No more @GrumpyOldMan?
I was out of touch with SE for the first two weeks of July when we went on vacation and I did not have access to a computer. When we returned I tuned in again, but sadly, have seen no posts from @GrumpyOldMan. Too bad, I enjoyed most of his posts and he had plenty of knowledge to impart - he was always interesting. I know that just before we left in June, there was some problem with a post of his that many people took exception to (I can't even remember now what the topic was and I was unsuccessful in finding it in the archives - it may have been politically motivated.) At any rate, can anyone fill me in on what may have happened to him - I miss him. I think there should be room for dissenting opinions in a forum such as this and do hope he was not "dropped" from membership.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
21 Comments:
Maybe he simply found a more appropriate platform from which to express his opinions.
SqueezeBottle at 7:42PM on 09/20/09
Winged monkeys took him to visit Oz where he now makes bread often.
JerzeeTomato at 7:57PM on 09/20/09
This is the last post he made (from his profile):
From Talk
Why We are Losing the Battle of the Bulge
Look, you can eat 100% healthy and work out and cook all of your own food, never eat out, and still have health problems. And need health insurance.
I wouldn't dream of claiming otherwise, nor do I object to blatantly socialist nature of the proposed health care reforms. This nation became a socialist country under Lyndon Baines Johnson. There is nothing I can do about that and I cannot see any point in objecting to any pending legislation owing to its "socialist" nature.
And no, I do not expect you to suddenly begin inhaling packaged cookies. Whatever on earth gave you the notion that I was making such a claim? The point I am making is that there are a great many people who do inhale such stuff and that it is making them obese. Such people are responsible for their behavior and no one else. The trouble is, the government is unlikely to treat with us that way.
As I have pointed out, the government is ill-equipped to implement anything other than a one size fits all solution. They will treat with you and I as though we do inhale the equivalent of packaged cookies because that is what so many people do.
Personal responsibility says, "I can take care of myself quite handily, Uncle Sam, thank you very much. No, you are not going to tell me how I must live my life."
foodieteen at 9:06PM on 09/20/09
whoops I forgat to add that that was at 8:33PM on 06/28/09
foodieteen at 9:07PM on 09/20/09
Some sort of political meltdown, and I don't think he got the reaction he wanted here. Afterwards, I wondered whether his whole purpose here was to push his political agenda.
dbcurrie at 9:23PM on 09/20/09
GrumpyOldMan is not the only SE participant who has dropped off the radar -- and politics is not always the root cause of such departures.
GatorPam was an active commenter on a variety of threads in August and September, as well as the instigator of a series of "What's for Dinner" posts and other threads, but seemed to have disappeared after getting some relatively harsh (and arguably uncalled-for) criticism for an attempt at a "one word" Mayo vs. Miracle Whip poll the day after a similar one-word "Coke vs. Pepsi" poll earlier this month.
While I have certainly "dropped the anvil" on a poster or two who have made their very first post an unvarnished shill piece for some product, the sort of claws-fully-extended nastiness that chases off well-meaning (if a bit naive) contributors like GatorPam is really disappointing. Our culinary conversation is the worse for the loss of posters like GatorPam.
Chou Peng Qart at 1:05AM on 09/21/09
@Chou, Grumpy was a different situation, though. He seemed like a likeable old guy, and then one day he posted something and then turned his own thread on its head to spout a bunch of political stuff all the while ranting about how "you buy fast food and don't cook" and a whole bunch of other garbage that didn't make sense considering the users of this site. And it's not like anyone chased him off. He was the one who was itching for the fight. And then he tried going with the same political stuff on other people's threads. And then he disappeared and hasn't been back since.
Unless SE banned him (which I kind of doubt, because they didn't stop the conversations, which they could have) he just left on his own.
Based on some of the things he said, I had a feeling he wasn't as interested in cooking as he pretended to be, which is why I thought the political rant may have been the entire purpose of his visit here. I might be wrong about that, but he lost his interest in food as soon as he brought up politics.
As far as some people getting a little testy, yeah, that happens. It happens in real life, too. And some people here don't like it when a newcomer gets a lot of attention, or when they start something new, like the one-word posts. There have been other people who started similar daily questions who got called on the carpet about it by other posters.
There was someone else who showed up at the same time as Grumpy who was getting a lot of attitude, while Grumpy was being welcomed like a long-lost father. I forget who that other poster was, and it might have been someone who ended up being a troll. But at the time I thought it interesting that one person was so welcome while the other was being shunned.
dbcurrie at 2:09AM on 09/21/09
It's really strange how even something as mindless as an internet jab made in their direction is enough to make a person shy away from a site they've come to like. I know I'm not above it. I've had some not-so-nice things said to me on this site, but I guess you've just got to let it go.
I didn't realize that's what happened to Gator Pam. I actually thought about her the other day. For the first part of the summer I didn't check into this site too often because I had my two small nieces staying with me, but when I started to become a regular again I noticed Pam immedietly because of her what's for dinner posts. I really enjoyed reading what everyone made for dinner; it was interesting. I hope no one hurt her feelings too badly.
As far as Grumpy Old Man goes, if that was his last crazy rant, I'm kind of glad to hear that he went. Is that mean to say? I mean, 1. That's got nothing to do with food and, 2. I don't agree.
