TT Gossip

Now normally I hate gossip. But I have to face the facts that you cant socialise effectivley with people without pissing them off, if you arent up to date with all the gossip.

For instance, if I go up to A, and ask "hows your friend B" whithout knowing that something recently happened between A and B, then that makes my question look like I am stirring or being a smart arse.

It seems like theres so much secret history behind the scenes on Toytown, that I find it impossible to have a conversation with anyone now without putting my foot in it and offending someone.

So can we please just get everything out in the open? What little "dramas" have been going on that I need to be aware of? Who is currently with who? Who currently hates who?

Who is in which little "clique"? What topics are taboo? That sort of thing.

I will start with my full disclosure:

1. I am currently involved with a non-Toytowner and have never been involved with a Toytowner.
2. I hate noone.
3. I am not a member of any clique and until recently didnt even know there were cliques on TT.
4. Nothing is taboo with me, or about me. I am totally open and secret free.

My god!

Are you sure that's just to do with a lack of being in on the gossip?

Well you tell us what you know first and who was the last person you 'put your foot in with it'?

Ok, I'll spill the Beans first. I am living with fellow TTer and babe supreme, Badger.

Right, who's next?

Well when it happens accidentally (which is always the worst case) then yes.
If I do it deliberatly its all in good fun.

Well I know jack shit, unfortuantley, and I feel that almost every time I start to talk to someone about less than trivial topics I am putting my foot in it.

I'll tell you my deepest, darkest secret...

My middle name is RONALD!!! Yes, I said it...I feel cleansed. Wooohoo!!

well, they say that confession is good for the soul...
i saw iceberg slim naked this morning.

I farted in the lift this morning! Fortunately I was on my own!

i jay walked this morning trying to get the bus to work.

It's supposed to be gossip, not confessions...

I heard that toast & Iceberg slim are an item?

Kza, nice try! You know my feelings... I think it is good to put your foot in it sometimes, as either the people can put you straight, or if they have a problem with what you say they should sort out their own issues rather than putting it on you.

I for one have never "been" with a TT guy (or girl, for that matter!), and would be extremely wary to do so having seen how it gets gossiped around. I hate gossip and believe thy shalt love thy fellow TT member... and privacy is also good sometimes.

Oh.. but as for confessions.. I also saw Iceberg slim naked this morning, you really should close your blinds, you're dazzling me on the other side of town...

Perhaps the answer to this clueless problem could just be a few new check boxes on our profiles. Something like: Relationship Status: 'Available', 'Married', 'Married But Available' or 'Currently Monogamous', and 'Gay', 'Straight', or 'Will Sleep With Anything That Runs Slower Than I'.

Kza, just stay the way you are and no one should feel offended.

I guess we all agree that there has suddenly been to much gossip around. That unfortunately is the reason why some "Old skool TT's" don't feel confortable anymore. No one should have anything to hide and noone should say anything about another person. And it should not matter who has been with a tt or non-TT ever? I dont understand the problem if it happened?!? can somebody explain me the problem? Gossip only arises out of not making sense clues or public scenes. So if you avoid that, you should be fine. I completely share ur point Kza.
If somebody wants to know something about me go up and ask me. It's my decision to answer or not.

PS: Pootle, that pic is disgusting. Defintely not what my empty stomach needs

thats what u dream of, everytime u wake up in stockholm

Kza, I think this is your cunning plan for collecting the juiciest bits of TT gossip without appearing to do so, he-he Or maybe it's just a case of Friday morning being-bored-stiff and you've found a good antidote in this thread?...

As I'm mainly an online member and have only ever been to a couple of TT "live" events, I hereby proclaim my innocence of any intimate knowledge of any juicy gossip about TTers, or indeed the juicy bits of any TTers per se, so help me Whatever's out there. Sorry to disappoint you, Kza...

I'm with Foxy, have no particular problems with anybody, but do think that this board has more shit on it than ever before - is it just me who thinks that (unsurprising as I now live in the UK), or does anybody else think that it's lost some of the quite nice 'intimacy' that it once had?
/opens can of worms and pisses off to a meeting

I think basic tact and good sense should solve your foot-in-mouth problems. Don't ask prying questions -- and darn it, you're old enough to know what a prying question is, Kza.

I'm with TC. I'm mainly an online member as well, so I'm a bit outside the realm of TT gossip. Sorry if the intimacy of the board has been ruined for you, Jimbo. It's still there for me, since I've never been particularly close to any of you folks.

To quote TT rules -

1.8 Do not post personal information about any other Toytown Member without prior express consent from that member. Personal information includes, but is not restricted to: e-mail addresses, real name, telephone number or address, photographs of that member.

