The Happies: What Do You Think?

polarchill · 09-01-07 06:03:04

I get to thinking. Sometimes two or three (or even four) forum topics swirl around in my mind for a few days, and I see some type of connection in them that I can't quite form, until suddenly everything solidifies, and *pop* I have an idea. This is one of those times, and I need to know whether I've had a good idea or a really silly one. That is to say, I KNOW it's silly, but I personally think it is a fun, productive, and complimentary type of silly. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The gears started turning when Blind_Ryan introduced himself, in a very honest, straightforward way, and this briefly raised the subject (which comes up from time to time around here) of how masturbation among the subscribers, which is presumably fairly common as a result of the quality videos to which they are exposed, is usually left unmentioned. Desertgirl44 found Ryan's honesty, well, let's say refreshing. The subject has reappeared briefly a couple of times in the last week.

Then, a few days later, Bolero posted his DISAPPOINTED thread, in which he mentioned that he thought that perhaps the subscribers in general have been forgetting lately to chime in with praise for the contributors who make this site what it is. This led to another interesting discussion. It also, somewhere in the back of my mind, seemed to tie into the other topic . . .

Then tonight, annoula hit the nail on the head when she wondered aloud to Siobhan: "but how would I explain you lot? My erotic forum companions?" That's what we are, isn't it? We tend not to say it out loud. Some of us talk about sex a LOT, and some of us never mention it at all, but I'm willing to bet that if this was a gardening forum, and there were no videos, there would only be about six members. Or if the rest of us WERE here, we would probably end up talking about sex (and the little old ladies trying to get azalea advice would be appalled . . . or at least, that's what they would claim). Simply put, sex has drawn us together. It only seems right to give a little credit where credit is due.

You ask yourselves, "Where the hell is Polarchill going with this?" Good question. Here is the answer. Bolero, and most rightly so, feels that we need to be more forthcoming with our praise for the contributors. I agree most heartily. I also think it's good for us, psychologically speaking, to be true to our own nature. Not many of us would want to go a step farther than Blind_Ryan did, and start out a post by saying "Hi, Hackbot32 here. I enjoyed masturbating to your video. You looked really nice." For one thing, it's hard to say that and not seem kind of creepy. But what if you could leave it UNSAID, and still deliver the same exact compliment? Observe, as I present what I call the Happies:

>

This is the male Happy, as can be seen from his protruding appendage. Very easy, very simple.

[:)]

This is the female Happy, as you can tell from the fact that she has a happy, well, box.

The Happy, simply put, signifies that the poster enjoyed the contributor's video. You know, REALLY enjoyed the video . . . Yes, that's what I'm saying. Laughably crude? Yes. Amazingly simple and effective in saying what you otherwise might not want to put into words? Ahhh . . . Let's take that earlier "Hi, Hackbot32 . . ." post, and rework it with the Happies:

>

Hackbot 32 here. I enjoyed your video. You looked really nice.

What was, before, a bit creepy is now a simple compliment with an official, but subtle, acknowledgement that the male subscriber has enjoyed the contributor's video to, well, the maximum amount.

Note that this hypothetical post opens with the Happy in the upper left corner, with a solid paragraph space between it and the beginning of the text. This way there is no confusion between a Happy and a traditional smiley inserted into the text. This is good for those of us who are particularly smiley-crazy (I'm not naming any names, bunny-man . . . ) The format for a female poster would be exactly the same, simply using the female Happy.

This way, even the shyest of us can say what the boldest of us discuss openly. More importantly, we can give compliments to the contributors that, well, many of us would never dare to otherwise, whether due to feelings of decorum, upbringing, or fear of making one or another uncomfortable. It is a safe and fun way to acknowledge that all of us here are human.

NOW. Am I saying that you should only post to compliment a contributor if you have tossed off to her? No, of course not. Sex is part of life. Life is not entirely about sex (those of you over twenty-five will understand what I'm saying; the rest of you will get it later, after your pants stop being so trembly). If you love the emotional interaction between Cherries and her lover, but you behaved yourself throughout, then chime in and tell them. If you thought the interview between Liandra and her sister Leony was great fun, raise your voice. As Bolero said, kind, sincere words mean a great deal to anyone.

