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Reminder: Keep comments on topic!
posted by
Patrick Crowley
on
September 1, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Lately, we’ve noticed many Cinema Treasures attacking each other. There are several theater pages where spirited debates about preservation have gotten increasingly personal.
These off-topic personal attacks clutter up theater comments, making it difficult to find what people are actually looking for — information and discussion about classic movie theaters. (They also prevent the people who created and help run this website from working on more important issues.)
So, to address this problem, we’d like to remind everyone about our terms of use. If you engage in any of the following actions, we will take appropriate action:
• Posting off-topic comments that taunt or bait other users
• Attacking or otherwise slandering fellow users, preservation officials, or theater managers — even if you have a legitimate grievance, this website isn’t the place for it
• Creating duplicate accounts for the purpose of attacking other Cinema Treasures users
• Posting comments that are racist, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, and otherwise against our terms of use.
The first time you violate any of theses rules you will receive a warning. The second time your posting privileges will be suspended for a month. The third time you will be banned from the site.
…
Please remember why we are all here — to discover, to preserve, and to protect. In the spirit of community and preservation, please leave the personal attacks out on the playground, so to speak, where they belong.
Thanks for your help!
Patrick Crowley & Ross Melnick
Cinema Treasures
Comments (100)
You are correct, Moviemanforever. Some users might believe this behavior is ok, so that’s why we’re reminding people what is acceptable (and making it clear what the penalty is for unacceptable behavior).
As for posting long paragraphs, while that might be annoying to you personally, it’s obviously not a good reason to ban users.
For item #2, I hope you aren’t saying that people can’t criticize local theatre management. There’s lots of legitimate criticism people can make about movie selection, physical condition, and presentation. I like seeing these topics discussed here.
This debate is getting pretty spirited! I agree with Moviemanforever and Ron Newman.
Critiques on large chains where decisions have impacted negatively, the presentation quality, are key to improving same. Does the naming of those individual executives cause a problem?
It might be no different from someone saying that Samuel Goldwyn made a boo-boo when he didn’t sign Red Skelton to star in a feature version of the Howdy Doody Show.
Patrick and Ross… I agree with Ron Newman and must take issue with your 2nd bullet point regarding the attack of “theater management, or local preservation officials — even if you have a legitimate grievance, this website isn’t the place for it."
First… I think we should define “attack”. If by that you mean criticism, then I have to disagree. The masthead of the website commands “Discover. Preserve. Protect.” What better forum than here for people to discuss and analyze (and criticize if need be) the efforts of those individuals, corporations or agencies who hold oversee the daily operation of these “treasures” and hold in their hands the power to “preserve” and “protect” our cinematic heritage?
I’m all for the elimination of personal attacks between members, but if you were to ban all those on this website who have zealously complained about shoddy presentation at a given theater or poor programming or careless neglect and those who have railed against the blatant disregard from local politicians that have met certain preservation efforts, this site would lose its vitality along with a lot of good poeple who have contributed much to the success and enjoyment of Cinema Treasures over the last 3 years.
I mean, if one doesn’t think that the present situations involving the RKO Keith’s and Trylon Theater in Queens, NY, don’t represent acts of politically sanctioned vandalism on the scale of the old Penn Station travesty, then I would have to question one’s very belief in and dedication to the concept of cinema preservation.
Guys, I’ve clarified the language in the 2nd point… we’re concerned with direct personal attacks.
Posts about general theater management issues — presentation quality, general upkeep, programming, all that stuff — are still acceptable (even if they’re critical).
If you feel it necessary to directly name and criticize someone, think about the consequences first. One post might be acceptable, but an endless series of comments about a person (Paul Warshauer comes to mind) are no longer going to be tolerated. Even if you’re 100% in the right… this sort of discussion doesn’t belong on our theater pages.
While I’ve got your attention … is there any way the search function can be beefed up? Too often lately, I’ve found it much faster to find a theatre’s CinemaTreasures page via Google than by using your site’s own search facility.
Forget testing the waters. We are visitors to their site. It’s their rules.
Thanks for the clarification, Patrick. While you might not feel it was needed, I think it was. The initial posting above seemed a little broad. I agree that slander and malicious attacks should be discouraged. We are a rambunctious bunch and we sometimes let our passions get the better of us. Thanks again.
Looking optimistically forward, now… Any update on what lies ahead for Cinema Treasures in terms of enhancements, new features or other developments of interest to the membership?
Oh, and dare I broach the subject of clemency for the departed CT member (and prolific contributor) Lost Memory? His passions may have certainly gotten the better of him from time to time, but in light of this new re-stating of comment posting policy, is the relationship between him and CT beyond repair? Surely there were no completely innocent victims in the flame wars that raged on the Ridgewood and Willard Theater pages.
