Hey guys, that's pretty fucking harsh if you ask me. Now before you jump down my throat telling me he should've read the FAQs before posting, let me say this. I love this site, but it's got some pretty unconventional rules. Some rules that, you might say, aren't all that obvious like the self-linking rule. Therefore, if you want the community to grow in quality as well as in quantity, you need to nurture it instead of swinging your banhammers round and round at the slightest provocation.

onestem is a friend of mine that I introduced to videosift. He lurked, much like myself, until he saw a video that he felt so compelled to comment on that he registered here. He enjoyed the (mostly) mature and thoughtful discussions, and although not as rabid in his usage of the sift, he still used the site and enjoyed it. When he posted this video, he emailed me to let me know so I could view it, which I did. When I saw that he had self-linked, I sent him back an email letting him know that this was against the site's rules and that he might catch some flak for it. This happened right before he went to work, so he didn't get the email until he came back. When he also noticed that he had been banned.

It really pisses me off when people say, "let's look at the facts" and they look at the length of membership at a site and the duration between posts as if those are the facts of the matter. I'm sure think that I'm only acting like this because he's my friend, and if it was anyone else, I wouldn't care. Well, you're damn right!

This is very base.

How very vulgar.

I can't stop watching. Round and round and up and down and round and round...

round and round and round....this dissent does not come from some roller j-ray, comes from a student of the human condition, societal history and evolution-we're in a portion of the spiral where bullshit like this manifests itself, and once great entities give way to greater or lesser ones-writing on walls, baby, signs and wonders-
" If there is to be a new understanding
of the meaning of marriage in California, it should develop among the people of
our state and find its expression at the ballot box.
CORRIGAN, J.
...and it will-

Noyce! If you think this is clever you should check out the Crab Canon from my most favourite book in the world Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas Hofstadetr.

Crab Canon
----------

Achilles and the Tortoise happen upon each other
in the park one day while strolling.

Tortoise: Good day, Mr. A.
Achilles: Why, same to you.
Tortoise: So nice to run into you.
Achilles: That echoes my thoughts.
Tortoise: And it's a perfect day for a walk. I think I'll be walking home
soon.
Achilles: Oh, really? I guess there's nothing better for you than walking.
Tortoise: Incidentally, you're looking in fine fettle these days, I must
say.
Achilles: Thank you very much.
Tortoise: Not at all. Here, care for one of my cigars?
Achilles: Oh, you are such a philistine. In this area, the Dutch contribu-
tions are of markedly inferior taste, don't you think?
Tortoise: I disagree, in this case. But speaking of taste, I finally saw that
Crab Canon by your favorite artist, M.C. Escher, in a gallery the other
day, and I fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which he
made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards and
forwards. But I am afraid I will always feel Bach is superior to Escher.
Achilles: I don't know. But one thing for certain is that I don't worry about
arguments of taste. De gustibus non est disputandum.
Tortoise: Tell me, what's it like to be your age? Is it true that one has no
worries at all?
Achilles: To be precise one has no frets.
Tortoise: Oh, well, it's all the same to me.
Achilles: Fiddle. It makes a big difference, you know.
Tortoise: Say, don't you play the guitar?
Achilles: That's my good friend. He often plays, the fool. But I myself
wouldn't touch a guitar with a ten-foot pole.
(Suddenly the Crab, appearing from out of nowhere, wanders up ex-
citedly, pointing to a rather prominent black eye.)

Crab: Hallo! Hullo! What's up? What's new? You see this bump, this
from Warsaw - a collosal bear of a man - playing a lute. He was three
meters tall, if I'm a day. I mosey on up to the chap, reach skyward and
manage to tap him on the knee, saying, "Pardon me, sir, but you are
Pole-luting our park with your mazurkas." But WOW! he had no sense
of humor - not a bit, not a wit - and POW! - he lets loose and belts me
one, smack in the eye! Were it in my nature, I would crab up a storm,
but in the time-honored tradition of my species, I backed off. After all,
when we walk forwards, we move backwards. It's in our genes, you
know, turning round and round. That reminds me - I've always
wondered, "which came first - the Crab or the Gene?" That
is to say, "Which came last - the Gene, or the Crab?" I'm always
turning things round and round, you know. It's in our genes, after
all. When we walk backwards we move forwards. Ah me, oh my!
I must lope along on my merry way - so off I go on such a fine day.
Sing "ho!" for the life of a Crab! TATA! Ole!

