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Talk Show Host
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
Posts: 283
Location: Planet Warez
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 Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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My comments regards minors concern THEIR wellbeing because this board may really not be the best place for them to get involved with threads and posts due to the fact that profanity is often present and the fact that I would not imagine many of the topics would interest say, a fifteen year old... 
Reverse the situation and place a mature man into a teenagers chatroom and you'd find it pretty strange, no? Even perverse? So why should the opposite be santioned as "normal" when it's clearly not in their own best interests?
However I admire the English language skills of, for example, Katya when one compares her skills to... for instance... those of other members from the EU whose native tongue isn't English... because she puts a few people (whose names are damned obvious without announcement...) to shame... 
Some people who imagine themselves to be mature EU citizens haven't yet managed to construct sentences in English that work properly or learn how to spell words as basic as even dictionary or literate...  |
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cyndy22
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 1076
Location: massachusetts
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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Skip,
Learning languages is very different for people. The fact that Kataya started learning English very young and is still young makes a big difference on the learning curve. I don't think that people whether they are EU, USA or Timbucktu citizens should feel they have to master the English language to post and be taken seriously. It is not a fair assumption that just because someone may mis-spell or use incorrect grammar, s/he lacks motivation or intelligence. Alot of people in this world have learning disabilities. My son who is only 7 has one and consequently has great difficulty writing. Yet he is a very bright boy. |
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Talk Show Host
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
Posts: 283
Location: Planet Warez
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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English happens by pure chance to be the most internationally widespread language and in many EU countries it is an obligatory part of the school curriculum, and has been for several decades!
Bearing this fact in mind one wonders what some people were concentrating on when they received the benefit of professional tuition...
Anyone who intends to be anyone in an international scene requires fluency in this language in order to optimise their communication prospects. It follows that someone from the EU will have followed the obligatory educational steps and should be glad of the benefit of the same!
We're not just concerned with foreign travel or face to face communications, because the major part of the internet is in English alone, and facts like this make it easier to polish ones skills, not more difficult! However it seems that some people cannot be bothered to learn it properly, regardless of the amount of free time that they clearly have on their hands... even over many years, and that smacks of laziness far more than ineptitude!
I've met many such people over many years in many different countries and consider myself reasonably qualified as a judge in these regards... 
Many American people learned Spanish just because of the high number of Hispanic people in their US locale... they had to, especially if they offered any kind of business or retail outlet! Those who didn't haven't prospered as well!
I also particularly abhor the large element of British people who're too bloody arrogant to learn at least one other language, believing that everyone else should speak English... so I am not advocating English should be anyones sole language, nor am I being xenophobic! Just look at the awful effect of that attitude in places like the Costa del Sol in Southern Spain...
In the same way, if you visit Russia... what good is it if you're unable to speak with other people because you didn't bother to at least learn the basics and read the cyrillic alphabet so that you can get around adequately, reading the bus or train timetables etc as a minimum?!?  |
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patrick_b
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Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Posts: 44
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:48 pm Post subject: |
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| cyndy22 wrote: | | While Patrick makes some valid claims especially with the fact that at 18 one is not necessartily any more mature than 16 or less mature than 25, I have to disagree with the essence of his post. It takes a village to raise a child is the quote that comes to mind. Young teenage girls and boys are easy targets on internet forums when communicating with adults. I think people do have a responsibility to protect them. Obviously Kataya has alot of freedom. She is far away from home and her poarents have little control over her internet use, among other things. I think kids grow up fast enough these days and that is a global phenomena. |
"It takes a village to raise a child," while a popular adage, is not necessarily applicable. In the sense that every person that interacts with a child has an impact on their development, it is of course true. Unfortunately, the common misuse of that conventional wisdom includes the unspoken extension, "therefore everybody should raise every child according to my rules."
Treating a youngster near the age of maturation in the same manner as you would treat an adult is not a failure to raise that child, simply a different method. Raising a child does not have to mean sheltering that child from mature topics, language, or behavior, and in my opinion it should not. To do otherwise would be to likely end up with an adult that knows little or real adult interaction, and is unprepared to make it on his or her own.
I have never quite understood the values of my own country when it comes to protecting kids from mature topics -- things like, "it's ok if the see blood and gore and violence, but for heavens sake don't let them find out about naughty words!" And I don't even want to start on what you end up with when you shelter them from sexual information and health topics in the classic "abstinence only" approach that the Red States want to press into law. I have known 20 year olds, high school graduates on their way through college, that still believed you could get pregnant from oral sex. Or those who thought you couldn't get pregnant your first time (or catch diseases, or etc.) This is what I mean that sheltering kids does not prepare them -- were these people aided in their maturation by being sheltered from everything? |
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Katyara
Lounge Lizard
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 124
Location: Russia, Sakhalin island, Korsakov!