True, I don’t know all the facts about what went on outside of the comment pages, but the situation concerns me as it does a number of loyal CT members who enjoyed his colorful style and the invaluable information he provided on so many theater pages on this site.
We’re working on improving search, Ron… but it’s a tough problem to fix. For now, Google is definitely a good workaround. BTW, we’ve substantially improved the performance of theater pages… so you should find them generally faster and more reliable now.
There are definitely no hard feelings about Lost Memory, Ed.
We very much value his contributions to Cinema Treasures, and look forward to his return. He’s posted over 7,000 comments to the site, the vast majority of which are awesome. But things had gotten out of hand lately, so it was necessary to suspend him for a while.
And, before you ask, we realize he wasn’t the only person involved in the flaming, so we’ll be speaking with other users, as well.
Moviemanforever — we expect you to act like an adult, and to keep your comments on topic and otherwise compliant with our terms of use.
If you’re unable to do that, then, yes, we will take action.
Thanks for whatever you can do to improve search. Sometimes now, I can type in a simple word like “Somerville” and have it take 60 seconds or more to give me back a list of search results.
“It’s easy to posture when you hide behind the security of the Internet.” Under the circumstances, doesn’t that comment kind of cut both ways?
Relax, Movieman.
Cinema Treasures has been and will remain an open forum to talk about movie theaters PRECISELY because I am a VERY STRONG believer in free speech. (Ask Ross and Bryan about all the times I’ve defended the right of a user to post a less-than-flattering comment about a theater, this website, or almost anything else.)
Our basic comment policy is staying the same… we’re just taking a moment to remind people who might have forgotten about it. And we’re now making it clear that we will take action if you contribute to yet another flame war.
This is a common-sense policy, and I think most reasonable people will see that.
Wow.
I feel like I’m watching something being broadcast from ‘The Surreal Network’. If Moviemanforever isn’t either a) a plant or b) taking the mickey out of everyone, then I’d say someone had one bowl too many of CrankyFlakes this morning. (With too many special sprinkles, to boot.)
Here’s to civility and propriety.
So when are we getting our proper discussion forums…?
I suppose I am party to this conversation.
The biggest enjoyment I get from your site is relating experiences gathered during an active period of cinema research when I was a lot younger and things I notice as I travel around the country today. Really, I have been around the theatre business since I was born.
But I know that people come to your site looking for suckers. There are a lot of good-hearted people with love for an old theatre that wouldn’t know a con man if they saw one coming. If you are going to let people with unconfirmed credentials (Example: I have a chain of theatres and want to buy more from Cinema Treasures members, but I won’t tell you where my theatres are) post messages relating to investment opportunities I intend to ask the author some questions. My intention is always to keep conversation level. But things of this nature have a way of temporarily straying off course.
If I am banned, so be it.
One of the passions and loves of my life are old theatres both indoor and drive ins. I look forward to visiting this site daily. Please don’t spoil it with sillyness and pettyness, thanks Craig
If you follow our guidelines, you have nothing to worry about, Life’s too short.
Asking questions about investment opportunities is totally reasonable. Nothing we’ve outlined here prevents you (or other users) from researching such an opportunity carefully.
Well, it’s Friday, folks. And I’m heading off to celebrate the holiday weekend.
I hope everyone has a nice weekend. If you have any more concerns, feel free to email me!
What happened to Lost Memory is a travesty of justice. Why was he not given a warning. He was instantly sent to penalty phase two. One of the top contributors of this website treated with less respect than manure. I find that very disturbing. Perhaps I could forward your email address to him EdSolero so you might hear his side of the events first hand.
Mikemovies, my email address is openly provided in my profile and you are most certainly welcome to pass it along to Lost Memory. All Lost has to do to contact me is go to my profile and click on “E-mail”. I’d love to hear from him. I also hope he plans on coming back to the fold. I miss having him around to break my chops and poke fun at my long multi-post monologues on some of the less popular theater pages on this site! And whenever any of us get into a discussion about when a theater opened or when it was twinned or triplexed, he’s johnny on the spot with that C of O information!
This site needs him back and I have to trust that whatever differences exist between him and CT management can be worked out amicably. I do wonder why it was he alone who was singled out for disciplinary action, but I have no plans to insert myself into whatever disagreements there may be between the parties. I just hope we can all rise above it and move on with some dignity. In the end, Patrick and Ross have still not mandated that conversations on this site must be restricted to historical facts and statistics pertaining to each theater, merely that we do not engage in sedition. I see that as a decision in favor of the more liberal view of comment thread subject matter shared by Lost, myself and others on this site.
As a courtesy, however, to the membership at large, we must acknowledge that with that kind of latitude, comes the responsibility to know just how far such anecdotal musings should carry the conversation away from theater specifics. I think we all know when a thread gets a bit out of hand and really just becomes a “chat session” between a handful of members. For the better enjoyment of ALL concerned, I think we should agree to exercise some restraint and resolve to take conversations off-line when they become completely disassociated with a specific theater. And on the same token, we might also agree to be a bit more accepting of the diversity in this amazing forum and stop chiming in to admonish and chastise other members as if they were children when they share a tangential memory.