(And he disappears as suddenly as he arrived.)

Tortoise: That's my good friend. He often plays, the fool. But I myself
wouldn't touch a ten-foot Pole with a guitar.
Achilles: Say, don't you play the guitar?
Tortoise: Fiddle. It makes a big difference, you know.
Achilles: Oh, well, it's all the same to me.
Tortoise: To be precise one has no frets.
Achilles: Tell me, what's it like to be your age? Is it true that one has no
worries at all?
Tortoise: I don't know. But one thing for certain is that I don't worry about
arguments of taste. Disputandum non est de gustibus.
Achilles: I disagree, in this case. But speaking of taste, I finally heard that
Crab Canon by your favorite composer, J.S. Bach, in a concert the
other day, and I fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which
he made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards and
forwards. But I am afraid I will always feel Escher is superior to Bach.
Tortoise: Oh, you are such a philistine. In this area, the Dutch contribu-
tions are of markedly inferior taste, don't you think?
Achilles: Not at all. Here, care for one of my cigars?
Tortoise: Thank you very much.
Achilles: Incidentally, you're looking in fine fettle these days, I must
say.
Tortoise: Oh, really? I guess there's nothing better for you than walking.
Achilles: And it's a perfect day for a walk. I think I'll be walking home
soon.
Tortoise: That echoes my thoughts.
Achilles: So nice to run into you.
Tortoise: Why, same to you.
Achilles: Good day, Mr. A.

Don't get me started on Hughes, formerly Direcway....retrograde orbit satellites, and the cost of service an insult to folks too far out for a hard line, who KNOW, the difference between DSL speeds and their painful up down up down.....customer service?? Polite, ineffectual, Hindi automotons(hard to be mad at them, they speak better English than most Americans) but jeeez the round and round.......and we still suffer, with Hughes...

Must I explain everything to you? Are you really that dense?

If you are unwilling to work towards your own personal growth then that is your great loss.

And yes, you are right, not everyone likes everyone... and many people dislike you. I, however, am as usual, the only one with the stones to say anything about it... and I have. Consider it a warning and do with it what you will... shove it up your ass if it feels best there, I don't care and I'm not going to go round and round with you about it.

I have said my piece, I laid it all out there for you, reread it if you don't understand and ruminate on it. Maybe, some of it will sink in, and in the future perhaps you will think before you simply shit words out of your brain and onto the internet.

I was referring not only to this thread, but to ALL your activities on this website... your body of work if you will... it only came out here because I have finally HAD IT with remaining silent on the matter... call this thread the straw that broke the raven's back if you will.

As for not doing this via PM I feel that is somehow counter to the nature of my grievance as it is based entirely on your behavior in a very public forum, so therefore, I see no reason to not voice my complaints in the same fashion.

I also feel in no way beholden to your request for ME to waste my time going back through YOUR comments and circle and underline every instance where I felt you have been an ass. You are perfectly capable of rereading every damn thing you have written and reflecting upon how it may have been read by others, or on how you could have better argued your position without reverting to the same tried and true method of hiding behind your service.

Lastly, that comment of mine is not up for debate because it is MY opinion... it is MINE and MINE alone and no amount of going round and round with you over the minutiae of your past comments and having you back pedal about what it is you may have or may not have meant will make me change MY opinion. The only thing that could possibly change my opinion of you is for you to take some time to take stock of your participation thus far on this site... in ALL realms of conversation... and work towards being a better participant in the future. Nothing you can SAY at this point will change my opinion or experience of you... but everything you DO in the future can begin to rectify that. That is all.

that it does please (about the voting agreement)

however, as for the blackmailing... whether or not you think you were not blackmailing or even if you actually weren't (whichever, I don't really want to debate it); just keep in mind that I am not the only one who walked away from that initial discussion on SiftTalk with the impression that some amount of blackmail was taking place. My only point here is that you should remember this in future dealings here on the sift, and make certain never to give the rest of us any reason to think that you are operating in any manner other than a straightforward and honest way.

and please don't respond to this, I am tired of dealing with you on this matter.

