Hey, in the interests of having one forum, could you ask if there are other forum people, rather than sea monkeys? The people here who aren't sea monkeys are just as much fun to meet as the ones that are, and they feel left out if you just ask for sea monkeys. What's more, if they're not going to be on a boat with you, this show could be your only chance to meet them. I can understand wanting to meet people you know, but you can ask sea-monkey-specific things on the relevant facebook group.
If the order of the shows were different, like here in Dallas on Friday and then in Austin on Saturday I'd go see both. I've done it twice before but alas they did not plan for my convenience this time.
Look. If we make the JoCo forum users that are not yet Sea Monkeys feel VERY BAD about it, maybe more rooms will get booked and that helps JoCo. Don't play the violin for them, even *I* can't afford a cruise right now... I'm in debt! I just happen to be a REAL FAN and make it happen anyway. Earn your way on like @chicazul!
And all the people who sold their grandmothers to the ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal in order to afford the cruise will be extra enthusiastic about JoCo, because that will be the one week of the year when they get to eat!
I am seriously not ok with implying anyone who has a family, or health problems, or other life circumstances that prevent their taking an expensive vacation is somehow not a REAL FAN. I guarantee that anyone who cares enough about JoCo to hang around on these forums even with everyone nattering about cruises feels PLENTY BAD already being excluded from the club. You don't need to rub it in.
Look, part of the reason I went on the first cruise is I had already missed out on a lot of "real fan" points by not hearing about JoCo until long after he was cool, and I figured if I didn't get in on the ground floor of this thing I'd be an outsider forever.
Another part of the reason was that I *like* the type of people who are JoCo fans, many of whom I know through this forum. Some of the people I adore in this community were only on one cruise, or none, and that doesn't mean I like them any less or wouldn't be thrilled to hang out with them at a show.
I got to go on JCCC2 because I was very lucky and surrounded by a wonderful, generous community. I don't take that for granted or assume the community's pockets are limitless—in fact, I worry that my fundraising efforts may prevent someone equally deserving from benefiting from that generosity. I had not even planned on doing a fundraiser for JCCC3 until people specifically asked me for fezzes. I am not going to turn DOWN the opportunity, but I recognise that I am very fortunate and my process, like JoCo's rise to Internet Superstardom, may not be easily replicable.
Thanks, @chicazul, that first part of your reply sums up my feelings on the matter. I consider myself a REAL FAN, but I value my marriage more than the cruise, so I my chances of becoming a Sea Monkey are slim. (Or maybe that just means that I'm just a real fan, sans caps. . .) But I like this community, even if I haven't met any of you and probably won't until/if JoCo comes back to Salt Lake some time when I'm not recovering from appendicitis!
For the record, I'm not looking for sad violins on my behalf. I would just like to see these forums inclusive of all JoCo fans, even ones who don't deserve all caps.
Back on topic, I won't be going to the Austin show, but if it were streamed like the Salt Lake show, I'd try to watch again. Huge success!
By the way, I feel justified in joking about it, because:
"I can't go on a cruise that the other online forum people are going on" is a First World Problem.
You can be glad not to meet me... it's ok. Though, I actually respect @Angelastic and @chicazul 's sympathy and protectiveness of the community. (it's just a little overboard)
@sandman I took it as a joke, and my response was intended in the same light; that said, if someone else had written what I'd written, Admin-Bry'd probably be trying to find some way to slap electronic wrists. All I can say is I felt snarky; I apologize.
But too much focus on cruisers has legitimately been a sensitive topic on these forums, a subject that has demonstrably driven out several people who are otherwise interested in the ostensible subject of these forums (JoCo and his music, in case anyone's unclear about this). I've appreciated those comments in this thread that remind us of that, and I don't find them "overboard" in the least.
PS: @chicazul doesn't need me to speak up for her or anything like that, but I will say this -- I would handle having my position misrepresented as part of a joke with which I disagree much more poorly than she does.
@Bry don't apologize... I was staying home sick yesterday and posting snarky stuff that I shouldn't.
@autojim Nice... I wish I had gone to the F1 races.
I don't spend much time on these forums throughout the year, I just show up to post a few times before and after the cruise. I realize that the problem of dividing these forums because of the cruise is legitimate.
@sandman I appreciate your understanding. I'm sorry for my tone but despite the (grin) I didn't initially realise your post was a joke! The perils of text-based communication. (:
I'm not sorry for being all Mama Bear about this community, since even jokes can be hurtful if the context isn't clear (John Scalzi's "failure mode of clever" comes to mind) but I'm glad this got cleared up.
Yes, F1 was indeed held in Austin on the brand-new Circuit of the Americas track (which was about 90% done -- the part that impacted race ops was 99%, but some of the spectator stuff wasn't quite finished in time. It will be for next year's events). Big, international sporting event. Though unless you were already following the series, you'd never know it outside of the greater Austin area. No coverage at all in Houston media, and I hear none in DFW, either.
@oboewan: I was pretty much chained to my turn station from before sunup to sundown all 3 days.
Comments
I am seriously not ok with implying anyone who has a family, or health problems, or other life circumstances that prevent their taking an expensive vacation is somehow not a REAL FAN. I guarantee that anyone who cares enough about JoCo to hang around on these forums even with everyone nattering about cruises feels PLENTY BAD already being excluded from the club. You don't need to rub it in.
Look, part of the reason I went on the first cruise is I had already missed out on a lot of "real fan" points by not hearing about JoCo until long after he was cool, and I figured if I didn't get in on the ground floor of this thing I'd be an outsider forever.
Another part of the reason was that I *like* the type of people who are JoCo fans, many of whom I know through this forum. Some of the people I adore in this community were only on one cruise, or none, and that doesn't mean I like them any less or wouldn't be thrilled to hang out with them at a show.
I got to go on JCCC2 because I was very lucky and surrounded by a wonderful, generous community. I don't take that for granted or assume the community's pockets are limitless—in fact, I worry that my fundraising efforts may prevent someone equally deserving from benefiting from that generosity. I had not even planned on doing a fundraiser for JCCC3 until people specifically asked me for fezzes. I am not going to turn DOWN the opportunity, but I recognise that I am very fortunate and my process, like JoCo's rise to Internet Superstardom, may not be easily replicable.
/rant
Were we talking about the Austin show?
@sandman I took it as a joke, and my response was intended in the same light; that said, if someone else had written what I'd written, Admin-Bry'd probably be trying to find some way to slap electronic wrists. All I can say is I felt snarky; I apologize.
But too much focus on cruisers has legitimately been a sensitive topic on these forums, a subject that has demonstrably driven out several people who are otherwise interested in the ostensible subject of these forums (JoCo and his music, in case anyone's unclear about this). I've appreciated those comments in this thread that remind us of that, and I don't find them "overboard" in the least.
PS: @chicazul doesn't need me to speak up for her or anything like that, but I will say this -- I would handle having my position misrepresented as part of a joke with which I disagree much more poorly than she does.
I'm not sorry for being all Mama Bear about this community, since even jokes can be hurtful if the context isn't clear (John Scalzi's "failure mode of clever" comes to mind) but I'm glad this got cleared up.
Have fun at the show!
@oboewan: I was pretty much chained to my turn station from before sunup to sundown all 3 days.