Oh brother… there you go getting me on my soapbox and sermonizing like a street corner preacher! Anyway, that is the way I feel and I’ll gladly suffer the flames from folks on either side who feel I’m off base. But, as always, I will not engage in a flame war. Have a great holiday weekend, everyone! Lost… come on back home!
It would be nice if the site had a forum to discuss more general topics, so that we had somewhere to talk about things not related to one specific thing. Sure, other theater sites that, but they are largely different communities for whatever reason.
I agree. I’ve been saying this for some time now.
The individual cinema listings are not where some of the discussions that do invariably occur, should take place. In fact, by definition, they’re not intended for ‘discussion’, they’re ‘listings’ intended to record pertinent information about cinema treasures.
We need a place for unfettered exchanges. I’m not talking about ‘gloves off imbroglios’, but healthy discussion not restricted by conservative guidelines. (I"ve read some of the stuff that prompted the latest actions and though amusing, is entirely out of place.) Surely a site prompted by passion should have a place where it can move about freely?
Such an interface would also allow members to privately message each other, regardless of whether their email is listed in their profiles. This would also keep a lot of irrelevance off the listings. However, I suppose bandwidth is an important consideration. But there does need to be some expansion of discussion forums. For example, it doesn’t seem to make much sense to have discussion of operators like Cineplex Odeon or Balaban & Katz or Loews spread out across dozens of different listings. Maybe even a wiki of some sort would be a useful edition.
I have passed the information on EdSolero. While some may postulate that justice was served, that can only be true when the other combatant receives equal discipline. As you have noted EdSolero ‘I do wonder why it was he alone who was singled out for disciplinary action’, many people ponder the very same question. For however long lostmemory has been denied access, so should the other combatant involved here. Failure to do so makes these new rules bias and ineffective. They must be applied equally to everyone. The sooner this occurs the sooner we can put this unfortunate incident behind us. Perhaps a chat area would be of help. At least off topic remarks would be better contained.
For some of these discussions, may I suggest the CinemaTour.com forums?
CinemaTour Forum isn’t a fun spot for discussion. There is one guy who uses a handful of alias and talks to himself about theatres in Southern California. If you try to change the subject, he emails you with a reprimand for going off topic. A very strange place.
Wouldn’t it be great if Lost Memory had his own website?
Gabby:
That’s odd about Cinematour.com. It is run from film-tech and neither site allows aliases. If you know someone using an alis you should inform the moderators at those sites.
I don’t post frequently at CinemaTour, but I do post there, and have never been told that I have to talk about Los Angeles.
I understand the need to gab, and some people are rather good at it, but the original purpose of these sites was to share information, NOT personal opinions or gripes. Now, this discussion is turning to criticism of Cinema Tour. It’s time to restrain ourselves, fellows, else put a burden on Treasure’s staff to do it for us! Patrick seemed to be mostly incensed at the ‘flaming’ that was going on, and you can’t blame him for that. Unrestrained passions —especially when they take the form of attacks upon people— can quickly destroy the tenor and usefulness of a site, and the honchos here have gone to a lot of effort to establish their site as a respected authority in the field. There is no reason for them to turn it over to gossip mongers for the tittilation of such ones.
As to an “Open Forum”: we must be reasonable as to the problems such an un-moderated space would bring: intense flaming, sheer gossip unrelated to theatres, and then thinly veiled ads for some things better not mentioned in polite society. And that is just what the fellows wanted to create: a Polite Society of keen observers who would delight to share their memories of theatres, NOT impressions of other people born more of someone’s “passion” than good taste. If you disagree with a FACT that someone states, give your version with stated proofs, but then consider that you have reached an impasse, and leave it at that. I applaud their ‘get tough’ policy, but pity their added time needed to police the Comments of any such a forum if moderated (and isn’t an un-moderated forum just a cess pool that would blight this entire site?!). When we are rude in our language we require editing which takes away from their time and their lives as well. Have a caution, all; other sites have disappeared from our screens for lesser reasons than this!
This should go to a paid site………….
Good suggestion.
I think my $10/month for my subscription to IMDb.com for unfettered, wide-ranging discussions about all-things-flimic is worth it, as is the money I spend at sports forums and screenwriting discussion group sites, etc. I mean, good exchanges are worth these subscription fees, right? ‘Put your money where your mouth is’ and all that.
Who says the Internet should be free, anyway? If you’re sitting at a cafe or in a bar exchanging views, you’ve got to effectively pay to be there, so I’m up for shelling out some dough to be able to freely discuss stuff about cinema treasures.
Sign me up!