In reply to your comment:
“In reply to your comment:
“we've already been over why your post got discarded so I am going to spend very little time on it as I tire of going round and round with you about it....

k, that's nice

[...] I really think you need to accept it and move on.

k

[...] and you shouldn't be surprised when people respond to you in kind...

well, it happens, i guess it's normal

probably more than a few sifters here would like to reach through the series of tubes seperating you from them and throttle you, I have certainly felt that urge on more than one occasion.

oh, lol, come on.

You need to accept that you are not "all that we ask of a God and more" (I think that was how your profile used to go), and therefore, nobody here is going to feel inclined to treat you with any measure of respect until you earn it.

sounds perfectly reasonable.

you were basically blackmailing ockhamist to change the embed code on his post. By saying, do this and I will do this, and pretty much holding that over his head, is, by definition, blackmail,
no, i wasn't.

please, i've considered seriously everything you said, and i'm agreeing with you with most things you said.

but this isn't even remotely true.

i hate blackmailing and i really don't like people accusing me of that, especially if it isn't true.

please reconsider this thought, and notice i never ever menaced him of *anything* at all. I've been rude with other people, ok, but with him i did nothing more than politely asking to replace his video.

my proposal was to discard my video if he replaced his, how on earth this could be seen as a blackmail? to him?

seriously, you were right in many things, i grant you this, but that blackmail-thing is fiction.

will you reconsider that, please?

[...] This is great, I'm all for sift quality, but let me just tell you now, that if you start going about downvoting everything that does not meet the looris stamp of approval you are only going to make more enemies,

i think i can live with that - but please read on

[...]
Really, downvoting to bolster your own agenda does nothing to enhance the sift... just think about it, if everyone who hated family guy (and there are many of us) did this, just how many vids do you think you would have published? You've got a gold star now, play with your new powers and your collective and be happy. Enhance the sift by posting good quality vids and maintaining a successful collective, but don't do it by bumming things out for others... everybody wants a gold star, and more, don't piss on their dreams just because you happen to dislike slo-mo... Or rather, as a compromise, if you still feel you have to downvote if only to make the statement that "I looris, am not down with the slo-mo" make it after the vid is published, that way nobody gets upset... for the most part, this is what ant does, and we've all come to just accept him for it.”

that's fine.

a nice idea, i didn't think about that, and i think i'll follow your advice.

i'll still downvote videos with bad title even if they are in queue, but for the rest i can wait them to be published.

i hope this satisfies you.”d

In reply to your comment:
“we've already been over why your post got discarded so I am going to spend very little time on it as I tire of going round and round with you about it....

k, that's nice

[...] I really think you need to accept it and move on.

k

[...] and you shouldn't be surprised when people respond to you in kind...

well, it happens, i guess it's normal

probably more than a few sifters here would like to reach through the series of tubes seperating you from them and throttle you, I have certainly felt that urge on more than one occasion.

oh, lol, come on.

You need to accept that you are not "all that we ask of a God and more" (I think that was how your profile used to go), and therefore, nobody here is going to feel inclined to treat you with any measure of respect until you earn it.

sounds perfectly reasonable.

you were basically blackmailing ockhamist to change the embed code on his post. By saying, do this and I will do this, and pretty much holding that over his head, is, by definition, blackmail,
no, i wasn't.

please, i've considered seriously everything you said, and i'm agreeing with you with most things you said.

but this isn't even remotely true.

i hate blackmailing and i really don't like people accusing me of that, especially if it isn't true.

please reconsider this thought, and notice i never ever menaced him of *anything* at all. I've been rude with other people, ok, but with him i did nothing more than politely asking to replace his video.

my proposal was to discard my video if he replaced his, how on earth this could be seen as a blackmail? to him?

seriously, you were right in many things, i grant you this, but that blackmail-thing is fiction.

will you reconsider that, please?

