need to worry about politics. I actually really prize the apolitical nature of this forum because (you guessed it) I am a very passionate person in politics, too, and I know others with different viewpoints are here, and they are just as passionate as I am. There are so many opportunities to get into flame wars about politics online that I don't want to do it here. So that's where I'm coming from. I hope that you and all others here, including those who do not see eye-to-eye with me even on these matters, will receive this post in the spirit in which it is intended.[/QUOTE]
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