Sign me up for a paid $$ Cinema Treaures site!!
I have no idea what you were arguing about, or with whom, or where. But you have made many valuable contributions to Boston-area theatre pages, and I would hate to see you go away.
It’s always nice to have differing views, but going for the dirt does absolutely no good. A person that uses vulgar language, racial slurs, or forms a vendetta against someone is seldom taken seriously anyway. I am relatively new to this site, and until now, the only distasteful things I have run across are a few of the answers to this topic.
I hope this site goes on for a long time. It’s a great place for old showmen to get together and remember the good old days. Having discord really takes away the fun.
One thing is certain, some one at CT needs to browse comments posted (especially on Oklahoma pages) and remove outdated web address links, useless comments, and delete information that is not accurate. This would give the site a better look altogether!
That would be a huge burden on the CT ‘staff’, considering the number of theatres pages we now have. Perhaps converting to a wiki would address this problem, by allowing all of us collectively to update the information.
But the problem here isn’t one of information. Let’s keep the issues straight. The one is of accuracy, the other of civility. The posts I’ve read that are contentious, the inflammatory ones, the ones that brought about this present situation are, admittedly rare. But they’re so out of place on this site. Think about it; we’re not talking about a site where we’re discussing sports. Or religion. Or politics. Ostensibly, each of the CT listings should really only contain substantive information on that cinema. However…
Here’s my take on ‘When good listings turn bad’: people like being here. They like being somewhere there’s commonality. There’s a certain comfort. And somewhere along the line, the comfort starts becoming something expansive…you want to talk about more than just the precise history of the cinema. You want to talk about things connected to the listing…but maybe not quite. But these are not forums. They’re historical descriptions. And most of what turns into contentious situations should never have started in the wrong place…but there’s nowhere else for the rambunctious ones to play. So windows get broken. Cats get kicked. Slurs get tossed around. Mayhem ensues.
Bad behaviour is bad behaviour. But I do believe there should be a place on this site for more animated, less ‘listings-driven’ discussion. To say ‘go elsewhere’ is not a reasonable option. There’s a clear need here; this need should be considered, not dismissed out of hand because it’s no in line with the site owners' original intent.
Lost Memory, so happy you are still around. I would like to think Warren, Ed and I are happy you are.
Even when we think you are are tiresome, we know we can be too.
New paragraph!
Not that there is anything wrong with that that.
This site is very tame compared to a lot of stuff on the internet. A BBoard/Forum would be nice here. But remember, this a free site and such an upgrade costs real money. I actually think it’s kind of funny that cinema fans can go out of control. It doesn’t fit their otherwise sedate intellectual image.
Well-put, schmadrian. What if the discussion board were a paid-member area of the site? It would give members both an incentive to financially support the site and provide a forum for greater discussion which is mainly of interest to more dedicated members anyway. I think that http://www.straightdope.com/ has an arrangement along those lines. I think the wiki idea has some merit too, but it seems like implementation could be tricky.
A paid site wouldn’t work for me. I’m dirt poor and just make paying rent on my apartment. I’ve been in the theater industry 30 years and have seen many old, closed, deserted, restored, open theaters. I’ve contributed information on some Washington state theaters and to have to pay to contribute/discuss theaters would lock me out.
Not only is a Wikipedia-like board difficult to impliment, but it makes for a plethora of contradiction and even deliberate misinformation. We flatter ourselves that all participants are equally informed and of equal intelligence and integrity. Sad to say, nothing could be further from the truth. As this site is, the Comments already provide a “self-correcting” structure with a Comment stating one thing, and then another modifies its contensions. Some groups such as THSA refused for some years to link to Treasures for precisely this reason of misinformed ‘contributions,’ but now the site has grown such that a greater number of informed individuals are present to write concrete messages that dispell speculation. I applaud the vision of the founders who realized that the present structure would work over time without the expensive structure and monitoring that a ‘wiki’ operation would involve. Legitimate differences of opinion as to fact can be voiced here without someone finding his hours of labor erased by someone doing their ‘editing’ with perhaps much less background and knowledge than the contributor. Hence a ‘theatres wikipedia’ would not be authorative nor informative, but only another thing to correct and police for the owners of this site.
Would making it a ‘pay’ site help? I think not. Money always brings problems and fogs integrity. Bookeeping, payment clearances, requests for refunds, renewals, etc., etc. would soon bedarken their days out of all proportion to the benefits of revenue received. It would no longer be a Not-For-Profit entity, and the tax laws would apply, which means hiring accountants for audits, etc. Yes, it is easy for some to speculate that such a fee-based structure would help, but they don’t have to do the work involved. Kind readers, content yourselves, please, with what they have given you here, and do not bite the hands that have fed you. If your satisfaction comes only from argumentation, please take such elsewhere where civilization is not highly prized.
