Okay forum members, please read this and think about it.

[ralpht]

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. I can't even spend a holiday with my family without coming home to some sort of stupid problem, generally related to the Supremes, Diana[[Diane) Ross, Mary Wilson or some other related to this category. In come all the complaining emails about some thing or some one that I need to try and smooth over along with the usual tripe that SD isn't what it once was etc etc.

So.....here is my solution:
All it will take is just One[[1) of these threads to go south and I will delete the entire menu of threads that relate to these artists and ban everyone that contributed to it's demise. Don't believe me? Try me! I am sick of it.

[jsmith]

......... Go for it Ralph
I don't even know why you allow threads on DR&S anymore ...........
mind you, who's singing lead on this ?????????
.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3EMrpxTM-w

[Kamasu_Jr]

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. I can't even spend a holiday with my family without coming home to some sort of stupid problem, generally related to the Supremes, Diana[[Diane) Ross, Mary Wilson or some other related to this category. In come all the complaining emails about some thing or some one that I need to try and smooth over along with the usual tripe that SD isn't what it once was etc etc.

So.....here is my solution:
All it will take is just One[[1) of these threads to go south and I will delete the entire menu of threads that relate to these artists and ban everyone that contributed to it's demise. Don't believe me? Try me! I am sick of it.

Since Easter was a holiday, I wasn't on the forum yesterday. So I did enjoy the day with my family. Frankly, I've stopped reading and contributing to the Supremes threads. There's too much discussion about this one group in my opinion and a lot of it are things that have been fought over and debated to death on this forum. Personally, I don't want to discuss the damned Supremes all of the time. However, I'm interested in seeing what happens and just who will be banned.

[ralpht]

Thanks for the immediate support, guys. Much appreciated.

[motownmorph1]

I am with you on this Ralph & support your position on the matter. I think a lot of people on here are fed up with all the Diana Ross & The Supremes threads & all the agro that goes with them, there is no need for it & I just dont get it!

Morph

[ralpht]

I don't get it either, Motown. Never have and never will. All this angst over a group whose eventual demise began more than forty years ago. They are not coming back. That is probably pretty much fact, so get over it and move on. Perhaps I could suggest that they support those of us that are trying to bring new music to the fore, and gamble a good deal of money to do just that.

[reese]

My two cents.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having many Diana/Supremes threads. There are threads that don't interest me, and I just don't go into them. I would think others can do the same.

That said, I do agree that the Diana/Supremes threads bring out the worst in some people. And there are some threads that you can tell are going to go South just from the first posting. I'd be very much in favor of banning the people responsible.

[ralpht]

Part of my plan, Reese. the shame of it is the way those threads go south, maybe depriving someone of some information they would have appreciated. Damn shame.

[carlo]

I feel that I am partly to blame for the discussion that transpired and degenerated over the weekend. The post I had made was written with the intention of calling out a specific individual who has made disrespectful and baiting comments time and time again. This person has personally attacked me on this forum on a couple of occasions and it was never addressed. As a result, when I feel like someone is being disrespectful or intentionally stirring the pot, I try to address it directly if nothing is being done about it. It was wrong of me to do that. With that said, it is unfortunate that the forum has become the negative environment that it is, all due to a select group of individuals who are not being dealt with.

[ralpht]

Hey, Carlo. you have nothing to apologize for. You have always been a valued member here.

[carlo]

Thank you.

[soulster]

Do it! I'm with you on this 100%! I'm at the point where I avoid DRATS music because of all the obsession about them here.

[ralpht]

You've got it Soul. I seem to be getting a uniform consensus for my plan. That's good.

[theboyfromxtown]

You have my support too Ralph.

[ralpht]

You have always been in my corner old friend, and I have always appreciated your complete support.

[Roberta75]

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. I can't even spend a holiday with my family without coming home to some sort of stupid problem, generally related to the Supremes, Diana[[Diane) Ross, Mary Wilson or some other related to this category. In come all the complaining emails about some thing or some one that I need to try and smooth over along with the usual tripe that SD isn't what it once was etc etc.

So.....here is my solution:
All it will take is just One[[1) of these threads to go south and I will delete the entire menu of threads that relate to these artists and ban everyone that contributed to it's demise. Don't believe me? Try me! I am sick of it.

I was in church most of yesterday, followed by a lovely Easter dinner with friends, so I missed whatever went down.

Ralph, I am shocked that people were fighting over Supremes on one of the holiest days of the year.

It's really a shame.

