Run with the pack or what is shmeng??? Date Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 06:56 AM PST Topic This Website I have been holding an intense discussion with one of our newer members for about a week now on the nature of Shmeng... not the term, but the site. I have been giving it a great deal of thought. The definition that came to mind was a community: A group of people having common interests; or sharing, participation, and fellowship. In the conversation, I outlined community as a group of like-minded individuals. But it went much more in depth than that. We are a pack. We run together out of a common need, mindset and desire. We started out as a small group of like-minded individuals, with a place to discuss in an elite fashion. Dictionary.com defines elite as “A group or class of persons or a member of such a group or class, enjoying superior intellectual, social, or economic status.” An important article on this site states “Originally, the site was a place for us to be better than everyone else. Not by talking about how much better we are than those idiots, but by talking about Lucid Ideas in an effort to become better than everybody else. I think it's important for us to get back to that, since that is the value of this site. There are thousands of other sites where you can assert your leetness, but there are very few where you can talk about the kind of things that you used to be able to talk about here.” We revel in that. New members, sometimes referred to as newbis and 14.8s, have experienced a peculiar phenomenon while perusing this site. They find that they are not automatically accepted, even if they are friends of a long-standing member. They find what they interpret as hostility and an unwillingness to just welcome them with open arms. In that article posted by Devin Here, definitions of people on the site are listed. And it is said that there is a major difference between cliquishness and elitism. But, still, the newbis are confused as to why we don't just snuggle them. Ask yourself, honestly, which group do you fit into? [pagebreak] I believe that an understanding can be reached by outlining what we want from our home. Not only can the newbis come to understand what Shmeng is all about, and learn WHY things are as they are... but also I believe it will remind us all why we are here. First of all I would like to address my feelings on Shmeng. To some, it is just a website, a place to drop digital interaction and chill. But I have always seen it as something more. The Elders (for lack of a better word) are an incredibly close-knit bunch. The Shmengfest showed that... people coming together and expressing admiration for one another and a sincere respect for one another's intellect. Have you ever had a conversation that was so intense, so deep, that your entire life force was invested in it? Now... let us imagine that conversation went on forever. People joined in with an intense discourse that was more captivating than anything you had ever experienced. That is what we seek to create in Shmeng... and in many cases – we succeed. Now, imagine that someone busts in on your conversation, not adding anything to it, but instead saying something along the lines of (insert valley girl imitation), “like, I totally understand.” -or- “me too” -or- “asl” -or- any of the other inane things that can be said to stop a conversation. It destroys the momentum of thought, screws up the vibe, and what's more, wounds the conversation... sometimes irreparably. Again, imagine: this conversation is happening in your living room, close friends and friends of friends feeding the fires of intellectual and intense discourse... The conversation is almost perfectly executed. THEN – someone you don't know throws your door open... stumbling around, breaking things, moving them and insulting the intelligence of everyone in the room. How would you react? I am willing to bet you would react in an emotionally charged and negative manner. Why do you assume that we would react any different? Why would you be offended by this reaction? Why are you surprised that we get defensive of our territory? Now, some might say (in fact, some have said it) that “Is this a website or is it your life? That way of thinking seems to be far too intense to me when it comes to a website. I understand that it's important to you but isn't that just over reacting just a little bit?” Yes, it is... but Shmeng is not just a website. Shmeng is a community. The members, once they prove themselves able to consistently perform above the standards mandated by that community. Some of you will ask, “how can a website be a community?” Shmeng is just the front door to a group of people that would do almost anything for each other. Like a pack, they may not always get along, or even like each other, but even those Elders that cannot stand one another would walk through the fire for one another. Now – I have stated that we have standards. And that someone wishing to belong to a pack or community must make the effort to live up to the standards set forth by said community. For some, that means that we ask you to conform. I am not sure I can follow that logic, but I have been assured that is the impression taken away from these encounters. [pagebreak] Dictionary.com defines conformity as “correspondence in form or appearance.” With the exception of a few forums, I rarely have seen any set form to postings or submissions. We have never asked articles to look a specific way, or follow any set outlines. More than one new member has asked if we want you to think alike, act alike or be alike. We have never asked that. We would never ask that. “How can you, while pushing for individuality, enforce joining the herd?” That quote is summation of several comments by different newer members. I would like to address that sentiment in its entirety. We do push for individuality. There is no motion for conformity. AND there is no herd. A herd is led, follows blindly and while following they are NEVER aware that they are the same as everyone else, that they are being led, or that they are following. We are a pack - “a group of animals, such as dogs or wolves, that run and hunt together.” We hunt knowledge, intellect, enlightenment and discourse. If you have ever watched the behavior of a pack, you will notice some things. 