Menzoberranzen

Erm, I would rather be staked naked to an ant hill than watch it. I loathe crude American humor.

I beg to differ.

Given that I don't believe in reincarnation, I don't particularly care. Should I somehow be proven wrong, I think I'd like to be gay a second time around.

Happy Canada Day! The fireworks should be fun

There are far more femme gay guys that transgendered people out there. I did all of those things (minus claiming to be a girl) and, despite my parents disbelief, I'm definitely glad to be a man.

There are others out there like you, Colin (though I'm not one of them ) The reason these articles target the feminine gays is because these are the people whose development it is possible to track. No one would have had any reason to suspect you were gay, so there is nothing in your behavior as a child that would warrant a study being done. I think 'straight-acting' gays make up quite a sizable portion of the gay community, but they're so much harder to target with a possible cause. Menzo

If someone felt most of those things about me, I would be turned off immensely. I need my space in a relationship.

I too must say that I do not fit into any one of those categories. I'm mostly a 5, but I have had my, uh, 'friends with benefits' in the past. Oh well, "Labels are for cans, not people" Menzo

There are other reasons of rational self-interest that would likely be stronger motivation. The satisfaction of doing it, and the alleviation of guilt being foremost among them.

Communication problems are definitely issues online, especially when it comes to sarcasm/jokes. And yes, people do tend to be more honest online. There is definitely something easier about admitting something to people you've never met than to someone you know personally. I don't share my writing with people in 'real' life, but I don't mind posting it on the internet. It's that one step of removal from personal dealings that changes the dynamic so much. For me, however, I'm much less likely to be blunt with my comments online, because there is no opportunity to explain myself in the same way. For that same reason, I am much more comfortable raising delicate issues in person, because I can minimize the risk of misunderstandings between myself and the other person. All in all, I find online communication to be useful and effective, except when it comes to sensitive issues and sarcasm, where, as BSK mentioned, the context of a remark is sometimes ambiguous. PS Since when does F**k have 5 letters?

They can be interesting, if done carefully. Although it certainly is easier to just ban them outright. My anthology entry, in it's original, should have had a 16 year-old character in a sexual relationship with an adult, but I changed the age to 18 becuase of the rules. I think the story does a better portrayal of my themes with the younger character, but I do agree that it leads to places better left alone.

I'm a clockwise-swirled, right-handed first born whose ring finger is longer than his index. Perhaps I've been deluding myself all these years...

And youre like a 90s jesus And you revel in your psychosis How dare you And you sample concepts like hors deuvres And you eat their questions for dessert Is it just me or is it hot in here And youre like a 90s kennedy And youre really a million years old You cant fool me Theyll throw opinions like rocks in riots And theyll stumble around like hypocrites Is it just me or is it dark in here? Well you may never be or have a husband you may never have or hold a child You will learn to lose everything we are temporary arrangements And youre like a 90s noah And they laughed at you as you packed all of your things And they wonder why youre frustrated And they wonder why youre so angry And is it just me or are you fed up? No Pressure Over Cappuccino ~ Alanis Morissette

I went from stage 1 to stage 5 with none of the other three...

I have heard masculine gays complain about the effeminate ones, but I have never experienced the reverse. Masculine gays complain about the effeminate ones because they think they perpetuate a stereotype. But stereotypes exist for a reason, and I find it ironic that any gay person could have the audacity to look down on another because of their behavior. If you don't like fem guys, then don't hang around them. But it's no ones business to demean or ridicule someone else because of their mannerisms. Of all people, gay people should know better than anyone what it's like to not be accepted because of behavioral differences. It's disgusting that we should subject ourselves to the same treatment we receive(d) from homophobic people. Menzo

Trampstamps only look good on cute guys...

Life would be boring without differing opinions But let me ask you this: Would you have paid for that lady's ticket (yay for Canadians, btw ) if had been a real sacrifice? You yourself said it didn't cost much...

The two are fundamental opposites. That they often lead to the same conclusion is, I believe, the only reason perceived altrusim exists at all. As you said, most of your acts of kindness were done to make YOU feel good. This is egoism. The fact that they also helped others does NOT make the acts altruistic. Of course, if your motivation had been altruistic, we would have arrived at the same conclusion and the egoistic benefit of feeling good would have been a byproduct of altruistic motivation. The same result is obtained in both cases, but egoism and altruism are still distinctly opposite ideas.

And I was proposing that the motivation is the same in both cases: personal gain/satisfaction. I introduced the cost/gain concept as a reason why different people find different methods of obtaining satisfaction.

I <3 Ayn Rand.

I disgaree, for the most part. A person who does a kind deed rather than an evil one to feel good knows that the consequences for said eveil deed would most likely make the reward not worth the cost. A sociopath finds the pleasure of killing (as an extreme example) outweighs the possible risks associated with criminal activity. The person who helps an old lady with her groceries knows that nothing but accolades and a warm fuzzy feeling will come to them for their efforts. It's all about percieved cost/benefit ratios and willingness to risk something. As an example, during grade school there were people whom I would have gladly punched in the face. This 'evil' act would have given me pleasure, but the cost (in the form of suspensions) to me, outweighed the benefits of the act. I don't doubt that some people have altruistic motives (doesn't make the deed truly altruistic, though) but I think that in most cases it's simply a less risky way of getting personal satisfaction. Menzo

True kindness (and altruism), like Graeme said, is all but non-existent, and I would agree with the egoist school of philosophy that it is fundamentally amoral. People who argue for altruism really forget that altruism cannot take place as long as the 'altruist' gets something in return. There is no biological or evolutionary incentive for people to do such thing, and as such I would be hard pressed to find even a single example of real, true kindness. Menzo

My thoughts exactly... I shudder to think what something 5 inches in diameter would do a poor boy's body....

You've hit the nail on the head. Who decides what hurts someone? Maybe seeing ugly people wearing baggy trousers harms my moral sensibilities? Of course it doesn't, but you see how this easily descends into a war of opinions. I don't usually support 'censoring' but this is a case where people don't have the choice not to look. I can just stop listening to a radio station with profanity, if I feel offended, but I do not have the luxury of holing myself up away from all the saggy-pantsed louts wandering the streets. menzo

I think the law is a good idea. Despite what you may or may not consider to be worthwhile, I think that an appropriate dress code for an entire city is just an expansion of an ages-old tradition in private and public institutions like schools and businesses. I won't go into the possible constitutional issues (I'm not really up on American law) but people really, really need to stop bitching about how they have the right to do whatever the hell they please. Guess what, you don't. Menzo