Fondly,

Roberta

[ralpht]

Roberta,
It could be the last day of the existence of this planet and those types would pick a fight over the Supremes. And yes, it is a shame.

[timmyfunk]

Jeez. I'm glad I'm not that big of a fan. Does it really get that hardcore on the Diana Ross/Supremes threads? I mean...c'mon. It's the Supremes. I can see if we were talking about some offensive punk rock band. I mean....it's the Supremes!!!!

[Shaqueetha_Jackson]

Is this why florence bLonde Ballard ain't talke abiout much here

[ralpht]

Your guess is as good as ours, Shaqeetha. By the way, welcome to the forum.

[mellow_q]

Okay Ralph, it's really sad that people don't have enough of a life to stay away from this on Easter; much less bother you with this BS. As I write this, I'm having a serious summer 2006 flashback when you were unable to enjoy your wedding day because of some SDF BS.

I support you 100%.

Marc T.

[ralpht]

Thanks Marc,
Yeah, there will always be that crappy memory when Jesse and I celebrate our wedding anniversary.

[vcq]

Hear, hear! I, for one, am THOROUGHLY sick of opening a page on the Motown thread only to see that the top 20 posts are all related to the Supremes in some way. If the keyword "Supremes" isn't in the title itself, then certain posters hijack them to make some tenuous connection to the Supremes, prior / potential members thereof, various outfits worn by, etc.

Seriously, it's about time for the Supremes groupies to start your own forum elsewhere [[or create a Supremes-only thread on SDF, with the promise of limiting Supremes-related posts to that thread only). It's the Soulful *Detroit* Forum, not the Soulful Supremes forum.Yes, the Supremes were an important Motown act, but so were dozens of other Detroit artists, writers, musicians, etc. Let's give all these important artists their due in a respectful manner.

Too many longtime regulars have apparently left SDF after feeling alienated by the sheer number of Supremes threads, flaming, and bickering. There used to be a lot of SDF posters with Motown / studio connections, but the diva worshippers and infighting seem to have scared many of them off. Those of us that have stuck around strictly for our love of Motown and soul music seem to be fewer in number by the day, which is truly unfortunate given that there are so few places to connect and share our love for this magical music, SDF being one of the rare bright spots.

[luke]

I totally support you Ralph!

[blueskies]

If I never read another Supremes thread again, that'd be OK. I always liked the Supremes, but all this negative crap has really turned me off. Flip the switch, Ralph!

[ralpht]

Looks like I'm batting 1000 on this one. Thank you all for the support.

[imnokid]

The Supremes. Enough already. Do your thing Ralph.

[ralpht]

Kid, I'm extremely encouraged. Dusting off the old trigger finger. Best to Bettye.

[soulster]

Hear, hear! I, for one, am THOROUGHLY sick of opening a page on the Motown thread only to see that the top 20 posts are all related to the Supremes in some way. If the keyword "Supremes" isn't in the title itself, then certain posters hijack them to make some tenuous connection to the Supremes, prior / potential members thereof, various outfits worn by, etc.

Seriously, it's about time for the Supremes groupies to start your own forum elsewhere [[or create a Supremes-only thread on SDF, with the promise of limiting Supremes-related posts to that thread only). It's the Soulful *Detroit* Forum, not the Soulful Supremes forum.Yes, the Supremes were an important Motown act, but so were dozens of other Detroit artists, writers, musicians, etc. Let's give all these important artists their due in a respectful manner.

Too many longtime regulars have apparently left SDF after feeling alienated by the sheer number of Supremes threads, flaming, and bickering. There used to be a lot of SDF posters with Motown / studio connections, but the diva worshippers and infighting seem to have scared many of them off. Those of us that have stuck around strictly for our love of Motown and soul music seem to be fewer in number by the day, which is truly unfortunate given that there are so few places to connect and share our love for this magical music, SDF being one of the rare bright spots.

I understand all these Supremes fans all came from another forum that got shut down because of all the flame wars, and they all came over here. These guys need to find a new place. I'm sure one of them must have enough money to create their very own fan site.

[luke]

LOL trigger finger. Very smart idea Mr Ralph!

[ralpht]

You would think they would want their own forum, Soul. I think it goes a little deeper though and it has something to do with the individual personalities feeling the need to stir up problems. Rather sick, but I'm not going to put up with it here.

Luke,
You liked that one. Stay tuned to see if I need to limber it up.

[luke]

Who will be the brave soul to start the next Supremes thread?

