This is just wrong
Generally, we over here at City Weekend don't have a bad word to say about anyone, anyone save for maybe Michael Douglas's gross face, Hitler or I don't know .... that little creep Dakota Fanning. However, sometimes we need to make exceptions and get our hate-o-raid on, if only in response to some nasty playground bullying that's been started by a certain General Manager of a certain Beijing listings magazine.
About a week or so, someone over at TBJ decided to play a little tricky trick on us kids over here at City Weekend, oh so cheekily changing things around on the web forum so that every time someone typed out the word "C*NT", it was automatically changed into "City Weekend Reader".
Fast forward two weeks later, to a thread entitled Who's the biggest City Weekend Reader on TBJ, which is now in it's 12th page and has, like nearly every other post on the That's BJ Web Forums, quickly degenerated into a schoolyard game of name calling and not so witty personal attacks flying back and forth between the sometimes hilarious yet often just plain sad forum members.
Is it fair game, free advertising or just petty slandering? As head honcho and administrator of the web forum, it seems that fingers pointed towards Michael Wester would be dead on, but I could be wrong. Personally, I tend to just think of it as a pathetic, misguided attempt by the somewhat rotund, awkward and geeky Michael Wester to hurt our feelings. Seriously Michael, what's going on? Am I wrong to be singling out this guy? Even if it wasn't him that started this, isn't it his job as administrator and General Manager to keep these things from happening? We over here at City Weekend would be very interested to hear what's going on over there at TBJ. Are they happy playing schoolyard bully?
The fact remains that City Weekend are a fantastic yet tiny force in the Beijing expat magazine world. We aren't in existence because we want to compete with or unsurp any of the other magazines out there, we're here because we truly believe we make this city better. We've got a quarter of the budget and staff that they have, and sure, we do believe that our magazine is better, our writers and editors and even the ladies that clean our bathrooms are way cooler, but stooping to this level seems a little bit cruel and mostly just sad. Shame on you!
ps. Whether or not this goes against the forum's "Terms of Service" is unknown at this time. Based on my observations, Michael does do some work (if not a half-assed job at) trying to keep his users in check, but it seems to be a sinking ship over at the forum and the Terms of Service are currently unavailable to anyone who actually wants to follow the rules.
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WOW.
(is looking for cover, as she's guessing that trash is going to start flying)
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Hmm... Michael Wester is a big fat yeast jar of Marmite?
Seems as if you're taking this all a wee bit seriously, there Jenn, which is slightly ironic since I highly doubt Wester does. -
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I don't think we're taking it too seriously, but something had to be said. It's a case of a huge listings magazine picking on a smaller one. Why bother, unless he's trying to make a point? What a cock!
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maybe he's bored and having a little fun. And you only encourage that kind of thing if you keep thinking of listings mags as big or small. We're all going after the same ads. I don't think people actively deliberate about the listings mag that right for them. They just pick 'em up and read 'em on the bog. No david OR goliath here.
Besides you're all minnows compared with the mighty time out (had to say that, my boss reads these things obsessively) -
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Haha. I suppose you're right in a way, but in a classic case of "he started it", I'm sticking to my guns. Frankly, I don't know how anyone could think that at least someone at City Weekend would respond to his childish little move. It's true, we are all going after the same ads, writing about the same clubs, promoting the same events, but is it so much to ask to do it with a bit of, shall I dare say it, dignity?!
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I can see how, from an outside City Weekend's view, people can think we're reacting too seriously but for anyone who's worked at City Weekend, they know how hard the staff works to churn this magazine out every two weeks (often pulling over time hours and working weekends). Also, they know how much time and effort has gone into improving the website (which has done a total 180 going from sh*t to really f'cking good).
Given these two factors, I think it's natural only for people who work (or in my case worked) at City Weekend to feel protective of it and have a certain amount of pride in their work. It's a fact that City Weekend has improved in leaps and bounds and although no one's delusional enough to think it's high literature, it's still (mostly) well written and informative which is I think the most you can ask for in any of the expat mags.
Yes, That's actions are just a stupid jibe at City Weekend's expense and while it's probably not malicious, it's definitely disrespectful and discounts the hard work that really does go into making City Weekend. All the expat mags have their weaknesses but it speaks volumes when you really think about who's trying to improve and who's just taking potshots at others' expense.