Just as importantly, am I saying that if you toss in a quick

>

or

[:)]

to a contributor, then that's enough? No, of course not. This isn't a rating system. This isn't about adding up Happies and choosing Homecoming Queen. As I say, kind WORDS are important. Follow up your Happy with a brief blurb. Just a couple of sentences is fine. And no matter how clumsy you think your writing is, believe me, you're doing fine.

So, am I full of it? It wouldn't be the first time. I don't know. I think I'm onto something. It's cheerfully bawdy in a way that matches our general spirit around here, and it also allows us to give something that comes from the heart. A couple of keystrokes, and everyone's feeling the love.

Jump in. Tell me what you think. Let Happy-ness into your heart.

Last edited by polarchill (09-01-07 06:07:29)

nihpuad · 09-01-07 06:16:57

polarchill wrote:

Then tonight, annoula hit the nail on the head when she wondered aloud to Siobhan: "but how would I explain you lot? My erotic forum companions?" That's what we are, isn't it?

That is what we are. So much so, in fact, that I think if my wife knew about my "life" here, she might be jealous of "you lot."

polarchill wrote:

So, am I full of it?

I don't think so. I quite agree that it's...

polarchill wrote:

...cheerfully bawdy in a way that matches our general spirit around here...

In fact, I should really go edit my post on Taj's latest vid...

aven frey · 09-01-07 06:18:36

Polarchill >
did I do it right? I usually fuck these kinda things up!

polarchill · 09-01-07 06:21:15

Yes, that's a male Happy, all right. To signify your own, well, pleasure with a video, you would of course send a female Happy, which would be:

[:)]

Oh, by the way, it took me two days to come up with a Happy design that I was, er, happy with. I'm lousy with these things too.

Last edited by polarchill (09-01-07 06:23:44)

polarchill · 09-01-07 06:22:38

nihpuad wrote:

polarchill wrote:
Then tonight, annoula hit the nail on the head when she wondered aloud to Siobhan: "but how would I explain you lot? My erotic forum companions?" That's what we are, isn't it?
That is what we are. So much so, in fact, that I think if my wife knew about my "life" here, she might be jealous of "you lot."
polarchill wrote:
So, am I full of it?
I don't think so. I quite agree that it's...
polarchill wrote:
...cheerfully bawdy in a way that matches our general spirit around here...
In fact, I should really go edit my post on Taj's latest vid...

Retro-editing. What a great idea! I can probably remember which ones . . . Hehehe, don't mind me . . .

aven frey · 09-01-07 06:22:47

oh no I like the male one better >

polarchill · 09-01-07 06:24:56

You always were a rebel. That's one of the things I like about you!

nihpuad · 09-01-07 06:29:59

max wrote:

oh no I like the male one better >

Repeat after me: The clitoris is not a female version of the penis! (grinning, ducking, and running like Hell)

BTW, Polarchill, I was amused that you based your female "eroticon" on what I think of as a kind of quaint, old-fashioned term, "box." As fate would have it (and fate will have it!), I was just pointed at this viral video today, which plays on that same word (and it's a very cute girl, too).

polarchill · 09-01-07 07:03:35

nihpuad wrote:

max wrote:
oh no I like the male one better >
Repeat after me: The clitoris is not a female version of the penis! (grinning, ducking, and running like Hell)
BTW, Polarchill, I was amused that you based your female "eroticon" on what I think of as a kind of quaint, old-fashioned term, "box." As fate would have it (and fate will have it!), I was just pointed at this viral video today, which plays on that same word (and it's a very cute girl, too).

Oh, thanks a lot! Now I'm going to have that song running through my head all day! (catchy tune, that)

annoula · 09-01-07 07:04:44

[:)]

Thought the two thingies on the side were my hands

Good on you Polarchill, you just added a new dimension to the forum for me...I will get turned on when watching and now, when reading and thinking of you people watching...he he

polarchill · 09-01-07 07:39:41

I just got back from retrofitting my appropriate older complimentary posts. It didn't take as long as I thought it would! One thing is clear, though: Bolero is correct that we don't always comment on the videos we love, because I haven't said anything about the Quartet series yet, and I've darned well . . . well, never mind.

The two thingies as hands . . . Hadn't thought of that. Yes, my mind is in the gutter. Seriously, though, I guess I just was going for traditional male/female symbology, and that was the closest I could come to. Actually, I wish the classic male and female symbols were available (you know, the arrow thingie and the other one . . . the Arrow of Mars and the Mirror of Venus, I'm told) easily. They may even be hidden in the special symbols levels on Windows keyboards, but I wanted something that could be typed out very quickly, so anyone could use it.