1) A pack is led, this much is true. But at any one time, any single pack member can and DOES challenge for alpha. 2) A pack does what it does, and members participate willingly. 3) As with a pack in the wild, if a member does not wish to participate... they leave. 4) Every pack member is different. Just like here. If we enforce conformity then I issue the following challenge. Explain how I, Devin, Bettie, Callei, Shade, Schizo, Arthegarn, Rogue, MJ and any of a number of others are conforming to any convention save for a standard of quality. Newer members have asked about right and wrong on the site. Now, I will admit that I am a relativist; “A theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them.” So you will find that I do not believe that there is any right or wrong. An example that I have used - An alligator eats the family dog. Can you fault the alligator for being an alligator? That, to me, seems a bit like blaming the sun for your sunburn. I suggest that there is no right or wrong. There is no guilt to absolve and no moral absolutism. As an example, I cite yet another quote by Devin – this time in the karma free zone - “I can't promise what the reactions of other people will be, but the karma scripts will leave you alone.” To me, that says even though the site and scripts will not do anything, you can do anything, but must accept the consequences for your words or actions. To paraphrase a verse from the bible -all things are allowed, but not all things are expedient. (1 Corinthians 6:12) [pagebreak] Now some will say that by stating there will be consequences, we are stating that there is a ruling law here, but that is not the case. Law outlines a specific, metered, and predictable response, codified so every infraction is handled the same way. Consequences are defined by Dictionary.com as - “Something that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition.” I.E. You touch the fire, you get burned. Some will notice that those who have been here longer may get off easier than those who are new when they fail to live up to the standards of the site. We view this place as a meritocracy - a system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement. That means that you have to prove yourself by submitting and interacting consistently above the standards set by the pack. Once one has proved themselves, they gain a little leeway. Think about it like this – each brilliant thing you contribute (see the article again), you gain a little on the positive side of the ledger. For every idiotic thing you contribute, you gain some negative. If your negative out-numbers your positive, then you are fucked. Those that are in the positive get some leeway, as in they don't go into the red, mentally speaking. We don't really coddle the negative. The true difference between one who is destined to be a brilliant person and a noisy idiot is that the brilliant may come in and make an ass out of himself - but when the pack rounds on him he learns from the experience. The NI (noisy idiot) flees or worse, refuses to learn and sticks around. This may seem childish, like a pack of schoolyard bullies, but we – the Elders and the Pantheon – allow you to exist here in hopes to find another dazzling intellect. I have been informed that many newbis have fled due to the treatment they have received. I personally think that if you cannot learn from it, then you cannot possibly survive here. I would rather turn away 10,000 newbis just to find that one brilliant waiting beyond. Believe it or not, we have all received this treatment. I have repeatedly referred to it as a baptism by fire. When I first came here, I earned the ire of several members. The different between me and those that flee is that I am sure enough about myself, and my ideas that I stuck around and defended my thoughts and ideas in a passionate, but well thought out and well written manner. The newbis, instead, get huffy, get their fragile egos bruised and leave to sulk in their tent like a guy from Chile. (Achilles in his tent? READ A BOOK) Either learn or leave. As for it all being childish, perhaps it is... childlike wonder often accompanies brilliance. BUT, would you fault Vassar or Juliard for having a set standard for the caliber of person they would allow to study? Would you fault a nuclear power plant for having a certain standard of education to operate the equipment? Would you fault the armed forces for having a standard of fitness? If your answer is no, then how can you fault us for having our own standards. We are a pack of like-minded individuals seeking intense discourse and connections in a world severely lacking in both. You come here seeking to belong to our pack. Quit bitching about the treatment you receive and learn from it. If these statements seem too harsh for you, then I recommend you leave now and go here - this is more your speed... we don't want you here anyway. [NOTE: this is the end of the article. The conversation that inspired this piece is available in a sterilized form (names have been removed, etc) I would also like to point out that the word fuck only appears in this piece once. Oops, twice.] This article comes from Shmeng http://www.shmeng.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=708