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A year ago, I pitched a story to Lee Mack about trying to see if there was a relationship between the # of posts a user has made on the That's BJ forum and age of virginity lost... I think its time to reopen discussion....
Lovingly,
J Conrad Haagen
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so what happens if I type in c(bleeeep) here?
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haha. that's what!!
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I lost mine at 21 and have upwards of 900 posts at TBJ. Your conclusion, please, Dr. Haagen.
Sigh... you're probably right.
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I think I need a larger research sample, while also finding a way to reconcile making fun of people posting on BBS boards on a BBS board
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LOL!
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"...somewhat rotund, awkward and geeky Michael Wester"
That's a pretty mean comment. He did not single out and mock physical attributes of any of City Weekend's staff.
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Afraid someone will make fun of you, greyish, blurry Goldsiv?
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ah.... jennny....
just because no one liked you on the TBJ forum and yelled at you till you had to run away and get a new secret account with a new name...... tsk tsk.... this is sad.
The word C*NT was changed from "C___" to "female nether regions" to "wart on herojuana's ass" and a bunch of other things before it made it to "city weekend reader"..... it was nothing personal... but you, being the petty little child that you are, turned a cute little joke into a mean spirited attack on michael wester and his appearance.
silly silly silly
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Let's not get into the petty child argument, shall we? I have yet to read an article in That's BJ by Alex Pasternack that does not contain overt criticism of the fashion choices of our own Lee Mack and C-Daddy Crow.
If you are out there, Alex. You must be stopped!
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Are you kidding me?
Whether or not "no one liked me on the TBJ forum", which really makes no difference whatsover, the fact remains that despite this stupid "joke" perhaps being "nothing personal", it is childish and unprofessional. Why bother? I know that you're working with LocalNoodles.com these days, and there isn't a single instance in which anyone at City Weekend would dream on shtting on the site, regardless of whether or not we love or hate your site, or whether or not one of us has a personal beef with anyone working at the company. This is called professional respect and dignity.
Maybe you believe this to be harmless and nothing personal and no big deal, and you're free to think this, but there are real people behind the magazine who really do work hard and have pride in what they do.
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PS. If it isn't obvious by the username, the last comment was made by me, there was some confusion with the user name.
Little Johnny Haagen, don't you start! I happen to really love Alex's writing, and Berwin's and Roy Kesey's as well.
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im sorry... who is working for local noodles?
are you talking to me pumpkin?
you have your facts wrong.
again jenny... you are wrong again.
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as an recent implant into this country, i don't know either of these magazines well enough to really go down to the personal levels you guys are, but I do think that the poster is correct, that it's not very appropriate to slander the competition in such a way. stll, to Phoebe: even if you don't work for local noodles, you are kind of missing the point, which is that whatever way you look at it, it is sstupid for That's Beijing to be so nasty.
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Don't you start, Jenn. Alex Pasternack is nothing but a dirty hutong huggin' houai crip! CBD Bloodz 4 EVA!!!!
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gibbs.....
do you think it is appropriate to take the argument to this level....
"the somewhat rotund, awkward and geeky Michael Wester" ?
petty and childish much?
if anything this whole -pretty humorous- back and forth has given city weekend a few thousand more website clicks.
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wow.
that is weak.
you changed the original article?
you took out the names and the slanderous comments about Michael Wester's appearance?
Did you get in trouble with the bosses jenny or did you realize that you were being a total bitch in the original article?
the original is still here if anyone is interested.
http://www.thebeijinger.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18833&highlight=
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Dear Phoebe,
Not to get my indignation on, but what sort of a retard are you? The comments cannot be considered slanderous. Libelous maybe, but only if they are proven to be incorrect.
For example, when I told all my friends you were a huge bitch, that's slander, but when I come to this forum to post that you are a huge bitch in print, that's libel.
Stop destroying the English language. That is the city magazine's job.
holla back, Lawyer Teeks
PS- Does anyone else find it strange that Michael Wester and Phoebe are never in the same place at the same time?
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hahahaha
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@ jennwong, I'm glad that you had the guts to actually speak your mind and I'm sorry that for actually giving an honest opinion, you're being attacked.
