Tulsa Now Forum

[fotd]

Hilarious Pompous Conanus....you just don't want anyone pointing out you bias or your ability to discriminate.

[Townsend]

There again, on-line chatter about development, politics, and events brings out all sorts of opinions which can turn into bickering.  I don't know how you change that other than to become more of a newspaper format and not encourage any public comments. 

It wasn't just in politics.  Politics was thrown into the other threads along with name calling and accusations.  It was a bad day.

[DolfanBob]

As a side note to this topic. I have always wondered what some of the user names on here mean. Should I start another topic and just ask the question or is this something that nobody else wants to know.
It is like trying to figure out personlized tags on cars.
Im a huge Miami Dolphins fan so I have always been DolfanBob.
Just curious.

[we vs us]

It's gonna be nearly impossible to separate Tulsa development from politics.  Whether it's from a local standpoint (who's the TDA screwing today?) or regional (rail to OKC and its detractors and supporters) or national (how other cities have used TIFS to encourage development) it's all intimately connected.  And because TnF is an advocacy group, that points us inescapably towards politics, as well.  We're working for something, so that indicates strong opinions which will need to be aired somewhere at some point.  

(And on a personal note, I also think our forum reflects the times, somewhat.  For better or worse, our politics on all levels are pretty electric right now, so you're going to see that in every interaction, including this board.)

It definitely gets nasty in national/international politics, though, no doubt about that.  A lot of it can be narrowed to a few participants, and while some of us can get sucked into the nasty (guilty as charged) I think there's a demonstrable difference between those people who have charged conversations (which is valuable) and those people who are taking out all their rage issues on the keyboard (not valuable).   And those folks with rage issues are nomadic and sometimes camp on threads where they don't belong or can't offer substantive opinion.  

So?  Moderation, my friends.  The banhammer.  Bring it.  Perhaps make a public example of someone.  It's what tight-knit communities have been doing since the beginning of time.  We can make it work for us, as well.  We are mostly adults here -- Recycle Michael aside -- and know how to act in public.

[RecycleMichael]

We are mostly adults here -- Recycle Michael aside -- and know how to act in public.

That is the nicest thing anybody has said about me on this forum.

[nathanm]

One of the biggest challenges facing Tulsa is retaining young people. I've gotten the impression that a large part of what drives them off to other places and keeps them there (knowing a few folks who fall into the "grew up here and never want to come back" category) is the political situation here.

We can develop downtown, Brookside, and Cherry Street all we want, but if people continue to see the only media attention cast our way focused on Inhofe, Coburn, and Sullivan and their ilk, their mind is not going to be changed no matter the vibrancy of our nightlife and walkability of our neighborhoods.

One of the few things that brings people back is that it's a pretty decent town to raise kids in, but I'm sorry to say that people with children don't exactly make for the most vibrant social landscape. They tend to be (rightly) more interested in spending time with their kids and working to build up the college fund than help build the things that make a city attractive to young people.

It doesn't help that we don't have the benefit of a large, public, four year college. To use Columbus as an example, being a place that has seen a renaissance in their downtown and close in neighborhoods, a large part of what has made them successful in their efforts is the huge student population at OSU. It's close to the areas they have been trying to revitalize and provides bodies and money to support all the new businesses.

Just think how much harder it would be if we didn't have TU!

[heironymouspasparagus]

The higher education probably warrants a whole web site by itself, but definitely right.  Tulsa has received the short end of that stick for a hundred years.  Lot of it is the (justified) jealousy of the rest of the state for northeast Oklahoma.  Plus the efforts of TU (and even OU) to prevent the competition.

We finally have OSU branch here, but it was a long painful trip.

Full disclosure;  I have attended both OSU and TU and like both, so don't take my comment about TU as a disparagement.  I am thinking about enrolling in some OU classes so can complete the "tri-fecta".

[Renaissance]

Everything looks much more organized, thanks Admin!  Now we just need to get our active posters back and recruit new ones.   

I can try to post more frequently.  I applaud banning fotd.  He managed to ruin almost everything he touched--I just had less interest in participating in the forum with him as one of the dominant posters.

[Renaissance]

Here's my recommendations:

-See if those of us who pretty much form the content nucleus of the forum will start posting more Tulsa-centric topics, I will attempt to contribute a couple of items daily.

This may be the most productive thing anyone could do.  For instance, I haven't see any discussion of the Hertz-DollarThrifty merger.  So maybe I'll start a thread.  Etc.  We can all pitch in on this one.

[Hoss]

This may be the most productive thing anyone could do.  For instance, I haven't see any discussion of the Hertz-DollarThrifty merger.  So maybe I'll start a thread.  Etc.  We can all pitch in on this one.

Actually, Floyd, you might search first.  I seem to remember a thread already being started about it.

[Renaissance]

Actually, Floyd, you might search first.  I seem to remember a thread already being started about it.

Fair enough--it's hiding out in "Other Discussion," probably because it's an old thread: http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=11789.0. 

The point stands, though.  I feel like there's less local discussion than there used to be.  I'm going to try to help remedy that.

[we vs us]

I started a DTAG/Hertz thread in Development. 

[Conan71]

I can try to post more frequently.  I applaud banning fotd.  He managed to ruin almost everything he touched--I just had less interest in participating in the forum with him as one of the dominant posters.

I got tired of his/her/its constant beating down of people: "You people don't know crap about development" yet fotd never offered any insight nor solutions.  That and the constant hypocrisy and stereotypes.  Good riddance!  Anyone else get the general impression fotd spent a lot of time in the corner back in elementary school?  Maybe if they'd known more about red food dye back then...

On a lighter note, I'd be glad to see you around more, Floyd.

[DolfanBob]

Wow. Got banned ay ?
I seem to remember a FriendlyBear and a Bicycle nut being banned. Are there any others that I dont know about ?
Seems that could be another topic starter....hmmm

[Renaissance]

I got tired of his/her/its constant beating down of people: "You people don't know crap about development" yet fotd never offered any insight nor solutions.  That and the constant hypocrisy and stereotypes.  Good riddance!  Anyone else get the general impression fotd spent a lot of time in the corner back in elementary school?  Maybe if they'd known more about red food dye back then...

On a lighter note, I'd be glad to see you around more, Floyd.

Thanks!  It's been long enough since I've lived in Tulsa that I sometimes feel like a carpetbagger on the forum--but where I can contribute, I will.  I'm still in town 4-6 times/year and keep up, so maybe I get grandfathered in.