It looks like the search function has been turned off entirely. I don’t know why. I just searched by name for several well-known theatres and couldn’t find any of them. I also get no results when I search by city for places like Boston and Chicago.
Sheesh even a page about staying on topic goes off topic. How did the topic change to a pay website? Wasn’t this topic about rules and staying on topic? It is easy to stray off topic now and then isn’t it fella’s. haha Welcome back lostmemory. It’s good to see your name on a comment again.
Well, sure it’s on-topic. The post is about avoiding inflammatory comments; we’re considering what causes these issues and brainstorming and discussing the merits of ways to avoid these situations in the future. A healthy, constructive, disscussion without personal attacks- exactly what this community needs more of! And the veering off-topic serves as an illustration of why another type of forum could be useful- keep the main thread of conversation on-topic while allowing more dialogue to spin off.
lost memory love your posts..
Welcome back, Lost! Glad to have you “found” once again (insert rim-shot here). I hope things work out so that you continue to contribute for a good long time. And, no, I don’t think I would think or do any differently were I in your place. It will be interesting to see if Patrick responds here or in private to you about doling out further penalties as a result of this episode. Whatever happens, I just hope it is found to be just by all sides and we can move in with our happy little dysfunctional community ASAP.
Brian Wolf my post was a tongue in cheek comment about going off topic and how simple it can be. No offense was intended. EdSolero it appears that the wheels of justice have come to a screeching halt. Perhaps his participation in this fiasco is being condoned for some unknown reason.
Well, if we’re admitting tongue-in-cheekedness, then I’ll ‘fess-up to mine, about being willing to pay to have a more expanded arena for discussion.
I don’t pay for the opportunity to discuss online, anywhere. I only pay for access to sites where I’m getting something I can’t get anywhere else…and even then, it’s gotta be something really exclusive.
I don’t think that the benefits of an attached ‘message board’ setup to Cinema Treasures will ever happen, because I sense it’s outside the scope of what the owners here believe to be important.
And there is always CinemaTour…
The difference between general chat, and theatre specific makes a huge difference, in my opinion. If one wants to discuss moviegoing in general, here, there are plenty of news stories to comment on. Or if one feels inclined to discuss their own favorite neighborhood theatre, one can find it and talk about it under that heading. There’s a largeness about this site that makes it the best.
For those bewildered about this issue, go to the pages for Loew’s Willard (4040) and Ridgewood (4021) theaters, both in Queens, NYC, and scroll thru the postings made in August 2006.
I like hearing a little about the old neighborhoods and type of films the theatre showed. It adds a unique personality to those theatre pages.
As for the story of plaster, I scroll on when irony eludes me.
Perhaps AlAlvarez has given a solution to the off topic comment problem. If a message does not interest you; just ‘scroll on’. This idea seem’s much better then the incendiary replies that some folks feel obligated to post in response to an off topic comment.
Lifes To SHort is one of those that take things and percieve them to be how he wants it to be regrdless of the proof or not, i know that the above reference is about Chalet Theaters and we do and can prove all of what we day, however if you would like i can have my attorney contact you and or yours and they can discuss the issues that you have with me or anyone else, in fact, lets do that since this is not the place to talk, i urge you to give me the contact info where we can prove the things we have and then take what you have said to the next level, i will await your reply, thank you
Well said but in a above captioned title from Lifes, they refered to me and my company, i agre that this place is not the place to ‘tell tales’ but whenpeople such as this posts references to me, i do somewhat become agitated, and need to be able to prove the otherwise slanderous postings, it is a easy trail to follow and can show the trail if needed, I am sorry but sometimes, when those posts inflict harm on another, its not easy to ignore, and i also agree that one person above gets a 8 day suspension and the other did not is NOt fair, , so be it guys take care and have fun!
If Life’s too short was talking about your theater chain in his September 1st posting, sctheaters, I certainly wasn’t aware of it until you made the connection yourself in your comment of 1:02pm today. Life might have been thinking about your chain, but he was considerate enough to discuss the situation in general terms. Surely, yours is not the only company to have made propositions such as that described on this site before… I’ve seen several similar scenarios pop up in the News items in the past.
I’m sure Chalet Theaters is an established company. But I’m also mystified by the fact that when you google your company 3 of the 4 entries refer back to this website.
View link
We get a few more entries when googling ‘sctheaters’, but still 4 0f 6 refer back to this website.
View link
I guess you are a new firm in the theater business. What state do you operate out of?