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Okay guys, I just got on this forum and what do I see? People are duscussing me left and right. First of all, I am not a little girl and no stranger should defend me (thank you though). Even if I am 16, it doesn't mean I am a little inmature kid. I am NOT. I wouldn't come here to US, alone by myself, without knowing anybody, if I was inmature. Second of all, I am not violating anything by posting stuff on this forums. I didn't use any bad language or anything and I am defenitly over 13. I am not mad or anything, just feels kinda weird reading stuff on the forums about yourself. |
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cyndy22
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 1076
Location: massachusetts
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with you about people who travel or relocate to countries where the primary language is different. People should make some effort to communicate in the native language. People however as you know are intimidated to make mistakes which inevidently are made when one speaks or writes or hears a new language. Personally, I have gotten past that barrier, love learning languages and it is not so terribly hard for me as opposed to learning chemistry for example which I suck in. I do know that I have a far better time when I can understand and communicate with people. You learn alot more that way. But not everybody has the same motivation, time or desire, or ability to learn languages for travel. And sadly there are whole pockets of communities that relocate to countries where the people partyicularly older folks never bother to learn the new language.
I understand that English is the dominant international language, however my friends who moved here from FSR and I have several, did not typically study English in school. And some who did, did not have opportunities to really practice it so like other things- you lose what you don't use. I think we need to be more tolerant and understanding. How would you like WTR to only be in Russian language? It would be a challenge for most of us. I just wish you would not attribute laziness to anyone on this forum who makes grammatical mistakes in English or otherwise.  |
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Skip
Talk Show Host
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
Posts: 283
Location: Planet Warez
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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Cyndi... I was highlighting the odd one or two who have great difficulty with their general vocabulary, and with a twist of dry humour, yet seemingly have no problems with learning the most insulting aspects of the English language...
Don't take everything at face value... you don;t need to wear your poker face at every seance... |
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Skip
Talk Show Host
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
Posts: 283
Location: Planet Warez
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Katyara wrote: | | Okay guys, I just got on this forum and what do I see? People are duscussing me left and right. First of all, I am not a little girl and no stranger should defend me (thank you though). Even if I am 16, it doesn't mean I am a little inmature kid. I am NOT. I wouldn't come here to US, alone by myself, without knowing anybody, if I was inmature. Second of all, I am not violating anything by posting stuff on this forums. I didn't use any bad language or anything and I am defenitly over 13. I am not mad or anything, just feels kinda weird reading stuff on the forums about yourself. |
Everyone gets discussed here behind their back... it's the speciality of the place... you'll get used to it... I do not think anyone isn't welcoming you, it's just that the topic of teenagers got a bit fired up... that's all...  |
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cyndy22
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 1076
Location: massachusetts
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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You didn't know you'd be so popular huh Kataya!
We all know you are a mature 16 year old. You would make anyone's mother and father proud. Some of us just think that we are going to warp you or corrupt you. You must have read alot of the trash on WTR. If you want to hang in there, that is your choice. Just don't believe everything you read. And I hope you don't get involved in any trashy discussions. Maybe you could start a thread oin what young Russians are interested in and think about. Just a suggestion.
Am I being encouraging again????? |
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Katyara
Lounge Lizard
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 124
Location: Russia, Sakhalin island, Korsakov!
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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| I was gonna start a topic about Sakhalin, but I just ddn't know how. Somebody gave me a link to the web page where people can edt stuff, but it didn't work. I would really like to contribute to this web site, just don't know how... |
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cyndy22
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 1076
Location: massachusetts
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:11 am Post subject: |
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Katyara,
Finally I spelled your name right! It's easy to start a new topic. Go to WTR main website. Click on any recent post. On the top of the page click talk lounge index. You will get a menu and you can decide where on the menu you want to start a new topic. Click on where you think it is most apopropriate, for exampole talk lounge or other parts of Russia, Russian people etc. After that scroll to the bottom and click on new topic. You will be prompted to type in the heading for your topic and go from there. I look forward to learning more about your city and you ofcourse!  |
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cyndy22
Lounge Wizard
Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 1076
Location: massachusetts
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:52 am Post subject: |
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Patrick,
I am just curious if you happen to have children? Perhaps you do and perhaps you don't. Personally I and my husband are far more leniant in terms of educating our son and giving him skills, knowledge, self confidence etc. to be independent and able to deal with all sorts of people and situations in this world than the so called average US family.. Many people are critical to our parenting because we tend to have our own style. That doesn't bother me.
I really don't object to someone like Kat actively participating on this forum because she has a good head on her shoulders. But perhaps because I am female, I have an instinct to look out for younger persons. I am not saying that men do not have this instinct because certainly many do. Youth at least in my mind and excperience is something precious. It is not that I don't want to educate younger people. Certainly I think they should know about sex, birth control, disease, violence and many other things. I happen to think that forums are not the place for educating because. well I really don't think I need to elaborate... |
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