I guess private information such as gossip would fall in to this category as well.

ah! revelation! clearly the reason why i am constantly single is that all the ladies are worried about the gossip that would result if they were involved with such a lynchpin of TT society as me.

that must be it...

I just fell off my chair...

I think part of the problem is this "old-school" designtation. I personally have been fairly involved in events and so forth and have not heard too much gossip. The very idea of old-school is sort of laughable. This is a board for expats and is therefore going to have high turn-over. It is not a union and I for one don't much care if someone feels they have seniority or not. If you are no longer comfortable with the membership of this board, then exercise your right not to participate.

An open forum like this cannot be governed, the vibe can't be mandated and the direction can't be controlled. It is a living, breathing entity and will go as it pleases. Attempts to direct it would kill what makes it so great. I think Editor Bob has exactly the right approach by not getting involved in the goings on of the community.

Miss your old friends? set up an event for them - or make new ones.

On the other hand, people go out, get a bit crazy and, well, water-cooler talk will ensue come monday. Human nature.

The fact is that there are a ton of members now, and that the board has grown rapidly over a short period of time. There will inevitably be cliques - but more than that not everyone has something in common with everyone else. So what?

I for one see nothing wrong. If you don't want to be talked about, don't act like an ass in front of 150 people. But then, I'm new-school.

Jimbo mate, we said that after you arrived as well

Sine waves, that's what it's all about.

@Brummie,

no, dear, it's just that you're waaaay too young for girlfriends and whatnot, as we all established shortly before the 35+ get-together. Experimenting with Ken and Barbie will have to do for you for now.

3 Lions not gonna be up for that I reckon.

@Hellcat: I need some gossip on Brummie...What has he and Pao been up to lately...

@Keydeck - yeah, yeah. yeah... I know - and that's the point - I'm not really bothered either way - predominately because I live in the UK now, and secondly because as Iceberg put it TT is a living breathing entity and it will take its own direction. The people that used TT regularly when I joined have to a large extent gone - they have either left Munchen or just no longer post, much in the same way that the people that joined when I did are in the process of leaving/playing less of a part (Big C, Sparty, Beans, Foxy etc etc.), and so now the 'next generation' take over - though of course Keydeck will be an ever present force...anyway, I'm not starting that debate again, as it's been done to death on the board, and indeed over a few beers at GMs.

@canuck - you don't wanna know!

Farce mate, the word you're looking for is farce

But hey, if TT in Munich keeps a bloke London in touch with a bloke in Stockholm then I'm all for it.

Okay, first of all, for the gossip, that would take weeks to get updated on . If you put a group of people together like us together (us meaning age group, ex pats) and we all see each other as often as we do, AND many of us are single, then there will of course be a certain amount of gossip. You can't avoid that, its like high school almost.

As for old skool, well, why are people taking offence to this? It is tough seeing most of your friends leave, i have had to say good bye to so many people since April. That doesn't mean I don't want to meet new people, or that I don't like the way the board is running, it's just an expression. It's not meant to alienate anyone, or make people feel inferior if you're new skool. I have met so many people who have come onto tt recently and I am really happy to have met them. If you don't like the way the board is running anymore, than you don't come on it anymore, period.

for me 'old skool' is just people i don't have to explain: who i am , what i do, how long i've been here and how much german i speak when i meet them.

Instead i just get 'oh it's you' and 'cheer up you grumpy bastard'.
which is not necessarily better.

not "cheer up".. "wake up"
but you were very, very awake last Friday so I'll let you off, what a fun night!

I'm together with a non-TTer (in fact a Münchner) and have never been to a TT function. The only TTer I know is Hazza, and that is because he owns the first pub in Munich to play the Aussie rules grand final live (thanks again Hazza). When I first logged on to TT, I thought that it was a great site with lots of info, but I also got the impression that it was quite cliquey. Complaining that it is not as "intimate" as before certainly adds to that impression. Now, however, from what I have read I think that most people are certainly open to newcomers. Just try to remember that this is not a closed board. There are a lot of people out there (and I know a couple) who check out this board regularly, but never contribute and have never gone to any functions. I don't find it a huge issue myself, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

BTW. What is the protocol with board-nicknames when you meet each other. Do people still call each other by their nicknames when they meet in person? Just curious.

Brummie: could it be that David Hasselhof + puppies pic in your profile?

Ever thought of following that up with "Oh sorry I did not know."?

This is always going to happen with people you meet occasionally and I personally do not see the problem with that. Or are you expecting us to broadcast all of our secrets as well as possible grey areas to avoid in any discussion with us?