I have no ideal why Google refers what to what, i am unconcerned about google, there is ONE good thing about google, if you put in the company called Grande Venues you sure will get a LOT of info, this is one of the companies that took us for a LONG ride, that and the person thats named above ( Paul W.) However we are a IL company and have been in business for 13 years, we are not a big company and we try and buy only the small guys theaters, the ones that towns need and are closed, we do not do the multi screen fads and ty and just give wholesome entertainment for a small amount, as far as google at least there is nothing bad about us, thats a good sign, take care,
Youare correct Edsolero BUT he refered to us as not being valid and made remarks that we might be a scam or not be for real, however, one only has t check the state of IL and do a corp search to find out we are a real company with real assets, This was the only thing i was trying to get across, that remarks such as those can get you into court and they should not be made public here IF they cannot be based on fact, i have bought several tehaters recently to rehab and reopen, this site is a godd site but it DOES NOT make our company money and even if i report this and that and what i have done, it will not help my theaters because, most of the people here and that read on this site, do not come to any one theater, i just choose to not publisize all my info as it does not help me in the business, there is one thing i will say though to some out there, ‘ If you will check, my dad, owned the Brazos Twin Drive In Theater in Texas ( Angleton at that time) for many years, there company built it so i ahve been around in the movie industry for amny many years, and was a projectionist for that Twin in 1974-77
Again, I don’t see Life’s too Short referring to your company at all in any specific manner on this page. That you are implicating yourself in his accusation, is all I am pointing out. Now, if you are talking about a debate you and he have been carrying out in another page or news item, then I stand corrected. But why bother linking your company to his comments on this page? I don’t want to make a federal case of it. Respond if you like, but I’m ready to move on.
Yes, it is linked to where if you go and look you will find out i posted a front page article on Chalet Theaters needs one more, he was refering to me,,, thanks have a good one, i dont care if i refered to me, again Cinema Treasures does nothing to make my books red or black,
Let me make sure I understand what has transpired. You have entered a conversation on keeping comments within respectable bounds and threatened a law suit because you think I mentioned you above, although your name was never used? I must say that I consider that to be pretty weak.
As long as we are on the topic of civil conversation, you seem awfully pre-disposed to threatening legal action. I’ve seen you do it at least five times to a variety of people. You even threatened legal action in this E-Bay listing before anyone so much as spoke to you:
View link
In my opinion you should spend less time thinking about how to sue people and more time running your company.
By the way, from reading postings elsewhere on Cinema Treasures, I always got the impression that you were leasing the Lawford.
life you find stuff like no other……….
Well there you go if you do not KNOW the facts then you should actually keep your mouth SHUT as far as i am concerned, since you want to continue, i have already found out the info i need, you will be served in good time and we can take it away from here since you want to continue, i gave you a chance now you want to continue it, so be it, you will now understand what it means to make statements that are false and i want to make a example so i can post this so others do not continue to do what you do, thanks. have a great day!
Impressions sometimes are wrong when you dont again, KNOW the facts, i in FACT was BUYING the Lawford from your old ‘friend’ Paul and Mike from that ‘good ol boy’ company Grande Venues. When they were found out by me and my attorney they got not one more diome, in FACT they were evicted by Frank the owner for not paying there rent, they had in FACT leased/purchased the Lawford to me for a sum of money, then i found out there LEASE was up 2 YEARS before i had to take my option, so, i continued to operate the Lawford for Frank until he found a buyer, since the building needs so much repair, i instead, sold my option back to Frank and the equiptment and he is running it with the same help i fired, and still trying to find a buyer if it was not for my company, that theater would still be closed today, i opened it back up when Paul and MIke FAILED that theater and tried to take money from the town, i redid most everything and today i am proud it was me that got it back open for the town of Havana and because of me and me alone, its STILL open, take care all
my grandmother always said…ITS NICE TO BE NICE………Cant we all just get along!
LOng Island i understand but when some people do not know the exact facts, it irks me to know end, and then to go further, i can prove the thread of statements that Life made, if you loook at the last posting i did ( on CHalet Theaters needs One More) you will see his exact statment up there in that same story and refering to me, no i think its about time i make a statement that when someone wants to say things that they cannot possibly back up its time for them to know they cannot say it without repercussions, thats all i need to say.
Yawn.
yep yawn,
I’ll go along with that. Yawn. If there is anything actionable in the things Life’s too short has written on this page as well as the “Chalet Theaters Needs One More” page, I’m a monkey’s uncle. I really hope the judge gives you a good verbal lashing for abusing the system, sctheaters, should you press the matter to litigation.