[...] This is great, I'm all for sift quality, but let me just tell you now, that if you start going about downvoting everything that does not meet the looris stamp of approval you are only going to make more enemies,

i think i can live with that - but please read on

[...]
Really, downvoting to bolster your own agenda does nothing to enhance the sift... just think about it, if everyone who hated family guy (and there are many of us) did this, just how many vids do you think you would have published? You've got a gold star now, play with your new powers and your collective and be happy. Enhance the sift by posting good quality vids and maintaining a successful collective, but don't do it by bumming things out for others... everybody wants a gold star, and more, don't piss on their dreams just because you happen to dislike slo-mo... Or rather, as a compromise, if you still feel you have to downvote if only to make the statement that "I looris, am not down with the slo-mo" make it after the vid is published, that way nobody gets upset... for the most part, this is what ant does, and we've all come to just accept him for it.”

that's fine.

a nice idea, i didn't think about that, and i think i'll follow your advice.

i'll still downvote videos with bad title even if they are in queue, but for the rest i can wait them to be published.

i hope this satisfies you.

we've already been over why your post got discarded so I am going to spend very little time on it as I tire of going round and round with you about it....

So all I have to say further on the matter is that I think it would not have mattered if there was more discussion on the matter... an admin chose to enforce the rules, the vid was a blatant duplicate and that is that, end of story. Besides, I think there was plenty of material there already for lucky to make an informed decision, I really think you need to accept it and move on.

More important to our conversation, and this is the part I hope you LISTEN to and take to heart: Your arguments over the post and your newfound obession with *quality do not hold much weight with other sifters because of both your attitude and you modus operandi. For instance, when you say things like the following:

"sometimes i give very little weight to what somebody says, but i do that only when i have a reason to think their opinions are worthless"

"if sifters want a worst sift, i'm not the one martyr trying to keep them from harming themselves"

and there are many more I'm too busy at the moment to hunt down... but the point is, when you enter into an argument here you more often than not sound like a GIANT DOUCHE and you shouldn't be surprised when people respond to you in kind... probably more than a few sifters here would like to reach through the series of tubes seperating you from them and throttle you, I have certainly felt that urge on more than one occasion.

You need to accept that you are not "all that we ask of a God and more" (I think that was how your profile used to go), and therefore, nobody here is going to feel inclined to treat you with any measure of respect until you earn it.

Also, and I find this perhaps the most disturbing part of how you handled the soccer-post debacle... you were basically blackmailing ockhamist to change the embed code on his post. By saying, do this and I will do this, and pretty much holding that over his head, is, by definition, blackmail, and I have to say right now, if I ever catch you trying to do this again, I will take it up with the admins... you have to learn to play nice looris.

In addition to this, I've noticed that you've changed your profile to reflect some newfound values:

No TITLES missing VITAL info (same for the tags)
No screwed ASPECT RATIO
No SLOW MOTION where not needed
No lame INTROS or outros
No COMPILATIONS
No pointless SOUNDTRACKS

This is great, I'm all for sift quality, but let me just tell you now, that if you start going about downvoting everything that does not meet the looris stamp of approval you are only going to make more enemies, so therefore, I don't recommend it. Some people like slo-mo, and some people like compilations- especially when they enchance the content of a collective. I think you need to accept that stuff will always be posted to the sift that you personally do not like, that is how it is. If you are not cool with that then I suggest you just leave and start your own 'looris-approved' vid-blog.

Really, downvoting to bolster your own agenda does nothing to enhance the sift... just think about it, if everyone who hated family guy (and there are many of us) did this, just how many vids do you think you would have published? You've got a gold star now, play with your new powers and your collective and be happy. Enhance the sift by posting good quality vids and maintaining a successful collective, but don't do it by bumming things out for others... everybody wants a gold star, and more, don't piss on their dreams just because you happen to dislike slo-mo... Or rather, as a compromise, if you still feel you have to downvote if only to make the statement that "I looris, am not down with the slo-mo" make it after the vid is published, that way nobody gets upset... for the most part, this is what ant does, and we've all come to just accept him for it.