PumpkinBear at 2:37AM on 09/21/09
Gator Pam was doing the What's for dinner posts, wasn't she? If you're reading, Pam, come on back.
lemonfair at 6:25AM on 09/21/09
Re: GOM - Sometimes people cease to visit a website for reasons that don't involve the website. i.e. A significant other complains the person is spending too much time online or the former participant has adopted a hobby that's not computer-related. (It's been known to happen...LOL.) Maybe that's his case, maybe it's not - I'm speculating.
Re: GP - I'm sorry her "what's for dinner" threads didn't fly here. I see that quite often on bulletin boards (websites that are strictly bulletin boards and not a part of someone's blog) and they're quite fun. I sometimes am looking for dinner ideas and/or make something up on the fly and wind up posting it to a WFD thread. You can't post pix at SE but I frequently post pix on bulletin boards or FB of what I'm making for dinner.
I have stopped participating actively on two boards for completely different reasons. One of them became so infested with mob mentality that if you so much as implied you disagreed with a "pet participant" ten people would attack. Another reason was that every time I related a life experience, some moron would ask me what study I was citing. I thought, "things were much more fun before the bibliography requirement went into effect." I participated on that board since the early 90's and bailed on it about 2 years ago. When I began posting there, it was a really friendly, open-minded place to discuss cooking.
Another board turned into Jerry Springer with way too much focus on "off topic" folders. I was there because the board was created as a cooking board but it got way off track. I do still visit on occasion but stay away from the OT folders which can easily turn into a cesspool of drama.
Here's my philosophy about online discussion sites: When it is no longer fun, it's time to leave. If a particular site has become hostile or its paradigm has shifted, I try to part as friends and go somewhere else. It makes no sense to sit down at a keyboard to do something that's supposed to be enjoyable and have the blood in my hands run cold.
therealchiffonade at 6:31AM on 09/21/09
He did rant a lot in that last post of his. I remember he directed some pretty nasty comment in my direction on several posts. Yes he had some valuable stuff to offer, but it came hand in hand with his condescension.
gingercookiewithlime at 7:59AM on 09/21/09
I got a kick out of some of the stuff he wrote: quite funny.
But as @gingercookie said: his condescension did get some undies in a knot. Shame though: not only was he knowledgable but funny!
hungrychristel at 9:31AM on 09/21/09
@dbcurrie is correct: We did not ban GOM. While we were concerned about that thread he started and watched it closely, the community seemed to defend itself against his rant. GOM started out as a sort of lovable curmudgeon and actually didn't seem that grumpy—just a bit of a character whose fairly good-natured grumping I think a lot of people got a kick out of. I know I did. And then he sort of let loose with that rant, which seemed out of character for him—or, who knows, maybe he was showing his true stripes. Then maybe he realized people didn't agree with him and took his leave.
I liked GatorPam's "What's for dinner?" posts. They were a sort of like a homeroom check-in before the final bell rang. I suspect the harsh treatment she got for her one-word-answer posts scared her away, though.
Adam Kuban at 10:40AM on 09/21/09
Thank you everyone, for your input - I just wondered what happened - before I went away @GOM was a daily poster and when I came back two weeks later, he was off the radar. @therealchiffonade is correct though, that people leave a website for all sorts of reasons - he WAS curmudgeonly (I remember he was pissed with me and @HeartofGlass once when we questioned the calorie count of a cake he posted), but he seemed so interested in food and recipes and in participating, I hoped he wasn't ill or something. I really enjoyed all the comments. I have belong to SE for almost a year now, I don't do Facebooks or blogs (mostly because of computer illiteracy) and I feel as though SE is a "family."
bareneed at 11:44AM on 09/21/09
@Adam et. al. who know: GatorPam is gone?
She was new too; wasn't she? Also a shame. She was full of fun tips :*(
hungrychristel at 11:51AM on 09/21/09
People come and go and like anything else they change their habits. Real life takes over and then they have different priorities and change their likes and dislikes. When SE first started we had a large close knit group. Some of us are still here and some are off to other places. I often see them on another site or forum. It has been near 4 years I have been here. All things considered on line life is like real life, sometimes your friends hang out other places. Stop worrying.
Agree to disagree and just pass the mashed potatoes...
JerzeeTomato at 12:20PM on 09/21/09
@Jerzee I am still cracking up on yo9ur comment about the winged monkey's, OMG what would be GOM's response if he reads this? Yeah I remember some of his post ruffled some feathers, I wonder what did become of the GOM?
pjracz10 at 2:49AM on 09/22/09
I too feel bad about GatorPam. I also liked GOM, could have done without the political commentary (from anyone on this site really, not just GOM), but as with real life associates and friends, you can't always see eye to eye on all topics. I enjoy coming here for the lite topic of food.
That's why I'm as jolly and friendly as I am.... a people person really. Everything is rainbows, unicorns and sparkly stars in my world! Group hug everyone!
Pavlov at 7:24AM on 09/22/09
@Pav - you forgot to lead us in a chorus of Kumbaya and pass out granola to everyone!
therealchiffonade at 9:48AM on 09/22/09
@hungrychristel: As I post this, Gator Pam's last activity was on 9/4. You can click on anyone's screen name and see what their most-recent activity has been: http://www.seriouseats.com/user/profile/Gator Pam. Other than that, we don't really monitor people with Big Brother accuracy. Mostly we notice that someone has left because there's just something missing. And then it dawns on you: "Hey! I wonder where XYZ went?" People come, people go. I wish they all stayed around, but what can you do?
Adam Kuban at 5:13PM on 09/22/09
ah @ adam thank you! I'm not a foodie-stalker but I try to keep tabs on the ones with knowledge :)
hungrychristel at 1:59PM on 09/23/09