Best thing to do is limit conversations to the weather and Eastenders. Although that could lead to "How inconsiderate. My best friend was struck by lightning whilst trying to re-position his satellite dish because he could not get a decent reception to watch Eastenders"...

Bludger: I have only been around in Toytown for about 6 months and don't go to every event that's happening (I too have a life of my own) but I've been to a fair cross-section and I can say that any cliqueyness that may come across on the board does not seem to occur in real life. On the contrary, I have found everyone most open and welcoming, and I hope that I am no different.

As for your BTW: that is indeed a good point. Although introductions tend to take place using both, it seems that the online handle sticks as often as the real name, unless you are actually taking to the person in question. After all, it is unique, which amongst a host of Daves and Chrisses is fairly practical.

i think it's interesting that this website is complex enough for us to be talking about what other people say about what people write on the board...

metametadialogue or summat.
people; give them any chance and they'll start gossiping, 'cos we're social animals innit. We've got evolutionary traits that attempt to make all social groups self-governing by accumulating information about everyone else.

TT is an anarchy in a certain sense.

Well, my feeling is, you tend be more aggressive when you are a newbie because you do not know most of the people on the otherside. As you get to know more and more in real life you will realize that most of us are just normal people trying to be whacky at times. When you know someone it is also easy to understand the tone of their comment. Otherwise even simple things are easily misinterpreted and therefore you react differently. I see no point in getting into controversies online. I personally try to steer myself away because 9 out of 10 times it wont get you anywhere. But again thats me.

I have no problem with anyone having memories about a time they preferred to now in TT history. What I take umbrage to about the "old-school" saying is that it is almost always used in a context that implies "we didn't have these problems back in the day. it must be these new people."

Fact is, you probably did have the very same observation (as Jimbo and a search of the archives seem to attest to) the other fact is that life goes on. I know of quite a bit of this so-called "gossip" and it basically amounts to "did you know so and so kissed so and so" and "I think blah is a bitch, if you don't think blah is a bitch then you're not my friend anymore and we can't play together."

But all in all, I would say that for a group of this size all is relatively copacetic. I just think that there are more vocal people as a percentage of the TT population on the board than before. And as a wise man named Jeeves points out, there is very little of this in real life TT.

It is still a great community. Except for Brummie. I caught him making an affirmative conclusion from a negative premise once and I'll never speak to him again - as well I think beards are stupid. Oh and I saw him turn off the television and pick up a book. disgusting altogether.

Tchoh. don't you just hate it when people do that!
Grr.

Nah, my pet peeves are the slippery slopes and straw men.

Ok shit. I'm guilty. I take back the stuff I said about Editor Bob being a smoking hot chick. I mean I didn't say she was easy or nothing but the part about the hot pants and telling newbies to go over there and stuff might have implied she could be easy peasy lemon squeezy. Anyway I take it back cause, well it was wrong for me to out her and well, she's really not that hot off the motorcycle. All that other stuff still applies. Spuds on the other hand, has a rack that just won't quit.

Oh and PS: before anyone pms me again about being a male chauvanist pig, Im taking a piss - which I normally do sitting down in a skirt mind you so no one get their hello kitty jock straps in a wad. oinky oinky over and out.

PS: Bubble Gum that was a biotching trailer. We should buy it and charge Japanese tourists rides.

Not that I'm one to spread gossip mind (leans in close over virtual fence to whisper), but I heard Brummie done them too. And an appeal to authority. I think he's just plain evil. But who am I to say, I'm just trying to earn an honest living and I don't like to say bad about no one. If you aven't got nuffin' nice to say, my mum says, then don't say nuffin' at all. Don't stop Brummie now though does it? Heard he doesn't even go to church. And he eats babies with Tabasco sauce.

Oh and pps: I don't know why half of yous is single. I could pimp you out (into loving romantic relationships thats is) back in my old SF hood easily. You all is a bunch of cutie pies. No joking

Can anyone back me up here? I mean doesn't anyone else meet (insert TT name here) and think hey he/she would be perfect fo X back home?

I was perfect for X, then she ran off with Y. she didn't know how good she had it.

jml you're brilliant! we can make a FORTUNE taking japanese tourists through Europe on those HK trailers!

@IS: Yeah but now you got Brummie. Bless that book reading, positive affirmating, evilness. Psst. I heard Toast ...ah nevermind.

@BG:

you heard toast what? watch it girl- i've got eyes everywhere.

hark at our little turing machine up there.

never gets blind drunk and forget his use/mention distinction does he?
square.

as for books, well that's just slander. What goes on in my room is only my business. unfortunately