Infrequently Asked Questions (and contact info)

6/5/09: Obviously most of the following does not reflect the status of the blog in its current state. Hopefully it will again. It still contains some writing I like, so it stays for now.


by bullet

Contact Info

If you have something you'd like to discuss outside of the public forum, you can email me mypantstheatre AT gmail DOT com.

On Anonymity:

If you do happen to know me, please don't address me by name. There may be content here that I wouldn't exactly want the people who allow me to eat and support my family to associate with me. So please, no "Hey XXX, is this you?" Just email me at the above address. If you're really sure and you want to show me how smart you are, you can use [My first name][My last name]@gmail.com :).

My Pants? Really?
See, about ten years ago I worked in a theatre box office. Not going to say where, but they say the neon lights are bright. This theatre was auctioning naming rights to the highest bidder. My colleague and I, being typically burnt-out and cynical transplants to the area, REALLY wanted to name it My Pants. One reason was to have the only interesting name in town, but mostly so we could say to the ever more annoying customers, "Yeah, that's in My Pants." Stupid? Yeah, but still funny. So all of my opinions are now in My Pants.

Is this an atheist blog?
No, it's not. It may seem to be at times because I tend to get REALLY irritated with the actions of the faithful and the intrusion of faith in government. Pockets, though, is a believer. With the ridiculous religious distraction which the Republican candidates have provided us, I'm sure it will appear to be a predominantly atheist blog for the near future. But it's not.

So what exactly is this place all about, then?
It's going to be an E/N blog. But isn't that what they ALL end up being, no matter the pretext? So it's about what I like, dislike, support, oppose, etc. Most of my topics will tend to be the MMO City of Heroes(which I love), politics - local and national (usually don't), rebuilding this fabulous city (depends) and just general rants, observations and probably a lot of driving instructions tips. If you came here from a comment on another site, I think you'll be disappointed by the inanity of my observations. Or validated. Whatever. I don't care.

Are you sure this isn't an atheist blog?
Positive

So who the hell are you anyway?
Just a guy. Generally the smartest person in the room. Unless you happen to be another rocket scientist/theoretical physicist/brain surgeon.

Why should I care what YOU think?
You probably shouldn't. This society has placed far too much emphasis on appearance than substance. Appearing smart, appearing secure, appearing normal. This is not a new concept. We, as a whole, spend far too much time getting the wrong information from unreliable sources and then using it to justify our own selfishness, righteousness, whatever or to bash the shit out of those who disagree. I have ideas and I have questions. Too often in this country we put entirely too much importance on the answers. We have forgotten that it's more important to conceive the question than to be fed the answer. I have been lucky enough (or unlucky, I guess) to have had a wonderful (or not so) diversity of experience and I feel I have something to add to the conversation.

Back to My Pants.

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Comment Guidelines

These are guidelines, not rules. However, there are consequences to anything deemed an offense, including editing, warning, deletion and banning. None of this is meant to suggest any high-minded purpose or direction for this blog. It's just what I think and how I would like people to conduct themselves while at my blog. These guidelines are an attempt to facilitate reasonable discussion as well as to avoid unnecessary and irrelevant conflict. All decisions regarding unacceptable behavior are my sole discretion.

Rules, guidlines, what's the difference?
I am not a referree and I will not always be able to take action in every case in a timely manner or at all. Certain factors may lead to my decision to tolerate or indulge different posters. I will not always have time or inclination to explain or justify these factors. I may also allow guidelines to be bent if it furthers the discussion. If you can't accept this, don't comment.

Isn't that censorship?
No. No one is restricting free and open discourse. Certain things will be deemed as unacceptable to reasonable people. "Reasonable people" in this case is me. No one will stop you from providing a link to your own site where you may express yourself however you please.

Alright. So what's unnacceptable?

• Trolls
  If the purpose of your comment is solely to inflame, derail or otherwise distract from the issue, it will be deleted.
• Feeding Trolls
  We can all recognize a troll. Please do not respond to the trolls, as it simply encourages them. Any comment that is a direct response to the troll, no matter the intention, will be edited or deleted.
• Abuse
  I want this to be an open and free discussion. Deliberate ad hominem attacks on other commentors (or me, for that matter) are irrelevant and not part of a rational discussion. These will be edited or deleted. Publishing another party's (not your own) personal information also constitutes abuse and will result in deletion and perhaps a ban.
• Derailing/off-topic comments
  Let's stay on topic, shall we? I don't want, "Well, what about this?" comments to lead to an entirely different discussion. There are different paths that an argument can take naturally, but please resist forcing it onto another track entirely.

• Spam
  Do not post advertisements for goods, services or websites providing goods or services, regardless of how relevant they may be to the discussion. The only exception to this will be when another commentor specifically requests help or information. If you are the provider of said good or service, I would ask that you exchange information with that commentor and continue the discussion outside this site. This is also subject to its relevance and impact on the post as a whole.

Ok, so what is allowed?
Words are allowed. All words. I will not censor language (unless, of course, it is a direct attack on another poster). This includes the seven words you can't say on televison, as well as others most deem unsuitable for polite conversation. This is by no means meant to be polite dinner conversation. Civility is encouraged, but not enforced. In the absence of personal attacks, all words are acceptable. Realize, however that some words will elicit a stronger response than others and indiscriminate use of epithets will generally brand you as uniformed, ignorant or just a jackass.

What about...?
This is not a children's website. We are not five. The "s-word," "f-word" and the like are ridiculous and their use discourages discourse. If you want to say "fuck," "cock," "cunt," "queer" or even "nigger," feel free, as long as it's justifiably relevant to the discussion. The "reasonable people" standard applies here.

But that's disgusting, obscene, racist, misogynist, homophobic, etc.
If you inhibit words you inhibit thought. Currently acceptable words, terms and ideas that were deemed totally unacceptable in the past are commonplace now and vice versa. The only changes have been societal sensibilties and emotional reaction, neither of which are of interest here. Censorship has become a very nebulous term in conventional discussion but when specific words are, in fact, censored, it is usually with the direct intent of suppressing the thoughts and ideas to which they are related. I find that reprehensible.

Okay! Now back to My Pants, where the actual posts and discussion are not at all worthy of the points on this list. If they even exist at all...

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