I'm glad you like the concept. So far the response seems pretty positive.

aven frey · 09-01-07 08:07:25

[:)] earings

polarchill · 09-01-07 08:18:50

Hey, cool! I guess everything IS in the eye of the beholder.

Desertgirl44 · 09-01-07 09:55:52

annoula wrote:

[:)]
Thought the two thingies on the side were my hands

polarchill wrote:

The two thingies as hands . . . Hadn't thought of that. Yes, my mind is in the gutter. Seriously, though, I guess I just was going for traditional male/female symbology, and that was the closest I could come to.

max wrote:

[:)] earings

I like the idea of the two thingies as hands myself:

[:)]

I just used my own two hands after re-watching Hold On 1 & 2. My ... ummm ... box is now very happy. As is the rest of me.

As an aside, I watch the videos but don't touch whilst watching. That way they get my full attention. Then I go give myself my undivided attention.

polarchill · 09-01-07 13:52:09

Well, you know what they say about men being visual. I like watching the video, um, while.

Inspired by your praise of it, I just watched Hold On 2 again. Great stuff, though I did manage to behave myself. The love in that video is truly touching (and the passion is scorching).

Siobhan · 09-01-07 21:11:09

I LOVVVVVVE THISSSS!!!!!!!

Thank you, Polarchill!

polarchill · 09-01-07 22:44:55

Wow. I'm actually touched. Your opinion in particular was important to me on this matter. There are certain people in here (many of whom have already responded) whose insight and sensibility in these types of subjects is always of interest to me.

I was originally going to ask for a show of hands, but apparently many of us are busy using them. Ba-rump-bump! Thank you! I'll be here all week! Don't forget to tip your waiters!

Hehe, sorry; I couldn't end the post on an overly sentimental note.

Last edited by polarchill (09-01-07 22:45:15)

Blind_Ryan · 09-01-07 23:06:30

I like this idea. Cherry's vids are still my perennial favs for some damn reason.

oh yeah >

aven frey · 10-01-07 01:15:25

okay now I don't mean to rain on parades here and I personally think the idea's quite cute but I'm a touch concerned that this could possibly deter contributors from participating in the forums. Women contribute for all sorts of different reasons and we don't want to isolate those who don't want to know if we wanked to them.
I do think it's really cool that we are starting to chat about our wanking, especially you boys, I know you don't really have a space to feel good about this side of your sexuality (and you should cause it's good). So I propose we can still talk about this but not in relation to specific contributions. What do people think?

Siobhan · 10-01-07 02:08:35

sounds good.

The_Elfman · 10-01-07 12:19:24

max wrote:

okay now I don't mean to rain on parades here and I personally think the idea's quite cute but I'm a touch concerned that this could possibly deter contributors from participating in the forums. Women contribute for all sorts of different reasons and we don't want to isolate those who don't want to know if we wanked to them.
I do think it's really cool that we are starting to chat about our wanking, especially you boys, I know you don't really have a space to feel good about this side of your sexuality (and you should cause it's good). So I propose we can still talk about this but not in relation to specific contributions. What do people think?

Thanks max. From a mods point of view I was a tad worried about this myself. I'm not sure how it sits with the appreciation policy (although I do admire the imagination of the concept). I wonder how the guvnor feels about this?

richard · 10-01-07 13:20:54

The_Elfman wrote:

max wrote:
okay now I don't mean to rain on parades here and I personally think the idea's quite cute but I'm a touch concerned that this could possibly deter contributors from participating in the forums. Women contribute for all sorts of different reasons and we don't want to isolate those who don't want to know if we wanked to them.
I do think it's really cool that we are starting to chat about our wanking, especially you boys, I know you don't really have a space to feel good about this side of your sexuality (and you should cause it's good). So I propose we can still talk about this but not in relation to specific contributions. What do people think?
Thanks max. From a mods point of view I was a tad worried about this myself. I'm not sure how it sits with the appreciation policy (although I do admire the imagination of the concept). I wonder how the guvnor feels about this?

I think max is diplomatic in her understatement.

#1 09-01-07 06:03:04

The Happies: What Do You Think?

#2 09-01-07 06:16:57

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#3 09-01-07 06:18:36

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