[paladin]

Doesn't effect me in the least RT, if they gotta go, they gotta go. I'm never in those threads anyway although I am a big Supreme fan, its just not worth the headache. I was never big on their gowns, wigs, routines or personal-interpersonal issues, just the music, which is not enough for some folks. Now don't get me wrong they were some dam good looking women and they were talented as all get out, a wonderful part of my youth, but you'd never catch me talking about them on this site. For some reason, folk just like to clown when it comes to the Supremes. Did I ever tell you that I adore Jean Terrell.........ooops...........for a minute I forgot where I was.........

[ralpht]

You came close to starting a new thread there, Paladan. However, with your handle, it wouldn't be wise for anyone to become a pinhead.

[Doug-Morgan]

Don't even open up DR&TS [[sounds like a railroad, doesn't it?) threads anymore. It's not worth my effort. If you can clean them up, more power to you.

[[maybe the Detroit River & Toledo Southern? If there's a model railroader in the group that uses this for their pike, you owe me an HO boxcar.....)

[paladin]

You came close to starting a new thread there, Paladan.

I apologize, I told you I started thinking about Jean Terrell and ...and......Jai, help me...I need a taste of elixir........

[ralpht]

Doug,
don't think I haven't considered your suggestion. The problem is I would be cutting out what would be important to responsible forum members, so I must continue on. Good acronym.

[soulster]

I seriously think these people must eat, sleep, and shit Diana Ross and Supremes. I would not be surprised if some of them built Supremes/Diana Ross shrines in their homes. These guys should be in that TLC TV show "My Strange Addiction".

[soulster]

I was never big on their gowns, wigs, routines or personal-interpersonal issues, just the music, which is not enough for some folks.

It's all about the music for me too...and sound quality.

[mark speck]

I very rarely stick my face in the Motown Forum here...I don't know what all the fuss is about with DRATS...I support you 100 %, Ralph!

Best,

Mark

[juicefree20]

Godfather...

I was just stopping through to wish everyone a belated Happy Easter, but saw this thread at the top of the page. I'm sorry to see your Easter ruined by yet more nonsense & as Marc mentioned, I'll never forget that July either.

One would believe that with what's going on out in Florida, Tulsa & the world in general, that music is the one place where we would find just a little peace. I find it rather ironic that some of the same people who laud The Supremes for bringing the world a little closer through songs of beauty, spend so much time tearing the ladies apart with venomous words of their own.

I support you & second & third your motion, with one caveat...

Rather than to blow up entire threads, I believe that it would be fairer to simply deal with the trangressors as opposed to doing away with entire threads & I'll tell you why.

I was quite young when The Supremes first hit big & as they were a Girl Group [[albeit the most important one), I was too young to care about who sang backup on what, or who played on what records. At that age, it simply wasn't that important to me.

But despite the bickering between a few, there are often some excellent information shared in those threads that folks such as myself never knew & personally, aside from the jewels, the gowns & the pumps kind of fawning, I have found many of the MUSICAL discussions to be very informative & would hate to see all of that wished away into the cornfield simply because of a few 50 year-olds who simply can't control the more obssessive part of themselves.

So, rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, I feel that it would be fairer to all concerned to simply look at those threads, see who's instigating & baiting, then deal with them appropriately. After all, it's not as though we can't predict who the players will be, as they'e been doing the same crap since that section of the forum was created specifically for Motown, after the other Motown Forum went under, likely for the same ridiculous reason/reasons.

And truthfully, at this stage of the game, ALL have warned or chastized by more respectful forum members whenever one or more have chosen to turn those threads south & have chosen to place their own personal bitchfests over that of the greater majority of the forum, even innocents whom simply wanted to discuss the music of The Supremes, sans all of the name calling & baiting.

I would simply suggest banning ANYONE, be they friend or foe, who denigrates ANY MEMBER of The Supremes, or posts some provocative "informative" link, which is solely designed to anger another forumer, or links to information which leads to ANY SITE which contains "news" which pits one Supremes faction against another.

This is some 40 year-old ish & it's absolutely ridiculous to think that folks, most of whom are on the plus side of 40 or 50, continue to argue over this same stale shit as though their respective positions are going to reverse 30 - 45 years worth of history.

I support your & the spirit of your thoughts, but when I consider many of our most respectful forumers, i.e. Carlo & many others, I'd hate to see an entire section blown up because of the behavior of the same 9 or 10 people.

It's easier to get rid of all of those whom willingly & constantly contribute to dragging these threads down & from where I sit, this includes the trouble-makers, as well as the "peace-makers", whom have proven themselves rather adept at shit-stirring in their own right, as they've contributed to keeping the fires burning.

