what kind of small sad world

[WickedEve]

WickedEve:
"Who is Never?
Everyone is talking about Never.
Never, Never, Never.
I'll be dreaming about Never."

Four years ago, you wrote a poem for me.

As it no longer exists, I think I like this one more.

Did I?
I thought I knew your name.
If I did write a poem for you four years ago (years ago when I couldn't really write) then it's best that the poem is gone.

 

[WickedEve]

shut up and put up an AV with some cleavage.

Show me your ass crack.

 

[TheRainMan]

Show me your ass crack.

what do you think i am, a plumber.

 

[Tzara]

Show me your ass crack.

Eww. Take that to PM, please.

 

[WickedEve]

what do you think i am, a plumber.

well, there's this leak in the bathroom. it's an on again, off again sort of thing, like a really sucky relationship...

 

[WickedEve]

Eww. Take that to PM, please.

Okay. Ass cracks should only be mentioned in PM.
I'm just going to agree with you on that and not say another word about Pat's crack.

 

[TheRainMan]

well, there's this leak in the bathroom. it's an on again, off again sort of thing, like a really sucky relationship...

try bubble gum first.

i'm expensive.

 

[Guest]

Okay. Ass cracks should only be mentioned in PM.
I'm just going to agree with you on that and not say another word about Pat's crack.

I think I wrote a poem about ass crack before or something--not Pat's though--some girly in low-rise jeans.

 

[Tzara]

I think I wrote a poem about ass crack before or something--not Pat's though--some girly in low-rise jeans.

So call me sexist, but that seems, well, different somehow.

I still don't want to hear about Pat's ass crack. But that's just me. Others may want to.

I hope not, but they might.

 

[LeBroz]

Thanks COS, as well, for writing to clarify. I am glad things worked out


Here is my word problem I wrote to COS in a PM and figured I would put it here.

I know it is elementary, but sometimes numbers are the only thing that make any sense.

Scenario 1:

10 people all vote 5 on a poem because they want to give it a 5 for whatever the reason, it may be the best poem ever written, it may be the best friend, does not matter.... they do not have to justify why they thought that this poem deserved the highest score or sign their name, they close the curtain, vote and go home. The poem has a 5 average.

Next a person comes along and gives it a 3 because they think it is worth a 3, their vote is just as valid. It would be nice to let the poet know the reason behind the vote but it is by no means necessary. It is now 11 votes. The average will be 4.8 Not so shabby!

Nothing is "cancelled" It is just a person voting their opinion. This action does not reflect the voters feeling that they are better or more important, etc.

Scenario 2:

If 10 people vote a 5 and one person thinks it is worth a 3 so they give it a 1, sign out, go to their neighbor's comuputer, give it another 1, drive to their mother's house, give it another one.... etc etc until that one person has voted 10 times, then that is cancelling out a vote. The average vote will now be a 3. Ick. That is not a reflection of the average reader's opinion. I do not know of anyone who has done this. I do not think that anyone would.

In my opinion, and I am relatively sure that all would agree-- that is wrong. But that is not what Never did, it is not what she said she did, that is not what I have done in the past or Lauren, or anyone who reads the toplists to give their one single opinion.

I am not defending Never or Lauren or anyone, just the democratic process in general (even in a warped place like lit) is something that is important to me. Just because there are flaws does not mean that the concept does not deserve to be defended.

Anna ~ that is by far the clearest, most dispassionate look at voting I've seen here in some time. Well done! The only thing voting does is show how many people value the poem. The vote is as subjective as the poem. Some may rate the poem critically through their eyes as a poet, others might only rate it as to how well they "connected" to the poem. The average vote says how popular the poem is, not how good it is. And that is the point you make so well in scenario 1.

As for how I vote, no one will ever truly know. Don't be misled by my thermometer setting. The thermometer is my voting curtain with mostly 100% showing (though sometimes there might be a 75% when I go into constructive criticism mode).

Among all the controversies, one thing that makes the voting such a sore point is that each person voting has their own interpretation of the meaning of the 1-5 scale. Some will equate the vote to the thermometer and view the 3 as a 50%. And others view the 3 as average. Not only is a person's response to a poem subjective, but so is how they view the scale - one person's "poor" is the next person's "average."

As for scenario 2, I can't imagine anyone so lacking in a life that they want to vote multiple times via multiple computers so that a poem has, in their opinion, an "accurate" rating reflecting their own view. If a person wants to see poems that reflect their own values then get busy writing.