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

I'm through, with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and I'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I know you said
Why can't you just get over it,
It turned my whole world around
and i kind of like it

I made my bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

Translated lyrics from http://www.mognet.net/artisttranslation.php?id=1094&translation=english :

Fish Fight! Fish Fight! Fish Fight! Fish Fight!

I can live in a lake or wherever, I am a natural freshwater fish! I fight with my body
A Oh! A Oh! A Oh! A Oh! A Oh!

Bass fishing is a trend, carp fishing has begun and ended; children, remember this well!
A Oh! A Oh! A Oh! A Oh! A Oh!

It's alright if the cold rain gets your cheek wet, look down to the bottom and see
Dance dance dance dance with me! Let's swim!

A carp is a living thing, and you shouldn't eat it; unrefined and smelly fish! fish! fish!

You wash a crap, and then you eat it as sweetened boiled fish, and carp sushi

In times when you cry, those in the water don't understand; so cry with all your might
A Oh! A Oh! A Oh! A Oh! A Oh!

Even if the cold rain falls upon your heart, look down the bottom and see
Dance dance dance dance with me! Let's swim!

A carp is a living thing, and you shouldn't eat it; unrefined and smelly fish! fish! fish!

My brunch is young bees and earthworms; lure fishing, decoy fishing, they're uncalled for

Char, Bitterling,Surf Smelt,Mottled Shovel-Nosed Frog, Rainbow Trout, Black Bass, Millet, Snake Head Mullet, Chub, Trout
Haya, haya, haya! We are friends, the freshwater fish!

Flounder, Yellowtail Tuna, Parrot Fish, Ocean Sun Fish, Mackerel, Sea Robin, Red Snapper, Striped Jack, Alfonsino, Scorpion Fish
Eat, eat, eat! They are the major saltwater fish!

Someday I'll have a high-grade brother too: Tiger Globefish, fatty yellow-tail, it's a piece of cake! It's my turn to be scientifically dissected
The scales, the back fin, the bladder

A carp is a living thing, and you shouldn't eat it; unrefined and smelly fish! fish! fish!

You wash a crap, and then you eat it as sweetened boiled fish, and carp sushi (And pickle it!)

Someday I too will be revolving sushi; I want to revolve, I want to be seen, fish! fish! fish! (round and round)

Handrolled, battle ship rolled, winding, pinched; anything as you like it, you decide

Fish Fight! Fish Fight! Fish Fight! Fish Fight!

What does he do now?
Surely he gets bored just watching it go round and round. I bet he wishes that train could take his weight.

I take it your a Bill Hicks fan, then? "we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively" the rest of that is fitting for this comment "there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we're the imagination of ourselves".

I like his rollercoaster analogy "The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it; you think its real - because thats how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up & down, round and round - it has thrills and chills...But don't worry...this is just a ride"

VideoSift needs more Bill Hicks - will add a few...

I love this song! Here are the lyrics

I heat up, I cant cool down
You got me spinnin
round and round
round and round and round it goes
Where it stops nobody knows

Every time you call my name
I heat up like a burnin flame
Burnin flame full of desire
Kiss me baby, let the fire get higher

Abra-abra-cadabra
I want to reach out and grab ya
Abra-abra-cadabra
Abracadabra

You make me hot, you make me sigh
You make me laugh, you make me cry
Keep me burnin for your love
With the touch of a velvet glove

Abra-abra-cadabra
I want to reach out and grab ya
Abra-abra-cadabra
Abracadabra

I feel the magic in your caress
I feel magic when I touch your dress
Silk and satin, leather and lace
Black panties with an angels face

I see magic in your eyes
I hear the magic in your sighs
Just when I think Im gonna get away
I hear those words that you always say

Abra-abra-cadabra
I want to reach out and grab ya
Abra-abra-cadabra
Abracadabra

Every time you call my name
I heat up like a burnin flame
Burnin flame full of desire
Kiss me baby, let the fire get higher

I heat up, I cant cool down
My situation goes round and round
I heat up, I cant cool down
My situation goes round and round
I heat up, I cant cool down
My situation goes round and round