As the very soulful Dorisa Daye once sang...

"Que Sera Sera...whatever will be, will be..."

[Roberta75]

Godfather...

I was just stopping through to wish everyone a belated Happy Easter, but saw this thread at the top of the page. I'm sorry to see your Easter ruined by yet more nonsense & as Marc mentioned, I'll never forget that July either.

One would believe that with what's going on out in Florida, Tulsa & the world in general, that music is the one place where we would find just a little peace. I find it rather ironic that some of the same people who laud The Supremes for bringing the world a little closer through songs of beauty, spend so much time tearing the ladies apart with venomous words of their own.

I support you & second & third your motion, with one caveat...

Rather than to blow up entire threads, I believe that it would be fairer to simply deal with the trangressors as opposed to doing away with entire threads & I'll tell you why.

I was quite young when The Supremes first hit big & as they were a Girl Group [[albeit the most important one), I was too young to care about who sang backup on what, or who played on what records. At that age, it simply wasn't that important to me.

But despite the bickering between a few, there are often some excellent information shared in those threads that folks such as myself never knew & personally, aside from the jewels, the gowns & the pumps kind of fawning, I have found much of the MUSICAL discussions to be very informative & would have to see all of that wished away into the cornfiled simply because of a few 50 year-olds who simply can't control the more obssessive part of themselves.

So, rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, I feel that it would be fairer to all concerned to simply look at those threads, see who's instigating & baiting, then deal with them appropriately. After all, it's not as though we can't predict who the players will be, as they'e been doing the same crap since that section of the forum was created specifically for Motown, after the other Motown Forum went under, likely for the same ridiculous reason/reasons.

And truthfully, at this stage of the game, ALL have warned or chastized by more respectful forum members whenever one or more have chosen to turn those threads south & have chosen to place their own personal bitchfests over that of the greater majority of the forum, even innocents whom simply wanted to discuss the music of The Supremes, sans all of the name calling & baiting.

I would simply suggest banning ANYONE, be they friend or foe, who denigrates ANY MEMBER of The Supremes, or posts some provocative "informative" link, which is solely designed to anger another forumer, or links to information which leads to ANY SITE which contains "news" which pits one Supremes faction against another.

This is some 40 year-old ish & it's absolutely ridiculous to think that folks, most of whom are on the plus side of 40 or 50, continue to argue over this same stale shit as though their respective positions are going to reverse 30 - 45 years worth of history.

I support your & the spirit of your thoughts, but when I consider many of our most respectful forumers, i.e. Carlo & many others, I'd hate to see an entire section blown up because of the behavior of the same 9 or 10 people.

It's easier to get rid of all of those whom willingly & constantly contribute to dragging these threads down & from where I sit, this includes the trouble-makers, as well as the "peace-makers", whom have proven themselves rather adept at shit-stirring in their own right, as they've contributed to keeping the fires burning.

As the very soulful Dorisa Daye once sang...

"Que Sera Sera...whatever will be, will be..."

Bravo dear Juice, my knight in shining armor and the most reasonable voice of reason on this forum.

A Happy Bleated Easter to you.

Fondly,

Roberta

[juicefree20]

Thinking back to something that fellow member vcq wrote, perhaps a more sensible way to do things is to simply have The Supremes divided into their own subsection. That is, if it's not too cumbersome to do so.

Another thing which can be done & I've seen it done elsewhere is that the subsection can have a section for generl Supremes info, one for Diana with updates & one for Mary, with updates. In this way, the 300 seperate threads dedicated to whom ate what or whom for breakfast, what brand toilet tissue so & so uses & who wears Maybelline & hates Revlon, can be confined to one area, without totally burying threads about The Originals, Syreeta Wright & the hundreds of other great Motown artists whom have given us such historical music in the process.

Also by doing so, it will also help to CLEARLY identify [[as though we don't already know) WHO is really looking to create trouble. We already know who are Diana fans & we know who are Mary fans. As such, as we know that some have no love lost for either of the ladies, there should really be no reason for either to come into either's threads, that is unless it's to stimulate a little action or havoc.

And here's another little insignificant though which I'll mention anyway...

Considering that SDF is a site whose intention is to & watch for the hook...HONOR the artists & music that these tremendous people of Detroit gave to the world, there should simply be no tolerance for anyone's negative rehash of 40 year-old events...rehashes which won't change a damn thing.

Those events are written on the pages of history & it is what it is. And frankly, I don't believe that SDF is the place where these same old arguments should be fought over...& over...& over...& over....you get my drift.