You may call it abiuse but it takes TWO and thats why this is 2 unless you want to weigh in also, but you see thats why i am a AMerican and i believe in what rights i do have, and there are people out there to whom after enough is enough, then i take care of the problem, the attorney i use is not only a former DA but but he has conciderable experience taking people to court who shoot there mouth off one to many times even after they are asked not to say things they cannot back up and in fact say things that are not true, and i do not think i am worried to much about the judge that will hear it here, he has heard 3 of them in teh past, and it did not go to good for the other party, and when done the post to the actual case filed will be posted, i would ‘think’ not know ol Life wont show up anyway, but then again he may want to visit sunny florida and hire himself a good attorney ehre, take care, good night to all and to all a good night, i love a good bedtime story this place always makes it,
There is another story i would love to point out, if your not a lawyer or a judge, then you do not hold that title of saying a monkeys uncle, alas, there are many cases in history both criminal and civil that we ALL thought it was the wrong decision so lets just let the facts go in and the judge and jury come out then you can argue the outcome, i for one, have seen many that you think would not cut mustard, and guess what, it did, the law is full of them go read up on Nexus.:)
I lose respect for anyone who threatens to file a libel suit, let alone actually does so. The cure for bad speech is good speech. Put out your own story, don’t worry about what anyone else says about you.
I do not care if you lose respect for anyone that threatens a lawsuit, it does not make a bit of difference in my life if you approve or dissaprove you do not pay my bills nor have you ever once, thats the American chpice i have if you let others say and do things and control what yuo do and say then your not one to stand up for yourself or others, if George Washington would have done that you would not be in America, at least i do what i say and back it up, so keep the comments coming they do nothing here as far as hurting me or my company, in fact its entertaining to see all the comments because what works for you may not work for someone else, this si why God made us ALL differnet, isn’t life grand, have a wonderful day!
Ron Newman, “good speech” would infer that the speaker possessed a facility with language (i.e., proper grammer, syntax, punctuation, etc.). In any event, sctheaters has told me all that I need to know about himself in the handful of posts I’ve read here and on the “Chalet Theaters Needs One More” item. I wish him well in his future endeavors. I’ll leave it at that, lest I am served with a frivolous lawsuit.
The joke is on you sc theatres. Which would you like first: my car note or my college debts? My apartment security deposit is $600. That’s pretty good.
Talk about spinning the wheel of fortune.
Bonus prize: my parents' corporate attorney who will attend to this for free.
Your corp attorny is not licensed in Florida, nor can he be speaking for you in the court, so i would say it does not matter that he is free, you will be there alone or have to hire further councel, so that joke is on you, and its easy to get a judgement, keep it on ones record and every 10 years renew it, makes for a bad credit file,
I am a manager of one of these grand cinema treasures. I got on this site to research and learn more about our past and what we all could do to preserve what we have left for the future.
This thread is sickening at this point. Both Life’s too short and sctheaters need to move their “legal action” off this site.
I have been to the Lawford Theatre in Havana, IL and it needs tremendous amount of work. Regardless of whether it’s open or not, it needs so much work. Anyone that has ever said that they renovated that theatre needs to go back and finish! If anyone wants to check out the place, it’s for sale.
Please keep the drama and legal crap off this site and get on with your lives!
Thanks Travis
No one said the totaly renovated it, when i took over it was closed i out new sound, new paint, new carpet new screen, not to say the least the house lights we fixed had not worked in 30 yrs, the outside neon had not been on in 8 years, we did that work opened it and got scammed by the company listed above with the 2 people and finally had enough, yes its for sale, but i do not think Frank will get what he wants, it will prob close again thsi winter
Well my friend sc theatres, I think this conversation has already gone on too long. But I’ll say one more thing. The basis of your position seems to be:
1) That I asked where your theatres are located in a news item you posted. Last time I checked it is not a crime to ask someone where their business locations are.
2) That you think I mentioned you above and took offense, although your name does not appear. It is tough to claim that you are the subject when I have had 101 conversations regarding the Wheaton Theatre alone which fit that statement. Judging by the comments above nobody except you seemed to think you were being described. There was no mention made of you, in fact, until you entered the conversation and steered things in this direction.
So take whatever action you see fit. Attorney, no attorney, Florida, California, New York or Puerto Rico.
Ok, thanks for the suggestion
sad this topic now over 12oo hits…………………..
Ah, that’s nothing. Go to the Big Four pages on this site and you’ll see some really pathetic threads…
not over until the fat lady sings, and she sounds like she still is, hey and guys it really does not bother me, who says they are for this or they are for that or they lose respect and so on and so forth, i own my own theaters, not here to please anyone and no one here pays me what i make to keep a roof over my head and my family in the lap of luxury, soooooooo in closing, who gives a rats butt about what is said about me here, i dont, and its actualy fun to listen and watch take care guys!
(When is that recess bell gonna ring?!?)
This thread has been…well, both fascinating…and embarrassing. (And all the more ironic, because I don’t think that the main proponent in it was the impetus behind the reminder from the CT powers-that-be.)
Fascinating because here, right in front of us, is Human Nature at its unseemliest. It’s like…well, it’s been like watching drunk gals catfight. (Maybe only one of them, to be precise.)
Embarrassing because really, NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE ISSUE BEING ‘DISCUSSED’!
And, if I may be so bold, it’s been incredibly rude of sctheaters to go on and on and on and on about this, constantly edging out of the room while ducking back in yelling ‘And another thing! I don’t care what you think about me, but here’s what I think, anyway!!!’