@ phoebe,
Please stop calling Jenn, Jenny, it's weird.
Also, I think that Jenn is free to say what she wants on an online forum. It's a free webspace and just because you may not agree with her opinions, resorting to namecalling doesn't really help you get your point across. Arguing that Mike Wester shouldn't be singled out for the actions of the TBJ forum would be something I can understand, calling Jenn a bitch and then saying that no one likes her (which isn't true, I like you Jenn and I think bufordboy does too. He just lights up like a christmas tree when you're around), is totally unecessary.
People are allowed to have different opinions and just because you may think Mike is a fantastic person and is neither geeky or rotund, doesn't mean everyone who doesn't share your opinion is an automatic twat (I know you never used twat in your string of personal insults but I thought it's a great adjective and one that should be in everyone's name calling arsenal).
Finally, if jenn wants to change her article due to people on the tbj forum announcing their fervent desire to "bitch slap" her (and c'mon, bitch slap Jenn Wong? She's like what, 4 feet? That's like taking on a fourth grader. NOT COOL), it's something that should be empathizable right? What makes me the most concerned is the fact that it seems that in Beijing's incestuous social circle, people feel pressured to censor themselves for fear of public backlash.
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@ terry,
You're normally a blithering idiot but I find myself to be oddly attracted to you just now. Are you available for drinks next week? I'll wear that hot pink number you picked out for me from Yashow. WINK.
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Wowza!!!!
I love you City Weekend forum... you help me reel in the babes!
TK is going to post more often!
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hahahahahaha! to Phoebe: i think it is very appropriate, considering that this Michael Wester apparently has called the entire population if city weekend writers "C*NTS". Wouldn't you agree?
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Oh Phobebe 'plump-kin' it seems the tables are turning. Bless...
Your obsession with Jenn Wong is a little scary to tell you the truth - "some say jealousy is the root of all evil" you know!?
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My issue is less with the poster's Jenn Wong fetish, and more with the fact that she has the vocabulary of an infant or well-trained ape. It is truly remarkable to me that you, Phoebe (with your Titaness namesake known for her brightness) should serve as so desperate a condemnation of whatever school system birthed your bovine intellect. Not to get all Henry Higgins on you, but your curbstone English will keep you in the gutter until the end of your days.
Try this site.
http://freerice.com/
You will do some good for the world, and improve yourself in a personal arena that has surely become a point of incredible insecurity and sadness for you.
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aw...
How nice of all of your friends to jump on the Jenn Wong band wagon.
And just as Jenny needs to resort to mean and immature schoolyard taunts so do all of you. Yes, I am obviously Michael Wester's alter ego. I'm a bitch and I have tremendously poor English writing skills.
My issue with Jenn is that she has been a sneaky, vindictive hypocrite from the beginning. She was a forum regular then threw a tantrum called everyone there a bunch of names then swore off it forever... only to return with a new name a little later.
She obviously enjoys the forum banter. Of course she is entitled to her opinion and can write whatever she likes I am also free to criticize her for her unprofessional way of doing so.
I feel that if you are simply a blogger and not actually representing the magazine's opinion of Michael Wester and his website then you should be careful about the way you share your point of view.
Signing off
Oh and to Diddle... thanks for the PM but the answer is no, I don't want to hook up with you sometime. Thanks for the offer.
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Traveling around Asia, it's clear to me that no other city has such a rich and determined group of free English listing guides. There are good editors at CW, That's, Time Out, Beijing Talk and elsewhere that wake up nearly every day thinking about how they can make a better magazine for readers. When it appears that one magazine has made a point to personally attack another, it strikes a nerve. Unlike the TBJ thread, CW does not engage in personal attacks against "competitors". That's why I asked Jenn to refocus her article so that it focused more on the meaning of the thread, rather than on MW. As CW's e-publisher, I regret that any personal opinions about MW by Jenn have confused the important issue Jenn rightfully aimed to address: What value is there in bullying other magazines or their readers by That's?
No one at CW is interested (or has the time or energy) in sinking to the depths of insults permissible on the That's forum. I support Jenn in raising issue w/ the the insulting thread. There are a lot of good editors working hard at each magazine. It shouldn't be lightly ignored when any publisher allows them or their readers to be bullied.