None of these ladies should be referred to as a "B", "W....e", or any such epithet, nor should it be tolerated. And I don't care WHO it is, anyone who discusses any of these ladies is such a manner, or calls them ANY NAME other than Diana/Diane, Mary, Flo, Barbara, Cindy, Jean, Scherrie, Susaye or Linda, should be booted IMMEDIATELY.

If all of this fighting could possibly change history as we know it, then I'd say, "go for it". But it isn't, it wasn't & ain't never going to be that way, which simply makes all of this exasperating at best & just downright idiotic & juvenile, at worst.

My suggestion[[s) may be a bit cumbersome, but I'm just trying to see this through the eyes of fellow forumers whom while not being in love with all of the bickering, are definitely in love with The Supremes. And while I've never been that caught up with any ONE performer since I was 10 & James Brown ruled my musical world, I don't mind that there are so many who still find these beautiful ladies from Detroit who spun the world on its ear, still worthy of such fascination.

[bradsupremes]

I'm all in support, Ralph! The constant bickering and fighting has ruined things for me here and I don't post as much because of it. I avoid the topics that I know are going downhill and sadly most Diana/Supremes related topics go down that route. Do what you need to do to stop all of the nonsense. I'm tired of the individuals who stir the pot. This is the only place I can really go to discuss the music I love so much because I'm none of my friends have that same interest in music as me. Lately it seems like I can't even go here to discuss the music. What a damn shame...

[juicefree20]

Roberta,

Thank you & likewise, a belated, but very Happy Easter to you & yours.

[Roberta75]

Roberta,

Thank you & likewise, a belated, but very Happy Easter to you & yours.

Thank you dear Juice.

[Boogiedown]

As a newbie here adding my two cents probably isn't worth a nickel , but on the other hand I speak with no personal history regarding the situation.
A site centered around Detroit Soul that intentionally forbids as a topic , Diana Ross & The Supremes ?? I suspect that the biggest chuckle about that would come from Berry Gordy himself. It's not Diana Ross's , nor any other Supreme's fault that unlike so many from Motown, they are A) still alive [[mostly) and B) in the process, remain active and relevant enough to still get notice . As Motown devotees I'd think we'd be grateful they still garner such interest.

If I'm not mistaken, the biggest concern of the disgruntled is that too large a percentage of threads have DR & CO. as their topic. But why chase off what seems to be a strong contingency that comes here to discuss such ? Instead, why not better accommodate their high volume by simply creating a SUPREMES forum? Thread after thread of all there is to be said without them overrunning the other Motown discussions .

They're happy , people that don't care , also happy.

Most to the point, those that enter said forum do so of their choosing ; if their intentions are nefarious , it 'll be apparent. You can then simply ban that person from that specific forum as a step before the last if then needed .

[soulster]

If I'm not mistaken, the biggest concern of the disgruntled is that too large a percentage of threads have DR & CO. as their topic. But why chase off what seems to be a strong contingency that comes here to discuss such ? Instead, why not better accommodate their high volume by simply creating a SUPREMES forum? Thread after thread of all there is to be said without them overrunning the other Motown discussions .

They're happy , people that don't care , also happy.

Most to the point, those that enter said forum do so of their choosing ; if their intentions are nefarious , it 'll be apparent. You can then simply ban that person from that specific forum as a step before the last if then needed .

I don't know how much you have lurked before you joined up, but the problem is that there is constant fighting in those threads. Ralph could create a separate Supremes forum and let them all go at it like rats...with no moderation. He could set it up and forget it exists! HOWEVER, why would he want that mess attached to this forum?

[Boogiedown]

A specific forum would certainly be more easy to manage and perhaps in isolation the behavior will improve. If not , like you said, for the others, who cares? It seems worth a try as a solution before the drastic one of 86ing Diana Ross.

[smark21]

Just out of curiosity Ralph, why did you log into the forum on Easter? I think you should set boundaries for yourself that on certain days and occasions, you don’t log in here if being with family and celebrating a holiday or milestone is important. Or was your day interrupted by members calling you up or texting you to alert you of another flame war that had to be put out? IN the end, this is just a forum, and family and personal quality time should take precedence.
Also, your message seems to indicate you’re burned out. It’s been suggested before, but maybe you should consider getting a co moderator to carry the burden, or completely step down if you’re sick of doing the moderating job. That way you can spend more time with your wife, friends and family on days like Easter and the headache of running this forum can fall to someone else. You’ve been doing this job alone for a number of years..perhaps it’s time for a change?