Thank goodness that this (and the aforementioned Big Four pages) are blips on this site and for the most part, people act like adults and don’t essentally, pass gas in an enclosed space.
Can we please see an end to this approaching…sometime soon…?
And this end should start with an apology. Not even so much to the site owners, but to those of us who have been passively part of what’s unfolded. Yes, we’re all free to ignore this crap. But that’s ignoring the bigger issues of civility and consideration. It really does remind me of an unruly schoolyard.
Good Lord; I sure hope kids haven’t been raised by some of the perpetrators…
passively? right, you have jumped in every day to put your comments in, i believe so that makes you a part of the catfight and the ‘one’ enough said,and if it reminds you then may i suggest YOU do not comment and then it wont stay going, remember it takes 2 and yuor only making it 3
Please.
Someone.
Please.
(I think I just laughed so hard I had an accident. Oh, well; it was worth it.)
BTW; does any of this strike anyone as being just a little like ‘I know you are, but what am I?!?’
This is funny shit………..what did we do before .lol….because i lol everytime i read these posts—
We are a guest on this site this is not our site….They have the right to void a member at any time for any reason as long as its not based on racial profile………..
lol
Patrick, are you there? Time to lock up this thread.
yes it sure is fun, i dont mind, posting or replying, there are only so many people that read these and comment, and its the same ones over and over, the site is really nothing but the ones that are here already it does not attract people that go to the movies, just ones that need something to do and say
The comments at the top of this thread were directed at another conspicuous party (who shall remain nameless), not you sctheatres (specifically I am talking about the comment of Sep 1, 2006 at 4:12pm). As of this date I assume Chalet Theaters is an ethical and law-abiding organization although I don’t understand why you do some of the things you do sctheaters, like the E-Bay auction. It has been pointed out to me that perhaps I simply don’t understand the way you do business. My intention was not to paint your organization in a negative light in front of the Cinema Treasures community and the comments posted after you entered the conversation were born of anger due to what I perceived to be disrespect on your part directed at me (specifically I am speaking of the comment left Sep 6, 2006 at 6:19pm). I apologize to the entire community for any role I may have played in turning this intelligent discourse into the very thing Patrick and Ross were trying to avoid with their posting. It was pointed out to me today that posting on a site like this carries with it a great deal of responsibility because these comments can be seen all around the world. If you get into a bad mood and shoot your mouth off or say something without completely thinking you aren’t just talking to the other party in the conversation, or a few people in a chat room, you are potentially talking to everyone on Earth with an Internet connection. While a seemingly obvious statement it is something that never completely dawned on me prior to this afternoon, and any statements I make in the future on Cinema Treasures will be mindful of this fact.
Hear! Hear! I also apologize for my contributions to the continuation of this thread – but sometimes the sheer stupidity of others compels me to make comment. Life, I surely don’t think you had to clarify yourself regarding Chalet Theaters because you certainly never said anything untoward about them, but I think that was awfully upstanding and adult of you. In that light, I hereby withdraw any recant any negative inferences I may have made regarding the intelligence and proper schooling of any individual who happens to comment on this page… again and again… with no seeiming end… or point… or clarity.
I also, herewith, apologize for any sarcastic remarks made during the apology. Back to the theater pages!
Now this is good, to apologize but still defend the very same thing you had wanted to say, kinda of like a double standard, you want to apologize but STILL get in that last little remark, , and here i thought you really wanted to say something,,,,
And now, without further ado, sctheaters' apology to all the CT members for being such a self-involved pain in the keester through all this:
You mean you want to apologize on my behalf, or are you talking about you,, hmmm I see why this site is only read by limited people and jsut certain ones, without them there would be none. take care folks.
All right, sctheaters, i’m sure you’d agree this has gone on much too long. But I do have one question for you, out of genuine curiousity. You can certainly choose not to answer it, since as you said, it’s not going to help you in business anyway. You insist repeatedly that CinemaTreasures does nothing to put money in your pocket (excerpts below). If so, why has every page you’ve posted on here – save this one – been regarding purchasing theaters? If you’re not profitting here, what are you contributing?
And this thread ends right about… now. :)
Next time you make a comment, try asking yourself these questions:
• Am I just trying to have the last word?
• Is my comment not informative and helpful?
• Will my comment provoke endless disagreement?
• Will Ross and Patrick have to stop this comment thread?
If the answer is “yes” to any of these, then rewrite your comment until the answer is “no”.
In closing, I’m glad to see the Cinema Treasures community working together and realizing that off-topic comments really do distract from the purpose of this project.
The response to this thread has been tremendous and it’s been thrilling to see how passionate people are about this project. While we still have some challenges, I’m very excited about the future of Cinema Treasures.
Stay tuned, guys.