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@ Collin, Jennwong08 et al,
The thatsbeijing >>thatsbj>> thebeijinger forum seems to be dominated by people who enjoy starting flame wars and hurling insults at one and other.
I believe that the site admin permits it since an active forum has more clicks and thus is assumedly more marketable.
I know a number of people who are looking for a high quality alternative. One such excellent flame free forum for the exchange of information is the Beijing Community.
Hopefully City Weekend will also evolve to fill this role.
I can understand Jenn's anger/frustration with the postings but I think that the response here is wrong. I would have thought that the best solution would have been for Collin to talk with Michael and to try and eliminate (what for that's might be seen as just a joke) at its source.
On a slightly different note - Jenn please go and study the history of the Holocaust and please never again belittle the evil done by Hitler and the Nazis. To compare the murder of 6 million people to your opinion Michael Douglas's face shows just how ignorant you are of those times.
Your comment is stupid, insulting and dangerous.
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Forest,
Speaking as a Jew and student of history, I have to say that you should not belittle the evil done by Michael Douglas' face.
No single force has caused the Jewish people more pain or humiliation over the past decade.
Also, you are a complete douche.
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I admit that I have never studied Michael Douglas's face, please enlighten me.
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Forest:
The link that Terry Kern posted doesn't seem to work, so here is one that might help: Moldova
No one is belitting the plight of the Jewish people during the Holocaust, or comparing the horror of Michael Douglas's face to the horror of that terrible time in history, it was merely a statement of general hatred, Michael Douglas's face AND the Holocaust both being on that list.
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Jenn hi,
I can not open the link but if it is just to show me a standard picture there is no need. I know what he looks like. I said that I had not studied his face - not important enough.
The problems encountered here with the links leads me on to two comments/questions.
In most forums live links can be posted - will that be an option here?
In most forums, you can preview and edit your postings prior to submitting - will that be an option here?
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Hi Forest! Sorry you can't open the link! I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure the techies (teckies? how do you say that?!) at CW will look at it. I don't know the answer to either of your queries, but they are good ones - I'm hoping for a preview & edit button as well.
By the by, I really suggest google image'ing (wow, my English is really excellent today!) a photo of Michael Douglas. Really look at that shit up close, study it for a while. I think in the end you will agree with me that his face really and truly is quite terrifying. What will also help is looking at a picture of him wearing a tight shirt.
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Re the links - I think the problem is that the links that both you and Terry posted were longer than the width of the page. It was therefore not possible to copy and paste the complete address.
BTW - If I was moderating this thread I would have split it a while back. The Michale Douglas face issue is a far cry from your original posting.
I did not intend to hijack the thread.
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pfffffff..........come on guys, it was just a joke, take it easy.
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Unlike a trad. forum, it's up to the owner of this blog if she wants to move this conversation thread over by creating a new article about Michael Douglas. I'm sure it'll have a joke about replacing a certain someone's name w/ "Michael Douglas".
CW wants to give interesting people in the city who write well a medium to share their thoughts. We'll be going w/ blogs first and basic forums second. The idea is that our bloggers will "stimulate" discussion on the site. This one sure did. As far as previews go, we had this feature on the old site and no one really used it. I tend to agree, it sorta seems redundant. When you want to include a hyperlink, use markdown insert link words. FYI: There's a bug on the site so that when you slap in a super long url, it distorts the page layout. Hey, CW online is a work in progress. Wait till next week!
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Collin, not everybody is as talented as you. I personally very much feel the need for both a preview and edit buttons.
Maybe though the edit option should be limited so that editing is not possible once another post has been added to the thread.
Is it a problem for your tech team to provide these options? Or just that you feel that it is redundant?
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Maybe you should add a window or something with a listing of the standard markdown formats.
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I hate such mud-slinging game.
If thatsbj does, let em do, dont put yourself their level ...
sigh.
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Plus, if citiweekend is a decent mags, would it really give any shit about the pale, childish "slander"(if you must call it a slander).
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Right on Jenn! Maybe if That's spent time trying to improve their terribly designed and poorly laid out site rather than coming up with coding that make sophomoric digs at CW's, their web space their site wouldn't be such a mess!