As for Never taking the time and trouble to vote on all the poems on the Top List, that's her prerogative. However, in the past few months I've seen this happening on a regular basis - who knows how many people are so bored that they get off on "adjusting" the list. Personally I can think of more stimulating ways of getting off. At one point the Top List was peaking in the 4.70 range as blocks of poems were almost daily voted down or off the list {talk about needing to get a life!}. And then, like clockwork, Lit would do a sweep every month and roughly restore the list. Lit probably has a vote filtering program that responds to Top List voting as though someone was trying to manipulate the list and periodically scrubs those votes. So if someone goes to the Top List and votes on poems they hadn't previously voted on, they run the risk of having their votes scrubbed. It might not be fair to an honest reader/voter but I suspect that is one of those imperfect safeguards that are in place.

Oh well, it's the start of a new week. Have a good one.

.

 

[TheRainMan]

So call me sexist, but that seems, well, different somehow.

I still don't want to hear about Pat's ass crack. But that's just me. Others may want to.

I hope not, but they might.

no plumbing leaks in your bathroom, i surmise.

 

[Tzara]

no plumbing leaks in your bathroom, i surmise.

There are cracks in our bathroom tile, but I don't want you anywhere near them, mister.

 

[TheRainMan]

There are cracks in our bathroom tile, but I don't want you anywhere near them, mister.

i'll wear my overalls.

and there's wrenches hangin' all over 'em, just in case a' rips.

 

[wildsweetone]

i'll wear my overalls.

and there's wrenches hangin' all over 'em, just in case a' rips.

...think my eye prescription needs changing. you won't believe what i thought i saw. actually, you probably would. lol

 

[TheRainMan]

...think my eye prescription needs changing. you won't believe what i thought i saw. actually, you probably would. lol

in my condition, i'll believe anything.

 

[wildsweetone]

in my condition, i'll believe anything.

now how'd i know that?



watch out for the wenches, they might get in the way while you plumb.

 

[TheRainMan]

now how'd i know that?



watch out for the wenches, they might get in the way while you plumb.

wenches are good for plumbers.

they help you find true vertical.

 

[Tzara]

i'll wear my overalls.

and there's wrenches hangin' all over 'em, just in case a' rips.

Let me say this once, and clearly.

STAY·OUT·OF·MY·BATHROOM. And, please God, don't go crawlin' under any of my sinks. I don't trust journeymen plumbers to do that, let alone English teachers.

Hey. Go write a poem or something. Whatsamatter? Your football team get beat?

 

[wildsweetone]

wenches are good for plumbers.

they help you find true vertical.

it's amazing what can be done with a bit of string and a top.

 

[TheRainMan]

it's amazing what can be done with a bit of string and a top.

lol. . . especially if you have a bit of imagination.

it feels like time to go to bed.

i know it's late, but i'm not sure what time, exactly . . .

i forgot where the clock is.

 

[champagne1982]

lol. . . especially if you have a bit of imagination.

it feels like time to go to bed.

i know it's late, but i'm not sure what time, exactly . . .

i forgot where the clock is.

I lost track of time because the little bastard doesn't leave footprints...

 

[Maria2394]

Yeh, well the bastard owes me two cartons of cigarettes. If it is the poem I think it is, he asked me to look at it. I thought it looked all wrong. He asked me to make it better, I tried for two days. He said he also thought it looked all wrong at first and he fucked around with it for two weeks, everything he said he did weakened it. His quote:" The perfect poem, I wrote one and it was bullshit, (he didn't elaborate on his) but this thing has power". He also said after two years here, three poems really haunted him, one by annaswirls that I don't know, this one:
Taking up Space
by Maria2394 ©

The daffodils I planted before rehab,
have bloomed four seasons in a row.
The bulbs were brittle but more
than just organic waste, shoved to the back
of a markdown shelf. The bag was torn,
edges taped, pieces of papery bulb peeking out,
and the daffodils I planted, before rehab,
have bloomed four seasons in a row.

He said this was so off-putting, he was sure there where mistakes, took words out, commas, re-arranged lines. Couldn't do it. "This thing adheres to its own inner logic". He said it put him there and he felt it. I'm surprised he didn't talk to you about it, maybe he was intimidated.
It sure isn't pretty, but I think that contributes to its power.

Try to remember, if you are open maybe Never will be, always best to have a gradient of opinion. A discussion, if possible.

sorry Snail, you are wrong. That poem was NEVER on the top list. You are attributing too much to this poem, it was a relief poem that I wasnt still having those problems, and its seems to me you are implying,by posting that that I still have that particular problem, the only one i have is the snobs on the forum who tend to look down on everyone who doesnt have their degree in college or the money to just take it easy and critique others work with a mere click.

I do appreciate you caring about me enough to drag that one out though.

 

[Maria2394]

Well, I don't think that whether or not I have a life and need to get laid is really any of your business, so...

Lauren, You are right about this particular issue. I sincerely apologize for making the observation that you need to get laid-- it isnt MY business, just seemed to be where the angst was coming from in you.

 

[Liar]

Just for the record, I need to get laid.

 

[Maria2394]

*****